LogFAQs > #971000787

FWIW, Hollowing is something that you see with a lot of enemies in Dark Souls. Gael himself is an example -- by the time you fight him, he's succumbed to Hollowing and thus fights like a mad beast, crawling on all fours and swinging his sword wildly before he pulls himself back from the brink in the back end of his bossfight. What I'd liken it to is a 'Madness' or 'Berserk' status, more than anything else -- Hollowed characters aren't clumsy, stumbling shells, just devoid of higher reasoning because they've lost their purpose. This is also consistent with why Gael manages to get his shit together in his boss fight, in turn -- he's hollowed out because he thinks he failed at his longstanding goal, but when he bleeds and realizes he actually achieved it, he manages to regain a sliver of his humanity to die with dignity.

(this isn't an attempt to argue for Selvaria here, to be clear. Moreso express my feelings on how undeadness in Dark Souls works in general. I wouldn't argue that Yu could cast Salvation to oneshot Gael either and would argue vehemently against 'phoenix down kills zombie, gg next'. I think arguments about whether FF magic specifically functions on any kind of undead are interesting and valid, but not just all healing magic period.)