I woke up screaming, Lord Ghirahim's chuckles still reverberating in my mind. My body was slick with sweat, and I was shaking. Tossing the soaked sheets back, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and rested my elbows on my knees, my head in my hands.

It had been months since my battle with Demise, and even longer since my battle with Lord Ghirahim, but I couldn't get their voices out of my head. Every night I had the same dream, but every night it was getting gradually worse. The images were growing sharper, and the sounds were becoming louder. I couldn't remember the last time I had slept peacefully.

My nightmares were no secret, at least not to Zelda, the chosen of the goddess, and to Pipit, my closest friend. Everyday, Pipit would spar and joke with me, and every night, Zelda would lull me to sleep with a lullaby from her harp. But their efforts, though appreciated, were fruitless. My nightmares were growing stronger, and not only that, they were beginning to creep into the waking world. I only ever saw them lurking in the shadows or in the corner of my eye, but their presence always caught me off guard.

Once, I had been sparring with Pipit when suddenly, on the edge of my vision, I glimpsed Lord Ghirahim leaning against a tree. My head immediately jerked to stare at him, but as I did, Pipit brought his sword down. Having completely lost my concentration, I had no time to block his strike, and as a result, I received a long cut down my arm. I knew Pipit felt terrible--he had apologized dozens of times--and from then on, we sparred with wooden swords. We never spoke about the incident.

A similar happening occurred with Zelda. We had been flying on our birds, and for the first time in months, I was smiling. With the wind in my hair, and the song on the breeze, I had every reason to be happy. One minute, everything had been fine, but the next, chaos. For a split second, I blinked, and the world went dark behind my eyelids. But opening my eyes, the darkness remained. Ripping it open were violent streaks of lightning, and I immediately recognized them as being the very same lighting that had come from the sword of Demise.

My heart had stopped beating as I was placed back in that pivotal battle, and the oxygen seemed to have been sucked from my lungs. Blinking again, the world had returned to its peachy, sun-drenched self, but that moment of terror had done me in. Before I even knew what had happened, I slipped off my bird and began to fall through the clouds.

As Skyloft swept by me, I couldn't think to call for my bird. Vaguely I heard Zelda scream my name, but it hardly registered. I didn't fall for long. Moments later, Zelda and her bird zoomed beneath me and caught me, and I was safe, but the damage was done.

I couldn't trust myself anymore. One minute, I would be completely in control, and the next, I would be paralyzed. People, tastes, smells--all of them ran the risk of striking a nerve and plunging my reality into a twisted fantasy.

I could hardly separate the two anymore, and that was what scared me even more than the nightmares themselves. I was terrified that the day would come when I would be unable to defend the ones I loved, and they would be killed. Whether it was because of my cowardice or otherwise, I was constantly on edge.

Zelda and Pipit always tried to be there for me, but I could not trust them with my violent experiences as the Hero of Time. I didn't want my memories to bring them nightmares. I didn't want them to become broken, just like me.

Vaguely I heard Zelda enter my chamber. I heard her quiet footsteps, and I felt her arms when they wrapped around me. Sighing, I leaned into her, praying that she would not think me different because of this moment of weakness.