I think it would have done wonders for the pacing if the saga ended at 7.0 or even 8.0 as was previously the plan. Garlemald, the towers and such really feel like they should have been their own separate thing, perhaps ending on Zodiark. That way, we could have like a whole arc of being IN the Final Days, for a while, and really feel its effects across the wider world, not just Thavnair. I know people tend to enjoy Zodiark being early on, as it is subversive of our expectations and all, but when you build up to a character for 10 years, I don't know if being subversive is the really The Move™.