Man, it's not often that you come across an interpretation of the game as powerful as this. I've always found myself enamored with the fact that the Hero of Time suffers through perhaps the worst fate of any of the Links; chained to a cycle of time (twice, each in different mind-destroying ways) with no choice but to play god in a world he's not ready for. It's nice to read fun stories with him going on adventures, or getting with that one girl everyone wants him to get with, but I personally have felt that the ordeal would be too much for his mind to take. The implications of Twilight Princess' Hero's Shade only serve to fuel his fate; no matter how much he tries to escape it, only in death centuries later can he finally find peace and resolution to his tormented life.

As such, this piece serves as a fantastically morbid reminder that heroes suffer too, perhaps more than anyone else. The use of present tense vs. past tense creates a jarring but effective impact on the reader as they are slowly pushed to the "now", the inevitable slip of his mind. Highlights include the portion of Navi's seemingly paradoxical departure from his life, and (of course) the final three lines of the fic.

My main suggestion would be to take the line "He clenched his tiny fists," and convert it to present tense to fit with the "now" of the final few paragraphs. It creates a somewhat clunky transition to the present tense in the sentence that follows, whereas the tense switch from "He was a servant" to the new paragraph would serve a tad better in keeping with tense consistency.

All in all, a fantastic read. Keep up the spectacular work.

-LocalTalent53

Great interpretation!

Wow. Once again I love the way you wrote your story! And this time I remembered to review! I loved it, it was well written and showed a side to the game I and probably many people didn't notice. Well done!

Oh wow. The way you captured Link as a tortured soul in this story is really amazing. It seems accurate; nobody really asked him what he felt about it, and slave really is the way one might think of him if they took the time to think at all. He just sort of did what was asked of him, not necessarily what he wanted to do.

Bravo. You've certainly capture my attention thoroughly.

*holds Link sympathetically*

You would think that someone would try to help Link after all he's done for Hyrule. No love from the Princess. No kind smiles from the ones he has saved. He deserves so much better than this... :'(

After reading that story I feel like someone just punched me in the stomach.

Goodjob.

wow

Loverly little oneshot, as per usual.

~His constant company, tugging at the sleeve of his tunic, whispering destructive things in his pointed ear. Thing he doesn’t need to hear, things he shouldn’t have to hear, things that he shouldn’t understand… but he does. - That bit 'til the the end were just win. Loved the descripstion you put throughout :D Nice to see another oneshot from you x3. Keep it uppy~.

I just want to snuggle poor Link. That poor kid... well, man stuck in a child's body. That would be so utterly confusing to be tossed back and forth through time. Would definitely mess with a person's psyche... Can you imagine the hormone shifts?

Wonderful writing, descriptive language, and mood. If you want to know my favorite lines, just read through the whole thing again. :D