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Chapter Text

Sky had always been able to See.

And not the regular kind of seeing, although he could do that too.

He could See. 

If he had ever tried to explain it to anyone, he would fail. But Seeing was different from seeing. 

If he had lived in a different time or a different place, he would be called a Seer. He would be called gifted, and would be revered for his power.

But on Skyloft, there was little room for oddities. The people there had been surviving for hundreds of years. They knew what needed to be done, and how to do it most effectively. Everything and everyone had its place, and they needed to stay there for everyone to survive.

There was no place for an odd little boy who spoke of things he should know nothing about, and who claimed to see strange things.

Sky quickly learned to keep silent about the things he Saw. 

When he saw Sun grow weak and sickly in front of his eyes, even as she laughed and played with her loftwing, Sky said nothing. He stocked up on supplies to make soup, collected the softest blankets he could, and when Sun fell ill for a month with the cloud-lung sickness, Sky was prepared.

When he felt bruises bloom on his face in the middle of class, and felt nonexistent blood drip from his nose, he said nothing. He wasn’t surprised when, and an hour later, he found himself confronted by Groose and his cronies. 

When he heard whispers in the dark, a cold, calculating voice that Sky knew was beloved by him, he didn’t question it. A year later, he heard that same voice, equally as cold and calculating, but equally as beloved, calling him master, and bidding him farewell.

That was not the extent of his powers, however. Although Seeing the What-Will-Be is important, and was the part of Seeing that Sky paid the most attention to, it was not the only part of the Seeing. 

There was also the Seeing of What-Once-Was, and even the Thing-That-Are. 

Often, he would see scars reopen and start to bleed anew, even if they had been healed for decades. He would see ghosts of animals and people, imprints that their former selves had left on the world. He could See things that happened on the spirit plaine, occasionally.

Sometimes, he would See things that were happening right then, but far away from him, where his mortal eyes could not reach. One such time was on that fateful day that Sun had pushed him from the island. The moment his feet had left the ground, he caught a glimpse of his bird, his faithful Crimson, stuck where she could not reach him, and he knew she would not be catching him this time. 

The last part of Seeing was the Dreaming. Or, perhaps, the Dreaming was a different gift entirely.

Sky rarely dreamed. 

In fact, if you asked him when he had just woken up, while he was still heavy with sleep-daze, he would tell you he never dreamed. 

There are spaces in the mind, where the brain is restless, where it searches for memories and imagination to mash together to create dreams. These places in Sky’s mind would remain forever empty. He did not dream.

He never dreamed, but very occasionally, when he fell into deep sleep where little would wake him, he would Dream.

Like the Seeing, he wouldn’t be able to explain the difference if he tried.

In this deep sleep, visions of the past, present, and future would present themselves to him. The What-Once-Was, and the What-Will-Be, and the Things-That-Are.

Rarely did the Dreams make sense to him. Things he Saw often didn’t make sense either, but the Dreams were different. The Dreams would be twisted, and the finer details Sky could not often discern clearly. When he woke, sometimes the visions would slip away, like he was trying to catch clouds between his finger tips.

Sometimes, he wouldn’t even try to remember. Sometimes, the visions were so terrible that he did not even wish to remember. 

Some days, Sky would call the Seeing and the Dreaming a blessing. Some days he would call it a curse.

Calling it what he will wouldn’t change the fact that Sky could See, and had always been able to.

Chapter Text

Sometimes, if they were important, things he Saw would repeat themselves.

For instance, he had grown used to seeing a halo of holy light behind Sun almost every time he looked at her. It was the light of the goddess shining though, he was certain. The fact that it was almost always visible spoke volumes to her power.

One symbol that Sky had Seen often was the number nine. When Sky was young he would See the number nine absolutely everywhere. 

Nine shadows stemmed from him, and not just the normal one. Nine bright stars would shine in the evening sky every night before the rest. Nine wildflowers growing in a perfect circle.

The number nine repeated over and over, seared forever into his mind.

He hadn’t known what it meant, but he rarely understood what he Saw when he Saw it. Sometimes, he only understood after the events that he Saw had come to pass. 

And besides, he knew that What-Will-Be would come to pass, regardless of his interference. So, he was content to let this mysterious recurring symbol lie. He knew he would understand when he would understand, and not a second sooner.

And now, he was traveling with eight companions who all shared the hero's spirit. He was still surprised. Not in his wildest dream was this what he thought the symbol of nine would mean. But still, thanks to the Seeing, he was more prepared for it than some of the others in the group. 

He didn’t tell them about how he could See. He had become so used to keeping it a secret, that it never truly occurred to him that he could tell these men. They were well equipped with knowledge of the strange and fantastical. They would have believed him.

Instead, he kept the knowledge of his strange gift close to his chest. After all, Sky knew that none of them could See as he did. They did not share this strangeness with him. 

That was not to say that they were not strange. Sky could See the strangeness in all of them. 

He could See fur sprouting from Twilight’s face, see the marks on his face glow in the light of the setting sun. 

He could See the wind bend around their youngest, see the waves bow before him. 

He could See fairies glow brighter in the presence of Hyrule, and could See him glow brightly in return. 

They are all strange like that, in one way or another. Sky was just the only one who could See it.

The strangest of them all was the Champion. 

When Wild was near, he blurred the line between seeing and Seeing. The Seeing seemed to bleed into the real world around the champion. 

(This had only happened with one person before. Sun. And only after she had come into the full power of the goddess. Sky tried his hardest to ignore the implications of that. He didn’t want to think about it, frankly, and there was no real way to know if it was coincidence or correlation, anyways.)

Sometimes, Sky would go to pick an apple that he could have sworn was there, only to find that the apple had been What-Once-Was. Sometimes he ignored the sting of pain he felt after a battle, assuming it to be What-Will-Be, only to find that he was truly injured.

And it wasn’t just inert objects that were affected by this strange blurring of the lines.

Seeing scars reopen and wounds reappear was familiar to Sky. 

What was not familiar was looking at the bleeding wound, and not knowing if what he observed, he observed because he was Seeing it, or because it was really happening. Sky was in a constant state of worry, having to take cues from others to see if the wound he could see on them was actually there, or if Sky was just Seeing things. It was exhausting, honestly.

It wasn’t just the blurring of Seeing and seeing that was so strange about Wild.

It was also the way wilted flowers perked back up after Wild walked past. The way food never seemed to rot around him, preserved from the moment it died.

The way the hits he landed on monsters seemed so final, seemed to cut so deeply that the monsters had no choice but to perish. The way they fell to the ground, as if gravity had increased three times over, with no opportunity for the monster to regain its footing for one final burst of energy. 

The way spirits drifted after Wild wherever he went, too many for them to be his loved ones form before the calamity. They clung to him, screaming and pleading unintelligibly.  

The way that whenever one of their number was extremely injured, and even Hyrule could do nothing for them, Wild would bend over their body for just a moment. The way that, when he stood back up, hope was suddenly restored that the injured would live, somehow or another.

Sky knew that the others could sense some of this. Those who were more magically attuned, Hyrule, and Legend were more aware of it, but all of them could feel that something was off with the champion. He was the same as them, carried the Hero’s spirit just like them, and yet he was different. Other , in some strange, undefinable way. Sky was just the one who came the closest to defining it. Not that he wanted to.

Although he wasn't very magically attuned, Wind was perhaps the most aware of it. Sky had seen Wind's eyes track the spirit forms of those lost souls that followed Wild around. He did not know how the sailor came by the gift of seeing spirits, but it was not his place to ask, if Wind didn’t bring it up first. They all had secrets, after all. 

That was part of the reason Sky was so set on ignoring the things he Saw regarding all of his traveling companions, but Wild especially. It was his life that Sky was seeing, intruding upon without his knowledge. Sky would try to respect that as much as he could.

The other part of it was that Sky wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to know. Some things were best left unsaid.

Chapter Text

Oftentimes, it was difficult to look at Wild. Not physically, of course. He was always just there, walking next to Twilight, or sparring with Legend, or listening to Time’s tales while stirring the cooking pot. 

But, sometimes, Sky just couldn’t stomach looking at the boy. 

Sky had seen the extent of Wild’s scars before. They all had. Traveling on the road could get messy, and they all took the opportunity to bathe when they could. Shyness and self consciousness were put to the wayside, in favor of cleanness. Sky had seen more of Wild scars than he would have otherwise. 

And, yes, Wild’s wounds were healed, almost perfectly. 

But Sky saw more than the rest of the group did. 

When Sky looked at Wild, sometimes all he saw were open, gaping wounds. 

Wild’s jaw hung off his face. His ear was blasted off, and his eye was ruptured. His intestines spilled out of his torso, dragging behind him in the dirt, leaving a trail of blood wherever he walked.

It would have made even the most battle hardened warriors squirm. 

If that had been the state Wild was in when he died, Sky couldn’t imagine that a shrine was able to piece him back together. For the goddesses’ sake, his arm was missing. Had they had to carry that separately to this “shrine” that had supposedly healed him? 

Wild didn’t always look like that. When Sky wasn’t Seeing, Wild looked normal. But with the way Seeing blended with the real world around the boy, most of the time Wild looked like a walking nightmare.

Some days, Sky just couldn’t. Couldn’t stand to see what had happened to Wild. On those days he cursed the goddess, for the first time in his life. He cursed her for the violence that happened to all these men and boys - boys, some of the group he traveled with were still nothing more than children . He cursed her for making him see that, for her giving him this gift of Seeing. On those days, if he had been asked, he would have called Seeing a curse.

Sometimes when he saw something especially upsetting, he would turn away, unable to look on any more. And Wild’s eyes would track him, gaze heavy and… knowing. 

Chapter Text

After the group had been traveling together for a month or two, Wild sat them all down, and told them the story behind his scars. He said he trusted them enough now that he felt comfortable sharing this information with them. Sky had felt a little bubble of warmth welling up inside of him at that declaration. 

Wild was the first of the group to really open up about something like this. Greatly valuing privacy was a trait all the heroes shared, it seemed.

And honestly, would you spill your traumatic experiences to a group of complete strangers? Sky couldn't blame them. It’s not like he had shared much about his journey either.

Unfortunately for Wild, the scars that sprawled out over this face were impossible to hide. (Not that the champion had tried.) 

The other heroes never asked, letting Wild keep his secrets. But Sky knew Wild had gotten some pretty inquisitive looks. He had even given the champion some himself. Although Sky was sure his own looks were for a different reason than the others were. 

The champion told them the story of the Calamity. Of ancient technology that was meant to help, but became their downfall instead. And then he told them the tale of his death. He had died, and then slept for a hundred years, healing. 

He had said it so simply, so blandly, like there was nothing wrong with it. At first, many of the group had brushed it off as a poor joke to try and lighten the mood. When Wild's face didn’t shift into a smile, but remained that blank stoney expression, realization slowly broke over the group that it was not a joke. 

There had been cursing, and denial, and the questions, the how, how, how ? Sky was the only one who kept completely silent, observing Wild. He was also the only one who noticed that though Wild seemed open about the entire situation, the questions about how exactly he had survived remained unanswered. 

Sure, Wild had said it was something called the Shrine of Resurrection that brought him back. But Sky couldn't help but think there was something more to it.

They had shrines on Skyloft. Little alcoves, set up for people to place things in as offerings to Hylia. Was Wild placed in a shrine, with hope the goddess would take pity on him? Was his resurrection a blessing from the goddess? 

But no, Wild said it had been a type of ancient technology. Nothing to do with the goddess, not really. Why, then, did he call it a shrine?

Something about Wild’s story was off. Sky knew he was lying.

Oh, he couldn’t refute Wild's version of events, not really. It’s not like Sky had been there, so he couldn’t say events had gone differently than Wild said they did. 

But what Sky could See was painting a different picture. 

Sky just couldn’t make it out clearly. 

Chapter Text

Sometimes, Sky felt an overwhelming urge to lay down and take a nap. It would hit him suddenly, out of nowhere. He could fight off the urge, for a little while, and sometimes it even went away on its own. But often, it persisted. He would become exhausted, his body begging him to just sit down and rest his feet for a while. 

Unfortunately, this didn’t mean that he was just tired. He had come to learn that when this happened, it was because the Dreams were calling out to him. Sky didn’t know who sent the Dreams, be it Hylia or someone else. But sometimes, they felt very strongly that he needed to see this one particular Dream right then. 

When he did give in to the demands, and laid down to rest, he would inevitably lose the battle of keeping his eyes open. He would drop off into a deep, deep sleep that was extremely difficult to wake him from, and he would Dream.

He knew that other people often called him lazy for it, or made fun of him behind his back for sleeping so much in the middle of class. (In reality, he didn’t do this very often. But after the third time he fell asleep in class, his reputation was sealed.) The other heroes were kind enough to not mention it when he fell asleep in front of the campfire, hours before any of the others even thought about heading to their bedrolls. 

All the heroes had odd quirks to them. They had all picked up weird habits during their journey, one way or another. His sleeping habits were relatively tame compared to some of the quirks the others had. He wasn’t even the only one who had sleep troubles. Wild, Legend, and Time also had odd sleep schedules, although they were more likely to stay awake the entire night than fall asleep early like him. 

They all knew and acknowledged these quirks their travel companions had, and knew not to poke fun at them. So they were all incredibly kind when Sky dropped off to sleep before the sun even set. Sky hadn’t even ever woken up to drawings on his face.

And considering they had people like Wind, Wild, and Warriors in the group, that was something of a surprise. (Sky thought that it might have more to do with Time’s disappointed face rather than kindness in some cases, but that didn’t matter too much. As long as he didn‘t wake up with crude drawings on his face, he was happy.)

So when he felt that familiar exhaustion creep into his bones right after the group had stepped through yet another portal, he wasn’t too worried. 

The spot they had landed was a good spot to set up camp. In one direction, a wide field stretched away to the horizon. Long grass waved gently in the wind, and wildflowers dotted the plain, along with the occasional tree. In the other, a large forest loomed, dark and imposing. Far in the distance, on the edge of the forest, they could see the lights of a small town.

The group decided to split up. Half of them would stay here and get the chores done. The other half would travel to the town.

Hyrule and Four volunteered to stay. They would search the forest for a stream to fill their water-skins, and also patrol the area, to make sure there weren’t monsters lurking in the woods. Wild also decided to stay at camp. He planned to set up the fire, and get ready to start on dinner. 

Time had side-eyed Sky, and gently suggested he stayed here with Wild. Sky, who knew he probably looked as tired as he felt, was less offended by Time’s obvious train of thought, and more thankful for it. Sky knew he wouldn’t be any help in town, not in this state. And anyways, someone had to stay with Wild. It wasn’t wise to let one of their own be alone with no back up. With their luck, something bad might happen.

Legend and Twilight were assigned to do a supply run. With all his experience, the heroes had found that Legend usually had the best idea of what the group would need. Also, he was always able to haggle the best prices, which he had claimed was a side effect of being friends with Ravio.

Time had taken one look at Warriors and Legend, who had gotten into an argument this morning and were still glaring at each other, and decided to split the two up. Warriors, with his natural charm, would be more useful in helping Time with gathering information about the time they landed in, anyways.
So, the group dispersed. Four and Hyrule disappeared into the trees, and the others’ forms grew smaller and smaller until they were out of sight. 

Sky helped Wild gather up kindling, and some logs to use as makeshift seats around the fire. No matter how tired he was, no matter how much the Dreams tugged on his mind, he would do his share of the work. 

But after Wild settled down to make the campfire, Sky could no longer resist. He didn’t even bother to lay out his bedroll. He collapsed back against one of the logs. His head tilted back, gazing up to the clouds above, and he was out like a light.

Chapter Text

When Sky opened his eyes, he wasn't in the camp anymore. He hadn’t really expected to be, though. 

He shook off any lingering sleepiness. The Dream would proceed whether or not he was paying attention, and something told him that this one would be important. He would want to pay attention.

Looking around, he took in his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was the wet, oppressive heat. It was stifling, making the air thick and hard to breathe. Sky could already feel himself getting lightheaded. The regular air on the surface was bad enough, but this was ten times worse. He was used to the thin air of Skyloft, not the muggy hell he found himself in now. 

Although, he couldn't be certain whether he was on the surface or not. The area he had found himself in actually reminded him of the place he finally faced off against Demise. He was standing in a large, open space that seemed to go on forever. The floor was smooth and glassy, slippery beneath Sky's boots. The sky was a dark, unnatural color, red as a new scab. The clouds similarly red, billowed as if agitated.

The heat he felt could probably be attributed to the flames that were encircling the area. The flames were an unusual teal color, which Sky immediately recognized. It was ghost fire, the kind of flames that surrounded the spirits he could See. He had never seen so much of it at once though, and had never seen any of it without spirits to accompany it. 

Sky noticed all of this vaguely, out of the corner of his eyes. His attention was solely focused on the creature in front of him. 

When he first looked at it, he hadn’t quite comprehended what he was looking at. The scale of it alone was staggering. A massive cloud of ghost flames and smoke billowed in the middle of the area. At first, he couldn’t make out anything within the cloud. 

But as he looked longer, he slowly began to realize that the cloud wasn’t just a cloud. It was some creature. Limbs peaked out from the flames. Some were feathered, others fleshy, others still were scaled. Eyes, too many and not in the right places, glowed, showing through the smoke. 

The slow realization that this was a creature- no, a monster - repulsed Sky. 

By itself, it wasn’t much to look at. It wasn’t that scary. Sky had seen worse beings. Most of it was obscured by smoke, anyways. 

But something about it was just wrong. It triggered some primal instinct buried deep inside Sky that told him to run and not look back. He knew he couldn't do that, being trapped in this Dream, but the urge remained.

Despite his horror, he tried to stay as calm as he could. He knew that he couldn’t be harmed in the Dreams. The objects of his Dreams never even saw him. He was a third-party observant, and therefore perfectly safe. 

He looked closer at the monster, no matter how much he didn’t want to. At first, he didn't see anything noticeable. But then a tendril of smoke shifted, revealing a hylian standing at the base of the cloud. They were minuscule compared to the size of it. 

Sky dared to move closer to the sight, to try to make out the figure better. As he stepped closer, he realized that the figure wasn’t just a random person.

It was Wild.

Of course it was Wild. Sky picked up his pace, now nearly running to be closer to the scene. He knew that Dreams were always important, but something about this felt pivotal. Like maybe this was the most important event he had ever Seen.

The champion was just standing there. His hands were bound by chains of smoke and flame, but he didn’t fight, and neither did it seem like he was being burned by the ghost flames lapping at him. Despite Wild’s chains, the absurd thought crossed Sky’s mind that It looked like the creature was embracing the boy, enveloping him in its smoke and flames. 

Sky skidded to a stop only a couple dozen feet from the site of conflict. He didn‘t dare go any closer, despite knowing he would be safe. His instincts were protesting being even this close to the beast. From this distance, he could see the state the champion was in, and it wasn’t pretty. 

Wild was gasping. Although he didn’t fight, a snarl was stretched across his face, and it turned his expression into something feral. Something unfamiliar and horrifying.

Sweat mixed with tears dripping down his face. His hair, shorter than what Sky was used to seeing, was half pulled out of his ponytail, messy and unkempt. His clothes hung around him in tatters, soaked through with sweat and blood. 

Blood seemed to ooze from him. He had no obvious wounds, but he was covered in it. It oozed from his eyes, his ears, his mouth, everywhere. When it dripped to the ground, it slicked the floor.

Wild looked up at the monster for what seemed like hours. The minutes stretched on. Sky knew that even if the Champion did fight, he wouldn’t be able to escape, not unless the monster willed it. It's hold was inescapable, and Sky was sure Wild knew it too.

A deep rumbling voice rang out, startling Sky. He hadn’t really expected either of the pair to speak. 

The voice reminded Sky of Sun’s voice. It had a similar resonance to it. Unlike Sun’s, though, this voice did not chime sweetly, and it seemed as if there was nothing good about it. Instead, it was as if the voice was made up of the sound of stones striking the ground, of fire blazing through a house, of wind whistling through hair as you fell, knowing no one would catch you. 

The voice was terrible. Great, yes. Awe-inspiring, even. But terrible.

“You must choose, hero. Be healed and change, or accept death, and change anyways. You must choose, now .” 

As if that were a cue that Sky didn’t understand, both of the pair shifted back. The hold the creature had on Wild was released, Wild stood, facing the creature as if they had just been having a casual chat. Sky might have believed that if not for the blood still oozing, oozing, oozing from Wild.

“So...” The creature mused, “You have chosen.” The voice rumbled. Sky couldn’t tell if the creature was pleased or not. 

Sky wanted to scream out in frustration. Wild hadn’t chosen anything . What did this all mean? This Dream was even more nonsensical than usual. His head was starting to feel fuzzy, as if it were filled with electricity.

“Go,” the voice ordered, leaving no room for complaints. 

Wild obeyed without protest, something Sky had never known him to do. Even Time, who Wild seemed to have deemed the-only-one-who-can-tell-me-to-do-anything, would receive performative grumbles and defiance, even as Wild was simultaneously doing what Time ordered.

So to see Wild just obeying silently was so unusual it was almost repulsive. 

The champion turned mechanically, stepping into the flames. They consumed him. His form turned black, withering and burning away into nothing unnaturally fast. Sky had to bite his lip to keep from crying out in panic, even knowing this was a Dream, and Wild was still safe back at the campsite. 

When he turned back to the creature, though, he did cry out. He couldn’t help himself.

He was used to being a passive observer in his visions. He couldn’t interact with the people he Saw, or affect the vision in any way. In a way, he had become complacent. Even in a scene as tense and horrible as the one he was witness to now, he knew he was in no danger, and so, in an odd way, he was relaxed.

Any calmness fled him as he turned to face the beast. This vision seemed like it was going to break his complacency in half. 

The creature’s eyes were staring straight at Sky. He still couldn’t make out most of its features, but one thing had come into sharp focus. 

A smile. Large, too large for its face, and larger still. Too many teeth, and not all of them in the right places. And yet, from what Sky could make out, it seemed less malicious, and more… resigned.

It sickened him. He took a quick step backward, as the creature began to slowly ooze towards him, tendrils of smoke creeping along the floor towards him.

Unfortunately, just because Wild, the source of the blood pooled on the floor, was gone, did not mean that the blood itself was gone.

Sky slipped, cracking his head on the glassy surface of the ground. He groaned, his head throbbing, the world spinning.

“Why do you try to run from me, Hero? I am inescapable.” The words drew Sky’s scattered attention back to their speaker. The voice had lost its resonance. Now, it was just raspy and off-putting. 

Sky could only lay still and tremble as the creature moved closer, and closer. 

A defeated laugh tore through the air, and Sky couldn’t tell if it came from him or the creature.

Chapter Text

Sky woke in a panic. 

Sweat poured down his face, nearly blinding him as it dripped into his eyes. His sailcloth, normally a source of comfort, felt as if it were strangling him, suffocating him in heat.

He did not scream. 

After the third time he fell asleep in class, only to wake up screaming from Seeing some awful Dream, Sky learned to wake from them silently. 

So he did not shout. But the overwhelming sense of loss that suddenly hit him caused him to gasp, tears pooling at the corners of his eyes. 

He couldn’t help but gasp out “No!” He didn’t know what he was denying. Everything was fine. It had just been a Dream. 

Just a Dream.

A Dream, damn it!

He continued to cry as he hunched over, burying his face in his hands. After a few moments, he was able to get his tears back under control, although his panic hadn’t abated much. He still heaved with heavy, gasping breaths. He drew a hand down his face, giving a shaky sign. 

“Are you okay?” Sky jumped, spinning around at the words. He had forgotten in his panic that other people existed.

It was just Wild. 

Just Wild, who wasn’t covered in sweat or rags or oozing blood. Who looked blessedly normal. (Sky didn’t know if he could handle Seeing Wild right now.)

Wild, who was sitting by the cooking pot like he did every night, staring hesitantly at Sky. 

“I mean, that was a stupid question, obviously you’re not. You looked really tired today, so when you fell asleep, I figured I’d let you rest until dinner, but maybe that was a bad decision. What did you s-“

Sky cut Wild’s nervous rambling off. He tried no to make a habit of interrupting people, but right now he couldn’t stand to be around Wild. He couldn’t stand still. He couldn’t concentrate. He couldn’t calm down.

“I’m going for a walk or something. I’ll be back.”

He could hear Wild’s questioning “Or something?” behind him as he left the camp, but didn’t respond. 

He could admit to himself that he was running away. 

Running away from the horrors he had just witnessed.

Running away from Wild.

He ran for a minute or two until the noise of the fire died behind him. Then he finally paused, leaning down with his hands on his knees. He had run in the direction of the wide open field. He wasn’t panicked enough, even in this state, to leave sight of the campfire. If either of them got attacked, the other would need to be able to see. However, he was still far enough away to have some semblance of privacy.

Thoughts swirled through his head. He didn’t even know what that creature was. He had never seen its like before, and he had seen many types of monsters. 

Already, parts of the dream were slipping away from him, and he couldn’t even really remember what it looked like. He could only remember that it had a large, foreboding presence that Sky instinctively shied away from. 

And had it been… fighting Wild? Or  was it holding him, cradling him like you would a child? He couldn’t remember .

Was this Dream a What-Once-Was? Has it already happened? Had Wild- and this was the thought that finally made Sky gag- already faced that insurmountable force, and came away completely unscratched?

Chapter Text

Sky had sunk down to sit on the ground by the time he saw Wild making his way towards him. Four and Hyrule had returned from the forest, but Wild must have warned them off, because neither came to find him. He had managed to calm his racing heart a bit, and wipe the tear tracks off his face. He likely looked more presentable, but he still felt just as shaken as before.

He wasn’t ready to head back to camp quite yet.

It seemed like Wild had made the decision to come to Sky instead.

As Wild drew closer, Sky didn’t bother to stand. He knew he would have to talk to Wild about this, one way or another, and he would much rather have this conversation here than in front of the others back at camp. 

Wild stopped a few feet from him, and stood, not sitting down yet. 

“I wanted to give you a moment to cool off. You were pretty shaken up, I guess.” For a moment, Wild looks so uncertain, so vulnerable, but it was quickly replaced by a carefully blank expression.

Sky nodded in thanks, not trusting his voice to not shake just yet. He patted the ground next to him, offering Wild a seat. 

Wild took it, sitting only a foot or two away, very carefully not looking at Sky. Instead, he gazed toward the setting sun. While Sky had been asleep, the sun had sunk toward the horizon. Golden light was spilling across the fields now, casting long, wavering shadows.

The golden light made it look like Wild was glowing with holy light.

At this point, Sky couldn’t be certain he wasn't. 

The fact that Sky could just reach out and touch Wild seemed unreal. He still couldn’t get the mental image of the champion soaked in blood and looking very dead out of his head. 

Something was up with Wild, and at this point Sky needed to know, Wild’s privacy be damned. He might want to give Wild privacy, but at this point, Sky was worrying for his own mental health. 

The pair sat in silence for a while, neither wanting to be the one who started talking.

“I know that you know things.” Wild was the one who ended up breaking the silence, and Sky blinked in confusion at the seeming non sequitur. Wild grimaced, apparently realizing that his statement might have been confusing. “I mean… I don’t know how you know. But sometimes, when you sleep, you speak of things you shouldn’t know about. I think we’ve all noticed that, but no one wanted to confront you about it. But besides that… I can sense it. You have the blessing of knowledge around you.”

Sky was speechless. He didn’t know how Wild knew about the Seeing and the Dreaming, and Wild didn’t seem to completely understand it. But he understood enough.

Then Sky frowned, catching one detail that was slightly more troubling than the rest. “I talk in my sleep?” He didn’t want the others to be privy to some of the things he Saw while Dreaming. 

“Not important,” Wild waved the question off, finally turning to face Sky, more serious than Sky had ever seen him before. “I heard some of what you were saying before you woke up. You were talking about me. What did you see?”  

And there was the crux of the matter, Sky supposed. He knew something about Wild he probably shouldn’t, and Wild knew Sky knew, and now Sky knew that Wild knew. 

And now they were finally going to have a conversation about it. 

When he spoke, his voice was soft, and wavering ever so slightly. “It’s hard to describe. Sometimes it’s hard to describe what I See.”

“Try.” Wild instructed him, not unkindly. 

“I...” Sky sucked in a shaky breath, running a hand through his hair. “You were there, and there was a creature, a monster. I don’t know what it was. I’ve never seen anything like it, not really… It was so… imposing. It was dreadful. And it said you had to make a choice, and then it ordered you away, and you walked through flames and disappeared.” 

Wild’s stare was starting to weigh on Sky. He was beginning to feel a bit foolish. “I know it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but I swear-“

Wild interrupted him, his voice soothing. “I know what you're talking about.”

“...What?” That caught Sky off guard. He hadn’t really expected Wild to understand what he was talking about. The dream was so fuzzy to him at this point, he didn't even really understand what he was trying to describe. 

“I think I should tell you one of my secrets,” Wild said, tilting his head back to look at the clouds. “A secret for a secret, I guess.” He shook his head as Sky tried to protest. “It’s really only fair. And I think I need to tell someone about this. I haven't even told Zelda. I don’t want her to feel guilty...” He trailed off with a sigh, glancing at Sky out of the corner of his eye. “I trust you with this.”

I trust you. The phrase echoed in Sky’s head, filling him with warmth. He knew Wild trusted him. Of course he knew that. But there was a distinct difference between trusting someone to protect your back on the battlefield and trusting someone with a secret big enough that Wild felt it would be a good exchange for knowing about Sky’s Dreams. 

Wild continued. “I told you guys about how I died, and came back to life?”

“Because of the shrine.” Sky nodded

“Well, kind of,” Wild said. Their eyes were lazily tracking the clouds above. If Sky had not been there for the conversation they had been having, he would have said Wild looked relaxed. 

“They didn’t know what the Shrine was. Not really. They were messing with things they didn't understand. They knew it had something to do with bringing people back to life, but the translations were fuzzy. They thought it was some kind of technology. It wasn’t.” 

Sky’s mind flashed back to when Wild had told the group his story, and felt a little vindicated that his suspicions were correct, but quickly brushed it off. “I wasn’t dead yet, when they placed me in the shrine. Very close to it, but Zelda had managed to give me enough life energy to stay alive until they got me there. 

“I don't really remember that part. But I do remember what happened after they put me in the Shrine. And I remember who I met.

“It was called the Shrine of Resurrection because it was a shrine.” 

“So that's why it’s called a shrine.” Sky mused. “I had thought that was weird.”

Yeah,” Wild said, a bitter smile tugging at his lips. “You picked up on that? I didn’t think anyone had. Everyone was too distracted by the fact that I had come back to life to wonder why the Shrine was named what it was.”

“I... had kind of already known.” Sky admitted. It felt wrong to be speaking of such things with Wild. He hadn’t told anyone else about his visions, ever. Not even Sun. But, Wild was his brother. He trusted him. And it’s not like Wild didn’t already know about the Seeing, to some extent. 

Wild tilted his head, and Sky realized he hadn’t been clear. “I knew you had died. I could, ah, see it, I guess? I mean, you looked pretty bad, from what I can tell.” 

Wild shot him an odd look, and Sky realized it might be a bit weird for Wild to think about how he died. It’s not like he could remember it, after all. Wild’s expression was quickly replaced by a dark expression, with maybe a tinge of fear. “I don’t need that description, thanks. I don’t want to trigger any memories of that .”

“Understandable,” Sky muttered.

“Anyway. It wasn’t any old shrine to Hylia or one of the golden goddesses. An ancient God of Life and Death inhabited the place.” Wild continued on as if he hadn’t just dropped a bomb on Sky. Suddenly, everything was making a lot more sense. Sky was pretty sure he knew where this story was going, now.
“People used to bring loved ones who were on their deathbed there, in hopes it would revive them. It just took a special interest in me, I guess. Probably because I was the first person to be brought before it in hundreds of centuries.

“It gave me a choice. It would heal me, and I could go back to living a relatively normal life. Or I could accept death. 

“I misinterpreted its words pretty badly, I think.” Wild let out a bitter laugh. He was quiet for a minute, and Sky let him gather himself. When he continued, his voice was oddly fragile. “Please don’t think badly of me. I was in extreme pain, and wasn’t really thinking clearly of the consequences. But I wanted to be done with it all. I thought it was a way to escape my fate as the hero. So I accepted death. I guess Hylia wouldn’t allow that, even at the hands of another god. She needed a hero, and I was it.” 

As Sky watched, he could see Wild trying to surreptitiously wipe tears from his eyes. Sky clenched his jaw. He hated to see the others in pain. He cared for these men and boys, and knowing that the fate that befell them was partly his fault sometimes shook him to the core.

But now wasn’t the time for self pity. Wild needed him. Slowly, not wanting to startle Wild, he reached out. 

Wild jerked slightly when Sky set a hand on his shoulder. He didn't jerk away, like Sky had half expected. On the contrary, he melted into Sky’s touch. Sky took a chance, gently, drawing the Champion’s shaking body into a hug. 

Wild shuddered, burning his face into Sky’s shoulder. 

After a few minutes, Wild was able to compose himself. He drew back. The Champion had a wobbly smile on his face, and seemed relieved. Like he had just gotten the weight of the world off his shoulders. Sky thought it probably felt like it for Wild. 

“Anyways… Well, it wasn’t my own death I was accepting. I was accepting the responsibilities of Death. Now, I bear the power and duties of the one who gave me that offer.”

Sky mulled that over, and drew his inevitable conclusion. “Wild.”

“Yes?” Wild questioned.

“Are you a Hylia damned God of Death? ” Sky wheezed out, not knowing whether he wanted to laugh or cry. Wild blinked, not used to Sky taking the goddess’s name in vain. 

“Um. No?“

“Wild, you don’t sound sure about that.” Sky said, his face now buried in his hands.

”Uh. I don’t think? That I’m a god? I mean, I’ve been aging normally, so I might not even be immortal. But, uh, then again, I’ve done some very stupid things, and by all rights, I should be dead. So...”

Wild looked on, unsure of what to do as Sky broke down in hysterical laughter. 

When they eventually started to head back to camp, night had completely fallen, and the stars had finally fully appeared in the sky. Sky’s gaze instinctively swept across the sky, checking for anything he could See. 

Nothing, thankfully. He didn’t think he could handle anything else vision related tonight.  

As they approached, they could see that the groups that had gone into town had returned. As they entered the camp, Sky saw Wind quickly hide his telescope back in his pack. Warriors, Legend, and Twilight all shifted away from the sailor, looking very nonchalant. Sky let the four of them pretend that they hadn’t been spying on his and Wild’s conversation. 

“What was that about?” Time asked. He was always the first one to try and tackle any problems or turmoil in the group before they became real problems. Thankfully, in this case, Wild and Sky hadn’t been fighting. 

“Nothing, we just had a talk,” Wild said, waving off Twilight’s concerned looks.

Time shot a look toward Sky, to try to gauge his emotions. Sky gave a somewhat shaken smile. “Just a talk,” He agreed, ”We sorted some things out.” 

“Well, I think that’s good. You two kept acting weird around each other!” Wind loudly interjected. Sky startled slightly. Had they?

Well, he didn’t know about Wild, but he had been acting strangely and somewhat avoiding Wild for a while now. Of course the other heroes would pick up on it. They were an observant lot.

As Wild wandered back over to the cooking pot to check on dinner, Sky laid out his bed roll. He trusted one of the others to wake him for dinner.  Right now though, he could use some rest.