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

[DevonEllwood]

Well I was going to post on Monday, but ended up doing something else. I think the main point was my gripes with how Fandaniel. They could have just kept him as someone who had beef with society in general. I mean we kind of got that? But the sympathetic angle about life and death wrecked it for me. Fandaniel would have been fine as a selfish a-hole. Someone who was tired of doing things for the sake of the star and for paradise, tired of being pushed to do what is considered right for their society. He didn't need a good reason, selfishness is good enough on an individual level. He may have not ended up well liked, but when even the main subreddit is poking holes in your life/death argument, then you pretty much failed on the sympathetic front.

Some images posted showing Venat's dialogue from Shadowbringers again makes it seem like the sundering was not planned. Which relates back to Elpis Venat saying she wouldn't do something like that unless she had a good reason. We aren't shown that reason and instead all we get for dialogue for the reason when won't say anything is that she doesn't want to potentially make an enemy of Hermes. Does she know his memory is not wiped or something? Do those memory become "burned on the soul" after death? Does she know all this already?

It seems like there's a conversation going on about how much Azem knows of us in the past. With the raids in mind, it seems quite a bit, which makes sense for people to assume Azem is the reason the unsundered are unsundered. We have received help from both Hades and Elidibus/Themes (sp?) yet have not gotten help from Lahabrea in our own timeline, which makes me think we are not done with him. We still don't know what Azem was doing before the sundering and them knowing more than what is presented in the story would explain why they left the convocation and rejected Venat's invitation. If this is true, them my question is what in the world happened to the original bodies of the unsundered? If they were "saved" from the sundering, why do they need to take over bodies when they should have originally had their own? Was it just their souls and memories that escaped?

Also I guess I can assume this is Azem's mask?


It being a main feature on Hades's design would make sense, but why is it also on the Hades weapons and why was it in the scene on the moon? Unless it's just an all encompassing convocation mask meant to represent everyone, then why have all the other masks that have clearly belonged to individual characters.

I know some people are tired of the ancients and the ascians, but I am not convinced it's all over yet. There are way to many unanswered questions and I don't believe that Lahabrea is actually fully dead. I pretty convinced that Hades and friend are in the Square Enix "use later" pocket and I am indifferent to Schrodinger's Zenos but I'm not convinced the writers won't use him as well.

All we have been told is Endwalker will end the Zodiark and Hydaelyn story, and that has been repeated multiple times in interviews to a point it's suspicious. I believe they're both dead, but I don't believe everything surrounding them is over, including the repercussions of killing Zodiark.

[Fayt1203]

Also I guess I can assume this is Azem's mask?
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Azem mask is unknown at the moment when Emet-Selch glimpses Azem in us, he sees Azem without the mask, but the face appears blank to the player. Elidibus later also perceives the us as Azem, and in that vision Azem is wearing a black mask

[DevonEllwood]

Azem mask is unknown at the moment when Emet-Selch glimpses Azem in us, he sees Azem without the mask, but the face appears blank to the player. Elidibus later also perceives the us as Azem, and in that vision Azem is wearing a black mask

Then I guess this mask is just a generic red mask? It's weird it's on a lot of the Hades weapons and prominently on his design and I could have swore the scene on the moon focused on it as well. I originally thought it was the "un angry" Hades mask, but in Elpis he uses the one on his chest. My initial confusion was because of the circles on the mask are pretty similar.

[Teraq]

I originally thought it was the "un angry" Hades mask, but in Elpis he uses the one on his chest.

I'm picturing Emet painstakingly swapping masks to suit his moods. He should just walk around with a Mood Ring Flower, seems like less trouble.

[Lauront]

Then I guess this mask is just a generic red mask? It's weird it's on a lot of the Hades weapons and prominently on his design and I could have swore the scene on the moon focused on it as well. I originally thought it was the "un angry" Hades mask, but in Elpis he uses the one on his chest. My initial confusion was because of the circles on the mask are pretty similar.

Another point on the mask - it's speculated he has two to highlight the aspect of Gemini. He is tasked with overseeing the Underworld, which is where the souls of the dead go, and apparently the full mask can be taken as a funeral mask so you can read it that way, too. As for Azem, the mask would be black.

Speaking of Sharlayan, there's a funny story in Labyrinthos. One of the aether current quests reveals that Trolls—the giant furry monsters seen in their big old wildlife preserve—are actually soul-bearing lifeforms. Nobody in Sharlayan actually knew this until one of them happened to speak in the WoL's presence, whereupon it's revealed that you can understand him via the Echo (because he has a soul). Despite this revelation, he is told upfront that if he can't prove his worth to Sharlayan by solving a Sharlayan-created problem, he'll have to go back to being a specimen. Trolls are also a valid target for daily hunts, and can only be found in Labyrinthos. Make of that what you will.

Ah yes, like the moral dilemma of the sentient mochi from one of the previous New Year fates.