"Thump, thump, thump..." The sound of footsteps echoed. Firelight flickered. Leonard opened his eyes to total darkness. For a moment, he was lost, unsure of why he was following a girl deeper and deeper.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing? He immediately began to question his existence. Leonard looked around; they were in an underground relic. The fire from the torch swayed in the wind, seemingly unstable.
"The miasma is getting heavier," said the girl with short, yellow shoulder-length hair. They reached a corner, and below still lay the endless staircase. The surrounding was a stone corridor, seemingly many years old. The girl turned back and kindly said to Leonard, "The cave extending downwards is much deeper than I anticipated, we should proceed cautiously." Leonard suddenly recognized the identity of the girl in front of him - Princess Zelda. Her yellow hair was neatly woven in front, not like the natural fall at the back. The most prominent were her large eyes, round face, and slender ears. Dressed in blue armor with a short cloak draped over it. Her tight pants outlined her beautiful curves; she was perfect from any angle.
He hurriedly looked at himself, also dressed in the same style of blue warrior clothes, complete with belt, long boots, gloves, and shoulder guards. His signature long ears, paired with a strand of hair hanging down, looked heroic. On his back was an impressive broadsword - I must have time-traveled, but I don't know where. Leonard thought, how did this happen? Wasn't I just asleep? I have the high school entrance exam tomorrow. Of course, Princess Zelda did not hear his inner monologue. She continued to step into the dark depths of the staircase. Leonard came back to his senses, and the princess was already 10 meters away.
"I never thought there would be a place like this underneath Hyrule Castle," Zelda continued, "When I was a child, I once asked my father what was under the castle? He told me that the topic was taboo. Even among the royal family, hardly anyone knows." The swaying torch, emitting light and inconspicuous sparks. Leonard brought his hand close to feel the warmth - is this real? The firelight reflected on Princess Zelda's fair face, and Leonard felt an innate sense of familiarity with her. "Even as a royal, it's forbidden to enter the castle underground," Zelda said as she walked, "Father said, only this instruction has been passed down." Leonard, unwilling to give up, continued to ask questions. Zelda added, "To find out the origin of the miasma, even if it means breaking the taboo... I have to investigate the underground."
Leonard examined the underground ruins they were currently in, many places had succumbed to the erosion of time, collapsed, melted. Green rocks protruded from the ground, emitting a faint glow. He touched them, they were smooth and cold, pleasant to the touch. He felt that at this moment he should be leading the way, not letting the princess face danger alone. "What's the connection between this underground space and the miasma?" Princess Zelda was walking and thinking, "Let's go deeper, maybe we can find some clues." The two walked past a pool of water, and the dark staircase below once again appeared in front of them, looking somewhat menacing and scary. "Reports say that many people have become ill after coming into contact with the miasma," the princess's determined voice came again, "But this bit of miasma... has no effect on you or me. But why is there miasma seeping from the ground of Hyrule?" The princess turned back, looked solemnly at Leonard, and said seriously, "It may be dangerous to continue investigating. But with Link, you by my side, I'm reassured!"
It really is Link! Leonard thought, have I crossed into the world of The Legend of Zelda? This must be a dream, a punishment for not finishing Breath of the Wild. In fact, I gave up on the prequel, Breath of the Wild. The world was too big, I didn't know what to do. Walking around also became too boring. Maybe my personal opinion doesn't represent the game experience of most people. But Leonard still firmly believed that the psychological damage caused by the prequel to him was still lingering.
"Let's figure out the cause as soon as possible." The princess's voice suddenly raised. Taking advantage of Leonard's distraction, the princess had already walked far along the stairs. Leonard immediately ran to catch up with the princess, his intuition told him that Princess Zelda was the key to going home! The rock wall was smooth, the firelight reflected on the two of them, looking a bit creepy. "Let's go deeper, maybe we can find some clues." Leonard asked the princess several times. But Zelda only had these two sentences over and over again, and there was nothing else. Leonard pinched his own cheek, and surprisingly felt pain. Isn't this a dream world? Why does it hurt? This Zelda is tall and seems to be a bit taller than me? That's strange. Well, she looks a bit cute. Can I kiss her? Leonard thought about it, and without any inhibitions, he immediately kissed her. The princess's fair face immediately turned red. She punched Leonard in the stomach and shouted, "Link, if you're disrespectful like this again, I will ignore you." Leonard was punched and held his waist, thankfully there was a sturdy belt, and the princess didn't really hit him... He saw that the princess was a real person, not an NPC, so he gave up on his bad ideas.
After walking a few steps. Zelda shouted, "Link, the Master Sword." It turns out the Master Sword on Leonard's back was emitting a blue light. It was very beautiful in the darkness. "The Master Sword is responding," Zelda said softly, "It seems that there must be something in the depths. After sealing the calamity that attacked Hyrule, the castle has been left alone. I didn't expect there to be such a place under the castle. Link, be careful when we go forward." After saying that, the princess went ahead again. Zelda was much braver than she appeared.
The two passed through a small archway. Leonard suddenly remembered that he could swing his sword, so he drew the Master Sword and swung it wildly, as if venting the dullness of the moment. He tried to use his signature charge attack, charging up to three times then swinging out a large circular blade, it was very powerful. But in doing so, he used up all his energy, and needed to take a few deep breaths to recover. The princess squatted in front of a pillar that had fallen in the middle of the road, as if looking at something? Leonard thought that he should solve the current problem first, maybe he can leave this dream world soon.
"This is... ancient civilization's old architecture," Zelda pointed at a collapsing wall and said. "Here are some texts... this is the Zonai civilization!" After speaking, Zelda quickly moved forward to what appeared to be an altar. The carvings here were visibly damaged. "No doubt about it, these artifacts are completely consistent with my understanding of the Zonai." Princess Zelda pulled out something that looked like a camera and began frantically taking pictures. "The Zonai are said to have existed in the ancient mythical era, possessing godlike powers. They lived high in the sky and flourished for a while." Zelda explained slowly. "Even though the history books mention the Zonai civilization, its full picture remains unclear, shrouded in mystery." After finishing her sentence, she walked off directly.
Leonard, who had just crossed over into this world, was left with a bewildered face. He hadn't played the previous game for more than a few hours, so he knew nothing about the rules of this world. Zelda, absorbed in taking photos of a statue as if she were a sightseeing girl. The statue was very tall and long, the body was like a huge snake standing up, and it was dressed in strange clothing, the skirt falling to the ground. However, compared with ordinary people, the hands and neck appeared very unusual.
Whoever brought me to this godforsaken place, when I get out, I will 'entertain' them properly, Leonard thought viciously. He felt irritated, wondering if he could give the verbose Princess Zelda a knock to make her shut up immediately.
They had been walking for so long, when would they reach the end?