Chapter 476: Lord Ash, can you still hear my voice...? |
A grand celebration!
And the climax of this celebration was completely ignited when the Lord of Ashes entered its second phase!
The melting heavenly flames erupting from the First Furnace brought an unparalleled, visually stunning experience!
The earth-shaking, flame-engulfing five-hit combo from the Lord of Ashes made countless players tremble with fear, watching helplessly as they were sent back to the bonfire!
Thunder suddenly roared!
The golden Sunlight Spear unleashed its lightning fury!
Flames raged everywhere!
The wild Kusabimaru swept out overwhelming heat waves!
Amid this spectacular, visually saturated ultimate showdown, the Ashen Ones also unleashed their unique skills, fighting desperately to overcome the challenge!
The brilliant light struck by the Moonlight Greatsword.
Sparks flying as the Exile Greatsword smashed against the ground.
One after another, Gray Explosion was confronting this incredibly powerful Lord of Ashes incarnation in their own way.
He was truly too ferocious!
The Lord of Ashes before them seemed to have no particular distinctive features.
No ancient dragon's massive size, no Sullivan's dazzling dual swords, no Nameless King's imposing flying dragon mount.
But he was like the combined form of countless battle-hardened players.
What Gray Explosion could do, he could do.
What Gray Explosion couldn't do, he could also do.
Straight swords, curved swords, staves, spears...
Sorceries, pyromancies, miracles...
Powerful martial arts and attacks as scorching hot as the sun—he was the embodiment of all players, all enemies, even all life in the entire Dark Souls world.
The Lord of Ashes incarnation was the world, and the world was the Lord of Ashes incarnation.
He was omniscient, all-knowing, mastering all combat techniques!
But!
Gray Explosion was no longer the unburnable trash who first entered the Dark Souls world!
Now!
They had inherited the final embers of the five Lords of Ashes!
They had become flame-kindling heroes with formidable combat experience and steadfast souls!
Countless players tried again and again.
And fell again and again.
Opening streaming platforms.
Shark, Dragon Tooth, Black Flag, TT, Twitch...
Countless Gray Explosions domestically and internationally were engaged in desperate battles with this absurdly powerful Lord of Ashes using their weapons!
Every attack, every dodge roll, contained the effort of dozens or even hundreds of hours of their dedication!
This was the charm of the game.
This was the steadfast soul of the Unkindled Ash, rising again after countless failures!
Finally!
When the tireless rebirth once again brought the grinding king back, facing this nearly omniscient and omnipotent Lord of Ashes incarnation, and desperately unleashed the final attack!
BOOM!!!
That health bar so long it spanned the entire interface, like an insurmountable mountain, like a rushing river.
At this moment, finally completely vanished.
Thud.
The scorching flames on the Lord of Ashes incarnation gradually dimmed as it knelt on the ground.
The grand symphony abruptly ceased!
And the dimmed Lord of Ashes incarnation, like embers burning out, slowly collapsed to the ground, turning into a wisp of flying soul.
[LORD OF CIDERFALLEN]
A faintly glowing dark golden soul appeared where the Lord of Ashes incarnation had fallen—
[Soul of the Lords]
[The aggregated souls of the great Lords of Cinder who inherited the First Flame after the first Lord of Cinder, Gwyn]
It was an end, and also a beginning.
The first Lord of Cinder.
Gwyn.
From the very beginning of the game, the glorious age of fire was like a mysterious ancient book buried in the fragments of historical dust, elusive yet captivating.
And now, this first flame Lord of Cinder named "Gwyn" was undoubtedly the creator of this age of fire.
So what did Golden Wind mean by specially placing this name in the final battle reward?
Undoubtedly—
The story of Dark Souls was far from over.
The glory of the First Flame would surely be displayed in retrospect in the upcoming sequel.
But at this moment.
As the Lord of Ashes incarnation's soul was collected, the time for the Ashen One's choice had arrived.
Thinking back carefully, it seemed the bell ringing was already a distant memory.
Slowly looking up—
The Ashen One gazed at the boundless, desolate First Furnace.
The solar eclipse in the sky had grown increasingly darker.
If they didn't quickly pass on the flame, this world would soon plunge into darkness.
Now, the fate of the world was gathered in their hands.
Throughout the journey, whether it was the flame-kindling faction of Lothric hoping for the flame's continuation, or the fire-extinguishing faction advocating for the world's destruction, or even the Abyss waiting in the darkness.
All former factions, at this moment, dissipated like smoke, becoming insignificant.
Whether Gray Explosion chose to kindle the flame or extinguish it, the world had to accept this outcome.
Gray Explosion came before the First Flame, looking at the burning fire within, falling into deep thought.
He had been awakened by the bell to kindle the flame, and had fought with this belief until now.
But looking at the small flame before him, recalling the journey, the Ashen One seemed to be truly examining this world for the first time.
He put on Onion Knight's helmet, equipped Thief Brother's Blue Tearstone Ring, wore the pyromancy teacher's glove on his left hand, slowly crouched down using Bald Patch's squat, looked at the Fran Greatsword deeply inserted into the ashen dust before him, tightened the Anri's Straight Sword hanging at his waist, and gently placed Hawkwood's shield nearby.
In this world, everyone had their own mission.
And now, I too have reached the end of my mission.
Having the courage to face the darkness might be the foundation for rebirth from the flames.
In silence, the white soapstone mark behind the Ashen One gradually lit up.
The Fireguard Maiden, who had been by his side from beginning to end, never leaving, slowly materialized.
Then, the Fireguard Maiden in her elegant black robe slowly walked toward the First Flame, carefully crouched down, leaned beside the Ashen One, and reached her hands toward the flame.
Weak and small.
Like a single grain in the vast sea, desperate and minute.
Then, that small flame was gently gathered into the Fireguard Maiden's palms.
The crimson sky grew increasingly darker.
The First Flame.
Gray Explosion looked at the flame in the Fireguard Maiden's hands, his feelings complex.
What a magnificent miracle.
Through this small cluster of flame, he seemed able to see the former fire that was as prosperous as the sun.
But now, it was held like this in hands, just a small cluster.
"The First Flame is gradually fading."
"I suppose darkness will descend soon."
The Fireguard Maiden's voice was soft and shallow, but filled with calm:
"...But one day, a small flame will surely reappear in the darkness, that is the ember passed down by the lords..."
The extinguishing of the flame would mean the arrival of the Age of Deep Sea.
But the arrival of the Age of Deep Sea did not mean the eternal end of the world.
In that endless and prolonged Age of Deep Sea, there would always be an opportunity, a moment when a small First Flame would reappear in the boundless darkness, like the cycle of reincarnation, illuminating this world again.
And fresh, prosperous hope would once again spread across this land.
The sky gradually darkened, all surrounding light rapidly fading away.
Darkness spread, Gray Explosion slowly walked to the Fireguard Maiden's side and sat down.
Finally, silent darkness enveloped the world, and simultaneously, the silhouettes of the two disappeared into the complete darkness.
After a while, the Fireguard Maiden's voice emerged from the darkness.
"Lord Gray Explosion, can you still hear my voice...?"
Was the descent of darkness terrifying?
Now, Gray Explosion seemed to have found the answer in his heart.
As long as courage and hope like flames still exist.
Darkness.
Would never be something to fear.
Dong— dong— dong—
The bell tolled, solemn and grand music gradually rose.
The world entered the next cycle.
And in the complete darkness.
Dark golden text quietly appeared—
["Dark Souls"]
["Golden Wind"]
["Grand Presentation"]
Sigh—
The game had ended here, but many players were unwilling to leave the motion-sensing pods for a long time.
A breath released, as if relieving tension, yet with a sense of loss.
This tragic epic that seemed to foreshadow the final outcome from the very beginning had now drawn its curtain.
Gray Explosion ultimately chose to extinguish the world's flame, completely ending this final age of fire already filled with sorrow and deathly silence.
Ending the long and hopeless era with momentary pain.
Of course.
Following Golden Wind's tradition, the game naturally didn't have just one ending.
Fire extinguishing was the official ending of this Golden Wind work, but players could also choose to continue this world, waiting until a truly powerless moment to let the world plunge into darkness and enter the next cycle.
Oh right, besides kindling the flame and extinguishing the fire, you could of course also be a traitor, killing the maiden to prove your path when the Fireguard Maiden obtains the flame, becoming a fire-stealing villain, the Lord of Hollows.
The open design gave players the possibility of multiple playthroughs.
And the thousands of additional NPC side quests were enough to ignite players' interest in experiencing a second playthrough.
"Dark Souls"
As a game representing the pinnacle of motion-sensing technology and Golden Wind's storytelling game design experience, had reached its conclusion here.
But the discussion heat about Dark Souls was just beginning to ignite.
As the first work in the series, the conclusion that "Dark Souls is the first work in the series" was firmly established as players completed the game.
After all, as an age where fire is fading, this world left players with far too many mysteries.
Just the name of the first Lord of Cinder Gwyn alone was enough for players to engage in endless speculation.
And if players were willing to dig deeper, the clues hidden within the layered fragmented narrative also revealed the prosperity and entanglements of the former age of fire.
Moreover, in terms of quality, this Dark Souls not only represented the current peak of comprehensive indicators including gameplay, art, soundtrack, story, and atmosphere in "Wolf-type games".
Its deep exploration of human nature and spirit absolutely deserved players discussing it separately.
Regarding this, various media and reviewers, while scoring, offered their own insights, even sparking a domestic and international hashtag discussion titled #So, what exactly is Dark Souls?#—