Skyrim has a secret ending a surprising amount of you missed

There’s a secret ending lurking in the shadows of Skyrim for those of you who just can’t ignore their conscience.

Many a dark route to take can be found in Bethesda’s 13-year-old RPG; however, did you know you don’t have to automatically explore them?

Certainly, you can give into your most basic impulses and slaughter 5,000 NPCs for no other reason than because you can.

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But that may weigh on your conscience, which is never an enjoyable experience. And so, we offer you a way to keep your mind clear and your heart pure (ish).

During the course of your Skyrim playthrough, the opportunity to join the Dark Brotherhood will appear. Although their dark allure will call to you, you don’t have to submit to those dark urges but rather choose a secret path instead.

To unlock this secret ending, you still need to trigger the questline. However, once you’ve started, the route you take should be that of killing Astrid rather than the innocent she directs you to kill.

Upon killing Astrid, report her death to the guards to trigger an encounter with Commander Marco; this interaction will be markedly friendlier compared to if you side with the Dark Brotherhood.

Commander Marco will give you the password to the Brotherhood's sanctuary, where you can then eliminate the faction.

For your troubles, you’ll gain a hefty supply of gold coins. On the flip side, though, all those Dark Brotherhood perks, such as Shadowmere, won’t be obtainable anymore.

Still, you can rest easy knowing you didn’t harm any innocents, though you’re still a killer regardless of opting for this hidden conclusion.

As you can see, sometimes doing the right thing doesn’t deliver a fitting reward. But can you really put a price on a pure conscience?