This Prequel Theory Changes How You See Elden Ring
While some "Elden Ring" players have spent their time combing through every last detail of the game trying to discover all of its secrets, one fan spent some time trying to place the game in the greater FromSoftware universe. While FromSoftware has not said its game all take place in the same universe, one fan believes that they do, or they at least exist in parallel universes. FromSoftware has said its not done with "Elden Ring" and will be expanding the world beyond games.
"Elden Ring" has at least six endings, with an additional seventh ending that was cut along with the questline that led to it. Of these six endings, four of them are variations of the Elden Lord ending. The other two are the Age of Stars ending and the Frenzied Flame ending. It appears as though FromSoftware also views the endings in this compartmentalized way, since there are only three ending-related achievements in the game. These three endings are what have led one player to believe that "Elden Ring" might be a prequel to something bigger.
Is Elden Ring a prequel to multiple FromSoftware games?
According to Reddit user theodis09's theory, each of the three "main" endings lead directly into other FromSoftware worlds, making "Elden Ring" the ultimate prequel. They believe the Age of Stars ending leads into "Bloodborne," Frenzied Flame into "Dark Souls," and Destined Death into "Demon's Souls." In the comments they explained that the Age of Stars ending would lead to people worshiping beings from beyond our planet and when they left only the "old gods" would remain, leading into the world of "Bloodborne."
In the Frenzied Flame ending, the world is burned completely, leading to an age where dragons roam free and giant trees grow from the seeds of the Erdtree. Some of the remaining cinders catch fire again, leading into the age of fire and the events of "Dark Souls." Lastly, the Destined Death ending would have placed a greater importance on souls, since creatures can die again. This would lead to demons returning to harvest the power of souls, leading into the story of "Demon's Souls." While this theory is somewhat thin, it's certainly interesting to see how each distinct "Elden Ring" ending could create a very different world.