Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
The Ruptured Towers - Guilt is a dungeon located in the Ruptured Towers. It becomes accessible after completing The Ruptured Towers - Grief. The dungeon contains the tome for the Tune of Ages, a sample of Sand of Hours and a Piece of Mind.
Walkthrough[]
Ruptured Towers[]
To reach Guilt, travel west through each of the locked gates using the Doubt Key, Fear Key, Anguish Key, Loss Key, Misery Key, and the Grief Key. Walk through the open doorway.
Guilt[]
When you arrive, you will be in a large room, facing east. Travel through the passage to the east to find a large columned room plagued with rubble. On either side of the room are an Ancient Enchanter and an Alteration Table. Resting right next to the Ancient Enchanter, is the spell tome for the Tune of Ages. Continue through the next eastern passage to discover a brazier in front of a painting of the Great Deku Tree. Follow the winding passage to find more paintings, ending with one of Zelda herself near Zelda's Coffin, on which lay Zelda's Sword and Zelda's Epitaph. Inside of Zelda's Coffin are a bottle of Great Fairy's Tears, three Light Arrows, three Silver Arrows, Zelda's Boots, Zelda's Dress, Zelda's Ring, Zelda's Scabbard, and Zelda's Wish. Behind Zelda's Coffin is an arch marked with a banner. Walk through the arch to travel to Shame.
Shame[]
When you arrive, you will be in the middle of a flooded area surrounded by a circular pillared structure. Lanayru’s Shade will immediately become aggravated. On the northwest and northeast sides of the structure rest two doorways marked by crackling purple spheres. Enter one of the doorways to find yourself on the top of the circular structure. On the north side of the structure lies a tower. On the north side of the tower lies a chest containing a Guilt Key and leveled loot. On the east and west sides of the tower rest doors leading to the top of the tower. Enter one of the doors to reach the top of the tower. Defeat Lanayru’s Shade to find Sand of Hours, a Soul Dew, a Piece of Mind, and a Guilt Key, among Dragon Bones, Dragon Scales, and Gold. To the north lies a locked door opened with a Guilt Key. Activate the door to unlock it and enter the Ethereal Sanctuary.
Ethereal Sanctuary[]
When you arrive, you will be surrounded by fog on a thin body of water, facing east. Travel east to find a lonesome tree. Walk to the eastern side of the tree to arouse the Hero’s Shade. Defeat it to find a Fairy Ocarina, the Blade of the Hero's Shade, Helmet of the Hero’s Shade, Hero’s Key, and Hero’s Lament, among other Relics of Hyrule items. Continue traveling east to find a locked door. Open it with the Hero’s Key to enter the Triforce Shrine.
Triforce Shrine[]
When you arrive, you will be in a large marble room, facing east. In the center of the room lies the Triforce Circle. Open the door on the east side of the room to exit to the Ruptured Towers. You will arrive back at the start of the Ruptured Towers, in front of The Ruptured Towers - Doubt. An Eroded Gossip Stone to the east reminds you that “with the Hero’s Key in your possession, new paths are open to you in Misery and Loss.” Continue east to find the Circle of Tomes, where you can activate a tome to travel to its respective dungeon, or travel north to exit the Ruptured Towers.
Lore[]
Guilt is a fragmented and corrupted version of the Temple of Time, preserved in the remains of the Twilight Realm. The exterior and barren hallways of Guilt were affected by outside forces, while the Ethereal Sanctuary and Triforce Shrine were kept protected and preserved.
During the Battle of a Thousand Heroes, the Temple of Time was affected by the powerful magic used by Hylian mages attempting to summon Link, and three versions of the temple coexisted in the same space. As realms began to fuse together during the death of Hyrule, the three versions of the Temple of Time settled in three different realms: Hyrule, the Twilight Realm, and an unidentified third realm. The Temple of Time found in the Shattered Lands is the temple as it existed in Hyrule during the Last Great War of Hyrule. The Temple of Time found in the Ruptured Towers is the temple as it existed in an alternate Hyrule during the time of the Hero of Twilight. It settled into the Twilight Realm because of its shared history with the realm. The Temple of Time found in Shame is a remarkably complete, but unknown version of the temple from an unknown time. Given its resemblance to the Tower of the Gods and the setting of Shame in an endless ocean during an endless storm, it is possible that this incarnation of the temple came from the timeline of the Hero of Winds. In this case, Shame would be a time-locked version of Hyrule during the Great Flood.
It is unknown how the paintings within Guilt were made or placed, given their depiction of events from several timelines. It may be that Guilt is heavily influenced by the Hero's Shade, and responds to his emotions and memories more than any of the other Ruptured Towers.
Background and Inspiration[]
Enemies are intentionally absent from Guilt aside from Lanayru's Shade and the Hero's Shade. This was done to give the player a respite from the rest of the Ruptured Towers, and to make the story-driven area free of interruption.
Lanayru's Shade uses a customized lightning shout, and intentionally flies through the Temple of Time, having no physical form. The dragon is most likely to land if engaged on the highest roof of the temple.
The paintings are all official artwork or screenshots from Legend of Zelda games and were included to tell a story. The Deku Tree painting depicts the Hero of Time at the start of his journey. The painting of the Hero of Twilight fighting Darknuts depicts the journey and courage of a Hero chosen by the Goddesses. The painting of the Hero of Twilight, Zelda, Midna, etc., serves to allude to evil approaching Hyrule and Zelda's pursuit of peace. The painting of the Hero of Time fighting Ganondorf depicts his crowning achievement, before returning to his own timeline and entering Termina. The two paintings of the Hero of Time in Termina depict his initial adventure and his eventual entrapment in the kingdom. The painting depicting Skyloft above Hyrule is meant to show the city falling during the Last Great War of Hyrule, and the painting of Zelda is included to honor her leadership and sacrifice during the Last Great War.
Prior to version 6.5, the painting of Zelda was of her calling upon the power of the Light Spirits in Twilight Princess, serving to illustrate Zelda's involvement in the war and to indicate that she brought and end to it. It was changed to artwork from Twilight Princess to focus more on Zelda as an individual and to show the presence of her sword.
JKalenad moved Zelda's Coffin from the Triforce Shrine into the halls of Guilt in version 6.5, to make the Triforce Shrine clear of everything but the Goddess Statues and the Triforce Circle.
Gallery[]
