What's the point with that quite lackluster story in Endwalker?

[Garet]

Do you have evidence to support this claim? we never even get to see what would happen had the unsundered world continued to exist past its expiration date. Ultimately, the sudered world had something the ancients never had, Hydaelyn's support and the power of hindsight courtesy of our trip to Elpis, luxuries that were never granted to the ancients themselves. So, until the game itself confirms that the ancients would "sacrifice lives to Zodiark until no one was left to enjoy the paradise he would restore," I'll just throw this claim into the bin of baseless conjectures.



At the end of Shadowbringers, G'raha, when asked by Y'shtola why he still lives despite us having averted the 8UC describes the situation as an "unexpected development." G'raha and his collaborators had every intention to carry out a plan they expected would result in the complete erasure of all lives on etherys, as well as the remaining shards that were in no way made privy to any of their plans, just because they couldn't live a reality in which the WoL was dead. The lives of an entire existence, not just one planet, but all of existence across an entire universe, snuffed out just to save one person. Please explain to me how the ancients planning to sacrifice just a singular planets worth of life is deemed the single most deplorable act across the games history.

It was clearly implied had the other ascians not opposed the pro-zodiark faction, that all of their people will eventually be sacrificed to zodiark. Even until the end they really could not truly defeat what was ailing their planet. Zodiark created an aether like shield that temporarily shielded them and they wanted to sacrifice more and more in the hopes that zodiark can permanently stop what is causing the final days and maybe resurrect whoever was sacrificed to it after it defeated what was causing the finaly days. But the final days isn't a simple calamity as we later learned and sacrficing more to zodiark would have only extended his protection which will still eventually run out once there is no one left to sacrifice and the power of despair that Meteion eternally bring about will come and destroy everything.