John
Wild took in a deep breath as he stood in the middle of the arena at the Water Temple. The air was thinner up here, and the way it caused his heart to pump faster and vision to spin was thrilling. He grinned. It was a perfect day for a spar: clear skies all around, and just the right amount of anti-gravity lift in the air to make things a little interesting but not too tedious. He liked to come up here sometimes just to jump around for fun, and sometimes the jumps were a little *Too* High. But not today!

He was also excited to see what kinds of things Champion had up his sleeve. Not to be *Too* Overly optimistic, but Wild *Did* Have more experience under his belt, so he was putting his money on him winning. But he was a fair fighter when sparring. He would *Not* Have a repeat of the fight with Legend today. He would pay close attention to Champion so as to balance out his power level. 

Wild looked up at the sun. High noon, Champion should be here soon. He hoped this would be a chance for the guy to really let loose. He doubted he had another person quite on his level back in his world, so maybe he would finally open up a little. From what Wild had seen, Champion seemed to be ashamed to pursue his own interests and have fun. Maybe a good spar would bring him out of that shell a little.
Charles
Champion braced himself. Shaking his hands, he looked at the waterfall in front of him. With an exhale, he ran and jumped towards. Wearing the armor Mipha had given him, he ascended the waterfall and was launched into the air when he had finished scaling it. 

Wild was gonna pay for this. Champion had not signed up for the hell it had been to get up to this temple in the sky. Temples weren't *Supposed* To exist in the sky. But that was a moot point at the moment. He glided down to an area in from of an elaborate staircase and touched down gently. 

He peeled the Zora armor off in exchange for his Champion's tunic. It offered much more magical protection. 

Making sure he had all of his weapons in order, he strapped the Master sword to his back and began ascending the staircase. 

Oh. This was gonna feel great.
John
Heightened hearing picked up the sound of approaching footsteps. *There* He was. Wild turned towards the entrance and waved when he saw Champion appear over the top of the stairs. 

Ah. He didn't look happy. No doubt due to the climb here. Well, that might work to get the guy to really let it out. Good.

Wild started walking towards him, meeting the frown with a goofy grin. "Looks like you've been having fun," He started cheerily once he got close enough to be heard. "To be fair, I *Did* Tell you it would be an ambitious choice. But don't worry. The wacky gravity is the only weird condition for this. Just watch where you jump and you should be just fine."

He hummed a little in thought. "I did throw a curveball at you though, so if you want to play by any special rules, I'll let you come up with them. Nothing too restrictive though. I want you to really let loose today. Something tells me you don't get the chance to do that too often." It was really only fair. Playing on Wild's turf meant more of an advantage to him, so if Champion wanted to do anything to tip the scales a bit, Wild was more than game.
Charles
He was *Happy?* Champion's annoyance burned deeper. He had just climbed all the way up here, nearly fallen back to the earth several times, sworn an absurd amount, and Wild taunted him. Alright. Champion would play this game. 

He smirked. 

"No special rules on my end. I'm ready when you are." 

He drew his Gurdian Spear. He needed a chance to get to know how Wild fought before crossing sword blades with him. 

"Bring it on, old man."
John
Wild raised an eyebrow, something about his other version's tone told him he was annoyed. Well, it probably *Was* A difficult climb. He eyed the spear. A guardian weapon, but nothing he hadn't seen before. That meant he planned on fighting from a short distance first. Well, Wild wasn't planning on showing off his flurry rush this early, so two could play the distance game. "Alright, then. If no special rules are in place... Anything's fair game. Just make sure to let me know if you've had enough." He backed up a little before crouching to the ground and calling upon Revali's power.

***'You depend on me far too much,'*** The rito snarked inside Wild's head.

*'Just get me in the air,'* Wild sighed internally.

An updraft was created, and Wild shot upwards as the spirit form of Revali flew around him once. After he was well above Champion, he drifted to the left slightly before putting away the paraglider and drawing his bow, activating his Hyperfocus. In theory, Champion should be able to witness this happening in bullet-time, so this was more of a test to see if his hunch was right before going all in with the flurry rushing. Calling on the power of Fuse, Wild summoned a tendril of green light from his right arm, which darted into his purah pad and back out to spin around the arrowhead, forming a fire fruit. After letting it fly, he deactivated his Hyperfocus and resumed gliding, watching for Champion's reaction.
Charles
His eyes widened. Champion knew that power. How Wild had learned it, Champion had no idea until he thought he saw a spectral rito fly up. With the draft. 

In his stupor, Champion nearly missed Wild's bow being drawn. The glowing tip of the fire arrow tipped him off more than anything. He spun, narrowly avoiding a head on hit, but the flames still bit at him. With a fluid motion he put his spear away and pulled out his own bow. 

He notched a bomb arrow. He aimed at Wild to give the indication he was planning to fire at him, but instead shot the ground underneath Wild, hoping Wild would get caught in the explosion during his descent.
John
Wild smirked as the fire arrow got an indirect hit. Okay, so Champion could definitely perceive his actions in bullet-time, but just like Wild, the element of surprise seemed to be a weakness of his. He wasn't expecting Revali's Gale, so there was certainly no way he could predict how Wild handled his counter-attack. The thing about the Water Temple was that you fall much slower. And that miscalculation was going to cost Champion.

The moment Wild saw the aim drop, he took out his paraglider again and pressed his pinkie finger into his palm. The avatar of Tulin appeared, and with a bird-like whistle, a horizontal draft blew Wild well out of the way of the blast below. He grinned down at Champion as he circled him. 

"Clever, but I've got more tricks up my sleeve than you think," He called down before dropping to the ground. "And I've got friends. Might wanna watch your back." As if on cue, Tulin's avatar shot at Champion from behind, attempting to get a hit in while Wild had his attention.
Charles
On guard now, Champion watched him. Of course he'd forgotten to account for the goddess damned gravity. He was livid. He felt like he was making a fool of himself. It was careless. 

His thoughts were broken by the sound of a bow being drawn back behind him. Whomever it was could've been aiming at him or Wild. Champion couldn't afford another hit this early though. 

He kept his eyes on Wild, but he needed a plan of attack fast. He thought. He rolled to the side and head the arrows whiz in his ear. He'd calculated correctly by sheer dumb luck. 

Bombs were the right way to go, but he couldn't exactly count on when they'd explode. He needed timed explosions. Of course! 

He took his slate in hand, and with careful precision, he threw several remote bombs around Wild, hoping the gravity would slow him to get caught in even one of their explosions. 

"Try this on, then."
John
Wild's eyes widened as he watched Champion throw not one, not two, but *Five* Remote bombs his way. He quickly pulled out his shield, activating Daruk's protection in the process. He waited until the blasts went off, watching as Daruk's apparition appeared with a mighty *'ha!'* Before dissolving, then grinned at Champion through the cracked red ball around him. His eyes were shining, he was *Impressed.* "No way! You have more than two of those? That is *So* Cool!" He exclaimed in glee.

***'Hey, Little Guy...'*** Daruk's voice echoed inside his head. ***'Not to interrupt your fun, buuuut... Those blasts used up two Protections instead of one. Only got one of 'em left.'***

*'That's fine, we can work with that.'* Wild responded mentally, his smile faltering only slightly. He quickly recovered, though, and put away the sheild, deactivating Daruk's power. He then addressed his duplicate. "If you can do *That,* I bet you can do this next one too. I can even teach you after this."

He then started running again, and as he went, he accessed his inventory and selected splash fruit, which quickly materialized in his hand. Calculating the gravity quickly, he threw the fruit on the ground farther ahead than normal, and shield-jumped *Before* Activating cryonis on the puddle. He bounced off it perfectly as it rose up, boosting his height tremendously and sending him flying through the air on his shield. He then drew his bow in bullet-time again and shot a puffshroom at Champion. Even if it narrowly missed, the smoke explosion should obscure Champion's vision enough for an opening to rush in and attack.
Charles
He should've expected Wild to have Daruk's protection, but he had lapsed in judgement, and Champion was thrown by Wild's comment about only two remote bombs. Maybe his slate worked different, which he could use. 

The one ability he was afraid of though, was Urbosa's fury. It was the one thing in all of his time as a Champion he had not truly had time to come up with a counter for. Mipha and Daruk were easy enough— it was a matter of keeping them overwhelmed faster than they could heal or defend respectively. Even Revali could be subdued with enough patience and planning. Urbosa to Champion, though, was a force of nature he still had to figure out how to counter. 

In his musings he was oblivious to the puffshroom arrow, which hit him, and damn did it *Hurt.* That was a stupid mistake, and now he could hardly see. He needed to get airborne, and the best he could hope for was countering Wild if he did manage to get up close.
John
Yes! It hit! The puffshroom created a cloud of smoke around Champion, and Wild landed quietly. He then locked onto where he knew Champion must be, and launched himself forward.

This was the part Wild was truly anticipating. He couldn't activate his Hyperfocus here unless Champion made a move, so his plan instead was to attempt to get him to execute a perfect dodge and hope he would try to strike back. The thing about Wild was that the closer he got to an opponent, the more dangerous he was. His best card was Perfect Override, in which he could *Steal* An opponent's flurry rush and counter in bullet-time. But theoretically, Champion could do this too. 

He entered the cloud of smoke and swung the Master Sword at the silhouette of Champion, expecting either a dodge or a block. At this range, Wild should look like a dark shape lunging through the smoke, so it would come down to reflexes and whether or not Champion was as masterful at bullet-time as Wild.
Charles
He coughed. There was so much smoke everywhere. That was some trick, and Champion hated it. He had just enough time to react to the lunging shape. He closed his eyes and exhaled. He jumped sideways, and felt his senses heighten as he entered bullet-time. 

Despite how weird it felt, he loved the sensation of bullet-time. It was a moment of pure battle clarity. He felt like he was in complete control when he could move so fast without his enemies being able yo react. 

With a fluid motion he drew his own Master Sword and slashed at Wild.
John
Wild smiled as he felt time slow down around them. He had guessed correctly, Champion had taken the bait. Which meant one of two things: he couldn't do what Wild was about to and therefore wasn't anticipating it, or he was already a step ahead and attempting to beat Wild at his own game. Only one way to find out.

Wild felt half a wheel of stamina drain from him as he activated Perfect Override and turned, locking blades with Champion and immediately taking them both out of bullet-time. The impact of two Master Swords clashing caused a burst of light, and the smoke was blown away. 

"Guess that's another trick you don't have up your sleeve yet," Wild remarked, his smile lit up by the golden glow of his Master Sword. "Think about what *You* Have that *I* Might not. There's gotta be something. Hit me full force with it."
Charles
Champion's eyes widened. How many more tricks did Wild have? He felt wildly under-qualified. 

No. 

Not under-qualified, he was trying fight Wild as if her were Wild himself. But he wasn't Wild. And given that Wild didn't remember much of his time as a soldier, Champion was willing to bet Wild didn't know some of the things he could do. 


"Full force, huh?" 

He wanted to keep some of his best card to play in case he needed them later, so he began striking at Wild, working to chip away at the other hero's defenses. He could get in a massive blow if he could overwhelm him. And it seemed now was the perfect time given that he looked somewhat winded from that override of his perfect dodge.
John
Wild wasn't expecting the sudden onslaught of strikes, so quite a few got through. But he wasn't upset; no, instead he felt a sort of pride. Like every time one of his students managed to make him stagger in combat class. It meant a lesson was learned. Progress was made. Every time it happened, it filled Wild with a refreshing satisfaction, and even with dirt and scrapes on his face, today was no exception.

But he couldn't just *Let* Champion win. That would be a disrespect to the skill of the other fighter, in Wild's book. So he pressed his thumb into the palm of his right hand, and the ghostly avatar of Yunobo appeared beside them. It swung the Boulder Breaker straight into Champion's stomach, sending him flying off of Wild. After he landed much farther away than normal due to the anti-gravity, Wild straightened and wiped a bit of the dirt from his face.

"Heh, not bad at all!" He called across the distance between them, practically beaming. "Leaning into your strengths, not the opponent's. That's the only thing that let me put the Hero of Legend on the ropes. Good start, but chip damage isn't going to cut it, and you know it. I could tell you were building up to something. But you aren't used to learning opponents, are you? You've gotta be clever if you want to pull off something big on me."
Charles
Champion grimaced as he stood. He struggled for a moment to catch his breath. Sure the Goron specter didn't hit as hard as Daruk would've, but it still *Hurt*. On the plus side though, Wild's attack had knocked him near his spear. 

Champion sheathed his Master Sword, and instead pulled out his guardian flail. He smirked. 

"You want a show, huh?" 

With one of the Guardian arms, he grabbed his nearby spear and chucked it again at Wild. With its other arm, he grabbed Wild's chest and pulled himself back across the low gravity distance. It seemed wild underestimated the value of chip damage.
John
The flail took him by surprise, but the spear scraping into his side - and hurting a *Lot* More than it probably should - left him completely unprepared for Champion hurtling towards him. The clamp on his chest made him incapable of dodging, and Champion slammed into him *Hard.* The impact knocked him flat on his back with his doppelganger standing right over him. His mind raced. 

His first thought was that he needed to recover, and for that he needed Champion to be away from him. And for *That,* He needed to get creative. *'Revali, stop wheezing. I need you to blow him off me.'*

The rito in his head, who was laughing hysterically, seemed to be unable to respond. Thankfully, he still did as he was told, and his second use of Revali's Gale created an updraft *Beneath* Both fighters. Champion was thrown into the air, and so was the flail. Unfortunately, the claw was attached to him rather hard, and removing it by force was *Very* Painful. Wild kept his eyes on Champion above him as he unclipped his emergency fairy bottle from his belt (an idea from Legend) and uncapped it to recover some strength. It wasn't a lot, but it was something.

Okay. Time to get serious.
Charles
He landed hard, rolling several times. He was tired of being blown around. His arms burned from the constant scraping against stone. 

But he didn't have time to be in pain. Struggling, he pushed himself up and made a dash towards the flail. He dove towards it and rolled to the side once more with it in his possession. 

Then he caught his breath. He'd caught Wild off guard with the flail. Which meant Wild likely didn't have a flail and didn't know it's practical uses. He needed to get some solid hits in with the flail. He was running out of options, but he had Wild on the defensive for once. He didn't know how long he could hold it. 

With shaky legs he stood. With flail in hand, he thrusted his arm out and the flail went for his Guardian Spear again. When it was in the claw, he pivoted around, turning. In another fluid motion, the Master Sword was in the clutches of the other claw. He could now attack from a distance with two different weapons. Wild had a clear advantage while up close and personal, so it was time to fight from a distance. 

In a dance of some very fancy foot work, Champion swung his flail that held the Master Sword at Wild.
John
Okay, so Champion had figured out that Wild had no idea how to deal with that flail. At a bit of a loss, he used the time Champion was taking to grab his weapon to turn inward again. *'Fi, you figured out anything about that thing yet?'* He thought, standing up.

*'A magic flail,'* The spirit answered. *'This is an item you do not have, Master, and he appears very skilled with it. There is a 86% chance that it would be wise to avoid getting caught by it again until you can figure out how to disarm him.'*

*'Makes sense.'*

Unfortunately, the short conversation in his head distracted him just enough to get a *Nasty* Scrape on the shoulder with... The Master Sword attached to the damn flail. What the fuck. With a huff, Wild threw his Zonai arm out to the side, calling out Sidon and Riju, the last two avatars not already in the fight. He needed a distraction to recover more and figure out how the hell to counter that flail. He whistled, and all four of them charged at Champion. 

Wild had given his opponent an opportunity to tip the scales with a limitation, and Champion chose not to. He was going to regret that decision. Lightning was still off-limits per Wild's own rules, but everything else was fair game.
Charles
Champion was used to being rushed by multiple enemies at once. He quickly launched himself into the air with cryonis, and once again forgot completely about the lower gravity. He went sailing into the air, and landed rather roughly when he came back down. 

Winded and trying to catch his breath, he harnessed the power of his ice rod to cause a massive icicle spear in front of the ghost sages, and he hoped dearly that he could simply freeze them for a moment while he dealt with Wild. 

With that taken care of, Wild thrusted the other Flail arm out at Wild, hoping to catch him again with the spear. 

"Not a fan of these?" He taunted. It felt somewhat good to give Wild a dose of what he'd been receiving.
John
Damn. Distraction didn't work. He needed to get that flail out of Champion's hands. He would never be able to recover if the guy was constantly throwing these at him. The sages, unable to be physically harmed, hadn't been frozen. But all of them were stunned; the ice had caused all of them to be knocked backwards.

Then he got an idea. If he didn't want the flail to keep flying at him, why not *Send it back?* 

When the spear came at him, he was ready. Just before it hit, he activated Recall on it, and the entire weapon froze. Champion wouldn't be able to move it right now if he tried. "On the contrary, I think it's cool. Kinda jealous," He admitted with a smirk. "Unfortunately, you've used it long enough for me to know what trick I can pull on it."

Wild grabbed onto the chain. With a twist of his wrist, Wild set the weapon in reverse motion. Its movement was in perfect reverse, bringing Wild flying back towards Champion. As soon as he got close enough, he planted his boots into Champion's chest and launched himself away, wresting the flail from its owner. After landing a backflip, he noticed the other Master Sword still attached to one of the claws and frowned. He wasn't giving the flail back, but this belonged in its own hero's hands. He dislodged the hilt from the claw, placed the sword on the ground, and kicked it back towards Champion.

"That isn't a weapon for me to take," He called across the distance between them, his voice turning very serious. "And it's not one for you to carelessly risk being stolen like that. She's worth more than that." Wild closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out. Once he opened his eyes again, the stern glare was gone. He tossed the flail at one of the stone arches around them, and it caught onto the top, wrapping itself multiple times around it far out of reach. He then pulled his sword back out and pointed it at Champion. "Now, where were we?"
Charles
On the ground from the impact, he glared up at Wild. He rolled and picked up the sword. Something had snapped in him. It was like Wild's accusation was the embodiment of all of his self-doubt. The nights he'd spent agonizing over whether the sword made a mistake or if he was even worthy boiled to the surface. 

He'd given everything for his Hyrule. His happiness, his childhood, *His* Freedom. And now here was someone with his face, questioning his loyalties. 

He picked up the Master Sword and felt a holy power course through him. 

"You of all people should know what it's like to give so much of yourself and not have anything left. What I've had to give for them, and for her. What you've had to give. But if you want to see what destiny has made me, then by all means, see for yourself." 

He pressed the flat of his blade against his forehead and allowed first blue energy to engulf the master sword. With a battle cry, he spun, unleashing a devastating blow.
John
Things happened incredibly fast. That was usually the case when Wild died, even if it didn't happen often nowadays. Something he said must have riled up Champion terribly, because one second the guy was talking about sacrifices, and the next-

...
...
***"It was my pleasure."***
...
...

The ghost of Mipha floated around him and disappeared. His wounds from the spar sealed themselves, and energy returned to him like a fire being reignited. Warmth spread from his core to the rest of his body, and his health was completely restored. All that was left of their clash was the dirt on his tunic and trousers. Slowly, very slowly, Wild rose from the ground and stood, his back facing Champion. After a moment, he sighed and turned, looking at his alternate self sadly. Because this wasn't even the first time this had happened. It was just like his spar with Legend, but this time, he was on the receiving end of that anger. It was time to end this before things got further out of control.

Before he died *Again.*

"Okay, then," He said quietly, raising his sword with an unnervingly neutral face. "Let's wrap this up."
Charles
Unscathed. 

He'd taken everything Champion had and was left unscathed. 

Champion fell to his knees, his breath heavy and his muscles burning. The master sword barely held in his hands. He stared blankly at the ground. He had no tricks left to play. And in his chest he felt dull and empty. 

He'd faced hordes in the thousands and unleashed several of those attacks, but something about this one had broken his spirit. He had nothing left in him. 

Of course he'd seen the specter of Mipha, which held implications about what he'd done that he did not want to think about. He breathed in and out, his chest heaving. 

"I yield." 

It was a simple admission. Weak almost. 

"You win. You're the greater hero." 

He'd let loose like Wild wanted, but he wasn't sure he liked the consequences of it. He wasn't sure what the point was. He'd hurt someone in doing it. It all seemed to reinforce why he couldn't let loose. Why he couldn't ever let anyone see past the Chose Hero's facade. His forced stoic demeanor. No, if this is what came of it, he was right to hide his pain.
John
Wild let out a small breath and closed his eyes as he sheathed his sword. The situation was so painfully familiar. He knew exactly how Champion felt right now, and he needed to explain that. The guy looked broken, almost as bad as Wild had been after he thought he had killed Legend. And so Wild couldn't blame him for simply yielding just like that.

Silently, Wild sat down on the stone floor beside Champion. He pulled out his Sheikah Slate and swiped to the meals menu, looking for something in particular... Ah. Creamy Heart Soup. He tapped the icon of it on the screen and held out his hand, and slowly the blue tendrils from the device formed a steaming bowl of it, complete with sliced hearty radish. He placed it on the ground in front of Champion.

"I'm no better, you know," He said quietly. "My spar with the Hero of Legend went even worse. Killed him twice with lightning without realizing it because I lost my temper. That's why you never saw Urbosa's Fury."

He let out another sigh. "And the Master Sword... I wasn't trying to invalidate your experiences. I thought you were being careless with her. The sword, I mean. As someone who went through one of my quests almost completely without her... The idea that you would throw her at enemies on the end of that flail was... Disappointing, I guess. If I were a *Real* Enemy, I would never let you see that sword again." 

He took out his own Master Sword and traced the scars on the blade near the hilt, holding it out so Champion could see. "Ganondorf completely shattered her. Everything above this line had to be restored over thousands of years."
Charles
He picked up the bowl with silent gratitude and drank. The warm broth ran down his throat, relaxing his muscles and providing comfort to his heart. He smiled sadly. 

"It tastes just like hers..." 

He listened intently to Wild's story and felt a mixture of guilt and validation. It wasn't something he'd ever experienced before. He was grateful to Wild. 

"You talk about the blade as if there is sentience. I have never heard of the Master Sword as 'her.' I... Had thought you were mocking my feelings for Zelda and... Questioning my ability ti be a hero. I am sorry. I lost control." 

He touched the other Master Sword cautiously and examined the reformed blade. 
"I'm sorry. I didn't know. Is this... My future?"
John
Wild definitely took note of Champion's comment about the soup. He was curious but... It would need to wait. There were more important issues to talk about.

"I guess you must not hear her..." He mused. "I think I've already mentioned it over the parchment, but the other Champions' spirits lie inside of me, giving me their powers. I can hear them in my head... But alongside them, I hear *Her.* The spirit within the sword. Fi. She's like... A guide of sorts. Tells me things about battles and enemies I wouldn't know otherwise. Gives advice, sometimes. Maybe you'll hear her too, one day."

At Champion's question about his future, Wild took a deep breath in and looked up at the sky. "To tell you the truth... I don't know. I hope not. That quest almost broke me. By the end, I wasn't even doing it for Hyrule anymore. Ganondorf made it personal, and I wanted revenge. I thought I would never see Zelda again, and I wanted to kill him for it. It was... My darkest moment that I can remember."

Then he looked down at Champion with a look of pity. Beneath their experiences, they were the same person deep down. If Champion had to go through Wild's second quest too, he couldn't see him reacting any differently. The grief that consumed him only a few months ago had left scars on his heart, even if his many deaths to Ganondorf had left his body nearly unscathed. "Believe me, Champion. Never in a million years would I mock your feelings for Zelda."
Charles
He hung his head. The weight of what he'd done had finally begun to set in and his heart filled with anguish. He clenched his firsts. 

"I'm so sorry, Wild. I didn't mean to lose control like that." 

He exhaled sharply. His eyes widened slightly. 

"I could've taken you from your child had it not been for Mipha. I- How can you be so calm with me?" 

He couldn't look the man in the face. He bowed to Wild, head on the ground. 

"How can I atone?"
John
A weak laugh left Wild at the question of why he was so calm. "Champion, please get up. We'll just say you owe me one and leave it at that. Because I guarantee you, 100%, even if I *Didn't* Have Mipha, you wouldn't be able to make my soul leave my body if you tried a thousand times." 

Wild held the Sheikah Slate over the empty bowl, and it dissolved back into the screen. His tone was calm, albeit cynical. "The Shrine of Resurrection made me virtually unkillable. After falling in battle once, it made it so that it couldn't happen again. I've died hundreds of times. If you *Really* Killed me, you wouldn't remember it, because time would reset to before the spar began. And if *That* Happened, I would have called this whole thing off."
Charles
"Oh." 

What could he say to that revelation? Wild was unkillable and so nonchalant about the fact. It defied everything he knew. 

And Wild was nonchalant about it. 

Champion sat up, head spinning. "How many times have you died?" He asked quietly. "...And then. How did you live with that?"
John
Wild let out a single, bark-like laugh. It wasn't funny, but he really couldn't help it. Dying just wasn't a big deal anymore. He couldn't afford to make it one. "How *Many?* If I knew I would tell you. I lost count somewhere in the 20s or 30s, but it must be somewhere in the hundreds now. I've forgotten most of them, but..." He tapped his forehead. "Some I couldn't forget if I tried. Falling from the Great Plateau Tower, blasted by a Ruined Guardian, the Lynel on Shatterback Point... You get the picture."

He leaned back on his hands, looking up at the sky, completely blue since they were above most of the cloud layer. "When you can die an infinite number of times, giving you an infinite number of tries at getting past something, with no physical consequences, there are only two outcomes. You can go mad, or you can stop caring. And someone who can die as many times as it takes to get what they want can't really afford to lose their sanity, don't you think?"

He sighed as his head dropped to look at Champion again. "You call me the greater hero, but in some ways I envy you. For you, death is something you feel motivated to *Avoid.* Life has *Meaning.* I don't have that privilege. For me, the difference between life and death is reduced to merely the difference between success and failure. And even then, failure means nothing but another chance at success. And it's all I've ever known."
Charles
Champion gave a half smile and sat back. "You know, I didn't think I'd ever meet someone who understood what it was like to always... Be the hero I guess. To always have the weight of the world on your shoulders. It's... Thank you." 

Champion felt a release of emotions he didn't realize he'd been holding back. Relief. Pain. Understanding. It all flooded out of him in silent tears sliding down his face. 

"Thank you, Wild."
John
The tears were slightly unexpected, but Wild made sure not to give that away. He clapped Champion's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "No problem. Our experiences might be vastly different, but we're more similar than you think. The weight of my Hyrule is just as heavy as yours, and I won't claim to deal with that stress any better than you do. You bottle it up. I've convinced myself it isn't a big deal. Neither of those are good, but it's hard to find the time to heal when you have to worry about *Everyone else* First."

Wild looked up at the sky. From the sun's position, it looked like they hadn't been up here too long, even though it felt longer. But Champion was surely exhausted; they should head home soon. "Take your time, but once you're ready, we should head back and get some rest. You look like you need it."