[Spoilers] I’m irrevocably Unimpressed

[Elladie]

People seemed determined to see things as black and white.

There is little difference between either outcome since souls are doomed regardless, and the high moral ground belongs to the victor (in this case, us).

Zodiark remade the world; in order to do so he needed vast amount of aether so the souls willingly sacrificed themselves. Those who remained asked if he could restore the sacrifices, and he said yes but he required more aether. So in order to restore those they loved and cared about they made the choice to go ahead.

Some others disagreed and created another being to stop this. That being - Hydaelyn - was also created in the same way, by sacrificing souls to obtain the necessary aether. She then, in order to carry out her objective, destroyed everything including the planet by sundering it into 14 pieces. Every single piece of life ceases except the 3 we know as Lahabrea, Elidibus and Emet-Selch.

So the souls are all divided into 14 different new souls. No, they aren't dead. But any meaningful existence they had as a unified soul is gone. If we are going to throw words like genocide around, how is that not genocide? If it isn't genocide, neither is killing the new life in order to return the old life, surely? Killing the old life by making it into new life is exactly the same as killing the new life by making it into old life.

We wish to stop Emet-Selch and his fellows from killing most if not all of the current life in order to restore their brethren. Understandable. We already destroyed most if not all of the previous life on the star in the same cause (including our original selves, it seems). I really don't think we get to take a high moral stance here. We're fighting for survival. So are they. The only thing that makes us 'right' is that we won.

Two other points - nowhere is it stated that Zodiark demanded sacrifices. Willing souls were sacrificed to summon him, and more willing souls sacrificed to restore the land. Equally willing souls were sacriced to summon Hydaelyn. There is nothing anywhere to suggest that either primal demanded more souls and more aether in a never ending cycle. Nor did the people who summoned Zodiark 'destroy the world' as previous posters have claimed. The summoner of Hydaelyn destroyed the world.

I loathed all Ascians and especially Emet-Selch before ShB. By the end of it, I found him a fascinating, tragic and very sympathetic character, and I have sincerely mourned him. I very much wish we - and he - had been able to find another way. Certainly Alphinaud would have been up for that. I also believe Hades realised his mistake by the end which is why his last words were so very moving.

I find it disturbing that people are so entrenched in their 'Hydaelyn GOOD" mindset that they seem unable to perceive the marvel wrought here by an incredibly talented writer