Theory: Lorule is Demise’s Realm

Since it was confirmed that the Dark World would be appearing in A Link Between Worlds, I was always suspicious as to whether it would be the same Dark World as A Link to the Past. I had heard others talking about how it couldn’t be the same world, as the Dark World from A Link to the Past was reverted back to the Sacred Realm at the end of the game. It has since been confirmed that Lorule is not the same Dark World from A Link to the Past, and as a result, people have been speculating that Lorule could instead be the Dowfall Timeline’s version of Termina or the Twilight Realm, with the former theory having been recently acknowledged in an editorial by SkyruleArcher.

I found these theories intriguing, but at the same time, I couldn’t understand why Lorule couldn’t just be a completely new land. But over time, I became curious as to how this new land could become almost a perfect alternate Hyrule, why they had a ‘Dark Triforce’, and how a villain from their world (Yuga) could know about and want to resurrect a villain from our world (Ganon). And now I have my own theory. You can tell what it is from the title of this editorial, but keep reading to find out my reasoning.

For those of you who don’t know, at the end of Skyward Sword, Ghirahim successfully revived his master, Demise. Demise sealed Ghirahim within his own sword, and then created an entirely new world in which he could battle Link. Seems a bit pointless, doesn’t it? Sure, Demise was showing off his impressive world-building skills, but this puny Hylian is out to kill him; does he really deserve to be fought in an entirely new world?

Furthermore, Demise had an interesting little quote just before he goes off to create his new realm:

“But if you truly desire to raise your sword against the world I would build, come for me.”

When I first read this dialogue, I thought it meant that Link would be opposing the world that Demise would transform the Surface into, and that’s probably what it still means, though there is a second interpretation. Obviously, Demise wants to change the world to fit his views. But what if he created his realm also as a second chance, as a backup plan?

When Demise is defeated at Link’s hand, Demise stabs his sword into the ground, only to have it dematerialize. Demise looks questionably at his hand which used to hold the hilt of his demonic blade. This questionable look gives me the idea that it was not his by his action that the blade dematerialized… but Ghirahim’s. In either Fi or Ghirahim, we hadn’t seen this ability prior to that point, so this idea is questionable, but I think that it was Ghirahim ‘teleporting’ away.

With his master defeated, Ghirahim, or his consciousness (whatever is left of him within Demise’s sword), seeks to fulfil Demise’s last desire: a new world. But where would Ghirahim get the power to create life and build a new world? He’s not a deity like Demise, he’s just a subservient spirit with a few little powers of his own. And this is where the Dark Triforce comes in.

I believe that, in the same way that Ganondorf and other villains are incarnations of Demise’s hatred, the Dark Triforce is a manifestation of Demise’s power. Link absorbs Demise’s decomposing body into the Master Sword to let it rot away over a period of time and then leaves, but this realm is not destroyed. I have several theories as to how the Dark Triforce actually came into existence.

Primarily, Demise’s power manifests itself as the Dark Triforce, which remains in Demise’s realm after Link leaves. That’s one idea; the other ideas include Ghirahim. Ghirahim could’ve absorbed Demise’s powers and then teleported away, and, being as hating and evil as Demise, was able to use them to create a new world. And finally, given that Ghirahim was Demise’s sword, he was gifted with Demise’s powers, to help resurrect him, and Ghirahim only used them in moderation; but after Ghirahim is left on his own in Demise’s realm, he uses the full power to spark life and create a new world. In any of those three ways, the Dark Triforce is manifested from Demise’s powers and Ghirahim uses it to make a new world. Another idea that occurred to me is that the Dark Triforce is just an idea; just a symbol of faith and devotion. I don’t really like that idea, though, because I want the Dark Triforce to be a real thing.

Now, getting to Yuga’s similarity to Ghirahim, I have the idea that they might be one and the same. Ghirahim’s physical form appeared to be obliterated when he is sucked into Demise’s sword at the end of Skyward Sword, so my guess is that Ghirahim reinvented himself after Demise’s defeat. He got a new body, a slightly different (but essentially the same) personality, and a (slightly) new purpose.

There are few things that are left unanswered: such as why there are three different ‘sub’-Dark-Triforces, which I can’t give a logical reason to, other than the fact that it simply for aesthetic, to mirror the Triforce. Another thing is why the only other inhabitant of Lorule that we’ve seen, Hilda, appears to be good, while the world would’ve been created in devotion to Demise.

And yeah, the biggest mystery: why Lorule looks so similar to the Dark World from A Link to the Past. I simply don’t have an answer for that. Coincidence? I dunno. But what do you guys think of the theory? Do you think that Lorule is Demise’s Realm? If so, what are your guys ideas about the creation of the kingdom and the Dark Triforce? Is it real, or just an idea? Let me know in the comments.