How do I get the True Ending? (spoilers)

[Tim]

See topic. Numbered list preferred. Tried going off some posts in another thread but ended a couple quick runs without getting it.

[Ryukan]

Beat the whole game 7-8 times. You need to exhaust 7 out 8 of "J" dialogs at the garden of eden till he snaps out of his self-pity.

[Tim]

Originally posted by Ryukan:

Beat the whole game 7-8 times. You need to exhaust 7 out 8 of "J" dialogs at the garden of eden till he snaps out of his self-pity.

You're wrong. I did that and after the ending it still says the true ending awaits after completing a thread. There are other steps.

[Ryukan]

Do you have all the dialog memories in the garden of eden? What is the last stuff that J said? Did he gave you the ''Key"? The only requirements that sound reasonable to be linked to it besides having all the dialog is to have a friendship with the dragon, reading J secret betrayal journal and unlocking the locked door with the last scar. And fighting the prime version of J/Cain.

[Sinkitsune]

Beat the game on Starting Hero.

[Tim]

I got the true ending. I'm not sure which of the following are necessary, but:
- I fought J and Cain Prime.
- I talked to J until I got the Mysterious Key and visited its room.
- I put the game back down to NG difficulty (for convenience) with all Prime bosses.
- After beating J and entering the final boss room, I retired my heir, locked the castle, and talked to the awake dragon. I retired my heir every time he went back to sleep, over and over, until I got soul orbs.
Then I got the true ending after beating the final boss.

It'd be nice to have a stickied thread discussion clarifying which steps are necessary cuz there are mixed messages all over the place here, on Reddit, etc. for what's necessary, and having to start a whole new thread in case you mess up stings.

Rant: I really hate doing this stuff for True endings. I beat the game on NG+7 with Cain Prime, which felt incredible until I got that ~your true ending is in another castle~ message. Then I had to troubleshoot the True Ending over 3 NG threads. Ended on a real wet fart. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention to lore messages but after the previous 7 times I played the game hoping to talk to the dragon again I didn't think to try it again on NG+7, certainly not multiple times, and most certainly not through this extremely tedious method of retiring heroes and teleporting to the room. It should at least be in the Quest menu like everything else, right? "I wonder how the dragon is feeling."