SPOILERS: After Endwalker... I have some questions

[HyoMinPark]

That's my point.

Not the end of the people who turned into blasphemies, but the end of their very worlds – the crumbling remnants of so many, hanging together in that alien sky. That's what the zone is about to me: not just being a "faraway place" but a place of endings.

Back on the would-be Kingdom Hearts reference I mentioned earlier, the "world terminus" was a sub-zone of the End of the World: a gauntlet of deserted and monster-infested recreations of the worlds you had visited previously. That's stuck with me even though I haven't played it in years.

While I understand what you’re saying, I still have to disagree. Especially with the implications of post-Smileton where it seems like there isn’t going to be an end to everything there (at least with regards to the Omicron). I dislike the entire idea of a cafe at Nekropolis, but the storyline in and of itself insinuates anything but an end.

[Iscah]

I dislike the entire idea of a cafe at Nekropolis

I am so apprehensive about them doing that. Apart from it being a strange choice of setting to come across in the MSQ, the stuff we were doing there was so solemn and solitary that when there was a second player clearly MSQing alongside me I stepped away from the game for a few minutes so we weren't on top of each other. The prospect of having a throng of people there doing beast tribe quests or whatever they're winding up to just seems wrong.

[HyoMinPark]

I am so apprehensive about them doing that. Apart from it being a strange choice of setting to come across in the MSQ, the stuff we were doing there was so solemn and solitary that when there was a second player clearly MSQing alongside me I stepped away from the game for a few minutes so we weren't on top of each other. The prospect of having a throng of people there doing beast tribe quests or whatever they're winding up to just seems wrong.

I completely agree with this. I feel like the heavy events that happened in Nekropolis warrant it remaining an empty, silent reminder of our solemn journey. I was so irritated after finishing the Smileton quest that I complained loudly about it to my friends haha. It just seems very…tone-deaf and in bad taste. Horrible comparison to consider, but I told a friend that, to me, this is the equivalent of building a theme park on top of a war ground or burial site. Just doesn't sit well with me at all.

[RyuDragnier]

While I understand what you’re saying, I still have to disagree. Especially with the implications of post-Smileton where it seems like there isn’t going to be an end to everything there (at least with regards to the Omicron). I dislike the entire idea of a cafe at Nekropolis, but the storyline in and of itself insinuates anything but an end.

It does make you wonder though...even though those NPCs in Ultima Thule are just recreations...have they obtained a soul, or in the process of obtaining one?

[LittleArrow]

On 2, the answer can be inferred at the end of the Healer role questline for the expansion.

At the end of the healer role questline, you destroy the blasphemy, yet Fordola sees his soul, the soul of his friend, smiling and walking off with the rest of his friends, something that makes no sense if there is truly nothing left of the individual. However, if Dynamis is cloaking the Aether to make it seem like it's all but gone (people can't sense dynamis after all), then it's being used to trick people into despair by the Endsinger.

That's an explanation I can think of anyway.

I'm such an idiot LOL! I haven't even touched the role quests. I know the incredible implications those quests brought at the end of Shadowbringers, and I didn't even put that into the equation when considering the end of Endwalker. Thank you for the heads up, this is exactly one of the things I was looking for by making this thread.

Thanks also to all of the responses! Although I don't agree with all of the ideas presented, I am so grateful that they were shared. I hope this thread has served to help others to bring to mind questions to ponder at the end of the story or at the very least a little bit of food for thought!

Looking back on all the cryptic bread crumbs from the NPCs along with this new tidbit of information, my mind has been changed in that the devs were simply providing a means for the final days and instead introducing a very important piece of the puzzle for future stories. I'm more excited now to see where they go with this than I was when I finished the story!

[Jojoya]

Given that "the Terminus" simply means "the end", I feel like it was a missed opportunity that they didn't call the final zone by that name. It would have set the mood so much better.

SE has to be careful with the names chosen for the final zones since those will get shared long before most players make it through the MSQ.

Terminus would have been an obvious story spoiler since we already had a connection between Terminus and the ancient Final Days in Shadowbringers.

Ultima Thule doesn't really tell us much other than it's a place very far away. Easy enough for players who see it while still working on MSQ to assume it's the second zone o on the moon that so many thought we were getting.

[kaynide]

That's my point.

Not the end of the people who turned into blasphemies, but the end of their very worlds – the crumbling remnants of so many, hanging together in that alien sky. That's what the zone is about to me: not just being a "faraway place" but a place of endings.

Back on the would-be Kingdom Hearts reference I mentioned earlier, the "world terminus" was a sub-zone of the End of the World: a gauntlet of deserted and monster-infested recreations of the worlds you had visited previously. That's stuck with me even though I haven't played it in years.

I think that was their point; Ultima Thule does not represent an endpoint to the universe when it is infinitely large- in 3D space an end point makes no sense. Neither does it represent an end of hope, or even an end to life there as made clear by our victory there.

Moreover Terminus has a variety of meanings such as simply being a train station. More-moreover, I think they wanted to be careful NOT to evoke other SE franchises that utilize Terminus, such as Kingdom Hearts.

Ultima Thule is exactly what it means to be- a place “beyond the borders of what we know”. Not an end, just beyond. No weird connections or hidden meanings.

[LalafellDown]

I believe it’s mentioned Azem found a way to save the final days, but was too late. I think Venat sundered everyone.

[NekiUno]

I think the second part of this story is going to be about "What the heck Azem was doing, when all of this going on?" Why did he/she betrayed their best friends for not supporting Zordiak and why they went against their mentor. Was there is a threat that was greather than Meteia and her song?

Besides there is one question that I am dying to figure out, I know that Zodiark was not in full power when we faced him but since we defeated him, we still have Zodiark power still split into five shards (six shards if you count the Thirteenth) so what would happen to that power?

[RyuDragnier]

I think the second part of this story is going to be about "What the heck Azem was doing, when all of this going on?" Why did he/she betrayed their best friends for not supporting Zordiak and why they went against their mentor. Was there is a threat that was greather than Meteia and her song?

Besides there is one question that I am dying to figure out, I know that Zodiark was not in full power when we faced him but since we defeated him, we still have Zodiark power still split into five shards (six shards if you count the Thirteenth) so what would happen to that power?

Considering what happens on the Source effects all the shards, it's likely Zodiark will fade from all the shards as well.