Talk:Age of Dark/@comment-98.166.30.103-20170521011131

I've always imagined Dark Souls as an inventive way of applying concepts of eastern thought to a fantastic video game world. Without getting into multiple paragraphs of detail, here is what I "believe" about Dark Souls. The cosmology of Dark Souls mirrors the cosmological beliefs of its creator. It revolves around the concepts of infinite realities all nestled within a single Ultimate reality (Emptiness/Void with unlimited potentiality.)  Within this single Ultimate reality, the past, present, and future all occur simultaneously as well as every possible permutation of events. Basically, every possibility, every cause and effect, every past, present, and future is all occurring simultaneously. In some realities the Chosen Undead continues the Age of Fire...or he doesn't;  The Ashen One links the flame one last time or becomes the Lord of the Hollows. In some the Age of Fire is at its peak and in others it is declining or dead. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. These realities are just permutations of the void of Ultimate reality.

However, in the realm of the relative (not ultimate)- all realities follow some basic cause and effect rules. The Primordial Age is followed by the Age of Fire is followed by the Age of Dark is followed by the Primordial Age is followed by the Age of Fire, etc. The universe of Dark Souls is fundamentally cyclical. As the player, you just get to enjoy the show for a while, during one of a potential infinite number of Ages of Fire, and make some decisions while you're there. But, in the end, it doesn't matter. The universes will seek balance, the cycle will continue, you were just lucky enough to participate in it for a while.