The Erdtree is a parasite. Not just the shell. The entire tree. - Elden Ring Lore Theory 

This probably explains why those who live in death are so prosecuted, the greater will can't eat em

The first time I picked up a "golden centipede" this idea suddenly occurred to me considering how it was always hinted that the Erdtree is foreign to the land between and that there are other outer gods. And during the final boss I became more convinced that there is something parasitic about the Elden Beast considering how "Gods" like Marika aren't actual divine entities but are mere 'host'/vassals of the "greater will", and just that term implies that their will is "greater" because they overwrite the will of their host(s) whatever it may be. I would go as far as to say that the Elden beast itself is just another host or an alien "beast" who used to be an alive but now completely taken over by a centipede-like being sent to the lands between to spread "the golden order".

I said that damn thing was a parasite months ago. Of course I only told a friend but still I been said it.

This video is gonna blow up, isn't it? Godspeed my dude

this fits perfectly with my headcannon that the dark souls universe existed at some point and Death one of the remnants of it, the hollow brand

Plenty of videos describe it as an Alien parasite. The lore itself says the Elden Ring has the same origin as the Star Beasts

aren't those corpses supposed to be reborn later, but can't, because of the shattering and Godwyn's corpse? And also, the whole rebirth thing was started by Marika, not Greater Will. She removed the Destined Death from the Ring and gave it to Maliketh on her own volition. I'm not sure if people would pile up like this if rebirth wasn't an option.

Makes burning the erdtree even more enticing.

The problem here to me is that it seems, Melina, like many, are born from the Erdtree. We can see depiction of this in the parfumers' home on the wall of Leyndell, not from me but from Tarnished Archeologist on youtube

That's the first time I watch an elden ring lore video and I actually understand it completely

hundreds of hours of lore videos and this man summed it up in 3 mins. less is more, kids.

I disagree with this theory, Ill explain my reasoning. Im fairly sure that Erdtree burial was a product of Marikas golden order, which was created after she removed destined death from the elden ring. Which was intentionally put into the elden ring by the Greater Will. And the elden ring has likely been around for much, MUCH longer than burial practices like burning in ghostflame and so on. Since it is depicted on murals in Faruum Azula, a city dedicated to the ancient dragons who seem to be one of, if not the oldest forms of life to exist after the One Great was shattered by Greater Will. If the Greater Will intended to eat the dead, then why bother introducing full death to the lands between? It has the power to straight up engineer the laws of reality and life itself, it could have easily worked something out to take the souls of the dead with the elden ring. But it didnt, it originally introduced proper death with the rune of death. And erdtree burial was something that came about in Marikas golden order after she took destined death away. And we also know the Greater Will and all the two fingers intended on replacing Marika at some point afterwards since they were choosing empyrean candidates, such as the Gloam Eyed Queen, which could inherit Marikas position. So if anything, it seems like the Greater Will was dissatisfied with Marika altering the elden ring in the way she did. So I dont think the Greater Will intended to eat the souls of the dead.

So if the Greater Will wants to eat our dead instead of letting zombies and monsters run around, isn't it a force for good?

Cool theory man and it makes a lot of sense. Although if I remember right it was the ending involving Fia and the Mending Rune of Death that repaired the Elden ring with Destined Death in it. Idk just a small detail and I could be remembering wrong.

I never thought about this

ooohhhhhhhhhh shit I always assumed that the twinbird god was from a previous age but your right it totally could have been part of the current pantheon that we see

Plot twist: The Greater Will is secretly the Elder God from _Legacy of Kain._

This does make a lot of sense, my personal theory is similar, that yes, Marika had a great rune and it is the rune of destined death, and was given to one of the children between her and Radagon along with other more powerful great runes, the rune of flame to Miquella, the rune of rot (made by Marika for Melania) to Melania, the rune of the moon to Ranni, and finally Marika's own great rune to Melina, who then cast it away with Ranni, who would then take it for the Night Of Black Knives which made Marika make a copy of Maliketh to look for "death", it's long ik and sorry for that

Have you seen hawkshaw's video on the ancestral followers? there he proposes that they are actually recent to the erdtree, this doesn't change anything in the video just thought i would add

bro... blink!

It's not a parasite. The Erdtree consumes bodies to rebirth them. It's a cycle of life and death.

Mf erftree goble

I mean anyone who would think critically about Crucible origins lore which precedes even the arrival of Greater Will into the lands between makes Greater Will fits more into the role of Malignant Demiurge within Sethianism branch of Christian "Gnosticism", with the malicious and/or selfish outer gods competing for the lands between acting as other Demiurge(s) (plural) or as Archons (after being forcefully integrated into Demiurge (Greater Will) own "Golden Order"), oddly enough it's why The Demiurge represents fabricated laws and hijacking the Original Tree preceding The urd Tree with it's Golden Order (plus Golden Beast) which can represents one of the Archons of Demiurgic creature within said Apocryphal Christian traditions applied to Elden Ring lore, the Valentinians tend to fall into seeing Demiurgic-figure as a more flawed, deficient, ignorant but well-intentioned Angel rather than as a Diabolical ruler but it's probably divides between two players' understanding of Greater Will lore beyond in-game into the more thematic and substantial/nature of storytelling of anything Whereas those whose trying to fight the Greater Will or attempting to provide alternative endings tend to be represents either more vile materialistic types of libertine Gnostics that got criticised by the more "common" Sethians and Valentinians or the latter with harmonious attempts to restabilises and rejuvenate them back, with Rani The Witch's faction represents Marcionites (with Sorceries dualism), Rykard faction represents Serpentine Gnostics (probably Ophites or Naassenes), Dung Eater representing Borborites (due to how filthy association it is and related to sex, something which many Gnostics were very Ascetics and against the Libertine types), Goldmask representing Perfect Order (probably to the more Jewish Gnostics and less malignant types which tried to harmonises Christian Gnostic tendencies with Mosaic Law through perfecting the Golden Order and remove it's flaws by that scarlet rot harlot of a final boss) and other endings' parallels to it

All this video says is debunked trough japanese original description, made public knowledge moths ago. Outer gods are not extraterrestrial, but outer from the Golden Order, as all of them comes from elements and power that only came after the elden ring. After Marika became God, created the golden order, deeming every other powers and entities "outer" from her rule. Prior than the elden ring there was nothing, elden ring is life itself, made evident by the Dragonlord who was elden lord in an age before the golden order. In fact, the crucible is the name of the erdtree before destined death was removed, and from the crucible all life generates. The crucible was also redish because destined death, wich is red, was still in the elden ring, and after itwas being removed, the elden ring and the tree related to it, became gold, because gold plus red makes orange, wich is said in the game was the color of premordial gold. Marika changed the elden ring to better fit to her idea of ruling, thus removing the destined death. The erdtree is not a parasite, it generates from the elden ring exactly like your dropped runes generates small branches. The different names for the erdtree in japanese is used to indicate different times of the same tree. Those corpses are there because Godwyn infested the roots, and the corpses started to move after his death.