Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-16323332-20140410210836/@comment-16047389-20140411174503

Zsarock wrote: But how to know which ending is cannon? I mean, if the Dark lord ending were to be cannon, there wouldn't be any bonfires left in Majula or even Firekeepers because nobody rekindled the First Flame.

I think Linking the Fire is actually the cannonical ending: The undead curse is cyclic, so when the Flame begins to fade the curse returns to haunt humanity and linking the fire will keep the curse at bay, for a period of time at least until it starts to fade again. Straid mentions that before he were petrified there was a different kingdom prior to Drangleic and I think that even his own kingdom, Olaphis, has been wiped from the face of the world! Could it have been Lordran? Or maybe Astora, Vinheim, Thorolund, Carim, Balder? Who knows!! Who knows how many Chosen Undead have existed that linked the flame in order to keep the cycle going on indefinitely!

If the Dark Lord ending were to be cannon, things could be completely different, but don't know how. They're both canon. Whether or not the Chosen Undead linked the bonfire themself, others have been linking it long after the events of Dark Souls. Even if he walked away, someone else could've linked it and continued the Age of Fire regardless.