Blighted Memories

Chapter 31. Their Blighted Memories

Link's disgust was indescribable, although "boundless" was probably the closest word he could find.

The dark horseman that had rode across the land, spiriting people away and killing others with their horrible creatures made out of the corpses of the fallen, was the shadow of Link himself. Was it his evil side? A monstrous copy of him? The entry said that the creature was created from the original hero's blighted memories...that meant it was once a part of one of his predecessors. Then how did it know him so well? Link felt it made sense, and yet...

The questions only infuriated Link more, and the one he was most furious with was the simplest one to ask.

"Why!?" Link said, his voice rising and sharpening as though it were his sword. "You're Link! One of us heroes! What possessed you to forsake our duty as hero!? What compelled you to endanger innocent Hylians!? Why would one of our own commit such horrible atrocities!? You were a good person once—I know you were! What the hell happened to you!?!"

Link could no longer restrain himself. His hand shot forward and grabbed his shadow's tunic by the collar, yanking him forward violently.

"ANSWER ME!!" Link shouted.

Despite everything, Dark Link maintained a calm face. His breathing didn't shift, nor did he appear to be resisting the grab. He was simply letting Link do as he pleased.

"I will answer you," Dark Link said. "But I want to make it clear, I never forsook my duty. I'm saving Hyrule, and everyone living in it."

Link couldn't unhear his own voice coming from the monster. He couldn't tell before because of the magic the shadow had employed, but now that he knew who it was he could hear his own voice clear as day. There was still some sort of distortion in its voice that made it sound ethereal and detached from the world. But it was still his own voice. Same timbre, same inflections, same enunciation, same accent, same gentleness, same youthfulness, everything about it was exactly the same as Link's aside from the warped ethereal echo it had. It was like hearing something in a nightmare, every sound was twisted into something horrid and chilling that made it all the more oppressive.

Link lashed out again simply listening to it, not only out of anger, but disbelief and fear too.

"You lying bastard!" Link said. He tightened his grip on the fiend, despite how little it did.

"You know I'm not lying," Dark Link said. "I genuinely am trying to save Hyrule. I never forsook my duty, not once."

Link clutched his shadow's tunic tightly. His distressed wrath gave way to a grudging acceptance. Even if this creature was him in some way, or some demonic shadow that believed it was Link, that didn't change that it was his foe. It didn't change that what it was doing was horrific.

Yet, Link felt compelled to reason with it first. Maybe he could help turn it back to the side of light. Maybe there was still something he could do to get it to stop and answer for its crimes. Maybe there was still hope. He wasn't sure why, but desperately he hoped there was still good in it somewhere. It felt personal, even though it shouldn't be.

Link let go of Dark Link's collar. "Please...just explain yourself." Hostility still laced the hero's voice, but he had finally contained it to the point where he could at least control himself.

Dark Link nodded. "Where should I begin...? Forgive me. I'm not the best at explaining."

Link nearly said Neither am I but held his tongue. Sharing any sort of trait with this thing still sickened him.