ELDEN RING CUT CONTENT - ALTERNATE ENDING / DIALLOS AND THE LIVING JARS / ASIMI SILVER TEAR
UPDATE: CHECK THE NEW PATCH FOR ELDEN RING
If you picked up an item in Elden Ring that seems to do nothing, or had an NPC just disappear before it felt like their quest was over, you're probably on the cusp of cut content! This video features dialogue lines that exist (or existed) within the game's text files but have not been found in game. Explanations below!
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Datamined Dialogue: https://de.catbox.moe/f3r1gp.xml
Music: Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon
Photo in Background of Age of Absolute is "Malenia - The goddess of rot" by Dino on Twitter: @Dino_illus
If you liked this video, let me know and I will make another based on the content for Nepheli Loux / Gostoc / Kenneth Haight and other cut NPCs. Yes, there's more!
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Keep in mind, this is speculation only based on out-of-context dialogue lines. The most speculative content here is the "Age of Absolute" ending, and the least speculative is the Diallos quest ending (which is pretty straightforward).
The "Age of Absolute" poem comes directly after all other ending dialogue (such as Ranni's quest end text or Melina swearing vengeance in the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending) suggesting that it was text for yet another ending. However, it seems unlikely that this ending made it to the final cut of the game. While the dialogue could feasibly be said by Malenia, it could also be from a Miquella cut ending: it is known that Miquella was initially supposed to have a voice actor (as well as an NPC who sought them out to serve them, other than Mohg). I am only using the title "Age of Absolute" as it is another title that was datamined early for an additional ending. Nothing in the files denotes that this specific text was the Age of Absolute (or that the Age of Absolute wasn't simply an early name for one of the existing endings, possibly just the Goldmask ending) so consider it a placeholder at best. Other interpretations of the poem are welcome - I think it fits Malenia or Miquella best because of the references to blossoming (like Malenia) and dreaming (like Miquella, who has multiple Sleep based items in game as St. Trina) but you are welcome to come up with your own theories! Maybe it was an ending where Melina somehow survives and the player does not choose the Frenzied Flame?
Diallos' quest ending beyond leaving Volcano Manor was not in the first release of the game. There was no billed voice actor for the role of the Little Jar, Alexander's Nephew who is meant to greet the player in Jarburg. The Little Jar has more dialogue than can be seen in the video (such as aspiring to be like his uncle Alexander or just being cute in general) but these are the lines that most pertain to Diallos arriving at Jarburg. The player is meant to help Diallos fight off an NPC invader known as the Poacher (or there may have been multiple poachers). I'm not sure how much of this made it in - this video was made before the 1.03 patch that came out (as of writing this, yesterday).
Based on Asimi's dialogue, they were supposed to show up among the other Silver Tear enemies that transform into random blue naked humans. As the player cut through enemies they would eventually find one that would beg for their life, explaining that they have somehow gained higher sentience and seek to live inside you in exchange for some sort of power. They would then speak to the player as a disembodied voice (sort of like what Latenna does in her questline) when the player neared items that would boost the silver tear's strength. My gut feeling is that there would be some sort of downside or trade to taking this strength, and Asimi starts to act strange towards the end of their dialogue. Without context it's difficult to tell how it ends, but the player seems to pass out at one point and awaken to Asimi becoming their "perfect whole" (a perfect clone of you perhaps?) and gets distraught after the player finds them somewhere, like they are stalking you or planning your downfall so they can become Elden Lord instead. (I am glad this one is cut because it sounds kind of annoying.)
If you have any corrections or additional theories, leave them in the comments below!