Before Link warped outside, Rauru contacted him, telling him that all six Sages had been awakened, and that it was now time for the final showdown with the King of Evil. He told Link that, before this final battle, he should meet the one waiting for him in the Temple of Time.

Link rushed into the Temple of Time, but saw no one. Suddenly he heard a voice behind him, and spun around. It was Sheik, and he told Link a little-known legend about the Triforce passed down by the shadow folk, the Sheikahs:

If you would seek the sacred triangle, listen well... The resting place of the sacred triangle, the Sacred Realm, is a mirror that reflects what is in the heart...
the heart of one who enters it...
If an evil heart, the Realm will become full of evil; if pure, the Realm will become a paradise.
The Triforce...the sacred triangle...
it is a balance that weighs the three forces:
Power, Wisdom and Courage.
If the heart of the one who holds the sacred triangle has all three forces in balance, that one will gain the True Force to govern all.
But, if that one's heart is not in balance, the Triforce will separate into three parts:
Power, Wisdom and Courage.
Only one part will remain for the one who touched the Triforce...the part representing the force that one most believes in.
If that one seeks the True Force, that one must acquire the two lost parts.
Those two parts will be held within others chosen by destiny, who will bear the Triforce mark on the backs of their hands.

Sheik told how the legend had come true seven years ago when Ganondorf laid his hands on the Triforce. Only the Triforce of Power had remained in Ganondorf's hand, but the strength of this one golden triangle enabled Ganondorf to become an evil, mighty king. Ganondorf still wanted complete mastery of the world, however, and to satisfy his dark ambitions, he had started looking for those chosen by destiny to hold the two other Triforce pieces.

Sheik revealed that it was Link who held the Triforce of Courage, and that the other, the one who held the Triforce of Wisdom, was the seventh Sage, destined to be the leader of them all. Suddenly Sheik raised his hand, and on it was the symbol of the Triforce, with the third representing Wisdom glowing with a golden light. For the first time in years, Sheik revealed himself to be Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule!

Zelda apologized for meeting Link in disguise, saying it was necessary to hide from the King of Evil. She told Link how she had seen him when she escaped from the castle seven years ago. She had believed that entrusting the Ocarina to him would be their best chance. She had thought that as long as Link held the Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf could never enter the Sacred Realm. But she hadn't expected Link's spirit to be sealed away in the Sacred Realm. She recounted how the Triforce had fallen into Ganondorf's hands, and how Ganondorf had invaded the Sacred Realm, turning it into a world of evil. Zelda had passed herself off as a Sheikah, hoping that Link would return. She waited for seven years...

But now that Link was back, the dark age ruled by Ganondorf the Evil King could end. The six Sages would open the sealed door and lure Ganondorf back into the Sacred Realm. She would then seal the door to the Sacred Realm from this world. Thus, Ganondorf would vanish from Hyrule. Zelda needed Link to protect her while she did her part, and gave him a weapon that could penetrate the Evil King's defenses, the power given to the chosen ones: the sacred Arrow of Light!

Just then Hyrule was shaken by a deep rumbling, and before Link could act, Zelda was trapped within a magical crystal! Link pounded on the crystal walls to no avail. Ganondorf's gloating voice echoed through the Temple of Time:

Princess Zelda... you foolish traitor! I commend you for avoiding my pursuit for seven long years. But you let your guard down... I knew you would appear if I let this kid wander around! My only mistake was to slightly underestimate the power of this kid... No... It was not the kid's power I misjudged, it was the power of the Triforce of Courage! But, with the Triforce of Wisdom that Zelda has... When I obtain these two Triforces... Then, I will become the true ruler of the world!! If you want to rescue Zelda, come to my castle!

As Ganondorf spoke, Zelda rose higher and higher out of Link's reach, and disappeared. Ganondorf ended his speech with roaring laughter that rang in Link's furious ears.