*Temple of Time*

"Erm, so that should bring you up to speed about the Rod of Dominion. It was left by our tribe, the Oocca. "

"You've been a very knowledgeable guide. Thank you." You wanted to make sure the oocca felt appreciated. You made sure to denote your responses with an air of encouragement to goad the Oocca into talking more. While it schooled you in all things Oocca, you continued to gawk at the grandeur of the Temple of Time. It wasn't until the Oocca mentioned their tie to the Rod of Dominion that you homed in on what it was saying. The Rod of Dominion was a technologically advanced piece of equipment created by their people. Its sole purpose?

To breathe life into statues.

You weren't quite sure how that was supposed to aid you on your quest, but there was no room to doubt the great sages. At least, you certainly weren't about to start now. The Rod of Dominion could also warp the oocca back home to its dwelling, the "City in the Sky." It all began to make sense as to why the sages mentioned the oocca as your guide. And rightfully so; there is no way you wouldn't get lost in here.

The pulsing of your heart dictated the direction of Link, much like the dial of a compass. You couldn't help but notice the acceleration in your beat as you made your way up each floor. The vicious silence of the temple certainly did little to appease your apprehension. You weren't sure what to expect when you saw Link.

What were you supposed to do with the Rod of Dominion?

And were you certain you truly wanted to go through with this? Because as you edged up closer to the eighth floor, where the Oocca said the Rod of Dominion lie, you felt your doubts surface.

The reflecting you've done in Link's absence has made you rethink the conversion itself. You wanted to come here, live in the light, and get married. Have kids, as was your stolen birthright. But now that you've met the person you truly believed was the love of your life, you aren't sure. He was promised to another. All the intrigue of the light had slowly turned unappetizing. Almost appalling. Who wanted to reside in a place without love? You could have stayed in the Twilight if that were the case.

If you couldn't exist within the light with Link by your side, you weren't sure you wanted to exist within it at all.

But you had to convert to vanquish the shadow within you. Right?

It was as you listened to the calming pace of your footsteps amongst the lacquered temple floors that a thought seized you.

Midna's assignment.

You know where the truth lies. You knew it all along. It was within your heart that beat furiously for Link.

Only Link.

So then, Link would decide your fate. If it were to be that he loved Ilia and all the words and gestures meant nothing, you would return to the Twilight.

You lived in the Twilight all your life without your shadow ever breaking loose. Perhaps it was not a threat to your Twili peers, as you previously surmised. You would keep your shadow within its proper habitat, where it could not wreak havoc.

And then, yes, and then...

You would never return to the Realm of Light.

Did Midna know all along that you'd come to this conclusion? Is that why she has been so accommodating with everything? If she was adamant that we did not belong in this realm, why had she gone along with your conversion without protest? How was the shadow within you any different than the one that was within her not so long ago?

The only thing this realm did was leave you with more questions than answers. Regardless, you knew what your plan was.

The ball was in Link's court.

***

"This room is going to be quite dark."

You simply nodded at the Oocca's warning. You wanted to remind it that you were a Twili, and that your habitation was in the dark, but you thought better of it. There was no need to create unnecessary tension when there would soon to be plenty.

The Oocca was right. The room ahead of you was eclipsed by inky darkness. Not even the faintest slither of light could be detected. No matter. There was no one who could make an alley of the darkness better than yourself. You could hear the faint murmuring of voices straight ahead.

You recognized the eloquent speech that could only belong to Princess Zelda. There was another voice. One that sounded vaguely familiar, yet you couldn't quite place. If Link was ahead, he was more silent than the formidable umbrage that engulfed the room. You softly commanded the Oocca to wait at the entrance where you stood.

"Oocca," you began, only to be met by a shrill correction.

"Ooccoo, my name is Ooccoo. Erm, I am a female." The oocca huffed in her familiar defensiveness.

"O-oh, forgive me; I didn't know there were genders." You couldn't seem to say anything right around this creature.  "Can you please wait here for me?"

"Hmph. Go on, then. Oocca is our race, but my name is Ooccoo. Just to make sure you are enlightened for future reference. " Again, you gave the Oocca a shrewd nod. You were starting to find that the less you said, the better.

A thought startled you. You were in your Twili form in the Realm of Light, but you had been conversing with the Oocca. How was that possible? Was Midna's magic waning? Or did stepping into the past of the Temple of Time somehow mess with her magic?

How foolish. What if I didn't have my voice? How would I have spoken with Link?

But there was something special about Link. You didn't need words to communicate. You simply wanted to place your hand on his heart and hope that its unruly pace matched the equivalent of your own.

Does his heart beat for me the way mine does for him? I must know. Once and for all. I must know.

The answer was ahead of you. Concealed within the twilight of the Temple of Time. The all-knowing temple where not even time hid its secrets. The shadows carried you forward like waves that would carry you ashore. You embraced the comfort of their warmth as you hovered among them.

Until you heard a familiarly unfamiliar voice growl, "There's another presence here."

You stood, pushing both of your arms outward and apart as though you had been swimming through the darkness. The shadows that camouflaged you began to part, revealing your presence to Princess Zelda and Link. Your Twili markings were a blinding beckon to the audience in front of you. You caught a glimpse of all three of your silhouettes muddled on the temple floor.

Then you looked ahead, and instead of Link's tumultuous cerulean eyes, you saw a set of chiseled, ruby ones staring straight at you. You cast your eyes downward to see the same three silhouettes marked on the floor. The voice, catching the confusion in your gaze, detained you.

"Well, well, well... I didn't know the Twili were so attractive. Better suited for me, don't you think, Link?" You took another glance at the source of the voice. It stood at the same height as Link. It possessed the same physique. Alarmingly, even the same voice. Though his arrogance dripped through every word he spoke. Then there were the indomitable red eyes that were glazed with conceit.

What the hell was it you were looking at?

You wouldn't get to find out. Zelda shrieked. "Y/N, get out of here now!"

Within seconds of Zelda's exasperated plea, Midna's tear began to throttle around your neck. Your markings blazed upon your flesh, catching you off guard. The incineration was akin to a hot iron branding your flesh, affixing what it was you would always be.

Still, you stood, intrepid. "I-I must speak to Link. I-I must know...AH!"

You fell to your knees, your palms flat against the frigid tiles of the temple's floor. The pain quickly became insufferable. What was going on?

"GO!" Zelda hissed at you savagely.

"I LOVE- AHHH" Tears slowly trickled from your eyes, splattering around your hands on the floor. They seemed to shimmer like zirconia against the dull darkness of the temple's floor. You couldn't leave.

Not without knowing.

The oocca stood beside you, squawking in your ear. "We are warping out of here!"

"NO!" Link! Do you-" You pounded the floor, feeling pain conquer your every thought. Numbing you to every sensation around you.

You forced your head upward to meet his eyes. They looked unrecognizable to you. Frigid. You could make out their callous, detached stare even in the obscure dusk cloud that seemed to ingest you. You began to sob. With every bit of strength, you summoned forth a harrowing scream. "Link, not because of duty, not because of obligation, do you love me?!"

What happened next was worse than when he kissed Ilia.

Worse than when he disappeared with her.

All this pain, all this courage, wasted.

All your time here.

Wasted.

All of those silly pandering thoughts of Link you swore you wouldn't indulge in.

Wastes.

The taste of his succulent lips attacking yours.

The ultimate waste.

Link peered down at you with a frosty focus in his eyes. He didn't bother to answer your question. He turned his back, walking away.

The Oocca's bumpy flabs of flesh nestled into you, oddly providing comfort. For a moment, the severe pain that was consuming you didn't exist. A greater pain had made itself known in the form of rejection.

The last thing you would remember before the Oocca would warp you wasn't your own tears.

It was the tears of the shadow that cried from cruel eyes of carmine.

Edited: 5/25/23

Sometimes silence is the answer. With a passionless glower from Link and a lack of any acknowledgment, your only choice is to move forward.

The new pact you made with yourself asks you to accept your Twili roots. You've made the official decision that living in the light without Link would be too painful.

Unbeknownst to you, escaping the environment doesn't always offer an escape from the pain of rejection. A rude awakening awaits in the Twilight.

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