Question pertaining to the afterlife in FFXIV

[Cilia]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, but...

When discussing the pixies' childlike temperaments, Alphinaud (I believe) conjectures that souls may not dissolve in the Lifestream, but still exist as independent packets. This is why pixies are the reincarnated souls of children - their existence persists in the Lifestream until they are reborn. Handily enough, this also explains doppelgangers on the First - Gerolt's doppelganger just has another piece of his otherwise fragmented soul, which is why they are for all intents and purposes the exact same person. (His First counterpart just has long flowing hair instead of being bald.)

It's not like this is a new concept for Final Fantasy, either - it's possible to persist in the Lifestream of VII with a strong emotion, though this tends to degrade the personality of those who do so. President Shinra and Septhiroth both manage it through greed and hatred, respectively.

The events in Amaurot suggest the Warrior of Light / Darkness is the reincarnated soul of an ancient Ascian - Emet-Selch's good friend Hythlodaeus no less - and that their overwhelming strength is owed to them having the soul fragments of their other selves that were rejoined through the Ascians' machinations. Ardbert was their First counterpart, who seems to willingly merge with the Warrior of [Light / Darkness] to help stave off the corruption from the Lightwardens' power until it's used to finish off Hades.

[dragoelete]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, but...

It's not like this is a new concept for Final Fantasy, either - it's possible to persist in the Lifestream of VII with a strong emotion, though this tends to degrade the personality of those who do so. President Shinra and Septhiroth both manage it through greed and hatred, respectively.

i would like to mention that...

sephiroth according to ffvii lore didnt persist through hatred in the lifestream the reason he always comes back is that the lifestream sees him as an alien existance therefor it cannot absorb him

[Enkidoh]

i would like to mention that...

sephiroth according to ffvii lore didnt persist through hatred in the lifestream the reason he always comes back is that the lifestream sees him as an alien existance therefor it cannot absorb him

Not just that,

I'm pretty certain that he refused to diffuse into the Lifestream simply because his will was too strong. His Jenova infusion indeed probably did not help though.

As for President Shinra living on after death, ignore what was said in The Maiden Who Wandered the Planet, as it's not actually canon (it's just a glorified fanfic that was licenced by Square without actually being officially endorsed as canon by them) - the original game or FFVII AC pretty much never touched on what happened to the President's soul after Sephiroth did him in, it's safe to assume he returned to the Planet as normal. But anyway, I digress...

Getting back onto FFXIV, it seems that in some cases, the soul may not necessarily return to Hydaelyn after death, but instead exist in a kind of purgatory state - this is the only explanation as to why numerous enemies that fell to our blade throughout ARR's story show up posthumously in the appropriately named Palace of the Dead (Teledji-Adeledji being one of the more infamous inhabitants), just so you can have the satisfaction of killing them again. Given that all those found in there met sudden and violent ends, it's possible that the old ghost-story trope of 'unfinished business' may apply there, but it's all very murky.

[Cilia]

Erm...

If you want to take Maiden Who Travels the Planet as non-canon (and that's fair), Sephiroth is still an example of someone persisting in the Lifestream through negative emotion / willpower. He had to focus on his hatred of Cloud to do it, though, which is why his Remnants in Advent Children all possess just small aspects of his personality and why instead of finishing his plan upon resurrection he opts to have a swordfight with Cloud instead of just retreating to fulfill his ambitions.

Anyway, I digress. The point is that souls persisting in the Lifestream isn't unprecedented, it's just extremely uncommon, and it's important to remember that XIV takes place in its own universe; ergo something being nearly impossible in another universe could be easy or commonplace. If Alphinaud is right and pixies are the reincarnated souls of children, then everything regarding metaphysics as explained / implied in Shadowbringers does make sense - just the question of when and why souls reincarnate isn't explained. (EDIT: If Hydaelyn has usurped Zodiark's position as the "will of the star" and has control over the Lifestream, it's likely at her discretion.)

People die and return to the Lifestream, but their souls may remain intact until they reincarnate. When they do, though, they don't have the memories of their past lives... it's a lot like IX's metaphysics, just with definite reincarnation added on.

[zeylos]

So I really think SE should do something to explain this. As seen by shadowlands afterlife in an MMO world can be really used to explain a lot of things and to craft a very well made story. How I personally headcannon things to be, is basically, reincarnation. When a soul goes to the lifestream they are reformed and they live once again as a new being which dosent sound bad and makes character deaths a lot better imo

[Jandor]

You live, you die, you return to the life-stream, no-one is 100% sure what happens after that. If I recall correctly, even the Ancients never figured it out.

[Stepjam]

There is alsothat one clan of Xaela to think about. Thry feel that their souls reincarnate and they can tell who a soul used to be. Thats ambiguous, but they had the idea that anyone who kills themself in that one spot leaves the reincarnation cycle, and they are onto something there since that spot happens to have an allegan aether siphon which would absorb the aether of anyone who dies nearby to transport it elsewhere

[KageTokage]

I feel like the whole thing with the Dotharl was foreshadowing the fact that souls really do reincarnate and that there were individuals truly capable of identifying one by the "color" of their soul (Which thus far seems to be a trait universal to the Ancients).

Their belief seems be grounded more in superstition then genuine knowledge considering that they seem rather...open-minded when it comes to finding clues that clarify one's past identity.

It wouldn't surprise me if it turned out that a lot of beliefs held by the races of man had roots that could be traced back to the time of the Ancients though, and were perhaps even born from remnants of their pre-Sundering memories.

[Riastrad]

It seems as though if the soul itself is strong or important enough, it retains its color and identity. During the ARR patch, Through the Maelstrom, a Sahagin priest is shot and killed by Merlwyb. It's echo is then seen inhabiting another Sahagin to carry on living. As KageTokage pointed out, the Dotharl believe in reincarnation. Perhaps they believe this because they witnessed this power first hand and through the years it became a cornerstone of their entire religion.

It is my opinion that you dont bring up reincarnation and rebirth multiple times without it coming back as a focus later on.

O hero of rebirth traversing,♪ Soar you the azure skies.♪ Upon your breast a crimson crest,♪ Shine Light down from on high.♪

O hero of rebirth transcending,♪ Weave you an azure lie.♪ By your deeds doth crimson bleed,♪ And Darkness quench the fire.♪

O hero of rebirth traversing,♪ Heal you this scarred land.♪ Lay bare cloistered truths and tame the skies,♪ Let azure guide your hand.♪

O hero of rebirth traversing,♪ Break you the tyrants' bonds.♪ Embrace your sin and chase the light,♪ To darkness a world will dawn.♪

[purgatori]

It sounds like, under normal circumstances, one's soul simply dissolves into the aether. I think this is yet another areas where Star Wars has had an influence on the metaphysics of FF. Finite life, afterlife, and dissolution all sound like cons to my PC, so she takes the Sith Lord stance with regards to Mama H's plans for her soul.