Theory: Sooo... is Zero a shard of Azem?

As per the title. She's the Ardbert equivalent of the 13th.

In the past I thought this may be the case with Unukalhai, but as I went through the 6.x quests, I noticed more and more how she ticks all the boxes. She loves her world and is caring towards the people she meets. Of course, the realities of the Contramemoria and the world post-flood would greatly mold her personality into a much colder version of our beloved WoL, but I've noticing more and more that she is a great hero at heart, as much as her reality allows to, not unlike ourselves. In a way, that could even explain why the flood didn't consume her.

So... thoughts?

With the revelations from 6.4 and the careful method in which the Echo Flashback was presented, if there's anyone who is supposed to be recognized as the 13th's Ardbert, it's the original Golbez. But I don't think that matters - Zero doesn't need a piece of Azem's soul to be a hero, not even to have received Hydaelyn's Blessing of Light Crystal - all of Ardbert's friends had one and so did Ysayle. If Zero had a Traveler's Ward from Hydaelyn's Blessing it would explain her survival post-Flood and it's the mechanic that undid Fandaniel's full-voidsent transformation on her.

What's up in the air is if in a post-defeat of Zeromus cutscene we directly absorb the soul of the real Golbez trapped in that memmoriate crystal or not, because that plot point has become the Shikon Jewel that we're questing to recombine. Not that it would actually transform us into an Ancient/Azem themself, according to recent translations of Banri Oda's Korean Q&A. But it is plot-explained power-ups for leveling beyond 100.

I'm more inclined to believe that the actual Golbez is our shard if anything. He seemed more heroic (to a fault perhaps) than Durante or Zero, praying for those who don't even deserve it, still holding onto hope despite everything. Sounds like something WoL would do. The way our echo vision of Golbez is depicted is us seeing the flashback happen from his perspective as if we were him, though granted this also happened with 8UC timeline G'raha dream in Shadowbringers. The memoriate that held these memories also dropped into the Zodiark-voidjuice-pit, so it's obviously going to come back as a plot device in 6.5.

Zero does have the edge in terms of our initial meeting feeling very suspicious and planned (with Hydaelyn's crystal reviving her and all) and Y'shtola saying that perhaps we were meant to meet, but I think after 6.2, she has become her own person and it doesn't feel like the game is actively trying to make any sort of comparisons between her and WoL.

I'm thinking actual Golbez might be. As sure they could have not voiced their lines this patch to hide the twist only, but the only person who doesn't get voiced lines is the WoL. That and if the real Golbez died and is part of Zeromus then for me it makes more sense that a still hidden as to what they look like character would make a better shard.

I mean, my first thought when the suspicious camera cropping and keeping Durante's friend completely covered in armor was that Golbez was Alphonse Elric, just a soul inhabiting the armor thanks to wacky memorite power, while Durante is our grown-up Edward Elric. It's not the first FMA reference. And there's something very reminiscent of Father (the Dwarf in the Flask) and Hohenheim when it comes to the voidsent in general and also Zodiark. Predicting that a key moment in the Zeromus fight will be the souls of Azdaja and OG Golbez fighting from the inside to weaken Zeromus.

I'm not sure this story matters in terms of who is the shard of Azem on the 13th.

It's clearly a set up so Y'shtola can learn how to cross to other shards, so that hanging plot point is cleared up for the future.

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Originally Posted by Kesey

I'm not sure this story matters in terms of who is the shard of Azem on the 13th.

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I personally very much hope it's this, because I don't think 'this character is an Azem shard' improves the arc of any character involved, in this story or any other.

(Yes, including the WoL, but that's a separate discussion.)

Counterargument: I now suspect she was the 13th's shard of Ysayle.

XIV loves to rhyme, and her initial reaction to the Loporrits was an awful lot like Ysayle's reaction to Moogles. ("What..... are these creatures?")

She's got a similar color scheme. Some of that is because Voidsent, obviously, but I suspect even before the Memoria she had gray eyes.

Add in her newfound chemistry with Estinien, and it's my new head canon and the perspective I'll take until proven otherwise.

(I was suspecting Moenbryda for a bit, but the budding personality we see emerging from Zero doesn't really match our beloved Moen.)

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Originally Posted by Cleretic

I personally very much hope it's this, because I don't think 'this character is an Azem shard' improves the arc of any character involved, in this story or any other.

(Yes, including the WoL, but that's a separate discussion.)

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You already know we're in agreement there. But now that the hints are for already crystalized not-quite-dead-but-for-all-intents Golbez to be the Azem shard, there's far less of a barrier for the writers to do the Azem shard rejoining than it world be to kill off Zero and claim her soul if she was the 13th's Ardbert. I don't want it to happen, and I think the only narratively interesting thing to do with the concept of an Azem Shard would be for it to not only oppose us but to actively reject giving us as the WoL any of its soul or aether and refusing the Lifestream pull to combine with us. Which I could see that becoming the plot direction that this Void Arc lands on, especially with Golbez Durante having his own idea of how to save his planet and Zero's refusal to eat other voidsent as to keep her soul, memories, and emotions totally her own.

Re: Golbez, I believe the echo flashback was framed that way solely to make the reveal more impactful. That we all saw it coming notwithstanding.

But why, though? Why is this always the first thought being thought? Does everything truly need to be a Shard of Azem? To be more specific, I think the importance of how much being a "Shard" of anyone from the former world that was actually alters a character's pre-existent sense of self has been overinflated by some players for a long time now. I'm not too sure it matters all that much.

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Originally Posted by Cleretic

I personally very much hope it's this, because I don't think 'this character is an Azem shard' improves the arc of any character involved, in this story or any other.

(Yes, including the WoL, but that's a separate discussion.)

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It is due to (imo) how the game tends to treat Shard selves. It becomes this twisting, warping thing that obfuscates what said character once was. Maybe in another game, where being a Shard didn't revolve so much around the insignificant remnants it'd be different. But in this game, the writers have this habit of writing Shard people in a manner that kind of denigrates the character they used to be. Ardbert, for instance, wasn't exactly terrible in Shadowbringers. However, I personally consider him a somewhat different character than he was in the Heavensward. I get this vibe that he was morphed into less of a character to stand on his own, and more of a Shard to prop up they who would reclaim him. So to speak.

I also understand the other reasons why some might find themselves opposed to it. It can veer uncomfortably close to a personality subsumption at times.

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Originally Posted by TowaIsBestGirl

But why, though? Why is this always the first thought being thought? Does everything truly need to be a Shard of Azem?

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Yes everything even the sole of a person's shoes.

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Originally Posted by TowaIsBestGirl

But why, though? Why is this always the first thought being thought? Does everything truly need to be a Shard of Azem?

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I will forever hunger till the day i am whole again!

I think they may try to flip it this time, with original Golbez being our Shard. Instead of them using this as a case of us absorbing the soul, it'll be used to help Durante realize what he has become and try to stop Zeromus in the end as we rekindle the hero in him along with the memories of the original Golbez. So we won't get the soul, but it WILL be used as a plot device to fix the problem.