Quote Originally Posted by Veloran View Post
This metaphysical, religious aspect you describe, where they needed to give up something intangible or spiritually important, is not part of the equation. It's very much true that they revered Zodiark given he was their only hope, but where you got the rest of this idea I have no clue.
I got it from the themes and motifs of the story being told, and the fact that the ancients created Zodiark the god who demands sacrifice to restore the world. Not Zodiark the aether-conversion engine that needs fuel to operate. Perhaps in some strictly literal sense, those two are the same. But they have a completely different thematic vibe. Basically, the story just starts falling apart on a metaphysical level if you postulate that you could run Zodiark on sacrificed chickens.

Quote Originally Posted by Cleretic View Post
The argument about 'but what if they were just trying to sacrifice a bunch of chickens to Zodiark, you don't know' honestly kind of misses the real point of the whole thing. The problem with the third sacrifice wasn't necessarily what they were killing for it (although again, the story doesn't play if it's not something big), but that it was the point when they were no longer willingly sacrificing themselves to help the planet, but rather forcing others to involuntarily sacrifice lives for their own comfort. The world is safe, peaceful and functioning again, and yet that is not enough. It's even going against the wishes of those sacrificed; remember that we heard from those souls in Mare Lamentorum, and they are still completely okay with their own sacrifices. The third sacrifice is for nobody's benefit but the surviving Ancients, as well as the point where the notion they might ever be satisfied is gone.

To a degree, you could say that the moment the third sacrifice was hatched was the point where the Convocation became the Ascians. The point where all reason beyond a selfish desire to want their perfect past back is gone; the point where Emet-Selch's stated view of 'I don't see you as people, so it's not murder' became their accepted view (and yes, I know that after a point he didn't 'really' believe that, but there was undeniably a point where it was true).
Co-signing on this especially. Regardless of what was being sacrificed, the intentions of the third sacrifice were selfish in nature.