'Izuku.'
He had heard this voice once before, in Hyrule, but he didn't have a face to attach to it. It was soft, close to Zelda's voice, but not quite a match.
'Hello?' he called out into the darkness. Suddenly the black void was replaced with stark white, and Izuku found himself sitting down with a blond woman looking down at him. She was dressed in white linen, and she bore a striking resemblance to Zelda, but she looked older. Wiser, too.
'I am the Goddess Hylia,' the woman introduced herself. Izuku quickly got to his feet and bowed. 'Put your head up. You don't have to worship me or anything. In fact, I'm quite grateful for what you've done for Hyrule.'
Izuku nodded, and Hylia smiled and began walking. Izuku followed her, and they walked side by side, to nowhere in particular, in comfortable, yet meaningful silence.
'If you don't mind me asking,' Izuku started. 'How long have you...'
Hylia laughed, and again Izuku thought of Zelda.
'Don't worry, I'm not in your head,' she said. 'Well, at least not the way your other companions are.' Immense relief flooded through Izuku. He'd picked up the habit of using Hylia's name during his travels through Hyrule and he didn't want to find out that she heard every single time.
'So how are you here?' he asked.
'I have a special connection to you,' Hylia explained. 'There's a story you deserve to know.'
Hylia told him the Legend of Zelda. A tale of an artifact that would grant its wielder any wish. Anything their heart so desired. The triforce. Of how Ganon plotted to claim the triforce for himself. How the triforce was split into three pieces.
The Triforce of Wisdom, residing within Zelda.
The Triforce of Power. Ganon had that.
The Triforce of Courage, bestowed upon the hero, Link.
The three were locked in an endless battle spanning thousands of years. A story of constant reincarnation, and Hylia told him about each one in detail. He realized this was what he caught a glimpse of the first time he'd blacked out. The heroes of legend that came before him.
'The most recent battle, in which Link was killed and Zelda fought on valiantly was a delicate situation for me,' Hylia admitted. 'I noticed you about 40 years into Zelda's fight.'
'I was in there for 60 years?!' Izuku exclaimed.
'Maybe more. Sorry. When it reached 100 years, I caved and pulled you in. I was desperate. Even though you had the help of my Champions, the odds were still stacked against you. Devastatingly so. But you beat them. You won. You had no proper incentive to even attempt it. But you did. But now, Ganon is in your world.'
'Oh.'
'Which brings me to your current circumstances. One of the iterations of Link I mentioned, the one from the Era of Twilight, utilized an ability to morph into a large wolf.'
'That's why I'm a wolf right now?' he realized, and Hylia nodded in confirmation.
'You're the next Hylian Champion.'
'I-I'm not a Hylian though.'
'I'm the Goddess Hylia, Izuku. If I say you're a Hylian, you're a Hylian. An honorary Hylian if that makes you feel better.'
'Heh, thanks. That means a lot to me,' he said, and Hylia smiled at him. 'I have a question. Every time Link and Zelda were reincarnated, did they retain their memories?'
