Dark Souls 3 DLC: Ending Explained
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- čas přidán 5. 04. 2017
- My explanation of the ending and lore of Dark Souls 3 now that the last DLC, the Ringed City, is out!
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To be fair, the Ringed City does do a better job of connecting with old lore; it at least takes place in the same world. But once again, most of the lore and story of the second DLC is either self-contained, connected with Ariandel, or only slightly referential of old lore. Midir, Halflight, the Judicators, Filianore, and especially Gael all fit into one of those three categories. Most of the stuff is new. Filianore technically is connected to gwyn but is essentially a completely new character. Midir and Halflight are 100% new; however Midir does have strong connections with older dragons and the Abyss. And Gael is straight out of Ashes of Ariandel. The pygmies in the Ashen Wastes are really the only characters of old that we find a better insight to through this DLC.
And none of that is necessarily bad, obviously a new DLC should have new characters and stories! But with a whole new cast, we can’t expect a ton of answers to old questions.
Onto the actual ending, Gael, and the Dark Soul. Our final boss is a slave who gets powered up off a blood protein shake. I can see how some could've expected something a bit more grand, especially since that protein shake was basically the namesake of the series, the Dark Soul. I talked about this in my previous lore video, but this fight is unexpectedly a really fitting one. I said I’m not sure how to feel about the ending as a whole, and that's still true, but to me this final boss fight is an amazing one.
Gael is a nobody; that’s huge. Because unlike almost every other boss in the series, that means he’s just like us. The chosen undead, the bearer of the curse, the ashen one. Those are all fancy titles for nobodies. The chosen undead was one of probably millions of undead just like them. The bearer of the curse, the name literally just means one who got cursed, and this is in a land in which the big problem is that that same curse is afflicting everyone! The ashen one is only so because they failed, that’s it. All we did to get our current mystical title is not succeed in linking the fire. That doesn't sound like a real mighty accomplishment to me! We always play as someone who could’ve been anyone so that we can all really connect with our character. We can make our character whoever we think he or she really ought to be or is. That's the role-playing part of this RPG.
So this fight with Slave Knight Gael, is a fight on equal footing. Two nobodies who have had the will and the drive to push forward and complete the task they set out to do in a world of mindless hollows. We have both seen the world crumble and gotten stronger. We have both made it to this last meeting, where no one else stands. Maybe this is the future and truly all have died or been eaten by Gael, leaving only us two as the final living beings. Gael has consumed the Dark Soul to make sure that his lady, the painter in Ariandel, would be able to use his blood, now the blood of the dark soul, to finish her painting. But the Dark Soul has corrupted him; we have to put him down. Maybe he knew we would be the one to do it. Whatever the case, his mind having left him, Gael is now Berzerk and he rampages for the remaining part of the Dark soul that rests in us.
Once we defeat Gael, that’s basically it. There’s no cutscenes, not even a fade to black. We can go back to the painter in Ariandel and giver her the blood of the dark soul. With that we get her ending dialogue, and that’s that. The End. Nothing more. Abrupt. Confusing. What’re we supposed to do now? Shouldn't there be some kind of conclusion? - Hry
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heres a stupid question
what if they make another game, but its in the age of grey, and we mainly fight dragons. Dragon's Souls
We are another undead brought along by just another fire that sprouted out of nowhere, and the ruler of this age of grey, is the Unkindled ash.
He controls the dragons that now roam this new age of grey, and as an undead, we have the option to destroy all the dragons and remake the age of light that our new undead is totally ignorant about(i.e. he doesn't know that one had happened before, and the only one who still remains that does, is now slain by our hand... because I highly doubt were not gonna kill the unkindled ash in the new game... if there is gonna be a new game)
But there's a secret ending to not protect the fire, instead consume it, of course
and hell, how funny would it be if this new fire you can protect or consume sprouts a kingdom named... well idk... Boletaria? Perhaps the demons of izalith are reborn with this new flame thats made and they attack the new kingdom? ;D
well it's 3 am so don't judge me to hard. I have idea for that endings name. how about death of first flame.
@@vlanson6529 Please link
@@vlanson6529 I would really need evidence just cause I don't find it when i search and I have not heard anything like this before
@@MadLuigi
""Isnt there some kind of conclusion?""
I think what you are asking for is a flashy cutscene instead.
If there had been one with those exact same dialogues you wouldnt be complaining.
Everyone went inside the painting to live their lives happily ever after. For it was made for humanity after humanity.
Thats what the game was very obviously going for, its utterly conclusive.
Dont you know how to read?
the only thing that will carry on to the new world is us...
...and the Moonlight Greatsword, that too.
Oh and Patches
MatCD don't forget the prism stones!
MatCD and ornstein probably
New York Boba for no other reason than...reasons..
MatCD and patches
I cannot wait for the painting world of deeznutz69
grimwatcher moaning_legand_69
NoobMaster69, ya mean.
Omg lmao
Peepeepoopoo
Fatcocc is the one true world
i feel that in a way the ringed city was symbolic of From saying good bye to the dark souls franchise but also saying that they to will use the blood of dark souls to paint new worlds new games and as those in the paintings wish to make a good home for others to live in kinda like how From made worlds we have been living in
just finished the video and i am glade to see others come to the same conclusion as me for the ending and in many ways it is more sad seeing the ending go with this in mind then just it just being the end of dark souls
and the best wway to finish the dlc is with Lapp's last words: "I'll stick you in my prayers. A fine dark soul, to you."
I also think that the open ending is saying kind of "This may or may not be the last one". I saw that Miyazaki said that Ringed City is the end of Dark Souls. FOR NOW. He says he doesn't have any future plans for it as of yet. But it's a nice ending anyway.
It's a shame that the messaging system didn't get "A fine dark soul to you" added to the musings.
I thought similar
it was highly implied with "The Blood Of The Dark Soul" and how it's needed to create a new world. That means for From to move on
Darksouls must die and they'll use what was good about Darksouls to create a new one
Its rather poetic actually. Three games where the player has fought to secure the future, Finally ends with no twists, No additional fights. Just, Peace.
Chronologically speaking, you are in the future when you enter the dreg heap and the ringed city. This is confirmed when you read the item description for the Iron Dragonslayer armor set pieces. the description reads, "The Armour, defeated by the Champion of Ash in Lothric, was left ages to rust, until it slipped into an abyssal swamp, where it was possessed once again by the memory of the hunt." So yes, you are indeed in the future, not the past.
Isn't it common knowledge the ring city is at the end of the world outside of time?
@@stretchwheel9958 I mean, idk why someone could think it is in the past tbh
@@spideyg1954 I can kind of understand the confusion because Gwyn set up the ring city but he was in the deep past yet since the foundation of the ring city it existed at the end of time and that's honestly just weird to think about and if you don't familiarize yourself with time travel ideas then it just wouldn't make sense even "knowing how time travel works" it still makes no sense but ya know wibbly wobbly timey wimey who cares what really makes sense
@@stretchwheel9958 I suppose you're right, it's just that thinking in time travel I simply relate the ringed city with the future because it is next to "The Dreg Heap" which is... you know, the whole world reduced to ruins and ashes. But anyway thanks for that reference, man of culture.
@@spideyg1954 anything to help out the friendly neighborhood spidey g
the ashen wasteland is actually featured in the opening cutscene i think
yeah with the pilgrems
Dude, it's actually also featured on the cover of the game, just realized that now
fromsoft is sneaky adding the last boss on the front cover lol
I think the main game says that the Link the Fire ending isn't going to solve all that much, implying that the First Flame is still weakening even with the Linking. The future we see the the Ringed City could be one where our Ashen One chose to Link the Fire, but by the point where the DLC happens, the Flame has weakened to the point where it simply can't be Linked anymore and is about to die out all on it's own.
finaldarkfire you could also argue that in the ending we let the flame die and the ringed city “at worlds end” was the last place the fire died out at since it was a land of the Gods. Like we let the flame die and across all of time it slowly disappeared that’s why when we finish off Gael the sky becomes dark as well. The last place that held any light went out.
"Something a bit more grand."
So flying lightning dark-soul infused grandpa wasn't enough for them?
He alone fills the boring desert with a bombardment of arrows, soul-ghosts, thunder, storm, swings of his giant jet broken sword and last but definitly not least: his pure animalic brute force, letting him hunt you like a monstrous hungry wolf. He embodys this power of souls, but also this unbearable hunger, just perfect. While fighting him, it definetly feels like you are fighting a beeing, that consumed multiple gods, and trained hunting over centuries. Including the soundtrack this all together is the perfect symphonie, which I love FromSoft for, to let this franchise end. It is definetly my favorite fight, for it beeing though, but beatable in combination with all this epicness
I'm still sad we never got to say goodbye to Frampt and Kaathe
Or why there were primordial serpents in Lothric, or where the angels came from or... anything that is hinted at in the base game really. This last DLC really makes BB's DLC look like a masterpiece.
And that's what bothers me.
People constantly say that this DLC is "True to Dark Souls" and that it makes us "Theorize" so it doesn't need closure and it's good. But ffs look at Bloodborne. True to Soulsborne form, leaves plenty to theorize, but it still gave us closure.
It's not that anyone needs a solid cut and dry ending, but it would've been nice to have had something.
+Anduin Arilan Serpent in lothric is kaath and influenced the angelic faith. Proof? Hosts sprouted from the backs of pilgrims who are originally from londor, where kaath's influence rules it all. This leads me to believe that frampt influences the ringed city, since the serpent statues are different, and the city itself is a product of gwyn's rule.
+Eirmund Gundnand Personally, I think letting the painter girl finish her work is a satisfying conclusion. Knowing someone will live a comfortable life through the age of dark was a goal I was hoping for since the depressing end of DS1.
I suppose it's unsatisfying for me because i've always been heavily invested in what is the Age of Dark and Humanity's place in the world of Dark Souls. From the onset, they seemed like just another resident in the world of DS. But as we trucked along through the series of the games, especially with this DLC, they seemed to have taken on a much bigger role. They were powerful enough to make Gwyn afraid to the point of him sealing their weapons and armor, but for some reason he couldn't outright eliminate then even with this seal. He even employed them in his army against the dragons. Something doesn't sit quite right.
Then there's the Age of Dark. We're constantly made to believe that it's bad, what with the corrupted and the way things go mad. But apparently humanity came from the Abyss, and forged weapons from the Abyss and it's even the next natural Age of the world.
And then the Darksign. We were made to believe that it mysteriously showed up, but now we know it was of Gwyn's creation. ( Reference: Ringed Knight Armor. The set was sealed with fire. The seal looks identical to the darksign. Gwyn was the creator of this seal. ) So for someone sealing their power, why would he grant them immortality? My thought is maybe he didn't. We can now tell that being Hollowed appears to be humans most natural state. What if they were always immortal? What if what the Darksign granted was madness?
For me there are just so many questions surrounding it
+Eirmund Gundnand I understand where you're coming from, and I completely agree that someone so invested in the abyss would be dis-satisfied with the end of this DLC. But we know everyone could hollow from DS1 since just about anyone could be randomly branded with the darksign, and this DLC proves this man made creation just speeds up the hollowing process. Everyone is linked to the first flame, and hollowing is a sign that it's dying. Manus is the father of the abyss, and he is the result of the age of dark, which was the big picture which made Gwyn so afraid in the first place. A solution to this problem was all that was needed, to which Gael ironically revealed to us.
Ringed city is long after DS3, in the Iron DragonSlayer set it states that it was defeated by a champion ash and left *AGES* to rust
Thank you! People forget that so easily!
How can it take place after? If the world is literally collapsing in on itself like a black hole, how can anything exist? Even if the flame is linked.
@hk 2412 that still doesn't explain how a suit of armor would survive was is essentially a black hole with reality tearing itself apart.
I bet its just a mistranslation. Everything in the Dlcs is somehow set before defeating soul of cinder and linking the first flame.
@@schmebulockjizz in the ringed city you travel through time, so chronologically it takes place after souls of cinder
I thought this DLC pretty much explained the biggest mysteries of the franchise:
1. What is a Dark Soul? - It was always hinted to be the souls of men but the way it was described in previous games was vague and open to interpretation, this DLC showed that men's souls are indeed dark. This DLC also clearly showed the relationship between Humanity and the Dark Soul.
2. Whatever happened to the pygmy? - Based on this DLC, it's obvious that during the war with the dragons, the pygmy sided with the gods. And after the gods have won, Gwynn decided that the pygmy and his descendants would become his allies (aka slaves). So the pygmy became a king and worshiped Gwynn as a god. His descendants did the same thing.
3. Who was correct, Frampt or Kaathe? - This DLC showed that the Abyss is not as scary as the gods have been telling all these years. The Abyss is just like Fire, a source of power that can be forged and manipulated to improve lives. The firs humans (aka pygmies) used the Abyss to transform and improve their lives. But because the gods fear it and their subjugation of the human/pygmy race completed. The Abyss was branded as something to be sealed. So Kaathe was correct. The Age of fire is only extending human/pygmy servitude to the gods. The abyss is the source of power that would replace fire in a new dark world and humans shouldn't fear it.
4. The revelation of which are the happy and sad endings. - This DLC showed that Age Of Fire has truly ended and we as adventurers should stop pursuing it. The Age Of Dark is where humanity's future lies and we should embrace it.
There are many other questions that have been theorized/answered and I know many more questions will be theorized/answered in the future.
Finish the fucking sentence. I hate that dumb shit when people don't finish their paragraph because of CZcams's gay...
sums it up. humans have future ahead in age of darkness but its the end of the fire age as well as it cruel fire linking cycle. powers were obtained from the fire but the new age might not have any such rules in any way it was made so that people like gael wont suffer any more which means the human going hollow or normal dark soul human fate of hollow . those rules wont apply there and life would be in the form we live in real life . THE END
I don’t think the abyss is as good as you think. Darkness is not bad in and of itself but the abyss bring turmoil and despair. The abyss is not darkness but rather CORRUPTED darkness that was actually brought about by Kaathe in Oolacile. Kaathe didn’t want the fire simply to fade, he wanted it usurped, which we see in the Londor ending of ds3. That’s why letting the fire die out is so important. Without flame, there are no gods that can manipulate humanity, nor is there any power that the abyss can use to corrupt humanity. Humanity without the cycle is free to have its own fate, not a fate set for them
@@bigbeezy5056 yeah i agree, if abyss is good why artorias was corrupted by it.
@@lordsseeker1873 the abyss corrupts and spread, but can be shaped and used in your favor, its not Good neither evil.
A peaceful world where Smough can eat his breakfast.
A world where Ornstein can coach Smough without muscly men posing in front of them.
When you think about it, Dark Souls is just a painting in our world.
No wonder everytime I PvP the servers are standing still
Servers are still up but only like 10k people play it :D
A painting made of blood? a dark and cruel place?
Bloodborne Confirmed! lmao
La Miikey its cool not cruel (i get the joke doe)
La Miikey huu, that actually makes sense
A dark, COLD AND GENTLE place. No, it's not bloodborne.
At first, it was, but now think about it, the girl wants to paint a cool gentle place but she paints it with the blood of the fucking dark soul, so what ensures she's going to suceed, the first time we relinked the first flame we tought we were puting an end to all the dark souls universe suffering, and pretty much everyone on the dark souls universe follows the same set up
Tell her YHARNAM and she will name the next world after it...
I feel that it's quite fitting that the last dialog in the game is the painter asking for your name, because typically old-school RPGs would start the game by asking about your name, and typically you had say something, but here you could also answer
"I have no name"
It is so thematically fitting, "I'm just some random guy who stumbled his way threw to the end"
Maybe we can access the painting when Dark Souls 3: Scholar of The Second Sin releases :)
jokamutta no
We have to wait and see Kappa
i know that's some kind of meme but i'd actually welcome something like that lol
jokamutta it's canon to bloodborne
jokamutta that painting goes to bloodborne
So one of the big things in Ringed City was how the gods were burdening man with the darksign, and that's something that comes up a lot. Man is cursed by the gods out of fear of their dark souls. You can see this in the statues and also by the ringed knight set and the fact that Gwyn's reward for the pygmies was basically sticking them in an isolated city at the edge of the world. The painted world is a painting that is painted in blood, but this new "painted world of ash" is one painted using the blood of the dark soul. It is also meant to be a home for Gael, an undead. To me, this implies that this is a world where humanity can exist free from the burdens they faced in the old world. As all forlorn are, humanity will be drawn into the painting to live peacefully while the previous world, twisted by Gwyn's first sin, eventually fades to nothing. It's not a triumphant ending, but there is a certain peace to it.
God you have to love Dark Souls.
All these powerful gods or nearly gods, all these powerful creatures or bright city´s and in the end there´s just 2 man fighting over nothing.
This last fight with Gael is a perfect metaphor for the human nature. Nations rise and crumble. Faith´s lost and even when there´s nothing exept ash and ruins, there will still be mankind fighting over something that seems lost for centuries.
Crysus Bu pur willpower. like the player gael never gave in to the world and so because of the undead curse he lived until the end.
ムスタファ
>Gael is, or rather was, a Slave Knight of unknown origin, we know his supposed name, which is most likely not his birth name as slaves are very unlikely to have names due to them being, well, not relevant enough to deserve such recognition. He serves the Painting of Ariandel, a home to all outcasts, and wants it to follow the course of nature. Why we find him in the Cathedral of the Deep, praying to what seems to be an altar, honestly I don‘t really know. Perhaps he tried to seek out the Deacons of the Deep or even Aldrich to gather knowledge about the Dark Soul, which we know he was seeking.
>Gael wants the Ashen One to succeed in his quest to, well, gain strength in order to confront the Soul of Cinder or whatever secondary goals he might have, as he left useful hints behind to enable the Ashen One a more direct stroll through the Dreg Heap and is summonable to defeat the Demon Prince, which is necessary in order to progress into the Ringed City. Gael definitely wanted the Ashen One to get there.
>We know that whatever Filianore did with her presence, she somewhat disrupted the natural flow of time in the Ringed City with her white... egg thingy as once such white egg thingy gets destroyed, the world seems to skip perhaps aeons into the future. The world will have been burned to ash by the First Flame and it is likely that Gael devoured all fragments of the Dark Soul he could find, as in, humans. Every single one he could find. All he needed was the last remaining pygmies and, well, the Ashen One. But Gael, being the nobody he was, couldn‘t properly handle the Dark Soul on his own and he knew that. He knew that in order for a new painting to be painted, he needed someone strong enough to take him down, someone like the Ashen One. I have found that characters who accumulate massive amounts of strength tend to transform into a shape more befitting of them, hence why many legendary warriors we fight in the series are way larger than us. Gael was at the peak of his power, absolutely juiced up with the Dark Soul of mankind and out for blood when we last encountered him. And yet, his armor was brutally worn down and his trusty Executioner‘s Greatsword broken, rusty and smeared with blood. His shield no more and equipped with a Repeating Crossbow that he just somehow has for some reason, his trusty Way of White Corona miracle and the fighting experience of an eternity, two nobodies stand their ground in the middle of a broken world. Both nobodies know exactly what needs to happen for the world to succeed. And both nobodies know how the fight will end. And yet, it is a testament on how misguided humans are sometimes, almost closer to feral beasts than domesticated higher beings and defiant until the end of the world arrives. Only to go down in silence and without fanfare. Poetic, really
""Just 2 man fighting""
>probably the flashiest and more spectacular fight in the whole saga.
@@schmebulockjizz Still not wrong tho.
@@SahnigReingeloetet But...could this mean that the true Dark Souls is the friends we made along the way?
i wished that the dlc would allow us to summon The Chosen undead and Bearer of the Curse to fight a final Abyss boss
I thought the 1v1 match of nobodys was fitting enough. Plus, Gael already is an abyss boss.
rex sekol that would be hot
@CZcams Sucks it's been 4 years chill
@@Mrhellslayerz Gael sucked
Aren’t they both the same thing?
I have a kinda weird teory that has some holes on it. But still... this might look weird at the beginning but hear me out. It is known that gwyn's family has the power to make illusions (Gwyndolin and Gwynevere). Where i want to get is : What if Fillianore was some kind of first flame firekeeper?(She wears a set that reminds of one) and what if the world we known was allways ash like in that ending and the only thing keeping the illusion was that egg she is holding? My theory is that everytime someone links the fire that egg goes back to its full form keeping the illusion of the world we known, and as time goes on the egg starts cracking and things deform(the ending where all kingdoms are mashed together). And when we finally break the egg, we don't necessarily go further into the future, we only see the world as it truly is (which kinda explains why there is no dark sign in the sky anymore, maybe it was an illusion to show we NEED to link the fire). What do you guys think?
EDIT 1 : In the end, you can see lothric and anor londo not mashed together. Which makes this theory that it was all illusion a bit better i think.
EDIT 2 : Just posted it on reddit www.reddit.com/r/darksouls3/comments/63tksq/my_theory_on_the_second_dlc_ending/?ref=share&ref_source=link
Vitor Sena I thought something similar, I think the idea has merit to it
Vitor Sena See is saw the egg as the egg of Midir. So I didn't really consider that it could be something else. Interesting theory.
There is also the description to Repair: "Light is time..."
When you dont realize the egg is midir....
Trinity Cosmic when u dont realize dark souls is about player interpretation of things and most things dont have correct answers. only player theories
I get the feeling like From Software could make a new series based off of the Painting...
IchbinX pull a drakengaurd to nier.
IchbinX already a series it's called bloodborne
Listen, kid. That is just a theory that leaves alot of holes. The painter herself said that it will be a dark, cold but gentle world. Do you think that bloodborne is gentle in any way shape or form?
bloodborne is a dream though
Shadow 13342 Your baseless assumption has already been debunked by Myiazaki. So it is officially wrong and always was concerning the absolutely different lore from both games. Bloodborne stands and always stood for its own no matter how hard some fanboys try to link those two franchises. No further discussion needed.
So which one of y’all characters was named Elden Ring
it is simple ending and easy to understand, the age of fire is over, she will paint the new world with the dark soul, next game will have Damn near the same game play, New name, and new story
Yeah that's what I'm thinking with Elden ring coming out
This man was from the future lol Elden Ring is just that qnd what he said it even has the same hooded pilgrim enemies as dark souls 3
so if u name urself yharnam and give the painter ur name there is a different ending where u go into her painting and go play bloodborne
it's legit, i swear
The Wyverns Of Unity shut the fuck up
The Wyverns Of Unity lol painted dream of Yharnam
Red the dragon Can't handle an obvious joke salty child?
Red the dragon soulsborne is a thing so shut up, it's canon now
Shadow 13342 There is not such a thing as "SoulsBorne". I can also claim there is a "Zeldroid" because Zelda and Metroid share some gameplay mechanics. But there is not such a thing and NOTHING from Dark Souls hints there being any kind of connection between itself and Bloodborne or vice versa. They just used some gameplay mechanics alike in both titles. They are not related by lore or by title or in any other way. Bloodborne is just Bloodborne and that is a good thing. I am sick of all those dellusional "theories" (baseless assumptions) of some fanboys. Both are seperated franchises as long as Miyazaki does not state otherwise. End of the story.
I think it's funny how if you don't say your name to the painter she names the new world ash, just like how dark souls begins: ashen and grey.
the game also ends in an ashen state just like how it began in the first place with ashen lake
"Very Well. I will name this painting Inigo Montoya." "I wonder if father is alright?"
From could have given at least a cut scene for the ending. I mean it's the last DLC for Dark Souls.
With a Cut Scene it would really End. With this Open End unlimited Cycles still can follow, so you can play the games again and again.
I'd rather have a cutscene and have some closure rather than just be frustrated , keep playing and eventually get bored . Sure there is no real " end " to Dark Souls , but it's not about the lore here .. it's about players who have been loving the fuck out of these incredible, unique games , and not even getting a fade to black after they complete the very last piece of content that'll ever be released for the whole series .
M L So you'd rather have an ending that makes no sense? Just for the sake of having a cutscene. Dark Souls isn't like other games, why should it change suit now?
Why would putting a small cutscene after the last fight make no sense ? I'm not asking for a closed ending , of course it wouldn't fit at all .
M L Because there's already an ending. What would a pointless cutscene do? This DLC isn't the end of the story. The final boss is and you get a cutscene.
The Ashen one; unable to link the flame due to entropy, knowing the throne would reject him as it did Vendrick, secures a future by abandoning the dying flame and usurping Gael's duty. It will make someone a goodly home, some day.
Throne didnt reject Vendrick, he walked away from it so Nashandra wouldnt have it
Okay so here's a theory. In the past games we end with the linking of the flame and it sets up a new world. But in this game we can put the flame to rest, and there is no other world, and in the end of the dlc the sun sets and gray sets in. Just like in DS1 with the gray age of dragons. What if DS3 is the end of the age of fire and the cycle begins again, gray with only dragons. I mean people were transforming themselves into dragons in this game, and they are immortal. And if the Resting of the Flame (there's a better title for ya) ending is cannon then that means the flame is still alive with the firekeeper. And maybe someday four lords will find that flame bolstering again and use it to overthrow the dragons. What if all of Dark Souls is a cycle, just like the fire linking. Just a thought.
David Teachout When you give her the fire keeper's eyes she does say that she sees a world of darkness but also some embers in the distance.
David Teachout you don't link the flame to "set up a new world" you link the flame to make the duration of the world longer.
This is probably what From intended: the cycle begins anew.
As already stated, the firekeeper (when given her eyes and she ends the age of fire) says that in the future she sees new, small flames dancing in this age of darkness we just started. Flames, similar to the ones the lords rekindled over and over again.
This implies, that, if the flames were to be found by beings like the lords of the past or even mankind, a new age of fire may happen. With this, kingdoms may once again rise and the life we know from the dark souls series will begin again. But there is hope that the next time will end less tragically... no undead curse, no desperate attempts to prolong the (new) age of fire and sacrifice everything for it.
And I personally think that, maybe, the painter girl's new painted world may be a place to live until new flames appear in the dark "outside" world.
deep really deep I actually think your onto to something I mean what if the player is always the same you get burnt and your ash comes back and your back with no recollection of being burnt so what if gundyr is you from the past
A fine dark soul to all of you
The fact that the Pilgrims of Londor are in the Ashen Wasteland in the opening cutscene makes this reddit theory I came across seem even more plausible. Basically, Londor is actually what becomes of Lothric in the future. The Pilgrims are from a future where the world is ending and they need a champion of ash to usurp the flame and 'make Londor whole.' I was sceptical at first, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. For instance, we know the stone-humped hag at the beginning of the DLC is actually High Priestess Emma, based on her ashes' description and knowing Prince Lorian. But why would a High Priestess of Lothric obsessed with linking the fire become a Pilgrim of Londor? My guess is that after the fall of Lothric, everyone became Undead hollows and were 'saved' by the angelic faith, which we now know is connected to Londor. It seems the Pus of Man turns people into the Pus monsters or eventually Pilgrim Butterflies, while the shells the hollows of Londor wear allow them to 'ascend' and become angels. The pilgrims we meet like Yoel and the chameleon guy are those that have taken the pilgrimage to the past to find a worthy Lord of Hollows and are willing (even eager) to die for this cause. This is further evidenced by the fact that in the Lord of Hollows ending, your pilgrim subjects are all there after you defeat the Soul of Cinder, presumably in the future. I believe Elfriede was the first to try and Usurp the flame for Londor, but the she failed and was turned to ash. The original theory is on Reddit under 'Lothric and the origins of Londor.'
The londor hag is not Emma. Its stated that he used to be a high priestes but i doubt that was Emma exactly.
I love love love this series but something that bothers me about it, and this bothersome feeling has been increasing with each additional content created since DS1, is how "TIME IS CONVOLUTED."
I've seen people use those 3 magical words to explain random shit that they either A) can't bother to piece info together or B) they just flat out CAN'T explain it because there is little to no support.
I realize that this is a series with a very cryptic way of telling its story. It's one of the reasons I enjoy it. It feels like archaeology in video game form. You go to all these different places, obtain info and clues from the environment, items, NPC, and events in general, and do your best to craft some sort of history. The "time is convoluted" device, though, just fucks with so much in terms of explaining things. As the series continued, it became progressively harder to place events in some sort of continuity. This element is at its worst in DS3. There are many endings but which one leads to the DLC? Or is the DLC something that leads to the ending seen in DS3, but if so, which one? And if Ringed City leads to one of the DS3 endings, how does one reconcile the state of the world seen in the ending compared to the wasteland in Ringed City? Or was it all a dream/illusion? How many shits does Miyazaki take in a year? So many questions and as you said, "welcome to Dark Souls."
Sorry for the rant, but that's just how it feels to me. It feels like this series' lore has grown so bloated and distorted that things just... HAPPEN (or happened? or will happen? who knows, right? time is convoluted! anything's possible! lolololol) but there is little to no certainty as to where they stand in the grand scheme of things.
Fuck this series.
I love it.
This is not a replacement of the Original DS3 ending. It's a complementary story that is intended to elaborate on the Dark Soul and heavily imply the coming of the Dark Age of Man.
Basically they are giving you something to mull over before their next game. In a different world that's... probably... dark.. er?
Gotta keep it simple brother.
Keeping it simple is quite a task in this series.
And that's how FromSoft likes it. Purposeful ambiguity = wild speculation = greater player involvement.
Player involvement = profit?
Hehe. It's a mind game more than mind bender if you catch my drift.
Time is convoluted but ds3 is the death of the series such as 1 is a birth of it and 2 is its life thats why you teleport to the end when waking filianore the last age of fire, when the flame is just about to die for good, no embers can wake it this time, dark souls 2 could take place after a dark age thats why theres tons of new stuff.... and 3 could take place right after 1 for all we know , time in this game is convoluted but only because gwyns last heir, filianore slept, and her divine dream kept the world from progressing, what happens when you hold something turning from turning? It goes faster to make up for lost time and that is that happened when she woke
I LOVED how you used Fallout 4's intro music in the background... gave me chills.
Alot of people tend connect "Dark" with Evil and Death, End. But there are also older stories that link Darkness to not just Death but with Birth aswell, so you can say the Age of Darkness isn't the end but a Rebirth.
The word I'm looking for is bittersweet...That was an excellent video and your theory really resonates with me. Thank you for giving me closure for my beloved Dark Souls.
This is by far the most beautiful video I've seen in quite a while.
Thanks man you really helped me swallow that big pill of an ending. it definitely helped me see it in a different way.
Every time I think about how the Dark Souls series is over I start to hyperventilate and try not to cry. I'm scrabbling around the ringed city looking for ANYTHING that might have been hidden, some secret or easter egg. This is the end and I literally cannot comprehend it. I don't think I have ever been this sad for a game series' end.
Cancer's Final Form very touching Mr. cancers final form
This truly is a bitter-sweet ending, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Having a fourth game would be beating a dead horse into paste.
I'm happy it's over. It ended at the perfect time and it's not like FROM is going to stop making soulslike games.
You are trying so hard not to become a Hollow, keep it up
MadLuigi, you made a verte good video, and your theories were very well explained. Thank you for that!
Still doing this kind of vids, I love them
I really like the way you explained this "ending." Great video. Just subbed.
"blood of the dark soul" would be a pretty badass metal band name
Just finished the dlc on my first playthrough and I'm glad I look up an explanation. I was really confused at the end but explained makes me look forward to new games from from software
11:48 "its done!!!!"
After just beating DS3 and getting The End of Fire, this was such a welcome video and beautifully done. Thank you.
This was an amazing video. Really felt like an end to the story. A story of how one world ends and a new one begins.
Now that i think about it, this last dlc has a bit of everything. The dreg heap has ties to the 3rd game, earthen peak has ties to the 2nd game and the ringed city has ties to the 1st game. Lapp follows you through the games/areas. Gael himself has a lot of similarities with other dark souls bosses.
even ashes of ariandel has a reference to artorias, with the grave and the huge ass sword after fighting the greatwolf
awesome way of explain this it made me feel much better about the series because i am a true fan of the dark souls and the ringed city was totally confusing to me but again i appreciate your explanation! It made me appreciate the game more!
I know this is late but I figured I'd say this. Note the 2 places you can start the ringed city dlc. One is after Friede which makes sense gameplay wise and release wise. From released ashes and knew players with high levels would want to hop in already. Note why the area is leveled much higher than the cathedral where you start it. Story wise tho is makes sense that you start it when you enter the cathedral. As the ending of ashes with the painter she states Gael went off in search of the dark soul. I doubt he would have instantly found it right after your fight with Friede and proceeded ahead of you to the ringed city. Then you have the ending scene in the wastelands with Gael now corrupted by the dark soul. It's clear this is a world without fire. The light is all but fading and I don't see a kingdom of hollows so the secret ending is off the table too. Then the last piece of evidence which is the second place you can start the ringed city dlc. Notice how you can even see the bonfire that leads to dreg heap unless you turn around? Why is this dlc start so hidden when ashes simply tosses Gael at a bonfire they know you will run into? But think about this... Why would the chosen ash be coming down from the kiln? If you linked the fire then you'd be on that hill engulfed in flame right now but here you are returning from the hilltop as if you didn't link the fire... Then ask yourself the dark souls 2 question of why you are here? What is the purpose of you specifically coming to the ringed city? To help Gael? That's not your responsibility. Are you on the biggest side quest in history... or... are you trying to find out what is holding the world back from an age if dark? Fillianore's sleep is holding back the end of the world and you disturb it there by allowing the dark to finally take over. You came to this city not for the dark soul but to finalize the age if dark. However this age if dark is not what it was supposed to be. The world is nothing but ash now because of Gwyn and his linking of the fire. So you use the dark soul to build a new world. A painted world that will never rot because it has the blood of the dark soul. The only soul that grows stronger with the fading flame while the others grew weaker
I've taken this ending and especially the imagery associated with it as the beginning of a new Age of Ancient. What little glimpse we get of the prior Age of Ancients in DS 1, looks very similar to this... I mean the Gael fight looks like it takes place in Ashen lake. Only what were interpreted as trees in that world were actually the crumbling reminiscence of a prior age. The Dark Souls timeline being cyclical, a la the Mayan calendar, has always made a lot of sense to me and I think the way things ended is a nod in that direction. just my thoughts. great video!
Great video man! Got shivers towards the end xd
one big thing about the sun in the ashen wastes, is that the sun wasn't the orange glow that we're used to seeing, not even the white light like early in dark souls 1. the sunlight was golden, truly golden. I think that carries some meaning
I've got to say that Gael is the boss fight I've had the most fun with in the series in awhile. I've also stopped using shields in boss fights and just relied on timing rolls better because of this very fight (not like that matters much anyways).
The fight overall is so much fun, and more importantly, it feels - both from the game point of view as well as the story point - fair, like you're two equals putting everything you have into the final fight of this world.
if you look at all the countless little of pieces of lore spread across all three games it become complicated difficult to piece together. Like uncovering a lost history in the games. Although looking at the timelines taking place as we play the games it feels simple. darks souls 1 is the first undead in pilgrimage to rekimdle the first flame. Dark souls 2 is basically a un-ending cycle of rekindling. Dark souls 3 is like the age of fire is being forcibly and despritly extended and maybe the true ending is finally letting the flame die and begin an age of new. Or at least thats how I interpret it and the reason I used the word "simple" is because it simply ds1- beginning(first rekindling), ds2- middle(the cycle), and ds3- end(finally letting the flame die). Maybe its like a message like, let the flame die so something new can be born and in this maybe the story connects with the character whose is for the most part, undead one whp can't trully die. and maybe ending the age of fire really means ending the curse.
0:29 been trying to get people to understand that point since the "ending" drama started. You articulated it quite well.
Honestly I assumed this all took place before Soul of Cinder from the trailer alone. Kinda obvious with the Dreg Heap being visible in the core game. We're just going on a side mission and checking out this crazy fucking area surrounding Soul of Cinder. Plus the Ashen Wastes were in the original Dark Souls 3 trailer/Into. Also I think it's clear any time traveling that happens happened when we teleported to the ruined Firelink Shrine before Soul of Cinder. That is in fact how you see the Dreg Heap originally.
I think Soul of Cinder was a perfect and beautiful ending to the series. And FFS it takes place on a fucking Arche tree!!! (Where it all began)
I think you hit the nail on the head with your conclusion.
What if the world she painted was Yharnam? After all, she used blood to do it. How cool would it be, if she had additional dialogue if your character was named Yharnam, and you asked her to paint the world after your name? Of course, this is just speculation.
Naveen Yedavally my character is called memelord, what a world.
mine is named Donald trump,
OR she misheard "Your Name" and thought "Yharnam"
Naveen Yedavally no. Yharnam is a dream not a paint
Yharnam is the name of the queen in the bride dress
Everyone keeps saying you and Gael are the last ones alive. What about shira who attacks you before the Gael fight in the arena, at the end of the world. Can someone explain to me why everyone calls you and Gael the last ones when you aren't???
Christian Bryan yeah theres also that ringed knight walking in a circle?
Great stuff!
I can't help but feel as though that The Painter is actually Priscilla based on her relevance to paintings, the Lifehunt Scythe's description, and her physical similarities with Priscilla such as the scales on her hands and feet and her hair.
But it's just a thought.
+Brandon Cervantes didn't we murder her?
Brandon Cervantes I would think the Primordial serpents are the real connection. I don't know which one. Don't even know if we know the serpent she descended from. But if you get close enough to the painter girls eyes they are orange and slit down the middle like a certain pair of snakes. Between that, her scaled skin, and the fact that the Japanese version of the game gas Yuria say "Kaathe. Your dying wish was not fulfilled..." I think Kaath was finally dying for whatever reason and had a cross breed child. He wanted the fire to die out. For the age of dark to reign. But maybe he saw inevitably all world's would fade away, even his age of dark, so he left a hybrid who's would paint a world to be forever dark when she acquired the dark soul.
I always thought she must've been a daughter of Priscilla or something.
i never could get all the way into the lore cause i never knew were to actually start but this was really enlightening
I thought it was a beautiful ending, the sacrifice that Gael made was epic, his journey to get to that point and the decisions he had to make along the way (as stated in his weapon descriptions) it just makes him so much more than a nobody to me. Technically he was a nobody, like us, but like us, he made it to the end and had to sacrifice for the sake of someone else. I don't know if that makes sense or not haha but seriously, Gael has a special place in my heart for his loyalty, honor and his determination to make it to the end.
I think you nailed it! I've been saying since Ariandel that the relationship between the painted world and the base game was a metaphor for the relationship between the base game and our world. It is relatively airtight as far as I can tell, and I've looked a lot so far. Great job! I haven't seen very many others that saw this, (and before the ringed city people used to laugh at me for saying it :-p)
The way i see it. You fight Gael after the world is destroyed. The last fight in the Age of Fire You and Gael, you give the Dark Soul to the painter so she can pain a peaceful world without the need to link a flame every now and then
So the blood of the dark soul is used to paint a new world. Is this a metaphor for From saying that Dark Souls is now done however they will use its legacy (blood) to make (paint) new games/worlds?
The landscape at the end of Gael's fight looks a lot like the Age of Ancients in the opening of DS1.
I just wished for us to see the new painted world in a cutscene or something just to get an idea of how it would look like
Very inisghtful! I feel like this gives at least a bit of closure to a game I really enjoyed (when I wasn't screaming at the screen) but really felt didn't tie up its loose ends like I wanted.
this video closed huge gap in my head thanks alooot
'leaving only us 2' and that one wandering ringed city knight... hiding off to the side.
I think the ring city showed the player what would happen if the flame was out one more time so it's meant to have it where the ashen one sees what would happen and chooses something else for the flame.
I think the world she ends up painting is the world of Blood Bourne it's a perfect way to set up its next game title
The firekeeprs in dark souls 2 said it the best with these two phrase
"It's a Human Effigy.
Take a closer look
Who do you think it's supposed to be?
Think back, deep into your past.
Yes, it's an effigy of you."
And
"All people come here for the same reason.
To break the curse.
You're no different, I should think?"
Painting a new world with blood, road to Bloodborne 2 baby
I hear that fallout 4 music in the background. Good job on the video btw
So dramatic video! I'm happy that I found such a majestic game! Which ended so calm and peaceful...
I wish that in from softwares next big game they make a reference to the painted world. That would certainly complicate the new world's lore
Well, if she's naming the world based off of my character, the new painted world of "KANYE WEST" is going to be a fantastic one
did anyone else catch at the end when MadLuigi screamed "It's Done!" XD
What if the first cut scene is actually Gael dragging ludleth (a pygmy) back to the shrine and ringing the bell was to help you with your journey to defeat the lords of cinder and to eventually meet up with Gael to help him find the dark soul to paint a new world and not to even fight the soul of cinder and let the flame slowly die off. Ludleth is a lord of cinder as his soul which is linked to the the soulfeeder(the actual lord of cinder ) when he transposed his soul in courland (aka the ringed city ), his soul is linked to the soulfeeder like how the abyss watchers are linked through the blood of the wolf. As for the firelinking Shrine what if it was Gael who devised this firelinking shrine and him with the power of dark soul enabled him to time travel and to get good npcs to assist the ashen one when he is awoken to help defeat him and deliver the dark soul to the painter, think about it's just like how manus could take you back in time, and maybe he wanted the chosen undead to defeat him as he was not the person he had used to be and to save his beloved Dusk (yes I believe when manus was a sorcerer he was actually in love with dusk, as he never meant her harm at all.
I aslo believe he is halflight is actually manus before he was consumed by the abyss. Gael also cursed the inhabitants of the shrine to help the ashen one to reach the first flame. Do you also realised there are two entrances to dreg heap, this is because Gael knew if he did not meet you at the chapel perhaps when you are at the kiln of the first flame you will be able to seek another bonfire before the first flame and he was right you followed the bonfire to dreg heap where he guided you to the ringed city and to the church. He needed you to take the dark soul as he knew he was not strong enough to resist its power and he would not be able to deliver the dark soul to the painter. Also the sword master seen just before the firelink shrine, my theory is that he is in search for the chaos blade in lothric, he ended up in the untended graves where he and gundyr was sealed behind the king's garden until Gael who wanted to create his own firelink shrine not bound in time when to lothric castle saw the firelink shrine and recreated it with also its inhabitants that is why we see gundyr and the sword master in our firelink shrine.
All the inhabitants in firelink are cursed to help you to reach the first flame and only then they can die in peace, that is why when you kill ludleth, he asked the gods for mercy to release him from this curse as the fire is burning within him as he never intended to be a lord of cinder in the first place. Gael wanted a new future/vision for humanity to have its age as it was robbed by the gods(and him being a slave knight to the gods knew better) and he soon found that gods do not last forever so he knew he had to seek the dark soul before it dies out just like the flame which is fading in his time. He needed someone who is strong and able to carry a burden such as the lord souls so he knew he had to seek the ashen one, thus he created a make believe shrine to assist the ashen one, he found graves of the past undead who failed to link the flame, he gather their ashes and placed them in the make believe firelink shrine and rang the bell. He knew how the lords were getting the undead to link the flame as he was a slave knight so he knew when to betray them when the fire was fading and the past lords were not keen to link the flame anymore.
There is also another theory that Gael turned to Friede for help to find the dark soul to paint the new world, Friede rejected this idea as she wanted to make this painted world her home, and just wanted the flame to fade and did not cared about the dark soul when she left her sisters and the stable church of Londor. She then maybe wanted to get rid of Gael as he appose her idea of letting the painted world rot. She then imprisoned the painter, to prevent her from creating a new world but failed to capture Gael as he fled the painted world with Sulyvahn as he had animosity with the gods and wanted them to fall, so Gael and Sulyvahn decided to search for the dark soul, but Gael wanted to free her painter from Friede so he sought for the ashen one first. Sulyvahn went on a seperate way alone in search of the dark soul and power to finish of the remaining gods he came to the chapel of the deep where he found aldritch which he would Sulyvahn to devour a god, he would then make a kingdom after destroying a city and find the profaned flame under the kingdom, in which he would use to destroy his enemies.
The ashen one will help Gael free the painter and defeat the Friede, while he was searching for the dark soul, He finds dreg heap(where lands converge) and makes a bonfire linking from the kiln to dreg heap for the ashen one as he knew he was nearing the source of the dark soul.
it would be awesome if that ending dialog is a hint to the new "Souls/borne Style" game they mentiond.
Gael is a slave knight of the gods from the war with the gods and half light can be explained to be manus from DS1. You gotta look closer than face value :D
You are supposed to go through the time skip and fight gale then fight the soul of cinder because it takes place after the time skip
I choose to believe that the word she paints is the word of Bloodborne, it is one free of the curse and one of blood as it was made using the blood of such a powerful soul.
thank you man, i don't really had a good closure with the dlc ending. I dint feel like i just ended a several years and several games run, but know i think i can let darksouls to rest, it was agood run, and i will never forget to Praice the Sun
The interesting thing between the Gael and Ash fight isn’t just that your both nobodies.
The Ashen one has often killed targets first before they even notice or strikes first. With how respawning works you kill the same opponents often, sometimes for souls to grow, but always to progress….
Furthermore you are a scavenger, a grave-robber. Even if you don’t use the weapons you pickup, you pick up armor, items, souls. All of the merchants that sell to you require souls for transaction, two rob the living and dead, one gets items from ash, one is a leader of the the undead, and three require souls and books. One more requires special souls and sometimes more souls to make different items. All for you to move forward.
To move forward you must kill or rob for a purpose you aren’t truly clear on. Your working on faith.
Just like Gael.
Is you path right? Does it matter? Your only idea of the world is what people tell you, or the descriptions of items.
You’re both nobodies.
You’re both killers.
And at the end of the world, with Gael falling to the Humanity, the Dark Soul, within him
Neither of you know what you’re fighting for.
Crap.
a world devoid of "working as intended"
Imagine the encounter with Gael as being in the far future. Hell, almost all the Ringed City takes place in a separate temporal space, but the player character's actions at the end send him or her forward to the literal world's end, where all of the works of mankind and the gods and even the natural world are nothing more than ashes. It's said that hollowing happens when a person loses their purpose, the will to keep moving forward. Lapp (a familiar face to anyone in the franchise) valued his own survival so greatly that he pursued it single-mindedly, and this sense of purpose kept him from hollowing to nearly the end of time. The player character may have been transported to the end of time by interfering with the sleeping goddess and the world egg, but not so for Gael. The tragedy of his story is that he fought on, through eons, through who knows how many linkings of the fire, to fulfill the purpose that kept him sane, in the service of his mistress - even long after she, her world and her painting had crumbled to dust. The finding of the dark soul was his only purpose, and when he finally acquires it, the last of his will fails and he hollows immediately, forcing you to end him. it's supposed to drive home how pointless the whole cycle and the whole struggle is, I think. In the place and time you fight Gael, the world itself is decayed, old, and the very universe seems *tired*. There is no more point in linking the fire, no one left to save, no civilization of Man left to prolong by continuing the cycle. So you take the blood of the dark soul back to the little painter, back to your time, and the one note of comfort, itself tinged by bitter tragedy, is that there will be peace, refuge and safety for someone, someday for a little while longer at least. And this world's creator may never truly appreciate how much her retainer, Gael, would sacrifice to make it so.
Peeps. I need some info. So I am using the repeating crossbow just for the fun of it in my build but i accidently messed up greirats questline so now i cant buy the best bolts possible. I am currently on NG++ and therefore need to head into NG+3 in order to get these. Is it going to affect anything revolving around pvp if I head into to NG+3? Will I still encounter as many summoning signs as i do on NG++? I will still remain at level 120. NOT gonna level up anymore. Is online play only affected by soul level or does the amount of NG+ playthroughs also affect online play?
Christoffer Kjær just your character lvl and i believe that your most powerful weapon affects, the ng does not. By your level you can find people on the 100-140 range.
Wondered since I saw the canvas...what if the girl is painting the Bloodborne world? Cold and dark, a world formed from the dark soul itself.
i would call it the end of the gods curse. since we know that the curse of undead only came about after Gwen linked the first flame.
What is this city in the distance in the ashen wastes? Not Lothric, the angular one? It doesn't look that much like Anor Londo...
Gael takes into himself Dark soul, he is then killed and his blood is used to create a new world.
Ashen one usurpes the fire to bring on new era a new world, will he be also killed in order to use the first flame to create such era? As he is now a vessel for the first flame, as gael was for the dark soul.
Gael is probably an allegory for us and yuria, we "consume" fire for our lady (Yuria). We are set out on this jurney by an old man praying (praying for death or maybe just wishing for it but the pose is VERY similar.). Could Resolution to Gaels story tell us what happenes to us after the Usurpation of the First Flame ending plays out? We become rabid and perhaps Anri takes us out and give what remains to Yuria and Lillian? Or will we be stabbed in the back by Yuria, Lillian and Kaathe. Or perhaps it will be exacte opposite to what happened to Gael.
Thats what i think, hopefully it makes sense.
this isn't so much a lots theory just my view on the ending: by if we combine the 2 stories of the dlc. What if it's basically miyazaki saying, that dark souls is rotting away, and it's him saying... he's taking sometime to gather his thoughts, and now he's making a brand new painting (game/series)
Wait a minute... didn't we find the cure to hollowing in the the Ringed city? Wasn't that like the ultimate goal of the undead?
The Ashen One's story finished when they killed Gael and the painter girl painted. If they wanted they could have waited and entered the painting and ignored everything else. But it was a really nice moment. I had a thought when I completed the DLC "I finished your quest Gael, but now I still have a duty to uphold." I killed the SoC because Gael died to uphold is duty, and I in turn will complete my duty as well.
If they make another dark souls (which I know they won't) I would believe that you would start in the painting and you would have to break out of the flame and we would see that the world we left for the painting is almost entirely in a chaotic state of fighting for the first fire and we will rekindle and restart the first flames curse.
It could even be used to tie in BB in a pretty clever way
Do you think this couldve been a hint on a later project in a world known as 'Ash'?
Here is my take on Gael.He does'nt actually go mad in the end.
He wants the dark soul and comes after us but after he discovers the blood of dark soul is already within him(in the second phase), his purpose to find it comes to an end and turns hollow in the second phase .He probably knew that we will deliver it to the painter.