Dark souls 3 is supposed the end of the series but what if fromsoft made a game that takes place after the flame goes out that'd be pretty cool and it doesn't necessarily need to be called dark souls.
Maybe the flame of the torch and of the bonfire are all the same prefab. So when one is animated to go out they all go out... it's prbly intentional though lol
I don't think that the Bonfire's fire, and other fire in the world (e.g. a torch) are linked necessarily - I say that because in the Dark Firelink Shrine, in the Untended Graves, there're still some torches burning and giving off light inside. We'll never actually know if thats right though haha.
Linking is the ashen one acting on a sense of duty Flame dying is the ashen one acting on a sense of order (that darkness must follow light) Usurpation is the undead acting on a sense of Purpose Flame dying alternate is the ashen one acting on a sense of greed
Perhaps, but it is linked to Kaathe, who as a very mercurial interest in humans and humanity, and hasn't always had the best interest in mind for people, whatever new world will arise it will likely be very different, and perhaps more disparaging
8 років тому+6
Duty and purpose are synonyms, so what you said here is meaningless.
Little trivia: in the fire usurpation ending, you still have your fire keeper since you haven't linked the flame, and anri is still alive. You also have the two londor ladies who serves you, so usurpation ending is actually the PIMP HAREM ENDING!
I see the line ,'hearest thou my voice still' as a realisation, that the age of dark has come around, but it isn't that bad. That the lords of cinder and the fire keepers have spent so many years trying to link the flame, when really it wasn't necessary, for when the flame does go out, you can still hear the voice, you can still go on.
True. Shes also blind so being in the dark is no big deal to her. Or maybe shes calling out to you because the blackening is actually your charactor finally passing away as they had no real purpose as unkindled once the flame was gone.
@@nanarb4733 man thats a rough lot. You finally get your eyes back and immediately after the guy demands you remove the source of all light from the world in a big fuck you
tl;dr Ending 1 - Fire is linked Ending 2 - Fire goes out but life goes on Ending 3 - Fire is absorbed and you become lord of Hollows Ending 4 - *shrugs*
Ending 4 is either you looking out for yourself in the Age of Dark and knowing the Firekeeper would have fought you for the flame anyway or it is you trying to become the Lord of Hollows but without knowing about the usurpation possibility.
Ok, here's my reasoning why the Usurpation of Fire ending is the BEST ending for Kaathe, Dragons and Hollows. This is only a theory but anyways here we go. The Usurpation of Fire is the best because it breaks the cycle of light and dark and enters the twilight in between or, as Aldia put it, "beyond light and dark." The other endings only continue this cycle which leads to these rotten and grey worlds at the end of each cycle. The Linking of Fire ending, as mentioned in this video, only minorly feeds the flame and delays the inevitable by a teeny tiny amount. We can see that the world isn't reborn as it was at the end of DS1 but the destroyed churning lands surrounding the first flame stay the same. The world is still rotten. The Killing the Firekeeper ending is easily the worst as the unkindled chooses to maintain the flame as it is as he does not offer himself up to the flames. This is probably because in this world of rotten ruin, the unkindled is the most powerful and wants it to stay that way. You get no achievement or notice for doing this because nothing is truly achieved. You've kept the world as you've found it. The Age of Dark ending seems to be the best one then, right? Well by the firekeepers own words "tiny flames will dance across the dark", foretelling a return of the age of fire. While this might not happen for thousands and thousands of years the whole scenario of linking the fire and the rotting of the world will happen again. A cycle of life and death will prevail. But why is the Usurpation the best ending then? Because it goes beyond the cycle of light and dark and returns to the age of grey and ash. Of immortality. How is this? Well lets look at how the unkindled can make it happen. The unkindled must also become undead. This means he becomes truly soulless, able to store powerful souls and humanity while possessing none of his own. He is, in essence, empty. The unkindled then weds and absorbs the soul of Anri of Astora. Now this is very speculatory and I may be terribly wrong, but I believe Anri is a fragment of Manus, Father of the Abyss; identical to that of Nashandra and the other Queens from DS2. Why? Well her soul is black and dark similar to that found in the abyss as well as Anri is always the opposite of the gender you pick for your character. He/she is your tempter as Nashandra was to King Vendrick in DS2. Now within the unkindled is a fragment of dark, of the abyss. Not powerful enough to consume the undead as the abyss once consumed Artorius, but enough for part 3. When the unkindled touches the fire, he/she does not give himself to it. The unkindled absorbs it. The struggling and collapse of the unkindled is the abyss and first flame fighting within him. Eventually the unkindled maintains them within himself, a perfect balance between the two. With the darkness and the light in balance within the unkindled, the world cannot fall into an age of light nor dark as the remnants of both still exist, but not how the should. A more accurate assumption would be that they melded and became something neither light nor dark. Lets not forget that both the abyss and the first flame have been known to manifest themselves as souls, the abyss as manus and the first flame as Gwyn, Nito, the Witch of Izalith and the Furtive Pygmy, so easily forgotten. An age of grey and ash. A return, in other words, to the Age of Ancients. Of course this is what Kaathe wants and assumedly many other primordial serpents, to return to a time when he and his fellow brethren are immortal beings untroubled by life or death. So do the dragons , as it can go back to how things were before Gwyn and the first flame. Hollows are no longer drawn to the fire and with every human eventually becoming undead like them, their persecution stops. A happy world for them all. Being the one who made this new age come about, you become Lord of Hollows, the new god of this world and so you will rebuild in your age of ancients. This ending is bad or good depending on your personal philosophy. After all, what is life without death? There is not light without dark and without both what do we have left? But this is what the Usurpation of Fire gives us. If you read all of this props to you. Thanks for reading babe ★~(◡﹏◕✿)
Dark Fire Is it though? I mean sure there's no more death and disparity but what is life without struggle? What is the meaning of existence without both the carrot of power and the stick of despair and death? Also one thing I didn't mention is that because its an age of ancients doesn't mean the cycle won't restart. After all the first flame came out of the age of ancients too...
+Harry Gaught I like the End of Fire ending most because it follows the natural order that was supposed to happen in Gwyn's time, Linking is just prolonging the inevitable, Usurpation is completely unnatural, but the End is the most natural way to go, if the First Flame was meant to fade, then so it shall at long last, a fitting canonical ending imo
well congrats for being the serpent's errand boy, i hope there's information that makes it clear that the serpents have theor own agenda, and i know you will get nothing good following them. eh thats just a hunch
While it does seem good once you think about it, no matter what happens there will always be a cycle between the light, dark, and grey. If you prolong the flame, you're just prolonging the inevitable, not doing much of anything but ensuring the age of dark later. If you bring about the age of dark, humans will thrive(Whether something happens to make them not do so is still up for debate.). Hell, for all we know, the age of darkness might play out like the real world. However, the fire will come back, as strong as it was the first time. With the Usurpation of Fire, that's starting the cycle completely over, as there will most likely be flames still left, resulting in the eventually age of fire. With the Unkindled ending, things stay exactly the same seemingly. An undead will always come along, beat the Lord of Cinder, and have to choose themselves. It's always a vicious cycle of death and despair. With that said, fuck the Dragons, Hollows, and Primordial Serpants, they're all assholes anyways.
My favorite ending is definitely End of Fire. After realizing that you're simply prolonging the inevitable by linking the fire, you choose instead to end the fire, and usher in the age of darkness. With the Fire Keeper at you side, the Champion of Ash can lead forth the age of darkness. Another thing I think to take note on with this ending, is that unlike the Dark Souls 1 version of ending the reign of fire, you're not being asked to let the Abyss consume the world entirely. Rather, you're simply letting the light fade. Does this mean that by doing so mankind can survive this new age?
soon enough another flame will rise. even the fire keeper said that when you think about it, the first flame wasn't always there. there was a time without the first flame so what tells you there won't be a second?
@@chahinmorsli7018 but waiting for the "second" flame will just repeat the entirety of dark souls won't it ? now we gotta keep linking the second flame over and over again until it exhaust it's flame then reenter dark age and wait for the "third" flame to come out. it doesn't do anything in terms of progression. the usurpation on the other hand, it ushers a new age with us as the vanguard. in my opinion it's the better one.
I think the Usurpation ending actually creates another "grey" age, like before the fire. Only instead of everlasting trees and dragons, you now have Hollows.
+Preston Poland That actually sounds really neat. Like I'm going to sound stupid but what if the age of ancients in DS1 was created because there was another "first flame" before the age of ancients and the dragons used it to become everlasting. Same as the Usurpation ending the flame wasn't fully used and it came back later as the first flame we know now. This would make the ending of DS3 kinda sad because that could mean that there is no way to break the cycle if it's forever "Grey Age, Fire Age, Dark Age/Another Fire Age, Grey Age, etc." This could also mean there was a grey age even before the dragons.
I think that when she first speaks of "images of betrayal" she is referring to when the Chosen Undead steals the flame from her, but actually letting her take the flame and letting it fade reveals the true, hopeful ending.
In the original Japanese Yuria's dialogue from you killing her is, "Kaathe, you dying wish...". It would actually appear that Kaathe is dead by this point in the game, which would make the player the only true ruler of Londor.
@@Crackdoza_lol When killed she says "Kaathe...I have failed thee." Which is definitely more ambiguous than the original voice line, because from it you can't discern if Kaathe is dead or not.
I think the last ending is in reference to the the ashen one being nothing but a dog doing what dogs do. He has been hunting embers and souls the entire game. Surely the amount of mental trauma he has endured his severe. When he had a chance to let the Fire Keeper usher in the Age of Dark, he couldn't resist doing what he has been doing the entire game. Killing and taking embers. Notice you get embers when you kill every boss as well and from killing other players. Like a dog off the leash he had become a threat to the cause he once served. He is addicted to the killing and the chaos of it.
+Euric Dinkins It also possible that you are killing Fire Keeper because she betrayed her duty. So basically you are continue the fire cycle and making Fire Keeper pay for her sins... T Even it was you who gave her eyes, she should have accepted them and trying to end the fire. hat's why you so rough to her in the end. That makes you puppy of the fire :)
OP had the right idea panda. Just as the narration spoke. " and so it was, that ash seeketh embers" I believe the reason why there is no achievement for this is because this ending truly is the only way to end the fire once and for all. Notice how the fire keeper states that she will care for the flame into it's extinguishment, however a new flame will dance into being. Who's not to say the fire keeper will amend her betrayal to her duties by undoing what the ashen one told her to do? The firekeeper could possibly reignite the flame. Whereas if the Ashen One took the flame for himself, there would be no chance for the first flame to live on because the Ashen One enkindled will not last forever, for he is Ash, unfit even to be cinder for the first flame. He took the first flame from the Firekeeper just like any other consumable ember. The difference between usurpation and the secret end of fire is in the usurpation ending, all your actions were to serve The Primordial serpent's grand plans. Notice how the Ashen One's body seems to reject the flame, because instead of grasping the taking the flame out with the help of the fire keeper, the Ashen One tried to let the flame consume him to merge, but as you saw, it the Ashen One reacted differently as other lords of cinders might have in the linking the fire scenario. This is most likely because of the # of dark sigils the Ashen One bore when he tried linking the fire. We know that the dark sigil is different from the dark sign. And that the only way to heal the dark sigil is someone who has returned with knowledge from the abyss. ( or in this case, providing the firekeeper with eyes so she can 'see' ) it's also safe to say the key difference between the 2 endings is one of them requiring to feed the dark sigil to even attempt, whereas the other ,(end of fire+taking for yourself) you can feed the dark sigil or not and still attempt this ending. Quite possibly what you have become in the usurpation of fire ending is something as great as the soul of cinder yet the very exact opposite end of the scale. Instead of divine, so very hollow, abyssmal, thus explaining why healing the dark sigil requires one with knowledge from the depths of the abyss. Maybe you become something like Manus, a father of the abyss, maybe you become something even greater, now that you have the power of the first flame
Osvaldo Rosiles that’s not how that works the time before Gwyn is the age of ancients and the age of darkness that is naturally brought about by letting the fire die is the way the cycle continues naturally instead of being forcefully controlled the age of dark leads to the age of ancients
@@animeproblem1070 if you let the fire continue the cycle of the age of fire and the dark age continues forever, if you take the fire you bring a new age, the age of hollows breaking the cycle and leaving the world neutral and not having the gods and lords rule over humanity
You forgot to mention that the Untended Graves seems to take place during an age of dark. In that section of the game, the player is taken into the past, where they fight Champion Gundyr in his prime, and encounter a darkened firelink shrine. After you give the eyes to the fire keeper, Ludleth explains his motivation for becoming a lord of cinder: "The eyes show a world destitute of fire, a barren plane of endless darkness. A place born of betrayal. So I will'd myself Lord, to link the fire, to paint a new vision. What is thine intent?" What this implies that an age of dark has come before in the past, if not several, but the fire always becomes linked in some way or another, just as the firekeeper implies. Whether you link the fire or let it fade, you are only inheriting the order of this world.
I know this is late to reply but I thought that the untended graves might actually be in the future. Since it is a world of dark and you can receive items that otherwise wouldn’t be possible to receive unless it’s in the future, like the coiled sword and the blacksmiths hammer.
@@janno278 no its in the past cauce if you dont talk to the handmaiden until you go to the dark shrine and talk to the version of her in the dark shrine after that go to the firelink shrine and she will remeber you
I consider the End of Fire ending to be the most satisfying one. The constant linking of the First Flame has caused the world to be in a state of endless decay and the age of dark is never actually proven to be a bad thing, just the end of gods such as Gwyn. Its better to let a new age of possibility than continue the life of a dying one.
The lore on the Ringed Knights stuff implies humanity will be basically demigods in an Age of Dark. Other flavor text throughout all the games implies that this was the true reason Gwyn and the gods linked the fire. Fear of humanity, whom they had enslaved.
If you were to kill Yuria in the Japanese version, her dialogue will say "...Kaathe... your dying wish was not fulfilled...", which implies that they no longer serve Kaathe as he is dead.
It's worth noting that the sun in the usurpation ending looks a lot like humanity in the first Dark Souls (black with white glow,) which is derived from the dark soul. Humans are also derived from the dark soul, so I think that in that ending, you use your dark digits to make the first flame dark so humans may fuel it properly and may benefit from it like the gods originally did. This is really the only way you can create an age of man and fulfill the furtive Pygmy's goal. But I still like the true dark ending
i like that interpretation, humanity's soul has replaced the light soul in dominance...... now imagine what it must be like for the firs flame to fade if its humans who are most connected to it. we've seen humans become corrupted, hollowed, but what if humanity just *flickers out?* very good Mr Joichi Kujoichi
I did the last ending by accident becuse i wanted to Link the Fire but i forgot the Fire keeper would make it fade and then i was like oh shit no give it back and i hit her and that happend and i was like shit this is brutal
I wonder if that's the reason why it was put into the game? I mean, you acted out of pure desperation to attain your duty you thought you must follow, which is essentially what that ending is about?
After finishing the game (It's been on my back long for a long time I know) I think the darkness ending hints more towards something else. I think it's about everyone in the world finally being able to die a natural death & you & the firekeeper spending your last moments together & she asks if you can hear her because for the first time, she's scared. The Dark Souls series has more or less been about trying to keep a flame lit for immortality but when you look around you realize that people don;t die. They just become hollow. Only a "dark soul" left in them to guide them to the only thing they want : a flame. If you take the flame away then they can finally rest as they were meant to instead of living for the sake of a bunch of selfish lords who wanted immortality. Even one of the lothric brothers speaks about it. As for the little flames? They're the natural ones. The ones not influenced by so called gods or selfish lords but ones that are a rebirth of the world. A world that will see light again but will be lit by the lives of mortals.
Except humans were around during the age of dark, as only hollows, until one day a hollow picked up the first flame and essentially gained consciousness or a soul. Returning to dark doesn’t mean humans can die.
I went with “The End of Fire” ending, to me that fire had burned long enough and while it has caused prosperity it’s caused suffering as well. I thought it was time for the fire to fade and rest forever
the last ending is actually the true ending. It fulfills the firekeeper's visions of betrayal when she tends to the flame as it fades away and it also keeps the fire lit and as seen in the cutscene, "offered" to the dark sun. It implies that the sun reclaims it's light and the ashen one does what the fanbase and certain parts of the game as a whole does, and that is "Praise The Sun".
Since we Usurped the Fire in the third ending, why should we serve Kaathe? I'd say we would become an allpowerful being, capable of shaping new Age in whatever way we desire. And that would be defined by us, and us alone. Like, an asshole character would make the world a pitiful place, yet heroic character would usher in a new Dark Golden Age. Tis the way I see it though.
I don't think so. I have this feeling that the dark sigil planted in you let the serpent to controlling you. The serpent is not stupid. He will not just let some random champion take over the world. I meant, his whole life is used to scheming, he would never let anything go without his control.
probo rahadianto Don't remember Kaathe being a controlling schemer. Just schemer, yes. And why would dark sigils give him any control? Their key item description, or anything else in the game, does not give any hints to that. And even then, what would serpent want to do with the world anyways?
The primordial serpent is older even than the dragon. He just think that he is the true owner of the world and other creature is just usurpers that need to be exterminated.
probo rahadianto Was that written somewhere? So, ok, then why Frampt was helping Gwyn? And what of those many other Primordeal Serpents present in Dark Lord ending of DS1?
I’d probably say the End of Fire ending is my favourite. Entering the Dark age and waiting for a new dawn or flame. Especially since it’s implied you will wait it out with the Fire Keeper. A companion in the dark. (I also like her.)
To me, the *only* piece of information that's of import and different than the other endings is that the fire has become *so weak* at this point that it is capable of being held and contained within one being, suggesting that the flame is truly beyond ever recovering at any strength near beginning levels.
If they make a Dark Souls IV (and I know they've said they won't) I would like a narrative that starts in the Age of Dark. Thus far we've been trying to prolong the Age of Fire or let it die, but it would be really cool to see the flip side of that. A world that starts like the Untended Graves and we have to seek out flickers of light either bringing them together to rekindle the first flame and usher in a second Age of Fire, slowly bringing light back to the world, or snuffing out the small flames to ensure that the Age of Dark continues. It would be an interesting twist on the formula without really having to change too much from a development standpoint.
+NiggoFanBoy I'm sure they will eventually make it. There is a large fan base now and From Software benefited greatly from DS series. But, like the article suggests, they will focus on new projects. Doubt we will see another DS game in the next 6-7 years but I'm certain we will eventually see one.
One thing that interesting to note is, in the ending where the flame fades out, the age of man continues but without the fire. This is in reference to the painted world where the ashen one chose rot over flame.
painted world has a fire and a bell, but both where subdued by Elfriede ala the player character choosing the usurpation of flame ending. You can delay the inevitable for only so long, before another comes to kick the whole process back into gear.
But according to Ds2, there were ages of dark already. Souls consumed and gathered by a dark lord are freed at some point, when he is consumed by the dark and slips out of existence. They erupt, sparking flame and life to the world once more, the most powerful ones being reborn as new beings (Gwyn - iron king, Artorias - Raime, Seath - Freja, Witch - sinner, Nito - the rotten). That's why Kaathe designed a new plan to break the cycle of ever rebirthing fire. The only true winner, tbh, is the next monarch if he listens to Aldia and goes beyond death. He literally exists outside the cycle. The end of fire seems like the same as dark lord ending (ds1) in results. The foul betrayal ending is really a throwback to the evil ending of Demon's Souls (joining the demons).
I think that the Usurpation ending is the real ending. The world has seen dark ages as pointed out by Aldia in DS2 and both Vendrick and Lothric are technically dark lords that chose not to link the fire. It always seems to keep embers alive and the fire keeper points it out that the cycles are not over. In the Usurpation ending you have a choice to put an end to the cycles and create a new age in which hollows keep the flame. Humamity is born from the dark now the flame cannot be linked by a new lord of cinder anymore.
Some Random Sun Bro like telling you why demon souls isn't canon...cause it is not. still has patches but still isn't canon...just like ds2 shit off i mean spin off
Its funny because the amount of hard work and dedication you have to put in dark souls to finish it, is only rewarded with a dark and unsatisfying ending.
Usurper ending seems like he created a new flame, possibly a dark flame. At the wedlock scene it looks as if you created the first Dark bonfire. Make Londor whole seems like they are referring to the Dark Sigil. Which is a small void that devours one's self. Maybe they wish to fill that void with new purpose? I don't know very unclear, just guessing.
+Souls Fanatic This is why I like Usurpation ending most... It seems like it would have the most effect in altering the course of the future, rather than potentially continuing the cycle?
(Idc if this was 3 years ago) I don't think the dark bonfire thing would be right. Bonfires were for farming humanity from humans since the age of the Gods, and Idk what the dark bonfires would mainly be for
+MadLuigi one problem, I don't think it would be an ending to the franchise, you said it yourself that the dark world would be another age with possible futures for the people still "alive" for lack of a better word to describe the character's conditions.
+MadLuigi and that embers may come again, representing the fire age.... if anything, it opens up to the possibility of a new game with different possibilities
I would call the ending where you kill the fire keeper the "Cowards Ending". It makes me think that the player, afraid of the dark killed the firekeeper in the last second to take the flame for himself and protect himself, but ultimately facing the sun as the cycle will still continue. In stark contrast to the "Usurper Ending" where the player is facing away from the sun as if to say "I will follow this cycle no longer" taking the power of the flame and combining it with the darkness. In theory, this might create an endless cycle of power. The power of the darkness is the power of the abyss, and endless void, so if one is to feed the fire infinite darkness, it would have infinite fuel. But it does come at a cost which might be eluded to by the white flame that drips from the sun.
Madluigi I think when she says make Londor whole again It's kind of like when Kaathe says he's gathering all the humanity and putting them all back together and in this case the Ashen One was able to make the Dark sign in the sky white and black I see it as Humanity and He taking that humanity and using it to put back together the rest of "humanity"
I see it in a similar way. That you offer the fading flame to your humanity or your part of the dark soul. Binding humanity to the flame and which would strengthen our link to the flame and containing our sanity
+Soul Of Cinder and then the second dlc is Astora! Fighting the beast of the ring as a boss and/or The King of Astora and meet Solaire again... That would be awesome
Jamie Lee yeah apparently Miyazaki himself said it in a interview somewhere, he also said it would be the last Dark Souls content From Software would be making :(
Let me know what you think of my ideas on the explanation of the endings in Dark Souls 3! I welcome any and all ideas about what I talked about. (also like 97% of my views are from males so this won't really matter, but for anyone wondering, I use 'him' and 'himself' to describe the PC cause I did my playthrough with a dude)
You have a real knack for this dude, you do a phenomenal job of conveying the rich narrative of the lore while providing a concise summary of the various theories and implications that arise. Eventually I would like to hear your thoughts on how future dlc might expand on these endings, maybe in an extras vid or something. But cover more of the important stuff first :)
In the usurpation ending, you're not serving kaathe. He's serving you, because you are a lord of cinder and the ruler of londor. He is just a primordial serpent
I think there are many reasons why the first flame doesnt burn as much as it once did. When the fire started to fade, prince lothric was to go and link it, yet he refused. The bell tolled and past lords of cinder were brought back from death as a last resort to preserve the age of fire, yet even they refused, and after having already linked the flame... Whose to say they were strong enough to do it again? Then, the bell tolls again, and you come along. Born of ash, unkindled, someone who has already tried to link the fire, and failed. You are the last, last resort. The fire is desperate to survive, and you are simply not enough to preserve the fire. So you, the unkindled failure, the desperate true last attempt to preserve the fire, go to slay the old lords of cinder to take their power and pray that with 5 lords of cinder and an ashen vessel, it will be enough to sate the flame. And it wasn't enough. You weren't strong enough to link the fire the first time, and now with 5 past cinders and incredible power, you manage to get to the the kiln and attempt to link the flame... Yet ash doesnt burn. The most flame you'll ever see come out of ash is a few embers, and thats exactly what we see when we link the flame.
I kinda feel like the alternate End of Fire ending is just the Ashen One going back on his decision to rid the world of fire. Even the unnecessary cruelty (see: curbstomping) the Fire-keeper serves a purpose. You have to kill her to get the Eyes back from her; she even tells you to. She can't die as long as the Flame exists, and by killing her and holding the flame again, you essentially reset the Fire-keeper to how she was before you gave her the Eyes and you stop the flame from dying out (as the screen doesn't fade to black) in the original End of Fire ending.
+Ahmad Al Hnaish Why the extremely sinister tone to it though? And the 'ash seeketh embers' doesn't fit your narrative. To me it's more about stealing the flame for yourself and using it to become a Lord yourself.
My theory for the Usurpation of Fire ending is that Kaathe either wants to take control of the entirety of Londor or make the entire world part of Londor by taking it all over, so he has sent Yuria and the Pilgrim Assassin to manipulate the Unkindled One into stealing the First Flame and becoming the Lord of Hollows, an incredibly powerful leader and weapon that he can use to complete his goal.
I was under the impression that in Usurpation, you basically extinguish the First Flame with all the dark sigils and your crazy souls power, it looked like you were putting it out to me. And that would be what Kaathe would want I imagine. He originally wanted the end to the age of fire which was really just gods abusing humans and using them as kindling, so he thought bringing about the age of dark is the way to go, but seeing as the fire can return from embers even after the age of dark has happened, Kaathe would want to screw the cycle over in a more final way, which would mean waiting for the fire to grow extremely weak so it could be extinguished permanently, and then after that you have to rebuild the world that's been basically boned from having humanity bound to this cycle of bullshit countless times, so you give the guy who got strong enough to extinguish it a fancy title and a harem of creepy hollow women in black dresses and put him in charge so he doesn't mess with you.
+Spartan0941 There is one problem with that - how is kaathe going to be in power when you exist? Most of Londor considers you a god now, so loyalty of hollows belongs to you, not Kaathe. You are not only a badass godslayer of immense might, but also a god yourself after you consume the first flame. Kaathe is probably not much of a fighter, he will not be able to impose his will on you.
Kaathe promised the people of Oolacile lordship over the dark too. Look how that turned out. The Ashen One is likely just another fool tricked by him and his Darkwraith servants.
I think you extinguish the fire too, but instead of using the fire to light the world, you use the immeasurable power of your soul(s) to light the word, hence why the light is pure white like the souls instead of orange like fire.
I feel like the “true ending” was more about mankind being the tiny embers surviving in the darkness. Not so much an ominous precursor to another age of fire, but a vision that the age of darkness is not necessarily the end of everything.
+JosiGaming Can I one-up you and say that it's YOU that went blind and SHE is the one that can see? She calls out to you to guide you. Her Firekeeper eyes let her see through the darkness, whereas yours do not. If so, killing her and claiming the fire for yourself ( 2.2 ending ) makes sense: you don't want to live, blind, in a world of darkness. So you claim the fire for yourself. You are now the god of the new world and you are the only one that casts light, because the only one that could see through the dark is now dead.
+JosiGaming Not sure why, but I kind of like the idea of the Ashen One and Firekeeper relying on each other in the end. It's almost cute, except for the part where the world might end and be swallowed by the abyss. That kinda sucks for them.
+Xzener Considering that the Firekeeper says that the fire will eventually return, i think it's safe to assume that the world will not end (though i guess it might come close to ending).
If you stop at 9:08, you'll see that the sun and it's beam form a coiled sword, even with the crossguard. Edit: Despite not really being coiled, it also has a ring on the grip.
6 years later, now that Elden Ring has come out, what if the fire eventually fades after DS3, but at some point external forces intervene. Some strange outer gods appear, such as the Elden Beast, and create their own Golden Order to fill the void left after Age of Fire finally ends. But that too eventually begins to fade, and the Tarnished who would become Lord decides the fate of that new world. When the Tarnished releases the Frenzied Flame to burn the Erdtree and end the Golden Order, their head looks like the Darksign. I wonder if there is a connection there.
IMO, Usurpation ending is the only ending with a true extinguishing of the fire, making you Lord of Dark, ushering in the Age of Man (Darkness), thus the change in the color around the "sun". I don't think it's a coincidence the sun now looks very similar to a humanity sprite aka a dark soul
how i imagine the first people find the killing firekeeper ending ''alr how do i skip this cutscne (press button swing a greatsword and accidentally hit the firekeeper')
I'm surprised there's no ending where all of your comrades get together to do some shit, and then you all get transported to hell and they fucking die, and the firekeeper gets raped and goes potato mode.
Sable Church of Londor/Kaathe DLC Gertrude/Frampt DLC I think this would shed light on a ton of stuff if they chose to do so. Be a solid way of explaining the Usurpation and Age of Dark endings while canonizing both.
In my opinion "ursupation of fire" should be the canonical ending. Dark souls lore it's way more complex than simple being light or dark in the sky, it reflects more on human nature than most of people can realize. On DS1 we learn that there was an "Age of ancient" dominated by Dragons, and then the Great Lords emerged with their souls, and used their power to defeat the Dragons and take their place starting the current "Age of fire". The whole Dark souls saga plot is about a group of gods and their sucessors, that by fear, tries to extend their power control for maximum time it's possible, even knowing that their fall is inevitable by the own cyclical nature of the world. Dark Souls it's a game about Fear, not about having no fear, but learning how to fight against it, showing the true bravery of being alive. The "Dark Souls" are a group of week humanoid species, descendants of a week god, that was completely ignored by the powerfull great Lords. They have no perspective, they are week and live on a world that's not their world. But even with all those advesities, at some point, they were abble to fight against it, and take the power once usurpated from the Dragons by the Great Lords, to start their own era. Dark souls Is not the story of the "Age of fire", but the story of how began the "Age of Dark" dominated by humans. The "Dark Lord of the Hollows" at the end of the game is the personification of what "Gwin, the Lord of Sunlight" once was at the very beggining of his era. And that's the true cyclical nature of the story, because, independently if it is good or bad, one day, this new era will also dies, and give form to another one, and their "so called Lords", and this fact is inevitable. That's why I also believe that "End of fire" shouldn't be canonical, because it's not the begginig of a new era, but just another extend to a new age of fire: "But one day, tiny flames will dance across the darkness", it doesn't matter, it's also the same paleative as linking the fire, because in the end, gods will show up again and take their past power back "like embers linked by lords past", restarting the link of fire cycle once again. We also know that the Ending of fire manifestation is represented by the abyss, that has bad consequences even to the "chosen people" of the humanoid undeads, turning them into beasts, as we learned from the past games. To me, after playing those games for more than a decade, In the end, Dark Souls was a story about how to embrace ephemerality and enjoy it, because one day everything you know is gonna turn into ashes, and there's nothing you can do about it.
the good ending IMO for descendants of furtive pygmy is either usurpation of fire or killing the waifu and taking the fire while offering it to the dark sign in the sky, which is the embodiment of the curse Gwyn placed on humanity, could the killing ending be an attempt to break the curse?... And if the usurpation of fire breaks the cycle and sets perpetual dark age, which is when humans are more dominant, are humans still affected by the gwyns curse on their soul? Does any ending restore humans to their glory before Gwyn fucked over the natural order because he feared humans growing power?
3:31, I always interpreted this as literal, as in shes asking because theres no light because the flame went out and she literally cant see us. I figured the flame was tied to the sun and light and warmth so once that fades its just pure darkness aka abyss.
0:12 Ending 1: Link the fire (main goal from the begining) 1:39 Ending 2: Age of Humanity (or Dark) (alt) Ending 2: Ember of The First Flame (no achievement gained) 3:48 Ending 3: Age of Hollows of Anor Londor
there is no reason to believe that the usurpation ending serves kaathe. i mean yeah londor is similar to new londo but there isnt even a mention of kaathe or any primordial serpent
The Usurpation of fire is most likely not to start a age of humanity, or even hollows, but rather bring the world back to the age of ancients. First thing that makes this more likely to be a return to the age of ancients is your title itself, "Lord of hollows". This could show that both humanity and gods alike will become extinct, making the entire cycle of light and dark end, just like it was in the age of ancients. Then there's the sun in the back where unlike the other ending where the sun either stayed the same or disappeared (became too weak to see). In any of the other ending, the cycle will keep going no matter what, making the first flame come back one way or the other. However, in the usurpation ending, you take the flame for yourself, corrupting it, and taking it out of the power structure of the world and turning the sky grey (like it was in the age of ancients). With this, it would remove the threats to the ancient dragons and, of course, the primordial serpents. Finally, there is the fact this plan is clearly thought up by Londor, which is lead by Karthe (said when Yuria dies). In the first game, Karthe tries to make you let the fire fade so that humanity would thrive (obviously gave up of that since it's not his real intent). Karthe only tried to do this as it would take out the Gods that ended the age of ancients. With humanity in charge, Karthe thought that he and the other remaining creatures from the age of ancients can take back over. However, this failed as the fading is just part of the cycle, so he came up with the corruption to do what he needed.
+CrimsonDevil through that will probably backfire aswell, since humanitys original state is that of the hollows as this was how they were before the first flame came. Since the dragons are gone and even their lesser kin the wyvern are but a shadow of their former selfs, it would lead to a permament age of hollows and primodial serpents, since the flame can't fade completly. In the second ending a new age of fire is promised, as it would be just another circle, but who knows? Maybe the ancient dragons where once just like the hollows where during the game, as we do not know if there was acircle before that...
heres a problem in kaths master plan, our player charecter absorbed the first flame the 3 lords with but a fraction of that power killed the dragons plus the undying army of hollows dragons stand no chance ageinst us
Both the Usurpation of Fire and the End of Fire both provide a really interesting area of discussion, in my opinion. Humanity is believed to be the fragments of the original Dark Soul; A Lord Soul that was fractured to eventually birth Mankind. The Dark Soul also birthed the Abyss, and the horrors there in. The idea is that in returning to an age of Darkness, we return man to its natural state, but furthermore, that no one really knows what that looks like. Right? What if Bloodborne is the look into the other half of the cycle? The cycle between Darkness and Fire. The ebb and flow of disparity? After all, would it not create disparity if the cycle turned just as heavily to one side as the other? Obviously there are still Lords, in both worlds. And there is still life in both worlds. Such things existed before disparity did. Where as Dark Souls has a feeling of uncomfortable heat, Bloodborne has a feeling of rather clinging chill, as if to represent the different rises in ages. The Usurpation of Fire fits this motif quite well, with light changing instead of extending, and the return to darkness fitting this as well; most of the world of Bloodborne is a land ruled by moonlight and the deeps of the dark. Just a nice way to tie the two together, I feel, and a really interesting talking point.
I personally believe that the Usurpation of Fire is the best ending. Think about it, the world is saved, Anri is your husband/wife, humanity is in control of their destiny, demons and gods are dead, and most importantly, the cycle is finally broken. Who's to say that the Lord of Hollows would serve Kaathe? With the power of Dark Soul and the First Flame, the Ashen One can carve a path for humanity's future, leading to a new, unknown direction.
+Andrew Rosengard I dunno, look at the sky. Grey and colorless. As well, everyone looks like beef jerky in that ending lol Also, Anri is dead as you can be in the Dark Souls universe. You took their dark sign, they can't come back from that.
+LetsQuackAboutIt Anri isn't dead. They kneel the Ashen One in the Usurpation ending. Overtime, hollows will eventually fade out and humanity can build a new future. The Abyss still exists, but did not transform humanity into monsters. Rather it is 'sealed' away. The Ashen One succeeded in saving the world from a relentless cycle.
You forgot the ending where you slam your desk so hard that your drink spills on ur computer and it explodes, catches on fire, and you.. uh... idk this comment is stupid
Yo I have like double digit twitter followers and 5-digits subs on here. I'd appreciate help changing that: twitter.com/Mad_Luigi
what are you fucking gay? ................................. jk I followed ;3
MadLuigi whoever hurt my Waifu will get darkmooned
Dark souls 3 is supposed the end of the series but what if fromsoft made a game that takes place after the flame goes out that'd be pretty cool and it doesn't necessarily need to be called dark souls.
That last ending made me sad really sad actually v-v y do that to someone who's always going to be there :"(
MadLuigi wtf is twitter grandpa
You forgot the ending where you die a bunch of times and give up.
Ahh... yes the canonical hollow rage quit
@@anonymousstout4759 cinder wont quit his bullshit so i bailed
That's exactly why I'm watching this video. I can't beat the Lord of Cinder. I gave up, and I don't care.
@@edwinjlr1345 Don't give up, you're right there at the end. Keep trying. You will prevail.
@@edwinjlr1345 When life gets hard quit.
The most screwed up thing is that if you equip your torch as the light fades, the torch casts no light whatsoever. That shit is freaky!
Maybe the flame of the torch and of the bonfire are all the same prefab. So when one is animated to go out they all go out... it's prbly intentional though lol
I don't think that the Bonfire's fire, and other fire in the world (e.g. a torch) are linked necessarily - I say that because in the Dark Firelink Shrine, in the Untended Graves, there're still some torches burning and giving off light inside. We'll never actually know if thats right though haha.
No fire left in the world
it happens the same if you let the first flame fades while you have a weapon infused with fire equipped.
that's pretty neat
Linking is the ashen one acting on a sense of duty
Flame dying is the ashen one acting on a sense of order (that darkness must follow light)
Usurpation is the undead acting on a sense of Purpose
Flame dying alternate is the ashen one acting on a sense of greed
This makes the most sense.
exactly man! good one!
Perhaps, but it is linked to Kaathe, who as a very mercurial interest in humans and humanity, and hasn't always had the best interest in mind for people, whatever new world will arise it will likely be very different, and perhaps more disparaging
Duty and purpose are synonyms, so what you said here is meaningless.
I find this a good this to let the fire die.
MAKE A BANEBLADE!!!
I wanted the fire keeper to step on me, not the way around.
Ikr!
Same I’m never going for that ending
I wanted to spread my abyss into her catacombs
I WANT IT I NEED IT NEED IT TO MAKE ME FEEL HEATED SHAKE IT CAN'T TAKE IT MUST BREAK IT BREAK IT UP NOW WHEN I SAY B I T C H
That would be my happy ending.
Ending 1: Try bonfire and then futility...
Ending 2: sitting in the dark next to your waifu
Ending 2 (alt): Bad end
Ending 3: Make Londor Great Again
Little trivia: in the fire usurpation ending, you still have your fire keeper since you haven't linked the flame, and anri is still alive. You also have the two londor ladies who serves you, so usurpation ending is actually the PIMP HAREM ENDING!
Ending 2 is the best.
@@rohat1448 smells like heresy around here....
Thank you bro I'm tired and my brain couldn't comprehend this shit so this helped
Anal Londo 😅
I know it’s spell Anor Londo I’d did it as a joke
I see the line ,'hearest thou my voice still' as a realisation, that the age of dark has come around, but it isn't that bad. That the lords of cinder and the fire keepers have spent so many years trying to link the flame, when really it wasn't necessary, for when the flame does go out, you can still hear the voice, you can still go on.
True. Shes also blind so being in the dark is no big deal to her. Or maybe shes calling out to you because the blackening is actually your charactor finally passing away as they had no real purpose as unkindled once the flame was gone.
@@Orthanderis this ending requires the player to give firekeeper her eyes back, so she can actually see now but alas it's the dark age
@@nanarb4733 man thats a rough lot. You finally get your eyes back and immediately after the guy demands you remove the source of all light from the world in a big fuck you
@@nanarb4733 it’s not that bad since it becomes the age of the humans
tl;dr
Ending 1 - Fire is linked
Ending 2 - Fire goes out but life goes on
Ending 3 - Fire is absorbed and you become lord of Hollows
Ending 4 - *shrugs*
Fire is offered to the sun?
Player praises the sun.
Ending 4 is either you looking out for yourself in the Age of Dark and knowing the Firekeeper would have fought you for the flame anyway or it is you trying to become the Lord of Hollows but without knowing about the usurpation possibility.
Ending 4 - Fuck all y'all
@@MEUAR Ima just live with the fire alone until the new age of fire
Ok, here's my reasoning why the Usurpation of Fire ending is the BEST ending for Kaathe, Dragons and Hollows.
This is only a theory but anyways here we go.
The Usurpation of Fire is the best because it breaks the cycle of light and dark and enters the twilight in between or, as Aldia put it, "beyond light and dark." The other endings only continue this cycle which leads to these rotten and grey worlds at the end of each cycle.
The Linking of Fire ending, as mentioned in this video, only minorly feeds the flame and delays the inevitable by a teeny tiny amount. We can see that the world isn't reborn as it was at the end of DS1 but the destroyed churning lands surrounding the first flame stay the same. The world is still rotten.
The Killing the Firekeeper ending is easily the worst as the unkindled chooses to maintain the flame as it is as he does not offer himself up to the flames. This is probably because in this world of rotten ruin, the unkindled is the most powerful and wants it to stay that way. You get no achievement or notice for doing this because nothing is truly achieved. You've kept the world as you've found it.
The Age of Dark ending seems to be the best one then, right? Well by the firekeepers own words "tiny flames will dance across the dark", foretelling a return of the age of fire. While this might not happen for thousands and thousands of years the whole scenario of linking the fire and the rotting of the world will happen again. A cycle of life and death will prevail.
But why is the Usurpation the best ending then? Because it goes beyond the cycle of light and dark and returns to the age of grey and ash. Of immortality. How is this? Well lets look at how the unkindled can make it happen.
The unkindled must also become undead. This means he becomes truly soulless, able to store powerful souls and humanity while possessing none of his own. He is, in essence, empty.
The unkindled then weds and absorbs the soul of Anri of Astora. Now this is very speculatory and I may be terribly wrong, but I believe Anri is a fragment of Manus, Father of the Abyss; identical to that of Nashandra and the other Queens from DS2. Why? Well her soul is black and dark similar to that found in the abyss as well as Anri is always the opposite of the gender you pick for your character. He/she is your tempter as Nashandra was to King Vendrick in DS2.
Now within the unkindled is a fragment of dark, of the abyss. Not powerful enough to consume the undead as the abyss once consumed Artorius, but enough for part 3.
When the unkindled touches the fire, he/she does not give himself to it. The unkindled absorbs it. The struggling and collapse of the unkindled is the abyss and first flame fighting within him. Eventually the unkindled maintains them within himself, a perfect balance between the two.
With the darkness and the light in balance within the unkindled, the world cannot fall into an age of light nor dark as the remnants of both still exist, but not how the should. A more accurate assumption would be that they melded and became something neither light nor dark. Lets not forget that both the abyss and the first flame have been known to manifest themselves as souls, the abyss as manus and the first flame as Gwyn, Nito, the Witch of Izalith and the Furtive Pygmy, so easily forgotten. An age of grey and ash. A return, in other words, to the Age of Ancients.
Of course this is what Kaathe wants and assumedly many other primordial serpents, to return to a time when he and his fellow brethren are immortal beings untroubled by life or death. So do the dragons , as it can go back to how things were before Gwyn and the first flame. Hollows are no longer drawn to the fire and with every human eventually becoming undead like them, their persecution stops. A happy world for them all.
Being the one who made this new age come about, you become Lord of Hollows, the new god of this world and so you will rebuild in your age of ancients.
This ending is bad or good depending on your personal philosophy. After all, what is life without death? There is not light without dark and without both what do we have left? But this is what the Usurpation of Fire gives us.
If you read all of this props to you. Thanks for reading babe ★~(◡﹏◕✿)
Dark Fire Is it though? I mean sure there's no more death and disparity but what is life without struggle? What is the meaning of existence without both the carrot of power and the stick of despair and death?
Also one thing I didn't mention is that because its an age of ancients doesn't mean the cycle won't restart. After all the first flame came out of the age of ancients too...
+Harry Gaught I like the End of Fire ending most because it follows the natural order that was supposed to happen in Gwyn's time, Linking is just prolonging the inevitable, Usurpation is completely unnatural, but the End is the most natural way to go, if the First Flame was meant to fade, then so it shall at long last, a fitting canonical ending imo
well congrats for being the serpent's errand boy, i hope there's information that makes it clear that the serpents have theor own agenda, and i know you will get nothing good following them. eh thats just a hunch
I loved reading this
While it does seem good once you think about it, no matter what happens there will always be a cycle between the light, dark, and grey. If you prolong the flame, you're just prolonging the inevitable, not doing much of anything but ensuring the age of dark later. If you bring about the age of dark, humans will thrive(Whether something happens to make them not do so is still up for debate.). Hell, for all we know, the age of darkness might play out like the real world. However, the fire will come back, as strong as it was the first time. With the Usurpation of Fire, that's starting the cycle completely over, as there will most likely be flames still left, resulting in the eventually age of fire. With the Unkindled ending, things stay exactly the same seemingly. An undead will always come along, beat the Lord of Cinder, and have to choose themselves. It's always a vicious cycle of death and despair. With that said, fuck the Dragons, Hollows, and Primordial Serpants, they're all assholes anyways.
My favorite ending is definitely End of Fire.
After realizing that you're simply prolonging the inevitable by linking the fire, you choose instead to end the fire, and usher in the age of darkness. With the Fire Keeper at you side, the Champion of Ash can lead forth the age of darkness.
Another thing I think to take note on with this ending, is that unlike the Dark Souls 1 version of ending the reign of fire, you're not being asked to let the Abyss consume the world entirely. Rather, you're simply letting the light fade. Does this mean that by doing so mankind can survive this new age?
soon enough another flame will rise. even the fire keeper said that
when you think about it, the first flame wasn't always there. there was a time without the first flame so what tells you there won't be a second?
Gray era.
Still seems dark ( no pun intended)
I think it’s the best because you get to stay with your waifu
@@chahinmorsli7018 but waiting for the "second" flame will just repeat the entirety of dark souls won't it ? now we gotta keep linking the second flame over and over again until it exhaust it's flame then reenter dark age and wait for the "third" flame to come out. it doesn't do anything in terms of progression. the usurpation on the other hand, it ushers a new age with us as the vanguard. in my opinion it's the better one.
I like to think my Ashen One chose to embrace the Fire Keeper and keep her close as the flame fades.
Me too bro she's so innocent I feel bad for her living in that world blind af 😭💀
I like to think he stabbed her and steps over her body
I can't hurt the Firekeeper...that's mah girl!
I feel you man...
Power Up Jay first ending I did I mainly did it for head canon but I love the ending.
I like when she touches my head while I finger her. I love the darkness within her.
Power Up Jay I'm so glad it's not a acheivment, because if it was then there goes platinum, I'll keep my waifu thank you
Domestic violence, the pursuer gonna come.arrest ya ass.lol
I think the Usurpation ending actually creates another "grey" age, like before the fire. Only instead of everlasting trees and dragons, you now have Hollows.
Same as the dragons,nothing change ,its grey and decrypted. God I hope the DLC adds some light to this
Yeah can you imagine if they had a DLC that you would go to Londor? It should show us if it's a good idea of not to become Lord of Hollows.
FenrirtheWolf Holt shit that sounds awesome, a hollow City of a place where kaft lure of use humans to bring the age of dark
+AceItX or adds some grey ;)
+Preston Poland That actually sounds really neat. Like I'm going to sound stupid but what if the age of ancients in DS1 was created because there was another "first flame" before the age of ancients and the dragons used it to become everlasting. Same as the Usurpation ending the flame wasn't fully used and it came back later as the first flame we know now. This would make the ending of DS3 kinda sad because that could mean that there is no way to break the cycle if it's forever "Grey Age, Fire Age, Dark Age/Another Fire Age, Grey Age, etc." This could also mean there was a grey age even before the dragons.
Clearly we know the alternate ending (killing the fire keeper) is the best ending, cause it praises the fucking sun.
+無理だぞ it is what i did
+Athen LaFoy you monster :p
There is no point in praising it anymore if Solaire is dead. And if you don't care about best waifu fire keeper, then god help you.
Calabi-Yau Manifold
who needs god or a waifu when u can praise the sun
fuck the sun,praise the dark sigil
I think that when she first speaks of "images of betrayal" she is referring to when the Chosen Undead steals the flame from her, but actually letting her take the flame and letting it fade reveals the true, hopeful ending.
It probably has something to do with the gods tho. The gods did betray humans lots of times and prevented their age from coming.
That's a wholesome boy idea.
In the original Japanese Yuria's dialogue from you killing her is, "Kaathe, you dying wish...". It would actually appear that Kaathe is dead by this point in the game, which would make the player the only true ruler of Londor.
Damnnn
She says something similar in the english version too
@@Crackdoza_lol When killed she says "Kaathe...I have failed thee." Which is definitely more ambiguous than the original voice line, because from it you can't discern if Kaathe is dead or not.
How dare you step on my waifu!
*Dark Spirit* *Colin Childress* *Invaded*
these boots are made for walking...
I had Havel's boots when I did it....that must've hurt!
+Gilberto Vega lol
thats my boy :D
I think the last ending is in reference to the the ashen one being nothing but a dog doing what dogs do. He has been hunting embers and souls the entire game. Surely the amount of mental trauma he has endured his severe. When he had a chance to let the Fire Keeper usher in the Age of Dark, he couldn't resist doing what he has been doing the entire game. Killing and taking embers. Notice you get embers when you kill every boss as well and from killing other players. Like a dog off the leash he had become a threat to the cause he once served. He is addicted to the killing and the chaos of it.
+Euric Dinkins It also possible that you are killing Fire Keeper because she betrayed her duty. So basically you are continue the fire cycle and making Fire Keeper pay for her sins... T Even it was you who gave her eyes, she should have accepted them and trying to end the fire. hat's why you so rough to her in the end. That makes you puppy of the fire :)
OP had the right idea panda. Just as the narration spoke. " and so it was, that ash seeketh embers" I believe the reason why there is no achievement for this is because this ending truly is the only way to end the fire once and for all. Notice how the fire keeper states that she will care for the flame into it's extinguishment, however a new flame will dance into being. Who's not to say the fire keeper will amend her betrayal to her duties by undoing what the ashen one told her to do? The firekeeper could possibly reignite the flame. Whereas if the Ashen One took the flame for himself, there would be no chance for the first flame to live on because the Ashen One enkindled will not last forever, for he is Ash, unfit even to be cinder for the first flame. He took the first flame from the Firekeeper just like any other consumable ember. The difference between usurpation and the secret end of fire is in the usurpation ending, all your actions were to serve The Primordial serpent's grand plans. Notice how the Ashen One's body seems to reject the flame, because instead of grasping the taking the flame out with the help of the fire keeper, the Ashen One tried to let the flame consume him to merge, but as you saw, it the Ashen One reacted differently as other lords of cinders might have in the linking the fire scenario. This is most likely because of the # of dark sigils the Ashen One bore when he tried linking the fire. We know that the dark sigil is different from the dark sign. And that the only way to heal the dark sigil is someone who has returned with knowledge from the abyss. ( or in this case, providing the firekeeper with eyes so she can 'see' ) it's also safe to say the key difference between the 2 endings is one of them requiring to feed the dark sigil to even attempt, whereas the other ,(end of fire+taking for yourself) you can feed the dark sigil or not and still attempt this ending. Quite possibly what you have become in the usurpation of fire ending is something as great as the soul of cinder yet the very exact opposite end of the scale. Instead of divine, so very hollow, abyssmal, thus explaining why healing the dark sigil requires one with knowledge from the depths of the abyss. Maybe you become something like Manus, a father of the abyss, maybe you become something even greater, now that you have the power of the first flame
doesn't make it the true ending though.
You become Patches!
Get a electronic torch.
The usurpation ending was the most satisfying to me. Made my character look like a boss
Fashion souls bro, fuck the lore
Efraín Ram but it’s also the one where you become as much of a piece of s#it as Gwyn
@@animeproblem1070 not really, your just bringing the world back to a time before gwyn and all hollows are immortal
Osvaldo Rosiles that’s not how that works the time before Gwyn is the age of ancients and the age of darkness that is naturally brought about by letting the fire die is the way the cycle continues naturally instead of being forcefully controlled the age of dark leads to the age of ancients
@@animeproblem1070 if you let the fire continue the cycle of the age of fire and the dark age continues forever, if you take the fire you bring a new age, the age of hollows breaking the cycle and leaving the world neutral and not having the gods and lords rule over humanity
Me: *links the flame*
Ending: *literally doesn't change anything*
Me, on my second playthrough going for the usurper ending: Fine, I'll do it myself.
0:01 GRIFFFFFFFFFFFFFFITHHHHHHH
Aayy I love that berserk ref. almost missed it too. Forreal though that ending was fuuu
Gotta love this man
GRIFIS
I swear i was looking for that
You forgot to mention that the Untended Graves seems to take place during an age of dark. In that section of the game, the player is taken into the past, where they fight Champion Gundyr in his prime, and encounter a darkened firelink shrine. After you give the eyes to the fire keeper, Ludleth explains his motivation for becoming a lord of cinder: "The eyes show a world destitute of fire, a barren plane of endless darkness. A place born of betrayal. So I will'd myself Lord, to link the fire, to paint a new vision. What is thine intent?" What this implies that an age of dark has come before in the past, if not several, but the fire always becomes linked in some way or another, just as the firekeeper implies. Whether you link the fire or let it fade, you are only inheriting the order of this world.
First comment in 3 years, you're welcome
@@dorian4191 hi
but the fire will eventually fade. it's inevitable.
I know this is late to reply but I thought that the untended graves might actually be in the future. Since it is a world of dark and you can receive items that otherwise wouldn’t be possible to receive unless it’s in the future, like the coiled sword and the blacksmiths hammer.
@@janno278 no its in the past cauce if you dont talk to the handmaiden until you go to the dark shrine and talk to the version of her in the dark shrine after that go to the firelink shrine and she will remeber you
I consider the End of Fire ending to be the most satisfying one. The constant linking of the First Flame has caused the world to be in a state of endless decay and the age of dark is never actually proven to be a bad thing, just the end of gods such as Gwyn. Its better to let a new age of possibility than continue the life of a dying one.
The lore on the Ringed Knights stuff implies humanity will be basically demigods in an Age of Dark. Other flavor text throughout all the games implies that this was the true reason Gwyn and the gods linked the fire. Fear of humanity, whom they had enslaved.
The way he's holding the ember at the end remind me of DS one when the original man held up the lord souls.
oh yeah, it really fkn does holy shit
My first playthrough I had done the 3rd ending. I was not even aware that my strange decisions I had made opened up the hardest to get ending.
If you were to kill Yuria in the Japanese version, her dialogue will say "...Kaathe... your dying wish was not fulfilled...", which implies that they no longer serve Kaathe as he is dead.
It's worth noting that the sun in the usurpation ending looks a lot like humanity in the first Dark Souls (black with white glow,) which is derived from the dark soul. Humans are also derived from the dark soul, so I think that in that ending, you use your dark digits to make the first flame dark so humans may fuel it properly and may benefit from it like the gods originally did. This is really the only way you can create an age of man and fulfill the furtive Pygmy's goal. But I still like the true dark ending
i like that interpretation, humanity's soul has replaced the light soul in dominance......
now imagine what it must be like for the firs flame to fade if its humans who are most connected to it.
we've seen humans become corrupted, hollowed, but what if humanity just *flickers out?*
very good Mr Joichi Kujoichi
I did the last ending by accident becuse i wanted to Link the Fire but i forgot the Fire keeper would make it fade and then i was like oh shit no give it back and i hit her and that happend and i was like shit this is brutal
Same with me lol
That’s gotta hurt
Oops, accidentally murdered you sorry
Lol i lost my side in the "oh no shit give it back" part LMAO
I wonder if that's the reason why it was put into the game? I mean, you acted out of pure desperation to attain your duty you thought you must follow, which is essentially what that ending is about?
The dark age is just Bloodborne.
If that actually were to be true... lol
"An Age of Waters, of Deep Oceans."
thatsn interesting theory
+kamen Ridah SUPER interesting theory
no guns here thou
After finishing the game (It's been on my back long for a long time I know) I think the darkness ending hints more towards something else. I think it's about everyone in the world finally being able to die a natural death & you & the firekeeper spending your last moments together & she asks if you can hear her because for the first time, she's scared. The Dark Souls series has more or less been about trying to keep a flame lit for immortality but when you look around you realize that people don;t die. They just become hollow. Only a "dark soul" left in them to guide them to the only thing they want : a flame. If you take the flame away then they can finally rest as they were meant to instead of living for the sake of a bunch of selfish lords who wanted immortality. Even one of the lothric brothers speaks about it. As for the little flames? They're the natural ones. The ones not influenced by so called gods or selfish lords but ones that are a rebirth of the world. A world that will see light again but will be lit by the lives of mortals.
In DS2 don't a bunch of people apparently want the age of fire to continue so they can die tho? There humans become immortalish in the age of dark ig.
Except humans were around during the age of dark, as only hollows, until one day a hollow picked up the first flame and essentially gained consciousness or a soul.
Returning to dark doesn’t mean humans can die.
@@roe__jogan That's the age of ancients. Not the age of dark.
I went with “The End of Fire” ending, to me that fire had burned long enough and while it has caused prosperity it’s caused suffering as well. I thought it was time for the fire to fade and rest forever
Hunter Christopherson the problem was the cycle was not going on. The first flame needed to die so in time a new flame could be born for new life
the last ending is actually the true ending.
It fulfills the firekeeper's visions of betrayal when she tends to the flame as it fades away and it also keeps the fire lit and as seen in the cutscene, "offered" to the dark sun. It implies that the sun reclaims it's light and the ashen one does what the fanbase and certain parts of the game as a whole does, and that is "Praise The Sun".
+Harith Azmi
Dam right. The ashen one should praise the fucking sun.
+無理だぞ lmfao I'm so weak😂
+Harith Azmi Its the solaire ending
+Inlaricron the rooster no, that would be after the nameless king boss fight
+Harith Azmi You shall obtain the demon soul and with it a power beyond human imagination! (thats how I see it anyway).
I can’t bring myself, even to speak disrespectful of my girl fire keeper let alone killing her
Since we Usurped the Fire in the third ending, why should we serve Kaathe? I'd say we would become an allpowerful being, capable of shaping new Age in whatever way we desire. And that would be defined by us, and us alone. Like, an asshole character would make the world a pitiful place, yet heroic character would usher in a new Dark Golden Age.
Tis the way I see it though.
I don't think so. I have this feeling that the dark sigil planted in you let the serpent to controlling you. The serpent is not stupid. He will not just let some random champion take over the world. I meant, his whole life is used to scheming, he would never let anything go without his control.
probo rahadianto
Don't remember Kaathe being a controlling schemer. Just schemer, yes. And why would dark sigils give him any control? Their key item description, or anything else in the game, does not give any hints to that.
And even then, what would serpent want to do with the world anyways?
The primordial serpent is older even than the dragon. He just think that he is the true owner of the world and other creature is just usurpers that need to be exterminated.
probo rahadianto
Was that written somewhere?
So, ok, then why Frampt was helping Gwyn? And what of those many other Primordeal Serpents present in Dark Lord ending of DS1?
+StarlightFromAbyss You can imagine that all serpent is just a hair of one single creature.
I’d probably say the End of Fire ending is my favourite.
Entering the Dark age and waiting for a new dawn or flame.
Especially since it’s implied you will wait it out with the Fire Keeper. A companion in the dark. (I also like her.)
The firekeeper is too hot to have the world be turned into the age of dark, who then would be able to see her face?
To me, the *only* piece of information that's of import and different than the other endings is that the fire has become *so weak* at this point that it is capable of being held and contained within one being, suggesting that the flame is truly beyond ever recovering at any strength near beginning levels.
so... i caused ending 4 by accident by dropping my controller. It was very awkward and confusing but, thanks for clearing it up
If they make a Dark Souls IV (and I know they've said they won't) I would like a narrative that starts in the Age of Dark. Thus far we've been trying to prolong the Age of Fire or let it die, but it would be really cool to see the flip side of that. A world that starts like the Untended Graves and we have to seek out flickers of light either bringing them together to rekindle the first flame and usher in a second Age of Fire, slowly bringing light back to the world, or snuffing out the small flames to ensure that the Age of Dark continues. It would be an interesting twist on the formula without really having to change too much from a development standpoint.
+NiggoFanBoy www.mcvuk.com/news/read/miyazaki-seemingly-rules-out-dark-souls-4-and-bloodborne-2/0159415
+NiggoFanBoy though if we really demand it we will eventually get it i believe
+NiggoFanBoy yeah that would be awsome but is still would prefer another dark souls game or atleast something that connects with its universe
i* not is
+NiggoFanBoy I'm sure they will eventually make it. There is a large fan base now and From Software benefited greatly from DS series. But, like the article suggests, they will focus on new projects. Doubt we will see another DS game in the next 6-7 years but I'm certain we will eventually see one.
One thing that interesting to note is, in the ending where the flame fades out, the age of man continues but without the fire. This is in reference to the painted world where the ashen one chose rot over flame.
painted world has a fire and a bell, but both where subdued by Elfriede ala the player character choosing the usurpation of flame ending. You can delay the inevitable for only so long, before another comes to kick the whole process back into gear.
But according to Ds2, there were ages of dark already. Souls consumed and gathered by a dark lord are freed at some point, when he is consumed by the dark and slips out of existence. They erupt, sparking flame and life to the world once more, the most powerful ones being reborn as new beings (Gwyn - iron king, Artorias - Raime, Seath - Freja, Witch - sinner, Nito - the rotten). That's why Kaathe designed a new plan to break the cycle of ever rebirthing fire. The only true winner, tbh, is the next monarch if he listens to Aldia and goes beyond death. He literally exists outside the cycle. The end of fire seems like the same as dark lord ending (ds1) in results. The foul betrayal ending is really a throwback to the evil ending of Demon's Souls (joining the demons).
Ds2 aint even cannon lmao
@@artyomchyornyj9264 my man has never been to the smouldering lake
Lol "I don't like this ending because you have to be a meany head to my girlfriend the fire keeper "
+Rhea Silhouette A+
+Rhea Silhouette
That's also why I didn't like that ending. Dat's my gurl bah.
Rhea Silhouette Basicaly me.
I think that the Usurpation ending is the real ending. The world has seen dark ages as pointed out by Aldia in DS2 and both Vendrick and Lothric are technically dark lords that chose not to link the fire. It always seems to keep embers alive and the fire keeper points it out that the cycles are not over. In the Usurpation ending you have a choice to put an end to the cycles and create a new age in which hollows keep the flame. Humamity is born from the dark now the flame cannot be linked by a new lord of cinder anymore.
+65infanteria yeah but DS2 isn't canon dude everyone knows that
+Cris tian
nah, I'm sure it is, just not created by Miyazaki. there are giant trees and items particular to DS2 like the shield of want.
+Cris tian tell me why d2 isn't cannon.
Some Random Sun Bro like telling you why demon souls isn't canon...cause it is not. still has patches but still isn't canon...just like ds2 shit off i mean spin off
+Cris tian great point. 10/10 IGN
#MakeLondorGreatAgain2016
FaiDro we picked a bad ending
@@jakespacepiratee3740 r/woooosh
@@aayushdas19 ah yes, classic redditor behavior.
Its funny because the amount of hard work and dedication you have to put in dark souls to finish it, is only rewarded with a dark and unsatisfying ending.
The Alternate ending where you Knock down the Fire Keeper is very similar to the Bad Ending in Demon Souls.
Tbh I expected the serpents to appear. got disappointed
Oh but something is telling me that we might see them in a dlc... i wouldn't be surprised at all...
Given how often it's mentioned i'm sure Londor will be in some DLC.
#ReturnofSolaire
Usurper ending seems like he created a new flame, possibly a dark flame. At the wedlock scene it looks as if you created the first Dark bonfire.
Make Londor whole seems like they are referring to the Dark Sigil. Which is a small void that devours one's self. Maybe they wish to fill that void with new purpose?
I don't know very unclear, just guessing.
+Souls Fanatic This is why I like Usurpation ending most... It seems like it would have the most effect in altering the course of the future, rather than potentially continuing the cycle?
+Jordan Nicholas The cycle is broken with the Usurpation ending, hollows and humans can finally take control of their destiny.
Basically dark souls 2 king vendrick
(Idc if this was 3 years ago)
I don't think the dark bonfire thing would be right. Bonfires were for farming humanity from humans since the age of the Gods, and Idk what the dark bonfires would mainly be for
M.A.R.S I think dark bonfires are like the same thing as fire except humans control it instead of it controlling them.
These videos are great!
+OfficerMarmalade Thanks!
MadLuigi
Yay!
+MadLuigi one problem, I don't think it would be an ending to the franchise, you said it yourself that the dark world would be another age with possible futures for the people still "alive" for lack of a better word to describe the character's conditions.
+MadLuigi and that embers may come again, representing the fire age.... if anything, it opens up to the possibility of a new game with different possibilities
got the most complex without even trying
I would call the ending where you kill the fire keeper the "Cowards Ending". It makes me think that the player, afraid of the dark killed the firekeeper in the last second to take the flame for himself and protect himself, but ultimately facing the sun as the cycle will still continue. In stark contrast to the "Usurper Ending" where the player is facing away from the sun as if to say "I will follow this cycle no longer" taking the power of the flame and combining it with the darkness. In theory, this might create an endless cycle of power. The power of the darkness is the power of the abyss, and endless void, so if one is to feed the fire infinite darkness, it would have infinite fuel. But it does come at a cost which might be eluded to by the white flame that drips from the sun.
Madluigi I think when she says make Londor whole again It's kind of like when Kaathe says he's gathering all the humanity and putting them all back together and in this case the Ashen One was able to make the Dark sign in the sky white and black I see it as Humanity and He taking that humanity and using it to put back together the rest of "humanity"
I see it in a similar way. That you offer the fading flame to your humanity or your part of the dark soul. Binding humanity to the flame and which would strengthen our link to the flame and containing our sanity
+Jausch120 Couldn't have said it better myself.
Id really like to see Kaathe in the upcoming 2 DLCs
Fromsoft would be committing a crime if they don't include londoor in a dlc
+Soul Of Cinder and then the second dlc is Astora! Fighting the beast of the ring as a boss and/or The King of Astora and meet Solaire again... That would be awesome
+Barracuda007 Is it confirmed to be 2 DLCs only and not more or less?
+Jamie Lee As far as I know only 2 DLCs.
Jamie Lee yeah apparently Miyazaki himself said it in a interview somewhere, he also said it would be the last Dark Souls content From Software would be making :(
Let me know what you think of my ideas on the explanation of the endings in Dark Souls 3! I welcome any and all ideas about what I talked about. (also like 97% of my views are from males so this won't really matter, but for anyone wondering, I use 'him' and 'himself' to describe the PC cause I did my playthrough with a dude)
xD. I've always wondered why no one makes a endings lore video, but now you did 😃. Keep this great videos up!
You have a real knack for this dude, you do a phenomenal job of conveying the rich narrative of the lore while providing a concise summary of the various theories and implications that arise. Eventually I would like to hear your thoughts on how future dlc might expand on these endings, maybe in an extras vid or something. But cover more of the important stuff first :)
It actually took quite a while to compile all the thoughts and ideas I had and saw in the community. And I'm glad you enjoyed!
+Greg Burrow I'm really happy you're enjoying it. And I probably will discuss dlc, but as you said, the big stuff comes first!
+MadLuigi Keep up the good work with the commentary. You definitely sound much better than the Aldrich video.
True Ending is like embracing the darkness, age of man but with the waifu wherever, whenever.
In the usurpation ending, you're not serving kaathe. He's serving you, because you are a lord of cinder and the ruler of londor. He is just a primordial serpent
Indeed. And that's why it's awesome.
I think there are many reasons why the first flame doesnt burn as much as it once did.
When the fire started to fade, prince lothric was to go and link it, yet he refused. The bell tolled and past lords of cinder were brought back from death as a last resort to preserve the age of fire, yet even they refused, and after having already linked the flame... Whose to say they were strong enough to do it again?
Then, the bell tolls again, and you come along. Born of ash, unkindled, someone who has already tried to link the fire, and failed. You are the last, last resort. The fire is desperate to survive, and you are simply not enough to preserve the fire.
So you, the unkindled failure, the desperate true last attempt to preserve the fire, go to slay the old lords of cinder to take their power and pray that with 5 lords of cinder and an ashen vessel, it will be enough to sate the flame.
And it wasn't enough. You weren't strong enough to link the fire the first time, and now with 5 past cinders and incredible power, you manage to get to the the kiln and attempt to link the flame... Yet ash doesnt burn. The most flame you'll ever see come out of ash is a few embers, and thats exactly what we see when we link the flame.
the second ending kind of seems like you're letting the flame rest, letting it gather it's power back before it is fit to give light again
I kinda feel like the alternate End of Fire ending is just the Ashen One going back on his decision to rid the world of fire.
Even the unnecessary cruelty (see: curbstomping) the Fire-keeper serves a purpose.
You have to kill her to get the Eyes back from her; she even tells you to.
She can't die as long as the Flame exists, and by killing her and holding the flame again, you essentially reset the Fire-keeper to how she was before you gave her the Eyes and you stop the flame from dying out (as the screen doesn't fade to black) in the original End of Fire ending.
....though, that's just my take on things.
(as the screen doesn't fade to black like in the original End of Fire ending)***
Fucked up my parentheses.
+Ahmad Al Hnaish Why the extremely sinister tone to it though? And the 'ash seeketh embers' doesn't fit your narrative. To me it's more about stealing the flame for yourself and using it to become a Lord yourself.
The secret ending looks like the player is offering the flame to what looks very much like the dark sign.
My theory for the Usurpation of Fire ending is that Kaathe either wants to take control of the entirety of Londor or make the entire world part of Londor by taking it all over, so he has sent Yuria and the Pilgrim Assassin to manipulate the Unkindled One into stealing the First Flame and becoming the Lord of Hollows, an incredibly powerful leader and weapon that he can use to complete his goal.
I was under the impression that in Usurpation, you basically extinguish the First Flame with all the dark sigils and your crazy souls power, it looked like you were putting it out to me. And that would be what Kaathe would want I imagine. He originally wanted the end to the age of fire which was really just gods abusing humans and using them as kindling, so he thought bringing about the age of dark is the way to go, but seeing as the fire can return from embers even after the age of dark has happened, Kaathe would want to screw the cycle over in a more final way, which would mean waiting for the fire to grow extremely weak so it could be extinguished permanently, and then after that you have to rebuild the world that's been basically boned from having humanity bound to this cycle of bullshit countless times, so you give the guy who got strong enough to extinguish it a fancy title and a harem of creepy hollow women in black dresses and put him in charge so he doesn't mess with you.
+Brian R. Pretty much.
Lel just one soul cant fill the power of the primal cinder XD
+Spartan0941
There is one problem with that - how is kaathe going to be in power when you exist? Most of Londor considers you a god now, so loyalty of hollows belongs to you, not Kaathe. You are not only a badass godslayer of immense might, but also a god yourself after you consume the first flame. Kaathe is probably not much of a fighter, he will not be able to impose his will on you.
Kaathe promised the people of Oolacile lordship over the dark too. Look how that turned out. The Ashen One is likely just another fool tricked by him and his Darkwraith servants.
I think you extinguish the fire too, but instead of using the fire to light the world, you use the immeasurable power of your soul(s) to light the word, hence why the light is pure white like the souls instead of orange like fire.
IM SORRY VAATI BUT I CANT WAIT ANY LONGER FORGIVE ME SOULSENPAI
I feel like the “true ending” was more about mankind being the tiny embers surviving in the darkness. Not so much an ominous precursor to another age of fire, but a vision that the age of darkness is not necessarily the end of everything.
Probably the only analysis of the endings we have so far. Thank you for the work done!
Considering DS3 has no sequel, i like to believe every other ending beside linking the flame is canon
“Ashen one, hear'est thou my voice still?” I think this could mean the Ashen one also die with the flame.
+JosiGaming Can I one-up you and say that it's YOU that went blind and SHE is the one that can see? She calls out to you to guide you. Her Firekeeper eyes let her see through the darkness, whereas yours do not.
If so, killing her and claiming the fire for yourself ( 2.2 ending ) makes sense: you don't want to live, blind, in a world of darkness. So you claim the fire for yourself. You are now the god of the new world and you are the only one that casts light, because the only one that could see through the dark is now dead.
+JosiGaming
Not sure why, but I kind of like the idea of the Ashen One and Firekeeper relying on each other in the end. It's almost cute, except for the part where the world might end and be swallowed by the abyss. That kinda sucks for them.
+Xzener Considering that the Firekeeper says that the fire will eventually return, i think it's safe to assume that the world will not end (though i guess it might come close to ending).
he is mean to my waifu, bad eding >:O
Thats all i heard about 4th ending, good job weeb.
Lol thanks babe
Aaron its a joke man
Cringe
@@aaronayala894 doubleorange was just jokin
If you stop at 9:08, you'll see that the sun and it's beam form a coiled sword, even with the crossguard.
Edit: Despite not really being coiled, it also has a ring on the grip.
You forgot the ending where the controller gets smashed on the floor and the player quits and everything went black.
Very thoughtful and articulate explanation of the various endings combined with excellent editing.
6 years later, now that Elden Ring has come out, what if the fire eventually fades after DS3, but at some point external forces intervene. Some strange outer gods appear, such as the Elden Beast, and create their own Golden Order to fill the void left after Age of Fire finally ends. But that too eventually begins to fade, and the Tarnished who would become Lord decides the fate of that new world. When the Tarnished releases the Frenzied Flame to burn the Erdtree and end the Golden Order, their head looks like the Darksign. I wonder if there is a connection there.
IMO, Usurpation ending is the only ending with a true extinguishing of the fire, making you Lord of Dark, ushering in the Age of Man (Darkness), thus the change in the color around the "sun". I don't think it's a coincidence the sun now looks very similar to a humanity sprite aka a dark soul
2:04 Oh I def want the ending where she serves me. Fuck. yes.
Love this, helps to make the endings actually understandable!
Happy to have been of help!
how i imagine the first people find the killing firekeeper ending
''alr how do i skip this cutscne (press button swing a greatsword and accidentally hit the firekeeper')
The End of Fire ending makes it clear that fire will come again. That is the only reason the Firekeeper goes along with it.
you can see where Miyazaki pulled inspiration from berserk in these endings
I'm surprised there's no ending where all of your comrades get together to do some shit, and then you all get transported to hell and they fucking die, and the firekeeper gets raped and goes potato mode.
Sable Church of Londor/Kaathe DLC
Gertrude/Frampt DLC
I think this would shed light on a ton of stuff if they chose to do so. Be a solid way of explaining the Usurpation and Age of Dark endings while canonizing both.
+tokyobassist That would be horrible
id ruin dark souls
+tokyobassist actually a story dlc is 100% confirmed by Miyzaki
I just wanna see a Primordial serpent again.
Those motherfuckas are ugly as hell, but I wanna see how they look in DS3...
Same I wondered what they graphically look like now.
+Everchosen Avory of Nurgle how?
In my opinion "ursupation of fire" should be the canonical ending. Dark souls lore it's way more complex than simple being light or dark in the sky, it reflects more on human nature than most of people can realize. On DS1 we learn that there was an "Age of ancient" dominated by Dragons, and then the Great Lords emerged with their souls, and used their power to defeat the Dragons and take their place starting the current "Age of fire". The whole Dark souls saga plot is about a group of gods and their sucessors, that by fear, tries to extend their power control for maximum time it's possible, even knowing that their fall is inevitable by the own cyclical nature of the world. Dark Souls it's a game about Fear, not about having no fear, but learning how to fight against it, showing the true bravery of being alive. The "Dark Souls" are a group of week humanoid species, descendants of a week god, that was completely ignored by the powerfull great Lords. They have no perspective, they are week and live on a world that's not their world. But even with all those advesities, at some point, they were abble to fight against it, and take the power once usurpated from the Dragons by the Great Lords, to start their own era. Dark souls Is not the story of the "Age of fire", but the story of how began the "Age of Dark" dominated by humans. The "Dark Lord of the Hollows" at the end of the game is the personification of what "Gwin, the Lord of Sunlight" once was at the very beggining of his era. And that's the true cyclical nature of the story, because, independently if it is good or bad, one day, this new era will also dies, and give form to another one, and their "so called Lords", and this fact is inevitable. That's why I also believe that "End of fire" shouldn't be canonical, because it's not the begginig of a new era, but just another extend to a new age of fire: "But one day, tiny flames will dance across the darkness", it doesn't matter, it's also the same paleative as linking the fire, because in the end, gods will show up again and take their past power back "like embers linked by lords past", restarting the link of fire cycle once again. We also know that the Ending of fire manifestation is represented by the abyss, that has bad consequences even to the "chosen people" of the humanoid undeads, turning them into beasts, as we learned from the past games. To me, after playing those games for more than a decade, In the end, Dark Souls was a story about how to embrace ephemerality and enjoy it, because one day everything you know is gonna turn into ashes, and there's nothing you can do about it.
the good ending IMO for descendants of furtive pygmy is either usurpation of fire or killing the waifu and taking the fire while offering it to the dark sign in the sky, which is the embodiment of the curse Gwyn placed on humanity, could the killing ending be an attempt to break the curse?... And if the usurpation of fire breaks the cycle and sets perpetual dark age, which is when humans are more dominant, are humans still affected by the gwyns curse on their soul?
Does any ending restore humans to their glory before Gwyn fucked over the natural order because he feared humans growing power?
Nice vid mate, really helped a lot!
"Perform a rite of wedlock... by impaling her head with the sword of avowel" - Only. In. Dark Souls.
*Medieval bullshit rituals*
Great analysis. What a great series of endings...compared to mass effect for example..
+TimmacTR Glad you enjoyed!
+TimmacTR it still hurts :(
They should have had an ending where you enter an age of deep waters (Like Aldrich said would happen)
3:31, I always interpreted this as literal, as in shes asking because theres no light because the flame went out and she literally cant see us. I figured the flame was tied to the sun and light and warmth so once that fades its just pure darkness aka abyss.
0:12 Ending 1: Link the fire (main goal from the begining)
1:39 Ending 2: Age of Humanity (or Dark)
(alt) Ending 2: Ember of The First Flame (no achievement gained)
3:48 Ending 3: Age of Hollows of Anor Londor
there is no reason to believe that the usurpation ending serves kaathe. i mean yeah londor is similar to new londo but there isnt even a mention of kaathe or any primordial serpent
+Sandro Guzelj
Try kill Yuria when she appear.
+Sandro Guzelj There absolutely is, by Yuria.
LavendreTownSyndrome
ok sry i didnt know that because i never killed her
The Usurpation of fire is most likely not to start a age of humanity, or even hollows, but rather bring the world back to the age of ancients. First thing that makes this more likely to be a return to the age of ancients is your title itself, "Lord of hollows". This could show that both humanity and gods alike will become extinct, making the entire cycle of light and dark end, just like it was in the age of ancients.
Then there's the sun in the back where unlike the other ending where the sun either stayed the same or disappeared (became too weak to see). In any of the other ending, the cycle will keep going no matter what, making the first flame come back one way or the other. However, in the usurpation ending, you take the flame for yourself, corrupting it, and taking it out of the power structure of the world and turning the sky grey (like it was in the age of ancients). With this, it would remove the threats to the ancient dragons and, of course, the primordial serpents.
Finally, there is the fact this plan is clearly thought up by Londor, which is lead by Karthe (said when Yuria dies). In the first game, Karthe tries to make you let the fire fade so that humanity would thrive (obviously gave up of that since it's not his real intent). Karthe only tried to do this as it would take out the Gods that ended the age of ancients. With humanity in charge, Karthe thought that he and the other remaining creatures from the age of ancients can take back over. However, this failed as the fading is just part of the cycle, so he came up with the corruption to do what he needed.
+CrimsonDevil through that will probably backfire aswell, since humanitys original state is that of the hollows as this was how they were before the first flame came. Since the dragons are gone and even their lesser kin the wyvern are but a shadow of their former selfs, it would lead to a permament age of hollows and primodial serpents, since the flame can't fade completly.
In the second ending a new age of fire is promised, as it would be just another circle, but who knows? Maybe the ancient dragons where once just like the hollows where during the game, as we do not know if there was acircle before that...
and some hollows do turn into trees. you can see those all over lothric. with due time those trees could become archtrees maybe
heres a problem in kaths master plan, our player charecter absorbed the first flame the 3 lords with but a fraction of that power killed the dragons plus the undying army of hollows dragons stand no chance ageinst us
They become Pilgrim Butterflies.
I've always thought that the canon ending for the Dark Souls franchise is the ashen one extinguishing the flame
Let it be Margit the Fell
😂😂😂
@9:10 the fire combines with the light coming down from the sun to create a bonfire, take a look at the cross guard right below the sun! Pretty cool
Fire keeper:"Ashen one, touch my left boon"
Ashen one: "What?"
Fire keeper: "What?.... Oh I mean the darkness with in me"
Both the Usurpation of Fire and the End of Fire both provide a really interesting area of discussion, in my opinion. Humanity is believed to be the fragments of the original Dark Soul; A Lord Soul that was fractured to eventually birth Mankind. The Dark Soul also birthed the Abyss, and the horrors there in.
The idea is that in returning to an age of Darkness, we return man to its natural state, but furthermore, that no one really knows what that looks like. Right?
What if Bloodborne is the look into the other half of the cycle? The cycle between Darkness and Fire. The ebb and flow of disparity? After all, would it not create disparity if the cycle turned just as heavily to one side as the other? Obviously there are still Lords, in both worlds. And there is still life in both worlds. Such things existed before disparity did. Where as Dark Souls has a feeling of uncomfortable heat, Bloodborne has a feeling of rather clinging chill, as if to represent the different rises in ages.
The Usurpation of Fire fits this motif quite well, with light changing instead of extending, and the return to darkness fitting this as well; most of the world of Bloodborne is a land ruled by moonlight and the deeps of the dark.
Just a nice way to tie the two together, I feel, and a really interesting talking point.
I personally believe that the Usurpation of Fire is the best ending. Think about it, the world is saved, Anri is your husband/wife, humanity is in control of their destiny, demons and gods are dead, and most importantly, the cycle is finally broken.
Who's to say that the Lord of Hollows would serve Kaathe? With the power of Dark Soul and the First Flame, the Ashen One can carve a path for humanity's future, leading to a new, unknown direction.
+Andrew Rosengard I dunno, look at the sky. Grey and colorless. As well, everyone looks like beef jerky in that ending lol
Also, Anri is dead as you can be in the Dark Souls universe. You took their dark sign, they can't come back from that.
+LetsQuackAboutIt Anri isn't dead. They kneel the Ashen One in the Usurpation ending. Overtime, hollows will eventually fade out and humanity can build a new future. The Abyss still exists, but did not transform humanity into monsters. Rather it is 'sealed' away. The Ashen One succeeded in saving the world from a relentless cycle.
Andrew Rosengard Kay, I'll give it to you that Anri isn't dead, didn't see them during the cutscene lol
You forgot the ending where you slam your desk so hard that your drink spills on ur computer and it explodes, catches on fire, and you.. uh... idk this comment is stupid
I saw the summon firekeeper and thought "oh cool she can watch me link the flame", and then she extinguished it.
"And so it is. That ash seeketh embers."
i always get goosebumps when i hear this line independent of the context
nothing is truly eternal, neither light, nor darkness, one cannot keep one forever
Unless one usuros both and rule other the two at the same time, as any lord of hollows do.
i call the last ending that you showed us "trusty patches ending" get it?
so uh... what exactly does the first flame do normally? what happens with or without it??
Blade Madlabs theres losing humanity and becoming hollow and brainless
Maybe the Ashen one killing the Fire keeper shows that he went hollow, and started following what hollows follow, embers.