By UsmaniaMarch 2, 2019
Forward: This is a piece of fanfic representing my imagining of the backstory leading to the events of Majora’s Mask and especially the final battle of the game. The story has an overall dark tone and in some places, graphic violence. I feel that upon reading it, you may view the events of Majora’s Mask in a completely different light, but either way, I hope you enjoy reading it. If you do, leave a comment at the end!
This was it. The time had come. Upon his unwitting journey to a strange land, he had met people beset with multiple tragedies, fought monsters even more terrifying than he ever encountered in his homeland and earned a plethora of magical masks for his trials. Now, he was on the verge of coming face-to-face with the scourge of the land, the scourge being a mask itself. But it was no ordinary mask infused with orthodox magic. The magic itself was evil. True, the various masks he had collected displayed spectacular magic. After all, some of them turned him into members of different races, others enhanced his senses, one even turned him into an expert dancer! But this mask, from the first glance oozed eeriness. From its complex colors, its weird shape, but most of all, its piercing eyes and petrifying gaze, it was clear that the mask was pure evil. A pure evil which had driven it to manipulate an innocent child to commit unspeakable actions. It had caused mayhem in the lives of multitudes of people across the land. But this wasn’t even the worst of it. The mask had cast a diabolical spell upon the moon overseeing the land, compelling it to crash into the ground to exterminate the land and everything in it. But after his painstaking efforts, including multiple trips back in time to avert this horrifying fate, Link watched this mask cast aside the child it had manipulated to do its bidding like a useless rag doll and disappear into the moon. As the hero he thought himself to be, Link deemed it his duty to follow the mask in the endeavor of seeing the mission through and protecting the strange land from impending doom. He had arrived into what seemed like a peaceful garden with children playing and running around a giant tree. After conversing with each of them and giving them varying numbers of masks upon request, he was faced with a lonely child sitting next to the tree. But this child was wearing the bane of the land. The Majora’s Mask itself.
“It’s over now. Leave the people of Termina alone”, spoke a normally quiet Link. Given his meek persona, it sounded more like a firm request than an intimidating order. The child wearing the mask, sitting in a reclusive position, simply replied: “…Everyone has gone away, haven’t they? Will you play with me?”. Taken aback, Link simply responded with a simple “No”. Ignoring the response completely, the child stood up and declared: “You don’t have any masks to share, do you? Well, let’s do something else”. His patience starting to be tested, Link simply said: “Look, no more games. I don’t want to fight you. Just give yourself up, come down to the surface and ask forgiveness from the people of Termina for your misdeeds”. The child seemed to take no notice of Link’s words at all. He just carried on and stated: “Let’s play good guys against bad guys… Yes. Let’s play that!”. It seemed as if this child had waited for eons of time to say this. He then reached under the tree and pulled something out. It was what looked like another mask. But it was very different to any mask Link had ever seen. It was the mask of what looked like a Hylian face with red markings under the eyes and a large green marking on the forehead. For reasons completely mysterious to him, the child handed Link the mask. Upon handling the mask, Link felt a tremendous power coming from it, a power which seemed familiar, familiar to the repugnant mask he was on the verge of confronting. Suddenly, the child spoke again: “Are you ready? You’re the bad guy. And when you’re bad, you just run. That’s fine, right? Well.. shall we play?”. “Just you hold…”, Link barely started speaking when suddenly, he felt the world around him shake. The children had all disappeared. The peaceful garden he had been standing in was darkening. Then, a portal spontaneously appeared before him. This portal, he assumed, would take him straight to the Majora’s Mask. Readying himself, Link was about to step into the portal, when he heard a voice. “Stop”. He looked around, but saw no one. The voice again called out: “Stop”. Suddenly, the mask he was holding flew into the air and faced him. Startled, Link drew his sword, expecting to fight it, but the mask declared: “Calm yourself. I am not your enemy. I am here to aid you in your fight”. Skeptical, Link asked: “Who are you?”. The mask responded: “The only one who knows the truth about Majora. Before you step through that portal for battle, you must hear this truth”.
Many Thousands of Years ago
The fireworks were going off in the sky, the colors bright and apparent despite it being the middle of the day. These fireworks were being shot from one of the city’s largest buildings, the Tower of Clocks. This was one of the famous monuments of Ta’Loh Naeg City, the capital of the land known as Torina. But this was no ordinary day in Ta’Loh Naeg. The streets were full of crowds. The crowds were full of ecstatic faces and masses of waving flags. These flags had a certain symbol painted on them, the symbol of a golden eye. Suddenly, a very loud voice made itself heard. “Now for the main event! The return of our brave and victorious army!”. The crowd gave a huge cheer. Five large vehicles emerged. All had that same eye symbol branded on them. They were making their way past cheering crowds towards the center of the city. Once they had arrived at this destination, they all stopped. The center of the city had a lavish stage set up. The drums began to beat faster and faster. The loud voice once again spoke. “And now, it is my honor to present, the man who made all of this possible. The man who single-handedly turned our land into a bastion of power and might, a man whose name makes enemies tremble in fear. Please welcome, our supreme leader, Governor Wilhelm!”. The cheer from the crowd turned into a deafening clamor. Out of one of the parade vehicles emerged a figure. He was accompanied by two bodyguards either side of him. He walked up the stairs and towards the edge of the stage. The man looked in his late 30s and had pale skin, very full white hair and wore an impressive padded light purple tunic. He stopped in front of a podium and began to speak. “My Sheikah brothers and sisters, we have once again dispatched what was a growing threat to our people. The cunning and barbaric Garo folk were beginning to infiltrate our society, steal our secrets and plot our downfall. But what these people didn’t know was of our own mastery of stealth and it very much shocked them when we got wind of their nefarious schemes. When situations such as these arise, might is right. No way could we allow them to get away with this, so the strategy was clear as day, obliterating them was the solution. And obliterate them we did. Under my command, we entered their land, gave their forces a hiding to behold and for their transgressions, handed their people a routing they shall never recover from!” The crowd gave a huge cheer. Governor Wilhelm continued: “The fate of the Garo is a message to anyone who wishes to trifle with the Sheikah that we are stronger than you, smarter than you and should you wish to even think about harming us, you will meet the same fate as the foolish Garo, cleansed from the face of this world! And should anyone…”, suddenly, there was an explosion. The crowds agitated. On top of one of the parade vehicles there appeared an abundance of purple smoke. Then there was the sound of maniacal laughter. Once the smoke cleared, there stood a young woman. She had long purple hair, piercing green eyes, red shadowing around her eyes and a red, green and purple gown. But most prominent was a crazed smile. The security guards all pointed bows and arrows at this malevolent-looking figure. “Well well well, looks like your wolf of a leader has galloped back from another blood feast, he he he”. Calm, but visibly angry, Governor Wilhelm replied: “Leave! You are not welcome here, witch”. In return, the intruder responded: “Witch? He he ha ha ha. That’s Majora to you. That is, if all your blood baths haven’t slowly been degenerating your brain”. Some of the guards began pulling their arrows back, when Wilhelm signaled them to back down. “Well, Majora. You are extremely foolish to show your face here. You have no idea who your dealing with.” But he was rapidly cut off by more maniacal laughter. “Aww, look at you. Standing all high and dandy in front of his sheep, showing your brotherliness to them all, but guess what, you’re just a wolf pretending to be a sheep, ha ha he ha he”. With more force, Wilhelm asserted: “I am giving you one more chance Majora, leave this place with your life intact. Be grateful because I’m not one to give anybody chances”. However, Majora just gave an even more deranged laugh. Then, she uttered the words: “Standing up tall is the ruler of the land; Like a beautiful moon shiny and grand; But with pride will soon come a fall; Landing hard and crushing all; HE HE HA HA HA”. Governor Wilhelm decided he’d had enough. “FIRE, take this wretch out NOW!!”. The guards all fired their arrows, however, before any of them could hit her, Majora disappeared in another puff of purple smoke. The smoke cleared and so had this troubling being. The crowds were clearly disturbed by this development. But being the leader he was, Governor Wilhelm cleared his throat and declared: “My people, this witch is only but one person. No matter what gimmicks she presents with, she will never stand up to our might. And should she ever dream to threaten us, she will be met with such ferocity that it will make her regret ever being born!”. The crowd gave a firm cheer.
Later that day, Governor Wilhelm had returned to his headquarters, the Governor’s Parliament. He was seated at one side of a round table and was surrounded by five of his top advisers. “Mr. Governor, like our previous encounters with her, she may not have physically caused any harm, but she seems to be on a mission to sow fear into our society”, said one of the advisers. However, Wilhelm balked at this: “Nonsense! I have led this land to comprehensive decimations of our adversaries. There’s no way that this insane fool can cause fear. Such a belief is laughable!”. “But Mr. Governor, one of our army men managed to take a sample of the material creating the purple smoke and we have found hallmarks that it comes from the Western outskirts. And that’s where THEY are currently living”. Wilhelm’s face expression was now less dismissive and more serious. “So you mean to say, Majora is a member of THAT tribe? The Condemned?”, he asked. Another of his advisers replied: “All evidence points towards such a direction for sure. And it makes further sense, since Majora began rearing her head a few years after the Coup d’Etat”. Governor Wilhelm hadn’t come into power in Torina through an election or inheritance of power. He had been a prodigy in the art of war. After one of the wars, he had been promoted as a leading general of the army as a teenager after single-handedly defeating 100 opposition warriors. Further successes saw the previous Governor appoint him as the leader of the military at the young age of 25 years old. However, for reasons known only to him and a few top advisers, Wilhelm staged a successful Coup d’Etat against the Governor at the time. After attaining the status of Governor following this coup, he had the previous Governor executed for ‘unspeakable crimes against the Land of Torina’ and banished his family, his loyalists and their families. These people were referred to as ‘The Condemned’. “Worry not, The Condemned are no threat to us. I deprived them of all our technologies. They are now no different to peasants. We need to tighten up our security and keep them out of Ta’Loh Naeg. This is of even more importance now as tomorrow is the Annual Festival of Masks”. An adviser affirmed: “It shall be done Mr. Governor!”.
The Western Outskirts were indeed the abode of the recently formed Condemned tribe. The home of the Condemned was nothing more than a shanty town and the people indeed lived a peasant-like lifestyle. That night, all the members of the tribe were gathered around a large campfire. “There she is, the pride of our tribe”, declared one of the tribe members. Walking towards the campfire to join her fellow tribe members was Majora herself. In her hands was a container. “Now now, my people, today I returned from that hurly burly-obsessed city. They were terrified by the sight of me. And their leader… he he ha he ha… walks and talks like he’s got an impenetrable barrier covering him and his people. But… his deluded mind is going to take a huge shattering very soon”. Majora then reached into the container and pulled something out. “Behold, I finally completed the creation of our talisman!”. It was a mask. Very unusual in its appearance, it was shaped like a love heart, but had spikes on both sides. It was mainly colored red and purple, but most notably, had such demonic green and yellow eyes that even some tribe members were visibly in discomfort looking at it. “Why is this talisman a mask?”, asked a tribe member. Majora responded: “My friend, the Festival of Masks in Ta’Loh Naeg is one which signifies love for the Sheikah ideals. And they pride themselves in the obsession of masks, given that stealth is such a strong forte of theirs. With this in mind… he ha ha ha… I decided that the symbol of their downfall should be a mask taking the shape of love itself. Genius isn’t it? He ha ha ha”. Another tribe member replied: “Fantastic work Majora, now, time for the ritual to activate the talisman”. The drums began beating. They momentarily paused, when Majora stated: “Now, the talisman requires the sacrifice of four young souls. Bring forth the children”. At that moment, four children were brought to the front. They were slightly scared, but had determined looks on their faces. It seemed they understood the necessity of the ritual. “Speak forth your names, children!”, stated Majora. “Odolwa”, “Goht”, “Gyorg”, “Mould”, replied the children one at a time. They put their hands upon the mask. Majora began reciting some strange words: “Ohway askmay, aketay ourway acrificesay andway omecay otay ifelay”. She repeated these words continuously. Suddenly, the four children fell to the ground and laid lifeless. Then, the ground began to shake. The mask’s eyes started to glow. It rose from the ground. The power emanating from the mask was phenomenal. All the tribe members stood up and clamored. Majora grabbed the mask and with a loudly projecting voice, bellowed: “NOW, MY DISCIPLES, TA’LOH NAEG AND THEIR SNAKE RULER WILL PAY FOR THEIR CRIMES, HE HE HA HA HA!”.
The next evening, Ta’Loh Naeg was home to an atmosphere to behold. The Annual Festival of Masks had come. The inhabitants of Torina’s Capital City always looked forward to this day. Households would design weird and wonderful masks and go out into the city wearing them. However, on this occasion, security was amped up. Governor Wilhelm had given special orders for army patrols to be heavily enhanced and to shoot down anyone acting suspiciously.
The carnival atmosphere always involved a plethora of events throughout the night, including tales of Torina’s glorious past, poems and plays. One such play was going on in the center of the city, telling the story of how the ancestral Sheikah fought off monsters and dragons to found the land of Torina itself. The play was coming to a rousing climax, when there was a strong puff of wind emanating from the center of the stage. This was followed by a massive ball of flame. Thinking it was a special effect part of the play, the crowd cheered. Five figures emerged from the ball of flame. They were heavily armed with weapons. Following them appeared a sixth. It was wearing the most horrifying mask anyone could imagine. When the ball of flame disappeared, the figure removed her mask. The audience then gasped in horror. It was Majora, those crazed eyes and smile made it apparent. “He he ha ha ha… now, CAUSE MAYHEM!!!”. Her accomplices started attacking all who were close to them. Blood was being splattered everywhere. Majora then put on her mask. She raised her hand and started shooting beams around the area. Some of the nearby buildings began catching fire. The atmosphere of happiness and excitement suddenly transformed into fear and terror. People were screaming and running all over the place. Masks were being left on the ground. “HA HA HA HA. This is what I wanted to see! People in horror, despairing for their lives!!”, shouted Majora. However, the army men who had been on duty were quick at hand. They confronted Majora’s accomplices, surrounded them before they could split up and sprayed them with arrows, killing all of them instantly. Majora saw this and put her hands on her head. “Stand down witch! Surrender and give yourself up. You are completely outnumbered!”, said one of the army men. “AAAHHHHH, Curse that man! He was ready for me!! But next time, he won’t be so lucky, HE HE HA HA HA!”, and just like that, Majora once again disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.
Ta’Loh Naeg was now in a state of emergency. The streets were full of army men, emergency teams were tending to the injured. The center stage was stained full of blood. Back in the Governor’s Parliament, Wilhelm was briefed about events and he immediately called for an emergency meeting with his counsel. His eyes were raging like a lion who had lost his prey. “Tell me, how did she evade our intense security and get into the center of the city?” he calmly inquired. The counsel was silent. “ANSWER ME!!”, bellowed Governor Wilhelm. With his hands shaking and voice breaking, the army general answered: “Mr Governor… we don’t know for sure. But… it seems Majora brought a mask with her that was acting like some sort of talisman. Maybe that’s how she transported multiple people into the middle of the city. And I would say this, despite 10 fatalities, the damage could have been much, much higher had we not enhanced our security before the festival. We were very lucky”. At this, Governor Wilhelm stood up. He slammed his fist on the table. “Oh I see now. I made a terrible, terrible mistake the day of the coup. I believed that my predecessor had limited only himself to being swayed by dark magic. Dark magic which is immoral and in complete defiance of the Sheikah ideals and technology. My judgement was correct in putting him down as quickly as I could once I learnt of his unspeakable crime and performed my subsequent Coup d’Etat. But I now know, I should have demolished his cursed family and loyalists along with him instead of banishing them. I never imagined that my predecessor was already spreading this insanity to those close to him. But… I am going to right this wrong. Tonight. We will storm the Western Outskirts and exterminate them. Each and every one of them. And Majora, she will meet the most miserable of ends at my hands”. An adviser then asked: “But Mr. Governor, it will take a little time to mobilize a force to do this…”, but before he could finish, Wilhelm opened one of his drawers. He took out a big container, opened it to bring out a massive sword. It was his trademark sword, the one he had used in all of his previous battles. He had killed so many enemies with it, that it was given the name Sword of Fate. It had the shape of an elongated 8, with an extremely sharp tip. It was green and blue in color. “I will personally be commanding this army. The Condemned will be put down like the filthy dogs they are in front of my eyes. They will feel wrath, power, and most of all, excruciating pain… pain which can only be dealt by… a fierce deity!”.
And Governor Wilhelm was a man of his word. That night, he mobilized a moderate number of forces and journeyed to the Western Outskirts. He ordered his best archers to fire numerous bomb-laden arrows onto the home of the Condemned, who clearly had no idea what had hit them. He then led his forces into the small town and killed everyone in sight. Men, women, children, no one was spared. Some met their fates at the hands of the Governor himself. He also ordered some of his men to spread gunpowder wherever they could and light fires. “Mr. Governor, I think we have wiped out pretty much all of this damned tribe. But we haven’t managed to find Majora herself”, said one of Wilhelm’s men. “Leave Majora to me. I am going to finish off that witch once and for all. Me and only me!”, Wilhelm replied. He then set off deeper towards the center of the now-ruined town. “MAJORA! COME OUT HERE!! AND FACE THE WRATH OF ME, YOUR FIERCE DEITY OF DESTRUCTION!!”. Suddenly, from the house right in the middle of the town, she emerged. Majora, looked around at her destroyed town and gave a blood-curdling shriek. “YOU MONSTER!! YOU’VE TAKEN MY HOME. YOU’VE TAKEN MY PEOPLE FROM ME, AAAHHHHH!!”. She was, at this point, rotating her torso with her hands on her head in complete derangement. “Yes, witch. This is what I do. What I do to anyone who threatens my people. I bring forth absolute destruction upon them!”, replied Wilhelm. There was a sense of satisfaction in the tone of his voice. As if he relished the destruction he had instigated. Majora, with her head initially facing the ground, slowly raised it up, and with an even more crazed smile, stated: “Your… people? YOUR PEOPLE? He he ha ha ha. I AM THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE STANDING THERE SAYING THAT!! THAT’S IF, YOU HADN’T MURDERED MY DEAR FATHER!!”. Wilhelm’s eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped. This was the moment he realized, Majora was in fact, the daughter of his predecessor. The previous Governor whom he executed following the Coup d’Etat those years ago. “Aww, looks like you’ve seen a ghost, Governor. Or should I say, impostor, he ha ha ha”, taunted Majora. “The evil magic which he was secretly festering had no place in our land. I was the only one to discover his disgusting secret and it was my duty to punish him and his family. But given how you have become such a skilled practitioner of this grotesque magic, it is clear to me that there’s someone out there who influenced your traitor father and taught you this abomination”, inquired Wilhelm. “Well, you really are a bright one aren’t you? He he ha ha. Yes, my teacher is a being of mystery. A being who only appears rarely, from under the Earth”, replied Majora. “Enough, time for you die, Majora”. Wilhelm drew out his sword and gripped the handle with both hands. Majora brought out her mask and put it on her face. Great power began to emanate from her. “Ha ha ha. This dark magic which you tried to wipe out like your other victims will be your downfall, Governor. Now, let’s play, he he he”. Majora took out two handles from her belt. They rapidly extended to become whips. Majora then aimed one at Wilhelm, who rapidly dodged. She was moving around the rubble of her hometown with the agility of a seasoned dancer, even churning out bizarre dance moves to taunt Wilhelm. At last, one of the whips reached Wilhelm, wrapping itself around his right leg and bringing him to the ground. Majora quickly jumped at Wilhelm, who then lunged his other foot straight into Majora’s stomach. This knocked her off balance. With brutality, Wilhelm chopped off Majora’s left arm. She gave a loud scream. After he relieved his right leg from the whip, Wilhelm swung his sword at Majora, who just about dodged and jumped backwards. Her lack of a left arm hadn’t done a lot to impede her mobility. But her attacks had increased in aggression. One even hit Wilhelm hard on the shoulder, causing him great pain. This led him to hide behind a large piece of rubble. But she found him much quicker than he had expected. Just when she was about to land a lethal whip attack, Wilhelm dived forward low and chopped off Majora’s right leg. Screaming, she fell and rolled a few yards back. That was it. Majora was no longer able to move and continue the fight. With a haughty smile, Wilhelm slowly began to walk towards her. “Face it, witch, even with your cursed magic, you were no match for my superiority”. In excruciating pain, Majora took off her mask with the little strength and the one hand she still had. “This… this is not over… he he he… in fact, this has only begun”. With a sinister sounding laugh, Wilhelm snarled, “Well, I always knew you were deranged in the mind. But you seem convinced of it yourself now”. Suddenly, Majora put her hand on her mask and began repeatedly reciting strange words: “Indmay andway askmay, ergemay ouryay eingsbay asway oneway”. By the seventh recital, Wilhelm was standing over her. “Time for you to join your father in the Sheikah line of the damned. But know this, after today, I am going after the one who taught you this madness and I will deal to him the same punishment as your savage tribe. Now, say goodbye, Majora!”. With that, Wilhelm dug his sword straight through Majora’s chest and pulled it out. With that, Majora’s lifeless body fell to the ground. Wilhelm then put his blade back into its sheath, turned around and began walking away. However, while he was walking away, the mask began to rise from the ground. The mask started following Wilhelm, who sensed something was behind him. He turned around to see nothing. Thinking it to be his mind playing tricks on him after a battle, he thought nothing of it. He turned his head back towards his path. However, he jumped when he saw the mask right at his face. But before he could do anything, the mask forcefully latched onto his head. He then felt his body beginning to disappear. From his feet, to his legs, his torso his arms and hands, until finally, his head. He felt his world blank out.
Wilhelm could feel sensation back into his body. He then opened his eyes. But, to his surprise, he wasn’t in the Western Outskirts where he had wreaked destruction upon. He wasn’t even in the land of Torina. No, forget that, he realized that he wasn’t even in the normal world of the living. He was in an extremely strange room. The walls were multicolored with strange markings. Then, he heard a voice. “He he ha ha ha”. A panicked Wilhelm asked: “Where am I? MAJORA, what have you done!”. After repeated laughs, a response came. “Why are you calling my name? You cleansed me from the face of the Earth, didn’t you? Ah, but… before you dug your sword into me, I used a special spell to transfer my consciousness, my soul, into this mask. I told you this was just the beginning”. But Wilhelm interrupted, “I don’t care for your useless stories, tell me what is going on and where I am”. Suddenly, Majora’s Mask appeared. “He he ha ha ha. My magic, together with the power infused into this talismanic mask, make a formidable pair. It allowed me to trap you here. Here, inside my consciousness. He he ha ha ha. My consciousness is your prison”. Furious, Wilhelm bellowed: “YOU DAMNED WITCH, RELEASE ME THIS INSTANT. I HAVE NO TIME FOR THIS. I HAVE A LAND TO RULE OVER!”. “Na ah ah, your holiness. In my consciousness, time doesn’t work the same way. You think that the outside world is exactly the same, don’t you? But I’m gonna shatter this so-called stone heart of yours. Behold!”. Suddenly, the multicolored walls started to change colors. They then began showing visions. It was his land, Torina, his city Ta’Loh Naeg. They were being destroyed, ruined, in flames. Wilhelm’s heart sank. “In the so-called real world, he ha ha, a long time has passed, foolish Governor. Your disappearance was a tragic event your people never recovered from. Confusion sowed into Torina, leading to civil wars and multitudes of death. Your, he he, I mean, our people, the Sheikah, became almost extinct due to these battles. The condition of Torina became, shall I say… terminal. Even the proud eye symbol became stained with a tear to signify how far the Sheikah fell. And as a result, other races you subjugated strengthened. But you know what’s funny, the land was reduced to calling a young, blonde girl their leader, he he ha ha ha”. Wilhelm was completely heartbroken at these visions. He knelt to the ground in despair. “What do you want from me now”, he resignedly inquired. “Trapping you into my consciousness is just the beginning of what I’m capable of. All I need is a host body. But not just any old host. I must find a young child. I child with the type of desperation and misery you put me through. And when I find one, the things I will be able to do will be unbelievable, he he ha ha. I could perform magic never heard of before. Maybe, I could even create my own world, my own reality. He he he, my own reality… wouldn’t that be great now? And I would give you a front seat to witness it all, you should consider yourself fortunate… He he ha ha”. Wilhelm sighed: “You intend to keep me a prisoner forever?”. Majora just laughed. “Aww, you feeling left out? Well, you never know, if I get bored of seeing your pathetic face all the time, I may just give you a small chance to escape one day, when an appropriate time comes. Speaking of face… he he he…”. Suddenly, Majora’s Mask began sprouting arms and legs. When it completed doing so, it pointed one of its hands at Wilhelm and shot a blue beam. Wilhelm screamed. He once again felt his limbs and torso disappearing. But this time, only his front face remained. Then he realized what had happened. He was now a mask, albeit sentient. Majora then walked up to this newly formed mask on the floor and picked it up. “My, how the tables have turned, he he ha ha ha. Now, I am the one with absolute power!!”.
The Present Moment
With a stern face, Link looked up at the mask. “So, you want to use me to settle your score with Majora, is that it?”. In reply, the Fierce Deity mask stated: “No, young hero, it is much more than that. Being imprisoned in this consciousness of Majora gave me a wealth of time to reflect. To think clearly, something I was unable to do in the world of the living. I may have conquered many lands, but I was consumed by power and a desire to always punish. I never had a shred of mercy towards everyone. And in the end, it was my downfall. Yes, Majora committed unspeakable acts, however, they were the actions of a damaged child. After all, I took everything from her without a single thought. I cast her out when she was a mere child and stole from her a chance at a normal life. Her journey to madness was partly on my account. Now I know, this was the consequence of my lack of showing mercy. It was confirmed to me when I just encountered you. You had just come from seeing pain and misery across all the people in this illusory world. Despite this, you still confronted Majora’s Mask and offered her mercy. If only I was like you, child. If only I realized. Forgiveness and mercy, those are things which must encompass everything.”. To this, Link simply replied: “Then why do you still wish to see Majora defeated?”. The Fierce Deity mask stated: “Young Link, when Majora found her host, a mischievous and troubled child from the woods, she used her dark power, her memories of the living world and those of the child to create her own reality full of tormented souls. Again and again she would lay waste to this illusory land to once again recreate it. But why do you think Majora created such a reality? Because, she herself is the most tormented of souls. She felt this constant cycle of destruction and recreation would help her get over her anguish. And when she encountered you in the forest, she saw something in you reminding her of the man she regards as responsible for her pain, which is why she dropped you in her reality, to suffer misery again and again. But she underestimated you, who you really are and what you are capable of. Instead of being drawn into the darkness and pain of her created land, you strove to alleviate and resolve the angst of the people. Somehow, through a way maybe only you know of, you even battled time itself to bring tranquility to these unfortunate souls. Majora claims to want to fight us as we are both ‘evil’ in her eyes, but deep down, I sense the motivation to be something else. She is tired of the constant cycle of destroying and rebuilding this world repeatedly. She will claim to be giving me a chance due to ‘boredom’ and wanting to ‘play’. But I believe this to be an inner yearning for help. She will never admit to it, but she is conflicted between continuing this endless cycle of causing destruction and wanting to be free from it. It’s strange how fate works. In the world of the living, I killed her to show my ruthlessness and disdain for her. Now, I must kill her to show her mercy. Once she dies here, her soul will be free. After all she went through in her life, the insanity she was driven to by my actions, this is the least I can do to atone for my crimes. And not only will her soul be freed, so will mine. When you put me over your face, we will become as one, and our powers will combine to make an unstoppable warrior”. Link then gave a subtle smile, let the mask come into his hands and walked into the portal to fight the final battle, which now had a whole new meaning.
THE END
Epilogue
The battle had come to its conclusion. Together, Link and the Fierce Deity comprehensively defeated the mask, despite all of her efforts. Even using the last of her magic to transform into a hideous monster did nothing to impede her loss. After this battle, the hero clad in green left this temporary reality. The mask had been completely cleansed of all dark magic. However, this magic was the means of sustaining Termina, and without it, the land would cease to exist. All of the inhabitants of Termina had already disappeared. Slowly, but surely, different parts of Termina were completely vanishing. The icy mountains and the swamp had already gone. In the middle of Termina Field, there was a lonely figure. It was Majora, back in her Sheikah form. She was sat on the ground, her head facing down and placed between her knees and her arms were covering her upper head. She suddenly heard a voice. “Majora”. She looked up to see a familiar face. It was Wilhelm, also back in his Sheikah form. “What do you want from me now? You already took everything I ever had”, she bluntly replied. Wilhelm spoke: “It’s taken me a very long time, only to realize how much pain you were in”. In rage, Majora jumped up to her feet and began hitting her fists violently against Wilhelm’s chest: “ALL THESE YEARS, I KEPT YOU MY PRISONER TO SEE YOU SUFFER, NOT TO SEE YOU WIN AGAIN. WHY?”. Wilhelm stood there, motionless. By this time, both Great Bay and Ikana Canyon had also vanished, with only Termina Field and Clock Tower remaining. Wilhelm stated: “Majora, I’m no longer going to fight you. I did that in life for too long, not knowing the consequences of my actions. Our grudge must end. I now understand your pain and I forgive you for your actions. Can you forgive me?”. At that moment, Majora stopped hitting Wilhelm. She began crying hysterically and dug her face into Wilhelm’s chest, who also had sorrow in his eyes. She then wept: “No matter, my rage and madness ruined the outside world. The one who taught me the dark magic caused such chaos that our world was never the same”. Wilhelm responded: “True, but from that chaos, righteous souls were born. Souls such as young Link, who is 10 times the person I ever could be. With people like him, the world will always have hope”. At this, Majora stopped crying. She took a step back. Now, the entirety of Termina had completely disappeared. Majora then declared: “Well in that case, I forgive you”. She then gave Wilhelm a smile. Not the crazed smile she would give during her life, but a normal, innocent smile. Wilhelm returned her smile. And with that, both Majora and Wilhelm’s bodies turned into orbs of light and rose into the sky, leaving a completely empty void where the land of Termina once used to be.
