Frenzied Flame is the true ending of Elden Ring

[noisyturtle]

It really seems to be the way the game was meant to end. It makes the most sense for the mc's journey, the history, and the timeline. All the other endings seem tacked on, or like fan service. Thoughts?

[SunfireKnight86]

Originally posted by Mr.America:

Originally posted by SunfireKnight86:

Except the FF doesn't want life. It is against life. The goal would be for everything to be returned to zero and then not started again.

Wait, that's wrong. If Hyetta isn't lying to us, she explicitly says that there was a "mistake"

"All that there is came from the One Great.
Then came fractures,
and births,
and souls.

But the Greater Will made a mistake.
Torment, despair, affliction...
every sin, every curse.
Every one, born of the mistake.

And so, what was borrowed must be returned.
Melt it all away, with the yellow chaos flame.
Until all is One again."

The assumption that life is the mistake is false, only Melina says something along those lines. As far as Hyetta is concerned, the one great fractured into births and souls (which was good!) but it did a mistake somewhere in there. And from that mistake came suffering (the same suffering Dung Eater is so affiliated with). So, what Hyetta implies is, that everything must be melted away, so that everything can be melted back into the one great, so it might try again.

However, the problem is, that we aren't sure that the frenzied flame itself, as an outer god, isn't lying to us through Hyetta, who is arguably dead and animated by Shabiri. And HE screams that chaos may take the world, which is really unassuring about the whole FF thing.

So the only "source" that it isn't the destruction of everything is a lady who eats eyeballs and a ghost, both of whom still suggest it's going to be pretty ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ awful. It's the bad ending. Just accept it.

[SunfireKnight86]

Originally posted by rabureta:

Originally posted by Mr.America:

All the endings are bad.

Normal Ending: Leave the broken status quo as is for one more turn around the wheel. Warlord ending, endless feudal wars.

FF Ending: Everything dies, the chaos flame takes over, as it is lying to us about even attempting to fix it, instead it's just another outer god taking the lands between.

Fia ending: The rule of the weak, everything becomes still. Endless winter.

Dung Eater ending: Hey if everyone is suffering the same, it's as if noone is suffering. Except, everyone's suffering.

Ranni ending: Arguably the best one, but it is completely hands off, hoping that Ranni's master plan is actually going to work and not be influenced by one thing or another.

Gold Mask ending: Create the perfect unchanging order that includes everything. Congrats on absolute tyranny, if anything ever changes the entire thing will break spectacularly.

Some counterpoints:

The FF ending relies on a lot of vague implications. Hyetta's dialogue suggests that it isn't life that's the problem, but something imposed by the Greater Will when it arrived, and now to fix the world we have to return to the One Great and start over. The problem is that we have no other information about the One Great or exact nature of the Greater Will's supposed mistake, so we can neither prove nor disprove anything Hyetta says.

Fia's ending depends on the full implications of Godwyn, Deathroot, and Those Who Live in Death on the metaphysics of the world. But again, we have very little other than Fia's word to go on, since there is no other content exploring the viewpoint of Those Who Live in Death, as they all just kind of attack you on sight like everything else in the world.

Dung Eater is weird. There's nothing to suggest that Omens, Misbegotten, or so forth actually suffer from the curse itself; everything happens because they, like Those Who Live in Death, are persecuted by the Golden Order. Dung Eater's plan is to just make everyone fall outside the Golden Order so there's nobody left to do the persecuting.

Goldmask's realization is that the flaws in the Golden Order were never caused by the Elden Ring, but the gods being tyrants, and by creating a shield you prevent any more gods from coming to power and using the Ring to wage war or make everyone immortal or persecute people with weird horns or whatever.

Yeah the guy who constantly talks about ruining the world is secretly a stand up guy. Sure.

[noisyturtle]

Originally posted by SunfireKnight86:

Yeah the guy who constantly talks about ruining the world is secretly a stand up guy. Sure.

If you believe public figures in power are not following orders and being puppeted for causes unknown to them by those who wish to remain unknown to the public, I want to live in your world.

The FF as an organization is just a cover up. The real truth...

[Kyutaru]

The only true order is Death. Nothing can change if nothing lives. Life is the true abomination, even the Frenzied Flame would agree. But rather than burn the world, ruin such a miraculous landscape, simply deal with the problem at its source. Eliminate life.

[echo_ML]

Originally posted by Arcade Bumstead:

Originally posted by echo_ML:

Me personally,

I agree

I ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ hate video games. They just perpetuate the male fantasy.

The fantasy in question: (me getting hugged by Fia)

[Eastersimulator]

everybody is dead or worse in the end anyway, so why bother burning anything down?
It's hard to feel empathy for the game world if you know miyasaki wrote the story.

[SunfireKnight86]

Originally posted by noisyturtle:

Originally posted by SunfireKnight86:

Yeah the guy who constantly talks about ruining the world is secretly a stand up guy. Sure.

If you believe public figures in power are not following orders and being puppeted for causes unknown to them by those who wish to remain unknown to the public, I want to live in your world.

The FF as an organization is just a cover up. The real truth...

this is fan fiction

[CourtesyFlush09]

Originally posted by SunfireKnight86:

Originally posted by noisyturtle:

If you believe public figures in power are not following orders and being puppeted for causes unknown to them by those who wish to remain unknown to the public, I want to live in your world.

The FF as an organization is just a cover up. The real truth...

this is fan fiction

You can just tell that guy pays for X.

[5chneemensch]

Originally posted by SunfireKnight86:

Except the FF doesn't want life. It is against life. The goal would be for everything to be returned to zero and then not started again. The Dung Eater ending is "everyone is reborn as a cursed monster of pain and hate" which is also a hard sell as a "good ending." I'd much rather be a colonizer than a ♥♥♥♥ eating monster person, thanks. Fia ending is also sketchy when you realize its "everyone will die and then be an eternal undead in a dead world."

You'd have to prove that the FF is against life itself. But that matters not anyway, because if everyone and everything is one, no one is dead per definition. Congratulations, you played yourself.

There's no evidence that omen are under pain and are hateful. Quite the contrary in fact considering everything from the crucible was once considered holy. It is safe to assume the grand betrayal of Marika by banishing Godfrey and his crucible knights as well as the following persecution is what made them suffer.

Fia's ending *specifically* solves the undead part by *not* making people undead anymore. Without the ROD you need an erdtree burial or you become an undead.

[Blue]

Originally posted by noisyturtle:

It really seems to be the way the game was meant to end. It makes the most sense for the mc's journey, the history, and the timeline. All the other endings seem tacked on, or like fan service. Thoughts?

...
If you see the Erdtree, as a kind of alien inversion that has fallen into the lands between in order to get hold of the souls of the inhabitants, you might see the end of the game at best as a separation from the invaders and the Erdtree.

the invaders consult or elevate entities to demigods to maintain their order.
It doesn't matter how this order ultimately plays out in the lands between.
The main thing is that the souls are delivered to Erdtree.

From this point of view,
an end that does not get rid of the invaders (the Erdtree) is not a real “end”.
Because the tree continues to grow, steal souls and continue to subjugate the inhabitants of the lands between with its mythology. = status quo

Therefore:

AGE OF FRACTURE
the tree persists / status quo


AGE OF THE DUSKBORN
Natural cycle of life and death is getting to the Land Between,
but the Land is engulfed in a harrowing fog. :-/
the tree persists / status quo


AGE OF ORDER
" The Age of Order thus envisions a new age of stability, where there is no more conflict brought upon by the "fickleness of the gods no better than men" which was "emboldened by the flames of ambition". "

So, no ambition in this World?
Seems kinder lame, how adventure is come to be then?
the tree persists / status quo


BLESSING OF DESPAIR
Curse brought from Dung Eater's defilement,
causing defiled souls to be unable to return to the Erdtree.
The invaders don't get any more souls, so that's probably a plus point
the tree persists / status quo in stasis


LORD OF THE FRENZIED FLAME
"The Tarnished take up the mantle of the Lord of Chaos, and tasked with burning the world, along with the mistakes of the Greater Will - all existing sin, torment, fracture, and curse - to unite everything and everyone much like the crucible which existed before time."

It seems as if the invaders have been repelled,
and an end to the soul-stealing has come
but at what cost :-/


AGE OF THE STARS
"Ranni brings an end to The Golden Order and establishing an Order of her own.
In doing so she also removes the influence of The Greater Will from The Lands Between.
She leaves The Lands Between together with The Tarnished and takes her Order with her, 
on a journey meant to last a thousand years.  
As a result of her absence, The Lands Between is left without a lord for the first time in an age."


the ending seems to me to be the true ending.
an end in which the residents can take their fate into their own hands.

[Blue]

...
"Here beginneth the chill night that encompasses all, reaching the great beyond.
Into fear, doubt, and loneliness...
As the path stretcheth into darkness."

...however, maybe not the best ending either xD

[5chneemensch]

Originally posted by Blue:

...
"Here beginneth the chill night that encompasses all, reaching the great beyond.
Into fear, doubt, and loneliness...
As the path stretcheth into darkness."

...however, maybe not the best ending either xD

The official english dialogue is a mistranslation.
https://www.frontlinejp.net/2022/03/elden-ring-the-age-of-stars-ending-mistranslations-explained/

[Blue]

Originally posted by 5chneemensch:

Originally posted by Blue:

...
"Here beginneth the chill night that encompasses all, reaching the great beyond.
Into fear, doubt, and loneliness...
As the path stretcheth into darkness."

...however, maybe not the best ending either xD

The official english dialogue is a mistranslation.
https://www.frontlinejp.net/2022/03/elden-ring-the-age-of-stars-ending-mistranslations-explained/

...oh, that's reassuring.

The best ending is still is :D

[SunfireKnight86]

Originally posted by 5chneemensch:

Originally posted by SunfireKnight86:

Except the FF doesn't want life. It is against life. The goal would be for everything to be returned to zero and then not started again. The Dung Eater ending is "everyone is reborn as a cursed monster of pain and hate" which is also a hard sell as a "good ending." I'd much rather be a colonizer than a ♥♥♥♥ eating monster person, thanks. Fia ending is also sketchy when you realize its "everyone will die and then be an eternal undead in a dead world."

You'd have to prove that the FF is against life itself. But that matters not anyway, because if everyone and everything is one, no one is dead per definition. Congratulations, you played yourself.

There's no evidence that omen are under pain and are hateful. Quite the contrary in fact considering everything from the crucible was once considered holy. It is safe to assume the grand betrayal of Marika by banishing Godfrey and his crucible knights as well as the following persecution is what made them suffer.

Fia's ending *specifically* solves the undead part by *not* making people undead anymore. Without the ROD you need an erdtree burial or you become an undead.

The game proves it by stating it directly.

[SunfireKnight86]

Originally posted by Blue:

Originally posted by 5chneemensch:

The official english dialogue is a mistranslation.
https://www.frontlinejp.net/2022/03/elden-ring-the-age-of-stars-ending-mistranslations-explained/

...oh, that's reassuring.

The best ending is still is :D

People who took high school Japanese love saying they know a line better than the Japanese people who do translations. See also AeirTH.