To my mind, Stefan’s true end goal, even if he didn’t realize it, was to come to terms with the death of his mother. He accomplished this in the most bittersweet of the main endings, at the cost of his own life. This was the ending I reached on my first playthrough. Though I’ve now played through the film five times, it remains my favorite, and from what I’ve read it’s a favorite of many other watchers as well.