Elden Ring Player Reveals What Happens When You Kill the Turtle Pope

Elden Ring has been out for a few weeks now, but there are still many secrets that are still being discovered. Players have a lot of freedom to kill the game’s NPCs, including the so-called “Turtle Pope,” Miriel. Given Miriel’s kind nature, many have been opposed to committing such an act. However, on the Elden Ring subreddit, user VG_Crimson revealed that they not only killed the Turtle Pope, they also deeply regretted doing so. Apparently, it takes quite a bit of effort to kill Miriel, but the Turtle Pope refuses to fight back, promising to forgive the player if they stop.

VG_Crimson did finish the job, noting that Miriel lets out a “sad scream.” For their efforts, they received “a couple of turtle neck meats and his bell bearing to buy whatever was in his shop.” The trade clearly wasn’t worth it.

“I have to live with this on my soul now, don’t do this. There is nothing to gain, and you lose not only the convenience of him, but you lose a part of yourself too,” VG_Crimson writes.

Naturally, many of VG_Crimson’s fellow posters were quick to condemn these actions, defending their beloved Turtle Pope. Making things worse, it seems that Miriel cannot be resurrected once killed, only appearing again in NG+. Readers should keep that in mind before killing the beloved Turtle Pope in their own save file.

Many elements of Elden Ring‘s lore were written by Game of Thrones creator George RR Martin. Martin did not write the actual storyline, so it’s difficult to say which elements were created by him, and which ones were conceived by FromSoftware. However, Martin has a love for turtles going back to his childhood pets, which he has detailed on many occasions. Given that, it seems like a safe bet Miriel was one of his contributions to the game. If that is the case, it’s certainly ironic that for once, it’s the fans that are killing one of Martin’s favorite characters!

Elden Ring is available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the game right here.

What are your thoughts on Elden Ring? Did you kill Miriel in the game? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about all things gaming!

[H/T: Polygon]