6.0 Predictions: Will it be Garlemald, Sharlayan, or Meracydia?

[Veloran]

Remember the alternate timeline with a successful 8th Calamity in which this did not happen.

Regardless, Zodiark on the Source is 8/14 so speaking from a pure total aether point, he is indeed the more enticing option than Hydaelyn.

But Hydaelyn is 14/14...? Not to mention her power to sunder things is, frankly, more thematically appropriate to Zenos than anything else.

[KageTokage]

With how worn out Hydaelyn is after all of the calamities, I don't think the sundered Zodiark potentially being more powerful at this point is out of the question.

Of course, with him being in a dormant, incomplete state and sealed in the moon still, it's going to take some manner of outside influence for him to do much of anything.

[Kesey]

Remember the alternate timeline with a successful 8th Calamity in which this did not happen.

Regardless, Zodiark on the Source is 8/14 so speaking from a pure total aether point, he is indeed the more enticing option than Hydaelyn.

But this did happen in the alternate timeline. They are living in an apocalypse so horrible their only option was to send someone back in time.

[Kesey]

Zodiark rewriting reality took the sacrifice of half the Ancients. I'm not sure that much aether even exists across the Source and shards now, and if it did we're basically just saying he'd need to win from the outset.

Which I'm confident is the role Zenos is going to play in the story. And that aether does exist, as it is split across the shards, hence why the rejoinings are critical to the successful revival of Zodiark.

[YianKutku]

But this did happen in the alternate timeline. They are living in an apocalypse so horrible their only option was to send someone back in time.

Technically their other option was to suck it up and rebuild, like what happened in the previous eras, and which also happened after they sent the Crystal Tower to the First.

The difference here is that they had the option to send someone back in time available to them, due to the existence of the Ironworks (and its institutional knowledge of our feats against Alexander and Omega), as well as the unearthing of the Crystal Tower.

Honestly I can't imagine the Eighth Calamity was more horrible than previous Calamities (except for the half-aborted Seventh).

[Crushnight]

But this did happen in the alternate timeline. They are living in an apocalypse so horrible their only option was to send someone back in time.

Except the last short story from the latest round of Tales of 'x' basically had the people eventually move forward with Middy thus would the 8th Astral Era start and the 9th calamity would end that era and so on and so on, Zodiark is most likely going to be a whole being in that timeline with Emet and Elidibus still out and about.

Zodiark has the ability to rewrite the laws of the star to seek salvation. Now what would happen if the Zodiark of the alternate timeline caught wind of the whole rewrite time that Cid cooked up(bear in mind Emet would eventually know Crystal Tower is gone and exactly what the tower is capable of so just disappearing would catch his attention), who knows, but it may think Salavation can be done via that method and boop we may have a lot of different timelines going off and Zodiark may even be able to pop into our one given its power.


Time travel and a god that can rewrite the laws of the very star are a bad combo in a story XD

If the writers want Zenos to gobble up a fully powered Zodiark, not hard to see how at this point, Zenos just has to dangle the right Salvation incentive in front and being a primal wouldn't question it.

[RyuDragnier]

Except the last short story from the latest round of Tales of 'x' basically had the people eventually move forward with Middy thus would the 8th Astral Era start and the 9th calamity would end that era and so on and so on, Zodiark is most likely going to be a whole being in that timeline with Emet and Elidibus still out and about.

Since Black Rose was used, it's very possible that Elidibus was beaten and destroyed in that timeline. Remember, it was only used when the Eorzean Alliance started really beating down the Empire. The main battle that would likely lead to it? The WoL vs Elidibus (in Zenos body), which is highly inferred to us winning. Emet was likely the last Ascian standing in the end, and there's no telling what he would do in those circumstances. Keep going? Or just plain give up because the Heart of Zodiark was just lost?

[KageTokage]

Except the last short story from the latest round of Tales of 'x' basically had the people eventually move forward with Middy thus would the 8th Astral Era start and the 9th calamity would end that era and so on and so on, Zodiark is most likely going to be a whole being in that timeline with Emet and Elidibus still out and about.

Zodiark has the ability to rewrite the laws of the star to seek salvation. Now what would happen if the Zodiark of the alternate timeline caught wind of the whole rewrite time that Cid cooked up(bear in mind Emet would eventually know Crystal Tower is gone and exactly what the tower is capable of so just disappearing would catch his attention), who knows, but it may think Salavation can be done via that method and boop we may have a lot of different timelines going off and Zodiark may even be able to pop into our one given its power.


Time travel and a god that can rewrite the laws of the very star are a bad combo in a story XD

If the writers want Zenos to gobble up a fully powered Zodiark, not hard to see how at this point, Zenos just has to dangle the right Salvation incentive in front and being a primal wouldn't question it.

I would legit be upset if they decided to involve timey-wimey/interdimensional shenanigans even more in the main story then they already have.

It's honestly just a lazy way to make virtually anything happen if you start getting alternate realities/timelines involved.

[Veloran]

Which I'm confident is the role Zenos is going to play in the story. And that aether does exist, as it is split across the shards, hence why the rejoinings are critical to the successful revival of Zodiark.

But that's just the thing, we see that the Eighth Calamity in fact doesn't free Zodiark. So the Ascians would need to somehow do at least TWO spur-of-the-moment rejoinings for Zodiark to be in a position for Zenos to mantle him.

Meanwhile, for Hydaelyn, he would simply need to possess her and then absorb aether directly from the Lifestream. It's far more straightforward a process.

[Seraphor]

There's another option people aren't seeing.

Zenos has the Resonance, an artificial Echo, on top of the newer revelation that the Echo is not some unique gift from Hydaelyn and that in fact anyone could have it, it simply need to be awoken in them. Zenos clearly has the Echo too, as he speaks of the recurring dream he has of the starshower, he just needs to realise the implications of it. Not only that, but he is a direct descendent of Solus AKA Emet Selch, an unsundered Ascian. Who's to say that Zenos needs any help from Zodiark or Hydaelyn in becoming one of the most powerful beings alive?
8/14s soul + Echo + Resonance + Ascian heritage = far more powerful than WoL.

What if Hydaelyn and Zodiark remain backseaters throughout, never fought directly or even via proxy. Instead, Zenos does the unthinkable and destroys Zodiark in his weakened state, something we could never do, just to get a rise out of us and force our hand, and then we have to face off against Zenos.