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Description
So I was watching a video on youtube called "Who killed the hero of time?" and I saw a youtube comment with a very convincing theory, so I made a poster of it.
In case any of you are interested, I'll copy and paste the theory here.
The comment was posted by Rhodri:

First of all, we can agree that the Hero of Time was pretty formidable, and probably stayed that way as he got older, even if he did lose a step or two. Second of all, we can agree that not many enemies would really have fazed him, outside of bosses. Except for one: the Darknuts. There've been a few theories about the Darknuts in Twilight Princess, and one of them is that they were essentially created as superpowered bodyguards for the Royal Family - explaining what they're doing guarding the Dominion Rod (a very important royal artefact) and in Hyrule Castle. The later appearances of the Darknuts in the game, in Hyrule Castle, also have some resemblance to the armour of the Hero's Shade, particularly the helmet and the shield. Perhaps they were modelled on a fully grown Hero of Time; Zelda would probably see him as her go-to hero. Either something went wrong, and they went rogue, or they were always evil to begin with. Either way, one (or several) of them may have killed the Hero of Time when he was a relatively old man. Considering how formidable they are, and the fact that the Hero's Shade is notably missing an eye (suggesting a lack of depth perception), it's certainly plausible, and probably more so than any other recurring enemy doing so other than by an insanely lucky shot through the eyeball (again, the Hero's Shade is missing an eye). Another villain could have popped up, but for the sake of simplicity, let's ignore that. Supporting this, several of the Hidden Skills that the Hero's Shade teaches Link are directly relevant to fighting the Darknuts: as early as the third one, he makes a very specific point about fighting fully armoured enemies, and teaches Link the Back-Slice. This is despite the fact that the lesson comes after the Goron Mines, and before the Lakebed Temple - the second and third dungeons, respectively. While a fairly useful move in general, especially against King Bulbin in the Gerudo Desert and later on, it doesn't really come into its own until you're faced with an armoured, sword-wielding enemy - a Darknut. That doesn't happen until the Temple of Time, which isn't the first, second, or even third dungeon after the Goron Mines, but the FOURTH. And that's not the end of it. Immediately after the Back-Slice, the next move he teaches you is the Helm-Splitter, a move also most relevant against armoured swordsmen, like, again, Darknuts. This one is just before the Arbiter's Grounds, the fourth Dungeon, as is the next one, the Mortal Draw - also, to a lesser extent, mainly relevant against powerful enemies like the Darknuts, and perfect for dealing with their unarmoured forms. Again, these apply well to the likes of King Bulbin, and to some other more powerful mook level opponents, but they're practically designed for the one enemy of that type to really return from Ocarina of Time: Darknuts. The Hero's Shade makes sure to hammer all three of those techniques in, before moving back onto more general and frankly, less complex, techniques (the first two were the Ending Blow and the Shield Bash) and the last two are the Jump Strike and the Great Spin - ideal for dealing with large numbers of lesser enemies. It's almost as if he has a very particular set of priorities, and he's dead-set on not just training his descendant in his skills and making sure masters them, but on a very particular set of those skills as quickly as possible, because he's acutely aware that while other enemies can be beaten with basic swordsmanship and clever use of items, you really need to know your stuff with a sword when fighting a Darknut (or indeed Ganondorf). He really, REALLY seems to have a thing about heavily armoured, sword-wielding enemies and teaching his descendant how best to protect himself from them, so he'll have maximum practice before finally facing them. Like, say, Darknuts. All of which can be explained by the fact that one - or several, working together - killed him. By the way, this would also explain the very large gap in his armour - a Darknut is certainly large enough and strong enough to take out the significant gap in his armour.

Description
So I was watching a video on youtube called "Who killed the hero of time?" and I saw a youtube comment with a very convincing theory, so I made a poster of it.
In case any of you are interested, I'll copy and paste the theory here.
The comment was posted by Rhodri:

First of all, we can agree that the Hero of Time was pretty formidable, and probably stayed that way as he got older, even if he did lose a step or two. Second of all, we can agree that not many enemies would really have fazed him, outside of bosses. Except for one: the Darknuts. There've been a few theories about the Darknuts in Twilight Princess, and one of them is that they were essentially created as superpowered bodyguards for the Royal Family - explaining what they're doing guarding the Dominion Rod (a very important royal artefact) and in Hyrule Castle. The later appearances of the Darknuts in the game, in Hyrule Castle, also have some resemblance to the armour of the Hero's Shade, particularly the helmet and the shield. Perhaps they were modelled on a fully grown Hero of Time; Zelda would probably see him as her go-to hero. Either something went wrong, and they went rogue, or they were always evil to begin with. Either way, one (or several) of them may have killed the Hero of Time when he was a relatively old man. Considering how formidable they are, and the fact that the Hero's Shade is notably missing an eye (suggesting a lack of depth perception), it's certainly plausible, and probably more so than any other recurring enemy doing so other than by an insanely lucky shot through the eyeball (again, the Hero's Shade is missing an eye). Another villain could have popped up, but for the sake of simplicity, let's ignore that. Supporting this, several of the Hidden Skills that the Hero's Shade teaches Link are directly relevant to fighting the Darknuts: as early as the third one, he makes a very specific point about fighting fully armoured enemies, and teaches Link the Back-Slice. This is despite the fact that the lesson comes after the Goron Mines, and before the Lakebed Temple - the second and third dungeons, respectively. While a fairly useful move in general, especially against King Bulbin in the Gerudo Desert and later on, it doesn't really come into its own until you're faced with an armoured, sword-wielding enemy - a Darknut. That doesn't happen until the Temple of Time, which isn't the first, second, or even third dungeon after the Goron Mines, but the FOURTH. And that's not the end of it. Immediately after the Back-Slice, the next move he teaches you is the Helm-Splitter, a move also most relevant against armoured swordsmen, like, again, Darknuts. This one is just before the Arbiter's Grounds, the fourth Dungeon, as is the next one, the Mortal Draw - also, to a lesser extent, mainly relevant against powerful enemies like the Darknuts, and perfect for dealing with their unarmoured forms. Again, these apply well to the likes of King Bulbin, and to some other more powerful mook level opponents, but they're practically designed for the one enemy of that type to really return from Ocarina of Time: Darknuts. The Hero's Shade makes sure to hammer all three of those techniques in, before moving back onto more general and frankly, less complex, techniques (the first two were the Ending Blow and the Shield Bash) and the last two are the Jump Strike and the Great Spin - ideal for dealing with large numbers of lesser enemies. It's almost as if he has a very particular set of priorities, and he's dead-set on not just training his descendant in his skills and making sure masters them, but on a very particular set of those skills as quickly as possible, because he's acutely aware that while other enemies can be beaten with basic swordsmanship and clever use of items, you really need to know your stuff with a sword when fighting a Darknut (or indeed Ganondorf). He really, REALLY seems to have a thing about heavily armoured, sword-wielding enemies and teaching his descendant how best to protect himself from them, so he'll have maximum practice before finally facing them. Like, say, Darknuts. All of which can be explained by the fact that one - or several, working together - killed him. By the way, this would also explain the very large gap in his armour - a Darknut is certainly large enough and strong enough to take out the significant gap in his armour.