Revelations from Keynote II

[ShinShimon]

It's absolutely time travel. I don't see how people can support a "we're going to the First!" interpretation with all the hints that Yoshida's been dropping. Specifically, we're going into an apocalyptic future, but also trying to avert it... this will probably mean splitting the timeline, which will justify us being able to go back to visit the alt-future zones even after we've prevented the calamity/flood of light.

[Kaizersan]

What's new for our many ongoing debates?

• Urianger and Y'shtola are rocking new jobs (AST and BLM) as the world goes to hell
• Y'shtola refers to "until our friend returns"
• ...Did Urianger just call Y'shtola "Matoya?"
• So is this the "aethersight is an added burden on the spiritual vitality" brick finally dropping? Or is it just a title now? lol
• It seems they're in Rak'tika but something's gonna go to hell there
• I'm somehow even more confused about where we're going. Some possibly Mesoamerican themes, old west themes, and that armadillo thing, have just added the New World to the possibility mix along with The First, Light-rekt areas, and/or Dalmasca.

• The Child of Light is Minfilia

• The gunblade-wielding job is called Gunbreaker, it is a TANK.
• This is not a Garlean gunblade; they will be closer to FF8, uses magicked ammo, and will start in Gridania
• Preview of the TRUST system showed Thancred tanking, Urianger healing, and Y'shtola on DPS in a forest dungeon
• New Area: Il Mheg, a very colorful, high-fantasy plains-like area
• Area is home to the pixies, notorious tricksters (not as bad as the moogles)
• They speak a unique Oda/Koji-formulated language (Fae) and worship the primal Titania, a major 5.0 plot point
• Much can be gleaned by the new 24-man raid title...

• How the sugar-frosted f[kupo!] is this going to work? PLEASE LOOK FORWARD TO IT.
• (Some of you don't know Yoko Taro / Yosuke Saito levels of "be careful what you wish for" and it shows. This is going to be amazing.)
• Viera shown off, but there were only ladies. (SO FAR...?)

Y'shtola is possessed by Matoya you can tell by how she talks in the trailer her voice tone and speech pattern is that of Matoya and not Y'shtola's and given that they have established that another soul can posses someones body it's not impossible for one as powerful as Matoya to do what the Ascians do.

[ObsidianFire]

The only souls we've seen posses bodies are souls with the Echo or the Resonance. Matoya, as far as we know, has neither. Body possession also seems to be linked to the Ascians and has never been shown to be something good for people to do. So until Patch 4.56 comes, I'm putting that view of the situation lower down on my list of explanations for the scene.

As far as Y'shtola talking like Matoya goes... Matoya was Y'shtola's mentor and it seems Matoya views Y'shtola as her protege at the very least, maybe even as her daughter. Y'shtola herself makes fun of herself turning into Matoya in Patch 4.4. So it's very probable that Y'shtola picked up on a lot of Matoya's mannerisms over the years. I could easily see something happening to Matoya while she tries to get the rest of the Scions back from being Called and Y'shtola deciding to take up her beloved mentor's legacy in her place.

[KageTokage]

I'm pleasantly surprised that they've thus far managed to avoid disclosing any information that really spoils what's going to actually happen at the end of the 4.5 MSQ. There's really only fuel for theories at this point.

The only souls we've seen posses bodies are souls with the Echo or the Resonance. Matoya, as far as we know, has neither. Body possession also seems to be linked to the Ascians and has never been shown to be something good for people to do. So until Patch 4.56 comes, I'm putting that view of the situation lower down on my list of explanations for the scene.

As far as Y'shtola talking like Matoya goes... Matoya was Y'shtola's mentor and it seems Matoya views Y'shtola as her protege at the very least, maybe even as her daughter. Y'shtola herself makes fun of herself turning into Matoya in Patch 4.4. So it's very probable that Y'shtola picked up on a lot of Matoya's mannerisms over the years. I could easily see something happening to Matoya while she tries to get the rest of the Scions back from being Called and Y'shtola deciding to take up her beloved mentor's legacy in her place.

There's been multiple instances of non-Echo related soul shenanigans in side quests, such as with Genbu and Soroban in the Four Lords quests and Lalai and Shatotto in the SB BLM quests. You could probably consider what happened with Nidhogg and Estinien a similar case.

It seems like anyone who's powerful enough and has the know-how can potentially linger after the loss of their physical body.

[Theodric]

It seems like anyone who's powerful enough and has the know-how can potentially linger after the loss of their physical body.

Mm. There's also the possibility that Matoya will make use of a forbidden spell in order to accomplish it.

[Kalise]

There's that interesting aspect about this whole "Matoya Possessing Y'shtola's body" thing.

Which is, unless something happens between now and 5.0 to change it... Y'shtola's body is in the Rising Sands along with the rest of the Scions that have had their souls taken.

This suggests, that only their souls are being transported to wherever (And/or whenever) ShB is happening. Which suggests that whatever vessels they'll be using might have room for "Possession".

Like, we've had a glimpse of Solus clones and we now have knowledge of Nier style automatons with souls imbued with them with the upcoming raid.

Therefore there's a possibility that, however we end up getting to ShB content, what might be awaiting us is clones or automatons for us to inhabit in order to affect the physical world. With the potential that Matoya found a way to come with us and because she was unaccounted for, she ended up having to borrow a Y'shtola clone/automaton instead of having one of herself.

Since, as long as our physical bodies remain on the Source, it won't be like the way Ascians and the First's WoD who can get the ability to travel between shards with their teleporty tricks because they need to relinquish their physical bodies to do so. As such, we'd need some way of allowing us to leave the Aethereal Sea and interact with the physical world without transporting our physical bodies there (Unless, of course, 4.55 - 5.0 has something in store to show us transporting our physical bodies to wherever ShB occurs)

[Grayve]

I really hope it's not time travel. It always ends up convoluted and confusing, with forced arbitrary rules to excuse the plot from going to far back.

[Crushnight]

The thing with Matoya and Y'shtola is the only way i can see Matoya die is for Y'shtola body possession has happened for non echo users with Genbu and Soraban, Ultima and Alma Nidhogg and Estinien but said possession has also had a high amount of aether involved being auspices a living primal or dragon eyes so if Matoya is possessing Y'shtola i think the crystal eye will be used to do it as for what sets things off i think we kill Elidibus as well as Solus releases a light aspected Black rose killing both the Alliance and Garlean main forces and this tips the balance on the source within the maelstrom of death we plead to Hydalen for a way to stop it and we get sent to the source to fetch Minifilia and bring her back but she refuses to leave the 1st to their own suffering and to combat the light there we become the WoD

[KageTokage]

It's absolutely time travel. I don't see how people can support a "we're going to the First!" interpretation with all the hints that Yoshida's been dropping. Specifically, we're going into an apocalyptic future, but also trying to avert it... this will probably mean splitting the timeline, which will justify us being able to go back to visit the alt-future zones even after we've prevented the calamity/flood of light.

The thing makes me doubt time travel is involved is the fact that we're inevitably going to have to return to all of the different expansion zones for the post-5.0 MSQ. What reason would we have to return to a bad future if things have been patched up?

On the flipside, if we're going to the First to curb the flood of light, there's all sorts of reasons we could have for going back over there once matters have been seemingly resolved.

[ShinShimon]

The thing makes me doubt time travel is involved is the fact that we're inevitably going to have to return to all of the different expansion zones for the post-5.0 MSQ. What reason would we have to return to a bad future if things have been patched up?

On the flipside, if we're going to the First to curb the flood of light, there's all sorts of reasons we could have for going back over there once matters have been seemingly resolved.

We'll probably end up forking the timelines, leaving the original hellhole future intact while we create a different one for ourselves. Whatever time machine BS we used to get to the hellhole future will stay intact, along with that timeline, even after we finish the SH main quest.