The End of Ocarina of Time

Ocarina of Time is revered in the theorist community for its immeasurable contribution to the Zelda timeline and timeline theory in general; it is the game that dictates the direction of the timeline at its source, and as to the reason events and subsequent games in each timeline arc occur. Ocarina of Time is well known for its confusing, paradoxical, split ending: by pulling the Master Sword and going seven years into the future, Link will attempt to change the future in order to prevent it from occurring. Because Ocarina of Time is the crux of split timeline theory, it is important to know why the split occurs, and how before attempting to create any timeline structure.

The Narrative
In Ocarina of Time, Link meets up with Princess Zelda in the courtyard of Hyrule Castle as a child; Zelda and Link look through the window and see Ganondorf bowing before her father, Hyrule’s unnamed king. Zelda notes to Link that she had a dream that prophesized Ganondorf’s takeover of Hyrule, but her father did not believe her story. Zelda sends Link to the Temple of Time to pull the Master Sword; he travels seven years into his own future in order to prevent Ganondorf’s plans. As Link pulls the Master Sword, Ganondorf is able to get into the newly-opened door to the Sacred Realm, touch the Triforce, and split it into its component parts.

As an adult, in the future, Link witnesses Hyrule succumb to Ganondorf’s rule; just as Zelda’s dream predicted, Ganondorf usurped the Hylian throne and sent the world into darkness using the Triforce of Power. Link confronts Ganondorf, defeats him, and then the Sages seal him in the Sacred Realm.

Though not explicitly noted, Link returns to his child era to tell Princess Zelda of his exploits and the legitimacy of her dream. With this information, it is implied that the Royal Family is able to stop Ganondorf before he is able to exercise any dominative plans he may have, given the plot direction in confirmed Ocarina of Time sequel, Twilight Princess.

Terminology
In the subsequent analysis section, there will be several terms used that are integral to the understanding of the ending of Ocarina of Time.


 * Old Past: the time period in which Link and Zelda are children, up to the point where Link pulls the Master Sword, and Ganondorf assumes the Triforce of Power.
 * New Past: the time period in which Link and Zelda are children, Link returns from the future, and Ganondorf's wish to conquer Hyrule is not fulfilled.
 * Future: the time period in which Link and Zelda are adults, Ganondorf is defeated and sealed in the Sacred Realm, and Link disappears from this era upon returning to his childhood.

When is the split timeline created?
The split is created when Zelda, using the Ocarina of Time and her powers as a Sage, sends Link back in time in order to reclaim the years he lost. Since the time travel occurs through the Sacred Realm, Link returns again to the Temple of Time. The point in which Link arrives though, is not entirely certain. Most believe that it has to be either at the moment where, in the old past, he was about to draw the Master Sword, or even earlier, at the day Link and Zelda first met. The latter seems more likely, because at that day, Zelda hadn't gone into hiding yet and was still in the castle.

It's interesting to note what a hypothetical observer would see at the point where the split occurs. If the observer followed Link in the new past, he would see him vanishing and appearing again in the Temple of Time. Although this happens at an instant, the difference is radical. Link, before vanishing, hasn't acquired the Triforce of Courage yet, and is not aware of the consequences of drawing the Master Sword from its Pedestal at his age. When Link reappears (from the observer's perspective always), he now bears the Triforce of Courage and knows that if he draws the Master Sword, Ganon will enter the Sacred Realm and the conquest of Hyrule will soon follow.

The last journey Link makes, when Zelda sends him back, can be considered unique. Previously, Link traveled several times in the past using the Master Sword, but no alternate timelines were created. As it seems, the Ocarina of Time coupled with Zelda's powers, had the ability to do that.

Why is there an Adult Timeline Split at all?
The Adult Timeline exists because Link is transported into a real future, given the foundational events in the old past. Since this would have been the natural progression of time, the people living in this time period are real as well, and go on living even through Ganondorf’s takeover of Hyrule as if their seven years had gone by naturally. Link is the only one that is not present for the span of time between the release of the Master Sword and his arrival in the future, so only he (and by extension, Zelda, Navi, and Rauru ) is aware of the apparent time difference. One must remember that during the seven years of Ganondorf's takeover, Link's spirit was withheld in the Sacred Realm, as he was not of age to become the Hero of Time when he initially drew the Master Sword. When Link travels back to the old past, it is also only he that disappears from the “future”, and only he that has a recollection of the “future” – Zelda and Ganon do not travel back in time, and appear as they are as if Link had never left. Because Link returns to the new past after defeating Ganon, this plotline of the future continues in which there is no hero to face Ganon after he finds a way to escape from the Sacred Realm pre-The Wind Waker.

In the end, the future, though initially founded in the “old past”, is only spiritually related to that time period, however, the inhabitants of the future are unaware a timeline split was even created. Only Link and Zelda are fully aware of the breaches in time, though only Link experienced it. This aspect of timeline theory is integral to the split timeline – because we experience Ocarina of Time vicariously through Link, the player is also objectively aware of the split timeline; to any other character in the game, it would seem as if life occurs linearly – there’s no evidence to suggest any other NPC, outside of those mentioned earlier, knows that Link actually traveled in space and time to their “present”.

Aftermath
At the moment Link returns to the Temple of Time in the new past, two alternate universes are created in which:


 * 1) Ganon is defeated and sealed in the Sacred Realm, Link disappears, the Triforce is still split into its component parts.
 * 2) Ganon's true intentions are now known to the King, Link and Zelda are children, the Triforce is split into its component parts. The latter is evident in the scene near the ending when Link's Triforce mark glows. It seems that, because Link had acquired the Triforce of Courage in the future, he had to keep it in the new past. Whether this happened because the laws were already designed in this way or it was a result of a real-time intervention by the goddesses the moment Link arrived in the Temple of Time, is not known.

The first postulate is the foundation for the Adult Timeline Split that leads into The Wind Waker. The opening story of The Wind Waker describes the triumph of the Hero of Time from Ocarina of Time, and how Ganon was able to return to Hyrule, unopposed, after adult Link returned to his own childhood. Two other games are confirmed to take place during this timeline: Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, both being sequels to The Wind Waker.

The second postulate is the foundation for the Child Timeline Split that leads into Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess. Majora’s Mask occurs several months after Ocarina of Time and describes how Link’s childhood search for his fairy companion, Navi, led him into an alternate world, Termina. The scene in Twilight Princess which depicts Ganon's execution occurs some years later.