The clones of Emet.

[kaynide]

I mean, yeah, sure. There could be a massive clone factory on the moon that re-raises all the ascians endlessly for all we know, but with all the information in place it is pretty safe to say the ones specifically "staked" by white auracite are dead-dead. The ones killed by other means (Emmerololth/Lahabrea) are questionable, but probably dead.

It would cheapen his death speech and his "wave" to Elidabus if he was, in fact, alive/being reborn.

..of course we do have a massive Bioshock-Infinite level time paradox on our hands, where Emet-Selch is probably alive in the "dark future"...so there is that....

[Wiz33]

I know I'm very late to the party. What makes you guys think that Emet is dead at all? Think back to every thing that happened once you set foot on Amaurot (actually ever since Emet first showed up in ShB)). The only illogical conclusion is that Emet is dead. Everything that happened in Amaurot is just a test to see if you're truly worthy and he would have an exit strategy all planned out if you were. Emet was not staked with White Auracite when you hit him with the Aether axe. He has already destroyed the White Auracite and darkness have already returned when you hit him with the Aether axe. So technically, Ishikawa did not lie. Did she ever came out and said that Emet is truly dead and we'll not see/hear him again? If she did, then she lied as we already have.

[Tracewood]

Wouldn't it be weird if Emet comes back, like we "killed him" on the First, but he shows up during SoS mid fight. So, I'm wondering if his ghost will play a part in Endwalker. Always had a feeling that there's a form of Future Emet that realized his error and helped the engineers from the same source future to create rift traveling and soul summoning. We know the alt timeline the 8th umbral calamity waged so much destruction and the First was consumed, but what if that caused other irreversible damage ruining the whole rejoining in it's entirety?

[Wiz33]

Since everything in The Dying Gasp is a setup. He would have an exit strategy all planned out. We're talking about Emet Selch after all. As I said earlier, Hades have already destroyed the Auracite lance (so no longer trapped) and darkness have fully return to cover everything before you hit him with the Aether Axe. What you put a hole through is just Solus zos Galvus's body. Emet's soul just retreated to the void like any Ascian when their body was destroyed until they find another host or in his case, activate one of his clone. Ascian trapped and destoryed by White Auracite generally goes out with an "arhhhhh". They don't get to retain their form and carry a conversation (the Crystal tower is binding Elidibeus, not destroying him). That's why he was there to snap you out of it in SoS.

Still don't buy my theory? let me give you more food for thought. Amarout was in ruin at the end of The Dying Gasp. How come it was back to form in Faded Memories? Some will say that Elidibeus did it. But even in that case. Who was sustaining Hythlodaues's shade, whom somehow knows Emet's last word to you (To remember them) and laying down the crystal trails for you to find? As to the "encore" reference in the poem. It's just meant that he's taking his curtain call and retiring and leaving the burden to you.

One last thing if you're still not convinced. Dead/destroyed Ascian don't get to do voiceover on future events for the next expansion. Watch the Endwalker trailer and listen at the 0:58 mark. That's Emet's voice and I confirm it in the Japanese version that it's was also the same Japanese voice actor for Emet. I'm sure we have not seen the last of Emet Selch!

[KageTokage]

The fact they chose him to be the one to narrate the Endwalker trailer does make me feel like he's going to show up some small capacity, but certainly not as a major player.

If he was able to preserve himself to some extent in Azem's crystal, perhaps he took still more "just in case" measures in the event he decided the sundered were worthy of inheriting the world.

[RyuDragnier]

The fact they chose him to be the one to narrate the Endwalker trailer does make me feel like he's going to show up some small capacity, but certainly not as a major player.

If he was able to preserve himself to some extent in Azem's crystal, perhaps he took still more "just in case" measures in the event he decided the sundered were worthy of inheriting the world.

He HAS been a pretty big manipulator and planner up to this point. He planned the whole soul crystal stuff in 5.3 during the final battle with us (which may be where he disappeared to when we were fighting the adds), so him having planned one last "encore" for a curtain call isn't out of the question. Not to mention the unexplained existence and stalking of THAT SHOEBILL (no, I can't forget this thing, it haunts me).

[Cleretic]

He HAS been a pretty big manipulator and planner up to this point. He planned the whole soul crystal stuff in 5.3 during the final battle with us (which may be where he disappeared to when we were fighting the adds), so him having planned one last "encore" for a curtain call isn't out of the question. Not to mention the unexplained existence and stalking of THAT SHOEBILL (no, I can't forget this thing, it haunts me).

Do we have evidence he planned all of that at exactly that point? Because I'm pretty sure the crystals were kicking around for a long time (and are by all rights appearing to be the real deal ones they used to ascend the rest of the Ascians), the only real question is how they ended up where we found them. And there's a lot of explanations for that, chiefly suspecting Hythlodaeus or perhaps Elidibus dropping them.

[RyuDragnier]

Do we have evidence he planned all of that at exactly that point? Because I'm pretty sure the crystals were kicking around for a long time (and are by all rights appearing to be the real deal ones they used to ascend the rest of the Ascians), the only real question is how they ended up where we found them. And there's a lot of explanations for that, chiefly suspecting Hythlodaeus or perhaps Elidibus dropping them.

Hythlodaeus hands us a soul crystal that belongs to the 14th, one that shouldn't have been made since defectors were not to be remembered. One that Emet-Selch made in secret. Nobody but him would have had access to it or know of its existence, and Hythlodaeus even says he's unsure if all this was by his own will or by Emet-Selch's that he has given it to us. But considering all those crystals suddenly appeared in Amaurot when they weren't there before the end of 5.0, it's highly likely Emet-Selch had a hand in it.

[Wiz33]

Do we have evidence he planned all of that at exactly that point? Because I'm pretty sure the crystals were kicking around for a long time (and are by all rights appearing to be the real deal ones they used to ascend the rest of the Ascians), the only real question is how they ended up where we found them. And there's a lot of explanations for that, chiefly suspecting Hythlodaeus or perhaps Elidibus dropping them.

Yeah right. If Elidbeus dropped them, he won't need them to bring back his memories at the end. Hythlodaues being anything other then a shade created by Emet and happens to have the Azem's crystal create by Emet would be sloppy writing and you know that would never happen in FFXIV.

[vormela]

^ He is the director and screenwriter. He is the lens, curator, and personality we view so many of the now-relevant past events through that no one until now has given us. And we will find more in the new nations we visit that he would probably have things to say about. And we may find out how he bent the truth about Amaurot and old times from Venat's group, which would really make me happy, because I want to know about my character's past life from someone besides him so it doesn't seem like he is manipulating our memories like a creepy ex-BFF (like how in psychology there is the idea of inducing false memories in patients). The Qitari beast tribe storyline deals with the interpretation of history, and I think we will be doing that with our past life on individual levels for each WoL so that it leaves some stuff open to interpretation.

I am new to FFXIV as of about five months ago so I am not familiar with crystallography or lifestream hydrology or ornithology.

I am hoping the clones make a cameo in the weirdest and most unsettling way possible, maybe as figureheads for Garlemald that give revolting authoritarian speeches and temper people, in a similar way to how the zeppelins broadcast what was basically the angry tweets of the president of Eulmore. Not the intended use! Maybe he will be able to sneak in among them. Or maybe something goofy like a synchronized swim team or some recreational traditional Garlean sport (I don't know, those always creep me out). Or we find a mass grave of just clones (there's always a clone room, as Konogg and Anogg have demonstrated!). I am hoping for the "nothing is sacred" route to be taken during the depiction of the end times! Can you imagine how much fun people probably had coming up with stuff? And the clones being used for nonprescribed purposes would be universally revolting to all Emet-Selch fans, even the people who want to hear nothing else from him again (a position I find absolutely baffling, even as someone who came from WoW where many characters and story arcs have been dead-ended by hanging onto characters for too long).

Emet-Selch was his stage name.