Elden Ring's DLC Ending Explained - Shadow of the Erdtree Lore

[@MadLuigi]

Next videos will likely be looking at Marika, Messmer, and Jar lore, so stay tuned!

[@jonasolsson9698]

Something I noticed just an hour ago playing with Radahns armour on is that the armour (both the OLD and the new) has Miquellas sigil/emblem on the upper part of the cape! The same sigil that appears when casting Miquellas spells! It's literally on Radahns back even in the base game! You can also find St.Trinas sword in Caelid, as well as a large amount of Miquella Lillies overlooking Radahns arena (it's got the most dense amount of Miquella Lilies in the game).

[@MadLuigi]

Oh like the old armor has it as well? I need to go look at that!

[@jonasolsson9698]

@@MadLuigi yes!

[@jm0112]

That is an extremely interesting connection nice spot!

[@2009samiy]

youtube mary and jesus in the quran and mohmmad in the bible and the Torah and the scientific miracles of the quran and mohmmad in hindu scripture … according the bible that you have (Matthew 4:1) Jesus was tempted (James 1:13) God doesn't get tempted (John 1:29) Jesus was seen (1 John 4:12) No man has ever seen God (Acts 2:22) Jesus was and is a man, sent by God (Numbers 23:19, Hosea11:9) God is not a man (Hebrews 5:8-9) Jesus had to grow and learn (Isaiah 40:28) God doesn't ever need to learn (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) Jesus dies (1 Timothy 1:17) God doesn't die (Hebrews 5:7) Jesus needed salvation (Luke 1:37) God doesn't need salvation (John 4:6) Jesus grew weary (Isaiah 40:28) God Doesn't grow weary (Mark 4:38) Jesus slept (Psalm 121:2-4) God doesn't sleep (John 5:19) Jesus isn't all powerful (Isaiah 45:5-7) God is all powerful (Mark 13:32) Jesus isn't all knowing (Isaiah 46:9) God is all knowing ...................

[@hankskorpio5857]

Lmao... no it doesn't theres a whole field of them in a different area... no where near Caelid People STOP creating context where it doesnt exist.... also thats not Miquella's symbol... Its similar but i think its actually his own. They have distinct differences.. Rahdan has two lions beneath his tree(possibly representing Radagan and Godfrey) also look at the top. Miquellas top is a rounded young sapling. Radhan's tree top is spread open into 3 branches on either side aswell there is some kind of crowning symbol above those 6 branches in the center possibly the gravity symbol like on his swords. He needed to sacrifice his twin just to kill Radahn or weaken him enough for capture. Its much more likely Radahn was allied with Ranni and Rykard. There lots of evidence proving this. The only thing that would change this is if Ranni really is a puppet of Miquella like her ingame area implies with dozens of confirmed context clues... Unfortunately we wont really know because from got lazy and decided to fuck all of us over to go work on somthing new... Honestly idk if im down for another let down like Elden Ring... how can you have such amazing gameplay and fuck up the one thing people love the most about this series.. the lore... Honestly all the lore channels should just move on because they just put this story to sleep..and its never getting back up.. I just cant believe it... i dont think the realization has hit most people yet how bad this really was..

[@EJaDav]

I’m a fervent believer that Radahn didn’t agree with the Vow due to him not having Leonard at his side. You don’t just commit your life to a sect of magic to ride your beloved horse and even keep that sense in your state of rotting madness only to abandon him.

[@dvdivine1962]

I've said the same thing, nothing about the fight screams Radahn in my eyes. Just a butchering of him.

[@DrooledOn]

Leonard is dead… you killed him remember?

[@Andrew-sl7tj]

You dont fight radahn. You fight mohgs corpse recreated to mimic radahn. This is why he uses blood magic when u fight him.

[@sebastianb.3978]

​@@DrooledOnSsssh, it's easier for them to blame the writing. We're on the internet, remember?

[@robertboxwell]

So you think Radahn, the promised consort, didn't make a promise at all. So then, why is he named the promised consort? That's not how promises work. If a promise was never made, then nothing was ever promised. It's just cope.

[@JPJonesBSc]

Theory. Radan's great rune burns to ward off the rot, it burns gold to try and ward off Maquilas influence. The rune is of endurance/ perseverance (raising HP, Stamina, FP).

[@BiggieCrescent]

I feel like the Ending was unsatisfying, I at least wanted to get to talk to Miquella or something before be just dies, and the lack of a real "Ending Cinematic" was a bummer as well 😭😭😭 still a phenomenal DLC but the ending left me wanting more in terms of lore

[@Jesicaah]

Yeah 😭 I feel kinda disappointed

[@brendenshea9827]

I’m disappointed too

[@consumerjtc5835]

Felt kinda bad that the npcs who fights with you ultimately die when they challenged a god alongside us.

[@MadLuigi]

True, but they fought with full conviction and preparation I'd say. Both Ansbach and Thriollier got to complete their quests and find some resolution in their final acts

[@MelancholicAwesomnes]

Dude. I kept Moore alive cause I liked him so much and now the only person he has in the world is me 😭😭😭

[@MrHidePatten]

Well that’s just FromSoft character writing: 1. introduction 2. Motivation 3. Provided quest item 4. Sadness/anger/madness, etc 5. Dead.

[@therandomartist3201]

Better to die standing against a god than to live kneeling and worshiping a deity you know will be cruel.

[@DeleteExistence]

We can't all go together

[@darklordauron]

I figured he had to divest himself of Trina because he saw how the Merika/Radagon duality messed things up. So by becoming a singular person being, he would not be schlepping the counter to his plans along with him.

[@TheScrootch]

I think Miquella generally removed all his aspects because he didn't want to get his emotions in the way. From what I've seen so far it seems Marika was motivated by hatred for the hornsent, for what the hornsent did to her people. I think the Shaman's village kinda clears that up

[@Dayz3O6]

@@TheScrootch 😢

[@lemouq]

Ending scene was kinda disappointing We need another dlc

[@veliceligt02]

I just killed the divine beast and the story is very meh, if you can call it a story.

[@MadLuigi]

I unfortunately feel similarly 😞

[@Nolimitsbestfriend]

Y'all laughable but innerstandable

[@Verbmo]

And also where the hell is the cutscene of miquella lifting the veil?!? Feels like something is missing and noone is talking about it

[@MadLuigi]

@@Verbmo It apparently did not ship in the game at all. Like its nowhere in the game files, according to other creators who actually look through the files for cut content.

[@kaden1991]

YO, I think the arm that Miquella is missing is the same one that's hanging out of the cocoon. There's also a cross-grace left behind by him that says he leaves behind his arm, and despite that being the singular word for arms I never found another cross-grace where he left the other. Maybe that proves that the corpse inside the cocoon in mohgwyn palace IS really Miquella.

[@xm4339]

He left his left arm in Belurat and the right arm in Shadow Keep (sinistral in Belurat; Dextra in Shadow Keep)

[@Pniq95]

Gotta pay the troll toll to get into that lord’s soul

[@joe2marrow]

IF YA WANT THE BABY BOYS SOUL, YA GOTTA PAY THE TROLL TOLL! YA GOTTA PAY THE TROLL TOLL TO GET IN!

[@TifffanyTaylor]

HERE'S YOUR TOLL, TROLL... -Mohg

[@ursawarior4ever]

FOR THE LAST TIME, IT IS SOUL NOT HOLE!!!

[@Jimmy-3294]

Just killed the final boss and was so confused, I thought I missed like an epic cut scene or something. I was definitely expecting something more honestly.

[@Jesicaah]

LITERALLY 😭

[@kasch3288]

No DLC ever brought closure except for Ringed City

[@imeaniguessbutkindaeh]

and that's why ringed city as an ending to an entire franchise was the best dlc....this one lore wise just seems off especially considering the fact that it's the final update to the universe

[@DrnMontemayor]

TRC ending isn't even the ending. It is still SoC's fight.

[@MelancholicAwesomnes]

I disagree. If you dig deep in the lore of BB, the Old Hunters actually did a lot to feel in the gaps and bring a lot of closure to multiple characters in the story.

[@wowitsfrostygames155]

DLC has been out for only a week. it took months for anything in the base game to start being established. itll likely take just as long if not longer now that we have both the dlc and the base game being recontextualized. there will ALWAYS be things in fromsoft games that go unanswered due to lost history (Velka in dark souls is one such example) however this DLC over time should prove to have answered many of our questions and ask a few new ones.

[@randomnobody9229]

Can you all chill. Vaati hasn't even put out a video and you are pretending to understand the lore.

[@arceuse1999]

I think the vow Miquella and Radahn made was that if Radahn was ever killed, he would go along with Miquella's plan, but because Radahn was such a golden order fanboy, he didn't make it easy.

[@pontiffsulyvahn890]

i think it was like 1. radahn has refused the vow miquella proposed ( but i have no idea what radahn wanted because a vow requires sacrifice by both parts and we know miquella wanted radahn) or 2. radahn accepted but he wanted to fight malenia, so miquella sent her in a 1 vs 1 until death battle, so it would had been good both ways ( but it doesnt make sense why use scarlet aeonia )

[@dandreboode7685]

​@@pontiffsulyvahn890but we kill Melania technically

[@H4nn3ss-U]

​@@pontiffsulyvahn890Idk much about Elden Ring lore, but could it be possible that Miquella manipulated Malenia (with whatever reason) to go fight Radahn so he could have his way either way? Getting Radahn killed by any means necessary, even if it means using Scarlet Rot, a.k.a nuking Caelid?

[@HateHolo]

I know that Miyazaki said that they have no plans for more Elden Ring content/DLC BUT how sick would it be if we got to go into the Divine Gate. Both Marika and Miquella have been in there. Damn. I wish we could see it.

[@MadLuigi]

We could fight proper eldritch monsters of another dimension

[@Hitman2b]

elden ring CHALLENGER OF THE GODS dlc

[@veliceligt02]

@@MadLuigi Eldritch feet you mean!

[@illyria7756]

I was thinking is it the place where the meteor landed from tgw, a place which still has connection to it now that the fingers are senile or dead. At first I thought maybe all the bodies there died from the impact because they now seem petrified and some are in positions that suggest they died in that pose in a flash and got preserved that way. If the bodies are from a slaughter Marika comitted, maybe there's some radiation from the impact site that preserved them, or that Marika triggered when she solidified her godhood..it literally solidified the bodies and others standing there too. Its kinda ironic that Miq is trying to shed his heritage while doing the exact same thing as his mom. He doesn't commit massacres himself tho, he gets others to do it for him. Actually now I think about it, Marika does the same, that "charm"..it maybe a part of the deal. Marika was "seduced" by tgw, becomes its vessel, so has its components including this charm within her, until the shattering or until Miq inherits it. I'm unclear whether the demigods all took their great rune only after shattering or (some) were born with it, since its mentioned Malenia's was "supposed to be the greatest", it sounds like she was born with it then? Ranni sets the world free from the influence of tgw, so she wouldn't go to that gate if its indeed the impact site or its tied to tgw in another way. The gate itself doesn't give a benevolent vibe obviously and I don't think "becoming a god" there is the natural order, its tgw's order, that's why it doesn't fit the world and everything in it and starts to/is open to rot. Its an order from some space entity with delusions of grandeur who doesn't even care about this world but likes to take credit for creating it. Ofc Marika fiddled with the runes on top of that. Ironically, her godhood started with death and suffering, her own included, she ascended thanks to and amid a bloody massacre literally surrounded by death, yet death is the part she wanted to remove from the world and deny..ofc that was never gonna work. That's why she hid the shadow lands, to hide how she ascended from death.

[@HateHolo]

@@illyria7756 One thing I found weird is that TGW hasn't been communicating with the fingers at all, as stated by the Metyr's remembrance and weapon. Metyr the mother of fingers has been trying to communicate with TGW but never got a response. A plausible theory from Gingy is that the two fingers "communicating" with TGW in the main game is actually them communicating with Metyr, and Metyr basically "winging it" or standing in while waiting for TGW to respond to her, but it never did.

[@brucepa2350]

10:30 I also saw that someone saying the red flame is Radahn's resist against Miquella's love, only to be shutdown right away as Miquella steps in

[@Haydentrudyjones]

Yeah, he has red emanating from him after we get him down to half - then as miquella steps through the gate, radahn begins to emanate gold

[@DrooledOn]

I would hope he’s trying to resist the guy who’s trying to kill him AGAIN, not the guy who’s trying to help him.

[@UnalloyedRascal]

No, this is radahn ushering in the return of a god like the secret rite entails

[@Coansp]

9:59 he in fact, cures any current scarlet rot status in the 2nd phase. I used to think it was just miquella using some cure spell, but this makes a lot more sense.

[@Playfu1W1nd]

I learnt this the hard way, had to re-apply the rot for phase 2 was touch and go but got there :) actually used Maliena’s incantation not sure how I feel about that now.

[@brandonsmith6790]

I took Freyja’s words as just giving her giving her opinion on what she thinks is best for Radahn not as what he thinks from what I’ve read Radahn is more of a compassionate and kind man then what most people believe

[@mattsherman4964]

I agree with you, besides I think Freyja is more loyal to Miquella than Radahn anyway and not really the smartest person

[@Drew_621]

This is why I thought Freyja is frankly unreliable. I think it’s merely her impression of Radhan. He still doesn’t strike me as someone who would agree to be revived to begin with, it feels like he’d brand it dishonorable. Like, would Radahn not bring up how that may dishonor all the KIA Redmanes that he surely holds close? He might see it as an insult to their memory. I feel like there was no two sided vow, Miquella offered it and Radahn declined. This is the same guy who venerates 2 Elden Lords. That is, blending admiration for both his father Radagon and of course Godfrey. He’d see this vow as traitorous. Also a note on Radahn’s mechanical movements in cutscenes - he seems to move almost robotically in the DLC version, as though he’s being controlled. In the base game, his cutscene movements were lifelike, after all, it’s still his actual body there. This is why I think Radahn even fights us, he’s entirely being controlled by Miquella to do so.

[@brandonsmith6790]

@@Drew_621 While I do believe Freyja’s words is just her opinion. I also believe there was a Vow at one point in time between Radahn and Miquella because there is both visual evidence and dialogue that supports the theory that he was a lot closer to is Carian Roots then the GO - There is a Moon Alter used by Carian’s and there ancestors -Rykard has a picture of Radahn in his manor -Iji Ranni’s war consular help make weapons for the Redmanes Has far as we know the games written reason for why he fought conquered the stars was to defend Selia. Overall to me Radahn only look up Godfrey and Radagon has strong warriors not because they are apart of the GO As for Radahn’s connection with Miquella on the surface they have no connection but one piece of lore that is mysterious about Miquella is his connection to the Carians I originally thought that was from Ranni do to the summoning bell but no that we know Miquella and Radahn has a connection that could be the missing link Loretta the Carian knight who wants to bring albaneric’s to a safe haven goes to the halitree how was she able to find it sense it’s hidden to the public I mean sure she can be a badass and find it herself or could be go to Radahn the Carian prince who has a albaneric as his best friend and a connection to Miquella for now is she went to him for help. There is also that mysterious sword that Miquella crafted in the style of a Carian knight sword people are now speculating that it could have been a ceremonial marriage sword that Miquella was gonna give to Radahn As for the battle of Aoenia I think a lot of people are not taking into consideration is that it was the Shattering and all the Demigods were tainted in some way do to the Great Runes which caused a all out war do to their ambition Radahn was affected just like the rest of them and more then likely want back on his vow to Miquella believing he can grab power his own way Miquella sent Meliana to either subdue or kill Radahn and that lend to the stalemate and Meliana desperate to win unleashed the rot I don’t believe Miquella intended for the rot to happen else why would he go out of his way to heal Freyja

[@noxartorias6553]

Radahn was definitely manipulated into promising Miquella to be his consort. there would be no other reason why Malenia want sent to deliver Radahn to Miquella (in this case making it so Radahn is so weak he is able to have his flickering soul taken from his decaying body and placed into the body of mogh which through battle strengenths his soul so that he can fufill his promise to miquella that he made unwillingly)

[@elJugadorPromedio]

The thing I am confuse it's that in the trailer it shows Miquella healing the tree,but that never happen

[@Zythryl]

I really want them to patch this in as/with an ending for Miquella, so that at least we wouldn’t have this discourse over what the DLC’s “intended message” is anymore.

[@todd3143]

i think i know what’s going on. there are 2 ways of becoming a god, but both are technically by pairing the empyrean with another: a god sponsor, and/or a king consort. for ranni, she paired herself with the dark moon (i think the dark moon is called celes, because the manus metyr is a house of worship for metyr, so the manus celes is a house of worship for celes), and us, her king consort. malenia has no king consort, but she’s paired with the rot, and when we slay her it’s “god slain” instead of “legend felled”. elden beast is a god because it is paired with the greater will, or something. so who did marika pair with when she became a god? she was spurred by the two fingers (probably because how close her home is to the finger ruins), so probably the greater will, but unlike malenia who just let her god take over, marika used the divine gate. the divine gate requires a vessel, a lord’s soul and an empyrean, so who is marika’s lord and vessel? maybe radagon. 2 halves joined in the same vessel. this is why miquella abandoned his other half. he needed strength to carry out his thousand year kingdom, so he and radahn will be another marika - radagon situation: 2 souls inhabiting the same body. that’s why the remembrance carries both of them, because they have, or are, becoming one being. furthermore, unlike other mounted bosses, like nameless king or prince lothric, radahn and miquella don’t attack one after another, their attacks are simultaneous. radahn’s swordplay is paired with miquella’s light. if we hand’g stopped miquella, miquella’s soul would fully fuse with radahn’s soul inhabiting mohg’s body, and such a force is unstoppable. i think there should have been an ending where we allow miquella to take the throne and see his vision come to pass, but i also think we didn’t need to. how can a sightless, heartless, loveless god be compassionate? and if you were wondering what his kingdom might look like, i think i should mention that miquella is extremely similar to his mother. miquella charms people to follow him and do his bidding. marika charmed the hornsent grandma into revealing where and how to use the divine gate, then betrayed her. marika used messmer and then hoarah loux to carry out her purges. miquella would likely use radahn as well as others he manages to charm to subjugate others under his vision as well. marika’s age was supposed to be bountiful, to be full of life and void of death, yet we found this supposed utopia in ruins. can we say that miquella’s kingdom will be any different? i think there were 2 major themes in this dlc: parenting or family and vengeance. there is messmer who is an exceptional son up until his death, and there is ymir who seeks to be a mother to his reborn child as a coping mechanism for his passing. there is the hornsent and igon whose thirst for vengeance led to their demise. what goes around comes around, and try as he might, there is no way miquella can be better than his parent

[@Bleilock1]

Marikas first consort was godfrey

[@Bleilock1]

And igon is a legend

[@aleksastajsic5874]

We can't say Marika didn't have great age, it was after her son was slain and that rune of death started to mess up the system of the world

[@rotunel7677]

Yo i basically have the same theory i posted on reddit, but my theory marika first consort are some hornsent leader or smth, since marika have the backing of 2 fingers and hornsent culture are about godhood/divine, marika use a promise of godhood to seduce the hornsent

[@Scowleasy]

“Guys cmon my age of compassion would be great ignore that I threw away my own love and compassion cmon guys look at how pretty I am.”

[@illyria7756]

I mean, the way he draped himself around Radahn was creepy asf..his facial expression. While talking to us never even glanced at us. Rude little fk lol.

[@DrooledOn]

He abandoned his love not his compassion.

[@illyria7756]

@@DrooledOn what emotion is compassion based on?

[@thomasdevlin5825]

I saw somebody comment on another video that the age of compassion would involve Miquella charming the entire world to make everybody love him, as evidenced by the charm status you receive being signified by Miquella's circlet, which is the foundation his age would be built on, so on the surface everything would be great, but in reality it would be a dystopia where everybody would essentially have their free will removed. I think Miquella realized how screwed up this age of compassion would actually be, because the first cross where he abandoned St. Trina reads "Here I abandon my fear and vacillation" implying he had to remove St. Trina in order to convince himself that this is the right thing to do

[@DrooledOn]

@@illyria7756 based on the dictionary it’s not based on any emotion. Compassion definition “Deep awareness of the suffering of another accompanied by the wish to relieve it.” Has nothing to do with love…

[@VLimit11]

Finally got around to this video, and you are the first person I've seen give so much attention to the minutia of the secret rite, even among other videos that focus on the ending specifically. Massive respect for not just glossing over that here 🤝

[@MadLuigi]

Just got round to seeing this, and thanks! It definitely seems like a huge lore aspect to it all, but so little information is given 😭

[@telerobotic]

Oh my gosh, sorry to spam your comments, but the Celebrants dancing outside the windmills have ornamentation in the same shape as Marika’s rune/Divine Gateway and is covered in flowers. In the DLC, you can pick up festive grease that “imparts a festive incantation that grants the wielder a scant few runes on landing attacks. The delightful festival is an old tradition; one old enough for the Erdtree to tacitly tolerate its endurance.” It’s like the irl Maypole festive in that it’s a pagan practice, but tolerated.m the holy order. The grease has the same flowers as what’s found in the Hinterlands and Dominula. It feels like this practice could lead to the birth of “gold” seen from the frenzy flame as hornsent saints are flayed and piled high.

[@MadLuigi]

Oh thats a really interesting connection! Ill go check it out in game

[@borrow4654]

So....gold mask was right all along

[@williammortensen9170]

​@@MadLuigi Unrelated but I think Ranni already ascended by discarding her flesh through the night of black knives, but she held onto her compassion and "soul" you might say. Godwyn was the one whom lost his soul and compassion and all that. Perhaps if empyreans have other selves like Radagon/Marika, St. Trina/Miquela, Ranni kept her other self (shown by that glowing side face she has?)

[@emanuelperono1562]

I really wish we can get an additional ending to the base game if we got our heart stolen by miquella. That would really makes the dlc more impactful rather than a separate entity.

[@colemix1852]

Ughhh i just want to embrace miquellas age of compassion. The only thing that frustrates me about the dlc is that it was clearly meant to be in there and they removed it for some reason.

[@Bubumuk]

Miyazaki said that the DLC story was not a new story and that it was already written when they did the base game.

[@Banbro88]

Lol thats even more disappointing

[@kdotfan28]

So fucking lame

[@boogiejayyy7079]

@@Banbro88for real

[@rexwest4532]

Find that hard to believe

[@war.neverchanges]

@@Banbro88its bs cause they kept talking about the gloom eyed queen in the base game but not in the dlc

[@AutekMor]

Bit off-topic but I found a lot of DLC's explaining the 'Game of Thrones' style family history and intrigue really lacking but it was brilliant explaining a little more on the wider lore especially with the Greater Will, Fingers, Marika and the system that likely helped propel her forward. Also I feel the Crucible being multiple currents representing different things in nature rather than one single object more satisfying, like the cut description of of the Miranda flowers item talking about the Flower Crucible...it made no sense in the Base game but fits this multiple Crucible idea in the DLC.

[@averysanchez8989]

I just felt so empty after beating him, I was expecting something exciting to happen and then my face went from 😀 to 😐 real quick, probably one of the most empty endings to any dlc I’ve ever played before lol, still great overall!

[@NightDocs]

His age of “compassion” is not about looking out for the downtrodden as you mention, it’s about compelling all to have compassion and love for HIM. Ansbach literally tells us that in game and in the trailer. Miquella has the power to compel the love of others while he himself has divested himself of love TO others as stated by his crosses scattered through the land. So everyone will love him whether they would want to or not.

[@timtim6373]

It’s strange how miquella looks golden and spectral like Serosh Instead of fleshy and human like Marika

[@BiRios]

He purposefully abandoned his flesh

[@kevinferdian746]

How can one switched the "A" and "E" of each respective character's name so bad lmao. Sarosh, Merika...

[@timtim6373]

@@kevinferdian746 you’re right I didn’t even notice it. Thanks for the correction :)

[@d4bad_bot]

I like your channel a lot because you talk about the game's lore without roleplaying an epic voice, thanks man :)

[@albyx]

20:05 I think it’s that waging “endless war” isn’t supposed to be literal. Radahn lives for the fight. There will be challengers to Miquella’s Order and Radahn would have acted as his General, fighting everything and everyone getting in their way.

[@Harvert0]

Sadly the First Person they encounter is the Current Elden Lord Himself

[@ambymike]

Pretty much all of the Incantations that have to do with light, are connected to Miquella. So I wonder if the Sword of Light and the Sword of Darkness have any connections to him as well. (and the fact that his crown is called Circlet of Light sounds like a direct comparison.)

[@umitencho]

Perhaps the eternal war/battle is an illusion. He would place Radhan's conscious mind in an enteral slumber where he dreams only of battle while the rest of his mind & borrowed body serves his god. His agreement is to become a mindless puppet in return for the dream of never ending battle since real life could not provide it for him.

[@mywa8314]

I think Miquella wants complete control of the universe/multiverse. I also do think miquella genuinely wants peace in the universe. Miquella power is that he is able to enchant anything. Miquella enchanted all he came across with. He has plans to eliminate all outer gods using whatever means necessary, even sacrificing Mohg and using Radahn. Maybe after eliminating all outer gods, he will be able to cure Godwyn and resurrect everyone. In the end, Miquella will enchant everything in the universe. The whole universe will bend to his will. Only then in his mind will peace and compassion exist.

[@mikelrosoyhenart6448]

I think that when we get in Radahn's second phase his soul is beeing controlled by Mogh's cursed blood (that would be the fire we see, the bloodfire instead of Radahn's rune's fire) and when Miquella appears and embraces him, it reminded me of Sherosh, Godfrey's lion. Sherosh is in Godfrey's back to help him control his warrior instinct and I feel like Miquella is doing exactly the same, but using his unique power, therefore the golden aura. I fell sorry for Radahn, he wanted an honorauble death and now his soul is trapped in a cursed body and mindcontrolled by his have brother.

[@LYDN26]

So an ''AGE'' means 1000 years

[@Wolf05227]

When I finally defeated the final boss after more then a few deaths, They just dropped dead without a word. And then I watched the final cutscene, which gave me little to no new information, and after the cutscene, I said to myself "That's it?" suffice it to say, I was disappointed. What happened to that scene from the trailer that had Miquella lifting his hand to the Scadutree? Was he lifting the veil? I was looking forward to seeing it for myself. They did say at one point the DLC would have multiple endings, but I haven't seen any of the others if they even still exist. So what then?

[@wowitsfrostygames155]

that scene is just the phase 2 transition animation from a different angle.

[@Wolf05227]

@@wowitsfrostygames155 Disappointing. But they did say there would be multiple endings. Unfortunately, if there still are, it appears nobody's found them.

[@Dr_Donald_Duck]

They never said there would be multiple endings.

[@Wolf05227]

Really? I heard that they did. Disappointing.

[@Wolf05227]

Well apparently, according to google, they said there would be multiple endings in an interview prior to the DLC's release.

[@ggiwin3323]

Ending was so disappointing. I was dying to know what was on the other side of that gate just to find out u can’t go through it after the hell Of a boss fight nor have a cutscene 😞

[@Jesicaah]

Yeah I want another dlc but they unfortunately aren't making anymore ugh

[@kacperd2331]

Maybe the will change mind about it, considering dlc they left lot of opening for further dlc so maybe they are not decided ​@@Jesicaah

[@benjaminrabuzin9957]

Considering you can find miquella’s great rune in the dlc, I’m sad they didn’t link it to another ending

[@fault5596]

Miquellas great rune was broken by the time you find it, a broken rune doesn’t really have any power to it (other than resisting Miquellas charm grab)

[@tomatopotato7735]

it was a awesome dlc but i would have definitely cut off some bosses for some more lore

[@randomnobody9229]

The DLC just came out. Are you new to souls games? It takes years to uncover all of the lore that they hide away. Chill

[@FlaccidSarcoma]

@@randomnobody9229cope

[@NoahJonesNews]

That our part of the vow and not “the vow we made to each other” has me wondering

[@LyricLyre333]

The “we” miquella was referring to seems like he was talking about his other half, st. Trina. I don’t believe Miquella wanted to separate himself from her and it was likely a last resort considering how far he had to bury her to rid himself of her.

[@MadLuigi]

I dont think this is the case because Miquella then says "my consort." If he was speaking of himself and Trina as plural/we, he wouldn't have used singular there

[@Chatisthisrealquestionmark]

mikella the "i never end my projects" god.

[@TheRisky9]

That is my god. Whether I want him to be or not... Oh goodness he charmed into following him!

[@synthventure]

Makes me wonder if “love” used to subjugate is love at all. The abandonment of St. Trina is so significant in this light. A scary god adorned in “compassion” and “love.” Great writing.

[@Taveren]

With all that was left out regarding Godwyn we need more lore, we need another DLC

[@yharnamiyhill787]

Question: what is the Divine Gate and how does it work? Why was it bloody and fleshy at first and now its not?

[@thekapp2862]

From what you can gather from the game,it’s basically just a place where you can ascend to godhood,but it’s been inactive since Marika used it forever ago,so the bodies it’s built of,have rotted and decayed

[@yharnamiyhill787]

@thekapp2862 I think that was what the Hornsent people was trying to do - creating that Divine Gate. Marika beat them to it. I wish there are more clues, because she seem to took runes from a fleshy body that resembles a Godskin Apostle... The seduction being Elden powers that convinced Marika to become God. (Perhaps she too had to sacrifice something of her own?)

[@Shenanigan-Dealer]

I wish we had more answers on it. I spotted today that while the most prominent bodies on the structure are the Hornsent from whatever Marika did there, you can also find masses of intermingled corpses, implying that whatever Marika did to the Hornsent, the Hornsent did to the Shamans prior, possibly for the same purpose, a mass version of their saint-making projects to create a god? If so I wonder if it worked. Also makes the cycle of revenge feel as though its wound just that bit tighter too.

[@marumae]

​@@Shenanigan-DealerI saw a video (can't remember which one sadly) that theorized it was the Nox piled around the entrance, with their failed attempts to make a god. But your idea with the hornsent makes way more sense.

[@vinitmehna7690]

I think Godhood requires the you forgo your past self. Which is the journey we follow Miquella on. Slowly removing body parts/emotion. That's the main purpose of the Consort. To act on behalf of the God. The god is a complete spiritual being vs. the consort being the physical. Together they rule. The same thing happens with Marika, which is why we dont fight her at the end, rather her consort Radagon with her spirit being attached to it as one.

[@peterkoncz]

@madluigi Theory: Marika learned how to be a saint via the Hornsent’s jar ritual, then turned it against them: she slaughtered the entire race and built the gate of divinity as a mega-jar that allowed her to transcend sainthood and become a God. She just needed a bigger jar with more bodies.

[@Uber_GoobTube]

I was right now years old when I realized the Divine Gateway is in the same shape as Merika's rune.

[@szalyn8849]

Yo what the heck this is actually true 😭

[@andrewrittenhouse8158]

So I just thought about it, but my friend questioned why we didn't need the Rune of Death in order to kill Miquella as a God. Well I don't think he had fully completed that transformation since that memory was left behind. That was likely when Radahn initially agreed to become his Consort before later changing his mind. Because Miquella hadn't cast that off he hadn't fully ascended and thus we can kill him. This also means that there are multiple ways of becoming a god since he had to cast off Trina while Marika did no such thing with Radogan. Maybe he didn't need to use the gate at all and it was more symbolic? I'm less certain on that but still some interesting info.

[@1990rable]

i get the feeling that this is just the beginning.. otherwise i cant explain the short "end" this is not an end.. its like a movie with ... continues type stuff.. that either means another DLC or elden ring 2 :)

[@bennion2010]

I personally think Miquella brought us to the land of shadows because he need us to open the way to the divine gate. I don’t think him divesting his aspects allowed him through the sealing tree, I think that was needed to attain godhood. I mean, if this isn’t why we’re in the realm of shadows, then why did Miquella invite us along? We’re not under his charm and are being led by grace, I could be completely wrong here but that’s my take on our journey through the shadow realm.

[@Pe37777]

Ngl I don’t understand why Miquella was such a villain? Like the whole world kinda sucks and it’s not like the tarnished would’ve ushered in anything better than what Miquella wanted. I sorta wish we got a new ending for the base game to explain it better.

[@whyyyy1381]

What I would have loved is the following: Miquella goes to the Land of Shadows to give his brother Godwyn a true death. To do so, in the final boss fight Miquella sacrifices himself to give his own soul into the deformed body of Godwyn. The plan goes horribly wrong and we have to kill the grotesque monster that is Godwyns body with Miquellas soul in it. We grant Godwyn a true death thus fulfilling Miquelösd wish and honoring his sacrifice. When he finally dies, Miquella says goodbye to Torrent. The End. Everyone saw it coming that Miquella was not really a good guy. In this ending the twist would be that Miquella actually is good. Side note: I really like that Miquellas followers get along as long as the charm works. And when it beaks everyone goes at each others throat. It’s a cool concept that Miquellas vision could have actually worked but at what cost? Safety under control or a free life in danger :)

[@peacefusion]

I think Leda gives a pretty good example of what compassion means. Cleansing any enemies of Miquella.

[@richardrussel4567]

Why tf would anyone think godwyn would be the final boss, didnt the lore explicitly state that miquella was entirely unsuccessful in granting godwyn true death? Also if miquella revived godwyn, it would clash with miquellas symbolism. Hes forever youthful and quits contantly like an indecisive little kid. Gave up curing malenia, gave up the haligtree and all his followers, gave up mercifully ending godwyn, gave up literally everything. The one thing that he couldnt give up on wanted nothing to do with him, that radahn would rather die then become miquellas consort, which is probably the agreement that miquella made with radahn, not realising miquella was 100% serious. "Dear brother become my consort" "Over my dead body." "Bet. Say less." Not saying his research into godwyn was what gave him the idea, but i am saying it probably helped. Dudes main pre dlc goal was researching death and rebirth. In fact malenia being rot and miquella being a flower before bloom represent the first halfs on a two part cycle. Think of it like this. Miquella is the egg, and malenia is the cocoon. Not a perfect analogy but follow with me. The egg becomes the catterpillar, and then begins to change into its second state a butterfly in a more esoteric mythical way. In the intem descriptions (i dont know which ones just that they are crafting items.) That first its starts of as a seed, then sprouts into a flower. Then it dies, ROTS, and becomes a tree. Because marika removed the rune of death, the two couldnt reach their second states because the tree and the flower while beautiful, qre the first signs that one day the plant will die, because it has finished growing. Miquella just wanted to treat the symptoms when he is infact example 1 of why everything in elden ring is wrong.

[@vishwajeetpanwar3271]

I still don't get Why Ranni offed godwyn when Miquella is the person standing in her path

[@Bleilock1]

​​@@vishwajeetpanwar3271 from my understanding it was out of convenience She needed somebody to lose a soul so she can lose flesh and he was there during the night Maybe the real target was somebody else? She wasnt happy about it But it was the "sacrifice" she was willing to make *wink wink*

[@illyria7756]

He was shedding all the wrong stuff, should've shed tgw like Ranni. But nooo, the kid needed to be a "god" lol. Maybe he couldn't part with being woshipped.

[@AB-fl5xu]

He quit because everything is a mess beyond his power, caused by people around him, not because he is indecisive. Absolutely nobody else could have done anything more than him. Malenia is plagued by a god, the haligtree needs a god blood, Godwyn is killed by Ranni. There is no proof at all Radahn would rather die than become his consort.

[@Banbro88]

Gay

[@DojimaLmao]

This might not happen, but what if there’s another dlc where Miquella seeks to revive Godwyn since Radahn had failed him in helping him ascend to godhood. (Im just coping because I want a Godwyn boss fight)

[@cosmicturban2797]

I don't understand why Miquella would need to abandon his corporeal form to enter the tower when he was clearly able to obtain Messmer's ember if he wanted it. It makes sense if he needed to abandon his form for other reasons but not just for that.

[@NicholasSanchez-df7ls]

Even though Miyazaki said that they dont have any plans for elden ring i feel that there will be a second but it will be the size of the painted world dlc from ds3. The entrance to this possible second dlc will have to be the gateway after defeating rahdan and miquella

[@AQuietMyth]

Trinia's dialogue is KEY, without it the ending feels hollow and worthless. Without that little bit of dialogue, it almost feels like a scam despite how good the dlc was overall. I never ran into Trinia, maybe that's a me problem, but she should've been closer to the main path.

[@actualteddybear891]

There's strength in rejecting power. To draw the line on what you're willing sacrifice or sell off.

[@jacobp2690]

I think the biggest part of the ending scene is when he says "Brother" because technically Miquella has 3 brothers and all of them end up dead behind Miquella's schemes and bewitching. The Night of the Black Knives may of been put into motion by Miquella to begin with through Ranni to get Godwyn's soul into the Shadow Realm... I say this, because Ranni ends up also divesting herself of her flesh; her entire quest line feels like a race against time narratively... So I think Ranni betrayed Miquella or at least tried to free Godwyn's soul from being bewitched. If you look at Castle Sol, you can meet a bunch of ghost NPCs left behind by Miquella who are clearly bewitched as you see your party is in the DLC, this gives me the notion that they are bewitched, however it would be interesting to see if their dialogue changes once Miquella's rune shatters. If Miquella bewitching can last beyond death, I would theorize it was actually him who removed the Rune of Death, not Merika and possibly even bewitched Merika to do so. Its difficult because we find a motive for Merika to shatter the ring, but I think Miquella's motive is far more sinister because once Destined Death is removed, Miquella is essentially Elden Lord by default through Bewitching and its now seemingly ever lasting effects. So I think Miquella literally bewitched everybody he could, as is shown by the cinematic, he says "Brother" not a specific name, to me implying he said this to all his brothers individually and this may of even been the Bewitching vehicle idk

[@peterkoncz]

Theory: Marika learned how to be a saint via the Hornsent’s jar ritual, then turned it against them: she slaughtered the entire race and built the gate of divinity as a mega-jar that allowed her to transcend sainthood and become a God. She just needed a bigger jar with more bodies.

[@jesseroberts5728]

Every gesture in the DLC has a purpose though. May The Best Win is to start a fist fight with Dryleaf Dane, the O Mother gesture is for a secret door to another area, so I wonder what the gesture at the end is really for.

[@MadLuigi]

You also get the gesture if Miquella steals your heart, so it can potentially be gotten before the ending proper

[@jesseroberts5728]

@@MadLuigi I didn't even know that. I never got hit with that move twice to see it. It might be a visual bug, but I did put on Miquella's crown right after the fight and the symbol of his charm popped up on my head, like I was being charmed by Miquella even afterwards, and now it doesn't do it anymore. I wonder if you need to be charmed and then do the emote somewhere. I speed ran to NG+ to test some things I was curious about so I'll keep that on my mind.

[@jesseroberts5728]

@@MadLuigi I know they said the DLC and base are separate entities, but Myiazaki is a cheeky liar sometimes, in a good way of course. Gotta test out your own insane ideas just in case.

[@adamsirin7249]

Ooooh the sealing tree is a miniature version of the twisting portion of the scadutree! Also, the 'other side' of the gateway is the great beyond which we see in fleeting microcosm socrery and the metyr staff.

[@MadLuigi]

Are we sure the other side is that? but yeah the sealing tree definitely looks just like the 'second' tree

[@adamsirin7249]

@@MadLuigi The color at the center of the same for both the fleeting microcosm and the divine gate.

[@ericrollin5810]

I don’t play this game enough to test this theory (if anyone wants to go ahead) but what if during the final boss fight of the dlc, when you get your heart stolen and die, you then go and finish the base game without finishing the dlc and killing Miquella. Maybe it would give an alternate ending to the game?

[@NoahJonesNews]

in the memory bro has 2 arms but in the fight he has 4

[@MadLuigi]

Yeah the 3 or 4 arm thing is definitely related to becoming divine

[@JuniAku]

I got clapped by Consort Radahn 100x just for that small memory scene. 😐

[@DonPetexX]

Im guessing thar Radahn refused what Miquella proposed because of the spell you get of the remembrance mentions that miquela met one that refused to be embraced. The new radahn swords have faith scaling a stat that radahn was never associated with. But Mogh is tied to faith so this radahn is being puppeted

[@RodDeWitt]

The one that refused to be embraced its you, the tarnished who is facing them

[@joesaiditstrue]

The one who refused is the tarnished. But I do agree that Radahn is being coerced by Miquella. For multiple reasons actually

[@mattsherman4964]

⁠@@RodDeWittyou can literally get embraced in the boss fight

[@thedoc7184]

I like what you said at 20:06 about Miquella’s flaws in motivation and following through

[@SpremeCalami]

I think the main reason Miquella is not a very good person is shown by the fact that we get no option to side with him. It’s either get charmed into blind following, or die fighting him. He doesn’t give you the option of following or allowing his age of compassion through choice. I think Miquella became too obsessed with his goal and it became twisted and thin, sacrificing every part of himself in order for it to not hurt him to do bad things in the name of his age of compassion. It is ironic that in the end he turns out just another pawn in the Greater Will’s plans, resembling Marika herself, after being so against both. He got carried away and lost himself, especially shown by his hiding away of St. Trina

[@GreatRoostar]

I doubt that is the case. We can side with the Frenzied Flame, Freaking Poop Eater and even hust take Radagons place in the age of fracture which changes nothing about the world. Even if you think Miquella is bad, we have sided with FAR WORSE so i dont why they dont give us the option to side with him.

[@Yummers53]

I wonder if at somepoint after entering the divine gateway Miquella was able to commune with Radahn’s soul to which Radahn would’ve accepted Miquella’s offer to be his King Consort rather than beforehand during their lives in the lands between

[@yharnamiyhill787]

I would accept that part due to Radahn being a kind sibling... but I dunno, I still think he rejected Mequlla.

[@Yummers53]

@@yharnamiyhill787 yeah after reading more apparently it was before Radahn died and he most likely refused

[@yharnamiyhill787]

@@Yummers53 and sense he had abandoned his aspect of love, who knows how merciless he is now... An age of compassion from a God who abandoned love to aquire it. A demon.

[@DonPetexX]

​@Yummers53 the spells description says that you get from the last remembrance says he met one that refused from being embraced

[@DrooledOn]

@@DonPetexXhe’s literally embracing Radahn in the final fight. The player character is the one who refuses to be embraced. There’s a statue of Radahn embracing him as well.

[@ravenseeker8267]

What if Marika used her own body as a vessel for the Lord Soul of Radagon when she was Ascending to Godhood? also i think that Radhan did not agree with Miquella's wish and thats why he stopped the stars, he is from the Carian Family and knows Stars govern fate. He knew that miquella wanted to use him and so stopped his own Fate by stopping the stars.

[@scotu7075]

I think Miquella had good intentions but to become a god needed to leave those emotions behind oops

[@johnarzabala7364]

It wouldn’t make sense for Radhan to accept the vow, considering that he stopped the stars preventing fate from continuing and actively opposed Melania. We’re missing something in between. Possible link with Ranni’s ending or something?

[@Bbmag23]

I thought it was the power of the formless mother that Mogh harnessed in his body activating the bodys at the gate, which opened it. This makes more sense. Wonder if this is how Marika and radagon re assembled themselves.

[@AnnoyingQuentin]

I'm wondering if the memory we're seeing is the Sin he committed. Enchanting Radahn maybe?

[@Uber_GoobTube]

@AnnoyingQuentin yeah that's what I assumed. Corrupted from the start, just like his mom

[@dillydilly1595]

I felt kind of letdown at the ending of the DLC. After all that time and hard work I get such a lackluster ending that doesn’t really tell me anything.

[@skyederman]

Great video, I never considered an endless war against the outer Gods. It makes sense since the fingers arrived via meteorites and Radahn was holding the stars and meteors in place even in his rotted state.

[@alsimmonshellspawn6021]

What happened with miquella trying to cure melenia? What happened to miquella caring for Godwin? Miyazaki forgot all about that

[@cjgeminitarot6836]

I think war would be inevitable because of the constant power struggles perpetrated from the demigods and outer gods. That’s why his divinity would be a prison. The realities of divine power would circumvent any noble intentions, just like Marika’s intentions to remove death were unsustainable. It’s sort of like when a company goes public. The company had a purpose when it was private and it made a service or product to fulfill that purpose. Once it’s publicly traded, its sole purpose is to make money. Godhood is the same in Elden Ring. The purpose of divinity becomes holding onto power. Marika’s Soreseal depicts this as a burden or curse. This is why St. Trina plead for us to kill Miquella, and it’s why Marika yeeted the Elden Ring.

[@lewisoliverleo]

Ive been wracking my brain trying to understand who your voice reminds me and it finally came to me Joseph Anderson and yourself have a similar cadence

[@DiegoLRod]

But could it be that Radanh never wanted to be Miquellas consort? That could be the reason why Milenia fought him trying to kill him, then maybe kill Mogh so he could be revived in Moghs body. But because Radanh didnt die and Milenia was not able to continue, the plan was stopped until the tarnished completed the plan.

[@Mattin_Satteo]

How your not-brother would say "Here we gooo!"

[@Sol-D81]

@00:18 is it ever explained what that large archway of dead bodies is, why its there and what the woman was doing with the golden thread she pulls from a corpse in the trailer?

[@hiromitsumoonblossom8682]

I hope a new ending is added to the game in a future update.

[@MadLuigi]

It would be interesting, but after what FS has said in interviews, I think very unlikely

[@hiromitsumoonblossom8682]

@@MadLuigi I'ma go cry now.

[@Hitman2b]

the other theory is that Radahn WASN'T AGREEING with Miquella one of the reason why malenia was sent to kill him but ultimatly failed to do so

[@danielcharles3553]

I think this makes more sense. Especially that Radhan is biggest fanboy of old order heroes (his dad & Godfrey) There are a lot of good videos explaining how he is "Lord of Status Quo" and doesn't want to let go of past

[@lorenzomarconi2785]

But if Miquella could subjugate everyone why Radhan still resisted?

[@MadLuigi]

This definitely is still a possibility, but with Radahn being given eternal war and Malenia speaking to him as if he had already agreed to the vow makes it harder for me to get on board with the idea. The memory dialogue imo is poised like Radahn had agreed or was agreeing, but it doesnt give 100% clarity

[@pillarmenn1936]

@@MadLuigi Had is the likeliest. If Radahn was 100% with the idea then Malenia wouldn't have need to fight Radahn just to drag his ass to her twink brother. Whether by his own volition or because of the Rune, Radahn rejected the pact or didn't follow it. TLDR; Radahn could be an oathbreaker and Malenia went to fetch him.

[@Hitman2b]

@@lorenzomarconi2785 cuz he like the current order maybe after all we know he like radagon but like godfrey even more also remember that miquella is more prone to manipulation, he a charmer, he wouldn't need to fight nor send radahn to war to achieve his goal of the order of kindness IF that truelly his goal

[@Clerkz]

Thanks for the summary! When I completed it I was like "It has to have another ending, and this is the bad one", but here we are. Kinda dissapointed if we dont get another dlc now. So many loose threads.

[@tiooo18]

The Elden Ring Series created by HBO will be a bomb.

[@thatdarnsatan]

I didn’t realize until now that the consort isn’t someone Miquella intends to have sex with, ew, but his duality in godhood, like Marika/Radagon. Is that why he had to abandon St. Trina? He already has a distinct aspect of himself, and needed to shear it away? I could just be totally wrong, because understanding Elden Ring lore is like trying to remember a dream.

[@xx-fw1ej]

marika‘s becoming god is different from miquella.almost completely different ritual. marika ascend to godhood，while in miquella‘s case the secret scroll says you need a lord to bring back a god，which means miquella was already a god but in some divine realm，this ritual was just to bring him back to the shadow realm.i think by giving up your flash and great rune a demigod can become a god，but a formless god，this is the ritual for a demigod to become a god. while marika ascend from normal people to godhood by sacrifice a lot of lives（story trailer），but the whole ritual must be more than sacrifice lives.

[@CorvoThan]

the whole gate remembers me of these star viewing things

[@rileyschow6445]

It makes sense that he only has three arms considering you get to the realm of shadows using one of his arms, and if he was in the realm of shadows and that arm was in the lands between, it was probably cut off for some reason.

[@markm7929]

I’m a bit ehhh meh on the ending. I had a blast over all tho. It would be awesome if by some far out chance there’s another DLC where Godwyn returns to enact some sort of revenge beyond living death. Also more Madness lore. That part of the DLC and finding it was amazing

[@nightshadehelis9821]

Wait...that's it? Didn't they show Marika in the original trailer?

[@thedoc7184]

So what is stopping our goofy ahh just strutting through the gate after dispatching Miquella

[@ilGG-it9mr]

hello there,there is a scene in the last part of gameplay trailer in which miquella is raising his hand infront of the big tree in shadow realm it seems like that no one has unlocked it yet and can you check this plz i think one of its steps is to get your heart stolen by miquella and i dont know after that beat the elden beast? plz check it out man

[@TheInfluuence]

Day by day more people are talking about it. We’ll have our answer soon hopefully. Did FromSoft cut that scene out or are we missing something. Waiting for a dataminer to come out with something.

[@DrooledOn]

The entire game has been datamined, it’s not there.

[@TheInfluuence]

@@DrooledOn closure 🙏🏽

[@theapache8506]

I love how Miquella is on Rahdahn shoulders jus like Twins Princes ❤

[@nefarious8278]

It’s fucking annoying in the fight though, can’t see shit with his hair in the way sometimes

[@l0mad642]

The crosses represent both miquella and radahn, miquella being the cross, and radahn being the cresent moon shape.