The Elden Ring Ending You Were Never Meant To See

Like many other of FromSoftware's games, "Elden Ring" has multiple different endings, each of which can be accessed via completing different NPC's questlines and meeting various requirements. As it currently stands, "Elden Ring" has six different endings. Considering that "Elden Ring" patch V1.03 added some extra NPC dialogue and sections for quests, it just doesn't seem impossible that there could be more endings that haven't been added. But thanks to the efforts of dataminer and YouTuber Garden of Eyes, a seventh unused ending has been uncovered within the files of "Elden Ring." 

Beware of major spoilers ahead for "Elden Ring."

Of the original six endings, four of them are based around either mending the titular Elden Ring or using a different mending rune to usher in a new age. Those four endings result in the player character becoming the Elden Lord. The fifth ending brings about the Age of Stars, which sees the protagonist and Ranni the Witch ruling together. The sixth ending is the dark and foreboding "Lord of the Frenzied Flame" ending, in which the player gets branded by the Three Fingers and uses the Frenzied Flame to bring about ruin. 

The newly discovered ending is quite unique among the rest. Here's what happens in the "Elden Ring" ending FromSoftware never intended for you to see.

As noted by Garden of Eyes in their video showing the cut ending, it's unclear what would need to happen in the game to bring about this sequence of events, since the NPC questline related to it was also cut from the game. Even so, the completed cutscene appears to still be buried in the game's files. 

The cutscene shows the player placing Marika's head back on her body, similar to the other mending endings. After that a large, five-fingered hand appears and grabs the player. The cutscene continues to show the Erdtree burning and a five-fingered hand sitting on the Elden Throne, with your player worshiping it.

Considering this is the first time a this particular hand creature is seen in "Elden Ring," it's hard to tell what impact this has on the greater lore of the game. GameSpot has theorized that this is a manifestation of the Greater Will, the being that allowed Marika to ascend to godhood, resulting in the original Elden Ring. Now that being has taken the role of Elden Lord, although what this means or how it happened is unclear without the rest of the questline to back it up. 

For players who care deeply about the lore, this unused cutscene definitely has some interesting implications. For players who aren't quite so concerned with the overarching mythology, they may continue to be happy to fight dogs that can one-shot them.