There are a variety of endings offered in Elden Ring, but those looking for something especially bleak may seek the Blessing of Despair ending.
As Elden Ring's launch grows further away, more players are finishing their playthroughs and additional runs. Some understanding has been reached regarding the spread-out story and gameplay of FromSoftware's new open-world title, and discoveries are still being made. Everything contributes to the fantastical world Elden Ring presents, and players have freedom like never before to explore and influence it. Every Tarnished’s journey will be at least a little different, and sometimes it may feel like one player has opted into a different game than another.
One of the most sweeping ways of changing the experience is the game's various side quests. Elden Ring offers several quests that span many hours of game time, and even more kilometers of the Lands Between. Players will stumble across White-Faced Varre almost immediately, and can find plenty more NPCs throughout Limgrave. Even more of them appear once the player unlocks the Roundtable Hold, and several are dotted throughout the rest of the Lands. A number of these point towards specific endings that align with their interests. These are varied in requirement and outcome, but the darkest of these may belong to the loathsome Dung Eater.
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Accessing the Dung Eater's Mending Rune
The Blessing of Despair ending is one of the variant Elden Lord endings, meaning it requires a special Mending Rune. This one needs the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse, which is obtained by completing the Dung Eater’s associated questline. It will take some time before he shows up in the Roundtable Hold, but he does so suddenly. The Dung Eater is found sitting in a side room as a non-hostile red phantom, already an unnerving sight for Souls veterans. Speaking with the Dung Eater quickly reveals an obsession with defilement and curses, though he is currently resting. He dismisses the player character as dull and says no more on the matter.
Along the player's journey through Elden Ring, they may stumble across out-of-the-way areas with mysterious corpses strapped to chairs. On these corpses are lumps with gnarled Omen horns called Seedbed Curses, and showing one to the Dung Eater provokes a response. He will provide a key to his cell under Lyndell, and upon freeing him players will be challenged to a duel. After winning, a confused Dung Eater realizes that the Tarnished is “like him,” and recruits them to feed his body the rest of the Seedbed Curses from his old victims.
Due to being a simple scavenger hunt, this is one of the easier endings to find, which may be deliberate. If the player goes through with this madman's requests, they are rewarded with a Mending Rune that seemingly bursts from the Dung Eater's corpse.
The Impact of the Blessing of Despair Ending on Elden Ring
The player can access the Blessing of Despair ending by selecting its corresponding Rune after defeating the final boss. In the ensuing cutscene, the skyline behind the Erdtree is obscured by grotesque brown clouds and fog. The sky’s color resembles the Omen curse Morgott vomits up midway through his fight, marking another potential connection to the Seedbed Curses. The narration betrays its disgust with the Tarnished through their tone, a rare occurrence among Elden Ring's endings. Apart from the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending, which can contain a sliver of hope if Melina is still alive, the Blessing of Despair is easily the most morally bankrupt outcome Elden Ring players can cause.
The Rune of the Fell Curse ensures that everyone born in this new age will be afflicted by the Seedbed Curse. On death, their souls will not be returned to the Erdtree for reincarnation, and will instead be trapped in eternal torment. The Dung Eater and the Tarnished's motivations here seem alien, and it's not clear if they are motivated by the curse itself or are just wretched people.
The Omens and the Seedbed Curse could be the revenge of the primeval crucible of life on the Erdtree, or they could be the manifestations of another outer god. Contributing to their subtle horror, little information exists on these matters. At any rate, the Blessing of Despair ending is one of the most awful outcomes FromSoftware’s included in its games, but it speaks to the breadth of choice that Elden Ring provides.
Elden Ring is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
