Dark Souls III

Story

A bell has rung in the kingdom of Lothric to signal that the First Flame, responsible for maintaining the Age of Fire, is dying out. As has happened many times before, the Age of Darkness brings forth the undead: cursed beings who rise after death. The Age of Fire can be prolonged by the Joining of Fire, a ritual in which great lords and heroes sacrifice their souls to rekindle the First Flame. However, Lord Lothric, the chosen Linker for this age, has neglected his duty and chosen to watch the dying of the Flame from afar. The Bell is the last hope for the Age of Fire. She resurrects previous Lords of Cinder (heroes who bonded the Flame in ages past) to attempt to bond the Fire once more; however, all but one Lord shirk their duty. Meanwhile, Sulyvahn, a wizard from the Painted World of Ariandel, unlawfully appoints himself Pope and seizes power as a tyrant over Irithyll of the Boreal Vale and the returning Cathedral of Anor Londo from Dark Souls. The Ashen One, an undead who failed to become a Lord of Cinder and is therefore called an Unknown, rises and must join the fire by returning Prince Lothric and the defiant Lords of Cinder to their thrones in Firelink Shrine. The Lords include the Abyss Watchers, a legion of warriors sworn on the blood of the Old Wolf to bind their souls as one to protect the land from the Abyss, who end up locked in an endless battle; Yhorm the Giant, who sacrificed his life for a people conquered by his ancestor; and Aldrich, who became a Lord of Cinder despite his ravenous appetite for men and gods. Lothric was raised to join the First Flame, but neglected his duties, preferring instead to watch the fire go out. After Cinder Man succeeds in returning Lothric and the Lords of Cinder to their thrones, they travel to the ruins of the First Flame's furnace. There they encounter the Soul of Cinder, an amalgamation of all the former Lords of Cinder. After defeat, the player can attempt to join the fire or achieve three other optional endings unlocked by their in-game choices. These include summoning the Firekeeper to extinguish the flame and begin an Age of Darkness, or killing her in a sudden change of heart. A fourth ending involves the Ashen taking the flame for himself and becoming the Lord of Hells.