Chapter 132: A Game Full of Despair
After completing many games for the first time, players usually fully understand the story. The remaining second playthrough is more focused on exploring new strategies or completing content that was missed during the main story.
However, Dark Souls is different. After completing the first playthrough, you may still have discovered a lot of the game's content.
For example, players who play Dark Souls for the first time, without a guide, rarely realize that, in addition to using embers to face NPC and player invasions, or asking for help from others to defeat bosses, Dark Souls also allows you to summon NPCs in certain boss rooms.
For example, in front of the Abyssal Watcher's boss room, if you have already defeated the katana master in the Firelink Shrine, you can bring his spirit with you to defeat the Abyssal Watcher and you will also learn his name: Expert.
You can also see the spiritual symbol left by Albert, the Lion Knight, just before the steps to the left of the door that passes by the Winged Knight. This can only be seen when the player is in Embers mode. Many players have already lost their Embers mode upon first arrival, after being ravaged by various monsters.
The world of Dark Souls also features many specific ARPG characteristics: side quests. However, these quests require players to discover and activate them on their own.
The more players learn about the NPCs' side stories, the more they realize that this game is filled with despair. This applies to the worldview, the story, and the difficulty level.
The first place the player begins his adventure is under the Lothric walls, where a hooded thief named Greyrat is imprisoned. Rescuing him will lead him to a corner of the Firelink Shrine, where he will receive an item that will allow him to travel to the Undead Settlement to find a woman named Loretta. She could be his lover, or perhaps a relative, but she is clearly his spiritual support.
To compensate the player, the thief will go out to steal useful items and sell them to him at a low price, much cheaper than the old woman at the blacksmith. But upon arriving at the undead settlement, he accidentally knocks down a hanging corpse. Upon picking up a glittering relic, he discovers that it is the person he is looking for. He returns with the relic and tells the thief: "Ah... I see... That woman... is dead."
"Thank you. In fact, I had a premonition. Hmm... I feel a little relieved. Take this ring... as a token of my gratitude."
His calm tone betrays despair. Afterwards, the thief will help the player steal items. Each time he steals, he will get useful items. The first time, the thief managed to sneak in thanks to his cunning. The second time, he travels to Irithyll in the Icy Valley. If the requirements are met, the thief will return safely and tell the player that an "Onion Knight" saved him.
But when the thief proposed a third trip to the capital, players agreed, inspired by his previous achievements. But this time, the thief never returned.
"Hey... listen, I want to steal more things. The Capital of Lothric might have what you need."
"I know... this city seems incredibly dangerous, but I still want to go..."
"After all, I don't want to die like a simple street rat."
On the rooftop of the Grand Archives, where the Man-Serpent lived, players found the thief's ashes. Recalling their conversation before he left, they felt a mix of emotions. It seems that after learning of Loretta's death, the thief, in addition to wanting to return their help with the ashes, also harbored suicidal aspirations, repeatedly putting himself in danger.
And for most players, this was the first time they had fought alongside a real, living NPC, not the spirit of the Onion Knight. Upon first encountering the Onion Knight, he seemed foolish and a little ridiculous. But at the same time, his cheerful character and sense of justice were perceived.
Upon witnessing the battle against a flame demon, he unhesitatingly rushed forward to help him, and afterwards, they drank and praised the sun.
During the journey, the Onion Knight and the player interacted several times, until, in Irithyll, he revealed something. He had a mission, one that coincided with that of Ashes.
He personally escorted his old friend, Yhorm the Giant, one of the Lords of Cinder and King of the Profaned Capital, on his journey. This was a promise he had made, a knight's greatest promise of honor and friendship.
As the bells tolled to awaken the Lords of Cinder, Yhorm awoke from his slumber, seeing his ruined capital and his ancient people reduced to a sea of blood and corpses.
Deep down, Yhorm felt not only guilt, but also a burning hatred for the Fire-bearer. His hopes, instead of being fulfilled, were transformed into distorted and devouring flames. His soul began to writhe with this power, and the corrosive effects of the Profaned Flame completely shattered his sanity.
Yhorm then discarded the shield he had carried for years, wielding a greatsword to protect the confines of Sin City, attacking all who invaded his territory with a blind and frantic attack. And the Onion Knight, Jakobaldo of Catarina, would fulfill a promise he had made and personally kill his old friend.
Stormbringers, two greatswords capable of killing giants. One lay next to Yhorm's throne in Sin City, while the other was entrusted to his most loyal friend.
"Yhorm, my old friend!"
"Jakobaldo of Catarina, the Knight, has come to fulfill a promise!"
"May the Lord of Cinder live with the sun!"
After a fierce battle, Yhorm the Giant collapsed, and the exhausted Onion Knight sat down, seemingly transported back to the first time he fought alongside Ashes to defeat the Flame Demon.
"I'm so sorry! You always have to save my life. But thank you very much, thanks to you I can fulfill my promise. Well, let's toast together."
The Onion Knight gave Ashes another glass of his brew and they drank together.
"May your bravery and your mission, and my old friend Yhorm, rest in peace with the sun! Well, I'm going to take a nap. I must do it after the celebration feast! My friend... may you complete your mission safely."
They met during their journey for different reasons. The Onion Knight's mission was complete. Ashes still had his to fulfill.
The Onion Knight remained seated, his head down. But this time, the Onion Knight was not snoring as before. Only after the players moved away did the muffled noise of something falling reach their ears.
Everyone knew they would not see the Onion Knight again in the rest of their journey.
It can be said that there are so many characters in this game that have left a deep impression on players.
The disillusioned Flintheart, who constantly spread negativity in the Firelink Shrine, was a member of the Farron Undead. However, after players repeatedly overcame what he considered impossible challenges, he finally gave up and decided to continue the will of the Farron Undead.
He abandoned swordsmanship and sought the power of dragons. Annihilating the ancestral dragon peak, he obtained the Radiant Dragon Stone, half of his destiny, and finally met his end in Farron's Temple, where he and his companions had fought together.
Flintheart, wielding his greatsword again, led his entire team of undead vials and faced Ashes in a battle for the Dragon Stone. The victor would possess the power of the ancestral dragon, while the loser would fall into a slumber.
And there was the Saint, destined to become the Fire Keeper. If she came into contact with the Dark Codex, she would lose her mind and be corrupted by darkness.
However, if she did not learn the Dark Codex and finally became the Fire Keeper, she would become a simple machine capable of providing upgrades to players, awaiting her loneliness in a tower filled with the corpses of Fire Keepers.
The knight who protected her, Igo, felt that his duty was over. He first drew a white talisman on the Dragon Hunter's Armor to return the favor to Ashes, and finally returned to the dungeon where the Saint began, committing suicide.
The hero Gundyr, the nameless king, the twin princes... whether they are bosses or NPCs, each has their own story. But all these stories are hopeless. No matter what they do, the final outcome is just tragedy.
True to the game's name, Dark Souls, the more you learn, the darker the world becomes.
Initially, most players believed that the ending, in which the flame continues to be passed on, was the canonical ending. This was because both Alex's official blog, before the game's launch, and the promotional trailers stated that the game's theme was to pass on the flame.
However, as players delved deeper into the game, they discovered three other endings besides passing on the flame.
These are the Extinguishing the Flame ending, which plunges the entire world into darkness, and the Stealing the Flame ending, in which the fire is extinguished by attacking the Fire Keeper and snatching the dying embers.
In the "Lord of Souls" ending, after rescuing the pilgrim from Londor, he will release the dark power that is hidden in the player. Those who choose this path will gather the eight rings of darkness and, in the end, devour the flame, becoming the Lord of Souls.
Whether "Passing the Flame" is the right choice has become a point of controversy among players. Each of the four endings has its own defenders.
Those who support the "Passing the Flame" ending believe that passing on the flame is about passing on the flame of hope. When the flame goes out, the world sinks into darkness and is filled with ghosts. How can such a hopeless world be right?
Those who prefer the "Extinguishing the Flame" ending believe that passing on the flame is a conspiracy. As the Fire Keeper says, one day a new flame will emerge from the darkness. And since the player can finally live with the Fire Keeper, let the darkness be dark!
Of course, some believe that "The Lord of Souls" is the true ending.
Even the "Stealing the Flame" ending is considered by many players to be the true ending. The reason is simple: after all, the description of the ending of the ashes yearning for the embers evokes the beginning of the game.
That's right, the ending has a voice-over!
In any case, the story of Dark Souls is fragmented and open-ended. So there are a thousand different Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand people, and each player has their own interpretation.
More and more players who have already completed the game are delving into the content of Dark Souls like archaeologists, hoping to discover more credible evidence to prove the veracity of their point of view.
Although Alex has not published content for the first game, the existing related content is enough for players to imagine the epic story behind it.
The more they discover, the more they feel. The initial suffering is the hallmark of Dark Souls, but as more plot details are revealed, it becomes clear that the so-called "suffering," "hard," and "high difficulty" cannot fully describe the game.
It has aspects that are far more fascinating than this.
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