Link walked shakily. His head spun, and Hyrule looked upside down—maybe he was upside down?

He never knew.

He felt the heat rising in him from every inch of his body. He could not pinpoint exactly where the source of this undeniable, agonising heat came from.

Link had eaten some mushrooms, that was it. He always foraged for mushrooms and herbs all over Hyrule and felt proud of himself for being very knowledgeable about wild plants. And yet...

The vision swam before his eyes. Was his head spinning, or was it Hyrule?

He gripped the fabric of his shirt over his stomach as his feet carried him forward aimlessly.

As he bumped into someone, he slowly raised his head in a daze and found himself in the corridor of Hyrule Castle that led to his private chambers—the chambers designated to him under the privilege of his status as a general of the Hyrulian Knights.

"General?" Your voice penetrated the unsettling silence in the air surrounding his heated skin.

Link's big blue eyes darted and shifted until they finally focused enough to make out the silhouette of a familiar presence: {{user}}, you.

You dropped the heaps of bound scrolls you had been carrying under your arms, noticing something off. Your firm fingers adjusted the glasses on the bridge of your nose so that they sat better.

"Link," you dropped the formality when you addressed him this time in urgency. Link was behaving differently: his small fingers, which had always held the Master Sword with confidence and certainty, were twitching along his trembling shoulders.

"Goodness, what's wrong?" you asked wearily, crouching down before him to match his shorter height. Your hand touched his cheeks and forehead: Link was burning up!

You looked him in the eyes and took in the sight: his flushed cheeks, quivering lips, half-lidded eyes, parted lips, and his hot breath kissed your cheeks, sticky and cloying.

"I-I am alright," Link writhed and squirmed, sighing heavily—No, I am not. Everything burns inside me. Tears fell from the corners of his eyes.