The Ending of Elden Ring Nightreign Explained

Summary

Nightreign’s ending ties into Elden Ring, hinting at how the Nightlords were involved with the original game.
The gameplay loop involves building an Erdtree to repulse the night, with cycles playing a central role.
The post-credits scene hints at the geographical and chronological relationship between Nightreign and Elden Ring.

Major spoilers ahead for Elden Ring Nightreign’s ending, final boss, and post-credits sequence.

Upon the unveiling of the game known as Elden Ring: Nightreign, it was quite challenging to predict its connection to the Elden Ring lore. Appearing to be set in an alternate version of the Lands Between, called Limveld, it combined numerous themes and influences from Elden Ring and FromSoftware into a single entity. However, following multiple trailers, a network test, and now the official launch, a clearer image is emerging as to how Nightreign intertwines with Elden Ring, and the ending of Nightreign demonstrates just how surprisingly linked they truly are.

To grasp the finale of Elden Ring Nightreign, there are numerous cutscenes, locations, enemies, item descriptions, and smaller details that collectively paint a larger picture, much like FromSoftware’s style. This means that the final answer might be more open to interpretation than concrete fact, with multiple possible explanations still waiting to be discovered. However, by following the clues left behind, players can gradually comprehend the world of Elden Ring Nightreign and the enigmatic conclusion it presents.

Elden Ring Nightreign Ends Where It All Began

At the conclusion of the Night Aspect quest, players will confront Heolstor the Nightlord, the entity casting the lands under a shroud of eternal night, within an ashen landscape. After overcoming him and obtaining the Primordial Nightlord’s Rune, the Nightfarers mysteriously reappear, seemingly back at their starting point, but with a twist. The battlefield of Heolstor is situated outside the Roundtable House, where an endless sea of ash has replaced water, and the curved, fingerprint-like sky is fully unfolded. This particular instance of the Roundtable Hold appears much more deteriorated than before, presenting a bleak, grayish scene that seems to be gradually crumbling with no elegance.

In the heart of Elden Ring Nightreign’s Roundtable Hold, adventurers stumble upon a solitary corpse, which they can use to receive Heolstor’s Rune. If a player chooses to bestow the Primordial Nightlord’s Rune, they will transform into streams of luminescent energy, moving through every chamber as if guided by an invisible hand, eventually exiting the Hold through the roof – resembling the ethereal elegance of a graceful dance.

What Connects Heolstor and the Roundtable Hold?

In the game Elden Ring: Nightreign, time plays a significant part. The days move swiftly, and each attempt by players to conquer enemies results in a loop where progress resets. As you journey through Nightreign’s narrative, you might have observed that the Roundtable Hold appears to be deteriorating. It seems that the decay of the Roundtable Hold started even before the night began, only to revert when the cycle is completed.

It’s plausible that the body found in Roundtable Hold could be Heolstor, previously known as someone else before assuming the title of the Nightlord. This assumption is strengthened by the fact that reviving the corpse with the Nightlord’s Rune results in a time reset. A significant hint for this theory can be found in the description of the Night of the Lord Relic.

The nation was devastated, its beauty and strength now shattered. A man who used to be a knight took on the mighty hero, but even he couldn’t measure up. In the end, he succumbed, joining countless others in a massive heap of fallen warriors.

In the item descriptions of “Nightreign”, the term “man” often seems to point towards Heolstor, suggesting his backstory prior to the cycle’s commencement. It’s worth noting that this characterization might also apply to the anonymous protagonist in “Elden Ring”, given his role as a potential world-ender and lack of other characters fitting the description of a nameless hero. As the description proceeds, it subtly hints at possible connections between Heolstor and the Roundtable Hold.

However, he eventually stirred awake, extricating himself from among the others. Despite his inability to safeguard anything or anyone, he persisted in life. Thus, he vented his frustration on the world.

It was the dead of night, and from the sky poured down a great rain.”

Through joining Heolstor’s remains with the Primordial Nightlord’s Rune, the world can be restored and the devastation that Heolstor brought upon the world with his nightly curse can be erased. The fact they were once distinct entities may be due to temporal fluctuations, but also a division between Heolstor the mortal man and Heolstor the divine god. As the Primordial Nightlord, Heolstor carries the Rune within him, demonstrating that his body serves as a container for the rune, similar to how Marika and Radagon’s body encompasses the Elden Ring. The hollow aspect of Heolstor appears significant here, suggesting that the enraged shell rose to curse the world, while the weakened body sat in the decaying stronghold.

Heolstor’s Runestone exhibits characteristics similar to those of a Grand Rune, yet it may not officially be classified as such.

The Night Is a Veil

A significant aspect of Nightreign’s symbolism lies in the concept that night functions as a veil, concealing and uncovering different elements. In the battle against Heolstor, he tears open the heavens, exposing what lies beyond. It is plausible that the decaying Roundtable Hold within Heolstor’s arena represents its genuine form, similar to Elden Ring’s Roundtable Hold, which exists as both a projection and a tangible space. The deterioration of the Hold in Nightreign might be due to the veil hiding its authentic state fading as the night becomes more powerful.

Nightreign’s Post-Credits Cutscene Has Huge Implications for Elden Ring’s Lore

In the closing credits of Elden Ring Nightreign, players are in for quite a treat. As the camera ascends from the heart of an empty ocean, it unveils the Lands Between and the towering, undeterred Erdtree, as if no events had transpired. To top it off, a massive wooden figure emerges from the sea, casting a glance at the far-off Erdtree before heading towards the sunset.

As a gamer, it’s clear that the revelation of Elden Ring’s world extends beyond what we initially thought, shattering the notion that Nightreign is isolated from the main game. One of the achievements for Elden Ring: Nightreign, titled “Dawn,” is earned upon completing the story, and it portrays an Erdtree, echoing the post-credit sequence. During the network test, some players spotted that Limveld is encircled by the same islands as the Lands Between, suggesting that Nightreign unfolds in the same geographical region, hidden behind the veil of night.

Revelations about the veil of night could help explain how the Shadowlands were veiled by Marika.

The Wooden Giant Is Actually One of Many

Before the conclusion of “Nightreign,” the colossal figure emerging from the sea becomes noticeable well ahead of time. During an exploration voyage, misty shapes start appearing off the coast of Limveld, and as night falls, these figures become more distinct until it’s clear they are carved from wood. Each one appears to be walking in the same direction, suggesting a path around or away from the island.

It’s fascinating that these characters exhibit certain common themes with some legendary figures in Elden Ring, sporting crowns of thorns symbolizing remorse, and featuring distinctive markings on their vines like fingerprints. The figure awakening at the end seems to gaze upon the Erdtree but ultimately renounces its light, departing from the Lands Between. These beings remain hidden during the daylight, but their presence becomes apparent as night falls, suggesting they’re moving away. It’s unclear what exactly they represent, but it appears the cycle of night and day is key to unveiling them.

Elden Ring Nightreign’s Gameplay Loop Is About Building an Erdtree

As a gamer delving into the mystical world of Elden Ring: Nightreign, I’ve found myself pondering over where this enigmatic Erdtree is hidden. After hours of exploration, I discovered that there are cryptic depictions of the tree scattered throughout the game. The Executor, a character within the game, can even be seen painting one.

Intriguingly, it’s become apparent to many players that the secure sanctuary in Nightreign lies beneath the radiant roots of a certain tree. Moreover, if you keep an eye on this peculiar tree during your adventure, you’ll notice it gradually growing larger, its twisted, grasping branches eventually encompassing the spectral form of a divine tower.

The approaching night’s rain appears to shy away from the tree every time, as if its mere existence is pushing back the curtain of darkness. Later on, Elden Ring Nightreign‘s Nightfarers will climb the tower to battle the Nightlord, only to discover that both the tree and tower have crumbled into ruins.

The roguelike structure of Nightreign elegantly reflects its circular narrative, which is a characteristic FromSoftware design element that seamlessly integrates mechanics with storytelling.

In Elden Ring Nightreign, time seems to play an unusual role beyond just its three-day loop. The swift growth and decay cycle of the tree suggest that the day-night cycle might not run as we’d expect. Though it appears rapid to the Nightfarers, perhaps constructing the tree to ward off the night takes an immeasurably long time in reality, or maybe time is being compressed so that events which should span millennia occur in a single night. This rapid decay is also noticeable in the Roundtable Hold, implying a rapidly deteriorating world.

How Nightreign’s Cycle Could Tie Back to Elden Ring

Based on what we know about Limveld and the Lands Between, the tree being built in Nightreign could potentially be the Erdtree shown during the post-credits scene. Since both lands exist within the same world, it’s possible that the tree’s construction marks the end of a cycle, leading to Dawn, where the Erdtree is once more prominent. The description of the Primordial Nightlord’s Rune offers an intriguing connection to this:

In other words, the tree being built in Nightreign could be the same as the one shown at the end of the cycle, leading to a new beginning where the Erdtree stands tall again. The description of the Primordial Nightlord’s Rune suggests a relationship between these events.

The skilled tribe, known for their ability to cut, eagerly awaited the approaching night and spent multiple moons brainstorming ways to prevent it. Eventually, they decided that their best hope lay in tricking a deity.

They caught a glimpse of something they shouldn’t have, the grave sin of the Tree of Eternity. As a consequence, they were duly penalized for their transgression.

This hypothesis suggests that the Giants may have played a more significant role in the events unfolding, given their crowns resemble symbols of punishment. Although speculative, there’s a possibility that during the period known as Nightreign, these Giants could have been constructing the Erdtree. As their forms were enlightened by its increasing radiance, it is proposed that they were the tribe blessed with a branch from the Erdtree to plant, thereby ending the night.

They built a tower to reach the Nightlords, secretly helping the Nightfarers climb up in order to confront the Nightlords who posed a threat to the world. Their subsequent rejection of the Erdtree can be attributed to this, since although their actions saved it, they could not be accepted due to their initial transgression.

2025-06-07 18:07