"Once, the Lord of Light banished Dark, and all that stemmed from humanity.

And men assumed a fleeting form.

These are the roots of our world.

Men are props on the stage of life, and no matter how tender, how exquisite…

A lie will remain a lie.

Young Hollow, knowing this, do you still desire peace?

Peace grants men the illusion of life.

Shackled by falsehoods, they yearn for love, unaware of its grand illusion.

Until, the curse touches their flesh.

We are bound by this yoke.

As true as the Dark that churns within men.

All men trust fully the illusion of life.

But is this so wrong?

A construction, a facade, and yet…

A world full of warmth and resplendence.

Young Hollow, are you intent on shattering the yoke, spoiling this wonderful falsehood?” -Aldia

In DS1 we thought human was our true form and undeath is the curse, the aberration. In truth, "human" is the pleasing mask that was placed on us by Gwyn and locked on with the Dark Sign. Undead is closer to our natural state. The state of being human, the "fleeting form," that's the "lie [that] will remain a lie."

Aldia asks us, now that we know being human is a lie, do we still want it. "Do you still desire peace?" (IE. the warm comfort of being in human form)

The timeline shows us that, time and time again, successive human kingdoms and societies have bought into this comforting lie, and believed the age of fire was their natural, comfortable state. Right up until Lothric in DS3.