Elden Ring players horrified by gross Shadow of the Erdtree lore reveal

Shadow of the Erdtree has been dumping lore bombs left, right, and center, with one particularly visceral reveal causing fans to recoil at the implications.

Exactly as the name would suggest, Living Jars – varying from dog to building-sized – are sentient pots with rock-like arms and legs. The race’s origins had only briefly been touched on in Elden Ring before the DLC’s release if players followed the Jarburg storyline.

In Shadow of the Erdtree, however, the Belurat Gaol dungeon explicitly reveals what’s inside those walking, talking pots, and it isn’t pretty.

The Tarnished will witness masses of living flesh crawling out of unsealed jars in the Gaol. One ethereal NPC’s dialogue reveals prisoners were forced into jars against their will, likely as punishment for their crimes.

Players have reacted exactly as expected to the revelations. On a Reddit thread discussing the side dungeon’s contents, one user didn’t mince their words. “Yeah seriously, what the f**k. Those things were messed up and I’m just walking about with parts of Alexander equipped.”

“That sh*t was disgusting and terrifying. Especially the one NPC basically begging to not be shoved in one.” one response added. “The first time I saw a jar on its side and that crawling out. I was actually repulsed a bit. Especially since there is a ghost that you can hear begging not to go in one,” echoed another.

Similar visual storytelling scenarios can be found crammed into every nook and cranny of Elden Ring’s sole expansion. Anyone exploring the Shadow Realm can check out our Map Fragment location guide and how to defeat a recurring miniboss to make their lives easier in FromSoftware’s unforgiving masterpiece.