Here's the thing: I don't think the Ascian/Ancient we saw is doing things the way we've learned to expect from that group. They and Calyx and are of an entirely new group we only know as the "Winterers." We don't even know if rejoining is the goal anymore.

Fandaniel already showed us a sundered Ascian can do whatever they want and are extremely powerful.

The entire time we dealt with the Endless, I kept thinking about how the Ascians even let that happen. Emet-Selch, in particular, would be DISGUSTED by Alexandria, as his seat was entirely about making sure the cycle of life and death and the energies involved kept working. Remember, dying in the Ancient world was considered a high honor and just a step in existence, and they lived incomprehensibly long lives and knew reincarnation was real.

But no, here we see Calyx is allied with another sundered, and so I have to wonder if the goal here is to make a form of immortality with the people that exist NOW. Even the term "Winterer" invokes ideas of enduring a harsh and unforgiving time.

I think something is coming and the Winterers are trying to create ways for people to survive, even at insanely high costs. Maybe something as intangible as entropy, maybe an incoming force from the sea of stars is approaching.