Who knew the 6.15 Omega Quests… (Spoilers)

[Iscah]

What was said about the souls in zodiark from that interview was

[...]

Found from the posting here from the LL
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...=1#post5861039

Thanks for the quote. From that you could speculate that currently Zodiark is fully powered by the sacrifices' corporeal aether while keeping their souls untouched, but eventually that supply would run out and then he would have to turn to using the souls as well. Hydaelyn just reached that point sooner because she started with less aether to work from.

[Lauront]

What was said about the souls in zodiark from that interview was



Found from the posting here from the LL

https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...=1#post5861039

Worth noting the Reddit discord translations area has the live transcription as well if you go to 19/02/2022. No huge differences but the answers on there follow the live transcription so they're a bit more descriptive.

[EaraGrace]

Thanks for the quote. From that you could speculate that currently Zodiark is fully powered by the sacrifices' corporeal aether while keeping their souls untouched, but eventually that supply would run out and then he would have to turn to using the souls as well. Hydaelyn just reached that point sooner because she started with less aether to work from.

There is also the quote from the Watcher about the nature of stasis and how as a result of its effects neither will there be more sacrifices in his name, “nor will those souls rendered up in His name fade into oblivion.”

If we do believe that the souls in Zodiark would inevitably fade, then one has to wonder if the sacrifices were always intended to be swapped out or retrieved. A sort of “we’ll figure it out later.” It would fit with the Ancients and how anathema an unchosen demise is to them, but it would also mean the “not Hyth” Hyth convo in Shb would need to be recontextualized.

[sidurgu-12]

There is also the quote from the Watcher about the nature of stasis and how as a result of its effects neither will there be more sacrifices in his name, “nor will those souls rendered up in His name fade into oblivion.”

If we do believe that the souls in Zodiark would inevitably fade, then one has to wonder if the sacrifices were always intended to be swapped out or undone. It would fit with the Ancients and how anathema an unchosen demise is to them, but it would also mean the “not Hyth” Hyth convo in Shb would need to be recontextualized.

that does lead to something ive been thinking about. if zodiark consumes the souls outside of stasis wouldnt that lead to a neverending cycle of sacrificing until theres not enough to rebuff meteion?

[Lyth]

Zodiark is very much a mystery, even after the Q+A.

The Amaurotians essentially sat down and designed their own god. We know that Zodiark's summoning required a large power source.

Hythlodaeus: 'But creation on such a scale required an immense source of power... Of those of us who still lived, nearly half offered up their lives in the name of salvation.'

What we don't know is the discussion around the decision. Presumably this was the first time that such a feat was ever attempted. What were the perceived risks and benefits, and how did they deviate from the end result? Did Azem voluntarily step down following these discussions, as was the public perception, or was there another reason for their departure? What were the Amaurotian people told before making the sacrifices? How did they decide who was sacrificed and who wasn't? Did anyone feel coerced to make the decision because of public perception around the matter?

Once Zodiark was summoned, how did the Convocation know that it was possible to trade souls for more benefits? Were the additional sacrifices something that they anticipated all along and shared with the public before his summoning, or did Zodiark simply approach the Convocation afterwards with a free-to-play setup with soul microtransactions (if you sacrifice half of your population in the next 20 minutes, you can have access to our World Starter Pack, at 240% value!)

What were the longer term sustainability implications for Zodiark's summoning in terms of energy upkeep? Where does his power come from if he's not eating souls? Was the Convocation planning on unsummoning Zodiark after they were 'done' with him?

In short, there's a ton of missing information here that you can't simply invent answers for. I think at a bare minimum, I'd like to see what Pandaemonium has to offer in terms of the Amaurotian Final Days and Azem's departure, as well as whether Myths provides any further insights.

[Cleretic]

While agreeing with Lyth that we have no more information and fabricating more gets us nowhere, I'd also point out that it's entirely possible that we might not GET more information. No currently ongoing storyline is actually concerned about the events surrounding Zodiark, so it might just be that there won't be more information about those events, maybe that story is just done. Especially given the actual intention of the whole Zodiark/Hydaelyn conflict is 'everyone made their own choices, humanly imperfect though they were, and it's not possible to definitively say anybody was right', I think it should be completely expected that there will just be unanswered questions and we have to accept that.

that does lead to something ive been thinking about. if zodiark consumes the souls outside of stasis wouldnt that lead to a neverending cycle of sacrificing until theres not enough to rebuff meteion?

It kinda depends on how Zodiark's aether barrier works. If it's just a passive thing that exists as long as Zodiark does, then there's no need to refuel him as long as he's just sitting there. But if it's something Zodiark has to expend aether to keep up, then he would eventually run dry even if it would take a long time.

The only evidence to that we really have is 'Zodiark's still there after twelve thousand years and nobody involved in the process seems to be concerned about that stopping'. That could mean anything; maybe it's that he has no energy requirements as long as he's static, maybe it's that he has a very long battery life with all those souls, maybe it's that people just don't have that anywhere near their priority list now.

The only thing we really know about that is that he needs the aether to do more things than just sitting there, and that the Ascians want him to do more things than just sit there. So to that degree it kinda doesn't matter what would happen to Zodiark if he just sat there, because they're not letting him just sit there.

[Carin-Eri]

Stepping away from the Venat/making a choice discussion for a moment....

I, personally, feel that they missed an opportunity here somewhat. During Endwalker I was disappointed that mini-Midgardsormr didn't appear when we visited the Ultima Thule recreation of Reah Tahra. By the same token I can't help but think that taking Omega to the Base Omicron recreation would've proved interesting too.

[Vyrerus]

Stepping away from the Venat/making a choice discussion for a moment....

I, personally, feel that they missed an opportunity here somewhat. During Endwalker I was disappointed that mini-Midgardsormr didn't appear when we visited the Ultima Thule recreation of Reah Tahra. By the same token I can't help but think that taking Omega to the Base Omicron recreation would've proved interesting too.

Midgardsormr is still inert from saving us during the Omega questline.

[Carin-Eri]

Midgardsormr is still inert from saving us during the Omega questline.

I'm referring to the mini version who often popped up to offer us advice. Assuming he can still do this - and he is definitely still able to communicate as he sent Hraesvelgr to rescue us from the Interdimensional Rift and subsequently gave Vrtra consent to deliver some of his scales to Sharlayan for the construction of the Ragnarok.

[Brinne]

I can post! I can post! \o/ Thank you so much to tokinokanatae for posting on my behalf earlier! I was losing my mind a bit there. Well, more than usual.

Indeed – and it's only Endwalker that frames them as "eternally trapped and conscious within Zodiark" and in need of being let out. When we were debating Shadowbringers I think everyone, or at least the majority, were under the impression that the sacrificed souls were essentially dead (whether absorbed into Zodiark or gone to the aetherial sea) and Emet's desire to resurrect them could never actually be fulfilled because there was nothing left of them to revive.

Yes, this clarification single-handedly, and instantaneously, flipped me from "the Hydaelyn faction was right" in Shadowbringers to "the Hydaelyn faction was out of their minds" in Endwalker.

The "but they sacrificed themselves willingly" argument always elicits a very special kind of "what" for me. Just because someone is selfless enough - and/or loves you enough - to take a bullet for you, doesn't mean you don't immediately do everything in your power, once the immediate danger is passed, to save them and hopefully restore them to a pre-gunshot existence, or as close to one as possible. You don't watch them continue to writhe in pain and bleed out because, well, they took the hit willingly, after all! Who's to even say they'd want you to have them take up any precious resources to help them, huh? Nothing for it!

Also, just to reiterate: thank you to the writers for these quests. I absolutely loved them.