Major ending spoilers. Obtain the four virtue cards, complete their trials in Notre-Dame, then defeat the shadow at the central altar to receive The Self / Absolution. Equip Absolution for the final battle and use it on Dracula after his second phase. Merely having the card in your collection is not the final action.
Check the four virtue cards first
| Virtue | Equip this card / spell | Prerequisite to check |
|---|---|---|
| Courage | The Warrior / Infernal Pyre | Defeat Joan of Arc in Prison Tower. |
| Prudence | The Sage / Mirror Walk | Finish Eleanor’s seal and maze route, then speak to her in the cemetery. Start with Sage’s Seals. |
| Justice | The Judge / Chains of Justice | Complete Saint Louis’s scales interaction at the Palace of Justice and claim his card. |
| Temperance | The Whisperer / Freezing Path | Recover the Ferryman’s Obol after the optional Mammon route and return it to the Ferryman. |
For the final route you also need The Shadow / Soul Harvest, obtained after Death in Notre-Dame. It disarms the Clock Tower trap. The Double Jump route covers the progression needed to reach that fight.
Open the windows and finish the trials
- Travel to Notre-Dame → Gallery of the Four Virtues. Read the prophecy and match each named window to the table above.
- Equip its card in Arcanas, stand at that window and use Interact (default R1 on PlayStation, E on keyboard; the footage also shows an RB prompt).
- Courage: complete the Joan rematch. Temperance: traverse the Ferryman’s water and grapple course. Justice: climb the enemy-and-saw gauntlet. Prudence: use the mirror course and avoid the moving saws.
- Complete each trial and strike its bell. Return to the gallery and repeat with the next matching card. A visited window alone does not prove that trial is complete.
- After the four trials, check the illuminated central rose window and altar. Interact with the pedestal below it to enter the shadow encounter.
After the four virtue trials, the central pedestal leads to the shadow encounter. The bright rose window is the landmark to compare.
Gameplay capture: Gamer Guides · 7:55 in the original video ↗ · Game © KONAMI / Evil Empire. Not our own recorded playthrough.Starts at the four-virtue chapter. The final cast is demonstrated at 8:26 after the second phase; the guide separates that action from simply equipping The Self.
Gamer Guides · true ending and Arcana · Player loads when you choose Play.Watch on YouTube ↗Claim The Self and prepare Absolution
Defeat the shadow opponent shown as ???. Claim the reward and check that your Arcanas menu now offers The Self with the spell Absolution. The “Shadow Work” achievement is a separate confirmation of this encounter; it is not the ending achievement.
Return to the altar and speak to the spirit that appears. Then equip The Self before making the final trip to Dracula. Read Absolution’s instruction: hold the spell button to absorb the curse from nearby enemies.
If a window is still closed, recheck the active card and its trial. If the central altar does not react, confirm all four bells rather than repeatedly interacting with the same completed window.
Disarm the trap and finish Dracula correctly
- At the Clock Tower’s Cursed Horologium, equip The Shadow / Soul Harvest and use the clock interaction to clear Death’s trap. Entering its false route without the correct card leads to the bad ending.
- After the trap, continue through the late Clock Tower route toward the Master’s Quarters. Use the Mirror of Life at Sanctuary of Solitude as your recognizable staging point.
- Switch back to The Self / Absolution. Continue through Grand Staircase and Throne Room Antechamber into the Throne Room.
- Defeat Dracula’s first phase, then the winged phase on the rooftops. Keep Absolution selected for the ending interaction.
- When the defeated Dracula is suspended in the air, hold the spell button to use Absolution. Follow the binding shown by your game. The credited video demonstrates this final cast; having the card equipped is not a substitute for performing it.
- Look for the Curse lifted achievement and the sunrise ending. Defeating the boss and seeing an ordinary ending confirms a different outcome.
The final action is a cast of Absolution on the suspended Dracula. The footage and its narration show this after the second phase; simply owning The Self is not the final input.
Gameplay capture: Gamer Guides · 8:26 in the original video ↗ · Game © KONAMI / Evil Empire. Not our own recorded playthrough.Ending checklist and recovery
| Outcome / problem | Check next |
|---|---|
| Belmont’s fall — bad ending | Return to the clock with The Shadow / Soul Harvest equipped. |
| The hunt goes on — normal ending | Check The Self, then repeat the final fight and perform Absolution after the second phase. |
| The Self is missing | Finish the four virtue trials, activate the altar and defeat your shadow. |
| Curse lifted — true ending | The final curse-cleansing outcome has been reached. |
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Sources & verification
- Gamer Guides: four virtues and the ending ↗ — primary footage; final Absolution instruction at 8:22–8:29
- All Things How: true ending route ↗ — virtue/card matching, altar and post-ending continuation
- TheGamer: movement progression ↗ — Death, Notre-Dame and Double Jump prerequisites
Checked 19 October 2026 against the credited gameplay and reference guides. Screenshots are credited video captures, not our own playthrough. Default button labels may differ if controls are remapped.