Link knew that his quest was almost over. The six crystals were returned to the six palaces of Hyrule, and Link could now enter the Great Palace in the Valley of Death. But there was one last thing Link wanted to do, before he entered the fearful Valley of Death, the point of no return. The old man in Kasuto had magic, or so Link had been told. Link crossed the broken bridge to old Kasuto and braved the horrors of the abandoned town. But the Cross Link had valiantly won opened his eyes, and he saw what evil forces were patrolling the city. Moas, the one-eyed ghosts that haunted the viler corners of Hyrule, flew freely through the airs of Kasuto, spreading pain and havoc. The Moas were no longer hidden from Link's eyes, so they felt the edge of his magical sword.

The old man was glad to see that Link was still alive, and that he stood a chance against the powers that had ruined the once proud town of Kasuto. He listened as Link spoke of his quest for the Triforce of Courage and his wish to revive Zelda and bring peace back to Hyrule. The old man knew Link would need all the help he could get, so he taught him the most powerful magic spell he knew: Thunder. Thunder could damage all enemies in sight, but whoever cast it had to be very strong.

At long last Link stared at the entrance to the Valley of Death. The opening into the Valley lay beyond a graveyard, where was buried many who had dared challenge the might of Ganon and enter the Valley of Death. Link found that the entrance itself was guarded by stone-throwing lizard men and Moas. He rushed past and entered the scorched, twisting, tortured windings of the Valley of Death. Where the valley was impassable above, Link found tunnels leading below the ground into the heart of the Valley, where islands in the lava were guarded by fearsome lizard men bearing tridents and maces, and where Moas threatened to cast the unwary into the ravenous lava pits. All these fearsome dangers and pitfalls Link barely survived, before coming at last to the doors of the Great Palace.

A shimmering, opalescent wall of magic guarded the entrance to the Great Palace. Link walked up to it and commanded the force to disband. With a whir, the binding force lifted, and the Great Palace lay exposed. Link braved many dangers inside, fighting enemies more skilled than any he had fought before and falling prey to many traps and pitfalls. The Palace's dangers could not hold back the destiny of the young hero, and at long last Link stood upon a pedestal and challenged whatever force lay ahead to come against him.

Link's challenge was answered by a giant, flying, red bird of doom, the Thunderbird. It flew around the room, calmly throwing a barrage of fire at Link. Link could discover no weak spot, but detected that the Thunderbird had some hidden secret about it. Acting on sudden inspiration, Link cast the most powerful spell he knew to bring Thunderbird's secret to light. Thunder rumbled through the room, striking the ghastly Thunderbird with a deadly potency. Thunderbird's form was changed, as the monster turned blue and exposed its hideous face.

Now Link had a clear shot at the Thunderbird's weak spot, but the winged beast was flying out of Link's reach. Link cast the Jump spell and gave a great leap. As fire whizzed past, Link drew his sword back and slashed at Thunderbird's face. The terrible monster shuddered at the blow. The battle raged on, as Link was burned and the Thunderbird was cut, until Link was victorious at last.

Thunderbird dropped a key, which Link used to enter the next room. Atop a pillar sat a very old man with a white beard and pointed ears. He was shrunken by great age and leaned thoughtfully on a cane. Behind him Link could see shimmering a golden triangle, which could only be the Triforce of Courage. Link looked into the eyes of this ancient Hylian sage, and his eyes recalled a line out of Link's memory: "Not everybody can use the Triforce. It requires a strong character with no evil thoughts." The scroll, Impa's scroll - and now, here was the author of the scroll standing before him! The sage's eyes told Link that he would be the one to unite the Triforce, but not before he was given a test.

The sage vanished with the Triforce of Courage, and a spell shook the room. The spell cast the room into shadows, and increased Link's awareness of his inner self. Link peered into his self, and what he saw there made him recoil in horror. He saw a shadow blacker than death, which desired the united power of the Triforce more than life itself. Link saw that this shadow would turn him into a Prince of Darkness like Ganon, an evil king with a heart even more vile and more powerful than that of Ganon, the enemy that was destroying Hyrule even in death. With righteous ardor, Link expelled the dark side of himself.

As the darkness fled from Link's heart, it took form and shape. In the shadowy room of the Great Palace, Link stood face to face with a darkness as wise, powerful, and courageous as himself, but twisted toward an evil purpose: Shadow Link. This incarnation of Link's evil desires took the form of Link, but was cloaked in utter darkness. Link knew that this would be the battle that would determine the fate of Hyrule. If Link's shadow won, it would claim the united Triforce for its own and destroy Hyrule once and for all. The two sides of Link faced each other, and the battle began.

Both Link and his shadow had equal skill. Blows rained back and forth, hits were blocked by shields, the two lept and crouched and sprang in ferocious earnest. This was the battle of a lifetime for Link. He had seen the weak point in all his enemies but could see none in himself. He had never thought what it would be like to fight himself. And this Shadow - it seemed to feed on his fear! It was tireless and blindingly fast. And this shadow, with its rage and hatred, had been part of the reason why Link had been so skilled in his adventure. Now Link had to fight the potent force that he had once relied on as a source of strength.

Link could see that the Shadow's fighting, though amazingly skilled, wasn't perfect. The outcome of this battle would depend on who made less mistakes. Link concentrated on his noble ambitions, his quest to save Zelda and the land of Hyrule. In this moment of clearheadedness, Link spotted the Shadow's mistake: it was vulnerable when it jumped. Link pressed in close and rained blow after blow at the Shadow's midsection, waiting for it to jump. As skilled as the Shadow was, it could not avoid getting hit in the legs while in the air. It relied so much on jumping that it began to take more punishment than it was dishing out. With one final blow from the magical sword, Link destroyed his evil counterpart, banishing it from himself forever.

The ancient sage appeared in front of Link. Age had dwarfed him to half of Link's size, but he still looked wise and powerful. The sage entrusted Link with the Triforce of Courage, seeing in this lad the "beacon of hope for Hyrule." Link returned victoriously to the North Castle, bearing with him the Triforce of Courage. With the Triforce of Wisdom that Link had reformed many seasons before, and the Triforce of Power Link had won from Ganon and pulled from his ashes, Link united the Triforce into one. The Triforce shimmered gold with its united power, and granted to Link the power to do many good things. The first thing he did was stand in front of the altar where lay the sleeping Princess Zelda. He held the united Triforce above his head, and wished for Zelda to be awakened. The Triforce split into three and floated above his head, and the Essence of the Triforce granted Link's wish, opening Zelda's eyes with a blinding flash of light. Princess Zelda sat up and looked down upon Link, the youth who had control over the united Triforce.

Later, Link and Zelda stood facing each other, holding hands and looking deeply into each other's eyes. Zelda had learned from Link of all he had done to unite the Triforce. She thanked him for saving Hyrule, and declared him a true hero. As peace returned at last to the land of Hyrule, Zelda leaned over and gave a kiss to the savior of them all.