![]() The constant extension of the Age of Fire has taken it’s toll across the natural cycle, and the whole location appears completely foreign. Except this place in near unrecognizable now. This is the exact final area, and the big flower field arena is the exact boss fight arena where they, as younger gamers had once fought Gwyn. To the veteran, this is the opening salvo of the nostalgia gut punches. Kingdoms, civilizations, empires rise, fall and rise again across thousands and thousands of years. ![]() Someone would go on to link the Flame, and others would go onto replace them. Your character would be replaced by another, they by another, and so on with countless more Chosen Ones across the eons. You and the Chosen Undead made that journey and took over from Gwyn. In any case, it all leads to the same resulting effect as the Souls games progresses-the Age of Fire does extend. Others speak that the canon ending is to extend the age of fire. Some debate that there is a cycle of fire and dark that would happen regardless of whatever choices anyone makes. Whatever the choice maybe, it is implied that the whole process would begin again. Having bested Gwyn, the Chosen Undead (your player) can choose to take vigil and link the Flame, or let the Flame die. You, as the player character, would be an otherwise unremarkable pygmy being tasked with gathering the souls and strength enough to reach the First Flame, where whether you came in support of Gwyn’s goals or not, would have to confront Gwyn-he lost his kingdom, his family, his knights, his sanity, his godly might, and was now purely a being running on a primal desire to protect the flame, unable to distinguish between friend or foe. And so various forces sought to either continue the Age of Fire, or let it extinguish. This would come at a great cost, as Gwyn became fully hollowed, and becomes a husk, a shell of his former glory as a deified god. In a desperate attempt to keep it alive, Gwyn took vigil at the Kiln of the First Flame, pouring in his power to keep it alive. Gwyn and his followers would make various attempts to prolong the flame’s life, in the process causing great destruction to the world. So, in hopes we do the lore justice, we look into the past, so that one can maybe– just maybe, appreciate that final walk up to the final fog gate a little bit more. It is a final manifestation of cyclical nature of things that is a pivotal aspect of the Souls lore. This is because the Soul of Cinder is a product of what transpired across the ages and events of the previous games. Yet it is necessary to dwell into this a bit, as the Soul of Cinder is not just a character that existed within the lore of Dark Souls I and II until Dark Souls III. To speak about the Soul of Cinder, it is necessary to touch upon the past and lore of the Dark Souls to some degree-which is no easy feat, as it is one of the most heavily speculated, and ferociously debated lore even to this day. The Soul of Cinder of Dark Souls III remains in my book, my second favorite Dark Souls III boss, my favorite Souls’ main game final boss, in the top 10 of my Soulsborne bosses and definitely, one of the greatest video gaming bosses of all time. ![]() ![]() And they delivered with emphatic fashion. All this, while having to satisfactorily sate the veterans on their investment to the lore, while also not convoluting the lore for a series newcomer. As one of the most celebrated and beloved video game series of all time, the individual filling the spot of the final main game boss of Dark Souls III had the truly unenviable task of living up to an almost impossible hype, with expectations within battle that have been raised over and over again throughout the series. The Dark Souls trilogy is legendary for being able to express a maximum of narratives with minimal spoon-fed expositions, bar none by many opinions. ![]() There is the acknowledgement that both newbies and series veterans would be playing it, and so the final boss has the difficult task of delivering on both as a standalone experience, as well as a satisfactory finish to expectations and wishes of the long-time followers. This is particularly challenging when you consider games that are at the final/latest iterations of a trilogy, saga or series in general. ![]()
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