"Yes Fire Keeper. I think it's time for the fire to fade." The Ashen One made his decision.
"Of course. I serve thee, and will do as thou bid'st. This is our private affair. No one else may know of this. Stay thy path, find lords to link the fire, and I will blindly tend to the flame. Until the day of thy grand betrayal." She explained. As she turned to face the fire, the Ashen One put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"Now hold on a minute! I won't have you 'blindly' attending to anything. You're my friend, you deserve to know why I'm making this choice." He told her. She looked shocked at his statement.
"Thou consider me…a friend?"
"Of course! You've been helping me throughout my journey. What else could I consider you?" He smiled. She couldn't help but smile back. A friend…it sounded nice to be called that.
"Very well Ashen One. What led thee to such a decision?"
The Unkindled sighed as he thought about everything he'd been through. "As I traveled this land, I slowly started to question what exactly am I saving by linking the Fire. Farron is nothing but a poison swamp now. The Profaned Capital is littered with piles of charred corpses. Lothric's princes are dead, the queen left, and the king was consumed by dragon worship and became a monstrosity I had to kill. Not to mention its knights are hollows as well." He explained.
The Fire Keeper was shocked to learn about such chaos plaguing the land.
"Forgive me Ashen One. I was unaware of the world was in such disorder."
"There's was no way you could've known." He assured her. "I'm not sure what exactly bringing an age of dark will do. Maybe it will make things better, maybe it will make things worse. We won't know for sure unless we take the chance."
"I understand. Ashen one, if, when thou peerest upon the First Flame...Thou wishest yet, for a world without fire, for an end to the linking of the fire...Then call upon me. I am a Fire Keeper, and I tend to the flame, to the very end. Thou'st given me eyes, and such it was they shewed me."
The Unkindled nodded to her. "Let me make a few more preparations and we'll get things started."
After having Andre reinforce some of his weapons and buying some items from the Handmaid, the Unkindled put the Cinders of Lothric onto his throne. Ludleth looked over to him and smiled.
"Ahh, well met. All is as planned, is it not? Five lords for five thrones... To think others might ne'er be raised... And I, of the Last Lords, a rather little lord, most undeserving of the honour. Speak with the Fire Keeper." He said to the Unkindled.
The Unkindled looked at the little Lord with sadness, knowing that in a few moments he too would be turned into cinder. He felt that he should at least know of his decision before he was to burn.
"Listen Ludleth…I need to tell you something."
"There is nothing to tell Unkindled, I am aware of what thou art planning." He smirked.
The Unkindled sighed. Ludleth was always a tricky one, knowing more than he let on.
"I'm guessing you're mad at me."
"Of course not! I've no reason to be upset."
"Really?"
"Unkindled one, the choice thou intends to make is undoubtedly one thou has't earned the right to. Slaying four Lords is no trivial task. Thou should seize thy fate and seize it alone." Ludleth explained. "And on another note, whatever the results of thy choice are, I won't be around to see it will I?" He laughed.
His vote of confidence gave the Unkindled a sense of relief. He smiled to the little Lord. "It's been a pleasure Ludleth."
"Likewise Unkindled one. Likewise."
Jumping down from the thrones, the Unkindled one walked over to the bonfire and stood next to the Fire Keeper. He knelt before the bonfire and the five Lords, gripping the Coiled Sword.
"Noble Lords of Cinder. The fire fades...and the lords go without thrones. Surrender your fires...to the true heir. Let him grant death... To the old gods of Lordran, deliverers of the First Flame."
Soon, everything for the Unkindled went black.
The Unkindled opened his eyes and found himself inside a Flameless Shrine, ruined and decrepit. He walked outside the shrine and was met with quite a site. In the distance he saw all the locations he'd visited violently mashed together in some amalgamation. It looked like structures collapsing on top of each other. He spotted a bonfire and touched it, warping him to his final destination…the Kiln of the First Flame. The area was full of ash and cinders. He made his way up the hill to what appeared to be an arena. As he made it to the top, he got a good view of the "moon" looming over the area. It looked just like the Darksign that branded the Undead, and it seemed to be bleeding too.
The inside of the arena was littered with weapons stuck into the ground, but also had several beds of flowers. It was grim yet beautiful. The Unkindled looked to see a bonfire in the middle of the arena, with a large figure resting by it. He could only assume this would be his final opponent. He stepped forward towards the figure. Sensing his presence, the figure stood up. Getting a better look at him, the figure looked like a Red Knight, much taller than him. But its armor looked so worn and tired, the chest plate shaped like a ribcage.
After standing up, the Red Knight drew the Coiled Sword out of the bonfire and wielded it as his weapon. Truly it was a fitting weapon to use in the battle that would decide the fate of the Flame. The Red Knight began charging at him. With his sword and shield at the ready, the Unkindled rushed into battle. The Red Knight took a swing and hit the Unkindled's shield. Though saving him from the physical attack, the Unkindled could feel a bit of fire damage him. Red Knight followed up with another slash that the Unkindled rolled under. He then countered with a thrust attack, but the Red Knight was not staggered. The Unkindled had a feeling it was going to take a lot to break this thing's poise.
The Red Knight performed and overhead attack, the Unkindled rolling to the side just in time to avoid it. He heard the thunderous impact of the Coiled Sword smashing the ground. He slashed at the Knight twice and then back-stepped to distance himself. He raised his shield in anticipation of the next attack. The Red Knight swung its sword upward and struck the Unkindled's shield from below, breaking his guard. Staggered, he was unable to defend himself as the Red Knight hit him with a sword thrust, knocking him off his feet and on his back. He rolled away to avoid its overhead sword smash, an attack that would surely end him if he got hit by it. Seeing an opening, he charged up a strong attack and hit the Red Knight. This time he saw the Knight flinch.
The Knight leaped back and then shook its weapon, a strange sound rang out as it did so. The Unkindled noticed that it had transformed its sword into a staff and it began to cast sorceries. It started with casting Homing Crystal Soulmass.
"What the hell?" The Unkindled thought, shocked by the sudden change in fighting style. During his journey he had fought master swordsmen and accomplished sorcerers. But never once had he come across an opponent that had a mastery in both forms of combat. With his opponent's sudden change of moves, he had to adjust. And through his experience in fighting sorcerers, he knew that getting close to them is the key. Sorcerers excel when their opponents are at mid-range.
The Red Knight shot a Soul Spear at him. The Unkindled rolled under it to get close to the Knight. Unfortunately it then casted Soul Greatsword, and hit him with the magic blade, launching the Unkindled into the air. He hit the ground with a large thud, groaning from severe pain. He rolled back and took a sip of Estus to heal his injuries. Putting the flask down, he saw the Red Knight charging up what he could only assume to be a powerful spell. Without hesitating he sprinted away, and the Red Knight casted Soul Stream. The Unkindled sweated as the massive wave of soul energy barely missed him. It took the Knight a bit of time to recover after casting such a powerful spell, so the Unkindled took that time as an opportunity to get behind it. As he got close, it triggered the Homing Crystals to fire, but he avoided each one and began wailing on the Red Knight. The assault was enough to bring the Knight down to one knee. The Unkindled was glad to see this, as he was now certain he was doing damage. But before he could strike again, the Red Knight back stepped away and changed his weapon again.
"Now what?!"
He then saw the Knight was now wielding a curved sword, and using it with great dexterity. It swung the blade fast and gracefully, and the Unkindled attempted to block or avoid the barrage of attacks. When he went to swing though, the Knight back flipped away from him. It was a strange move, one he was certain he had never seen an opponent use before. Yet for some reason it seemed like a familiar sight.
The Red Knight spread its arms out and exhaled a purple mist from its mouth.
"Poison Mist?!" The Unkindled recognized the pyromancy. First a sword, then magic, and now a curved sword with pyromancy. This thing had multiple tricks up its sleeve. He backed away from the cloud of poison to avoid its effects, but a fireball came through the fog and hit him when he least expected it.
"That clever son of a bitch!" The Unkindled thought as he realized it used the Poison Mist as a distraction. The fog dissipated and the Unkindled saw the Knight holding a ball of fire in its hand. Only this time, it put the fireball into its chest and began glowing with red aura. The Unkindled realized it used Power Within. Now it would be hitting even harder than it already does. And what was worse is that unlike most users of that pyromancy, the Red Knight was able to use it without the negative health draining effect that usually comes with it. It then rolled towards the Unkindled and hit him with a vertical slash followed with two spinning horizontal slices. Taking heavy damage, the Unkindled barely managed to avoid the Great Combustion pyromancy it used. He knew he'd be dead if he took another hit and took a sip of Estus to recover. He rolled under the Knight's next attack and countered with his own. Realizing it was too quick for him to try and get the first hit in, he stuck to avoiding its attacks and counter hitting afterwards. He soon saw that the red aura was gone from the Knight, signaling that it was no longer benefitting from Power Within. The Knight attempted to apply it to himself once again. The Unkindled hit it with a powerful thrust, staggering it and interrupting its attempt to buff itself.
The Knight seemed to realize that the Unkindled figured out how to counter his current strategy and changed its weapon again. This time it wielded a spear. It charged at the Unkindled and hit him with a quick thrust. It thrust again, the Unkindled blocked it with his shield. It was becoming relentless in its assault with the spear. It gripped the spear with both hands, and thrust its weapon skyward. The Unkindled avoid the strong attack and rolled to its side. Thinking he was about to land a good hit, he was shown otherwise as he got thrown back as it casted Wrath of the Gods, a powerful body explosion. Adding insult to injury, the Unkindled got back up to see it finish casting the Heal miracle. His blood boiled, and he equipped his Zweihander. He leaped towards the Knight and hit it with a power attack. It took the hit and retaliated with one of its own. The Unkindled poised through the spear thrusting into his shoulder and thrust his ultra greatsword into the Knight's chest. Following it up with two vertical slashes, the Red Knight was back to one knee, seemingly defeated. The Unkindled knew otherwise. He knew it wasn't over yet.
Sure enough, the Knight stood back up, fire intensely radiating from its body. Its coiled sword took the form of an ultra greatsword. The Unkindled could feel an incredible power surging, and backed away to a safe distance. The Knight plunged its sword into the ground, an explosion of fire going off when it entered the ground, the Unkindled standing just out of its blast radius. The Red Knight pulled the sword from the ground and held a flaming blade in one hand. The Unkindled didn't know why, but the fight suddenly felt…nostalgic.
The Red Knight jumped at him with incredible speed and hit him with leaping slash. The Unkindled was amazed by its incredible speed. As he rose to his feet he saw the Red Knight holding its sword with both hands, looking ready to unleash a powerful swing. The Unkindled knew that it was time to move. He ran far away from the Knight just in time to avoid its massive 5 hit combo. Four powerful swings ending with sword plant to the ground causing a fire explosion. With the explosion gone, The Unkindled moved to his opponent. The Knight performed an overhead swing, the Unkindled sidestepping to avoid it and countered with his greatsword. They both swung their swords vertically at each other, their swords clashing against each other. The Knight seemed to be impressed by the Unkindled's tenacity. They swung at each other again, poising through each other's hits and trading damage. The Unkindled took out his shield and blocked two strikes from the Knight. The Knight switched things up and kicked his shield, breaking his guard. It kicked him again, this time in the gut. He followed it up by grabbing the Unkindled by the throat. He struggled to escape from the Knights grip. Its hand surged with flame and blasted the Unkindled with a fiery explosion. He was now on his back, his vital signs fading. Even knowing that if he were to die here he would just come back at the bonfire, he did not want to die. The world was running out of time, and he needed to defeat this guardian of the First Flame as soon as possible. His vision blurry, he was barely able to make out a lighting spear being hurled at him. He could only see a bright flash of yellow, and dodged it out of instinct. He grabbed his Flask and took another sip of Estus and his wounds quickly started to heal up. His senses started to come back to him as well. The Knight attempted to hit him again with that jumping slash. He avoided it this time. Firmly gripping his Zweihander, he swung the blade and hit the Knight with two slashes and ending the combo with a powerful sword thrust. The Unkindled stomped his foot hard into the ground, going into a stance with his sword. The Red Knight struck him twice yet he poised through both attacks. With all his might he performed an upward slash on the Red Knight. The Knight stumbled back, dropping its sword. It fell to its knees, defeated. The Unkindled also fell to one knee from pure exhaustion, planting his sword into the ground and holding onto it to keep him up. As the Red Knight started to fade, the two warriors looked at each other. The Knight seemed to bow its head in respect to the Unkindled just before it faded away.
With its body gone, the Unkindled obtained its twisted soul. It was a most powerful soul indeed, but it didn't feel like the others he had obtained. It didn't seem to be the soul of an individual, but a soul that unified the strength of several powerful warriors throughout history.
Whatever the case, it wasn't as important as what he was about to do. He walked over to the First Flame. He saw the Fire Keeper's summon sign at the side of the fire. Reaching his hand out to the sign, he called upon her.
"I knew thou would succeed." She smiled after rising from her summon sign. She looked over to the First Flame and knelt beside it. It was time to see her duty to its end. She harnessed the flame out of the bonfire, holding what was left of it into her hands. It began to die out.
"The First Flame quickly fades. Darkness will shortly settle. But one day, tiny flames will dance across the darkness. Like embers, linked by lords past." She said, almost giving a eulogy for fire. She began to feel frightened, as one of the visions she saw through the eyes was her death at the Unkindled's hands. She tensed up, prepared for the worst…but it didn't come.
The Unkindled made no attempt on her life, the thought not even occurring to him. He simply stood behind the Fire Keeper as the flame died out. She smiled, seeing he was true to his word when he said she was a friend. After the flame died, the world around them became dark.
"Ashen One, hearest thou my voice still?" She called out.
He reached out and touched her shoulder. "I hear you." He replied.
She sighed with relief to hear him.
"Ashen One, what does thou think will happen from here?"
"I can't say I have any idea, but that's the point. This was supposed to happen a long time ago, but the gods decided to prolong the Age of Fire. But they're gone now, and I think it's time for the world to decide what happens from here." He explained. "I may not live long enough to see what ends up happening. But as long as I'm alive, I'll see what this new age has to offer."
"As will I. To this end, I am at thy side." She smiled.
"Thank you."
The two walked away together, to see what future lies ahead of them.
Dark Souls is an incredible series, and it's one that had a very unique way of telling its story. It did it by way of environmental story telling. It may not be the first video game series to do it, but I think it's the one that did it the best. And like all good stories, it came to an end with Dark Souls 3.
I think Dark Souls 3 did an incredible job of sending off the series. Each ending was satisfactory in its own way. But for me, my favorite ending was this one, The End of Fire. You don't become a "Lord of Darkness" or anything, you just allow the world to take its natural course.
Nobody really knows what an Age of Dark will bring. The characters in the game don't and we players don't know either. It could be bad. It could be good. It could be both…We just don't know and we will never know. And I think that's the real beauty of it all. While somethings do get an explanation, there are some things the writers choose to keep mysterious so that we can form our own opinions, our own stories.
Thank you Dark Souls for all the memories, and thank you for reading.