The big door was the Boss Door, as Sonic decided to call it. The door led Sonic to a staircase. Sonic raced up the staircase and found himself in a little room full of paintings, but there was no sign of the boss, or Saria. "Hello?" Sonic called. "Anybody here?" There was no answer, and it sent shivers up the hedgehog's spine. "Figures," Sonic muttered, shaking off his doubt. "Guess I'll have to look for Saria someplace else." As Sonic turned to leave the room, a gate suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking him in. Sonic gasped. When he turned around, he saw... Ganondorf? "Ganondorf! I should've known," said Sonic. But Ganondorf didn't answer. Instead, he took off his face? Sonic realized this wasn't Ganondorf at all. It was Phantom Ganon, an evil spirit from beyond. As the phantom rose up into the air, he shot dark hypnotic waves of magic at Sonic, but the goggles protected him from getting hypnotized. Sonic saw the phantom fly into the painting. He looked for the phantom and soon found him, but the phantom turned around and travelled into the painting. "Hmm. How am I going to find him?" Sonic wondered worriedly. Then he heard a noise coming from the painting behind him. It was the phantom again, only this time, he travelled out of the painting with a dark magic ring around him. Sonic quickly hit him with his bow and arrow and he headed back in the painting. Sonic realized that to find the phantom, he just had to look for a dark ring. So, whenever he saw one, he hit it with his arrow. After doing it three more times, the phantom stayed in the room with Sonic and started throwing light balls at him, but Sonic bashed it back to him with his spin dash. When the light ball hit the phantom, he got stunned and Sonic struck him with three jump attacks and that was the end of Phantom Ganon. "That'll take care of that pesky ol' phantom," said Sonic confidently brushing his hands off. But then he heard the spirit speak.
"Hey kid, you did quite well. You might be gaining some slight skill. But you have defeated only my phantom. When you fight the real me, it won't be so easy. What a worthless creation that ghost was. I will banish it in the gaps between dimensions."
"We'll see about that," Sonic said as the spirit disappeared. The dark portal that Ganondorf used to banish his phantom that Sonic just defeated transformed into a soothing blue portal that Sonic stepped through.
Sonic found himself in the Chamber Of The Sages where the Sage of the Forest appeared. It was Saria! She was still a kid, but Sonic was all grown up. "Thank you," said Saria. "Because of you, I could awaken as a sage. I am Saria, the sage of the Forest Temple. I'm going to stay here as the Forest sage and help you."
"Thanks..." said Sonic smiling with embarrassment. He looked between Saria's child sized body and his own adult body. He sighed. "Look, sweetie, I can explain..." he said. "No, Sonic, it's okay. You don't have to explain it to me," said Saria. "Because it is destined that you and I can't live in the same world." Sonic was a little teary-eyed to hear that. "Don't worry," said Saria. "I'll be staying right here as the forest sage to help you." Sonic smiled a little bit. "Now Sonic, please take this medallion from me," said Saria as she handed him a bright green medallion. Sonic placed it around his neck. He had gotten the Forest Medallion! Saria was now a sage and her power was added to his.
"I will always be your friend..."