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For some time now people have been speculating as to what the Deep Dark Frame does- if it even has a use. Personally, I'm far too certain I've got it solved, and surprised I haven't found similar theories to date. Put simply, the Deep Dark Frame Is a portal- but it's a portal to the End, and indicates that an End Update is in the future.

Thoughts? Additional Points? Counterpoints?

Points

• It seems fairly obvious that the Frame is a portal- It is made of nearly unbreakable blocks, and has a rectangular frame. Like the End Portal, it only generates in one specific location in the world.
• A smaller ancient city structure shaped like the frame was previously called the 'Small Portal Statue,' and was later changed to 'Small Statue.' in the following snapshot.
• The Deep Dark City makes more game-progression sense as a point from which to reach the End, especially if the End's difficulty is increased. The Warden's name also implies (firstly) that it is trying to keep something imprisoned, and (secondly) goes well with the Stronghold.
• The Stronghold is an extremely outdated structure, and, unless an End Update was in the works, it would have made sense to upgrade Strongholds during the Caves and Cliffs Update.
• Arguably, the Ancient City's Loot and unique items and blocks aren't good enough to justify both its danger and rarity.
• The Portal is (suspiciously) dragon sized. (Or Army sized, given hints from Disc 5.)
• ...Also, uh, the End Update is just an extremely logical next step, especially given that the Nether has been updated. Since Mojang has said they want to overhaul the existing dimensions first, it is likely there will be more biome updates before the Devs turn to the End.

Disc 5

• The cracking of flint and steel and sound of bats suggests the recording takes place underground.
• The only sound in the game that matches the clanking noises at the start of the disc is that of armor being equipped. This, combined with the 'barracks' in the Ancient City, and sychronized sound of the footsteps, implies that there was an army preparing to enter the portal. The distorted noises afterwords are a reversed sound bite of collecting experience- further implying the presence of sculk.
• The Music sounds suspiciously similar to the Aether soundtrack. I do Not think this implies the addition of the Aether- but rather serves as a sort of signature from the developer of the deep dark, who was also responsible for the Aether mod- he may have thought it ironic, (and spooky), to play a slowed version of a previously made Aether Track in an out of place underground setting.
• The noise of an Amethyst being placed following the music seems to suggest a means of igniting the portal.
• Later static noises and pulsing breathes resemble that of a sleeping dragon.
• This is followed by the noise of Silverfish, (assosiated with the Stronghold), and an Enderscent, a chararacter exclusive to Minecraft Dungeons. (Specifically, the End DLC.)
• This is followed by a sound of explosions echoing through the caves- we here a character going to the surface, only to quickly return back underground upon hearing the sound of thunder and sirens. (Suggesting the presence of a Wither- or possibly just implying that the surface world is no longer safe.) The fact that the city itself is underground also implies its residents were hiding from something, as there is otherwise no conceivable reason to build there.

• The track concludes with what sounds like the ignition of a portal, followed by the scream of a warden, and, (very faintly), the sound of a Wither dying. To me, this is the most confusing part- the most obvious implication is that a Wither managed to breach the city, but was then killed by a Warden- leading its residents to worship the Sculk. However, (crucially), it's unclear whether the Warden came from the portal, or if the sculk had already infected the city. (Which could either imply a new dimension, or that sculk will exist in some form in the End- I find the later to be the most likely possibility, given the combination of sculk and dragon noises earlier in the disc.)

• Unlike much of its previous development, (specifically Discs 11 and 13), Mojang doesn't really implement features these days without any function- in fact, I genuinely cannot think of any 'useless' item in the game since the Update Aquatic. Disc 5 has no actual function in the game, does not interact with any existing components, and, like 11 and 13, has a name that implies it both has secrets to unravel from listening to it, and that it is much older than the other two. There is no reason to add Disc 5, (and to make it so difficult to obtain), unless it has some deeper meaning.
• The Fact that Disc 5 is literally split into fragments suggests it is intended to be 'pieced together' in bother a literal and figurative sense.
• Weird patterns on Disc 5's spectrographic analysis resemble textures from the game.
• ...To me, this disc tells the city's story, though even when complete it remains confusingly fragmented, (as always), giving hints and suggestions, but never fully resolving.

Counterpoints

• How would eyes of Ender work if the Stronghold were replaced with the Deep Dark City? Also, what about the fake End Portal in the Mansion? Deep Dark Cities don't have an easy means of locating them as is.
• Still loads of unanswered questions about the city itself- we know the portal must have worked at some point, if the 'army' theory holds true, but it's unclear why it stops working, or how it would be reactivated.
• It seems unlikely strongholds would simply be removed from the game, though if the Deep Dark is the new access point for the End, this would be the way to do it, since they couldn't be removed before the End Update was released.
• Neither Disc 13 or Disc 11 actually have a hidden message, they simply serve as weird novelties. However, Disc 5 is also novel from other discs in that it is crafted in a unique (and challenging) manner, and has a unique appearance.
• Pointing out noises from Minecraft Dungeons DLC is a tenuous connection at best- especially since said DLC involves a Stronghold, rather than an Ancient City.
• While running theories suggest that the Endermen are the remnants of the people who built the Ancient City, the army could suggest that either the Endermen were an alien race that the Builders provoked by invading their dimension; or that there was something else (such as dragons), that were preventing them from safely evacuating everyone from a ruined Overworld.