The Legend of Zelda: Blood and Spirit

Chapter 4: Terminus and the Deity

Chapter 4: Terminus and the Deity

A solemn, prolonged silence settled upon Termina Field in the wake of the Deity's defeat. Terminus still clung onto the mask that bore semblance to her former hero, gazing longingly into its empty face as she began to weep softly. The sound of her quiet crying was the only thing that could be heard across the field for several minutes as she mourned the loss of her once-beloved hero. Unable to do much else at the moment, Link and Zelda glanced at each other sadly, moved with pity for the goddess of Termina in all of her sorrow.

"You loved him... didn't you?" Zelda asked her sister gently, finally breaking through the stillness of the area.

Terminus remained quiet for a moment as she stared at the mask, before a small, yet sad smile crossed her face. "I did..." she said wistfully. "And he loved me... From the moment we first met, we were both smitten with each other. We used to spend many happy hours walking through these fields, hand-in-hand, without a care in the world. Never before had I encountered a mortal who was so dear to my heart. It was as though our souls were as one... but now it feels as though a piece of my own soul has been severed along with his." Sighing, she hung her head in grief as she continued softly. "Perhaps it was not the will of the fates for us to be together... After all, how happy could we have been? I am a goddess and he was a mortal... Our kinds are not meant to mix..."

As Terminus said this a sudden wave of worry came over Zelda. She realized that her situation was quite similar to this, but at the same time, it was very different. Like her twin, she was indeed a goddess of ancient times, but at the same time, she was also a mortal. For the first time since she gained the goddess's memories, Zelda realized that she wasn't really one person any more, but rather two separate beings entirely. She had the scattered, distant memories and some of the more simple powers of the goddess Hylia, but she had been born as the mortal Zelda, who had different, yet complete memories of another life entirely. A life that was more personal to her than Hylia's ever could be. And yet, ever since she had found out that she was the goddess reborn, it was as though those two lives seemed to conflict with each other. She hadn't really thought about it until now, but recently her dreams had been of the goddess's past than her own and her thoughts and ideas often seemed to mirror Hylia's instead of coming from her own mind. Zelda regularly tried to suppress it, not wanting to loose who she used to be before she was Hylia, but she couldn't hide away what was ultimately another part of herself. It was a plight that only she could ever know, and it was because of this fact that she often felt isolated from her friends and family, those who only really knew her as Zelda, but treated her with heightened respect now since they found out that she was also Hylia. But even so, there was one person who didn't care that she was part goddess. Someone who still treated her like he had ever since the two of them had simply been childhood friends, before she discovered that she was Hylia and before he found out that he was her chosen hero. And, as she glanced over at Link, still cringing in pain from his chest wound, she bit her lip in sudden nervousness. There was no question that she cared for him deeply, perhaps even as much as Terminus had cared for her own hero. Though she had kept it a secret from everybody, even him, Zelda knew that she had always liked him more than just a friend, even before the surface incident. When she was younger, she used to innocently dream of the two of them sharing a romantic relationship one day. But if what Terminus had said was true, now that she knew she was part goddess, was such a relationship something she could really hope to peruse? Could her and Link really be able to find happiness together considering their differing statuses? Was it something that just wasn't meant to be?

"But perhaps this is for the best..." Terminus went on after another moment of silence. "My duty is to this land... It safety and prosperity were entrusted to me by the goddesses themselves. It must be my first priority above all else. Now I can concentrate on helping this land heal itself After all, my hero no longer suffers under the bonds of Majora's evil will. Though he cannot be restored to his former self, his heroic spirit still endures, yet so does the great power granted to him by the demon. Such power is far too dangerous to keep in the grasp of man... That is why I have sealed the spirit of the Deity away into this mask. In such a way, his spirit will still exist to endlessly peruse justice, and perhaps someday, if this land faces danger again, his incredible strength may be used to aid Termina in a future time..." The goddess smiled genuinely as she stood and lifted the mask into the air. A soft glow began to form around it as Terminus continued. "To ensure that it is not misused, the mask will remain within my care for all time." As she said this, the Fierce Deity's Mask vanished into thin air, the spirit of her former hero entering into the watchful protection of the goddess of Termina.