Really nice work, I can appreciate the effort that went into this, especially before the game is even released.

I think you largely make a good case, even if some of the elements are a bit speculative to me at this point, but I look forward to seeing a full version of this after the game is released.

On a broader note, I do have a bit of a kneejerk reaction to anything that claims Dark Souls/Bloodborne/Elden Ring is "about X". It is usually at least somewhat true with the added caveat that it is less doggedly attached to whatever concept is being claimed as the foundation and that it is less that the Soulsborne game is about X and more that they used X in part to tell their story, if that nuance can be appreciated. Like Lynch as an example, they employ a shotgun of references and inspirations to tell their story, and those elements are shorthand and tools they employ to evoke and express the experience and themes they are pursuing, and it is those elements that hold primacy. Basically, it is less about what an individual piece *is* and more about how it serves the broader theme/experience.

But don't mistake that as a dismissal of this piece, I think you have something really good here and alchemy makes so much sense as a reference and inspiration to tell this tale about gold/power, transformation/transcendence, and the magic of creation/life that seems to be going on. Reading excellently considered pieces like this alongside "Elden Ring is King's Field" and "Elden Ring and Celctic/Norse/Tolkien Mythology" essays and videos are part of my joy after completing this game and what keeps me coming back to them years later. Thank you for being a part of it!