History TearJerker / DarkSoulsIII

* The entire game is basically one long, utterly painful analogy for a person's last moments. Every combat-related (Siegward, Sirris, Anri, etc.) NPC quest you take will, ultimately, end up with the NPC in question dead, whilst merchant [=NPCs=] get hit with the sadness just as hard. To wit, completing Siegward's and Sirris's respective questlines will entail each of them fulfilling a MercyKill promise for someone dear to them; Yhorm the Giant for Siegward, Holy Knight Hodrick for Sirris. After it all, they relinquish their possessions to you and then die, alongside the people they upheld their promises to with your assistance. Anri's is sadder, as they either leave to Hollow out in the Cathedral of the Deep, presumably content with the death of Aldrich and distraught over Horace's disappearance, goes to Horace's gravesite so they can die together, or are forcibly turned into a Lord/Lady of Hollows for the Ashen One. With a silent death being a HAPPY ending, you know Dark Souls III's turned up the [[CrapsackWorld craptasticness of the world]] [[UpToEleven up a notch]].

** A bit of Fridge Sadness upon watching the opening cinematic after beating Yhorm: When he is shown rising from his grave in answer to the Bell of Awakening, he lets out a loud roar. On the first playthrough it sounds like a typical monster/giant roaring, but listening again you can hear what it really is: ''A howl of anguish.'' Yhorm had hoped he wouldn't be resurrected, and the moment when he realises his fate he lets out this heart-breaking sound that almost screams "WHY?!"

* A bit of fridge sadness for you; whenever you place the ashes of a Lord of Cinder on their respective throne, it takes on a shape that is similar to who they were. Yhorm's is a giant skull wearing his crown, Aldrich's is half a skull full of maggots, and the Watchers' are four skulls each wearing one of their distinctive helms. So what did they use for Lorian and Lothric? An ashy head wearing a shroud and looking ''profoundly'' downcast. The implication here is that this is Lothric's head, which raises two troubling notes; one, Lothric may have been the most recent Lord to Link the Fire (hence why he's a head and not a skull), and that Lorian will forever be forgotten or is seen as superfluous to the Flame despite the immensity of his sacrifice for his brother.

* The unbearably sad [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJKgS2J9m9I Epilogue]] which plays during the credits, and after the "ending" of the Ringed City, it makes the entire trilogy seem like a belated tragedy. Everything, everyone and anyone, sacrificed was ultimately for ''nothing''. Despite burning eternally, in constant, horrid agony, Gwyn, and the other Lords of Cinder's sacrifices were in vain, and the flame is doomed to be extinguished by the dark, no matter what anyone does. Even when they end up becoming the Soul of Cinder, their only meaning in life was to guard the Flame... and as stated before, it was ultimately fruitless. Vendrick's sacrifice was useless, and his solution never came to be, as Aldia and the Bearer of the Curse weren't able to find a meaningful solution in time. Gael's scheme to create a Painted World was successful but still for naught in the long run, as it bought whatever small figment of life that resided in it just a final, untold amount of time before it too succumbed to the dark. The only thing that awaits the world is a barren, pitch black wasteland, covered in sand, dust, and ashes, with the ruins of great civilizations sprouting out, lonely, and haunting. The ultimate DownerEnding, all the more painful, because all the countless acts of self sacrifice ultimately amounted to nothing.

* The description of the Sovereignless Soul starting gift reads: "The sovereignless soul of one who slept beside you." It could mean that after your passing, your spouse or someone else important to you came to spend his/her last moments besides you. Unfortunately, seeing how player character comes back as an Unkindled, it seems that they are not meant ot be TogetherInDeath.

* The final boss, Soul of Cinder, is outright stated to be the remnants of Gwyn, Lord Of Cinder AND the player characters from the first and second games. The first phase of the fight has the boss use a variety of ''Dark Souls I'' moves, even Darkwood Grain Ring flipping to dodge attacks whenever he uses his curved sword moveset, and can also use a handful of spells from the second game. Phase two begins after their health is depleted. Gwyn, Lord of Cinder from the first game's soundtrack slowly begins to take over the epic background music, until it eventually fades to just the piano. Amidst all this, the Soul of Cinder begins to spam you with souped up versions of Gwyn's moves.

** And oh, we aren't done piling on the feels yet. With this, we can see that a lot of the knights of Gwyn fought in a way that matched a particular member of their pantheon. Artorias obviously learned a lot from Gwyn and fought in a similar manner to him. Gough seems to have learned a good deal from Gwyndolin, when you put two and two together. Ciaran's sort of an odd one out but she might have learned something from the real Gwynevere. It's always been Ornstein who's the real odd one out, because he doesn't line up with anyone... except now, we can see that he was clearly a follower of ''the Nameless'', who simply didn't follow Nameless in switching sides. But this still explains his presence in Anor Londo, which previously seemed a bit random -- he was watching out for the remaining family of the Nameless. He was helping Gwyndolin maintain the light in Anor Londo via the illusory Gwynevere, before eventually leaving to search for his old teacher (judging from the Dragonslayer armour set you find after defeating the Nameless King). The Sacred Oath Miracle's lore, in fact, is a story about Nameless, Artorias, and Ornstein, back in the good old days where they fought together as one against their enemies the Dragons.

** This'll hit especially hard for any players that have siblings with special needs. Lothric has been bed-ridden and sickly most of his life but is still sound of mind. It's Lorian who took the brunt of the curse, and while his strength is great, he is obviously severely brain damaged to the point that the only person that can understand him is probably Lothric. The way that Lothric, for all his frailty, looks out for Lorian during the fight and talks to him during the transition cutscene shows that he still loves his brother despite what he's become, and Lorian starting the fight could be seen as him doing the one thing he knows how to do: to protect Lothric; kill anything that threatens his younger brother.

* The unbearably sad [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJKgS2J9m9I Epilogue]] which plays during the credits, and after the "ending" of the Ringed City, it makes the entire trilogy seem like a belated tragedy. Everything, everyone and anyone, sacrificed was ultimately for ''nothing''. Despite burning eternally, in constant, horrid agony, Gwyn, and the other Lords of Cinder's sacrifices were in vain, and the flame is doomed to be extinguished by the dark, no matter what anyone does. Even when they end up becoming the Soul of Cinder, their only meaning in life was to guard the Flame... and as stated before, it was ultimately fruitless. Vendrick's sacrifice was useless, and his solution never came to be, as Aldia and the Bearer of the Curse weren't able to find a meaningful solution in time. Gael's scheme to create a Painted World was successful but still for naught, as it bought whatever small figment of life that resided in it just a final, peaceful margin of time before it too succumbed to the dark. The only thing that awaits the world is a barren, pitch black wasteland, covered in sand, dust, and ashes, with the ruins of great civilizations sprouting out, lonely, and haunting. The ultimate DownerEnding, all the more painful, because all the countless acts of self sacrifice ultimately amounted to nothing.

!Meta and Fanstuff
* [[https://mollyjames.tumblr.com/comics Molly James' Dark Souls comics]], chronicling the adventures of the unkindled ash Halply, is a mix of comedy with a ''lot'' of tragedy.
** ''Of Storm and Ash'' is about Halply and Siegward's attempts to lay Yhorm low. As Halply retrieved the second Storm Ruler, Siegward falls to the giant, apologizing for having failed to keep his promise. The following pages are a death montage, and a MotiveRant from Yhorm himself. In the end, three whole panels are dedicated to Yhorm somberly falling to his knees, and Halply asks Siegward's. corpse "What now?".
-->'''Yhorm''': Ashen one. Heed this lord's only warning. Thou hast been deceived. The Fire brings only death, and suffering will be thine throne. To be a lord is to be cursed by fire. Ashen one. Dost thou truly wish to join us?
-->''[Halply chucks fire at him]''
-->'''Yhorm''': So be it.
** In ''Vows'', Halply goes to her "wedding" intending to call it of (being lesbian) and apologize to Anri. Only when she gets there, Anri is dead, slain by the Londor pilgrims.
** The [[https://mollyjames.tumblr.com/post/186517587785/mini-souls-the-bad-ending-i-mean-if-you-insist Bad Ending]] of Halply's story, where she turns hollow and becomes yet another lord of cinder. When the Unkindled One and Sirris finds her, they find her burning the loyal Fire Keeper alive.
-->''Soul of Halply, the Hollow Flame. One of the twisted souls, steeped in strength. Halply was once unkindled ash, but was led astray by clergy of a distant land. Even as she hollowed, her fire keeper remained at her side. No one knows how she might have earned such undying loyalty.''
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAuuWw5gAXk Self]] is a fan-made short animatic made by [=TheParryGod=], detailing the journey of two undead in Lothric, searching for... something, although they don't seem to remember what. Ultimately, the man hollows, and the woman cradles his soul, promising to keep him safe... until years later, when the Lord of Hollows arrives to slay a nameless hollow and take the worthless soul it was guarding.
-->"Even accursed undead wants to believe they're special, it seems. I pity the sorry souls."

-->''Soul of Halply, the Hollow Flame. One of the twisted souls, steeped in strength. Halply was once unkindled ash, but was led astray by clergy of a distant land. Even as she hollowed, her fire keeper remained at her side. No one knows how she might have earned such undying loyalty.''

* The final Lord of Cinder: Lothric the Younger Prince, is even ''more'' heart-wrenching than the Abyss Watchers: Lothric was predetermined and groomed to link the First Flame, to the point that he was never given anything to wear beyond a ''sacrificial hairshirt he was given at birth''. When you encounter him, he's been [[MaddenIntoMisanthropy broken and disillusioned into wanting the world to fade into darkness for daring to demand he submit his essence to such agony again]]. And yet you force him to go back anyway, possibly for nothing if you forgo Linking the Flame yourself.
** This extends to his brother; Lorian the Elder Prince. As Lothric grew up, it became apparent he was too physically frail to handle the strain of being a Vessel of Fire, so Lorian had to step in and bear the brunt of the Flame's power in his stead when the time came. This broke his mind and reduced him to a brute forced to crawl around on his knees.
** This'll hit especially hard for any players that have siblings with special needs. Lothric has been bed-ridden and sickly most of his life but is still sound of mind despite Linking the Fire with his brother. It's Lorian that took the brunt of the Flame's might, and while his strength is great, he is obviously severely brain damaged to the point that the only person that can understand him is probably Lothric. The way that Lothric, for all his frailty, looks out for Lorian during the fight and talks to him during the transition cutscene shows that he still loves his brother despite what he's become, and Lorian starting the fight could be seen as him doing the one thing he knows how to do: to protect Lothric; kill anything that threatens his younger brother.

** It gets worse if you read the description of the Soul Stream spell, which suggests that Lothric was privately mentored by a scholar who had doubts about the linking of the fire. This sheds even more light on Lothric's scorn for the legacy of the lords: he and his brother burnt in the Kiln, only to be reborn and find the world in essentially the same mess, if not ''worse'', leaving him to believe that he and Lorian sacrificed themselves for nothing. No wonder he's happy to just sit in the castle with his brother and watch the Age of Fire end.

* The entire game is basically one long, utterly painful analogy for a person's last moments. Every combat-related (Siegward, Sirris, Anri, etc.) NPC quest you take will, ultimately, end up with the NPC in question dead, whilst merchant [=NPCs=] get hit with the sadness just as hard. To wit, completing Siegward's and Sirris's respective questlines will entail each of them fulfilling a MercyKill promise for someone dear to them; Yhorm the Giant for Siegward, Holy Knight Hodrick for Sirris. After it all, they relinquish their possessions to you and then die, alongside the people they upheld their promises to with your assistance. Anri's is sadder, as they either leave to Hollow out in the Cathedral of the Deep, presumably content with the death of Aldrich and distraught over Horace's disappearance, gets put down trying to avenge Horace's death, or are forcibly turned into a Lord/Lady of Hollows for the Ashen One. With a silent death being a HAPPY ending, you know Dark Souls III's turned up the [[CrapsackWorld craptasticness of the world]] [[UpToEleven up a notch]].

[[caption-width-right:350:''"See ye not? I am a lord... A wee flame, belike, but I shoulder the world... Forgive me. Oh please... I am not to blame. I'm not"'']]

* The unbearably sad [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJKgS2J9m9I Epilogue]] which plays during the credits, and after the "ending" of the Ringed City, it makes the entire trilogy seem like a belated tragedy. Everything, everyone and anyone, sacrificed was ultimately for ''nothing''. Despite burning eternally, in constant, horrid agony, Gwyn, and the other Lords of Cinder's sacrifices were in vain, and the flame is doomed to be extinguished by the dark, no matter what anyone does. Even when they end up becoming the Soul of Cinder, their only meaning in life was to guard the Flame... and as stated before, it was ultimately fruitless. Vendrick's sacrifice was useless, and his solution never came to be, as Aldia and the Bearer of the Curse weren't able to find a meaningful solution in time. Gael's scheme to create a Painted World was for naught, as it bought whatever small figment of life that resided in it just a final margin of time before it too succumbed to the dark. The only thing that awaits the world is a barren wasteland, covered in sand, dust, and ashes, with the ruins of great civilizations sprouting out, lonely, and haunting. The ultimate DownerEnding, all the more painful, because all the countless acts of self sacrifice ultimately amounted to nothing.

'''Unmarked spoilers ahead.'''

---> '''Black Witch Garb''': ''The purple garb of the witch Zullie, who intended to seduce Alva the Wayfarer, [[FallingInLoveWithTheMark but eventually became his closest supporter]], spending her entire life with him. It is said that Zullie the witch, who was never loved, nor loved another, experienced all manner of misfortune, and yet in the end, found her purpose in life.''

---> '''Black Witch Garb''': ''The purple garb of the witch Zullie, who intended to seduce Alva the Wayfarer, but eventually became his closest supporter, spending her entire life with him. It is said that Zullie the witch, who was never loved, nor loved another, experienced all manner of misfortune, and yet in the end, found her purpose in life.''

** In ''Vows'', Halply goes to her "wedding" intending to call it of (being lesbian) and apologize to Anri. Only when she gets there, Anri is dead, slain by the Londor pilgrims.

** ''Of Storm and Ash'' is about Halply and Siegward's attempts to lay Yhorm low. As Halply retrieved the second Storm Ruler, Siegward falls to the giant, apologizing for having failed to keep his promise. The following pages are a death montage, and a MotiveRant from Yhorm himself.

*** Even Yhorm's death is a somber affair. He destroys Halply's storm ruler, ranting about how he feels the fire betrayed him, and that he was a fool to sacrifice himself. Halply manages to retrieve Siegward's storm ruler, and as Yhorm falls to his knees, the iconic text "Lord of Cinder Fallen" appears on the screen. Halply drags herself over to Siegward's corpse, asking what next?

* The description of the Sovereignless Soul starting gift reads: "The sovereignless soul of one who slept beside you." It could mean that after your passing, your spouse or someone else important to you came to spend his/her last moments besides you. Unfortunately, seeing how player character comes back as an Unkindled, it seems that they are not meant ot be TogetherInDeath.

** Betrayal: After summoning the Fire Keeper, either in a fit of jealousy or just [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential because you could]], you kill her, step on her head, and steal away the dying embers of the First Flame for yourself, thus proving those old words true; "Ash seeketh embers." And what greater embers are there than that of the First Flame, after all? Have fun riding out the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt all alone.

*** Yorsha flat-out tells you that Sulyvhan took her prisoner when he overthrew Gwyndolin. It would be unlikely he wouldn't tell Aldrich of this.

*** Honestly, can the world possibly get any worse? It's possible this ending is at the very least no ''worse'' than the ending where you extinguish the flame. At least, not the version where you [[WhatTheHellHero DON'T murder the Fire Keeper in the closing cutscene]]. It's possible to view the ending as the final breaking of a perpetually melancholy cycle, and to achieve this ending you have to at least choose a path that offers some measure of kindness and mercy - you can't get the ending at all if you're a complete asshole. At least a human has control now beyond being a pawn of fate. Maybe you ''will'' make Londor whole. After all, the Dark isn't necessarily any worse or better than the Light.