Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Link didn't know what it was, but it had felt like that amulet was calling to him. It wasn't that it was shiny, definitely not. Sure, he got easily distracted by shiny things, but when it had first caught his eye, the light of his torch had not yet caught the gem's reflective surface. It was beautiful, and seemed to glow a deep, dark red, like the Gloom always had. Carefully, he set his torch off to the side, and examined the object, but not touching it, not yet. The tools he used couldn't detect a curse, and could only identify it as an ancient artifact from before even the begginging of Hyrule, from before the ancient kingdom of Skyloft, and the beginningings of what would become Hyrule, in time. It seemed just about as old as the Golden Goddess-the Goddess Hylia-and the goddesses who served her

This was probably the biggest and greatest thing he had discovered yet-greater than discovering that many years ago, during the Era of the Seven Heroines, the Eigth Heroine had been a man, one of his or Riju's ancestors, perhaps. This was bigger than the entire books he had written on the Dragons, or the books he had written on Ancient Sheikah and Zonai technology! Eagerly, he took notes and sketches and photos, documenting this discovery in terrifyingly accurate and immaculate detail. He always did have a knack for this. He was the one who recorded the true secret behind the ancient legend of the Zonai Secret Stones, and what happens when you swallow one. Although, he still didn't know whether the other three Dragons(since he already knew the truth of the Light Dragon, which even now still flew through Hyrule, even though it was no longer Zelda anymore) were people once, who had swallowed their own Secret Stones. He hadn't found any Secret Stones physically on the bodies of any of the Dragons, but then again, the stones could have been absorbed into the fleash and scales of the Dragons, perhaps being what gave them such potent magical powers. But that would be ridiculous, the Light Dragon hadn't absorbed her Secret Stone. Still, he didn't think it smart to dismiss the theory, be it entirely or at all.

Because Zelda never would, he was the one who properly translated Ancient Zonai texts and information, properly telling the story the way it was intended to be. He helped return entire centuries of Gerudo heritage and culture and life to Riju and her people, helped them remember and write down stories that for years had been lost because so many only passed down their stories through oral tradition.

But, finally, and inevitably, there wasn't much more(if anything at all)that he would record, and the call of the amulet and grown stronger. He tried to ignore that feeling, but he wasn't as strong as many thought. It felt like it would kill him, to keep resisting the pull to touch the amulet. And finally, he couldn't resist it anymore. So, he reached out, and put on the amulet. When it at last hung around his neck, the cool metal of the amulets chain wrapping almost all the way around his throat, he couldn't help but notice that the pull was gone, and for once he felt, truly, powerful, and in control.His heartbeat seemed to slow down, and complete calm flowed through his body. It felt, good.

A passageway opened up before him, the braziers lighting up with red and orange and blue mixed fire. And down the passageway, a voice seemed to be calling to him. For him. Calling his name. Slowly, he walked towards the end of the hall, the voice growing louder as he grew closer. The whispering chanting in a language he could recognize, yet couldn't understand hummed in his ears, and there was a pedestal with an old book laying on it before him. So, carefully, he reached out towards the book, and as he took it in his hands, the chanting ended, the braziers and torches flaring up around him. As the pedestal sunk into the ground beneath him, he looked around for what could have been the cause of the chanting, but only saw one thing of significance in the room. A throne. And it felt oh so familiar, as if he had been there before. As if it had been his own in a past life. It felt impossible, seeing as how he'd only ever heard stories of his past incarnations being heroes, yet still, he knew that there was more to that story than he had previously thought.

Sure, it was probably dumb to touch that throne. Link had already touched the amulet and book, which radiated power at his fingertips, and he was most likely definitely cursed or under some deities control. But for so much of his life up to this point, he had been trying to find a away to live just for one more day, just to survive a little longer, had been trying to simply evade his death as long as possible. But now, he wasn't afraid anymore. He knew what he had to do.

So, beneath what had once been the ancient Castle of Demise, Link took his seat at the throne, and relished the feeling of the Gloom in his lungs, allowing his mind to slowly be clouded and corrupted by the most dangerous thing he had faced yet-the Demon Prince Calamity.

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"Link! You've been gone on that research trip for over a week!" Zelda stormed as Link walked(well, strutted would be a more appropriate word)into the room. "You knew we had important things to get done!" Link rolled his eyes at her.

"Well exuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuusssssseeee me Princess! It's not my fault that you think that politics are more important than science." Zelda was dumbfounded. She'd been Queen for almost a year now, and Link's questioning her authority and referring to her by her old title? The audacity!

"Without politics, I wouldn't be able to send you on your little research expeditions!" She yelled, and Link rolled his eyes. Again. "Goddammit, what's wrong with you Link!?"

"Whoa whoa whoa, holdup. That's the hero!?" A young(and incredibly short) Gerudo boy asked in complete shock.

"Yeah, what's it to ya, short stack?" He asked, and the earth rumbled beneath them.

"I am not short!"

Link smirked. "Jeez, calm down kid, it was just a joke. We don't need another Upheaval because you couldn't keep your temper." Then he turned back towards Zelda. "And as for you Your Majesty, you 'ought to be grateful that I was gone for such an extended amount of time. My team and I made many discoveries, that could change our modern world as we know it. However, it is not yet safe to disclose this information yet, do to the artifacts we've found being unstable. We will need to do more research on what we've found, and you'll find that I've requested another more expensive expedition to occur within the next two or three months. It is to my belief that we might deepen our understanding of what we've found if we return to the ruins we were in when we found those artifacts."

Zelda sighed. "Fine, we'll discuss this later. You may be dismissed." Link smiled, but there was no warmth nor positive emotion behind it. In fact, it was obvious that his smile was fake. He didn't even try to hide it.

"Of course, my Queen." He said, before turning on his heel and strutting out of the room, to the labs, and his office.

"She's grown weaker, and angrier, and crueler even, in your absence, Link. I doubt that we can trust her with your discoveries."

"Our discoveries. But I fear that you may be correct, my friend." Link replied to the comforting voice in his mind as he sat down behind his desk. The Amulet pulsed comfortingly at his throat, and a soft, crimson, relatively Hylian-shaped glow appeared at his side and began to make him some tea. He had been getting horrible migraines lately, and whatever his friend had been putting in his tea seemed to be the only thing that was helping. He sighed, and gently rubbed at his forehead, eyes closed as the stabbing pain behind his eyes slowly but surely began to increase.

His friend gently set the cup of tea on a coaster in front of him, and he thanked him before taking a sip, letting out a soft sigh as he began to unwind, all of the tension leaving his body. That felt so much better. It was a shame that it couldn't all feel nice, his entire right shoulder had been hurting more and more for months now, and nothing seemed to help. Not relaxing in Goron Hot Springs(or any hot spring really), not massages or yoga, and definitely not any of the exercises Purah had been trying to make him do. He knew that some people, especially soldiers(or those who were once a soldier) had chronic pain, but it was always getting worse and worse, especially if he tried to do something about it. Despite the reassurance Purah would give him, he deeply doubted that anyone else in the entire world knew how he was feeling-physically, emotionally, or mentally. It sometimes reminded him of how he would wake up screaming in pain with horrible cramps in his legs every now and then when he was a teenager, but a million times worse.

As if sensing how uncomfortable and in pain Link was, they gently took away Link's tea, sliding it away from him and pulling off his tunic, before gently beginging to massage his shoulders and back. Link let out a soft moan as he melted into the shadow's touch, who was becoming more and more solid by the second, and who's appearance was slowly beginging to change into what seemed to be a version of him from before the Upheaval, but made of darkness, and with red eyes. Gently, the shadow shushed him, and Link barely even noticed how much more human his friend was beginging to sound, instead taking comfort in it as he closed his eyes, and began to relax.

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Hours later, Link woke up shaking and sobbing. Another nightmare. But the amulet at his throat was cold, and the metal felt like it was choking him out. He needed his best friend. He needed Zelda.

Link rushed towards Zelda's quarters, and knocked on the door. He heard shuffling on the other side of the door, and the moment his closest friend opened the door, he collapsed into her arms, sobbing. With a sigh, Zelda led him to her bed and sat him down, allowing Link to hold her close.

"I'm sorry," he choked out between his sobs. "I don't know why I've been acting so cruel to you lately. I'm trying to do better. Please, all I want is for us to be friends again. I don't want to lose you."

"Oh Link," Zelda whispered, gently petting his hair. "You had another nightmare, didn't you?" Link nodded, sobbing harder. "Hey, it's alright, I forgive you. It's ok." Link tried to protest, it she shushed him gently. "Remember when we were little kids, and we promised to be best friends? Forever?" Link nodded, and she smiled. "Well, this is what best friends do. They fight sometimes. But it will all be ok. You know why?" Link shook his head, and blew his nose with a tissue Zelda handed him. "Because I'm stubborn as heck, and if you think I'm just going to let you tear your life apart, you got another thing coming."

Link laughed and reached for another tissue, drying his tears. "Your just like your mother, you know that?" He asked. Zelda smiled.

"Yeah, I know. I think she'd be proud of the both of us."

"Yeah, I think she'd be proud too."

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Link rolled his eyes as his employees whined and complaining about all the hard work they were doing. He really couldn't believe that they were all so fucking weak. But then again, they were known for their so called intelligence, not their strength.

"Hey Boss, um, why exactly do we have to do all this? You're the one who wanted to get back out here." One of the interns asked.

"Because I have more important things to do right now, and if you don't do as I ask then you're fired." He shot back. The other researchers shut up and went back to setting up their base camp and trying not to get bitten by snakes.

Meanwhile, he eyed the ruins, considering whether or not he wanted to go back in. The pendent at his throat pulsed warmly, and a wave of calm washed over him, helping his anxiety die down. It felt, nice. Every time that feeling washed over him, it felt better, and he felt more in control of everything once more. It felt as if he was for once the one choosing, altering, affecting his own destiny. 'Should I?', he thought, mentally questioning whether it was the right choice to return so soon.

'You should, Link. You have questions, and those ruins have answers. I know you, you hate being in the dark.' It laughed. 'Metaphorically, of course.' Link rolled his eyes at the bad lun before turning to the other researchers.

"I'm going on in to get started on my research. You all know the drill." He pointed at Josha, who was his favorite person here. "Josha is in charge." And then he left for the ruins.

Strange, unfamiliar feelings stirred within him as he strolled through the ruins, studying his surroundings with careful consideration. It felt almost as if power was completely flowing through him, and he relished the feeling. He went deeper into the ruins this time, observing relics from forgotten times long before, and architecture made to counter the power of the gods. He felt his soul burning, and his heart pounded, faster and faster, as he moved deeper into the ruins.

What he failed to notice is that as he moved in deeper, the castle fell more out if its previous state of disrepair, and the Master Sword was burning into his flesh. Eventually, it fell out of his charred hand and into the darkness below, disappearing in a flash of light back to its home in the Korok Forest, and his wounds finally began to heal. Creatures, monsters, and demons of all sorts were by his sides as he approached the throne, and a crown of obsidian was bestowed upon him.

He sat upon the throne, and his people bowed down before their new king. "Your Majesty," a violet winged woman with long black hair said as she kneeled before him, head bowed down, "we have long awaited your return. What would be your first order? We shall do whatever you expect of us."

They pondered for a moment what they should do, before answering the woman. "Let's reclaim the power we once had. Our world is on the brink of war, and when we reach it, I'm expecting that welcome out on top."