The Awakening

The Awakening
Game(s)	Tears of the Kingdom
Location	Beneath Hyrule Castle
"The Master Sword's Power"	"Where Am I?"

"The Awakening" is a Memory in Tears of the Kingdom.^[1]

Overview

"The Awakening" plays for the first time while Zelda and Link explore Beneath Hyrule Castle. Following this, it becomes available after Link obtains the "Where Am I?" Memory.

As Link and Zelda enter the Imprisoning Chamber, they come upon the Right Arm pinning down the sealed body of Demon King Ganondorf. This intrigues Zelda, who moves toward it to keep investigating.^[2] Once they reach the body, the Right Arm collapses, and its Secret Stone lands in front of Zelda. When she picks it up, the Stone's white glow begins to turn yellow.

Suddenly, Demon King Ganondorf begins to stir and his eyes light up, and he sends a wave of Gloom toward Zelda. Although Link is able to block it using the Master Sword, his arm is damaged, reducing his 20 Hearts down to only three. Link attempts to strike another wave, but this time, the Master Sword is shattered. A shard flies towards Demon King Ganondorf, cutting his cheek.

Zelda calls out to Link in concern.^[3] Moving to stand upright, Demon King Ganondorf taunts the Master Sword's weakness, claiming it will not be able to defeat him.^[4] He recognizes Zelda and Link, noting that although Rauru had faith, they were unable to significantly damage him.^[5] In shock, Zelda asks how he knows who they are.^[6]

Instead of responding, Demon King Ganondorf unleashes another Gloom attack, this time directed toward the roof of the Imprisoning Chamber. On the Surface, Hyrule Castle is pushed into the air by Demon King Ganondorf's Gloom. Demon King Ganondorf then falls into the Depths.

Link collapses to his knees, holding his Right Arm. Zelda tries to reach him, but the ground below her crumbles, and she also begins to fall.^[3] Link jumps after Zelda and tries to catch her with his injured hand, but he is unable to reach her. Zelda continues to fall, but she then begins to glow yellow and disappears. Link is caught by the Right Arm, and the two disappear in a flash of Light. Hyrule Castle continues to rise and Ruins Rubble falls from the Sky, marking the beginning of the Upheaval.

Trivia

The Torch that Zelda drops during this Memory can be found on the floor of Gloom's Approach.
Flashbacks to "The Awakening" can be seen during the "A Master Sword in Time" and the "Tears of the Dragon" Memories.
Early elements of "The Awakening" are present in the 2019 reveal trailer for Tears of the Kingdom.^[7] This version features a red hue within the Imprisoning Chamber and many scenes that were cut, and the Secret Stones on the Right Arm and Demon King Ganondorf are notably absent.^[7] A later iteration of the Memory can be seen in the E3 2021 trailer, which contains scenes more similar to the final version with the red hue from the previous.^[8] Scenes from "The Awakening" as it appears in the final version of Tears of the Kingdom can be seen in the February 2023 and April 2023 trailers.^[9]^[10]
The following scenes appear to be related to "The Awakening" in the 2019 reveal trailer for Tears of the Kingdom but have no apparent counterparts in the final game:

The following is a comparison of scenes from the E3 2019 and E3 2021 trailers for Tears of the Kingdom and their counterparts in the final release of the game: