[SPOILERS] Minfillia' Fate in 3.2

[Fenral]

I seriously doubt we will find the Ascians were in the right all along and only acting as destructively as they did cause they saw no other choice.

Is it really so impossible for you to separate "end" and "means?" Their means are terrible, and I'm still not saying otherwise, but clearly something about their end is justifying it. To them.

Maybe our objectives really are mutually incompatible, and that's why the Ascians don't feel like explaining themselves, but for this to be a "war" in which one side just happens to be pure, irredeemable evil we can obliterate with a clean conscience seems really unlikely at this point, especially as a companion piece to the Dragonsong War.

I'm still getting serious Dhaos vibes from the whole situation.

[CyrilLucifer]

I don't mean to imply Zodiark cares about life, we don't know if He does either way, but with life comes aether. He has no life and little energy. He is barren, desolate - dead. So yes, I do believe Hydaelyn took everything from Him. Again, whether or not that's justified, who knows? She believes it is.

I actually think we might have a Promathia-styled thing there with Zodiark actually despising life because its existence takes from Him what he believes to be rightfully His (and in Promathia's case, it was actually true, but He got over it, because mortals were His children, too).

[Berethos]

Maybe our objectives really are mutually incompatible

For the "main" force of Ascians - Lahabrea, Nabriales, and their ilk - I'd be very, very surprised if this was anything but the case. Consider something that ol' Nabby says in the Chrysalis..."Insatiable hunger of the void! Devour all light and return this world to perfect darkness!" Notable, since I do believe that gets mentioned a couple other times by the black-robed Ascians, so it's a running theme with them.

Side thought - possible the black-robed Ascians don't fully understand what Zodiark wants?

Our current goal, whether it's under Hydaelyn's guiding hand or not, is basically to not have the world "return to perfect darkness" and I don't think there's many goals we could have even without following Hydaelyn that would be compatible with that either.

Elidibus? If there's any Ascian whose goals could turn out to be compatible, it's him. After all, he's the one talking about balance, and balance has a better chance of not dooming us all than being returned to perfect darkness.