A faint ringing noise echoed through your head as the voice continued.
"You have been asleep for the past 100 years."
As you and Link went to get a better look at the castle, you stumbled and fell as the ground gave a violent shake. Link managed to stay steady, and held out his hand to help you up. You took it gladly and you were pulled to your feet.
100 years?! You thought, shocked. There's no way. The voice has to be lying.
"The beast... When the beast regains it's true power, this world will reach it's end."
The castle started to be overcome by a menacing fog, the dark black and purple blending together to send shivers down your spine. Rising from it, a beast spiraled into the air, billowing the horrid fog all over the castle. It's yellow eyes gleamed with malice as it hovered over the castle and gave a thundering roar.
The yellow light from inside the castle flared brighter for a moment, and the beast desintegrated into thin air.
"You must hurry, heroes. Before it's too late."
And with that, the light faded from view, leaving your mind boggled. You turned to Link to see that he was just as confused as you were, his eyes troubled.
"What was that thing?" You ask, not really expecting an answer. "And... have we really been asleep for 100 years? We would be dead right? Who's that girl who's voice I keep hearing? Do-"
"I don't know." Link interrupts your flurry of questions. "I really don't know."
Silence falls between the two of you, as you both are lost for words. Finally, you spoke up.
"So... we're heroes? Are we supposed to... kill that beast thing? What kind of life did we live before? Were we able to do things like this before?" Your mind was flooded with questions, all hopelessly unanswered.
You and Link wordlessly climb down the tower, too shocked to make any form of conversation. When you reach the bottom, a shout comes from above. The old man sails down to the ground with a paraglider, greeting you two warmly. He glances up at the tower and then at the others that rose up in the distance curiously.
"My my, what a strange thing we have here. It seems that towers have erupted all over the land of Hyrule. It's almost as if some kind of power has just reawakened." He had a knowing look in his eyes, however to your frustration he didn't elaborate. He turns to you and Link.
"If you don't mind me asking, did anything strange happen up on that tower?" He questions.
You didn't know what strange thing he might be thinking of, so you just pick one.
"I heard a voice." You say. Link nods before adding, "I heard it as well. It was a female voice."
"Did you recognize this voice?" The old man asks, averting his eyes. You couldn't really tell, but you thought you saw pain deep in his gaze. When you and Link shake your head no, his face is expressionless again and he glanced back to you.
"I see. How unfortunate." He murmurs, before turning his gaze to the castle, pointing his lantern at it.
"I assume you saw that atrocity surrounding the castle." He said. "That is Calamity Ganon. It brought this beautiful kingdom of Hyrule to ruin 100 years ago."
You don't know why, but hearing the name 'Calamity Ganon' sent fear couring down your spine. You could tell Link was uneasy as well, however neither of you voiced your concern as the old man continued.
"It appeared so suddenly, Hyrule was not prepared for it's attack. So many innocent lives were lost. Hyrule Castle has managed to contain that evil, however time is running out. I must ask you, courageous one, do you intend to make your way to the castle?"
You and Link shared a glance.
"Can we talk for a minute?" Link asked, and the old man nodded in approval. Link turns to you, uncertainty in his gaze.
"What are we going to tell him, (y/n)?" He asks. "We've been asleep for 100 years, we're hearing a voice of someone we can't even recognize, we barely know how to fight, and we're asked if we plan on going to the castle? I don't think that's such a good idea."
You're silent for a moment, thinking over your response carefully, before finally replying.
"I agree. This idea sounds horrible. But Link, what happens if we don't do this? That girl called us heroes, who knows what we did in our past lives! And... what if this helps us find who we once were?"
Link still looked uncertain, but nods.
"You're right." He says. "It's probably the worst, most dangerous idea ever, but you are right." You crack a small smile as he says this.
You turn back to the old man.
"Yes, we do intend to go to the castle."
He chuckles for a moment before replying.
" I had a feeling you would say that." He says. "However, here on this plateau, we are surrounded by steep cliffs with no way down. If you were to try and climb or jump, well, no death could be more certain, or more foolish."
"Of course... if you had a paraglider like mine, that would be a different story."
He definitely wants something. You think. He would just give us the paraglider if he didn't.
"Hand it over!" Link exclaims. You give him a smack on the shoulder.
"Rude!" You say to him, frowning. "He never-"
"Oho! Certainly! But you'll have to do something for me first before you can earn it."
I knew it. He does want something. What could it be? You wonder.
The old man leads you to the top of a small hill, overlooking a stange building that was glowing bright orange. He motions to it.
"How about I trade you this paraglider for a treasure that slumbers nearby? That building and others like it started glowing when the towers rose. I would imagine something of value would be in there, right? Treasure for a paraglider. A fair exchange, I believe."
You shrug, convinced.
"It sounds easy enough." You say to Link. He nods in agreement before you two set off towards the structure. You passed by a small river, with the ground eroding away at the edges. You and Link cautiously walk up to the building, and you're startled as both of your Sheikah Slates make a dinging noise.
You pull out your slate to see a new, orange marker has appeared on your map. A name is listed, and you read it off to Link.
"Oman Au Shrine." You read. "This is a shrine? Odd. I wonder what treasure could be in here."
Link snickers suddenly, drawing your attention.
"What's so funny?" You ask.
"It sounds like you said 'oh man a shrine.'" He laughs. "Are you sure you pronounced that right?"
You shrug, giggling at your own mistake.
"I don't know, lets just get inside this thing." You said, before examining the entrance. A metal wall was blocking off the shrine, and many symbols were engraved into it.
"What does this even mean? How do we get inside?" You ask.
Link points to a pedestal off to your right.
"This is just like the pedestal on the tower. Maybe we should put our Sheikah Slates on it?"
You nod in agreement and hold your slate over the pedestal. Link does the same, and suddenly a bright blue light flashes from the structure. You whip your head around to look as the ground behind starts glowing blue as well.
"Travel Gate Registered."
You check your Sheikah Slate quickly to see that the orange marker on your map was now blue.
"Access granted."
The metal wall blocking you from entering opened as the shrine's walls shifted from orange to blue. You look to Link in wonder, but don't speak, slowly walking into the building. Link follows, and you two stand inside.
"...What do we do in here? This is a really small roo-"
Link's sentence is cut off as the ground beneath you two flashes bright blue. You look down, startled, as the ground shifts and you're lowered underground and into the shrine.
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A/N:
I'm really sorry about irregular updates! I meant to update last weekend but I ended up being really busy.
I usually post some kind of message when I fail to update like that, so if you need those, follow me to get them!
*cough* shameless self promo *cough*