Ending A - "The God of Fear & Hunger"

This is one of the 5 endings available in the game.

Warning! Spoilers ahead! Proceed at your own risk!

(Relatively) Spoiler-Free Guide

1. The Girl must stay alive to the very end.
2. All three purple hearts need to be destroyed (cut open).
3. All four souls need to be acquired from the New Gods. Three of them need to be acquired before the final fourth.
4. After acquiring three souls you are able to challenge the Nameless statue.
5. Defeat Francois and acquire the fourth soul.
6. Do not sit on the throne. Sitting on the throne will send you into the Void and lock you into a different ending.
7. With all three hearts destroyed, the mouth of the God of the Depths will open and you will be able to enter the Gauntlet.
8. Survive the Gauntlet.
9. Bring the Girl to the final area.

Detailed Guide

1. The Girl must stay alive to the very end. The player needs to cut open the three hearts. One can be found on lvl5 deeper thicket, one in the ruins (lvl7 catacombs), and the final one can only be acquired after several fights.
2. All four souls need to be acquired from the New Gods. Three of them need to be acquired before the final fourth.
   1. The Tormented One, who can be found in the Temple of Torment. The Tormented One requires a sacrifice to be summoned. If the player doesn't want to sacrifice one of their teammates, they can create a husk in the underground lab, which is reached by jumping down the hole found to the right of the White Angel in the present version of Ma'habre.
   2. The Enlightened One is found inside the library. To reach it you need to solve the puzzle of the mannequins. See solution below.
   3. The Endless One can be found in the Endless Tower to the far east of the map. You will need to sleep in the bed and move through the area until you enter Ragnvaldr's past, and defeat the Skin Granny. After this, Nilvan will appear. She doesn't need to be fought but will give you her soul if you promise to take the Girl to the Gauntlet. If you do not accept, you have to instead sacrifice Cahara. This is also a good chance to save safely.
   4. Alternatively, the player can skip those fights and instead receive any of these souls by either using the empty scrolls to obtain them or by simply killing all the specific recruitable characters that contain those souls, which is Cahara (Endless soul), Enki (Enlightened soul) and Ragnvaldr (Tormented soul).
3. After these three souls have been adquired, you will be able to challenge the Nameless statue. Defeating the Nameless statue allows you to enter the Golden Temple, where you will face off with Francois, the Dominating One.
4. Francois can easily be defeated by talking to him, telling him he is a puppet and getting him to start wondering who is holding the strings.
5. Sitting on the throne will send you into the Void and lock you into a different ending.
6. To the furthest east of the Temple in the present you will find the third heart. Destroying it will open the mouth of the God of the Depths, which can be found in the same area as the Cave Dweller village.
7. After entering the Gauntlet you will not be able to return.
8. Most of the fights inside the Gauntlet can be skipped. There are several puzzles and traps which need avoiding. The worst threats here are the Lizardmages, who will deprive you of your limbs, and the Two Headed Crow Mauler.
9. Bring the Girl to the final area.

Mannequin Puzzle Solution

From left to right:

1. Arms behind head, thighs together.
2. Stood on one leg, hands together as if praying.
3. Facing left, one leg jutting out.
4. Same as 3.
5. Facing right, arms extended to the right.