On the Age of Man

The following was originally posted in this thread by Donj0, and all content contained is credited to them. Only minor changes were made to accommodate the difference in format. 

This post explores the Usurpation of Fire ending of Dark Souls 3.

via https://youtu.be/ZA5hSDLOSuk

A long time ago, in a Lordran far far away, we were given a story in which we could Link a Dying Flame or leave it to die. Through sources that we were not entirely sure we could trust, we were told that Linking the Flame would enable to Age of Fire to continue and that letting it die would usher forth an Age of Dark. Or, per Kaathe's theory, an Age of Man.

But that ultimately proved itself to be false. The Age of Dark and the Age of Man are not synonymous. Ages of Fire and Dark instead ended up endlessly starting, swapping, restarting. A vicious cycle. The eyes of some thusly moved toward the notion of ending the cycle entirely instead of allowing it to perpetuate in its self destructive manner. This is where Dark Souls 2 comes in. With the evidence that the cycle has repeated an untold number of times, King Vendrick figures out that the only way to truly end the cycle is to harness the First Flame and the Dark Soul in tandem. It was too late for him by the time he realized this, and the Bearer of the Curse who came after him was unable to follow in his footsteps.

Come Dark Souls 3, and Kaathe has reappeared in the background of things. He still intends to begin an Age of Man, but he knows that starting the latest Age of Dark just won't do it. He is affiliated with Londor, the nation of Hollows, and sends Yuria to find a Lord of Hollows. What is a Lord of Hollows, pray tell? A Champion of Ash, who finds power in Embers, inflicted with the Dark Sigil to become Hollow and therefore take on what Londor believes to be the true form of Humankind. In better terms, a Champion capable of harnessing the Embers of the First Flame and the Dark Sigil of Humanity in tandem. The being that Vendrick sought.

When properly groomed, the Champion of Ash becomes capable of usurping the First Flame. They take it within themselves, potentially halting the cycle for good and ushering forth the Age of Man that Kaathe so desired.

The question remains: Was this initiative successful? I would say... yes!

The evidence I would like to submit is the appearance of the Sun in the various endings. In one or two previous analyses of the endings, I saw it observed that the appearance of the (obviously very screwed up) sun did not change except in the usurp ending. Some seemed to feel that this fact pointed to it as being some sort of "true" ending. This would certainly be a reasonable thought, considering the more nuanced work required to meet the requirements for the ending, but I have since heard another observation: the seemingly eclipsed Sun seen at the end of the game looks an awful lot like the Darksign hanging up there in the sky. Adds a whole new level of creepy to that dynamic, I'd say.

And how does the sun change in the usurp ending, and only the usurp ending? Why, it changes from a black center ringed by orange... to a black center ringed by white. When thinking in terms of "black + orange ring = Darksign", what does "black + white ring" equal? Humanity.

And there we have it. Either Linking or Ending the Flame still keeps the Undead in control of things, but only usurping the Flame allows Man to take the mantle of history once again.

As for whether or not that's a good thing... now that is a discussion for another time. Or maybe just in the comment section because this main post is long enough.