Link hoists himself onto Epona's back, hooking his boots in the stirrups in the process. You follow his lead and hop on Ginger before watching him consult the map expectantly.

"It looks like the quarry guarded by the guardians is only on the south side of the spring," Link observes, furrowing his brows and squinting slightly in concentration as he studies the topography. "We can head directly there from here and avoid them."

"Sounds like a plan," you say and dig your heals into your steed, giving him the command to move at a slow walk towards the edge of the top of the hill. Link hooks his Sheikah Slate on his belt and follows you.

Looking down the path, you are just now noting how steep the hills are down. This gives you an idea.

"Race you," you give Link a smirk and flick your reins. Before he could fully process what you said, you were already barreling down the slopes, pulling into the lead by a landslide. Link scoffs a laugh and yells the verbal command for Epona to gallop after you.

Because of your ridiculous lead and Epona's reluctant oblige to spur, you win the race. Your grin widens as you approach the spring at great speeds, but upon seeing the sharp drop down into the spring, you tug back on Ginger's reins abruptly.

Ginger scrapes his hooves against the dirt and rears back on his hind legs with a loud neigh, nearly forcing you to fall backward. You heave a heavy sigh of relief as Ginger steadies himself again. You peer over the edge and gaze at the goddess statue surrounded by a pool of water, just like the spring you remembered.

Hearing Link approach behind you engages you to turn around and watch him also bring his horse to a stop. His eyes land on you and sees your expression. He sighs and looks away with an involuntary smile spreading across his face. He was living for your victorious smirk, but he will never admit it.

"Two for two," you cheekily remark.

"This doesn't count," Link argues and dismounts Epona.

"Does it?" you challenge and jump off Ginger with a soft thump on the wet grass.

"You had a head start," he points a finger at you.

"A win is a win," you stand your ground as he approaches you. A swooping feeling develops in Link as you stare at each other. His eyes flicker down to your lips for a fraction of a second.

"Whatever," he turns away with a pink tinge on his cheeks. He stopped himself just in time before he acted upon an impulse. "Let's get to the entrance."

You follow his lead and circle around the spring to the entrance hidden by a curtain of leaves. Link parts the vines and steps in, holding them back for you to step through as well. You briefly thank him and look around the stone hall.

The ruins were enveloped in the splashing of cascading waterfalls. It smelled incredibly fresh of damp stone. You take in a deep breath through your nose and savor the smell.

Behind you, Link's pace slows as he takes in the pillars and ancient, unlit torches. Extreme nostalgia overcomes him that was unrelated to the captured memory. The architecture around him was imprinted in his brain long ago. He passed these same pillars and walls in a faint memory before, lifetimes ago.

The two of you climb the steps and stop just in front of the statue across the waters, stepping in the sunlight once again. The pool had flowered water lilies drifting on the surface, dipping in and out of the shade of two tall trees on either side of the statue. Beside you, Link retrieves his Sheikah Slate and turns to the album. It doesn't take long before the scenery jogs his memory.

You patiently wait as he slowly brings himself back to the present. His face falls and his eyes focus on the ground beneath his feet. He, without a doubt, remembered a similar memory you did.

"I really don't like how she blames herself so much," Link softly says. "I wish I consoled her more."

"I really know how you feel," you empathize. "Are you feeling regret?"

"That's one thing I'm feeling, yeah."

"Well, it's..." you choose your words carefully, "it's not like we can go back, can we? We can't move backwards,--" Link looks at you-- "so we focus on moving forward and what we do next."

"And what would that be?"

You think for a second. "We have plenty of sunlight left in the day... and we should probably get in some practice against the Guardians before we head to the castle, right?"

"That would be smart..." he agrees while nodding. "We can head for the Central Hyrule tower first."

You and Link head off on horseback to Central Hyrule; the very region you have been trying your best to avoid until now. As you take the main road south, along the boarder of the region, a sudden thought comes to you.

"Link," you grab his attention. "I feel like it would be best if we left Epona and Ginger at the stable," you nod towards the distant structure. "They could get seriously hurt if they get caught in the crossfire while fighting Guardians."

"I'm glad you said that," Link says.

As you suggested, once the two of you pass the stable, you drop your horses off into the care of the stable master.

"It will be faster if we head straight to the tower instead of taking the main path," Link says.

"But, the Guardians-- shouldn't we start with some decayed ones first for practice?"

"We'll just have to spot them before they spot us."

"Okay," you anxiously say as Link picks up the pace. As you run, you constantly look around for any giant machines patrolling the grounds.

Your pace slows as you near the center of Hyrule Field. Instead of looking for Guardians, your gaze travels to the far horizon line of mountains and hills. Everything feels so far away but you know you've traveled to most of them.

Realizing how much you've slowed, you power back into a run to match Link who hasn't broken a single sweat.

At the base of the Sheikah tower is two decayed Guardians, surveying the area. One Guardian Stalker can be seen slightly obscured in a nearby wooded path. You and Link approach the base and stop by a crumbling wall of ruins to map out a plan.

"Hylia, any advice?" you ask the goddess. Link turns to you and watches you listen closely to the voice he can't hear.

'Stun the enemy first before attacking,' she whispers to you. A faint image comes to your mind with her words. A brief flash of you drawing your bow with the target of the Guardian's eye crosses your mind. A small smile tugs at your lips as you experience a visual from Hylia for the first time in 100 years.

"Okay," you devise a plan in your head, "I'll stun the nearest Guardian with an arrow and you deal damage close up with the Master Sword. Unless you want to do the archery yourself."

"Yeah, I probably should," he says. "It's about time I get better."

"Alright. You take this one and I'll go around to the one over there."

"Are you sure?"

"I--" you take your eyes off the farthest decayed Guardian to look at Link. "Yeah. Is something wrong?"

"No--" he looks away-- "It's ju-- Never mind. Nothing's wrong. Just... be careful."

"I will," you say and nudge his side. "You too."

You unsheathe your sword and cautiously stand up, not taking your eyes off of the closest Guardian. Carefully, you sprint towards the next closest wall of ruins and make your way closer to your target. Once you get close enough to hear the friction of the ancient stone, you reveal yourself to your enemy with your new bow drawn.

The Guardian's lights shift into a red glow and straightens up, activating its laser with the sound of a metal pang.

Deciding you should save the ancient arrows for the castle, you use your normal ones to stun the machine. Once you release the arrow, it hits your target with a bullseye, cracking the glass of the Guardian's eye.

Blind, the Guardian loses sight on you and looks away, struggling to get its systems back online. You take the opportunity to lunge yourself forward with your sword in hand. You strike away at the machinery, scratching the stone and tearing through its layers of protection. The gift of a sword you wield refuses to scuff or scratch and remains in a perfect state by the time you finish your fury.

The Guardian pushes its systems back online and registers your enemy form in front of it. It's blue, swirling eye beams red once again. A circle of a target projects onto your chest.

Yet again, you draw your bow and stun the enemy, chip away at its protection, and repeat. Soon enough, you hammer through the remainder of its stone plates and slice in the perfect spot, snapping several chords and cores on the inside. The Guardian stops in place, shuttering and shaking until it falls limp with several ancient materials falling from the inside.

"Woah..." you mutter as you see the machine has gone quiet. Killing it was more repetitive than you thought, and more satisfying.

You turn around to check on Link and see him picking up the scraps of ancient materials his Guardian dropped, which was nonfunctional and dead thanks to him.

"Hey!" you call to him as you approach. He straightens up and sees you walking towards him. "You killed it. Nice! Did you have any difficulties?"

"Actually, no," Link smiles and takes out his bow. "I'm starting to get used to using one of these."

"That's good."

"What about you? Are you alright?"

"Yeah. The thing didn't fire at me once."

"Good, good. I can't help but feel that those ones will be a lot tougher," Link says and eyes the nearby Guardian Stalker by the nearest main road.

"I agree," you nod grimly.

"You wanna go up the tower with me?"

"Hell yes. I would love to see the view from the center of Hyrule. Climbing hardly makes me nervous anymore."

Once you speak those last words, Link gives you a sincere smile.

"What?" you ask as you notice a change in his eyes.

"You haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what?"

"We're both getting stronger."

His words shock you for a second before a smile spreads to your face as well. "I guess you're right," you mutter as Link walks past you to the base of the tower.

~

"If we follow the main road, we're going to run into them eventually," you say.

"I know. That's the point."

"What's the point?"

"If we clear the path now, we won't have to worry about it when we go at the castle for real."

An uncomfortable feeling of nerves twists inside you at the reminder of your unfinished quest to reclaim Hyrule Castle. "Oh, right. I guess you've got a point."

"Are you ready?" Link asks as he unfolds his paraglider.

"Yeah, hold on." You reach behind you and grab your own glider, all the while, Link notices your faltering mood.

After a count down, you and Link jump from the Sheikah tower and glide straight for the main path heading north to the castle town. On the way, as both of you predicted, you come across a Guardian Stalker patrolling the path with its spider-like legs. Thankfully, this one had plenty of ruins and trees to hide behind before approaching.

"What's the plan?" Link whispers to you, even though the Guardians aren't sound activated.

"Why are you asking me?"

"You're the one with higher wisdom."

You sigh, "alright. Hylia, what should we do?"

Again, the goddess gives you a short answer accompanied by a faint visual. 'Take away its advantage,' she whispers to you. As she shares the advice, you are able to see a single freeze frame of you drawing your bow and Link smashing one of the Guardian's legs. You subtly lift your eyebrows at the cleverness. You should've thought of that.

"Take its legs off," you mutter almost incoherently before turning to Link and making eye contact. "Take its legs off while I draw its fire."

He blinks. "Are you sure? You're just going to be a decoy?"

"No, no. I'll stun it with arrows. But since your sword is so much more effective, you should be the one to deal the damage."

"Okay. But promise me you'll run if things get tricky."

"Alright, I promise. And you promise the same," you point a finger at him.

"I promise."

"Good. Keep it."

Both of you focus your attention on the Guardian ahead of you who is unaware of the threats nearby. "Ready? And... go!"

You both jump out of hiding and dash straight for the machine. You grab your bow and nock an arrow, focusing it on the eye as Link loops around the machine. But then, the Guardian begins side stepping and moving its feet, making it impossible for you to get a clear shot.

"These things can dodge arrows?!" you marvel and abandon ship. You put away your bow and sprint straight for a nearby tree, successfully hiding behind it as it fires the laser once, setting fire to the grass.

After the laser beams, you are able to hear another sound of buzzing and revolving stone as Link shouts in his strength. You take a look and see Link managed to snap and tear a leg right off the base of the Guardian, forcing it to completely flip over on its side.

"Oh, nice!" you yell to him and run into the action as well. With both your efforts, you manage to rip off all its legs and leave it looking like one of the decayed of its kind.

You load your bow and focus the aim right on its eye as it comes to. "Dodge this," you say and release the arrow, sticking another bullseye and sinking the arrow deep into the glass of its eye. The machine shakes before falling limp and silent.

"Alright!" Link whoops and gives you a clasping high five. You both smile victoriously before Link goes down on his knees again and collects the ancient parts fallen from the legs and plates.

"Why are you still collecting those?" you question. "We're not going back to Robbie's, are we?"

"No," he says, "but we might need them after Ganon."

"Ah, okay," you say and take note of how Link talks with full confidence there will be an 'after Ganon'. "Wanna go for another one?" you suggest as he straightens up again.

"Another one?" Link echoes.

"Yeah. This one wasn't a problem. Plus the more we clear, the easier things will be in the future," you reason. Link debates your suggestion for a bit with no answer. "Come on, I've got a point."

"You've got a point," he agrees in defeat.

You continue up the path until you come across the next Guardian. This one was more off the path with less things near it to hide behind. "Same plan?" you say to him as you crouch in the grass, preparing to reveal yourselves up the hill.

"Same plan," he confirms.

"Let's go."

You and Link run up the hill and present yourselves to the Guardian, who's lights change to red sickeningly. You draw your bow and see the Guardian focus on Link running around out of its sight.

"No, focus on me," you mutter and fire an arrow at it, not dealing enough damage to stun it. The Guardian focuses its attention on you and projects a circle target on your chest. Determined to stun it, you focus your aim on its moving eye, waiting for it to get closer for a clearer shot.

"Just a bit closer... come on," you urge under your breath. The circle shrinks down to a point with the Guardian's beeping growing rapidly. "Okay, now!"

But just as you are about to release the arrow, it slips from its rest and points down, rendering useless.

"Oh... shit..."

You attempt to jump out of the way as the Guardian fires its laser. But this time, it fires right on target. Link, who was struggling to stay in closer combat range, witnessed the attack a fraction of a second too late. The Guardian fired its laser not once, but twice. Once to knock you down to your feet and take your life, and twice to make sure you were dead.

Link shouts your name as you tumble back, rolling through the tall grass with fire spreading around you. The fairy you placed in a jar and put in your pocket pries itself free and twirls around you, saving your life with its magic, but just barely.

"(Y/N)!!" Link shouts as he runs over to you struggling to push yourself up, burning your hands in the fire. "(Y/N), I'm here. We need to get out of here."

"I'm--" a cough cuts you off. "I'm fine," you push yourself to say, the pain masked by the adrenaline.

"You are not fine!" Link argues as the Guardian's target goes back and forth between you and Link before landing on you. The clock was counting down. "(Y/N)!"

You struggle to your feet and draw your sword as you rub dirt from your face. The circle on your chest turns to a pinpoint.

"(Y/N)!"

Before you knew what was going on, Link jumps up and tackles you to the ground with his Sheikah Slate in hand. You roll a number of times before Link presses a button on the slate, arms tight around you.

Once the button was pressed, you and Link turn into silverly blue light, lifting off the ground ever so slightly. The light spins itself into threads and travels into the air.

~

Your vision remains completely white for a short period of time before you are given it back.

"What was that...?" you question, and open your eyes. But instead of familiar surroundings, you find yourself somewhere you've never been before, flat on your back, with Link on top of you.

You face flushes red as he looks at you to make sure you are relatively okay. "Link?" you say with your voice embarrassingly feeble.

He looks up at his surroundings and sighs in relief as he recognizes the place. Knowing you two are safe, Link looks down again and lets out another sigh.

"Link? What was that?" you ask again.

"Fast traveling. We're safe now. Don't worry."

His arms around you tighten their hold slightly and send little jolts of pain up your spine, reminding you of the situation you were in. The sound of your grunt of pain snaps Link out of it. He lifts himself up and sees your face screwed in slight pain.

"I'm sorry!" he quickly says. He pushes himself off of you and offers you his hand. "I know a place we can stay for tonight. It's not far. Can you stand?"

You nod your head as you grit your teeth, forcing yourself to stand up. The hand you didn't give to Link jumped to your side where the pain was most intense. Link helps you to your feet and supports your weight as he guides you to a safe place to stay.