Talk:Age of Dark/@comment-1600847-20170518183137

" The Age of Fire is on the brink of ending, as even after the Ashen Chosen gathers all the embers of the five Lords of Cinder, the fire does not ignite as before."

I've read a theory that the reason the First Flame doesn't explode in DS 3 like it does is DS1 isn't because it's growing weaker, but because the Ashen One absorbed the souls of 4 Lords of Cinder and the Soul of Cinder (the "deific manifestation of the Lords of Cinder"). Because of that the Ashen One was able to "control" the First Flame, unlike the Chosen Undead who's only taken the soul of 1 Lord of Cinder and couldn't control it, leading to the explosion we see in the "Link the Fire" DS1 ending.