Bonfire Ascetic

 is an item and starting gift in Dark Souls II.

General Information
When burned at a bonfire, Bonfire Ascetic effectively increases the difficulty of enemies in the area to the next playthrough level. So if used at normal New Game, it will bump the difficulty to New Game+, and if used at New Game+++ it will bump the difficulty to New Game++++. This process is irreversible and persists on following playthroughs. For example, if you bump an area to New Game+ on your first playthrough, it will be at New Game++ difficulty on your New Game+ playthrough. Additionally, using the Bonfire Ascetic will reset the enemy respawn counters in the area.

Bonfire Ascetic can only be used if the area boss has been defeated.