The catharsis of victory after losing innumerable times can often drown out your craving for a satisfying conclusion to Elden Ring‘s story. Still, you might question why you’re getting hammered by a ginger man instead of a grieving queen who then transforms into a translucent larva monster after refusing to lose. We’re here to explain the ‘whys’ of the final boss in Elden Ring, if only to add more context to your victory.
Why Were You Fighting Radagon Instead of Marika?
Look, Marika just lost a son, a husband, and the stability of her whole kingdom. Why’d you want to fight her? But in all seriousness, it was Queen Marika who shattered the Elden Ring. In her grief over losing Godwyn, or for whatever reason, she left the pieces of the Elden Ring to be fought over by the lesser demigods.
Meanwhile, Radagon, who happens to be Marika’s split persona and gender-bent alter ego, wants to repair the Elden Ring.
To clear any confusion, the simplest way to explain the ‘Elden Ring’ is that it’s a culmination of powers that have come to represent law and order in the Lands Between.
Radagon wanted to restore the Greater Will (and Outer God or celestial entity operating beyond the Lands Between) back to its former control by trying to repair the Elden Ring. That somewhat confirms Radagon as a different person than Marika despite the two being the same. Radagon apparently took over and stopped you before you could do anything to the Elden Ring.
Radagon and his god, the Greater Will, seem to be averse to you as the Elden Lord. It also appears that the Greater Will doesn’t like Marika after what she did to the Elden Ring. Hence, it controls Radagon instead and imprisons Marika.
What is the Elden Beast?
But then the huge creature emerged from Radagon’s corpse after you defeated him. It’s aptly named the Elden Beast and you probably have a good idea already of what the thing is.
The Elden Beast, simply put, is the vassal of the Greater Will. Since Radagon failed as the Greater Will’s champion, out came the avatar of the Elden Ring itself, the Elden Beast.
In the past, the Greater Will sent the Elden Beast to the Lands Between to establish law and order. The beast eventually assumed the vessel form of the Elden Ring. So the final boss is the Elden Ring itself.
It’s not clear whether the Greater Will is the most powerful among the overarching gods. After all, it’s the one that sent the Elden Beast to the Lands Between. It’s reasonable to assume it also owned the Elden Ring and the beast.
However, the other Outer Gods, such as the Dark Moon (represented by Ranni), Formless Mother (represented by Mohg), God of the Scarlet Rot (represented by Malenia), the Serpent God (represented by Rykard), and The Frenzied Flame all want to control the Elden Ring.
That’s why you get multiple endings depending on whom you choose as an Outer God or god. That should add more reasons to replay the game and to get yourself ready for even more weird lore from the Shadow of the Erdtree.
