History Main / UndeathAlwaysEnds

* ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'': Eithne the librarian became undead by accident, hates it, and deliberately takes life-threatening risks. Her personal quest involves finding her a SpellBook to [[DrivenToSuicide make corpses explode]], after which her remains appear in the local cemetary.

** Averted with zombies, most of whom have jobs like policemen and lawyers. One exception is Windle Poons who becomes a zombie at the start of ''Reaper Man'' (due to the DeathTakesAHoliday situation) and dies at the end.

* Averted in ''Film/TheDevilsBackbone'' - although Santi accomplishes his GhostlyGoals, [[spoiler: Dr. Casares becomes a ghost at the end, and]] stays that way.

** During the Battle of Minas Tirith, Eowyn manages to kill the Witch-King, a disembodied spirit occupying a human suit of armor who used to be a mortal man, presumably destroying him for good.

* The character is [[PinocchioSyndrome miraculously restored to full life.]]

* ''Literature/SteelCrowSaga'': "Undead" isn't the right word, but Tala binds her [[EmergencyTransformation dying brother]] Dimangan as a Shade {{Familiar}}, which is seen as the darkest of TheDarkArts and inflicts nasty [[ImHavingSoulPains Soul Pains]] on them both. In the final battle, his Shadepact is severed and he dies for good, which devastates Tala but is strongly implied to save them both from an untenable, terribly painful situation.

* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'': During the Battle of Minas Tirith, Eowyn manages to kill the Witch-King, a disembodied spirit occupying a human suit of armor who used to be a mortal man, presumably destroying him for good.

** Shows up also in a host of ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' modules and books, including several moments where the various undead elves complain about being dead for so long, despite canonically only approaching old age as an elf.

* This is [[spoiler: the Underking]]'s goal in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall,'' which is why he seeks the Mantella, [[spoiler: his heart]].

* The undead Queen Frieda has this happen to her at the end of ''VideoGame/OneWayHeroics'', if you get her ending. The spell animating her body wears off as [[GoOutWithASmile she's enjoying a parade]].

** The Marut is a type of construct called an Ievitable. Each type of Inevitable is charged with enforcing some sort of universal constant: in the Marut's case it's that everything eventually dies. To this end, they hunt down and destroy particularly long-lived undead (as well as anyone else who takes extreme or unnatural measures to prolong their lifespans).

* Averted in ''Indefensible Positions'', where Dead Debbie, an [[CaptainObvious undead]] protagonist, stays undead.

* In all endings of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', the undead protagonist Nanashi will lose his ResurrectiveImmortality. Right after his death at the start of the game, he can refuse to make the DealWithTheDevil that makes him undead, and will be treated to a NonstandardGameOver. He can do this at any point in the game by refusing to be resurrected. The Law ending has [[spoiler:Nanashi die for good when he sides with an angel who wants to wipe out Tokyo with a black hole generator, himself included.]] The Chaos ending has [[spoiler:Lucifer offer him a demonic body, which he accepts]]. The Bonds ending has [[spoiler:Nanashi be granted a completely human body by the [[HeelFaceBrainwashing brainwashed clone]] of the being who resurrected him in the first place]]. The Massacre ending has [[spoiler:Nanashi become God]].

* In the HarryPotter fic ''Fanfic/CruciamentumEternus'', this is cruelly averted. Draco becomes a ghost in the beginning of the story, and the conclusion is a hundred years later, ending with him saying he [[DownerEnding supposes he always will be]].

* In ''WebComic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', '''[[{{Dracula}} DRACULA KING OF ALL VAMPIRES!]]''', is fully aware of this trope, and is prepared to end his existence. However, he wants to know beforehand what awaits in the afterlife, so through [[{{Alucard}} an alias]], he funds the research of the clone of [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Benjamin Franklin]] to create an immortality serum, which actually turns out to be a serum that [[CameBackWrong turns Ben into a Headless Horseman]], all so he would have the ability to escape the afterlife and report back on it. Turns out purgatory is a restaurant with really bad service. Dracula then attempts to recruit Doc to die, use his ninja guile to make it past the restaurant, and see what lies beyond it, since Doc had already survived a near-death experience. Doc prefers not to take him up on the offer.

** In the final arc, Dracula has sided with King Radical against [=McNinja=], but during the final showdown, Doc manages to force a collision that results in Drac biting Radical, turning him into a vampire. He then [[ItMakesSenseInContext uses Pope Francis to destroy Radical]]. Dracula tries to escape through his teleporter, but [[BadassBookworm Dark Smoke Puncher]] hacks it to send him to the middle of a desert on the other side of the day, where the sun vaporizes him.

* In ''WebComic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', '''[[{{Dracula}} DRACULA KING OF ALL VAMPIRES!]]''', is fully aware of this trope, and is prepared to end his existence. However, he wants to know beforehand what awaits in the afterlife, so through [[{{Alucard}} an alias]], he funds the research of the clone of {{Benjamin Franklin}} to create an immortality serum, which actually turns out to be a serum that [[CameBackWrong turns Ben into a Headless Horseman]], all so he would have the ability to escape the afterlife and report back on it. Turns out purgatory is a restaurant with really bad service. Dracula then attempts to recruit Doc to die, use his ninja guile to make it past the restaurant, and see what lies beyond it, since Doc had already survived a near-death experience. Doc prefers not to take him up on the offer.

** Named members of the Scourge are exclusively killable targets. At this point, even the Lich King himself has been killed. Kel'Thuzad was killed and arose as a lich in Warcraft3, was defeated in VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft, and then brought back once only to be beaten again, and Anub'Arak has been taken down, presumably for good.

* Zig-zagged in ProfessorLaytonAndTheUnwoundFuture, in which [[spoiler:Claire, was thought to be dead, is alive, albeit a few years later. But time travel is unstable, so she has to go back to the time she came from, and die.]]

** Shows up also in a host of ''ForgottenRealms'' modules and books, including several moments where the various undead elves complain about being dead for so long, despite canonically only approaching old age as an elf.