Seven Hells?

[rina_inverse]

Its a tavern name in Ul'dah slums

..sounds about right

[RahfaelFavinco]

I've always assumed something along the lines of Anonymoose's theory that the Void exists outside the reality of every FF game. Each game takes place in its own universe, with some exceptions for prequels and sequels and Ivalice Alliance and possibly VII and X/X-2. Each universe is separated from other universes by the realm of nothingness known as the Void. Zantetsuken is sharp enough that it can literally cut through spacetime/the fabric of reality. After Gilgamesh ended up in the Void in FFV, he self-destructed. Somehow he survived, but the force of the explosion pushed him out of the Rift into FFVIII's world. Obtaining Zantetsuken (possibly his only real weapon, seeing as the rest are all forgeries), he was now able to use the sword to cut open portal into the void, and once in the void, open up portals to other worlds and enter them to search for rare swords or whatever. It may be, that if he originated in Type-0 as can be argued, that a journey through the rift was how he ended up in FFV's world in the first place.

Putting aside my favorite FF character ever for a moment, Dissidia and Dissidia Duodecim seem to have the same view of the Void as I do. Furthermore, the Duodecim version of Shantotto is said to have escaped the eternal conflict into the Rift, and thus may have made it to some other world. I had a theory that she made it to Hydaelyn during a previous era and that "Shatotto", the name of the creator of the Stardust Rod relic weapon, is a slight historical inaccuracy regarding the legendary Black Mage's name. Though I heard somewhere that Shatotto was male, so maybe not...?

It's not like Shantotto couldn't cook up a Warp spell that would transfer her to an entirely different universe, either. In FFXI: A Shantotto Ascension, she did just that and ended up switching places with another Shantotto from an alternate universe Vana'diel.

In any case, I believe that with the proper tools, whether a spell of some type or Zantetsuken or what, it would be possible to go from an FF world to any other FF world, or to an alternate version of the FF world you started out in.

[Yrusama]

Maybe the Void is sort of like the darkness between worlds in Kingdom Hearts. It's like "space" in our universe, but rather than vacuum there is corrupting darkness, forcing characters to wear protective gear or pilot ships through it. Of course, in KH the worlds act more like planets, but in FF's case they could be more like pockets of reality.

I'm surprised nobody mentioned the following line:
"Hells seep black dooms."

It could just be a saying, or the Seven Hells could quite literally be the Void, with Atomos acting as a doorway. Of course, that last part might just be my bias from jumping in his mouth too many times in previous games, particularly XI. There was also a worm in FFVI that would bring you to Gogo's realm, though it wasn't named Atomos. Maybe we'll meet Gogo anyway?

Make it happen, Devs!

[NoloeTazier]

Maybe the Void is sort of like the darkness between worlds in Kingdom Hearts. It's like "space" in our universe, but rather than vacuum there is corrupting darkness, forcing characters to wear protective gear or pilot ships through it. Of course, in KH the worlds act more like planets, but in FF's case they could be more like pockets of reality.
snip~

Not all monsters from the Void are hellbent on evilness. Snurbles and Dormouse are from the Void, one eats cheese and the other collects under your couch.

[Catapult]

Not all monsters from the Void are hellbent on evilness. Snurbles and Dormouse are from the Void, one eats cheese and the other collects under your couch.

I find it more likely that the name deepvoid doormouse was one given by locals taken aghast by the rodent's unusually large size and ferocity, rather than an actual origination from the void.

[Raldo]

I'm quite shocked that this thread's been around for a week and no one's dredged up what info we've already been given on these topics. I don't commonly visit the official forums anymore, but I'll do you all the pleasure of re-dropping that info here.

FUN FACTS!

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...ell#post384014

FUN FACT: It is believed by some that the first six hells are each aspected to one of the six elements, and that the seventh hell, where the lord of the underworld resides, represents eternal oblivion.

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...l=1#post270590

The "void" is the generic term that inhabitants of Eorzea have given to a dark realm they believe exists beyond their own. This domain is different from the heavens (where the Twelve reside) and the seven hells (one of the destinations to which those who do not follow the teachings of Nald'thal believe the body goes upon death). Little, however, is known about the void or what it contains, and thus creatures deemed too queer or unnatural to be "of Eorzea" (such as ahriman, imps, phurbles, etc.) are often categorized as "voidsent," the common belief being that they were sent by some sinister force from beyond the corporeal realm. Recently, Eorzean scholars have begun pointing to the high concentration of voidsent in the Dzemael Darkhold as evidence of the void's existence, though concrete proof (beyond the Ishgardian sapper's claim) has yet to be uncovered.

Bonus! Since Atomos was mentioned at one point in the thread, and since the previous quote didn't directly confirm the existence of the void...
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...oid#post898627

5. What happened to Atmos?

Thanks to the havoc wreaked on the planet’s aetherial flow by good old Dalamud (Bahamut) the rift between Hydaelyn and the void (which up until now had been small, and reserved to places like Dzemael Darkhold) grew extremely large in that turbulent period of time leading up to the Battle of Carteneau. This allowed far more, far larger, and far more powerful enemies a free pass into Eorzea—a hotbed of aetherial energy, also known as a voidsent’s favorite snack. Atomos was one of these creatures. So, what happened to him? That remains to be seen in ARR.

[...]

In conclusion (man, was this post a doozy!), remember that Eorzea is filled with misinformation. This can be expected in a semi-medieval world that lacks proper channels of communication. Most news is passed through a filter of individuals who mangle the original story, remembering only what pertains to them, and making up the rest. This is what makes searching for the truth fun. You have to sit back and sift through the dirt and rocks to find those nuggets of gold. Do you believe Urianger or the people who call him a liar? Do you believe that the Archons are avatars of the Twelve because a crazy girl with spriggan friends dreamt it was true? Battling the red herrings can be quite the challenge, but the reward for defeating them is always worth it.

For those curious, no I don't keep crazy track of Ferne's posts or anything. I just remembered that he'd posted about it before, so I used the search function for posts containing the word 'hell' and/or 'void' that had been posted by the user 'Fernehalwes'.

[Fantasia]

WAAAIT a second!

I'm quite shocked that this thread's been around for a week and no one's dredged up what info we've already been given on these topics. I don't commonly visit the official forums anymore, but I'll do you all the pleasure of re-dropping that info here.

FUN FACT: It is believed by some that the first six hells are each aspected to one of the six elements, and that the seventh hell, where the lord of the underworld resides, represents eternal oblivion.

Doesn't that mean what I said at the start was true?

I just assumed it meant the "Seventh Umbral Era", since an Umbral era is a time of cataclysm and scarcity, hence being defined as "Hell" by its occupants.

"Seven Hells" possibly referring to the 7 Umbral eras as a collective? After reading the above posts I feel so simple-minded.

Naivety <3

[Molic]

Something kinda interesting kinda related to the topic, but if you go to http://xivdb.com/
then go to game > dungeons, one is called the seventh gate of hell. Think this could be read as the seventh gate in hell or the gate to the seventh hell.

[Mtoto_Wamoto]

Sorry to bump this, but I didn't see any mention of this in this thread.

According to Kipih Jakkya, the journalist who wrote for The Raven, Atomos is ancient Eorzean meaning "The Indivisible". The name comes from an ancient Hyur myth of an entity with the power to breach the borders between worlds.

Seeing that the realm is several thousand years old, Atomos may have likely appeared before in the past, likely during events which led to other umbral eras or even during those umbral eras.

From what Ferne has told us, Atomos is able to travel to our world when the rift between Hydaelyn and the Void is large enough for it to do so. If the presence of Dalamud (Bahamut) is able to alter the aetherial flow of the planet, perhaps when Bahamut was last free to roam the skies, there was a similar effect on the planet's aether, allowing Atomos to come to our realm from the Void, thus creating the ancient myth that Kipih Jakkya spoke of.

As for the Black Warden...I have two theories.

One theory is that the Black Warden is as Moose has said - Diablos. Yet something tells me that they wouldn't put Diablos at the helm of something as large as the Void, or the Seven Hells. He could however be one of the lords of the other hells.

My second theory is that the Black Warden is XIV's version of Chaos. We're seeing a sudden surge of older Final Fantasy enemies and elements that are going to make an appearance in ARR. Xandes, Cloud of Darkness, Ultima Weapon, Demon Wall, Tiamat (Hydra version), Typhon, etc. All of them are somehow tied to the lore in some way and as we know, XIV is essentially the love letter to every final fantasy before it. To have Chaos involved in some way wouldn't surprise me, nor would having Exdeath (we're getting Gilgamesh), the Four Fiends, or the Demons of the Rift included somehow. Anyways, that's all just personal opinion until we get more details.