Blighted Memories

Chapter 3. A Mad World

Link was heading back to the Dueling Peaks Stable the next morning. He'd heard there were wild horses that could be tamed near there. The Divine Beasts were spread out to the corners of Hyrule and Link knew it would take too long to do it all on foot. A horse was just what he would need to get around.

The stable was just across the nearby river. Link didn't even set foot on the bridge when he was suddenly stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and came face-to-face with a Sheikah man with a bushy white beard and long white hair.

"Hello sir!" he said.

Link waved his hand awkwardly.

"I saw you leaving Kakariko just now and let me just say, you seem like an experienced traveler!" the man exclaimed. "You just give me the impression that you've been to places. Fought opponents of all kinds, survived in varying environments...am I wrong?"

Link shrugged. This was only the fourth day since he'd woken up. He didn't think that much could be done in that time.

"Oh, you're just being modest!" the man assured. "Y'know, it's experienced and skilled types like you that my gang is looking for. Care to join the Yiga Clan?"

This was the first Link had ever heard about such a clan. He raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"You never heard of us?" the man asked. "We're just a small group doing our best to fight corruption in Hyrule, wherever it is."

Link gave the man a smile. It was nice to see a group dedicated to doing good in these hard times.

"So whaddya say?" the man asked. "Up to it?"

Link genuinely considered it for a moment. A group dedicated to the good of Hyrule could've helped a person like him. From a logical standpoint, it made sense to get as many allies as possible to take on an immortal evil like Calamity Ganon.

Then Link remembered that a group as big as the Hylian army still fell to Calamity Ganon. He and Princess Zelda were the sole survivors of that cataclysmic tragedy. It didn't matter how many allies he would get, they wouldn't be able to take on Ganon's army of monsters and Guardians. Link didn't want to drag anyone into something so horrifying; not again. Him joining the group would've put them in more danger than need be.

Link shook his head at the man's offer. He bowed his head to show he appreciated the offer and stepped on to the bridge that led to the stable up ahead.

But a hand on Link's shoulder stopped him yet again. The man squeezed it to the point where it began to hurt a little.

"Now my boy, you don't just say "no" to a member of the Yiga Clan," he said. "We need all the help we can get, and so does Hyrule! Why, if you're refusing to help us in what little and small way you can, it almost sounds like you're complicit with the state the world is in. That doesn't fly in a world where the people are suffering."

The man walked in front of Link, who watched him. The man turned around and gave him the biggest, friendliest grin he could.

"So, now what do you say? Will you join us?" The man's tone was genuinely cheerful. Link would normally praise such dedication and belief to the cause, but something didn't seem quite right with how the man said it.

Link shook his head again.

The man's smile disappeared. There wasn't shock or sorrow in his eyes. In fact, Link wasn't sure if there was any sort of emotion in them.

"That's a shame," the man said. "It's really sad that corruption has poisoned someone like you too. You looked so reliable."

With a flick of his wrist and with amazing speed, the man had drawn a small hook-like sickle. He dashed at Link with absolutely blinding speed, the sickle aimed at his chest. However, Link's combat-trained eyes spotted his movements with ease. He ran out of the way of the attack before it connected.