Elden Ring DLC Ending Explained

screenrant.com:

's first and only DLC,, culminates in a shocking ending that recontextualizes much of the base game while still leaving many questions open-ended. Technically, the two stories are entirely separate: 's DLC and the main story take place concurrently, not before or after one another, and none of the base game's main endings affect the DLC's (or vice versa). The player's choices in one don't seem to impact the story of the other, but can cause major changes in and of themselves.

[Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Elden Ring and its DLC.]

The story of 's DLC takes the Tarnished to the Land of Shadow, a strange realm shadowed by the enigmatic Scadutree, once home to Queen Marika before she took over the Lands Between. There, they make contact with a group of knights in Miquella's service, attempting to follow the kindly demigod's footsteps on his journey to ascend to full godhood. Their only clue is the flesh he sheds en route to the Gate of Divinity. When they find their way sealed, they then seek out Messmer's flame, which they use to open the way. There, the Tarnished confronts Miquella a final time, learning some terrible truths about the pantheon.

Along their journey to claim Messmer's flame, the Tarnished visits the Shadow Keep, where they're greeted with a loud shattering noise, and a pair of on-screen messages that read, "," then, "." If the player then revisits the characters they've gotten to know throughout the DLC — Needle Knight Leda and her compatriots — they'll react as though they've just snapped out of hypnosis. And as it turns out, they actually have: Miquella has effectively hypnotized this motley crew into working together. If it weren't for his influence, they'd have killed each other a long time ago.

Entering the Shadow Keep and shattering the great rune allows the player to progress through Leda and her compatriots' quests. But with Miquella's mind control gone, all the NPCs turn on each other once again. While the main ending