Couple of the Wild (ZeLink)

Chapter 52: Link's Breakdown

The winds of the blizzard blew stronger, blowing heaps of snow through the mountains of Hebra. The snow and ice covered the mountain's sides along with the grasslands between them. Though blades of grass and mountain rocks vanished underneath the snow, one gigantic beast sat silently in the snow as it still remained visible, though it wouldn't be long before it too was covered by the snowy blanket.

The sides of the Divine Beast had already begun to disappear, with its feet already completely gone and buried underneath the snow. The flat surface of its back remained somewhat visible, but this was only due to the scorch marks and footsteps of a battle that had waged only minutes prior. Sitting on the somewhat snowy flooring of Medoh's back was a dismembered body, oozing purple slime with mechanical guardian parts falling from its face and arms. Its light in its singular eye flickered between blue and orange before completely going dim, allowing the snow to take its body into its custody.

Standing only a few feet away from the now destroyed blight was a hylian dressed in a feathery tunic, with snow that had started to build in his sandy-colored hair while his ponytail blew in the breeze. He loosely clung to a heavy wooden bow, hanging from his fingertips at his side. Though his body was freezing and his fingertips had started to turn red from the cold, he remained standing staring down at the burned and bloodied feathery body at his boots. Though the body had now been half covered in the snow, and increasingly disappearing under more as time went on, the warrior could not take his bloodshot blue eyes from the sight of his fellow champion lying lifelessly in the snow.

"All that talk," Link said as he stared down at the Rito Champion's body. "All that talk... and yet..."

He balled his free hand, his fingers burning from the cold and the pressure of his strength. Snow had begun to stick to the side of his face as the winds became increasingly dangerous but his eyes refused to move. The snowy mountains from around them had begun to fade as the illusionary realm began to collapse upon itself. However, as the land faded and the body of Vah Medoh began to disappear as well, Link's gaze remained solid. It wasn't until his own body and Revali's had begun to disintegrate that he uttered his final words to him:

"How could you die before I got the chance to answer your challenge?"

*      *      *      *      *

Zelda rolled her shoulders, doing her best to loosen them up after they had grown stiff from sitting on the wing of the Divine Beast. She hadn't taken her eyes off Link, still standing down below near the beast's feet. While she did her best to remain focused on her task at hand, keeping an eye out for the Yiga that was sure to appear, she couldn't help but worry for the one she was currently protecting.

The image of Link attacking her a few nights before flashed in her mind, however, it wasn't the attacks she was much thinking about. It was the pain in his features, the sorrow in his eyes that she thought about. She thought back to what he had said, regarding watching someone he cared about die. It was only logical to assume he had watched Urbosa die before his eyes, and that meant that at this very moment it was possible that he was watching Revali's death.

Zelda's face fell slightly at the thought, however, she quickly shook the pain from her head and heart. Now wasn't the time to think about how Link was feeling; now was the time to ensure his safety. However, this only led her to another issue: how was she supposed to stop the Yiga?

She glanced down at the bow in her hands, focusing on the arrow tip that sat knocked in the bowstring, another image of Link flashed in her mind, this time focusing on his preparedness to kill. She furrowed her eyes in hesitation at the thought of the lengths he was prepared to go, wondering if she as well would have to push herself to those extremes. After a moment's thought, her face had relaxed, though the concern hadn't left her mind. Even though Link had claimed he was going to fight to kill, Zelda did notice that none of his attacks had actually landed on her. If he had really wanted to, she wouldn't be here right now. However, even with this in her mind that didn't mean he wasn't still unprepared to do the deed, it was very well possible that it was only because of Paya's instincts that she was saved. But the question remained if Zelda herself was able to push herself to the extremes Link claimed he was going to. Of course, she would do anything for him, but is this what he would have truly wanted?