*Temple of Time*

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"

Link stood back-to-back with his shadow. His heart was a shattered mess of a shell in his chest.

Hadn't Renado delivered his letter? He had warned her not to come near him. He did what he had to do to protect her. But to protect her through cruelty was something Link couldn't stomach.

The sight of her sobbing on the floor, wriggling in agony, calling for him.

Wanting him. Wanting to know if he...

if he loved her.

The question he wasn't allowed to answer impaled him like a javelin. Never had he fought so hard against himself.

So hard against himself he fought, even his own shadow bore tears.

Now Link stood, his head facing down, hiding the unparalleled pain he felt in his eyes.

His shadow stood behind him, expletives floating from his lips.

"WHAT IS THIS SHIT IN MY EYES?!"

Zelda crept forward; she took Link's hands within her own. His Triforce rejuvenated with a surge of life he hadn't witnessed within it before.

Though her words were sincere, they were spoken with guilt. "Congratulations Link. You have once again shown the goddesses why you are the rightful wielder of the Triforce of Courage." Link slowly raised his head, meeting her dull gaze. She whipped her eyes away, closing them in sorrow.

"For there is no greater courage than releasing someone you love for their own benefit." Her hands tightened slightly upon the word "release."

"IS ANYBODY GOING TO TELL ME OR DO I HAVE TO CUT THE ANSWER OUT OF YOU BOTH!"

"Tears." Zelda answered, ignoring Dark Link and his empty threats. Zelda was unwavering, even in the presence of Ganondorf. Dark was no more of a threat to her than a deku baba.

Zelda turned back to Link once more. "You mourned your action toward Y/N so deeply, you felt it within the coldest parts of yourself. Within your shadow. Does it all make sense now? Zant's anger toward the interlopers mixed with his greed for the throne was the perfect concoction for madness. But greed and anger-those are feelings, Link. Emotions that we hide, that we keep within our dark, can control how close we come towards the path of righteousness or the path of evil."

"Ilia..." Link shook his head. "That shadow prayed on her. On the deep love she held for me. On the inevitable rejection she knew was at hand." Zelda nodded solemnly in agreement. She persisted in his thought process, "and Y/N. Living amongst the Twili, numb to any real feelings, kept her shadow at bay. She is always in charge of it. She always was. The test was to see how she would fare in this realm. To see if she could control her own demon within, the same way you are controlling yours now. As long as those negative emotions exist in each realm, there will always be shadows that must be contained."

Zelda gave Link an unsettling half grin. "In fact, you may be surprised at the shadows that exist."

What is that supposed to mean?

Before Link could ask, he suddenly remembered what Ilia's shadow had mentioned. "Wait, she said something about Y/N being a half breed. Why doesn't Y/N know who she is? Is this something native to Twili or unique to her own individual existence? If she is a half breed, that means that Hylians and Twili can..."

That Y/N can have the family she wants. That he could be the one to give it to her.

He could be the one.

Link prayed that Zelda couldn't see the blush that confiscated his face. If Zelda did see it, she simply nodded.

"There is a legend that some of the interlopers may have copulated with Hylians, making Y/N a direct ancestor from that legend."

"B-But then Zant must have..." Link felt nauseated over Zant procreating with any individual. No matter if they were Hylian or Twili. He still couldn't see any resemblance to Y/N.

Zelda's mouth parted slightly, only for a voice not belonging to her to erupt beyond it.

"My, my, my, what do we have here? My husband with his princess."

Ilia came forward, jumping from a stark corner of the room. Link was alarmed by how quickly her appearance had diminished for the worse. Her legs were tall and bent much in the way a spider would. She lunged herself forward in a scurry. Her knees had ruptured through her pants, and her shirt was stained with a fresh dye of blood.

Link wasn't sure whose blood it was. Link was also sure it was best not to inquire either.

Ilia's once blue eyes were now darkened and had been swallowed up by the patches of bruised flesh beneath them. Once again, she made the same sinister smile that pulled her eyes backward into her skull.

Link could feel the Triforce of Courage warm over the back of his hand, as though Hylia held his hand within her own. It didn't burn him to ashes. It wasn't unresponsive.

It was his partner once more, and he felt invincible. He gripped the Rod of Dominion and gave it a small wave, ushering Dark Link to his side.

"YOU ASSHOLE! I CAN'T STOP CRYING!"

"Listen here," Link snarled. "It's bad enough I have to deal with one annoying shadow; I don't need your bullshit too!" Link swung his Master Sword free from its sheath.

Ilia sprung forward towards them. Link could smell the same abhorrent scent of pus that sprung forth from her eyes. She cackled with a sadistic echo now reflected in her voice.

"HEH, I WILL, I WILL, DESTROY, DESTROY, YOU, YOU, AND YOUR, AND YOUR, WHORE, WHORE, TOO, TOO!"

Ilia was airborne, ready to topple them both. Link couldn't help but smile to himself. He raised the Master Sword up, his eyes locked with the shadow that now inhabited Ilia's body.

He swung the Rod of Dominion, and Dark Link raised his sword above his head in unison.

Dark growled brusquely in Link's direction. "Let's get one thing straight, Linky. I'm only doing this because I'm hungry for blood."

Link thought he might be going insane. The adrenaline pumping through his veins was intoxicating. All his pent-up frustration was dying to be released from within. Link's smile grew wider. "Let's get you some blood then, shall we?"

Link couldn't help but laugh.

Whether he was dead or alive, Link would not be taking any shadows with him after this.

Link gave the Rod of Dominion another swing, prompting Dark to spring forward with his blade.

The Showdown of Shadows had officially commenced.

Edited: 6/4/23

It seems things are about to get interesting. One lover returns to the shadows in scorn, while the other bursts forth from them, ready to take what is theirs. 

The conundrum between the light and dark continues as Link learns what it means to fight for himself, with himself, and against himself. 

Blood, beatings and tears are being served fresh in the next few chapters. 

Check out my other completed OOT Zelda work- No Woman Beyond