It’s start point is after defeating the Fire Giant at Mountaintop Peaks. The giant’s body remains in the far corner of the arena after resting at a Grace, and a flickering ember of orange can be interacted with in the space where the Fell Gods eye once was. It bares a warning; “Touch the Flame of Ruin at your own Peril?”

Touching the ember triggers a cutscene reminiscent of the Manus cutscene from DS1. The ember itself seems to surge to life around our Tarnished and swallows them whole. Our Tarnished then wakes in a boss field similar to that of the Elden Beast; a large, other dimensional, space. Although the thick distant tree trunks are instead replaced with thin, brittle, structures that are charcoal black. And the ground itself is like ashen black sand with traces of white in it - bone dust.

A figure surges in flame in the distance and begins to approach - its size indeterminable to start with. As it approaches, so too does the Flame of Ruin begin to swell around the periphery of the boss field.

The health-bar appears; Reborn Flame of Ruin. The boss approaches slowly, with heavy steps, like an inevitable curse, as an array of fiery orbs and arrows launch from the sky behind it, it’s arms held aloft in a similar manner to the Fire Giant offering its leg for power.

The Fire surrounding the arena slowly begins to close in with every step the Flame of Ruin takes, acting similarly to Nightreigns rain. The Tarnished can survive beyond the flames edge, but their HP will be slowly ate away at the entire time.

The actual boss isn’t nearly as large as the Fire Giant was once within range, instead matching a similar size to Morgott and Mohg. But the illusion at a distance is such that its size seems to swell and diminish easily.

This boss fight, like classic first boss fights, is technically unwinnable. Our Tarnished at this point isn’t a match for the Flame of Ruin - having not even conquered Death yet (unless you proceeded forward before coming back to this dlc entry.)

There are three ways this fight can go; either the Tarnished is defeated, dying quite early on, or they manage to survive until the ring of flame closes to a certain threshold, or they do manage to reduce the Flame of Ruin’s HP to at least half. (Achieving one of the latter two outcomes yields an early Talisman; Braid of the Fell Sun, which is the third tier of Incantation talismans.)

At any of these points, the fight ends, and a cutscene triggers showing our Tarnished burning alive brutally in the Flame of Ruin - being claimed by Death despite the potentiality of the Rune of Death still being sealed. (Ghost Flame is strangely visible within the Flame of Ruin that takes our life.)

When the screen goes dark, a gravely masculine voice speaks, accompanied by a swell of bright orange light radiating outward from the screen centre; “Perish within my Flame of Ruin, little Lordling of no worth. Let I Ascendeth to my Rightful Place once more. The Lands will have their True Sun again.”

We cut to another scene, Our Tarnished seemingly sprawled out face down across a stone altar. The camera pans out revealing an elaborate inner church and a fainter, gentler, voice speaks, concerned and halting, as though talking is difficult; “Follow the glow of lamplight… Seek the Helphen, the lampwood itself.. Help them, Tarnished… Help our friends… You are strong enough, just as He…”

The Tarnished then wakes within the Cathedral of Manus Fatum, a Hub within the Realm of Spirits. As we lose access to the Lands Between for the duration of the DLC.