Quote Originally Posted by Iscah View Post
I disagree on that. My particular theory pre-Endwalker was that – taking a different approach to the exact nature of the primals, making them more "AIs programmed by their creators" – Venat's faction was concerned about the long-term effects of using a purely dark-aspected primal as the will of the star, and created Hydaelyn as a light-aspected addition to balance it out. The clash between those two primals following their respective "programs" meant that Zodiark was trying to be the complete will of the star while Hydaelyn was trying to occupy part of it, Hydaelyn interpreted that as Zodiark overwhelming the balance, responded by pushing him out entirely and that caused the Sundering. Nobody's deliberate choice, just a badly programmed AI, and Venat (if she were still aware at that point and not reduced to primal aether-fuel) would be as horrified at the result as everyone else.

Specifically within Endwalker, I've written before that I think it would have been much more sensible for Venat to lose her memory along with the others – but even if she still has that foreknowledge then in a situation like I was picturing I don't think it would make much difference. In this alternate telling she well might have rejected the prospect of the Sundering and is working to find a solution that doesn't require her to go to such drastic lengths. Perhaps she thought she found one, only to see it all blow up and play out that way after all.

Regardless of the exact scenario that could be written instead of what we got, I don't believe it would need a substantial rewrite at all. The only thing affected is the details of that one vision we have in the rift.
There wasn't even a clash Elidibus had detached by that point so Zodiark was inert. The sundering has nothing to do with Zodiark anymore Venats target was the ancients.