With its vast open world full of tons to explore between Hyrule, the Depths, and the Sky,The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis filled with secrets that contain interesting implications about the game’s world. Over the course of the game, some of these mysteries will be revealed, but others are left for players to speculate on their connection to the greater lore of the game. Some of the greatest mysteries left unexplained inThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomare the massive Leviathan skeletons Link can encounter around Hyrule.
These Leviathan skeletons were originally present inTears of the Kingdom’s predecessor,The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, where they were the focus of theLeviathan Bones side quest. This quest saw the player investigate three giant fossils: the Eldin Great Skeleton, the Hebra Great Skeleton, and the Gerudo Great Skeleton to provide a group of scientists with information as to why these Leviathans went extinct. No conclusive answer is ever reached, paving the way forTears of the Kingdomto expand upon this mystery, but this latest game leaves more questions than answers regarding these fossils' true nature.
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Breath of the Wild’s Leviathan Fossils Remain Unexplained in Tears of the Kingdom
Players can once again find these fossilized Leviathans around Hyrule inZelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and each has an associated side quest that requires Link to use the Ultrahand ability to fuse pieces of the skeletons back together. Players will find a researcher nearEldin’s Colossal Fossil, Hebra’s Colossal Fossil, and Gerudo’s Colossal Fossil in need of Link’s assistance in studying these Leviathan skeletons. Piecing each one back together earns the player 50 rupees per fossil, but doesn’t offer players much in the way of explaining what these Leviathans were and how they came to be extinct.
Tears of the Kingdompiles further mysteries on these behemoths by introducing massiveDark Skeletons inTotK’s Depths. Players may notice how the Depths mirror the surface of Hyrule in both location and the features found there, and each of the Dark Skeletons can be found directly below their associated Leviathan fossil on the surface. While there isn’t much information given on what these fossils are and how they relate to their surface counterparts, these Dark Skeletons are worth exploring for the chests containing pieces of the Armor of the Wild set that can be found at each one.
Many players have noticed the parallels and connections betweenTears of the KingdomandSkyward Swordwhich, while left somewhat ambiguous, could help explain the origins of these massive fossils. These fossils closely resemble whale-like skeletons, drawing a distinct comparison to Levias the whale-like sky spirit fromSkyward Swordthat bestows the final part of the Song of the Hero upon Link. Given the supposed book-ending rolesSkyward SwordandTears of the Kingdomplay as the earliest and latest games on the franchise’s timeline, it stands to reason that the species that Levias hails from would be extinct by the timeTears of the Kingdomtakes place.
The Dark Skeletons in the Depths are a much more mysterious anomaly, because the surface fossils could be explained by the extinction ofSkyward Sword’s sky whales, but would be a bit of a stretch explaining these fossils in the Depths. It’s possible these beasts could have been relatives of the sky whales that became corrupted by the Demon King’s influence and the Gloom that had overtaken the Depths. However, without a clear in-game explanation as to their existence, these Dark Skeletons continue to confound players and remain one ofTears of the Kingdom’s greatest unsolved mysteries.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis available for Nintendo Switch.
