Here are my thoughts:

Loved Thavnair. I liked Nidhana and Vrtra. The lead up to Garlemald was fun. But there was something that felt disappointing at the end of it? It's like the conclusion was too easy.

Loved Zodiark's prison, Argos, Mare Lamentorum, the Watcher, Hythlodaeus and the shades of the Ancients was amazing. Although the entire thing about about Hydaelyn redirecting Zenos/Amon felt cheap since they just casually walked in and destroyed the final seal anyways.

I didn't like Bestway Burrows. Beautiful zone, but the questing was painful. I didn't like how Zodiark was defeated like a filler boss. I was hoping for something magnificent.

I did like how it lead to the Final Days, and Amon's double-crossing. The apocalypse in Thavnair was amazing. I really felt horrified and sad about what was happening. Especially the part where Matsya was running with the baby.

I liked going back to the First and talking to Elidibus. Stepping into Elpis took my breath away, and I enjoyed everything except for the side quests. I felt like those quests threw the entire pacing off since the WoL literally had a world to save. I had the same issue with Labyrinthos, and was kinda confused why no one contacted Cid earlier.

I think everything from this part is where a lot of controversy starts to happen, and rightfully so. Everyone is going to have their personal opinions about matters of a society's relationship to death, creation, rebirth, and such.

I found Hermes insufferable. He felt like a whiny kid that got put into a position of power that he wasn't mentally ready for. Throughout the entire questing experience, I was asking myself how anyone allowed him to create Meteion and go on a celestial exploration without anyone knowing about it? That was when I started to see that this was going to be less of a world-event, and more of an emotional/psychological one.

My hope was that there was some consequence to creation magic, and all the death caused by the Ancients on the projects that they determined to be flawed. Perhaps all these souls, in their pain and despair, started to influence dynamis in such a way that negative emotions would continue to be amplified until it creates some sort of void/demonic emotional entity that could give dynamis some interesting layers. Kinda like the Daedra in Elder Scrolls.

I felt like the writers still used elements of that thought process, but forced it all into Hermes and Meteion alone.

I did like going to Ultima Thule. I felt sad for Meteion, especially when you understand that she never really developed her own moral compass. She was a sponge that absorbed all the pain, trauma, and hopelessness from various civilizations over Hermes flawed question and experimental design. This is why making her out to the final boss bothered me.

Ultimately, the story is good. I think some parts could have been better to create new story threads. But it's not the end of the world. Pun intended.