Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree weaves an intriguing narrative where you finally go up against Promised Consort Radahn and Miquella as the final bosses of the DLC. Facing Radahn in a new form has many players questioning his role in the Land of Shadow, and if this demi-god is actually a resurrected form of the boss whom you beat in Caelid to access the DLC.
There are more questions than answers when it comes to the ending of Shadow of the Erdtree. However, we have dissected it to the best of our abilities and looked to explain some of the things that may not have been entirely apparent during exploration.
Note: The explainer below will contain spoilers. If you wish to explore the Land of Shadows at your own pace and piece the narrative together on your own, we suggest that you read no further.
What happens in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree?
The entire narrative of the Land of Shadow revolves around Miquella’s betrayal of the Golden Order. He wants to break free of the cycle that Erdtree and Marika imposed in the Lands Between in search of creating a “gentler world”.
In this sense, the Land of Shadow can be treated as an alternate reality that Miquella is trying to mold in his vision. He sheds parts of himself as he looks to reach his goal of becoming a completely different being.
The bits he sheds become the Cross that you find in the open world, and one such part of him became his other self, St. Trina.
Much of Miquella’s mistrust of the Golden Order comes from the affliction that he and his sister Malenia have. While the brother is ever eternal and cursed to be in the state of a child, Malenia is rotting from within and the Scarlet Rot curse keeps eating away at her bit by bit.
He was not able to use the power of the Order to cure his sister. This leads him to go on a journey to search for a cure (these events are further instigated after the Night of Black Knife, where his older brother Godwyn was assassinated) and sometime in his search, Miquella decides to start shedding parts of himself away to renounce his affiliation with the Golden Order.
Who is Promised Consort Radahn in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree?
The final boss of the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is Promised Consort Radahn. He is not the resurrected form of the boss that you beat in Caelid, rather, he is born from the Grace that is possessed by Miequella’s soul.
You can consider it to be a being like St. Trina, who was created by one of Miquella’s parts.
When the final boss fight starts you can hear Miquella saying:
“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.”
This goes to suggest that the “promised lord” or the new god that Miquella is trying to make to create a “gentler world” is perhaps Radahn in his prime. Miquella births him so that Radahn can be his consort and together they can create a new order outside the Order of the Erdtree.
This is why once you take down a fair bit of Radahn’s health, he will then be joined by Miquella in the fight. Much like Lothric and Lorian from Dark Souls 3, the two brothers look to become one entity to take down the Tarnished.
Radahn is the “promised consort” as in an earlier memory Miquella says,
“Lord brother. I’m going to be a god. If we honor our part of the vow, promise me you’ll be my consort. I’ll make the world a gentler place.”
Like mother like son: Shadow of the Erdtree ending explained
Miquella’s search for a “gentler world” comes with a side of violence. The very reason for making Radahn (one of the most battle-hungry demigods) his consort and then looking to exterminate anything that can threaten his vision of the world runs parallel to how his mother, Marika, sought to do things.
Marika’s Golden Order was built on blood and corpses. While Miquella has no malice towards the Tarnished, he will not hesitate to take you down if you go against him.
So much like his mother, he too is willing to build a new order, a “gentler world” on violence, which is ironic.
So when you beat him and his consort, it just shows how flawed the cycle of absolutes truly is. Even if Miquella tries again, much like Marika he is eventually going to fail and drive his created world into ruins.
It will be interesting to see if FromSoftware gives any official exposition on the ending at a future date.
