Revelations from the Announcement Showcase

[Vyrerus]

Well, Emet-Selch makes it clear that every Ancient who gave up his or her life did so VOLUNTARILY. It's something he presents as another piece of evidence that his people have a more worthly claim to existence than the selfish, petty things that infest the planet now. The Convocation didn't just say, "Zodiark, go eat all these people." They asked the people in question if they would consent to be eaten, for the sake of the future of the star. And they did consent. I couldn't find the exact quote, but to paraphrase a question Emet poses to the Scions: "Can you even imagine such an act of altruism from your own people?" The Scions were not able to affirm.

The exact quote comes shortly before Amaurot dungeon, when he's going on his diatribe about having lived a thousand, thousand of our lives and sired children with our kind. It is spoken thus, "Let us imagine that the laws of reality are undone, and the world faces true annihilation. Do you honestly believe that half your number would sacrifice themselves to save the other?... Of course they wouldn't!"

[MrThinker]

"Let us imagine that the laws of reality are undone, and the world faces true annihilation. Do you honestly believe that half your number would sacrifice themselves to save the other?... Of course they wouldn't!"

"And if you had witnessed history unfold as I have, you would come to the exact same conclusion!"

I believe this part really nails that point home. Emet isn't pulling this viewpoint out of his rear, everything he's seen about the sundered life has given him no confidence. The Scions also know their history, they experienced the selfishness and greed of the vain first hand, first through Teledji and Lolorito, then Ilberd. The experiences of foes such as Fordola and Yotsuyu that turned them into what they are. The Scions are well aware that their contemporaries and their ancestors probably would not be possessed of such moral fibre as to willingly sacrifice themselves on such a scale.