???'s POV
Hyrule Field (???)
"Sheik."
That's the name he called me.
The great Demon King, Ganondorf...
He has chosen me.
It is time to let go of my past. I do not need it. It will only weigh me down, hurting my mind. I cannot show any signs of weakness. Gone is my old self.
I am Sheik, servant of the Demon King.
~~~
Purah's POV
Lookout Landing (After seeing the Travel Medallion)
I had just been showing Link and Zelda my new Rune when suddenly we heard a scream outside. I opened the door to ask what happened, and I saw-
Oh...
Oh no.
Link's Travel Medallion was being slowly destroyed by small strands of Malice. They flew in from the north, carefully entering the Medallion and eating away at the Runidor. The glowing blue travel point that the ancient device made was flickering, almost gone.
Link just stood there, unable to do anything. No one can risk making contact with Malice. Not even Link. No, especially not Link! We can't afford to lose him of all people...
Zelda tried to run up to it, but I stopped her. "Princess! It's too dangerous. This new type of Malice is far worse than the kind you know. I recognize this. It's the same stuff that's been taking the shrines. Please, we have to just wait for it to leave," I pleaded. Thankfully, she listened to reason and stayed away until the Malice cleared away.
"Th...the Travel Medallion..."
Link held Zelda's hand in an attempt to reassure her. "It's okay, Zelda, we-we can just, um...we can go to Outskirt stable and get the horses, and then..." Link trailed off. Zelda tried her best to smile and pretend that nothing was bothering her. "And we can ride back to Hateno Village," she finished.
"Princess...will you be alright?" I asked. She nodded. "Thank you for your concern, but I am sure we can take a few days to ride home.
"Okay," I said, still unsure if I should let them leave while everyone was so on edge. "Well then, I wish you luck on your short journey!" I smiled and posed, and they left Lookout Landing.
As soon as they left, I went back into my research room. I set down the Purah Pad and lay down on the hard floor, sighing.
I don't know why I'm so unsure about this, but I just...
I feel like...
Something's going to happen soon...
~~~
Link's POV
Outskirt stable (After walking there)
After a quick walk to the nearest stable, we decided to test some things.
On the walk to Outskirt stable, Zelda discussed the new Malice. She suggested naming it "Gloom," which was something I could go along with. But then she also suggested testing how bad the Gloom-infected shrines were.
Our current hypothesis is that if we wear thick enough shoes or boots, we could stand on the corrupted Runedor travel point without being infected ourselves. Since I hadn't been infected by the shrine floor when I first stood on it yesterday, we assumed that we would have at least a few seconds before we would actually be infected. We picked up a small wooden board at the stable and carried it up the hill to Rota Ooh shrine (which was corrupted) to test.
Zelda volunteered to go first, but I said that I would. We set the board down on the travel point, careful not to touch the shrine. My heart was racing, but I still stepped onto the board, and-!
-?
Nothing...happened?
The board was safe! I still quickly stepped off, but I told Zelda that it was safe. We would have tested more, but we didn't have the resources to.
Satisfied with our current discovery, we spent the rest of the afternoon making plans for the next few days. When evening came, we paid for a stable bed and drifted off to sleep...
~~~
Purah's POV
Emergency Shelter (4 days after the last scene)
If everything went well, Link and Zelda should be back home by now. I still can't help but worry, since that feeling isn't quite gone...if anything, it's gotten worse. I feel like it's all going to be wrecked, burnt to the ground, gone soon. I don't know why.
I wanted to take my mind off the premonitory feeling, so I started fidgeting with the Purah Pad. I accidentally dropped it, though, and it skittered across the floor of the Emergency Shelter. I walked over to where it was and picked it up, brushing the dust off. But as I walked past a bed, I accidentally bumped it, waking up the...sick? Injured? The resting Hylian.
He coughed for a second before sitting up in the bed and trying to say something, but his voice was too weak. "Oh, sorry I woke you," I said. He coughed again before replying. "It's...f-fine..." He closed his eyes again, but he didn't seem like he would go back to sleep after that.
Hmm...what illness could he have? It seemed like he had an injury a few days ago when he first came into the shelter, but now it seemed like he was sick. "Excuse me, I don't want to seem rude, but what happened to you? Maybe I can help," I said, hoping he would reply.
He just shook his head. "Don't know...wh...what happened..."
That's odd. Well, not really, I suppose. Most Hylians don't know many illnesses.
"May I use my scanning Rune? Maybe I can see what it is. Only if you want to, of course," I offered. He quickly replied. "Don't care...n...othing's worse than..." He coughed again. "...this..."
I pulled out the Purah Pad and selected the still-unnamed Rune. I held up my device and scanned the sick traveler, waiting for it to load the results.
Identified as: Hylian male (solid)
Living/non-living: Living
Request specific information?
I smiled. It worked! I typed in a response to the prompt.
Results for 'illness':
Illness: Gloom Sickness (click to expand)
Illness Severity (scale of 1-10): 7
Reload page?
I clicked on Gloom Sickness.
GLOOM SICKNESS
Gloom Sickness is a little-known illness first discovered over 10,000 years ago during the Imprisoning war. It can be extremely deadly if not taken care of. Patients with Gloom Sickness generally live about 3 weeks to 1 month before death...Read more
I looked at the page in shock. 'Gloom Sickness...' It really was serious. I read more about it, bu there wasn't much. It seemed they couldn't find a cure fast enough, and their patients couldn't be saved.
"O-oh!" I said, remembering the man. But he was asleep again. I didn't know how to tell him anything...what if I didn't say anything? No, that would make me a horrible person, but I can't bear to tell him...
I almost cried. There was a person here, someone I hardly knew, and yet I felt like his life was now in my hands. But...if they couldn't find a cure, then...
...
N-no, I...I'll...I'll go t-to bed. I can't think about this. Not right now.
~~~
Link's POV
The Hateno house (The next day)
Finally! We figured it out!
We could fast travel again!
With Zelda's new invention, we could safely stand on corrupted shrine travel points. I was nervous to try it out, but I knew that it would work. I'm not sure if I was excited or terrified or both, but I was eager to warp.
First, Zelda gave me a pair of boots. They were originally my snow boots, but we had to change them to make them Gloom proof. Their now-even-thicker soles wouldn't let Gloom into the boots. Well, we hoped they wouldn't.
Wanting to just do this already, I pulled on the tall boots.
"Ready?" Zelda also seemed nervous sending me off.
"Ready," I confirmed.
~~~
Ganondorf's POV
??? (Right after the last scene)
I watched the Hylians live. I watched them thrive. I watched them be destroyed and rebuilt time and time again, undefeatable. Each time they were ripped out, they grew back.
Like weeds.
I've been here so long.
I know Rauru can't hold me much longer.
That knight...
That one, the one that just teleported to Hyrule field wearing that ridiculous pair of boots meant to deter the Gloom...
I will escape this room and kill him.