FromSoftware’s Elden Ring has a complex hierarchy system put in place, and at the top of it is none other than the Greater Will, who is an outer god carrying out his will on The Lands Between and the people living in it.
The shattering of the Elden Ring was finally able to take away a major chunk of the Greater Will’s influence. Still, a new theory going around the internet now states there have been multiple shatterings already, and it is a cycle that we are stuck in.
Why There Have Been Multiple Shatterings In The World Of Elden Ring
A theory proposed by this user on Reddit speculates how there have been multiple shatterings in the past and before the events of the game. The user predicts how, even before Marika shattered the Ring and was punished, it had happened before with dragons and their vanished god.
We have observed that a god can vanish when punished by the Greater Will, as seen with Queen Marika, who was trapped inside the Erdtree for eternity when she caused the shattering. Following the same principle, it is likely that the ruler of Dragons and their god vanished as a punishment by the Greater Will, ending the age of dragons.
This implies that after the player has finally managed to mend the ring to become the Elden Lord, they would then go on to shatter it again, repeating the cycle. However, there is one ending in the game that possibly breaks this loop, we are stuck in, being the Age of Stars ending.
How Ranni’s Age Of Stars Ending Breaks The Elden Ring Shattering Cycle
Out of the 6 available endings, Age of the Stars in particular is one of the unique finishes of the game and is only unlocked after completing Ranni’s quest line. Ranni the Witch is an NPC that follows the path of another outer god, the great Dark Moon.
After one has managed to beat the Elden Beast and has finished the game, they can then summon Ranni to initiate the Age of the Stars ending, which replaces the influence of the Greater Will with the Dark Moon on The Lands Between. This theoretically frees us from the force of The Greater Will and finally breaks its cycle.
Players of the game are also hoping that we will get to see another secret ending to the game soon with the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Fans have predicted we will get to see Miquella’s journey to the burned-down Erdtree, which will unlock the 7th Age of Slumber ending.
Elden Ring is available to purchase on Steam.
