The Legend of Wattpad: Zelda Magazine

Article Three: Theory Three: Link is dead in Majora's Mask

Now, I know I said that the Deku Mask theory is my favorite theory, but after doing a lot of research today, I have come to the absolute conclusion that this theory is my all time favorite. It causes you to do a lot of thinking and use a lot of facts to come this this theory's conclusion, but once you do all that, it all makes sense. 

There has been a lot of controversy lately about this theory. I thought this was the perfect article to do after my last article on the Termina Grief Theory, because that theory helps make this theory make a lot more sense. I recommend you read that article first before continuing this one, if you haven't read it already. 

So, the first thing to support this theory that I am going to explain, is the name of the country. Termina. This is obviously one of Nintendo's jokes, sort of like Navi being short for Navigate. If you add an "L" to the end of Termina, you get terminal which means "the end". It's commonly used in computer stuff, such as telling you a program has ended. Also, if you have a "terminal illness," it means you're gonna die, no stopping it. Most of you would probably think this symbolizes the fact that the entirety of Termina is about to be destroyed by a giant moon that is closing in on the people of Clock Town. And you would be completely right! That is probably one of the reasons for the name, but there is more to it. The name Termina was also a subtle way to say "the end of Link's life".

Then there are all of the characters in the game that look exactly like people in Hyrule. I call them Termina Counterparts. These people look exactly like people in Hyrule, probably because Link is dead and he is remembering all of the people from his life. This also leads me to the conclusion that Termina is probably a place created by the Gods that people go to to learn to accept their deaths before moving on, but in different ways. Link's way happened to be to go through trials to save Termina and then reach Ikana Valley where he finally do accept his death. Probably the reason for that being his way of accepting it was because he spent his childhood and adult life saving Hyrule. He must have needed to feel like a hero again in order for him to accept it. So, if you think about it, Majora's Mask in general was about the final stage of grief (Link learning to accept his death and the loss of his dear friend, Navi), but in order for acceptance to come, there still needs to be four other stages. That is the point of the main areas of Termina. After passing through four stages he finally ascends into acceptance, which is what he needs to do to accept his own death.

Now another thing that gives off the vibe that Link is dead is what the Happy Mask Salesman says to him. "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" You think it means that he's been turned into a Deku Scrub, but it is continuessly said throughout the game. Everytime the moon crashes into Clock Town and Link is killed, it comes up saying that exact thing, The big hint here is that its said after Link is killed by the impact. It obviously isn't just implying that he was turned into a Deku Scrub. Speaking of the Happy Mask Salesman, I want to also suggest that he is dead to and is learning to accept his death just the same as Link. I came to this conclusion after thinking about the fact that the Happy Mask Salesman was stalking Link. He followed Link into Termina, and if my theory about Termina being a place for people to find a way to accept that they are dead is correct, then the only way the Happy Mask Salesman could get into Termina, was if he was dead. His way of accepting his death is getting Majora's Mask back and keeping Skull Kid from causing anymore trouble. 

The next thing I found to show that Link is in fact dead in Majora's Mask, is that when he was thrown off of Epona and he follows the thieving Skull Kid through that door, he falls down what looks to be an extremely deep hole. In Zelda games, they have made much emphasis on the fact that you get hurt by falling from large heights. The hole that Link fell into looked to be very deep, deep enough so that Link probably would have died as soon as he made impact with the bottom. Yet he didn't. My only conclusion for this, is that that hole was in fact the portal to Termina, which is what I think is the place created by the Gods for people to accept their death and move on. 

Also, requoting what I said last article, all the transformation masks represent people who have died. This is a big thing because in Oot, all of those masks never transformed him and also they weren't created by playing the "Song of Healing" for people who have died or are dying. Then when you play that song that creates statues of your other forms, its kind of like funeral effigies. The big thing about this is you can only make those when you are wearing a tranformation mask or when you are Link. The statues are like memorial representation of those who had died. That kinda of gives off the sense that the only reason you can make those when you are regular Link, is because he's dead. Doesn't that make sense? 

Now I think thats the end of the proof for that theory. I have more, but it has to do with the timeline and the Hero's Shade, and that is for another article. I would like to point out however, that the Hero's Shade in TP says "Believe in your strengths" often just as the Happy Mask Salesman does. He also says he never got to pass on his knowledge when he was alive. Now since Hyrule Historia says that the Hero's Shade is in fact the spirit of the Hero of Time, also Link from Majora and Ocarina, you must want to ask the question of "Why didn't he get to pass on his skills? What stopped him?". Probably that he got lost in Lost Woods, then after assuming his stalfos form, he died, failing to pass on his knowledge. 

But I will talk all about the Hero's Shade for my next article. I think it is the perfect article to follow this one.

So, guys, comment your opinion on this theory and make sure to vote!

And if you have a theory of your own IM me and I might put it in the magazine! 

If you have a theory that you want me to cover, comment it and I will try to cover it.

If you have any  short stories, IM those to me too and I also might put those in the magazine.

See you next time I post, may or may not be Tuesday.  But there will deffinitely be a post on Tuesday!