Sundering of Zodiark

Could not decide in which thread to post so here it goes.

I've been reading through forum and saw people thinking that Zodiark was sundered. Was he? As in a shard of him was in all reflections? If it was so, then we would have 5 mini-Zodiarks left and Zodiark ark would not be finished. Also, if the was Moon sundered to bits how the heck did the trio survive? Also if they knew Venat will sunder Eteirys they would've tried to stop her instead of hiding to avoid it.

If Zodiark was not sundered to different reflections, why is there a moon (Zodiark's prison) on the First? On the other hand it would explain the trio surviving the sundering if they, for example, went there to try and free Zodiark.

As usual it is difficult for me to lay out my thoughts properly, but I hope it's understandable.

1st part of that question? Easy squeezy lemon peasy.
2nd part, though? Difficult difficult lemon difficult.

Emet-Selch and Word of the Mother seem to agree that Zodiark was indeed bopped with the sunder-stick.

Quote:

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Emet-Selch
As a counterbalance to Zodiark, Hydaelyn was created with the power to enervate Her foe. This singular ability strikes not at such banal things as flesh, but everything that defines the target, diluting its existence. For example, were She to strike you... Two individuals, identical in appearance, yet reduced in all respects. Strength, intelligence, the soul itself─all is halved. Do you see? This selfsame fate befell not only Zodiark, but the very star.

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Quote:

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Word of the Mother
Across ten and three were we then divided. Reflections of the Source, each possessed of a shard.

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But they're never quite clear about what it means for "the fragments of His power" / "His Darkness" to be spread throughout the dimensions. Or where the cosmic tear stops. Or if all the skyboxes in the game are accurate. I think we still have a lot of questions.

I keep joking that we should make the Heart of Sabik one such "fragment".

since hes connected to the very laws of the world itd make sense he gets sundered with it while the moon remains untouched.

The Ascians were causing the Rejoinings to bring his shards back to the Source.

Endwalker safety spoilers

However, judging from how he looked it's less he got split into 14 weaker Zodiarks and more he literally got ripped to pieces.

It's unknown whether the destruction of his Source form would also have ended his remaining shards.

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Originally Posted by Anonymoose

(...)But they're never quite clear about what it means for "the fragments of His power" / "His Darkness" to be spread throughout the dimensions. Or where the cosmic tear stops. Or if all the skyboxes in the game are accurate. I think we still have a lot of questions.(...)

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For me it would make sense for the moon on each shard to have a piece of Zodiark in order for him to enact his power towards what was revealed to us in Endwalker
Additionally, It would also make sense to me for the moon to have existed before the sundering and Hydalin just repurpose it as a Prison to Zodiark, hence all shards would have a Moon regardless of it having or not a piece of Zodiark on it

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KageTokage

The Ascians were causing the Rejoinings to bring his shards back to the Source.
Endwalker safety spoilers

However, judging from how he looked it's less he got split into 14 weaker Zodiarks and more he literally got ripped to pieces.

It's unknown whether the destruction of his Source form would also have ended his remaining shards.

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Yes, if you look at (Endwalker spoiler)

the Zodiark model, he has six magic circles where he is missing bits, suggesting these are where the Reflections' parts of him would go if they were Rejoined.

But it's possible this is just a visual metaphor; not necessarily that discrete parts are missing but that he doesn't have the power to manifest in full because he is only at partial strength.

Yeah, Zodiark's design definitely evokes the idea that his sundering was literally pieces of his body/form being removed/torn off him.

I do wonder though if Zodiark's death/destruction also caused his remaining sundered parts to be destroyed as well, like how The Watcher stated if The Source was destroyed by the Final Days, the remaining shards/reflections would be destroyed along with it as well as a byproduct.

I think its likely that Zodiark was enevated into 14 pieces with the sundering. But that Zodiark was also missing his core, I suspect the missing segments are a representation of the missing core. This is also why the final days did not strike everywhere at once, some part of Zodiarks effect was still in place. I fully expect that parts of him still exist out there because the Sacrificed souls speak of being made Whole once more suggesting they too were sundered.

But then i would like for Zodiark to reppear at some point in th future perhaps to save the shards that are starting to fall apart due Hydealyns Sundering dissipating.

Considering he seemed to be physically cut into pieces...

perhaps we can find the answer in another primal we know was cut into pieces: Anima.
Actual limbs of Anima were upkeeping the towers and drawing aether towards the primal's core, but once we defeated the core, all the pieces just disappeared.

I heavily suspect the same happened with Zodiark. The moment the Source part of Zodiark was dead, all the pieces on the shards would just cease to exist.

I suspect killing the original would somehow kill off the shards. If not we must ask the question if the moon was also sundered. You can see the moon on the First, but this could mean its a copy or all shards inhabit the same space and its literally the same moon.

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Originally Posted by Atamis

I suspect killing the original would somehow kill off the shards. If not we must ask the question if the moon was also sundered. You can see the moon on the First, but this could mean its a copy or all shards inhabit the same space and its literally the same moon.

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I've largely interpreted it as each shard/reflection has its own distinct moon, with a piece of Zodiark inside each one; but the Loporrits and The Watcher only exist on the moon of the Source.

And IIRC the devs said the sundering only affected the Source and its shards/reflections, not all of reality/space, presumably once one gets pass the moon on the Source or shards/reflections, it becomes one unified reality/space-time (though I am not even going to try to figure out how the changing time differences can be reconciled/work with that, with stuff like meteorites and the age of the sun and such).