Endwalker's Hinted Mystery? What could it be that leads us into the new story?

[MirronTulaxia]

I don't know about that.

Meteion has a very particular slant, and I find it unreasonable to expect she has visited everywhere. I also believe that one of the two unlocked endgame dungeons hints at activity elsewhere.

[SaitoHikari]

All of this is making me think back to the end of the Alexander raid series, where we learn that Alexander sees us making a choice in the far future that could end up determining the fate of all creation or something similar. I'm not sure the ending of Endwalker really factors into that at all. We'd probably have one really big threat in the future, and it'd likely be something that's rather metaphysical - we don't know why the lifestream and souls work the way they do, or why our world has so much aether while it appears most other known worlds may be lacking in it. It could very well be the literal entropic end of the universe itself. Also, will further primal summonings still affect the world in some noticeable way?

I don't think we'll be doing any more time traveling unless it's for the sake of finding answers to something happening in the present. The game straight up tells us numerous times that we can't change what's already happening in the future by traveling to the past, on a large scale at least.

As for immediate things...

The topic of exactly what to do with Garlemald might be the most immediate thing that will probably get resolved over the next few patches in the MSQ. I suspect the Garleans may actually be the ones leading us to the next expansion storyline after all is said and done too, as their access to airships means they are probably the best equipped to go voyage beyond the Three Great Continents and it's possible they had a Legion or two dedicated to doing exactly that off-screen. I don't remember if the EW story ever explained why they don't have much of an ability to use aether either. It may have something to do with the Dynamis VS Aether relationship.

[RyuDragnier]

There's only one big mystery that has been revealed that could tie into the new story. The Echo, we now know how it works. Considering it can technically be used on demand now that we know the ins and outs of it, this brings into question...what if somebody has been using it for their own personal gain? Perhaps our next threat is not an Eldritch Abomination, but another who can use the powers the same as us, except they're not afraid to body swap to reach their goals. Every time we think we've stopped their plans, they've body swapped to a new host to continue them. An enemy who we cannot defeat easily because they display the exact same powers as us. An enemy who we may even agree with on their goals but not how to reach them.

[KageTokage]

I do feel like that when we get any future villains, they're liable to be of a more worldly sort like Zenos; people possessed of unnatural strength through gifts inherent or bestowed.

It could very well be the secret behind Zenos' memories of the Final Days that ends up being relevant in the future and there are others similar to him who are going to end up becoming a problem.

[RyuDragnier]

Adding into my previous comment...what if the body swapping instance was a HINT of what was going to happen in the new expansion? We reach there, and our body is stolen from us early on, with us temporarily in another body for a while, albeit with all our abilities intact thanks to us "transcending" the limits of our soul. Then we get our body back...and deal with the fallout of everybody there (who don't know us personally) thinking we were behind whatever trail of manipulation left by the villain?

[vormela]

I don't remember if the EW story ever explained why they don't have much of an ability to use aether either. It may have something to do with the Dynamis VS Aether relationship.

I think this could be brought up as well. I am hoping the Reaper quests will say something about it (I only did the level 70 quest). Why a snappy sorcerer of eld chose to live among people who can't wield magic and live in Siberia is one of the questions I still have and why I love that character. And of course how they will get along with magic users has already been fleshed out in quests.

Zenos...that boy just ain't right. He seems pretty immune to dynamis' effects and that is just who he is. This is gonna become the new aether blade thing. "If you kill a being who is immortal through the power of resonance at the edge of the universe in a realm without aether except dynamis but he is a born psychopath with no aspirations except to fight savage bosses then does he die? Does he have a personality change when beaten with a fist relying on nothing but the pure power of dynamis?"

I also really thought we would fight an Azem with our soul by the end of the game and have an identity crisis and learn about some of the more unsavory parts of past Azems' lives. I guess that sounds silly, but somehow Zenos seems to represent an aspect of that character. Like, we went back in time and got to see nearly everyone except past-Azem (I mean the one who took over after Venat retired to become such a boss). I wonder what they were like. I feel like the conjoined timelines references could mean we would be a new shade, 9/14ths of Azem, and our other bits would be their own people. An Azem council, if you will. Azem from that time just seems like they are missing in action. I am fine being a construct because at least that explanation doesn't hurt my brain. Sorry if this doesn't make much sense...still processing that part of the story. The fistfight with Zenos is significant. It was also hilarious.

[KageTokage]

I just remembered that we still don't know what happened to the Heart of Sabik after they've repeatedly suggested someone took it somewhere.

There's also the whole matter of the remaining Paragons who are most likely not going to have any involvement with the Pandemonium raids given that they seem to take place in the past. It's anyone's guess as to what they'll do now with Zodiark gone and they're probably the single biggest potential source of strife considering the mess Fandaniel made without his superiors around to keep him in check.

[Elladie]

There's only one big mystery that has been revealed that could tie into the new story. The Echo, we now know how it works. Considering it can technically be used on demand now that we know the ins and outs of it, this brings into question...what if somebody has been using it for their own personal gain? Perhaps our next threat is not an Eldritch Abomination, but another who can use the powers the same as us, except they're not afraid to body swap to reach their goals. Every time we think we've stopped their plans, they've body swapped to a new host to continue them. An enemy who we cannot defeat easily because they display the exact same powers as us. An enemy who we may even agree with on their goals but not how to reach them.

Oooooo I like this! 'Tale of the Body Thief' vibe.

Personally I think the one mystery we haven't 'solved' yet is mentioned by Emet. The Twelve. I know the Alliance Raid is picking up on that, but we don't know how, or if, that impacts the rest of the expansion yet.

[Nekaru_Infitima]

Had another thought, and I know you guys said no aliens but....

This was literally revealed as a mystery that even Meteion didn't know, we couldn't really deal with finding it out at that time since we had more pressing matters but...

Nekropolis. They just vanished, gone, no trace of who they were and why they died. That could be a mystery in of itself of what happened, especially if it started happening to other stars or was a threat to ours.

[KageTokage]

Had another thought, and I know you guys said no aliens but....

This was literally revealed as a mystery that even Meteion didn't know, we couldn't really deal with finding it out at that time since we had more pressing matters but...

Nekropolis. They just vanished, gone, no trace of who they were and why they died. That could be a mystery in of itself of what happened, especially if it started happening to other stars or was a threat to ours.

I feel like we're probably going to find out what happened to Nekropolis as the culmination of what seems like an eventual "beast tribe" hub in the area that will eventually be teeming with all the manner of different alien species as result of the Stigma 4 unit's new directive to analyze the dead star's data and use it to revive extinct races.