Elidibus theories and speculation *SPOILERS*

[Cilia]

As we have very little information on who Elidibus is possessing and who the mysterious figure in 3.1's stinger was, this is basically just throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks. Normally I refrain from this, but let's get cracking!

Mysterious Figure
-We know nothing about this figure, except that s/he is angry that Zenos was being discussed as "not dead" and was wearing white. The glove s/he was wearing was also visibly not that of an Ascian, so it can be safely assumed that the Mysterious Figure was not Elidibus. We also know that Zenos was buried after his death, though one of M'naago's comments during 4.1 suggests his corpse was exhumed and beat on by some of the less noble Ala Mhigans. That doesn't leave much to work with, but here are my hypotheses:

1. The Mysterious Figure is the real Zenos, and the one we fought was a clone. The Allagans had cloning technology, and Garlemald prides itself on reverse engineering Allagan technology. Perhaps they got ahold of the cloning tech and used it to clone Zenos... perhaps augmenting him in the process, which could explain the monstrous strength Zenos displays throughout Stormblood.

2. The Mysterious Figure is the real Zenos, and the one we fought was an impostor. Kind of. The idea behind this is that the real Zenos was not the warrior Varis wanted him to be, so he found some boy (an orphan with the temperament Varis wanted) and raised him as Zenos, similar to how Princess Garnet from IX wasn't the original but adopted the role after the real one died.

3. The Mysterious Figure is a sibling of Zenos. See: Larsa theory.

4. Unknown, or the Mysterious Figure has no blood relationship to Zenos.

... I still think there's too little information to draw a conclusion on who Elidibus has seemingly possessed. While it's easy to jump to the conclusion it's Regula based on the fact he is the only person Varis is stated to have cared about, that's... jumping to a conclusion. We know nothing about Elidibus' host beyond that their true identity shook Varis, and I don't think that's evidence enough to suggest anyone in particular. As always, it could be someone we don't know yet...

[VargasVermillion]

The idea of a fake zenos being raised is interesting and would explain his general temperament. Personally i don't subscribe to the theory but it's an interesting concept and would explain a lot.

[Theodric]

I suppose it isn't impossible though they already did the whole 'bait and switch' thing with both Nael and Lyse. It'd feel a bit cheap to do it yet again with Zenos...especially if a certain character shown in 4.1 ends up having amnesia and essentially becomes a completely new person as well.

[Rocl]

Honestly the only good thing that could come of Elidizenos would be some sick FF2 remixes and him being "the Emperor from/of Hell" plz

[Quor]

The idea of a clone seems the most plausible to me. It would give a solid "reason" for his obsession with violence; he was literally made to commit atrocities, so either it's just his nature (and all he ends up being "designed" to feel for) and/or he became cognizant of the fact that he was a clone, so, possibly out of bitterness or some semblance of anger towards his creators, he adopted a nihilism not unlike that of one Kefka Palazzo. Given the parallels between Kefka and Zenos that are already present, it fits pretty well.

edit: furthermore, this opens up the very interesting possibility of Zenos being his own Larsa. Because if there is a clone of Zenos, then there has to be an original of Zenos, and that original could still be alive somewhere. We could have something of a "Man in the Iron Mask" situation where he's kept under lock and key, or maybe in some magitek-induced stasis or something, so that Varis could have his blood knight/enforcer son-clone do his dirty work without fear of interference.

[Theodric]

Varis shunned Aulus and his twisted experiments, though. It's brought up in-game during the MSQ's. He also spoke out against the Meteor Project. With that in mind it's very unlikely that he'd resort to cloning his own flesh and blood - especially when he openly stated that Zenos is a monster and unfit to sit on the throne. He may see the merit in the Resonant as a means of fighting against the Primal/Eikon threat but that is understandable when his people cannot wield magic beyond a few rare exceptions and seemingly are not favoured by Hydaelyn in the same way Eorzeans appear to be.

[Cilia]

Varis never publicly opposed the Meteor Project. Very few did so, as they wanted to retain Solus' favor. Not even Gaius did so, despite voicing his dissent to Nael and aiding the Warrior of Light from the shadows to put an end to her mad scheme. Varis did oppose Meteor - indirectly, though Roaille, and on the grounds that acting so rashly would get more primals summoned. He did the same thing, for the same reason, trying to halt Gaius' invasion of Eorzea with the Ultima Weapon.

Aulus was also not dismissed on moral or ethical grounds. His proposal of genetic engineering to remedy the Garlean genetic defect that renders them incapable of wielding magicks was met with "consternation" - in other words, everyone thought he was crazy, and it was only because Zenos obsessively sought more power that he supported him. I do believe that Ascians were involved in this - the genetic engineering not necessarily, but figuring out how to grant people an artificial Echo seems like a big leap from that. (Aulus also looked remarkably like an Ascian when first I saw him in Ala Mhigo... the red, glowing nails on his gloves looked like an Ascian rune to me.)

I'm just trying to reconcile the "we saw Zenos slit his own throat with Ame-no-Habakiri, his body was supposedly buried, and then exhumed by some less-noble Ala Mhigans so they could beat on it" with the "Imperial officers saying Zenos is alive and well at the capital." The only way this makes sense is if there was a clone or body double somewhere, or Zenos was able to use his Echo to disembody his spirit and possess someone. The latter... doesn't seem likely considering how at peace Zenos was with his death, though it's not something to rule out just yet. Otherwise there's a lie in there.

That said, the Mysterious Figure's identity remains too difficult to make a definite guess towards. The glove does not look like an Ascian's, so we can be reasonably assured it is not Elidibus, but beyond that a reasonable guess cannot be made owing to the fact we know nothing about said Mysterious Figure except that s/he isn't Elidibus. We also still can't guess who Elidibus is possessing, as beyond his true face shocking Varis we don't know anything on that front either.

(My favorite hypothesis is that the Zenos we fought was just a "fake," after a fashion, and the real one was kept locked away in the palace because he simply was not the warrior Varis wanted in a son. While the "bait and switch" thing is not new to the story, it's the most plausible explanation I can come up with that requires the fewest leaps in logic - assuming the Imperial officers in that scene speak true, at any rate. Aside from the political intrigue angle, it could also provide us with the Larsa figure everyone's clamoring for.)

[YianKutku]

(My favorite hypothesis is that the Zenos we fought was just a "fake," after a fashion, and the real one was kept locked away in the palace because he simply was not the warrior Varis wanted in a son. While the "bait and switch" thing is not new to the story, it's the most plausible explanation I can come up with that requires the fewest leaps in logic - assuming the Imperial officers in that scene speak true, at any rate. Aside from the political intrigue angle, it could also provide us with the Larsa figure everyone's clamoring for.)

"I'm Captain Basch fon Ronsenburg Zenos yae Galvus! Don't listen to Eorzea's lies!"

It would be amusing if the whole "XIIth Legion"/FF12 connection is that Zenos not only embodies the Larsa/Vayne plot point, but also Basch/Gabranth.

[VargasVermillion]

"I'm Captain Basch fon Ronsenburg Zenos yae Galvus! Don't listen to Eorzea's lies!"

It would be amusing if the whole "XIIth Legion"/FF12 connection is that Zenos not only embodies the Larsa/Vayne plot point, but also Basch/Gabranth.

Perhaps he has a twin?

[LineageRazor]

It could be that the whole thing about Zenos being alive and well is a bald-faced lie, invented one hundred percent for the purposes of propaganda. There is no body double, no clone, no brother - just the higher-ups lying through their teeth to help preserve the idea that the Garlean Empire is strong and unbeatable. It's business as usual, Zenos is just "recovering" and will pretty much remain so forever. The alliance, meanwhile, has conveniently lost their greatest asset in opposing this propaganda (namely, Zenos's corpse, now destroyed thanks to some short-sighted Ala Mhigans after cheap revenge). Heck, thanks to their penchant for ominous armor, if the Garleans DID want "Zenos" to make a public appearance, it would be easy to fake.

However, this explanation doesn't really account for clenched-fists guy. Perhaps he's an Eorzean spy who's frustrated at the Garleans' easy dismissal of the alliance's triumph over the Garleans' champion?