The Wolf and The Bird

[Illidan Stormrage]

"So you have wolf powers?" Link asked.

<After first visiting you here, I knew where you were, and thus it was easier to find my way to you,> the Hero's Shade said. <I still lack the power to manifest without the Ocarina, but I could infiltrate your senses so that you could see me in my weakened spirit state, and then the Song of Time was enough to open the door.>

Link looked at the blue instrument in his hand. "You can infiltrate my senses?"

<In a matter of speaking. Since we are the same person, we share an identical spirit. It was much like imagining myself to you.>

"That's confusing." Link slipped the Ocarina of Time away.

<Indeed. Even when we travelled the seven years forward in Hyrule, there never existed more than one Link in either time. For us to be conversing is a ... perversion of the natural order. Yet as we are simply different stages of the same person, there is an inexplicable oneness to our existence.>

True, but dwelling on his future self's presence here didn't lead him any further to stopping Ganondorf. Seeing the Gerudo King shed his skin and become the looming boar demon again was terrifying, even if there was no rain or lightning. Yet the boundaries of Omni's world prevented him from maintaining it, which was a blessing in and of itself. He had to find a way to end Ganondorf once and for all, but with the incarnation rule in this realm, that would prove difficult.

<I agree,> the skeleton said. <To slay Ganondorf here will be a trial.>

"You're reading my thoughts?" Link asked.

The skeleton shook his head, its single red eye unmoving. <No. I do not read them like you would read script. But I can hear them.>

Link crossed his arms. "So what do you think? Do you know of any way to defeat him? You can cross dimensions. Maybe you learned of something?"

<No. I have nothing that will definitively kill Ganondorf. The Master Sword is the best offense against him, considering it was forged by the goddesses to slay the great evil of the surface world thousands of years ago. Yet slaying him will not end your conflict.>

"I'm concerned I don't have the strength to do it anyway," Link said. "I thrust the sword straight through his gut and he still had enough strength to disarm me and slink away. This was when he was weakened. If I can't defeat him when he's at his worst, what hope do I have of stopping him?"

The Hero's Shade tilted his head, then realigned it. <The Master Sword did not vanquish him, even after you penetrated him?>

"That's right. What more could I do?"

<It is true. You lack the power that you once held in Hyrule, yet Ganondorf, while still less than his full power, is significantly stronger.> The skeleton lifted an outstretched arm. <Give me the blade.>

Link unsheathed the Master Sword and handed it to himself. The Hero's Shade examined the length of the steel, twisting it about in his bony hands. Link heard the edge scrape against his bone, but it did no visible damage to him. Did ghosts feel pain?

The skeleton gave the sword back. <It is as I feared. The Master Sword has lost its charge.>

Link frowned as resheathed the weapon. "Charge? What does that mean?"

<You said you read about the Hero of Legend?>

Link nodded.

<Do you remember that the first Link took the Goddess Sword, originally crafted by Hylia, and forged it in each of the three goddess' hearths?>

"Yes."

<When this was achieved, the Goddess Sword became the Master Sword. While powerful, its energy is not infinite. In one of the future timelines, the Master Sword loses its potency, and the Hero of Winds was responsible for revitalising it by visiting the chambers of the Sages. Once this was accomplished, the sword returned to its original state.>

Link connected the dots. "So I need to find temples of the Sages and recharge the Master Sword?"

<It is your best bet.>

"But how? There are no temples here. I haven't seen any other people from my world, save Ganondorf."

<Not exactly,> the Hero's Shade said. <In another realm here, there is a community of Zora.>

"The Zora?" Link remembered them well. A good, peaceful race, if a little pretentious. Princess Ruto was technically his fiancee, but matters of the world tore them apart. Link wasn't terribly concerned though. Bartering an engagement to get the last spiritual stone made no difference to a ten year old, but started looking like a bad idea when he approached adulthood.

<Yes. I would start my search there.>

"Where are they? You said another realm?"

<Much like Camelot, there are other realms that connect to the Nexus. They have made their new home in a realm of a vast ocean with many islands.>

"Great. Can you point me in the right direction?"

<I shall lead you to them. But first, I have something to give you.>

"A gift?"

The Hero's Shade opened his hands, palms upwards. A mote of light floated into his hands and flared. It grew larger and brighter, forcing Link to squint. In a few moments, the light quivered and reshaped into a round object, then solidified. When the luminescence faded, his future self held a mask of a Zora.

"I had a Zora mask once," Link said, thinking back to his time at the Happy Mask shop. "It didn't fool anyone when I wore it though. I think this will be a poor disguise for me."

<This is not the novelty mask you earned when you found homes for all of the masks,> the Hero's Shade said. <This is an item from my past. The ... future you would've had if you returned to Hyrule.>

Link's heart thudded. A piece of his lost future? Did he want this?

"Are you ... sure I should take this?" Link said. "I don't want to know more about my destiny than I already do."

<You will not,> his future self said. <Trust me. Take this mask, and put it on the next time you face grave danger. It will strengthen you.>

Link took the mask and rolled it around. It looked like an ordinary Zora mask, although the painting of the scales and the subtle black of the eyes was almost ... life like.

"I don't see how, but I trust ... er, myself." Link tucked the mask behind his shield on his back. "Now, which way to the Zoras?"

The Hero's Shade dissipated into mist. When it blew away in an invisible wind, the red eyed wolf returned. It turned and raced off in the direction of the Camelot portal.

Link gave chase, wondering if anyone would notice his absence. Judging by the reactions of the other mercenaries when he attacked Ganondorf, he doubted it. He earned no friends when he attacked the Gerudo King, but he did not become the Hero of Time to improve his social life. There was a monster bent on domination and enslavement and he would not let that happen, in his realm or this one.