Why does Laurentius have a +8 Pyromancy Flame if you inspect his gear in the game files, but can upgrade your Flame up to +15?
He said Pyromancy Flames develop with the person, as their power grows. He told us to take good care of the Flame he gave us, because it was a part of him.
Maybe, parting with a piece of himself knocked his Flame's power back to +8. He still has the skill, the ability to upgrade it back, all the way to +15, and even the power to upgrade ours as well. Likely, he just needed to grind some souls to return to his old skill level.
I believe he would have seen Quelana, after going to Blighttown. Either from the fact he always had enough skill to see her, or because he could upgrade it back to match her standards.
Because of that, I don't believe he succumbed to despair from not finding Quelana. I'm pretty sure something else in Blighttown killed him before he got to her - it's not like there's a shortage of options.
Maybe he lost to another enemy because he was used to being stronger, with a +15 flame, and suddenly had to get by with a +8 one. In a way, he might have died because he was kind enough to teach us his art, and share his soul with us. And we reciprocated that kindness, not knowing it would lead him to his end.












