We learn (around the lvl 88 quests I believe) that by being sundered, the people of Etheirys are not only better able to interact with dynamis due to their decreased aether density, but have also been given the means to find purpose through the harsh trials and tribulations of life. As Hydaelyn said, "No more shall man have wings to bear him to paradise. Henceforth, he shall walk." That whole cutscene seems to imply Her choice to sunder Etheirys was directly in response to her countrymen and their sacrificing of yet another half of the population in an attempt to reclaim their "paradise." That the catalyst that pushed Her to those lengths was the need to bring everyone down a notch, so to speak, in order to allow the people to thrive and oppose Meteion\\'s despair.

She gives this same reasoning when we defeat Her in the lvl 89 trial, but at the very end there is one line where She mentions how The Sundering was used to weaken Zodiark as well.

What bugs me is that my understanding of The Sundering this entire time, prior to Endwalker, was that it was done specifically to weaken Zodiark. I understand that the revelation of dynamis wouldn\\'t come until later, but weakening Zodiark is kind of a big reason in and of iteself. It now feels like it was just an afterthought.

So, my question is, which reasoning truly guided Her to sunder Etheirys? Or, to put it another way, which reasoning came first? Did I miss something somewhere that explained her train of thought more detail? Was the whole "he shall walk" thing just the proverbial straw that broke the camel\\'s back? Both reasonings work but they\\'ve never been presented *together* as far as I\\'m aware.

Apologies if I got any details wrong or if this is a silly question, but it just bothers me.