It's been made clear now that attaining the true power of the Echo requires one to die first so I'm actually expecting we genuinely will die at some point in order to reach that goal. It would give the writers the opportunity to confront us with an unwinnable story fight as well (something the series has employed many times in the past). Of course the entire point would be that we come back in some capacity with newfound power, but I could see them playing it up and letting Eorzea experience some consequences before our return.