You know, it's been over four years since Elden Ring dropped and completely took over our lives, but the community still can't stop digging for connections that blow my mind every single time. I mean, the game is a literal goldmine of lore, and even now in 2026, we're still finding new threads that weave the Lands Between into FromSoft's bigger universe. Recently, I stumbled across a couple of fan theories that honestly make too much sense to ignore—they suggest that Elden Ring's endings are secretly paving the way to Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Hold your horses, because this is some seriously fascinating stuff.

As a veteran Souls player myself, I've been through the wringer with multiple playthroughs of every title, and the whole "multiple endings" thing has always been a staple. Bloodborne had three, Dark Souls 3 gave us four, and even Sekiro shook things up by tying boss encounters to the ending you pursued. So when Elden Ring launched with six possible endings, it was a no-brainer that the lore detectives would be out in full force. What's wild is that two of these endings—Lord of the Frenzied Flame and Age of Stars—might not just be conclusions for the Tarnished, but actual origin stories for the other games we love.

Let's spill the tea on the first theory, which comes from Reddit user u/NorthTomato5292. The idea is that the Lord of the Frenzied Flame ending sets the stage for the world of Dark Souls. Now, if you've ever gotten this ending, you know it involves embracing the Frenzied Flame and basically melting everything down to ash. The visuals are striking: a single, all-consuming flame that emerges from the chaos, looking suspiciously like the First Flame from Dark Souls lore. In the Dark Souls mythology, the Age of Ancients was a grey, foggy world without disparity until the First Flame appeared and brought heat, cold, life, and death. After the Frenzied Flame ending, the Lands Between are reduced to ash and darkness—it's practically the blueprint for that ancient, unformed world.

But wait, there's more. When you get the Frenzied Flame Seal from Hyetta, her eyes literally melt away. Ring any bells? In Dark Souls 3, the Firekeeper is blind, and when you give her the Eyes of a Firekeeper, she gains vision and starts talking about flames in a way that feels eerily connected to the Frenzied Flame. It's like the blindness becomes a recurring theme—those who channel the primordial fire lose their sight, or maybe they gain a different kind of sight. I don't know about you, but for me, this isn't just some half-baked fanfic; the parallels are way too on the nose to be pure coincidence.

Now, let's pivot to the second theory, cooked up by u/RirinDesuyo and u/ZetaPrimeG1. This one suggests that the Age of Stars ending leads directly to Bloodborne. In that ending, you follow Ranni the Witch beyond the Erdtree, abandoning the Greater Will and venturing into a new age governed by the stars and the moon. Sound familiar? In Bloodborne, the moon is everything. It's tied to the Great Ones, the hunters' dream, and the entire cosmic horror vibe. Ranni and her mother Rennala are focused heavily on moon magic, and the Age of Stars literally involves a moonlit journey into an unknown void—a void that could very well be the cosmic plane where Yharnam and the Great Ones exist.

Think about it: the Great Ones in Bloodborne are eldritch beings that operate outside conventional reality, and Ranni's whole deal is about escaping the control of the Outer Gods (the Greater Will) to find freedom among the stars. She even discards her Great Rune and takes the Tarnished with her into a new, moon-soaked realm. That's practically a one-way ticket to a Bloodborne prequel. I've seen some fans argue that the Moon Presence in Bloodborne could be an evolution or counterpart of the Dark Moon that Ranni serves. It's speculation, sure, but the connective tissue is there, and it's sturdy enough to make you stop and think.

What I love most about these theories is how they reframe the whole "shared universe" debate. FromSoftware has always played coy about whether their games are linked, but the community keeps finding these narrative breadcrumbs that feel deliberate. In 2026, with the studio's next mystery project supposedly on the horizon, these discussions are more relevant than ever. I've been chatting with other players online, and the consensus is split—some think it's a stretch, while others are convinced that Miyazaki has been planning an interconnected cosmology all along. Personally, I'm leaning toward the latter. When you play through the Frenzied Flame ending and then boot up Dark Souls Remastered, the visual and thematic continuity is undeniable. Same goes for Bloodborne after the Age of Stars.

And let's not forget the emotional weight here. If these theories hold water, then every time we chose an ending in Elden Ring, we weren't just shaping the fate of one world—we were planting the seeds for others. The Tarnished who becomes the Lord of Frenzied Flame might literally be the spark that ignites the Age of Fire. And the Tarnished who rides off into the stars with Ranni? They could be the pioneers of the cosmic nightmare that Yharnam becomes. It turns the game from a standalone masterpiece into a sacred prelude. Honestly, it gives me chills.

I've put together a quick comparison to make the connections pop:

Elden Ring Ending	Linked Game	Key Connection	Shared Symbolic Element
Lord of the Frenzied Flame	Dark Souls	World reduced to ash similar to Age of Ancients; flame resembles First Flame; blindness motif	Frenzied Flame / First Flame
Age of Stars	Bloodborne	Journey beyond Erdtree into moon/stars realm; Ranni's focus on moon magic	Moon / Great Ones

So, if you're still riding the Elden Ring hype train and have a soft spot for the older classics, these theories are a fantastic rabbit hole to climb into. They make you look at those endings with fresh eyes—pun intended, given the whole eye-melting business. The community's imagination continues to keep these games alive, and I'm here for every single "what if" that comes our way. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go start another playthrough and stare at the moon a little longer. 💫🔥