Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree ending explained

The Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree ending weaves a tale involving Miquella and Radahn, where defeating their combined power is your final goal. Arguably the biggest DLC launch in the gaming world, Shadow of the Erdtree sees the former play a primary role in its narrative, much like in the base game. In this expansion's final battle, you face Radahn yet again. However, this time, he has divine support in the form of Miquella.

This article will explain the Shadow of the Erdtree ending and look at the overall narrative that the Elden Ring DLC weaves for the tarnished.

Note: This article is a work in progress. Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree will have multiple endings; however, it is only known how to get one of those at the moment. We will update the article with the other endings once more information is available.

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Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree ending: A story of Miquella and his consort

The final fight in Shadow of the Erdtree ending (Image via FromSoftware || YouTube@tomigames in shorts)

The Elden Ring DLC ending throws players into a wild whirlwind of encounters that twist the story and offer ambiguous conclusions in most cases. While multiple endings to this expansion based on in-game decisions have been confirmed, the process to get them remains a mystery.

From what we have experienced, the final ending of the expansion is a fight with Radahn, who is revealed to be the consort of Miquella.

Is Radahn resurrected in Shadow of the Erdtree ending fight?

No, Radahn is not "resurrected" in Shadow of the Erdtree. The boss here is called Promised Consort Radahn (in the first stage of the fight), who is reborn from the Grace that Miquella's soul possessed.

Elden Ring's lore already made it known that Miquella, a demigod, had divested his flesh long ago. This character now exists in the spectral form.

Promised Consort Radahn

Radahn in the Shadow of the Erdtree ending fight (Image via FromSoftware || YouTube@tomigames in shorts)

When you head into the final fight area in the Elden Ring DLC ending, you will hear Miquella's voice that says:

"My loyal blade. And champion of the festival. Both your deeds will ever be praised in song. Now, the vow will be honoured, and my Lord brother's soul will return. So that he may be my consort."

Throughout the story of Shadow of the Erdtree, we come to know that Miquella ventured into the Land of Shadows for unknown reasons, waiting for the "promised Lord." It is here that we find out the Lord is none other than Radahn, his half-brother, who is also his consort.

This is the final fight and part of the Shadow of the Erdtree ending. Reborn with Miquella's power, Radahn offers a tough challenge. Once you take away around one-fourth of this character's health, Miquella joins the battle with Radahn.

Radahn, Consort of Miquella

Miquella doesn't have malicious intent but is bent on a deluded ideology that probably stems from the curses that were inflicted on him and Malenia. When he joins Radahn, he can be heard saying:

"Lord brother. At long last, you are returned. Tarnished one, aspiring Lord of the old order. If you have known sin, if you have grieved for this world, then yield the path forward to us. To I, Miquella, and my promised consort, Radahn."

Miquella joins his brother Radahn in this fight, clinging to his neck. The latter gets a massive boost in his holy power, owing to Miquella's status as a God in the Elden Ring's world. Once you defeat them, you interact with the memory of Miquella to get a key revelation of his intent.

Memory of Miquella

In the memory sequence, you see Miquella sitting beside an empty throne, whispering:

"Lord brother. I'm going to be a god. If we honour our part of the vow, promise me you'll be my consort. I'll make the world a gentler place."

This memory is of an older time before Miquella had become a God. His story might be one of betrayal, where he abandoned his lineage and the Golden Order, but his intentions weren't malicious from what I understand.

Miquella longed for a world that was "gentler," possibly hinting at his desire to free both himself and his twin sister Malenia from the Empyrean curse. In his quest to achieve this, he ventured into the Land of Shadows, tracing the footsteps of his mother, Marika.

Elden Ring DLC ending

Miquella and Radahn (Image via FromSoftware || YouTube@tomigames in shorts)

What is interesting about the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree ending is that Miquella's dialogues, at no point, hint at any hostile intent or malice whatsoever, till the very last moment of the Elden Ring DLC ending. It is clear he wanted a new world order, where he would have the power to decide who stayed and who didn't.

Miquella's failure to make the planet a better place can be traced to the twisted ideology where he believed removing anything that didn't fit his picture of a "gentler world" would fix everything. Ultimately, he too wanted a world where the power hungry Golden Order doesn't control everything. He chose a path of betrayal and warmongering to achieve this, which ultimately led to his failure.

Also read: Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree completion time

We know Miquella followed the footsteps of his mother Marika, falling into the same deluded mindset and essentially repeating the same cycle all over again. Both of them took the same path, leading to the same failure.

While the Elden Ring DLC ending does leave many questions about Miquella's fate, it is clear that he has more planned. Only time will tell how his future endeavors will pan out.

FAQs on the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree ending

Q1) How many endings are in Shadow of the Erdtree?

While the developers have mentioned there are multiple Shadow of the Erdtree endings depending on choices, only one has been discovered so far. This ending revolves around a fight with Miquella and Radahn.

Q2) Does Elden Ring DLC have a new ending?

No, Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree ending doesn't offer a new narrative that affects the main storyline. It offers closure to some characters' stories but doesn't change the existing endings.

Q3) Why is Radahn alive in the Elden Ring DLC?

Radahn is most likely reborn from the Grace of Miquella, which means the latter used his power to bring Radahn back.

Q4) Does Shadow of the Erdtree have multiple endings?

Yes, there are multple Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree endings. However, only one of these endings has been discovered thus far.

For more content on Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, check out the following:

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Edited by Soumyadyuti Ghosh