Thread: Predictions for 5.3?

Throwing an alternate prediction out there because why not. The trial we won't be expecting could be Atomos. As an enemy encountered in the Labyrinth of the Ancients and the World of Darkness, it ties into the requirements of that quest-line being needed to advance the story-line.

Taken directly from the fan wiki as a brief primer of it's origin:

Atomos is a type of recurring Voidsent. It first appeared at certain Aetheryte camps as part of the Seventh Umbral Era events, as the rift between Hydaelyn and the void became wide enough to allow its passage. It is assumed to be the "Black Dooms" spoken of in the prophecy. Its design here is identical to that in Wings of the Goddess.

When it appears, it will usually spawn powerful Voidsent imps and undead. Anyone who teleports to these camps puts themselves at mortal risk. If they die upon arrival, their Anima will be wasted as they will be forced to return to their home point. If their home point is at the Aetheryte, it can be difficult to leave without returning to the Inn.

In patch 1.23b, this version of Atomos has spread to more areas. The locations it originally manifested at will now see it appear as a boss monster. More powerful Voidsent will appear to accompany this. If Atomos is defeated it will leave behind a Voidstone, which will grant any who examine it an Over-aspected Cluster, Crystals, or an effect that increases or slows their movement speed. Additionally, these particular Aetheryte crystals have turned orange and no longer cost Anima to teleport to, as Atomos drained all of their aether.

In A Realm Reborn, Atomos appears as a boss in the the Labyrinth of the Ancients. Three instances of Atomos guard three separate paths through the tower, apparently bound in place by Allagan magitek, and they spawn a series of Voidsent which adventurers must confront before dealing with the Atomos. More Atomos appear in the World of Darkness, linked to a crystal known as "Atomos Prime." As before, the alliance must battle three of them separately to force them to drain the life force from Atomos Prime.


In FFXI, Atomos was also known as the distorter of time, it was a manifestation of reality regulation by means of devouring and consuming unnecessary objects and events. Seeing as how we altered time by stopping the Flood of Light, thus sparring not only the First from destruction but the Source as well... It seems many events are now unnecessary, right?

I'm reminded of a little game called Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, in which the protagonist is forced to flee from an entity called the Dahaka. In the previous game, he continuously used The Sands of Time to rewind specific moments to stop events from transpiring. The Dahaka was the manifestation of fate attempting to restore time to it's unaltered state by killing the Prince by removing him from time itself.

While it may not be a one for one, It shouldn't be possible to simply change your fate as you wish without some sort of repercussion taking place. This isn't a story where the good guys win and that's it. It never has been.