Ever since the first Breath of the Wild 2 we’ve thought that Ganondorf would return to be the main villain of the sequel, however, we may be about to get the return of something even worse, a more ancient Evil than Ganondorf himself, and that could be Demise. Today I am going to look at the clues of Demise’s return to The Legend of Zelda series, look at the role of malice, and what could lead to Demise’s return in Breath of the Wild 2.

The first Breath of the Wild 2 trailer back in 2019 revealed that the malice, that corrupted so much of Hyrule in the original Breath of the Wild, was pouring out of what looked to be a mummified Ganondorf. While this trailer sent the Zelda community into override coming up with theories all related to Ganondorf, we could be in for a surprise when it comes to the main villain in Breath of the Wild 2. The villain may not be Ganondorf, it may be Demise.

Demise was introduced to us in the canonical ‘first game of the timeline’, Skyward Sword. Demise was the embodiment of evil, and for much of the game took a monster form, he was a dark creature with big legs and hundreds of teeth and was known as ‘The Imprisoned’. This is the form Demise took after being sealed away in Faron Woods by Goddess Hylia. His servant, Girahim, freed Demise, and then he took on a more familiar form.

Demise is characterised by his fiery hair, big build and broad shoulders, similar to Ganondorf in previous Zelda games like Twilight Princess and his design in Super Smash Bros. Demise cursed the descendants of Link and Zelda to fight against Demise’s hated for generations. This hatred spawned monsters that plagued Hyrule, and eventually reincarnated as Ganondorf. However, Malice is the physical manifestation of Demise’s hatred, the black substance that plagues Hyrule in Breath of the Wild, and most likely in Breath of the Wild 2 also.

Why Demise Could Be The Main Villian in BOTW2

Breath of the Wild 2 and Skyward Sword share a lot in common, and not only through the design and presentation. Nintendo released the Skyward Sword HD version in 2021 for Nintendo Switch, and rather than this be a coincidence, I think Nintendo really want fans to play through Skyward Sword because it offers clues to the overall Zelda story. In Skyward Sword, it was revealed that Malice creates all monsters in Hyrule, and it can often be seen when monsters are defeated with red, black and purple clouds being left behind. It’s thought that given Malice is so prevalent in Breath of the Wild, this could indicate that Demise is about to return.

In the E3 2019 trailer for Breath of the Wild 2, we see Link and Zelda travelling underground, and they find a mummified version of Ganondorf, trapped in place by a glowing green arm. Malice is seen to be pouring out of the supposed Ganondorf corpse. The corpse twitches and there’s a brilliant flash of bright light, and we see a shadow broadcast onto the wall. This doesn’t look like the shadow of a gaunt, mummified Ganondorf, but the shadow of a bulkier figure, one with a shock of long hair. Is this shadow revealing Demise himself? The shadow and images of Demise are very similar.

In the E3 2021 trailer, we briefly see the mummified version of Ganondorf arms raised, and looking wild, seemingly with the ability to control the malice, as it’s attacking Link, perhaps at the will of Ganondorf. Malice appears to be flooding out of the mummified version of Ganondorf, and this is perhaps because Link and Zelda have broken the seal, the glowing green arm holding him in place. With the seal broken, this leaves the Malice (and Demise) to flow freely from the body of Ganondorf.

The glowing red eyes are another clue. We see in the trailers so far for Breath of the Wild 2, the mummified version of Ganondorf has glowing red eyes. This isn’t normally a characteristic of Ganondorf, but of Demise himself. In both E3 trailers from 2019 and 2021 trailers, the mummified corpse has piercing red fiery eyes, not similar to eyes we’ve seen from Ganondorf, but much more similar from Demise himself.

History of Demise in The Legend of Zelda

Demise was an eternal entity that had conquered time itself.[6] When the Golden Goddesses departed from the world, they trusted their ultimate power, the Triforce, in the hands of Hylia to protect it. However, Demise, wanting the Triforce to make the world his own, gathered an army of monsters and together launched an attack against the people of The Surface, murdering them and causing misfortunes to get their hands on the power guarded by Hylia.

To prevent the great power from falling into the hands of Demise, Hylia and the five tribes who lived on the Surface joined forces and fought back against the Demon King and his forces in a war, which would end with Demise sealed away and peace restored to the land. Due to the seal placed upon him, he assumes the monstrous form as The Imprisoned for the majority of the plot.

Resurrection

Ghirahim, who is actually the spirit of Demise’s Sword, pursues Zelda to steal her soul and thus resurrect Demise, who is his Master. Meanwhile, Demise attempts to break free of his seal by his own means in the form of The Imprisoned, but he is constantly repelled and re-sealed beneath the Sealed Grounds through the efforts of Link and Groose. When Link finally obtains the Triforce, he manages to kill Demise by driving the Statue of the Goddess from Skyloft into the Sealed Grounds as The Imprisoned awakens for the fourth time. However, Ghirahim kidnaps Zelda and takes her to the past through the Gate of Time in the Sealed Temple, where he begins a ritual to revive his master.

While Link manages to defeat Ghirahim, he is too late to stop the resurrection of Demise. The Imprisoned begins to absorb Zelda’s soul and eventually transforms into the Demon King himself. Ghirahim welcomes back his master, but Demise pulls a dark Sword out of Ghirahim and seals his entity within the weapon. Demise continues to absorb the soul of Zelda to gain unstoppable power; he is impressed with Link’s determination to protect the goddess and invites him to do battle. To Demise’s shock, Link manages to defeat him, but in his dying throes, he warns Link that it is not over, and that an incarnation of his hatred will be reborn as a being to pursue domination of the world, as well as those with the blood of the Goddess and the spirit of the Hero, in a cycle of rebirth. Demise is sealed away within the Master Sword, where his remains begin to decay.

Given we have seen The Master Sword decaying, or damaged, this could indicate Demise’s escape from the Master Sword, in conjunction with the Malice flooding Hyrule once again.

Let me know in the comments what you think of Demise being the main villian in Breath of the Wild 2.

That’s it for this look at the mian villian in Breath of the Wild 2. I think we’re on the cusp of loads of new info related to Breath of the Wild 2, so I look forward to picking through that info with a fine tooth comb with all of you very soon.