A Clock Town soldier named Shiro represents one of many side stories in The Legend of Zelda Nintendo 64 title Majora's Mask told through context clues rather than text. Link encounters Shiro by using the Lens of Truth, which reveals invisible objects, on the road to Ikana Canyon in the original N64 version of the game and at the Pirates' Fortress in the 3DS remake. Shiro claims that he's been sitting in one spot and asking for passing travelers' help for years, none noticing him until Link. Shiro feels that he's easy to ignore but can't explain his plight beyond that, which invites curiosity.

Shiro's purpose as an NPC is to provide Link - and the player - with the Stone Mask. Like nearly all of the masks in Majora's Mask, the Stone Mask grants Link a unique ability when worn. Namely, it renders Link invisible to most characters, benefitting the player in completing tasks that require stealth. However, Shiro's character model never wears the mask; and after Shiro passes the mask to Link, the player will be able to interact with him in the same spot and by the same means as always, suggesting that his circumstances weren't related to his possession of it.

Related: Why Link's Mirror Shield Is So Different In Majora's Mask

Looking at Shiro's locations in both versions of Majora's Mask may be helpful in making sense of his situation, and they imply that he is a ghost. The player originally encounters Shiro near Ikana Canyon, an area housing a graveyard and such Legend of Zelda enemy types as ghostly Poes and zombie ReDeads. Ikana Canyon was once the site of a warlike kingdom, and Shiro is a Clock Town soldier - it's possible he died in a battle with the Ikana kingdom that Clock Town lent forces to. Meanwhile, Link visits the Pirate's Fortress on behalf of a Zora who was mortally wounded while trying to rescue his friend's kidnapped eggs from the pirates who reside there. The 3DS version of Shiro may have died in a similar situation, fighting the pirates for reasons of heroism or duty and losing.

The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask Suggests That Shiro Is Actually Dead

Zelda Majora's Mask Shiro

Shiro has a possible alternate self who furthers his connection to death. In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Link can encounter a dying soldier sitting in a Castle Town alley after collecting the three Spiritual Stones. Majora's Mask takes place in a parallel universe to Ocarina of Time, and many fans have included Shiro in their speculation into every Majora's Mask character's Ocarina of Time counterpart. The Castle Town soldier's encounter is easily to miss, as it has a narrow window of availability. Some players suspect that Shiro's surface-level predicament is a reference to this. Additionally, Shiro gives Link the Stone Mask in exchange for a Red or Blue Potion, both of which are health restoration items. This further implies that he may share the condition of having been badly injured with his potential Ocarina of Time counterpart as well.

The possibility that the Majora's Mask NPC might be a ghost opens as many questions about the character as it answers: exactly how he died, for instance, and what time in Termina's history he may be from. And the game offers no real clues for speculation on the character's background beyond why he's invisible. However, for many fans of The Legend of Zelda, the room to ask questions and the presence of NPCs who the player isn't meant to know everything about are among the best things about Majora's Mask, the game's approach favoring provocation of thought over fully defining itself.

Next: Who Majora Actually Was Before Majora's Mask