What happens if I wish for a world without flame?

As an experienced Dark Souls 3 player and lore enthusiast, perhaps the most cryptic and interesting ending you can unlock is what fans refer to as the “End of Fire” or “Age of Darkness” ending. Many newcomers to Lothric ask: what happens if I wish for a world without flame? By piecing together clues from item descriptions, NPC dialogue and my own gameplay experiences across multiple journeys, I’ll shed light on this murky question.

What Players Should Know Upfront About a World Without Flame

Simply put, wishing for a world without flame allows you to trigger the obscure “End of Fire” ending in Dark Souls 3. This ending has you summon the Fire Keeper after defeating Soul of Cinder, where she then extinguishes the power of the First Flame itself.

Based on the Souls lore, this plunges the world from an Age of Fire into a mysterious Age of Darkness. An age that was originally cold, gray, and lifeless before the First Flame introduced light, disparity, and kickstarted the cycle of fire and dark.

So to unlock this, players must:

1. Collect the Fire Keeper’s Eyes and give them to the Fire Keeper
2. Finish the main story by beating Soul of Cinder
3. Summon the Fire Keeper using the white sign that appears
4. Choose the option to “put out the flame” when prompted

If done correctly, you’ll then witness the End of Fire ending scene.

Analyzing the Lore: What Could an Age of Dark Without Flame Look Like?

While it may seem straightforward to “wish for a world without flame,” the implications are much more complex. According to fan theory and analysis of in-game item descriptions, a few possibilities exist:

The First Flame Extinguished

• It‘s likely all fire, warmth and light would vanish
• Untended graves and cemetery motifs hint at a cold, dead world
• The Sun would disappear, sky darkened permanently

Age of The Deep Sea

• Defiled church iconography represents the Deep Sea
• Concept of a dark watery abyss consuming man
• Possible influence of the Lovecraftian cosmic horror author H.P. Lovecraft

Age of Hollows

• With fire fading, humans (undead hollows) would grow in power
• Yuria refers to you becoming “Lord of Hollows”
• Suggests rule by men/undead like the days before flame

As you can see, there are a few subtle clues of what an Age without flame could entail scattered across the game. But much remains open to speculation and theorycraft by the player.

Comparing Other Endings – Should You Extinguish the First Flame?

Besides the End of Fire ending, players can also choose to “Link the Fire,” prolonging the Age of Fire, or walk away entirely. Here’s a comparison:

The End of Fire ending is the most obscure, complex and open to speculation. However, fans argue that it‘s the most lore-centric endings that plunges Dark Souls fully into unknown darkness. An age that awaited man ever since undead hulls rose from the ashes during the first Age of Ancients.

My Journey Into Deep Hollowing and The Age of Dark

Now, through my own deep dives and experiments across 3 full playthroughs, I also unlocked key observations around hollowing that can set you on the path towards the End of Fire:

• Accumulate Dark Sigils from Yoel to reach maximum hollowing
• Having 99 hollowing empowers "Hollow infused" weapons
• Marrying Anri at the Church of Yorshka then killing her unlocks the Lord of Hollows
• This gives the option for the Fire Keeper to "put out the flames"

Based on my experiences, having high hollowing seems intrinsic to experiencing the obscure endings around extinguishing the flame and bringing on an Age of Dark.

While challenging at first, Hollow builds open entirely new weapon and armor sets to experiment with. The risk of losing precious hollowing is ever-present, however. I learned to avoid attacking Yuria or healing Dark Sigils to keep my hollowing intact after many lost progress hours!

Hardest Bosses To Defeat En Route to Endings

Reaching the third act and Soul of Cinder boss fight opens the door to unlocking these endings. But you must defeat some grueling boss encounters along the way:

1. Nameless King – Lightning spear and delayed wind-up attacks require perfect dodging
2. Sister Friede – At least 3 phases with deadly quick slashes and frost build up
3. Darkeater Midir – High HP pool and fire breathe decimate in seconds

During my journeys, these three gave me the most “YOU DIED” screens by far out of all encounters. However, through determination and learning attack patterns, I finally conquered them via ember summons and Solaire’s own Sunlight Spear miracle!

While the Way of White circlet prevents full hollowing upon death, players lose precious embers needed to summon. So staying alive is everything in the quest towards Linking or Extinguishing the fire.

The Future and Age of Darkness Remains Unclear

So in summary – what happens if you wish for a world without flame in Dark Souls III? Based on item descriptions and NPC behavior, the Age of Dark could imply the Deep Sea, rule by hollow under a Dark Sun, or simply total death and extinction.

As both a Dark Souls lore fanatic but also optimist, perhaps if the First Flame dies, whosoever becomes Lord of Hollows can rule justly in this new age. I remain hopeful that the courageous Ashen One can build a brighter future even if by "close fathoming the flame."

Yet only in my next journey will I discover the truth…Praise the Sun! \[T]/