Confusion (of the highest order) about Venat and Sundering

[SilverArrow20XX]

I don't think it's really a power level thing.
Zodiark's Dark element is activeness and chaos, which was good for empowering the planet's aetherial flow, and protect it from Meteion. As well as dictating the laws of nature.
Hydaelyn's Light element is stillness and order, which was good for imprisoning, segmenting, and organizing.

[Antoine_Lenheim]

The second is to restore the ruined world after the Final Days had been halted. The third was to bring everyone back.

Half of the Ancients were sacrificed to halt the Final Days. Half of what was left to restore the world. And an equivalent amount of new life sacrificed to bring back those from the first two.

Ah, okay. I missed the restoring world one. That was one well timed intervention then x) Considering so many lives sacrificed already and only NOW she decided to do something about it. And the only solution she found is to sacrifice even more lives, even if for the noble purpose of separating Zodiark from Ascians.

And also it's strange that in a cutscene in which Venat does the Sundering, world is still during the Final Days and not at all a restored one, maybe that's why I forgot about second one completely.

Thinking about your original post, I can't help but think that "purpose" concept is quite strange. It literally means you can do whatever you want with no limits whatsoever which is soft magic system and I hate soft magic systems. Limitations forces you to think cleverly about how you approach your scenario. I really dislike it when someone breaks the rules established so far because "it's magic, deal with it". On this principle, you could solve any situation with a deus ex machina. Half of the population of Etheirys sacrificed themselves to summon Zodiark and halt Oblivion Song and then only a fraction of its people were enough to bind it. Just because its "purpose" was to bind it, to sunder it. Guess it's not a Dragon Ball and there are more factors than power levels? But then it means that literally, for example, you can build an impenetrable bigass castle but someone with a will to destroy it will destroy it. How convenient for writers.

[EaraGrace]

Ah, okay. I missed the restoring world one. That was one well timed intervention then x) Considering so many lives sacrificed already and only NOW she decided to do something about it. And the only solution she found is to sacrifice even more lives, even if for the noble purpose of separating Zodiark from Ascians.

It was now because Zodiark is a necessary component to the plan. He has to exist to protect Etheirys, but not be used beyond that. Which is why she intervened then.

And also it's strange that in a cutscene in which Venat does the Sundering, world is still during the Final Days and not at all a restored one, maybe that's why I forgot about second one completely.

Meant to be a metaphorical, not literal, depiction of events.

Thinking about your original post, I can't help but think that "purpose" concept is quite strange. It literally means you can do whatever you want with no limits whatsoever which is soft magic system and I hate soft magic systems. Limitations forces you to think cleverly about how you approach your scenario. I really dislike it when someone breaks the rules established so far because "it's magic, deal with it". On this principle, you could solve any situation with a deus ex machina. Half of the population of Etheirys sacrificed themselves to summon Zodiark and halt Oblivion Song and then only a fraction of its people were enough to bind it. Just because its "purpose" was to bind it, to sunder it. Guess it's not a Dragon Ball and there are more factors than power levels? But then it means that literally, for example, you can build an impenetrable bigass castle but someone with a will to destroy it will destroy it. How convenient for writers.

It’s not as simple as that though. There are underlying principles to aether and it’s manipulation. These principles are why Zodiark is astral aspected and why he uses celestial aether currents to forestall the Final Days. The same is true for Hydaelyn. Her purpose was to bind him, and thus she was umbral aspected and created with the power to enervate, to help achieve that goal. So it’s not that having a purpose is enough, but that each were formed to best utilize their respective strengths to achieve their respective ends.