Upheaval of the Past (Tears of the Kingdom Reader Insert)

Chapter 2 -÷- Awakening

You groaned as you turned to your side, feeling a hard and stony surface sending shivers up your spine. You lightly shook your head as you slowly opened your eyes, only to see a bunch of roots surrounding you in some sort of room, and you quickly spotted Link, unconscious on the floor nearby. "Link!" You quickly said as you snapped awake and got up to look him over, but you stopped when you realized the both of you were only in undergarments. You quickly turned out of embarrassment as you heard Link groan. You turned back as you now saw a bunch of glowing green runes of sorts floating in the air around Link's arm, which was now entirely different. The light then faded as Link briefly opened his eyes before they snapped open at the same realization as you.

He got up and spotted you, but you were too dumbstruck by his new arm to even say anything. Link's gaze then fell to his arm as he quickly gasped, observing his hand and the jewelry that was now adorned on it.

His arm then began to glow as an unfamiliar males voice spoke out, "Ah, Link. (Y/n). Finally, you wake." The two of you looked around for the source of the voice before it spoke again, "I've heard a great deal about you from Zelda." That gave you a light amount of relief, as that meant that Zelda was at least alive. The voice then seemed to shift to Link as it continued, "Your wounds were severe... I am relieved to see you escape death. Your arm, however, was beyond saving. I had to replace it, lest the injury endanger you further."

The voice then went silent as you spoke up, "Uh... hello? I have so many questions about this..." Link began to look about the room before his eyes fell on the decayed remains of the Master Sword, stuck in between a few roots. Slowly walking up to it, Link lifted the sword out of the roots to examine it.

Its blade had been severely singed and dulled, completely ravaged by the torrent of gloom it had faced below Hyrule Castle.

Your gaze then fell to a group of roots that blocked a way into a larger room with a circular stone in the middle. You tried to pry open the roots to allow passage, but they were too deep. Link told you to stand back as he held the Master Sword and easily sliced through the roots. "Okay, that works." You said as you shrugged, "But let's try not to damage the blade any further." Link agreed as the two of you walked out into the open area, with part of the room in ruins.

Once the two of you finished observing the environment, the stone circle in front of you suddenly lit up with a bright green glow and a symbol in the middle that showed a hand in a pillar of green light. Stepping over a small pit of sand, Link closely observed the symbol before lifting his new hand up to it. The symbol then dissipated into several green strands that faded into the distance, with a bright blue glow emanating from the sand below your feet, catching you off guard.

Then, some sort of bell could be heard ringing in the distance, echoing through the cave. And as giant gears began to turn, a door opened at the other end of the room, revealing a tunnel for which to exit through. Locking eye contact with Link once more, the two of you made your way through the tunnel, diving from a few cliffs into pools of water before finding some sort of odd chest. It was during this that you noticed that Link no longer had his hair in a ponytail. Instead, it was loose, like a flowing lions mane.

You shook your head to shake the thoughts out of your head as Link used his hand to open the chest, and as he opened the lid, he found two things. The first was a set of some sort of Archaic Legwear, and the second was an Archaic Tunic, which Link let you take, knowing how self-conscious you got without something covering your top. After you slipped the old tunic on, you helped Link tie the straps to the sandals, finding it a bit cumbersome to do so. "You sure these will do? They seem pretty old." You asked Link as you finished tying the straps. Link nodded and said that they still had a few good years left in them.