How many in-game days does it take to defeat the Demon King and save Zelda in Tears of the Kingdom (making absolutely no attempt to speedrun or optimise)? Let's find out!
We climbed the peaks of Hyrule so you don't have to! Which of these landmarks measure up? And which fall short of their promised splendour? Enjoy our rankings - number two will shock you!
6. Hebra Peak
Views of this peak from afar are impressive, particularly from a southeasterly direction where the impact from Vah Medoh's attack on Calamity Ganon is clearly visible.
But the hard hike to the summit - an ascent from Rito Village, the nearest settlement, would take an experienced, well-equipped hiker around 14 hours to complete - is not well-rewarded. The weather on the peak is usually dire. Even if the clouds break, the view is obscured by sheer distance - and the circling aerocudas overhead are somewhat distracting.
5. Mount Lanayru
A hard hike from Hateno Village, navigating over Madorna Mountain, this remote location's views suffer from the same weather conditions as Hebra Peak.
However, resilient hikers able to make the trek will be rewarded by this peak's saving grace - the Shrine of Wisdom.
Nestled among the icy spires of the otherwise unwelcoming summit, the Shrine of Wisdom is a tranquil location. Visitors may have the privilege of bathing in the icy sacred waters, or praying to the Goddess Statue, one of the largest in Hyrule. This most remote Shrine of the Goddess is well worth a visit - but make sure to pack climbing and gliding gear, and snowshoes if you have them.
4. Death Mountain
The views are as fantastic as one might expect, but the sign at the top boasting Death Mountain as the number one of 100 famous mountains of Hyrule might be overselling it. The gloom still pouring out of the crater is sure to put a dampener on any picnic, and the jagged spires around the crater's edge mean that you'll need climbing gear or a glider to truly enjoy the panoramic views of Hyrule and its sky islands.
From ice to heat! Death Mountain is certainly more accessible since the volcano stopped erupting a few years ago. Now, there are two main routes to the summit: the quick and exhilarating route up the mine cart tracks from Goron City's outskirts, or the old-school monster-infested trek through the hills from Foothill Stable. The accessibility of the mining tracks makes this peak a short and rewarding trip.
3. Dueling Peaks
Dueling Peaks is an all-round good choice for a trip into Hyrule's beautiful natural scenery. The northern peak is convenient for a hike from Kakariko Village, or climbers who're looking for a challenge can set out from Dueling Peaks Stable. The southern peak is a little trickier to reach - we'd recommend heading between the peaks from Dueling Peaks Stable and approaching from the southeast.
2. Satori Mountain
Ultimately, while Dueling Peaks is a fine destination for a day trip or a picnic, it suffers from a lack of distinctive landmarks or features to recommend it. Its shape can be seen much more dramatically from the Great Plateau, and unless you're confident with a glider or climbing gear it's difficult to visit both peaks in one trip. But the views of Hyrule Plain and the jungles of Faron are unmatched.
Famous for its ecological marvels and mystical presence, you might be surprised that Satori Mountain isn't higher up on this list! It is relatively easy to get to, being a short ride from Outskirt Stable. And it's certainly worth a trip for enthusiasts of hunting and botany.
The hike up the slopes is idyllic, through the peaceful Dalite Forest and past the enchanting Rutile Lake. The final approach heads past a beautiful cherry blossom tree beside a small pond - delightful! But the peak itself is a relative disappointment, being three bare rock spires. While they give Satori Mountain its distinctive shape from afar, this underwhelming summit marks Satori Mountain down in our estimation.
1. Shatterback Point
The area was once home to a rather fearsome Lynel, but thanks to King Sidon's efforts it is once again safe for travellers. Now, the peak stands as a testament to both Zoran history and natural beauty. Mipha Court is a tranquil spot and a well-deserved monument to Princess Mipha. And from here, the sky islands are almost close enough to touch!
The highest point on Ploymus Mountain, Shatterback Point is easily accessible from Zora's Domain and well worth a visit for its spectacular views across Zoran architecture and engineering, from the King's Palace to the East Reservoir.
All in all, we feel confident in saying this is Hyrule's best peak.
Do you agree? Is there somewhere you think we've overlooked? Let us know! Maybe we'll be able to feature them in a future instalment!
He did it! It took Link 112 days to save Princess Zelda in Tears of the Kingdom.
Thank you so much to everyone who's followed this journey, particularly after I had to take a break in the middle. It was reading your tags and comments that motivated me to come back sooner than I'd planned, and I'm really proud of myself for seeing through such a bonkers project. The whole thing clocks in at around 47,000 words, and that's not including all the image descriptions. Of course, this game has its flaws - it is such a shame the Imprisoning War stories aren't more varied. But it's absolutely gorgeous, and it's those skies and landscapes that keep me coming back.
There's plenty I didn't even get to in those 112 days! I hadn't seen the dagger memory (WILD to not have that snippet of information going into the endgame), I hadn't saved Lurelin from pirates, I hadn't visited all the Skyview Towers (missed out the Tabantha Snowfields one), or unlocked the Travel Medallions. I think there was a couple of stables I didn't visit, and I definitely didn't hunt down all the Yiga bases on the surface. Not to mention shrines, koroks, signposts, armor... Almost four in-game months, and though I've completed the story I've still got plenty of excuses to keep exploring Hyrule.
So what now?
I won't be doing this again any time soon! Part of me wonders how long it would take in Breath of the Wild, but I think there's a major difference between the games which would make it a less rewarding project: BOTW Link doesn't remember Zelda. I always felt less committed to saving the Princess in BOTW, at least until I'd recovered the memories. And it was Link's connection to Zelda from the beginning, I felt, that drove much of the TOTK Daily project.
I won't be keeping up the daily posting for obvious reasons, but I will keep the blog name for archival purposes. Maybe I should pin this post as an explanation for that.
I do have a few ideas for posts, here and there. I'd like to celebrate the beautiful landscape - maybe recommending or reviewing locations as one might to tourists? I will be a little sporadic about it, as inspiration strikes - at the moment I'm very much enjoying exploring this game again in a less goal-orientated way.
Thank you again to everyone who has supported this project! I'm so pleased to have seen it through, and I hope you found the conclusion as satisfying as I did.
My arm, Rauru's arm, begins to glow. And I am transported with the Light Dragon to a dreamscape of some kind.
The arm glows brighter and brighter - and Rauru and Sonia appear beside me in ghostly form.
They silently survey the Light Dragon. I hold out my hand - Rauru's hand - and they join me. Free from the power of the Demon King, even as ghosts they are powerful enough to do the impossible. To bring Zelda back to me.
Light showers away from her form. Until suddenly, she's there. My Princess. Hanging in the air.
I barely notice Rauru and Sonia disappear. She's falling.
I fall with her, diving closer and closer until…
I can reach her. This time, I can reach her.
I grasp her hand.
We plunge down to Hyrule together. I carry her out of the pool, the same pool I returned to Hyrule by all those months ago, and lay her gently in the grass.
She stirs. She sees me.
She sees the sword. She knows she consumed the secret stone.
But she doesn't understand how she came back. She knows we destroyed the Demon King together. But I'm not even sure she knows when she is.
But I can see her piecing it together. And suddenly she's talking about her time in the past with delight - and then she's just standing there with her eyes closed, then on me. Basking in the light.
As prepared as I can be to fight the Demon King, alone, without Sages or Princess, I continue down the tunnels.
The Imprisoning Chamber is no more. There is only another drop, too deep to see the bottom. I jump.
How far down can I be now? Surely this must almost be the end?
At the bottom, a heartbreaking sight. Zelda's torch.
It's lain here the whole time, for the almost four months it's taken me to get back here. Waiting.
I drop my own torch, and pick hers up. It feels like a reassurance. Like a promise.
I walk on.
At the end of the tunnel, yet another drop.
At the bottom, a gate of thorns and gloom.
And from it spills an army of gloom-ridden monsters.
Just as I think I'll be overwhelmed, the Sages! The true Sages, not just their avatars. They must have been alerted when the connection broke. I'm so glad to see them. So honoured to fight with them.
We fight wave after wave of the army. Bokoblins, Lizalfos, Gibdo, Moblins. Then the chamber rumbles, and all five of the monsters of the Temples emerge. The sages engage - and before I can join them, I'm walled off.
This is deliberate, I am sure. The Demon King has singled me out to fight him alone. I only hope that they will defeat their fated enemies. I run on down the tunnel of gloom to meet the Demon King at last.
He is waiting in a formation of rock and gloom built like a nest or a brazier. He speaks of the coming of the darkness, of his new world.
And then…
He is reborn in gloom and fire. His strength is returned. His power is full again. He steps carelessly from his cradle and stands before me, the epitome of a king as he was in my visions of the past.
We're too late. But still, I must try. For Zelda. For my friends.
We engage.
At first, he seems almost underwhelming. He doesn't move fast, and I get a good set of hits in once I understand how he moves.
But then it becomes clear that he's toying with me. He draws on the power of the secret stone, and transforms again as he did on the night he gained it, all those years ago.
His gloom pools into copies of himself. I can't hope to- but then I hear Tulin's voice.
I can't stop properly to see them, the Demon King just keeps coming - but I can hear my friends around me and I know they're fending off the copies as I wear down the Demon King.
It's working.
But then he draws his copies back into himself to unleash a whirl of gloom that knocks the Sages back and out of the fight. He had to use those copies up to do it, though.
I face him again.
He's quicker now. Scarily quick. I can barely get a hit on him. But my preparation holds me firm. And eventually, he falls.
But then. He's so desperate not to lose. So desperate to not fail. He rips the secret stone out of his forehead. And consumes it.
And changes.
Another dragon. Hatred incarnate. How can I even begin to fight that?
I can't. He sweeps me up in his jaws, and launches through the castle itself to the sky.
I can't get free. Then, out of the sky like a comet, the Light Dragon. Zelda.
She's so small beside him. But the distraction is enough to get me free - and when I fall, she catches me.
As I should have done for her, all those months ago.
She tries to flee, but he's bigger and faster and won't let her go. Finally, we stand.
The Princess and her Swordsman against Hatred Incarnate. As it always should have been.
I don my flight suit. And we engage him together.
I dive again and again, attacking eye-covered growths along the length of the Demon King dragon.
Again and again, Zelda catches me. The Blood Moon rises behind us. Until at last, I plunge the Master Sword into the sacred stone on his brow.
He roars and twists in the air, but he cannot escape it.
This place, beneath Hyrule Castle, is strange. Gloom-infested, twisting and turning, but every so often there are patches of old Hyrule, with cold Zonai lights.
I wonder if there were once rooms here, and what they held.
I ride a block back up to a ruined staircase, and plunge once again back into the gloom tunnels. I'm at the other side of the Lynel chamber now. And more Like Likes ahead.
I kill the accompanying Frost Keese, but leave the Like Likes behind. At the end of a passage, another patch of floor drops - I scramble back up, but it does seem like down is the way forward anyway.
I descend down a chasm of sorts, though the structure is of ruined staircases rather than the more organic throats of usual chasms. As I reach the bottom, the Sages vanish. Their power can't reach this far. How deep down am I??
I'm loathe to continue alone, but it doesn't seem like I have a choice. I take out the two Lizalfos blocking the path, but not without needing to heal myself. I loot what seems like a Zonai barracks, and build a glider to cross the next section - but I misjudge the angle of take-off. I fall. And now gloom hands are coming.
They destroy the glider with a swipe, and I scramble up the wall to avoid them. There's a Moblin at the top. I wait for the right moment, hoping to run past before it can notice me.
There's a massive wall of breakable stone, but I don't have Yunobo and I'm loathe to use resources I might need later. Maybe I'll come back sometime.
The passages begin to look familiar. The glowing pool. The hall of memorials.
But they were only infested with the odd Keese before, not Bokoblins and Gibdos.
Then suddenly I'm back where it all started. The room of murals.
The Zonai's arrival. Rauru and Sonia wed. Her murder. The rise of the Demon King and his army. The rest is covered over by rocks, as it was when Zelda first found it.
But this time, I have bombs.
As the dust clears, I see the rest. The Demon King against the Sages. Would Zelda have recognised herself among them? And then Zelda at the Temple of Time with the Master Sword. And finally, the emergence of the Light Dragon.
It was all here from the beginning. Would we have done anything differently if we'd seen it? Would we have been able to piece it together? Surely Zelda would have. Or at least, it would have given her power in the past, to know her future. Perhaps she could have stopped it all. Perhaps the Light Dragon never had to be.
I shake off such imaginings. I can't change the past - I don't have Zelda's power. I can try to stop the Demon King now.
His chamber wasn't far from here. I make sure I'm healed before I go on.
And that's twelve lights of blessing in my pocket. Time to exchange them for a greater chance of survival.
I head to Goron City next - I've always been fond of their goddess statue.
Now I have slightly more hearts than a fairy tonic heals, so I should be able to at least use them efficiently.
I just need a couple more weapons. There were cairns at the top of the pit below Akkala, in the Depths, I think.
I was right, but they're all claymores and spears. I take a quick tour of the lightroots I've activated, looking for other cairns, and do eventually find two swords that favour my fighting style.
I can't put it off any longer. I need to go beneath Hyrule Castle.
I head to the shrine at the Castle, and dive down.
And down, and down, and down. I activate the lightroot as soon as I can, but the hole left by the castle punches down much further than that.
Finally, I'm at the bottom. It's more mundane than I expected, a rocky cavern beset by gloom. There's an electric like like, but no other monsters or traps. The like like seems to be guarding some sort of tunnel, entirely covered in gloom. I approach with caution.
I stun the Like Like easily enough - but there's no way to get to it to finish it off. And there's at least two more of them beyond. I take the risk, and rush by them - straight into a nest of Horriblins, who at least I can reach. We finish them off, and scramble up to the next tunnel. The path is twisting and nonsensical. Next, Electric Keese - not too much trouble.
But next… a Lynel.
I haven't fought one of these in years. I'd rather not now, if I can avoid it. Where's the path onward?
There's an opening to the left - I could perhaps glide over to it. I'd at least have more cover than here.
I make it - and I was right, it does lead onwards. But then the path drops beneath me. I scramble to the next block, but it's a dead end anyway, so I follow the dropped path down. Through the next gap, I find other fallen blocks - could I ride them back up? Yes.
It looks like there's a shrine in the Wetlands, which I can glide to from the Upland Zorana Skyview Tower.
I just need three more shrines, and I'll have the hearts I want before I take on the Demon King.
It's raining when I reach the uplands. Still, I enjoy the launch from the tower.
I make it almost all the way by flight, and enter Jonsau Shrine.
Done. Two more. And I'd spotted two more around Zorana before as well, so I head back to the tower.
My first marker, though, takes me not to a shrine but to a cave… Ah. I see.
A shrine puzzle. Fortunately, this one's about building a boat. I pilot the rock up the channel and to its rightful spot, where it grows into a shrine.
Just one more to go. Mount Lanayru Skyview Tower this time, and north to my next marker.
No fairies at the fairy pool, but I do pick up an absurdly complicated flying machine that's just lying there, and fly it most of the way to the shrine. I have to trust the marker blindly the whole time, but it turns out that the shrine is nestled under ruin outcrop of some kind.
One more fairy pool should get me up to five in the pocket and plenty of tonics. I try North Hyrule Sky Archipelago.
This looks like a similar challenge to Courage Island. Fairies first. Three more in the bag - that's enough to give me a certain amount of luck against the Demon King. And I've also picked up a good amount of sundelions while I've been touring the islands - I should remember to cook those up.
Right, what else? I should whip round all the shrines I've spotted to get more hearts. And I could visit some dragons to have shards for making weapons.
But before that, I want to see if I can beat this steward's skydiving record.
Registering at the terminal activates the challenge on Bravery Island. Thinking about it, there must be a third of these somewhere, for wisdom.
I jump. As I land in the pool, a shrine emerges. I should do that before I take another turn at the skydiving, really. Otherwise there's a risk I'll forget.
On the other hand, I hate challenges in the dark.
I head back out to the steward. The first time to beat is 35 seconds. I do it in just under 28.
The steward gives me the glide tights - they'll go well with my nice jacket from Courage Island. The record is 25 seconds. I'll give it a go.
22.16. That'll do! The steward rewards me with a large Zonai charge.
While I think about it, I head to the Great Sky Island to increase battery power. I have enough for three wells!
Right. Shrines. I want maybe three more hearts, and I already have five lights of blessing. So I need seven more.
I take a glider to gain ground and then dive down to Kamizun Shrine. Then I head across to Riverside Stable to pick up Roan.
It's storming by the time I get there, and I set off again under lightning skies.
We race through the storm across Hyrule Field. I leave Roan sheltering in the lee of some ruins, and head into Susuyai Shrine.
Next stop in my search for fairies is South Lanayru Sky Archipelago.
I get two of them just fine, but the third is just too high up. I loop round to it again, but it's still flying way out of reach.
I'll have to try somewhere else.
West Necluda Sky Archipelago. A construct nearly blows it, but I manage to dispatch it without scaring the fairies, and I get three more. Time to cook.
I'm starting to realise how few of the stableside shrines I've actually been to. I have to go all the way to Riverside.
Still, at least Beedle's here. I clean out his stock of arrows.
Next stop, South Hyrule Sky Archipelago. Some aerocudas almost take me out on the flight over, but I make it. Three more fairies in the evening light. Then back to Riverside to cook.
Then to Courage Island. Only two fairies there, as somehow in the gathering night I scare one off. I spot Zelda, the Light Dragon, and stop to watch her for a moment.
Then I see a star fall, and suddenly I'm racing helter-skelter through the night, dodging Yiga and Bokoblins to reach it just before dawn.
No truffles in the cave under the geoglyph - but there are plenty of bomb flowers. Hmm. Right. I'll try that snowfields cave, but after that I might need to focus on something else.
It's been maybe weeks since I just wandered the world. It is nice to actually see the sky and the fields and the trees, the Ring Ruins from afar, the friendly smoke from the stables.
I've been so focused on finding the Princess - and I still am! But this is worth saving too. Hyrule itself.
I head to what I now realise is called Brightcap Cave, which does not bode well for my truffle hunt.
Nope, just brightcaps. Alright. Truffles are maybe too rare to plan for. I decide to look for fairies next, in my efforts to be more resilient against the Demon King. I remember seeing loads on sky islands - but where?
Although. There's been a blood moon since I went to that cave by Woodland Stable. Let's try that again.
I glide down towards the cave, and spot some horses on the road. It might be faster to ride…
This instantly backfires, as I land on the back of a beautiful blue-black horse and decide to keep him.
We ride back to the Stable, and I call him Roan for his beautiful coat.
And it turns out, fairies are not renewed at a Blood Moon anyway. Interesting. Time to try sky islands with fairy pools. The map suggests Sokkala Sky Archipelago might be a good option.
I don't think I'll ever tire of sunsets from the sky islands.
Hmm. No fairies here either. Am I carrying too many? I thought I could have more than three. Maybe I should cook these and come back?
A quick pit stop at East Akkala Stable, and I'm back. Excellent - I was right. I catch three more. Now we're in business - I start cooking and catching fairies to prepare myself as much as possible for what's to come.
Dinraal flies past on a trip back to the Stable, majestic in the night sky.
Josha is grateful that I followed the trail in the Depths to its end, but she doesn't have any new information for me. It's unlike her. I run up to talk to Purah, and tell her what Kohga said about the Demon King being beneath Hyrule Castle - though I did think she already knew. I guess if I need any more information, I'll need to go looking for it myself.
I nip back down to tell Josha what a good job she's done while I think about my approach.
I'll need plenty of food and weapons. Ideally some fairies to give me a helping hand. My best bet for food is truffles, but that means checking caves and wells. There was that cave system beneath the Great Fairy near Woodland Stable - that might have both food and fairies.
Time to start foraging. I head there first.
I find fairies, but no truffles. What about that chef's well cave, near the Hinox Bridge?
I stop by a shrine on the way, and it's evening by the time I emerge.
That's the other thing I could do with more of - hearts.
And I've misremembered about the chef's well - she was growing pumpkins, not truffles. I snag them anyway.
There's two other caves I can think of - the one up by the first geoglyph, and the one on the way to the snowfields from Rito Village. The geoglyph one is much closer, so I start there.
From the Lightroot, I can see a whole chain of Zora statues.
I follow the trail onwards.
I pass a mine at Ruto Canyon, and risk leaving the trail to find treasure. Excellent - a large crystallised charge. I should definitely visit the Great Sky Island and upgrade my battery.
I find the trail again, and keep running.
And when I reach the end, I feel foolish.
I've been here before. The Abandoned Lanayru Mine. This is the place I had to swim back across the lake after activating the lightroot. How long ago was that - a month?
Damn. Well, at least I know I'm in the right place. I wonder if Kohga is here.
He is indeed. He's still trying to unlock Rauru's panels.
And when I make myself known, he still wants to kill me.
We engage. I'll miss this guy when I eventually kill him for good.
He's verbose in defeat. It sounds like the Yiga have been collecting crystallised charges… for the Demon King. I suppose I should have seen that coming, though I had really hoped that they were following a different path.
There's only one mine they haven't ransacked, according to him. The Northwestern Abandoned Mine. There, they'll activate an ultimate weapon for the Demon King. I dread to think.
And he's off again.
The steward activates once Kohga leaves. The mine he's headed to is the Abandoned Hebra Mine. Access sounds tricky. Maybe there's somewhere near Rito Village where I can drop down into the Depths?
I trade some zonaite for crystallised charges at the forge, and accept a schema stone for a bolt boat from another steward.
Then I head to Rito Village to look for this chasm.
I circle the main spire of the Village, hoping for a wisp of gloom to show me the way. Instead, I find a campfire. The researcher Ponnick is here, and has found it for me! Very convenient. I hope Josha gives him a raise.
I head into the Rito Village Chasm.
First things first - illumination. I activate the lightroot.
We're in some kind of old structure - it's too ruined to see what it might have been. Kohga waits within it. He's uncharacteristically still.
But I'm not alone. I carry the avatars of five Sages with me.
His final machine is complete. It's a true mech, like the construct that houses Mineru's spirit. He intends to take it to the Demon King, in the Depths below Hyrule Castle.
I can't let him.
It's my toughest fight against him yet. It's lucky I'd already fought Mineru's construct - I know about the fences, and how it might attack. Once, he almost takes me down. But I defeat him, once again.
He pulls a last-ditch attempt out of the air, but the rocket isn't finished yet - and it hits him instead.
He's blasted away, and back out of the Depths.
Hmm. I'm sure that won't come back to bite me down the line.
The stewards wake now that the threat is gone. I clear the place in Kogha's wake - there are crystallised charges, a schema stone for a rocket platform, and diamonds.
After rinsing the place, I suppose I should report back to Josha.
Zelda - the Light Dragon - leaves me at the Temple of Time just as the morning bell is ringing.
I watch her fly away. I hope she knows that her task is complete. I hope she feels peace.
I suppose I should head to Purah. That final vision I was chasing seems less important now. I have found the Princess. I have found the Sword. What matters now is stopping the Demon King.
Purah suspects he's hiding in the Depths - which means following up with Josha.
Josha's research is pointing at the Eastern chasms, near Lanayru. She says that statues of the Zora will point the way.
Time to go.
I drop down the chasm at Kakariko Village, and fortunately land right next to a Zora statue. I begin to follow the trail.
How can…? That giant crab monster that we fought in Death Mountain is down here. I give it a wide berth, and don't feel safe until I've made it to Takaruk Lightroot. There's a flying machine ahead - I remember that Josha's research had been tracking the Yiga. I bet they're here too.
Not quite yet, though. This is just an outpost on a cliff, and they don't spot us passing.
The trail leads past another Yiga outpost, and I consider stopping to destroy it - but it looks complicated, and I suspect I have bigger fish to fry. Onwards.
I reach Kegopa Lightroot. I've been running in the dark for almost a day. Surely I must be almost at the end of the trail?
It's time to head back to the Deku Tree. Whatever lies beneath, I hope I'm ready.
Gloom Hands. Luckily, I see them before I touch down, and manage to get a head start on blowing them up. But in their wake… Phantom Ganon.
He seems… sleepy. Perhaps one on his own just isn't as fearsome as five at once. I have to concentrate, but thankfully it's not the near-impossible fight I was expecting.
I tense as he falls. Is there worse to come? But no. The gloom dissipates. The koroks have awoken. The Deku Tree is safe.
I ascend back up to the surface to speak to the Deku Tree.
It seems much has changed during his slumber. He shows me the vision of the last time I was here - with Zelda.
Even then, the seeds were planted. It was the Deku Tree who told Zelda of the Master Sword's power to heal and grow stronger in sacred power. And what she did with that knowledge… Zelda.
The Deku Tree senses the sword, even now. It must be with Zelda. With the dragon.
I hesitate. There are still parts of the story I don't know. Am I truly ready to take the sword back in hand without understanding all that came before?
The last geoglyph is near Lurelin. If I can get there quickly, I could still be with Zelda again today.
I use the Purah Pad to get to Hateno, intending to glide down the coast as much as possible to reach the last geoglyph.
But as I scramble across the rocks in the rain, I see her above me.
And as I keep running, telling myself I don't have any way to reach her from here, a rock falls from the sky right in front of me.
I can't resist. I use recall on the rock - Zelda's power - to ascend into the sky, and set off on this desperate chase.
The rock doesn't ascend far enough. But from here, I could reach the Rabella Wetlands Skyview Tower. Please, don't be broken.
Worse - it's overgrown, and the rain douses any fire. Impatient, I jam a wooden panel over the thorns in my way to shelter them while they burn.
Then I launch from the tower.
I don't even see the landscape beneath me, the beautiful sunset - just Zelda, ahead. And far enough below me that I think I can make it…
I couldn't have done it without Tulin. But here I am. With her again, exactly one hundred days since I let her fall. I couldn't have planned it.
I've landed on the very end of her tail. I make my way cautiously up to her head, gathering shards of her spines along the way. She's absolutely beautiful - especially in this sunset light.
The Light Dragon. How could I not have seen her for who she is? My researcher Princess would not be pleased. But it doesn't matter. I found her. And I'm going to figure out how to reverse this.
Her mane is soft. And there, right in the middle of her forehead - the sword.
Do I have the strength to remove it? Do I have the power to free her from this duty?
She thrashes against me, trying to hold onto the blade, to defend it. We fly higher, above the clouds.
And then, I think - I hope - she senses that it's me. She grows quiet. Her hold on the sword loosens. I grip it again, and draw it free.
I hear her voice. She has guarded it for so long. Through the sword, she will be with me when I meet with the Demon King.
I cannot heal her. I don't know who could. We fly through the night, in silence, together.
I report to Purah on the way to the Korok Forest, almost out of habit. It's a beautiful dawn at Lookout Landing.
Then to Woodland Stable. I hope the old secret path into the woods is still open.
Up the road, there's a small chasm, and a korok. It couldn't find the way back through the forest - and its friends jumped down here in the hopes of finding another way back.
Well. If the koroks can't get back in through the woods, I certainly won't manage it. Might as well try this chasm method instead…
There are koroks down here. They do not like the Depths. But they're pointing me in the right direction, I think. One points out the lost fog, emanating from above. That should mean we're on the right track.
There's Gloom everywhere. And then suddenly it's more than gloom - it's gloom hands. There's nowhere to run to. I throw bomb after bomb at them until they all burn - but then they become something worse. Phantom Ganon. He does for me.
This time, when the hands emerge, I scramble up a tree. Am I safe even here? It seems so - they retreat after a few awful minutes. I pause at ground level to make sure they won't re-emerge - and then we run for the lightroot.
The warm glow is very welcome. Judging on where we are in relation to the forest above… we keep walking.
There's a white glow that resolves into lights around a structure of some kind. I visit the lightroot first, just to be safe. The structure is a pillar, almost designed for ascension. In fact, the dreamscape sand at the base makes me wonder if a sage has had their hand in it.
I ascend into a strange version of the korok forest. The light is purple and dim. The Deku Tree is silent. The koroks are motionless.
I run for the shrine first.
Then it's time to investigate. Within the Deku Tree, I find wisps of gloom - and then a small chasm full of it. He's been here already, then. It's what I feared.
I don't want to leave the Tree like this any longer than I have to, but the simple truth is I'm running low on supplies. I head back to Woodland Stable for food and arrows.
While I'm here, I also visit the Great Fairy to upgrade my armour.
I sleep the last couple of hours of the night at the stable.
I'm stuck behind a door in this depot. Somehow, these wheels are supposed to winch it up - but I can't figure it out.
I try to wedge it open with the wheels by force, but I can't move them into place fast enough.
Eventually, I remember Zelda's recall - almost the first ability Rauru's hand collected. I feel embarrassed not to have thought of it sooner. It holds the door open so I can get the part through, and then I drive it down into the river and haul it back to the main workshop.
One more, back across the river. The right arm depot.
This one is playing with little wheels, and thankfully is reasonably straightforward. But I haven't lit the way back enough, and it's a bumpy ride back to the main workshop, where I crash into the construct-building station. Oops.
Mineru's construct body activates.
She steps from the supports.
She next wants us to retrieve her secret stone - further south in the Depths. She summons a building platform to experiment with augmenting her construct body before we move forward.
Piloting costs battery. I should go back to the sky island before we go much further, in case I can gain more power.
I make some progress towards the location of Mineru's secret stone. The construct is difficult to wield, slow moving and an easy target for enemies. I find it more useful to dismount when we find ourselves caught up with monsters. The cannon arm is pretty cool, though.
A gloom-ridden hinox up ahead. I can see a ledge up to one side though - I climb up and glide past it to the next workshop.
Mineru says we're getting close. There are lights up ahead.
We reach the Spirit Temple.
There's a statue through the central door - almost like a goddess statue, but it's one of Mineru's owls. She connects with it by green light - just as Rauru's hand connects to his panels - and the owl activates. The platform we're on descends.
We arrive in a cavern of some sort. There's gloom everywhere - but at the far end, there's the glow of Mineru's secret stone.
Can it be that easy? We start across.
We're stopped halfway. I knew there must be something. Barriers snap into place, and the platform becomes an arena. Another construct bursts out of the floor - a monstrous thing, filled with red light. The light of the Demon King.
We engage.
It's a tough fight. The other construct is more nimble on its feet, and its hits are punishing. It almost gets the best of us on two occasions. But we make it through.
I approach the secret stone, and Mineru emerges from the Purah Pad! Has she been in there all along? She takes me to the dreamscape all the Sages seem to have access to. Her construct will join me, it seems, as the other Sages’ avatars have. Well. We need all the help we can get.
She has more knowledge to impart. Knowledge of the final moments of the Imprisoning War. Of Rauru and Ganondorf's last conversation. Rauru told him of me, of the sword. That's how the Demon King knew. Rauru called Ganondorf arrogant, but it was just as much his failing too.
Mineru says that, afterwards, Zelda brought her the ruined Master Sword. They spoke of how to restore it. Mineru says it would take hundreds of years - Zelda says there would be a way. It takes me too long to recall the vision I saw, Mineru discussing the nature of dragons.
No!
She couldn't. She wouldn't… she would. If it was the only way. Zelda. What have you done? Mineru said it couldn't be undone. That… that strange dragon I saw at the Temple of Time, months ago now. Was that her?? Was that my Zelda? I didn't think…
My mind is scattered, even as Mineru still speaks. She says the Deku Tree would know where the sword could be found. The korok said something was amiss in the forest… the Demon King knew of the sword, thanks to Rauru's boasting. I must get to the Deku Tree at once.
