The departure of his friends left Link in a silence that was deeper and more profound than any he had ever known. He stood alone in the Grove of Sages, a small, wounded boy before a being as old as time itself. The urgent, desperate quest to reach the Spring had been his only focus, a single point of light that kept his overwhelming grief at bay. Now, that path had been denied to him, replaced by a new, unwanted task.
He looked up at the Great Deku Tree's wise, impassive face, his own expression a mixture of confusion and a sullen, defiant anger. Meditate? Seek a sage in his own mind? It felt like a pointless diversion, a philosopher's riddle when what he needed was a weapon and a direction. The vision of his burning home, of his murdered family, was a fresh, bleeding wound. Every moment he spent here felt like a betrayal, a moment he could have been using to hunt down the monster that had destroyed his world.
The Great Deku Tree, with its ancient, all-knowing consciousness, felt the boy's silent, bitter reluctance.
The fastest path to your enemy, the Tree's thoughts flowed into his mind, gentle but firm, is not always a straight line. Sometimes, the path to the greatest height is found by first descending into the deepest root.
The ancient being instructed Link to sit at its base, between two of its largest, gnarled roots, which formed a natural, sheltered seat. The first lesson is the hardest. You must learn to be still. Close your eyes, hero, and listen. Not to the forest. Not to me. Listen to the storm inside your own heart.
Reluctantly, Link did as he was told. He settled into the soft moss, his father's sword laid across his lap, and closed his eyes. He expected darkness and silence, but found himself in a nightmare.
The moment his connection to the outside world was severed, the traumatic memories he had been holding back with sheer force of will crashed over him. He was back in the blood-red light of Ordon, the air filled with screams. He saw his father's body turn to ash, he saw Korgon's final, defiant roar, he saw the cold, dead eyes of Elwin. And worst of all, he saw the mocking, triumphant smile of Asmodeus, a face that was now seared into his very soul.
A storm of pure, black hatred and crippling guilt raged within him. His hands clenched into fists, his breathing grew ragged. This wasn't meditation; it was torture. He failed again and again, his eyes snapping open each time, gasping for the serene reality of the grove to pull him out of the maelstrom of his own mind.
You cannot defeat an ocean with a sword, little one, the Deku Tree's voice came, patient and calm. You are trying to fight the storm. You must learn to be the stone at the bottom of it. Let the currents of your grief wash over you. Acknowledge the pain. Acknowledge the anger. They are a part of you now. To deny them is to give them power over you. Do not fight them. Simply… watch them pass.
Link tried again. This time, he did not try to push the images away. When the face of Asmodeus appeared, he did not flinch. He looked at it, and he let the wave of hatred rise, acknowledging its presence without letting it consume him. When the image of his parents appeared, he did not recoil from the pain. He allowed the sorrow to wash over him, a deep and terrible tide.
Good, the Deku Tree guided him. Now, find your anchor. Reach down, past the storm, past the sorrow. Feel the earth beneath you. Feel my roots. They run deep, into the quiet, patient heart of the world. Anchor your spirit there.
Link focused. He pushed his consciousness down, past the raging surface of his emotions. He felt the cool, damp soil beneath him. He felt the immense, silent, and steady presence of the Great Deku Tree's roots, a network of ancient, unshakeable strength that had endured a thousand seasons, a thousand sorrows. He anchored his own small, battered spirit to that immense, quiet power.
Slowly, miraculously, the storm began to calm. The violent, crashing waves of his grief and rage did not vanish, but they subsided, becoming a deep, powerful, and sorrowful current. He was no longer drowning in the ocean; he was sitting in the quiet depths, aware of the storm above, but no longer controlled by it. He had found a place of stillness in the heart of his own pain.
He had been in this state for what felt like an eternity when the Deku Tree's voice returned, a new and final instruction.
You have found the quiet pool that lies beneath the waterfall of your grief. It is from this place that the true journey can begin.
The sage you seek, the being of profound wisdom, is not a person in a distant land. He is a truth that resides in the deepest part of your own spirit, the part that is connected to the great, turning wheel of fate itself. He is the voice of your own soul, a voice you have not yet learned to hear.
You have quieted the storm. Now, reach into the stillness. Call to him.
He turned his consciousness inward, away from the world, away from his own pain, and journeyed deeper than he had ever gone before.