The Ancients still deserved better, after everything

[Gemina]

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I also only recently remembered that according to Hythlodeus in Mare Lamentorum, the potential revival of the Ancients who gave themselves to Zodiark was always a consideration from the very beginning, which likely played into their willingness to go through with it.

The first sacrifice was very definitely needed as the world and mankind were both on the brink of total annihilation.

The second might not have been needed, but it's implied that the environment had been damaged so badly that more lives would've been lost by the time things corrected themselves naturally and/or with the aid of the Ancients doing in a more mundane (By their standards, at least) fashion.

The third was definitely not needed, but would've been the last according to the Convocation's plans. There surely would've been some Ancients who still wouldn't have been satisfied, perhaps those who lost loved ones to "natural" causes and were claimed by the Lifestream, but sparing those souls from being trapped in Zodiark would've been a certain kindness at a cost we were really not given enough context behind.

Just the fact that troubled people like Hermes and Erichtonios still existed stood as proof that their world really was only perfect in a relative sense, and I don't think they were at much risk of a "death by paradise" with how calculated every decision the Convocation made was.

The only pardon I grant the ancients is that they were ill-prepared for the initial final days (before any bootstrap parodoxes). They were indeed desperate. However, subsequent sacrifices only goes to show how easily and quickly they are to resort to these "desperate measures". It leaves the question, "Did they really have to sacrifice so many souls to halt the end of days?"

Venat's case is much different. As only half of the ancients were willing to sacrifice their lives. Everyone else were murdered by the sundering. She's no hero in my eyes. But she was saved by one.

The potential revival of the souls sacrificed is an interesting one coming from the perspective of one of those very ancients who sacrifice themselves. I believe Emet also said this, but that is coming from someone who justifies the rejoinings by considering sundered souls to not actually be living, so he's not actually killing anyone.

As I said before, this race of people have destruction written in their DNA. Every bit as much as their creation magicks.