The Old Ones were four ancient beings who were the original owners of the Great Souls in Dark Souls II.
Lore[]
The Old Ones, described as ineffables, are the four long forgotten original owners of souls of immense power known as the Great Souls: the Old King Soul, the Old Witch Soul, Old Paledrake Soul and the Old Dead One Soul. According to Sweet Shalquoir, the Old Ones are said to be so ancient that even their names have been forgotten, while Shanalotte refers to their names as unutterable.
While the Old Ones are scarcely remembered, their Great Souls are always reborn into new forms at the beginning of each cycle. Despite not being as powerful as they once were, the Great Souls are still able to influence the land around them and the ones that possess them, thought to what extent and if done so consciously remains unknown.
According to Wellager, King Vendrick once defeated the four wielders of the Great Souls of his time, and used their power to build the kingdom of Drangleic, and to peer into the very essence of the soul.
The four current owners of the Great Souls as of the Bearer of the Curse’s arrival in Drangleic are the Old Iron King, the Lost Sinner, The Rotten and The Duke's Dear Freja. The Emerald Herald instructs the Bearer of the Curse to acquire the Great Souls to gain their power and use them as a beacon to reach Vendrick.
Lord Souls[]
The Great Souls are believed to be Lord Souls from Dark Souls, which is heavily implied by their names. Henceforth, that makes the Old Ones and the main bosses from Dark Souls one and the same.
It is also noticiable that each of the current possessors of a Great Soul has a story that draws a parallel to the original owner of their Lord Soul.
Old Iron King - Gwyn[]
The Old Iron King, wielder of the Old King Soul, after being killed by the Smelter Demon, was said to have succumbed to the flames and had his flesh charred, which became molten earth. This is a reference to how Gwyn, Lord of Cinder hurled himself into the First Flame to link the fire and prolong the Age of Fire, additionally, Sweet Shalquoir refers to the Old Iron King as "A vainglorious liar who ended up hurling himself into the flames" which makes a perfect pararel to Gwyn's linking of the fire.
According to his Soul, when the Old Iron King succumbed to the flames, he was possessed “by a evil that lurked below”. This is likely how he acquired his Great Soul and the reason for his transformation into his current state.
Second playthroughs and onward cause the Old Iron King to drop the Old King Soul upon defeat.
The Lost Sinner - Witch of Izalith[]
The Lost Sinner, wielder of the Old Witch Soul, is said to have attempted to light the First Flame, and is burdened by her past misdeeds. In the same manner, the Witch of Izalith attempted to recreate the First Flame using her Lord Soul, but instead created the Flame of Chaos. Other correlations that can be pointed are the creature similar to a Chaos Bug seen crawling into the eyehole of the Lost Sinner’s mask, her Handcuffs having the power to augment pyromancy and the phantoms of Pyromancers that aid her in battle in NG+.
It is believed that the Lost Sinner comes from Eleum Loyce, a land threatened by the Chaos. Which could explain how she came into possession of her Great Soul and the Chaos Bug-like insect crawling on her.
Second Playthroughs and onward will cause the Lost Sinner to drop the Old Witch Soul.
The Rotten - Nito[]
The Rotten, wielder of the Old Dead One Soul, is composed of the bodies of numerous Undead. This is similar to the manner in which Gravelord Nito is composed of numerous skeletons. Both of them also reside in the deep underground surrounded by decay and darkness.
Due to the unnatural origins of the Rotten and his unclear identity, it’s unknown how he, or the undead on his shoulder that appears to command him, acquired his Great Soul, but it is fair to assume that his Great Soul may be the only reason why such a creature came to be in the first place.
Upon defeat from NG+ onward, he drops the Old Dead One Soul.
The Duke's Dear Freja - Seath[]
Freja is an exception among the bosses, for she does not own a Great Soul, being merely the keeper of one. The Great Soul is found behind her close to the web resembling the Primordial Crystal. The true owner of the Old Paledrake Soul is the entity possesing Freja, know as the “Writhing Ruin”.
The Writhing Ruin is described as an ancient entity whose influence in Brightstone Cove Tseldora made the inhabitants be consumed in the search for “that which they lacked”. Furthermore, Manscorpion Tark, who congratulates the player for “defeating his master” after Freja is killed (referring to the Writhing Ruin possesing her) describes his master as a being “born with a fatal flaw, hateful of those that had what he lacked, creator of strange creatures and eroded by solitude and madness". This is a perfect definition of Seath the Scaleless search for immortality. Other correlations are Scorpioness Najka, who has the same creator of Tark, being able to use sorceries, the same crystal theme aesthetic both the Writhing Ruin and Seath have and that the word “Writhing” means a squirming cortorcion similar to the movements of tentacles.
However, Tark elaborates that his master never dies, only changes form over time and Sweet Shalquoir recalls “that awful traitor long ago who coveted what he did not have …The Writhing Ruin keeps searching as we speak”, this all heavily implies that the Writhing Ruin actually is Seath himself.
The Duke's Dear Freja, from NG+ onward, drops the Old Paledrake Soul.