Link burst out laughing at Ryze's complaints, his voice echoing into the wind. But Ryze, ever the sharp observer, caught something deeper beneath the surface of that laughter—a trace of bitterness quietly hidden in the young man's smile.
And no wonder.
Ryze reflected silently—someone like Link, cursed with the cycle of death and rebirth, was never destined to experience emotions the way others did. Whether it was friendship, kinship, or love… these things would always be fleeting to him.
He would outlive them all.
With every loop, every death and return, Link would inevitably grow numb. Detached. Cold. Everyone around him would slowly become nothing more than tools, pawns to be used and discarded at will.
"Mentor?" Link turned to Ryze, puzzled by the prolonged silence and the penetrating stare.
