In 2016, Dark Souls 3 hit shelves and digital storefronts capping off FromSoftware's trilogy of games. Since then, the Dark Souls developers have allowed the franchise to rest but still create games with similar elements. Even to this day, however, fans are still pointing out newly discovered details in the franchise's final game.
The Dark Souls games are famous among gamers for being incredibly difficult and for their obtuse stories. While the main plots are fairly straightforward, the actual story of Dark Souls, character development, and general world-building elements are a bit harder to follow. Often times character backgrounds and world-building details are hidden in item descriptions and one-sided conversations with NPCs. Generally speaking, most of the story and world-building elements tell a very depressing tale. One of the saddest stories in the games is the tale of Anri of Astora and Horace the Hushed.
In Dark Souls 3, Anri and Horace travel together hunting Aldrich, Devourer of Gods. Depending on how the player goes about playing the game, their story can end once the player defeats Aldrich but can also be ended much sooner and in a far more depressing way. Recently Reddit user yeahborris pointed out that if you kill Horace in the Firelink Shrine, Anri will become depressed and stay in a comatose state in the shrine until you kill her.
The story of Anri and Horace in Dark Souls 3 is equally sad and disturbing. Aldrich wasn't so much a devourer of gods as he was a devourer of children, and became a Lord of Cinder thanks to the power accumulated through this horrific action. Both Anri and Horace were on Aldrich's menu before managing to escape his clutches. After Aldrich's resurrection, the two set out to slay the Lord of Cinder once and for all.
Like many other NPCs in the Dark Souls, the fate of Anri and Horace is determined by the actions of the player character. Should the player opt to help Anri and Horace in their quest, the two will be separated by a trap and Horace sadly goes hollow. The player character can summon Anri to aid in their battle against Aldrich as well as utilize a number of special weapons and techniques. Once the Lord of Cinder is defeated, Anri purpose is fulfilled, and she leaves the Firelink Shrine forever to become a hollow in one of two separate locations.
Another option when it comes to Anri is to ignore her quest to slay Aldrich altogether. If the player character opts to side with certain NPCs and becomes the Lord of the Hollows, Anri is used to that end, resulting in an alternate ending for Dark Souls 3. However, none of these stories will happen if the player decides that Horace needs to die in the Firelink Shrine.
Dark Souls 3 is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.