What's the point with that quite lackluster story in Endwalker?

[Kozh]

Isn't that the Echo that does that?

Pre-EW, the blessing and echo have different use. Echo protect from aetherial corruption and is a remnant of the Ancient soul, which has nothing to do with our soul special color considering that regular person can awaken their echo.

Hydaelyn's blessing/blessing of light meanwhile empowers you and allow a connection between you and Hydaelyn. That's why she can shield you from Ultima weapon.

I don't understand why they change the blessing of light into traveler's ward though in EW.

Regarding our soul color, we have always been reincarnation of Azem, possessing their unique color. Even without rejoining with ardbert. Rejoining with him only makes us being more complete in soul.

[KizuyaKatogami]

But they did stop striving to do better. What are their metrics for what is good for the star? They were going to write off the serpent because it couldn't fly. Because it was not as it was planned to be. But sometimes the most worthwhile innovations and leaps forward come from accidents.

Then there's the situation with the creations that were killing other creations. They decided based on their own preset ideas of what was right that something like that wouldn't be of use to the star. But they didn't consider that may there was something that sort of danger could teach other creatures. We shouldn't be in conflict all the time, but we can grow from it.

They didn't show indication they could think outside the box like this. And so they stopped progressing as a species.

Also....why does everything have to have a use? Why doesn't something useless deserve to also exist?

There’s multiple inferences that they were advancing, especially with the various breakthroughs we see, in pandemonium for example with Phoenix or even the Guardian Forces they were studying.They didn’t stop striving to do better i’m not sure where you’re getting that from. You’re trying to apply our real world logic to this which just doesn’t work. Pandemonium also shows that there were some creations that weren’t just killed off for being dangerous. They sealed them in there and would study them instead of just getting rid of them. If something is useless…then there’s not really a reason for it to exist is there? They kind of did show they could think outside the box time and time again. especially when the final days hit. Also again. not getting this weird headcanon you have that they stopped progressing when we’re shown numerous examples of their progression and developments. It seems like some people just like to argue ancients bad and get headcanon twisted into the narrative.

[dapperfaffer]

Regarding our soul color, we have always been reincarnation of Azem, possessing their unique color.

What patch was this revealed in? At the end of ShB I thought it was just suggested that we might be Azems reincarnation.

[Kozh]

What patch was this revealed in? At the end of ShB I thought it was just suggested that we might be Azems reincarnation.

Based on what hythlodaeus's shade and emet said in 5.0, and then it's basically confirmed in 5.3 when he gave us Azem's crystal.

[Phaty]

Based on what hythlodaeus's shade and emet said in 5.0, and then it's basically confirmed in 5.3 when he gave us Azem's crystal.

Even amarout recognizes the WoL when accessing things

[Theodric]

Unfortunately the Scions have a very muted reaction to pretty much everything that works in their favour but is still very much a shady or questionable act.

As much as I adore Hien as a character, the story sure did gloss over the fact that he tricked the Xaela into fighting under Doma's banner. Not only that, but he chose to flood Yotsuyu's base which led to many of those inside drowning or being crushed by debris. Yet when similar tactics are deployed by the antagonists, even in the pursuit of protecting their loved ones and mitigating losses, they're framed as 'unforgivable'.

It's why I don't pay much heed to the supposed 'themes' of the game. They're rarely consistent and embraced or ignored based on whatever is convenient at the time. At the end of the day, both Meteion and Venat are responsible for the bulk of the tragedy and death in the game's story so to me, it doesn't make much sense for either of them to be treated so differently when characters with far less blood on their hands were treated with far more disdain.

[dapperfaffer]

Based on what hythlodaeus's shade and emet said in 5.0, and then it's basically confirmed in 5.3 when he gave us Azem's crystal.

Ah, I see. Skip was my friend doing 5.3. Thanks for the info.

Just to make sure, your not talking about the section just before the Elidibus fight where the crystal that Emet Selch made and imbude talks about Azem being the 14 seat, right?

[Lauront]

On the topic of the dev questions thread, I thought this question was very good - generally I'd like to see answers to all the questions that user posted... tempered of course by the understanding that this isn't specifically a lore/story Q&A and they have a lot of ground to cover. Still, it's worth a shot.

[Rulakir]

Well obviously once the sundered reaches perfection we’re gonna have to sunder everyone again!

Yeah, I think the fact that Venat just kicked the can down the road is conveniently ignored. I'm loathe to mention it because I don't want to get into a theological debate, but I can't help but notice some parallels with certain Biblical stories where when mankind isn't behaving in a way that God approves of they get wiped out and have to begin anew. The problem is Venat is no god, she was just a person like everyone else who convinced others to give her the ability to elevate herself to 'supreme deity'.

It's why I don't pay much heed to the supposed 'themes' of the game. They're rarely consistent and embraced or ignored based on whatever is convenient at the time. At the end of the day, both Meteion and Venat are responsible for the bulk of the tragedy and death in the game's story so to me, it doesn't make much sense for either of them to be treated so differently when characters with far less blood on their hands were treated with far more disdain.

This, for a protagonist Hydaelyn has more blood on her hands than all of the antagonists combined except for Hermes and, by extension, Meteion. I frequently see people mention the WoL/Scions don't have a problem with it because she benefits them, but for how long? Ever since someone commented that the 8UC is a complete bad end for Venat I couldn't help but wonder if she'd sunder the world again if she had the ability. After all, the sundered were behaving similarly to the unsundered in striving to bring back the past over moving forward.

[Sicno]

The alternative explanation is that their societies weren’t perfect and instead simply traded one form of suffering for another. They achieved what they thought was perfection, worlds without sadness, pain or loss, when in reality they were just as plagued with suffering as “lesser” races. A perfect society would not kill itself after all. Perfection thus is bad, not because it’s a bad thing in itself, but because it’s an unobtainable goal that one will never achieve. And if one does think they have reached it, then they are wrong.

Because that's just the way the game presents these societies. A very basic caricaturization of different perceptions of "perfection" or "the peak" because they're not meant to be working societies, they're just hero fodder. It's "mustache-curling laughing villains" levels of caricaturization. They themselves believe their designs to be perfect but the 5 year old audience can easily point at the flaws in their plan and then cheer when the heroes do just that.