"In the age before time, the world was unshaped, covered in fog, with endless gray stone, towering trees… and immortal dragons."
The video showed a world of white fog, barren stone, and massive trees. In the mist, the shadow of a colossal dragon flashed by.
"But then the first flame was born, and everything changed!"
"Heat and cold—"
"Light and dark"
"Life and death"
The screen quickly shifts, and in the darkness, sparks appear, gathering into a burning flame.
That flame blazes fiercely, vast and powerful.
Compared to the small spark seen at the end of Dark Souls' linking-the-fire ending, this flame is like the sun itself.
"Then, some beings were born from the darkness."
"They were drawn to the flame, and around it, they found the souls of kings."
Before the fire, countless shadows rose from the ground, facing the flame.
"The first of the dead: Nito."
In the endless dark, a massive skeleton rose, holding a flame in his hands.
"The Witch of Izalith and her daughters of chaos."
A woman in a hooded robe lowered her gaze, staring at the flame in her hands.
"Lord Gwyn, the Sunlight Lord, and his army of knights."
Crowned Gwyn also held the fire in both hands, his flame burning hotter than Nito's or the Witch's. Behind him stood a vast legion of knights, ready for war.
"And the Furtive Pygmy, so easily forgotten."
In the deserted land where the fire began, a shadowy figure rose, holding a weak flickering flame.
That tiny flame seemed like it could be blown out at any moment.
"They took the power of the Lord Souls and challenged the Everlasting Dragons."
"Gwyn's lightning spears pierced the dragons' stone-like scales."
"The Witch's firestorms burned the great trees to ashes."
"Nito unleashed a miasma of death."
"And Seath the Scaleless betrayed the Everlasting Dragons, leading to their downfall."
The scene shifts again and again.
Gwyn's lightning, the Witch's fire, and Nito's deathly fog rain down on the sky-bound dragons.
At last, Seath the Scaleless let out a roar, standing on mountains of dragon corpses.
"Thus began the Age of Fire. But fire fades, and only darkness will remain."
The grand royal city flashes into view, only to vanish into endless dark.
After a moment, a faint flame flickers in the blackness, caught suddenly by a pair of hands.
"Now, as the fire fades, light can no longer touch the world, and the night stretches on without end."
Before a desolate grave valley, a woman kneels—her figure instantly recognizable to anyone who played Dark Souls.
It is the Fire Keeper.
"The cursed Darksign spreads among men."
She places her hand on the body of a hollow knight. The camera pulls back, showing the brand of the Darksign.
The scene shifts to a prison, where countless hollows are locked away.
"Yes, the Darksign marks the curse of the Undead."
"All Undead are captured, taken north, and locked away until the end of the world."
"And this… is your fate."
The camera finally settles on the deepest cell.
There sits an armored Undead, clearly different from the rest just by his appearance.
He raises his head toward the ceiling, where a hatch opens, and a corpse is dropped down.
A knight with a shield, his face unseen, gazes at the Undead inside the cell.
The screen went dark.
The words "Dark Souls" appeared in the middle, and beneath them was a subtitle: Age of Fire.
...
With the release of this trailer, all the players at the event instantly burst into excitement.
Yes, this was exactly what they wanted!
Even though the video wasn't very long—only about three minutes—it already revealed plenty of information.
First of all, it showed the background of the Dark Souls world.
In the previous Dark Souls, players could only pick up bits and pieces of information.
But in this trailer, players finally saw what the Dark Souls world was like at the very beginning.
They also came to understand the meaning of fire, and from some of the scenes in the trailer, they could make guesses.
The timeline between the two games must be incredibly long, and you could tell that just from how fire was shown.
In the trailer, the First Flame looked like a massive sun.
But in the ending of the previous game, when the fire was passed on, it had shrunk to a tiny spark, like it could be blown out at any moment.
And with this trailer, many hardcore Dark Souls fans started coming up with more detailed theories.
At the start of the world, souls already existed, but they were chaotic.
The trailer said that the First Flame brought differences and balance.
That likely means it gave the souls certain traits, allowing the once chaotic souls to gather and take on new forms.
These became the Lord Souls, and the beings who claimed them from the First Flame were later called gods.
They were the first to be touched by fire, the first to gain ordered souls. Because of these souls, their appearance and very existence changed, evolving into new forms.
Then, the first beings to gain this power waged war against the Everlasting Dragons, who represented chaos—whether for survival, ambition, or other reasons.
And so, the war between order and chaos began. In the end, with Seath the Scaleless's help, the side of fire won. Order replaced chaos, and the Age of Fire began.
From these characters, players could clearly see the roots of later game elements.
Like Seath being tied to sorcery, Gwyn and the gods to faith, and the Witch of Izalith to pyromancy.
As for the dwarf, that sparked huge debate.
Because the trailer never showed the dwarf who gained the Dark Soul fighting in the dragon war. And even though Dark Souls is a fantasy game, it doesn't have dwarves, elves, or the usual fantasy races.
So what was this so-called dwarf? And what was the link between Londor's dark sign in the last game and the "Ring of Darkness" mentioned in the trailer?
These became major questions for Dark Souls fans.
Still, most players expressed one clear message: just give us the game, take our money, we'll buy it no matter what!
As the trailer ended, countless players couldn't hold back their excitement and started discussing it right away.
Story-focused fans were busy talking about the bits of lore revealed.
Meanwhile, the ones who just loved fighting bosses were even more hyped.
Just look at the names mentioned in the game!
Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight; the Witch of Izalith and her Daughters of Chaos; Nito, the First of the Dead—every one of them was legendary.
In the last game, players fought Lords of Cinder. Now, they would take on the ancient gods themselves. How awesome was that!
With their excitement at its peak, the players looked toward Lucas, stepping back onto the stage.
"Just like everyone can see, Dark Souls: Age of Fire will take the battlefield back to the distant ancient era, where players will experience an even more exciting and captivating Dark Souls."
"At the same time, I can also share some key information with you: the release date of Dark Souls: Age of Fire is tentatively set for early July!"
As Lucas made the announcement, a date suddenly appeared on the big screen behind him.
This time, Lucas wasn't bluffing.
Based on the current progress, everything is more than ready.
After all, this isn't being developed from scratch. With the framework from the previous game, the most time-consuming part has been the art resources.
Hearing Lucas's words, the players on-site erupted into cheers.
Clearly, getting a release date filled them with excitement.
Then, under the eager gazes of all the players, Lucas stepped down from the stage after saying a few typical event remarks, and the host of the event took his place.
Wait a second, Lucas, did you forget to announce something?
What about the Dark Souls: Age of Fire. demo?
A lot of players looked completely confused as they watched Lucas leave, then turned to the host who was now introducing the upcoming activities and content.
But this time, Nebula Games didn't just show up with a single Dark Souls sequel trailer.
There was still more content, like the new version and national war mode for Legends of the Three Kingdoms, as well as a new version of Fall Guys with various themed maps.
There were also some activities prepared specifically for players, such as co-op play for It Takes Two, where you could win small collectible figurines as souvenirs.
And there was a Dark Souls challenge event where players could fight different bosses and monsters. Whether you win or lose, you still get a souvenir figure.
Then, as players looked at the showgirls and cosplayers performing on stage, they finally realized one thing:
The so-called Dark Souls: Age of Fire. demo didn't exist at all!
"Unbelievable! Lucas really tricked us!"
"Yeah, I thought there'd be a demo at the expo, but all we got was a trailer!"
"Sure, the trailer showed quite a lot, and Lucas directly announced the release date, which really got me hyped, but where's the promised demo?!"
"Exactly! This feels like breaking a promise!"
"Ahem, guys, calm down and check Lucas's official account. He never actually mentioned a demo anywhere!"
"Damn, you're right!"
Although the lack of a demo left many players a bit disappointed, it wasn't a big deal. After all, it's not uncommon for expos to only show trailers without any playable demos.
Plus, Lucas straight-up revealed the release date for Dark Souls: Age of Fire.!
At least now they had something to look forward to.
And honestly, the activities here were pretty lively. The prizes weren't expensive, but they were nicely made, which made many players feel that Nebula Games really valued its fans.
Players can also download and try the test versions of new content released at the event, whether it's Legends of the Three Kingdoms or Fall Guys.
Just like last year, there's no need for players to wait in line, which made many people happy and eased the disappointment of not getting to try a new Dark Souls demo before.
Aside from that, events like the Dark Souls challenge and the It Takes Two teamwork activity also drew large crowds.
"Ben, you're not lining up?" Zack and Hannah were in line as they looked at Ben walking away, a bit curious.
"Not really. I just want to check out other games." Ben glanced at Zack and Hannah holding hands, then looked at the It Takes Two demo area ahead and forced a smile.
Line up?
Of course, he wanted to play!
The problem was… you can't play this game alone!
It's been out for so long, and all he's done is watch videos—he hasn't played it once.
Seeing all the couples holding hands around him, Ben took a deep breath.
Can't look. Can't look. My blood pressure's rising.
Better find a game to calm down.
He glanced at the Dark Souls demo area nearby but quickly turned his eyes away. Then he noticed something strange.
In a small corner of the Nebula Games booth, there were four wall-mounted monitors and, in front of them, four big water tanks with inflatable hammers inside.
He had noticed this before but thought it was just the Nebula Games staff area. Now it didn't seem that way.
Curious, Ben walked over.
Could it be… Nebula Games' new project?
(End of The Chapter)
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