The travelers stand around a metal chamber. It’s cylindrical in shape and tappers at the top into three ornamental horns. It’s like a diving bell, just large enough for a single person to spread their arms comfortably while inside, but it’s closed at the bottom and sits in a dark room with others like it far away from any deep water. Green light emanates through the warped glass of the viewport. Hyrule and the others take turns to anxiously peer inside after the companion they have sealed within. Legend rests cross-legged on the floor of the chamber illuminated by the ghostly flame burning before him. He breathes slowly, meditating, asleep. In the flame’s center rests the master sword, sheathed in a pedestal which makes up the brazier’s base. Spiraling from it are teal flower petals emblazoned on the ancient floor. They pulse in time with Legend’s breath.
Four paces the back of the room, his lantern a halo of light in the dark. Its handle clinks with each footstep adding yet another soft noise to the stale air. Shuffling feet, breathing, a pencil scratching over paper, and the crackling of various lanterns are the only sounds in this unwelcoming space.
Time and Warriors sit at a wide table in the room’s center. Wars is bent over a piece of parchment, a hand carded through his hair in focus.
Time’s voice breaks the tense quiet and they all look up. “He should be at the guardian now.”
Eight pairs of eyes turn towards the sealed chamber. The familiar cacophony of the bell going off draws Sky to the chamber door. He hefts it open, the ancient stone grating with the movement, and greets Legend at the threshold. He takes the master sword from him.
“What’s my time?” Legend croaks.
“Seven minutes.” Says Time.
Legend brushes away Sky’s hands and crosses the room unassisted to sit at the table where everyone’s gathered. His breathing is controlled but his hands shake.
“That’s your best time yet.”
Legend scoffs. “It means nothing if we can’t get past the guardian watching the bridge. I tried skirting the right side of the lake but there’s no getting over the cliffside. We can’t go in the water. There’s no way around.”
The group listens clustered around Wind’s mock-up map of the realm.
Twilight taps the lake. “There must be something we’re missing. An underground tunnel, a warp point, something.”
“We’ve looked everywhere.” Legend presses his hands to his brow. “The only way forward is over the bridge which means that however we solve this includes getting spotted by the guardian. But that blasted bell goes off every damn time. I can’t stay asleep!”
Ever one to lighten the mood, Wild jovially elbows their resident heavy sleeper and laughs, “Even Sky can’t sleep through it.” A few genuine chuckles float between them.
Soft footsteps brush the edge of the room where Hyrule once again checks over the six chambers. He goes past the chamber Legend was in and past the two broken ones like it to the three larger. Again, two broken and one intact. Wind turns his gaze away when Hyrule lifts his lantern to look at what shares this space with them. It’s easy to ignore the darkness. However, the soft glow of the next chamber makes it hard to miss what resides within its light: a ring of shriveled bodies seated cross-legged around a ring of pedestals, swords sheathed in each, illuminated by the same green flame the travelers have fallen asleep gazing into.
A shiver runs up Wind’s spine and he shakes to ward it off. Wild must have noticed how he turned his gaze because they offer him a kind smile.
“Spooky, huh. They’re kind of like the monks from my Hyrule. As helpful as they were in my adventure I’m glad these guys aren’t alive.”
Wind’s attempt at appearing calm is a scrunched face and raised shoulders. “But what if they’re redeads?”
Time shakes his head. “We would have known by now if they were redeads. Besides, that bell could wake the dead. They haven’t moved. There is nothing here that will hurt us.” The level certainty in his tone is a balm on frayed nerves.
Hyrule stops before the large sealed chamber to once again run his hands over the eight symbols that decorate its frame. “Any progress on figuring these out?” He asks.
Wind shrugs, “The whistling stone with the squiggly triangle was an F.”
“And the three lines are A.” Twilight provides what is the extent of the group’s knowledge.
Warriors slaps his hand on the table over his work proudly. “But! There’s only so many possible combinations. I’m sure one of these will work.”
Twilight rolls his eyes. “That’ll take a million years.”
“We have that time.” Four murmurs.
Dread wraps itself around the travelers’ shoulders and sinks its cold fingers into weary hearts.
Time once again breaks the tense silence. “We have ten minutes left before the next cycle. Wild, it’s your turn. Do you want to go back?”
“Sure.” Wild rolls up their sleeves and takes the master sword offered by Sky. They give it a swing or two. “I’ll try scaling the cliff to the right of the lake.”
They’ve scoured the cliffside before. Everyone has. It’s made of the same material the shrines are and there is no climbing it. There’s been no trick or secret passage. However, the guardian watching the bridge is one of the last leads the group has. So they’ll try again.
Legend pushes back from the table and his chair screeches against the floor. “That won’t work. We know that won’t work. There’s no point constantly trying the same thing over and over again. This is insane!”
Wild lowers the sword. “Until we find a way to not be spotted this is the best we’ve got.”
“There’s no avoiding being spotted.”
“But if you’re spotted you wake up.”
“Then don’t wake up.”
“But the bell.” Wild puts their hand free hand to their fist and makes an exasperated motion towards the intact smaller chamber which each of them have taken a turn within. Each time someone is caught in the spotlight of the guardian at the bridge the bell in the sealed chamber goes off, waking whoever’s within and pulling them from the silent realm. They tried using runes on the bell but it’s made out of the same stuff as the room and won’t be destroyed.
Wild carries on but Legend isn’t paying attention. A faraway look has crept into his eyes, and they widen in a mix of realization and horror.
Time is the first to spot it. “What have you figured out?”
The veteran hero stands up swiftly and holds his hand out to Wild with steadfast authority. “The master sword.”
“Legend?” Time gets up but Legend is already across the threshold of the chamber, sword in hand.
There’s a drifting quality to Legend’s voice when he looks back, and he says with frightening certainty, “You can’t wake up if you’re dead.” He slides the door shut and shifts the heavy bar inside of the chamber into place behind himself, effectively sealing the first set of locks from the inside.
The travelers cluster around the metal chamber shouting their refusals and fear.
Time pounds on the heavy door. “Legend, let’s discuss this first.”
Legend’s voice is muffled from within. “We have eight minutes to see if this works! I’m going now!”
Time moves to let Warriors try to force the door open. “We’ll figure something out next cycle.” Time says.
Twilight joins with Wars to ram the door but it doesn’t budge.
Legend approaches the small green fire in the center of the chamber. The master sword shines in the watery light. He lines up the sword and sinks it into the pedestal. It clicks. Legend pulls shaking hands away from the hilt.
Someone shouts but Legend can’t tell who it is over the static roaring through his ears. He looks up to the large conical bell suspended from the ceiling. Three hammers protrude at its sides ready to wake the dreamer who wanders where they should not.
He pulls a dagger from his inventory. Firelight licks over his form, inviting.
“You need to lock the door from your side as well or this won’t work!” He yells. He does not look into the viewport well aware of who he’ll see on the other side. “Do it now!”
“Damnit!” Warriors curses and shoves Twilight aside. He wrenches the door shut, slams the lock down, and holds it there.
The petals on the chamber floor alight with the seal in place. They glow brighter with Legend’s slow exhale and flicker violently when he crumples.
The dreamer bleeds out on the cold stone and the flower petals glow steadily without his breath to dampen them. After seven minutes the bell goes off. Its dark tone echoes for what could be an eternity, and then it stops to live as a phantom in the travelers’ minds. The petals stay lit.
Wind tugs on Hyrule’s sleeve. “He made it through.” he whispers.
Wild whoops suddenly and Four lets out a choked breath somewhere between a laugh and a sob.
The travelers don’t know whether to laugh or cry but they don’t have the time to decide before the next cycle is upon them. Darkness closes over their minds and the nine of them wake around their flickering campfire in the pine woods.
![Sealed Away - RayCatz - The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms [Archive of Our Own] (2024)](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mP8/h8AAvMB+NzmkbcAAAAASUVORK5CYII=)