^{grishildr ;}

^{Ugh. For how long had the hero’s darker half wandered aimlessly, trying to make sense of the strange environment that he’d found himself in? Minutes? Hours? Days? He wasn’t sure; his grasp upon time heavily warped by the years spent alone in his watery prison.}

^{For all he knew, it could be the exact cause of his misplacement. He may very well have slumbered for thousands of years and never realized. His body hardly ever acted in a natural fashion, after all, refusing to perish despite never eating or drinking. Could he have really slept the years away, or was this the work of some divine magic?} 

^{Ah– But it seemed he had no time to ponder his predicament further; he had a guest.}

^{The dark entity turned, unable to ignore the light that approached. It was overbearing, making the creature feel somewhat repulsed. There was no physical light bothering his eyesight, naturally - but something that radiated from the very being of the one who made their approach.} 

^{He recognised it almost instantaneously.}

^{Red hues settled upon the form of a tall, elegant young woman. Her movements were graceful, her very presence commanding respect. No doubting it - she was a ruler of some sort. The creature swept into a low bow in acknowledgement of her arrival, lips twitching at their corners into an insincere mockery of a smile.} 

^{Oh, there was no mistaking this woman for anyone else - she was Zelda.  She may look different to the Princess of his world, but her aura felt much the same. They were connected - after all - through countless lifetimes. Even if he was but a mere shadow, he was still a part of Link, and still connected to her.}

^{“What a curious twist of fate this is, Princess.”}

^{Curious, indeed. This was certainly not the Hyrule he knew, though it did bear some small resemblance to the land he had originated from. Time’s flow had clearly taken it’s toll, making the world virtually unrecognisable, save for a few minor clues scattered around - the Hylian crest being one of them. He couldn’t have possibly known what timeframe he’d wound up in, but the future seemed the most likely bet. Travelling backwards just seemed… Absurd, if anything.}

^{“Time has been kind to you, hasn’t it?”}