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Nothing is sacred in a FromSoftware game. Everything we thought was nice is horrifying, and the monsters we slay often have heartwrenching backstories. It should come as no surprise then that Elden Ring fans have a new theory: the peaceful jellyfish are actually the spirits of the Lands Between's dead kids.
You may have noticed there aren't any kids running around the fields of Limgrave or sneaking around the various catacombs littered across the lands. Bit weird in a world where death itself has ceased to function. Where did all the little tykes go?
Well, Reddit user Puzzleheaded_Safe131 reckons the children are in some way spared this cruel fate and are turned into jellyfish upon death. It's that, or "some Bloodborne level of cosmic horror is happening to the children."
There are a few things that support this theory. The main one is the jellyfish sisters you help. One is your summon, Aurelia, and she and her sister have a grave in the Mountaintop cemetery. "Here lie Aurelia and Aureliette, who never saw the stars." The desire to see the night sky and go to the stars together is one that could only be conjured in the mind of a child.
Another big one is that the jellyfish are peaceful unless you hit them first. Backupusername believes this means the story of the jellyfish shield is extremely sad as well.
They suggest that the reason there are four red jellyfish around it, signaling they're already aggressive towards you, is because they're trying to defend their dead friend. They don't want anyone coming and stealing their body, so they're violently protective of it. Excuse me while I wipe away my tears.
The only issue with it is, surely this is also a fate similar to death? Maybe even worse. Instead of remaining undying like the rest of the game's inhabitants, the kids are transformed and attacked randomly by other Tarnished.
In other Elden Ring news, two players recreated the journey of child-sized Sam and Frodo to Mordor within the game. Their video looks a lot like the pair's journey across Middle Earth to destroy the ring. Maybe they got lost and shattered the Elden Ring by mistake.