Board Thread:Dark Souls/@comment-28204394-20160830224717/@comment-37.138.164.195-20160907112011

The Dark/Abyss seems to be connected to humanity. Oolacile proves that. If we agree that the Dark Soul is some sort of proto-humanity, one can theorize that spreading the abyss directly comes from rampant humanity. So, in my mind, the Four kings did not go down to the Abyss, but rather it appeared at their position when Kaathe manipulated their humanity, much like Manus seethes it. That's why we see that crazy humanity icon on their chests, and they themselves even look so strange.

Furthermore, this might be the main difference between the Dark and the Deep in DS3, the Deep seems to focus less on humanity and more on human dregs or something entirely different, like water.