Link got up from the small space between two trees where he had slept every night for the past five or six months.
It seemed funny that it had been nearly half a year since he left everyone else to die at Ganondorf's hand, and he couldn't believe it had been almost a year since he left the house in the Ordon Woods with Aryll and Epona.
Link had turned sixteen years old only a few days before he left home and began that foolish adventure, and now his seventeenth birthday was today, meaning Link would legally be an adult then.
Link walked through the forests, searching for some Woodland Boar to eat for Breakfast, since there were lots of boar in the woods between Faron Jungle and the Lost Woods.
But on this day, Link could barely see any of the beautiful wildlife in the darkness that shrouded over the forests.
From what Link had been noticing, there had been less and less animals each day in the past few months, and there were never any travelers in the woods.
It felt like Link was all alone in the woods, the woods that got darker each day and more gray as the trees were all dying.
Link knew deep down why the darkness was all around him, but he wanted to run away from the truth, the truth that it was all his fault and there was nothing he could do about it.
Link decided to move his supplies, so he walked into the Lost Woods, the ancient and sacred forest that was home to the Kokiri and the Koroks.
Link walked through the foggy Lost Woods, and the trees were mostly dead there too, and small forest fires could be seen in the distance.
Link almost bumped into a very tall Korok that was looking at the floor with a sad expression on his face, and two maracas were on the floor.
"Need help grabbing those, Hestu?" Link asked
"What's the point" Hestu sighed, and walked off with some other saddened Koroks.
Link walked over to the Kokiri Village, but it seemed abandoned, as if Saria, Mido, and the Kokiri were all gone....
Link walked past the Great Deku Tree, but it was silent, as if cursed by dark magic....
"You don't have to sit around and hide from the dark" a familiar voice spoke to Link "You can destroy the dark if you try"
"You again?" Link turned to face the Old Man, the one who had told him about getting the Dragon Scales, given him the Paraglider, and had informed him when Agahnim had captured Zelda.
"Yes, it is I, the simple Old Man that just wants to help" the Old Man chuckled "I am only here to help you"
"Shut up" Link replied "I'm going to head deeper into the forest, and hide there"
"You are already in the deepest part of the forest" the Old Man sighed "If you keep walking north, you will simply be leaving the forest"
"Well, then I guess I'll stay here" Link said, setting his pouch down on the ground "And if some Boar do come around, I'll just grab that weird glow sword over there"
Link pointed to a majestic sword in an ancient pedestal that had a blue handle with a yellow crystal in it.
The sword had light energy in it, and Link was not aware that this was the Blade of Evil's Bane, the Swords that Seals the Darkness.
It's light was very strong, and it was seemingly the last source of light in Hyrule, as the forest was shrouded in darkness and the lands outside of the forest were treacherous and covered in red skies and malice-covered dirt.
"Pull the sword of the stone" the Old Man instructed
"Why?" Link asked "It's just another dumb sword that will remind me of the past!"
"The Past is the past, it cannot be changed" the Old Man said "But you can learn from the past to make yourself a bright future. If you have courage, your future could be brighter than the light coming from the Master Sword"
"Master Sword?" Link asked "Is that the name of that piece of junk?"
"Yes" the Old Man said "And do not call it a piece of junk, for it was forged from Master Ore by the Goddess Hylia herself when she battled against Demise. Most of Hyrule's heroes have fought with it at some point, including the Hylian Champion whose spirit has trained you well"
"Really?" Link asked, gazing at the ancient sword "Wow"
"I know" the Old Man chuckled "But while many heroes have defeated evil beings with the Master Sword, none of awakened the sword's true power. An Ancient Prophecy says that when all hope for Hyrule seems lost, the Legendary Hero will rise and use the Master Sword's true power to destroy the final incarnation of evil, and bring peace"
"Some stupid prophecy" Link said "All hope IS Lost for Hyrule from what it looks like"
"Pull up the sword, or I will make you pull it up myself" the Old Man said, taking off his hood to reveal the face of an Old hylian man with a long white beard that looked familiar to Link
The Old Man gave Link a glare and pointed his walking stick at Link
"Fine!"
Link grabbed the handle of the Master Sword, and easily pulled it out of the stone
"Only proper heroes can pull the sword" the Old Man clapped his hands "Good Job, Link"
"Yeah, yeah" Link swung the Master Sword around "I guess I can be the hero.... So now what?"
"Now, we find you a shield"
"A Shield?" Link asked "What, is there some ancient Master Sheild for heroes?"
"Unfortunately there isn't" the Old Man replied "But, the Hero who battled Ganon right before the Millennium of Peace was the Hero that was actually a blacksmith before becoming a Hero, and he forged the legendary Hylian Shield. I have it right here"
The Old Man got out the Hylian Shield, a blue shield with the symbol of Hyrule on it, and handed it to Link
"Hey" Link said "This goes perfectly with the Master Sword! Now, how did you have the Shield, and how do you know all this stuff?"
"I have my ways" the Old Man said "Now, swing the Master Sword, and declare yourself the Hero of Hyrule"
"Alright" Link replied "I AM THE HERO OF HYRULE!"
He swung the sword courageously as he declared this, and suddenly the Master Sword glowed brighter than ever before.
The light shining from the Master Sword then consumed the entire forest, and there was no longer Darkness shrouding the forest.
The Great Deku Tree was no longer silent
"Thank you, Hero" the Great Deku Tree rumbled "You are one small step closer to saving the world from Ganon's Iron Fist. But the second that light shined was exactly seventeen years after you were born, meaning you are now officially an adult"
"Cool!" Link said
"That is bad" the Great Deku Tree continued "The Prophecy states that the light will shine when the one destined to become the Legendary Hero turns seventeen, and now that light is visible to everyone, including Ganondorf. He now knows you live, and you are in grave danger"
Meanwhile, in Hyrule Castle, in the Throne Room
"This was a strange phenomenon" Ganondorf spoke to the Prophet of Doom Astor "You say this creature, Harbinger Ganon, is a malice-corrupted version of the princess's friend Terrako, and it came from the future?"
"Yes" Astor laughed evilly "The Harbinger Ganon came from the future through a time portal it's kind can create, and is my helper now"
Harbinger Ganon appeared behind Astor's black cape, it's glowing red Guardian eye staring at Ganondorf with a sense of recognition.
"Emperor Ganondorf!" Ghirahim ran up to the Tyrannical Ruler of Hyrule "A Great Burst of Light just came out of nowhere and freed the Faron and Woodland Provinces from the control of the Blood Moon!"
"Then the prophecy was true" Ganondorf replied "The Hero of Hyrule lives.... I want a force of Guardian Stalkers at the edge of the forest, now! We WILL end the Hero!"