One of the biggest questions that has interested fans of The Legend of Zelda series is what exactly happened to Link's fairy companion Navi from Ocarina of Time. Navi leaves Link's side at the end of the game, spurring Link to try and track his companion down. However, after this moment, Navi is never heard from or seen again in a Zelda game, leaving fans to speculating for years what exactly happened to her.

Theories range from straightforward to downright heartbreaking, with fans continuing to dig through the series' timeline and lore, and even some non-canon material, for any sign of the tiny blue fairy. Let's dive into a few fan-theories that could explain Navi's fate after the events of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.

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Ocarina of Time

This theory is the most straightforward (and potentially obvious) one, dealing with some pretty clear rules for fairy guides in the Zelda universe. Link lives with the Kokiri at the start of Ocarina of Time, having been adopted by them. However, he is not considered to be a true Kokiri. The Kokiri are assigned permanent fairy guides to assist them throughout their lives, but Link was was only temporarily assigned Navi to aid him on his quest to stop Ganondorf.

Once Link completed this quest, as stated in Majora's Mask's ending, Navi would have fulfilled her assignment and may have been required to part ways with Link. This theory states that Navi simply returned to Kokiri Village and was assigned a new mission -- though there are a few holes in this relatively simple explanation. The main counter to this idea is that, if Link was successful in his initial mission in Majora's Mask and found Navi, it'd make more sense if the player was shown the reunion rather than having it be implied by post-game dialogue.

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A much darker theory suggests that Navi became the spider-like boss from Twilight Princess, who is fought in the Temple of Time before Link can find the iconic Master Sword. This may seem like a reach, but there's actually plenty of evidence to back this up. Armogohma is based on the eye-spider enemies called Gohmas, which appeared in Ocarina of Time inside of the Great Deku Tree.

As for how Navi became Armogohma, that connects to the fact that Armogohma drops a mirror shard on death. Mirror shards, introduced in Twilight Princess, are pieces of the Mirror of Twilight that can cause misfortune for anyone who looks into them -- including turning them into horrific beasts. This theory suggests that Navi may have gazed into the mirror shard and turned into Armogohma.

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One of the bigger questions surrounding this theory, however, is how Navi was around for long enough to be present during the events of Twilight PrincessTwilight Princess takes place during the Child Timeline directly after Majora's Mask. However, Majora's Mask's ending makes it clear that Link was still seeking out Navi after being separated from her. Navi could have traveled to the Temple of Time and waited for Link there, only for the two to never reunite.

Zelda Majora's Mask - Link with mask

This last theory speculates that Ocarina of Time was meant to be the start of a trilogy of games that would follow a connected storyline, suggesting that Navi and Link would have fully reunited in a third title. There's a fair amount of evidence that this may have been the original plan.

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The first piece of evidence comes from Twilight Princess' boss fight against the Hero's Spirit, which is heavily implied to be the Hero of Time version of Link from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Fans note that the Hero's Spirit knows techniques that the Hero of Time never actually is shown to perform, even after becoming an adult. This leads to speculation that the Hero of Time was either meant to have a third game or that he had a third adventure that was never explored in the games.

There's also a non-canonical officially licensed book that explores this very concept called Link and the Portal of Doom. This describes an adventure that takes place after the events of Ocarina of Time where Link and Navi must close a portal that threatens to engulf all of Hyrule. The book shows that there may have been some consideration for a third adventure in the Hero of Time era of The Legend of Zelda.

Navi's departure was kept fairly open-ended and could have been meant to simply signify the end of Link's adventure. However, during a time where Nintendo has gotten much more conscious over the storytelling of the Zelda games, it's possible Navi could come back in a later game. Until then, speculation over Navi's fate will continue to captivate Zelda fans.

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