the soul of Azem

[Iscah]

perhaps without Azem's soul so we can truly exist just as ourselves.

I don't think that's a thing that can exist. Azem's soul is our soul, not a thing added onto it. Remove it and you're left with a body but no soul to drive it.

It's already basically a plot point that it doesn't matter who your soul used to be, because you are still you regardless.

The simplest way to sort it out, probably, is that the story already differentiates between soul and memories. So it seems that the soul is what powers us and drives our personality but the memories are independent and not passed on unless they're so powerful they imprint on the soul and remain entangled in it, and even then they may only manifest as dreams or not at all until triggered.

So Azem's memories in their lifetime were what made them an individual, and their soul passed to us but we have our own memories. We're not the same person. We never were.

There's nothing in the story that actually binds us to Azem's identity anyway. It has no tangible impact on anything except Hades' sentimentality and our gaining command of the summoning spell from the crystal.

[Gemina]

There's nothing in the story that actually binds us to Azem's identity anyway. It has no tangible impact on anything except Hades' sentimentality and our gaining command of the summoning spell from the crystal.

Gra'ha does have speculations that certain characteristics are also transferable. Hermes' many incarnations all exhibited an affinity with the celestial, instability, and psychosis. Souls also have hues/colors that are recognizable by certain aether sensitive individuals like Hythlodeaus, Hades, and to a much lesser extent, Y'shtola. In the case of Azem, it's not just the color of their soul and appearance (if playing a Hyur) that is recognizable by Emet, but also the behaviour. Sure, Emet is a sentimental guy underneath his cold exterior, and overlapping behavioral traits does very little to link incarnations of a soul; but this anecdotal evidence still carries a lot of weight due to the additional factors involved.

Even though there is no concrete proof that the soul possesses distinctive traits, it's also one of those things that there is also nothing to prove that it isn't true. I think it is better and more accurate to say that memories is what separates the incarnations of a soul from each other. However, this alone is enough to give each lifespan their own identity.

[Iscah]

Gra'ha does have speculations that certain characteristics are also transferable.

Sure, but even if that's the case then it doesn't make our character "dictated by our history as Azem and needing to break free of them to be truly ourself". If inherent traits have transferred from Azem, they're our traits now, and that aspect of Azem is inseparable from who our character is.

[Gemina]

Sure, but even if that's the case then it doesn't make our character "dictated by our history as Azem and needing to break free of them to be truly ourself". If inherent traits have transferred from Azem, they're our traits now, and that aspect of Azem is inseparable from who our character is.

Yes, with 'now' being the keyword in your statement. However, these distinctive traits would belong to the soul. Kind of like how a car will retain certain features from owner to owner. All the while the current owner can kind of ascertain some things about their predecessor based on anything that placed a lasting impact on the vehicle. What I am saying is the memories are really the only thing that belong to any incarnation of the soul of Azem (I really wish there was a name to give this version as I dislike having to refer to the seat). This then begs the questions, "What defines an individual?" Their drive? Their memories? Their soul?

I think we see things similarly though. Using the car metaphor, ultimately the past is not as relevant as the present. The current owner of the car is the one in the drivers seat, and it is as simple as that.

[KageTokage]

There's nothing in the story that actually binds us to Azem's identity anyway. It has no tangible impact on anything except Hades' sentimentality and our gaining command of the summoning spell from the crystal.

I was operating under the assumption that there was some greater purpose that Azem was trying to fulfill that led them to avoid taking sides in the Hydaelyn/Zodiark conflict and the burden of that duty is going to end up falling upon us eventually.

It may have not influenced much so far, but that won't necessarily continue to hold true pushing into the future.