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The Switch generation of new Zelda titles has relied on Ganon maintaining his spot as the main antagonist, with him fulfilling the role in one form or another in both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. However,Echoes of Wisdombreaks this tradition by introducing a new villain for our hero of Hyrule (this time Zelda herself) to take down.
As a twist, mid-way through the campaign, the Ganon that Zelda has been fighting throughout the game is revealed to just be a dark clone, working on behalf of Null, the true villain in Echoes of Wisdom. As a mysterious figure with only a few details sprinkled throughout the story, you might be left wonderingwho, or what, is Null?
Who Is Null?
At the beginning of Echoes of Wisdom, all we know is thatdangerous riftshave started showing up and spreading throughout Hyrule, and that nothing that goes in ever returns. We start in control of Link, chasing down Ganon who has kidnapped Zelda. After defeating his rival, both of them sink into a newly formed rift, with Link using his last moments to free Zelda, passing the hero’s role over to her.
Since the first rift we see originates from Ganon’s spear, it’s easy to assume that he might be the origin of this problem, but after the fourth dungeon whenGanon (or in truth his clone) is the boss, after his defeat it’s revealed thatthe cause of the spreading rifts is Null.
We are sporadically given details about this mysterious new figure from the three Goddesses' of Hyrule; Farore, Eldin, and Lanayru, throughout the second half of the story, wherewe learn about the history of this ancient evil and his motivations.
Null And The Golden Goddesses
With each of the three speeches we get from the Goddesses', we get more information about Null.
Before anything existed in the Zelda universe, before the creation of Hyrule itself,there was nothing, just anempty void. At some point, small manifestations of energy would begin to form, starting the process of creation, but this would quickly be nipped in the bud, asthe energy was quickly contaminated and consumed by a being known as Null.
Null simply wants toconsume everythingin creation tomaintain this original void-like state of nothingness, and will stop at nothing to achieve this.
However, the three Goddesses could not have this, and to help start the process of creation and begin life, theycreated the realm of Hyrule on top of Null, trapping him underneath something too immense for him to consume. This worked initially, but with Null’s motivation to consume everything being too strong, it was able to formcracks in the newly formed Hyrule, consuming smaller portions of the land individually, and increasing his power.
These cracks are similar to the rifts that are seen throughout Echoes of Wisdom.
Of course, not wanting their new realm to be victim to Null’s gluttony, the Goddessescreated beings known as Tris, that were capable of healing the rifts, as well as restoring the land to how it was before.
So, since the creation of Hyrule, there has been a delicate ecosystem at play in the background, of Null breaking rifts into the surface of Hyrule, and the Tris immediately healing these rifts, with the residents of Hyrule none the wiser. That is, until the beginning of Echoes of Wisdom.
Null’s Abilities
Zelda is helped by her companion called Tri, confusingly given the same name as their species, the only one remaining of their kind who is not trapped by Null in the Still World. While it is left ambiguous how Null was able to achieve this, it’s implied that at some point since the creation of Hyrule,Null managed to study and manipulate Tris, stopping them from healing the rifts around Hyrule, while also copying their abilities.
Zelda is given a Tri Rod by Tri as her main tool to solve puzzles and also aid in combat. The main ability of the Tri Rodis to create Echoes, copies of objects or creatures, to help her. This ability granted to Zelda by the Tris is shown to be possessed by Null too, multiple times throughout Echoes of Wisdom.
Through his rifts,Null can create dark Echoes of enemiesto attack Zelda, and more maliciously, is able to create more intelligent clones of NPCs, that can act on his behalf to sabotage the effort to stop the rifts from spreading. These dark clones are shown to be extensions of Null’s conscience, the best example being his final clone of Zelda wherehe absorbs the Sanctions of the Goddesses that Zelda obtained, while fully having the mind and spirit of Null.
While it isn’t explained explicitly, Null evolving to copy the Tris' abilities is how it was able to start spreading rifts around Hyrule, as well ashow it was able to trap the Tris to stop them from healing the rifts. In the time it was trapped under Hyrule, Null must have been able to learn from the Tris, eventually copying their abilities, and using them against them.
This theory is further exacerbated by Null’s final form, which clearly looks like a corrupted cluster of dark Tris. In multiple different phases in Zelda’s final battle against Null, it’s also shown to be able to summon Echoes to aid in combat, similarly to Zelda.
Null And The Still World
Throughout the story of Echoes of Wisdom,Zelda, Link, and Triare able to stop Null from achieving its goalof consuming Hyrule and bringing the realm back to an empty void-like state. While we don’t get to see this void outside of flashbacks from the Goddesses, we do get to see Null’s attempt in the Still World.
The Still World is what lies on the other side of the rifts that Null tears through Hyrule. This distorted world has a background that resembles a void, but it is composed of the crumbling remnants of the section of Hyrule it tore through.
For example, if you enter the Still World through a rift cutting through some ruins in the Gerudo Desert, these Gerudo Desert ruins and any of its inhabitants will be floating around this section of the Still World. Most people consumed by rifts into the Still World will be petrified statues inside that part of the Still World.
Tri tells Zelda that these parts of the Still World are, in essence, temporary, and everything inside them will eventually fade, becoming part of the void, and this includes the people.
Zelda and Link are the only characters that are able to exist within the Still World without turning into statues, this is likely due to their association with the Triforce. Zelda is the Triforce of Wisdom, and Link is the Triforce of Courage.
The Still World is Null’s realm, likely closer to the underside of Hyrule where it is trapped, and therefore an impressive extension of its power and capabilities.Able to create rifts through reality to break down and digest land, objects, and lifeforms alike, it’s hard to grasp just what Null is capable of now it’s learned to fight back against the Goddesses' entrapment.
However, Null is aware that it needs the power of theTriforce’s Prime Energyto completely consume the realm, so it is not powerful enough to be able to complete its mission on its own, instead needing to manipulate the Triforce, an extension of the Goddesses' power.
If the one Tri that teamed up with Zelda was not able to escape entrapment in the Still World like all the others, it can be assumed that Hyrule could’ve faced total destruction, and the Goddesses might have had to take amore drastic intervention.
Divine intervention has shown to not be the best-case scenario in Zelda history, with the most impactful example being near the beginning of the Missing Hero branch of the timeline, where Hyrule was flooded, leading to the events of The Wind Waker.
Is Null In Any Other Zelda Games?
Null is first named and identified in Echoes of Wisdom, and before the release of Zelda’s first solo adventure, Null’s identity or place in the Zelda universe was unknown. However, now we do know about Null, has it appeared previously, and we just weren’t aware of it?
Null, Demise, And The Triforce
At the end of Echoes of Wisdom,Null is able toeffortlessly wield the Triforce of Power.While it isn’t explicitly stated to be the Triforce of Power, using the process of elimination, since Link and Zelda get their designated thirds of the Triforce, Null is left with the Triforce of Power.
In Zelda’s history, it’s believed that the reincarnated cycle of conflict between the Triforce of Power, and the Triforces of Courage and Wisdom started with Link’s conflict against Demise during the events ofSkyward Sword. After his defeat,Demise promises Link that he will be reborn throughout time, and thanks to their similarities, this rebirth is believed to be the various versions of Ganon we meet throughout Zelda’s history.
While we know a lot about the various reincarnations of Ganon, we don’t know as much about Demise, since he appeared relatively late in Skyward Sword. What we do know is that Demise was described as havingbroken through a fissureand fought against the Goddess Hyliato gain power over the Triforce, only to lose and besealed away.
The similarities of an evil being breaking fissures through Hyrule, warring against Goddesses, and yearning for the power of the Triforce, as well as an association with the Triforce of Power specifically, lends itself to comparisons with the being we now know as Null.
Demises' motivation for seeking the Triforce’s power is less clear-cut than Null’s gluttony for existence itself, since all we know is thatDemise wanted to simply make the world his own. This could be seen as aligning with Null, but thanks to how vague this goal is, it’s hard to say for sure.
Now knowing what we know about Null, not only isthe original creation myth of Hyrule recontextualized as a way to trap Null, but also Null could be seen as an explanation, or even a puppeteer of other evil forces that our heroes of Hyrule have contended with. Thanks to their similarities, Demise can be seen as the most likely contender for having a connection with, or even being an agent of, Null.
Will Null Return?
Thanks to Null’s ties with the creation of Hyrule itself, Null could easily re-appear in one form or anotherin titles prior, or more interestingly, parallel to Echoes of Wisdom. However, thanks to Null’s concrete defeat at the end of Echoes of Wisdom, it feels like he’sgone for good when it comes to games following Echoes of Wisdom.
Being such an ambiguous and amorphous force, Null would be an interesting choice to re-appear in future Zelda titles. Since Null is shown to be able to copy the abilities of its adversaries, it could easily fill a more versatile role compared to a character like Ganon.
