Base Premise:
The following is a fanmade story concept that seeks to visualize what a potential Garlemald expansion would have been like, followed by the events of a rewritten Endwalker. The key differences in this story are the expanded upon imperial territories, expanded upon Unsundered World, new characters, and revisions to pre-existing characters, along with more unfiltered moments in the story. I made an effort to extend an olive branch by not outright deleting characters who I viewed as ineffective in the original Endwalker MSQ, instead giving them alternate roles in the storyline that I felt suited them better. Naturally this does contain or allude to spoilers from events across the entire game’s MSQ.
Clicking the area name will show a depiction of the area and clicking the spoiler tag will reveal the segment of the plot that takes place there.
Plot Synopsis and Areas:
Thavnair –
This segment would play out similar to how it did in Endwalker, with the immediate threat of the Tower of Zot being dealt with early on in the MSQ. However, Vrtra would join the party at this point as a multi-role tank, caster, and healer in order to play an active role in the saving of his people. He would join as an adult male Au Ra, but would wear Radiant Host armor instead of a robe. After dealing with the tower, various world leaders meet in Radz-at-Han to discuss how to proceed, with the empire still in a state of chaos and civil war, coupled with numerous disappearances and signs of tempering due to (Anima’s) towers.
Gaius proposes the way to end the civil war would be to install one of the last remaining royal family members on the throne, and of these individuals the most forward thinking is the Grand Duchess Svetlana, who is noted for her considerable mercy and acts of charity in the provinces. However, Varis curtailed her appearances and had her outright imprisoned for treason relatively recently, though he never executed her in hopes of breaking her spirit down instead. Gaius cannot carry this mission out himself because she would never trust someone of his rank to safeguard her, so Thancred takes on the mission and leaves the party. (The “meanwhile in Garlemald” scenes of this expansion would focus on Thancred’s journey to rescue her.) Gaius joins the party as a tank in order to replace him.
While the closest route to Garlemald is beyond Thavnair and through Corvos, it is noted that a large amount of civilians are being sheltered there due to it being essentially the imperial equivalent to Costa del Sol, with Locus Amoenus being a resort town as splendorous as FFXIII’s Nautilus. The alternate route would lead through a conquered territory near Dalmasca, the former Rozarrian empire which was completely engulfed by Garlemald. Meanwhile, the other world powers would continue to pincer the empire and deal with the remaining towers by using the talismans made from Vrtra’s scales. The party then flies to Rozarria on Vrtra’s back, leaving Thavnair behind.
Rozarria –
This region is based off a mixture of Spain and Italy, with heavy Mediterranean influence and a warm color palette. Naturally, the symbol of this former empire is a crimson rose, and its people are similar in build and skin tone to the highlanders of Gyr Abania, without the absurd custom of “shaving off their eyebrows in order to intimidate their enemies.” An example of what they would look and sound like would be
Al-Cid Margrace. Naturally we could do with less flamboyance and overt passes at the female members of the party to avoid repeating yet another Magnai situation and playing into stereotypes.
Nevertheless, the party works their way through the region and marvel at what would appear on the surface to be a realm of beauty and sunlight, despite the war and battles being waged just around the corner. The party is apprehended by Rozarrian rebels and several party members are held hostage by Rebel Leader and former lord Al-Cid. In exchange for their release he demands that the WoL, Estinien, Vrtra, and Y’shtola take to the battlefield in order to push back the Garleans. The ensuing “Battle of the Roses” results in a Rozarrian victory but Al-Cid learns of the plot to install Grand Duchess Svetlana as the new empress. He changes the terms of the agreement for release and demands her hand in marriage, or else whatever remains of Garlemald would never know peace so long as him and his people draw breath. Realizing that he means every word he says, Gaius and the party are forced to accept these new terms.
This would be a prime opportunity for Alphinaud to pitch the tired idea of a democracy again only for Al-Cid to laugh in his face and lambast him for trying to upend the political system the region has yearned for a return for the past several decades. With the region now liberated and no nearby towers to deal with, the party presses on further north. At this point, Thancred reaches the capitol and sneaks into the bowels of an imperial complex where the Grand Duchess is being held. She greatly resembles the likes of
Celes Chere, but wears deep black instead of yellow. She mistakes Thancred for Al-Cid when he appears, who at this point is revealed to have been her former lover and the true reason behind her imprisonment-their relationship was discovered and revealed to Emperor Varis, who could not accept that a woman like her could love and potentially birth illegitimate children with a Rozarrian savage.
The Imperial Fleet –
En route to the capitol, the party once again climbs on Vrtra’s back and takes to the skies, but are apprehended and captured by the tempered commanders of the imperial fleet. This zone is similar in concept to the Sea of Clouds or Azys La, but instead of islands the party navigates through various large airships similar in scope to those of FFXII or FFXIII. The greatest of these is the Sky Fortress Neo-Bahamut, which is flying en route to Thavnair to unleash untold destruction. The commander of the Neo-Bahamut would be a subjugated and tempered Nerva.
The party goes about the ships freeing each other and the other prisoners, felling various high ranking officials until the way to the Sky Fortress is clear. (Note – the party does not have the means to undo their tempering at this moment. It is a dangerous and desperate situation for all involved.) While the party raids the fortress, the other prisoners send a message back that reaches Cid and Nero, who immediately fly to the WoL’s aid. The WoL is successful in sabotaging the ship’s machinery and eliminating Nerva, but realizes that the ship would then crash over the newly freed Rozarria instead and cause a similar amount of destruction. Cid and Nero arrive and help the WoL’s party flee to safety while they remain behind to divert the course of the ship so that it would fall in uninhabited territory. Cid and Nero do not escape the ship and the party laments their sacrifice.
The ship they escape in was put in auto-pilot by Cid but is rapidly losing fuel due to (Anima’s) influence. This causes it to land far off from their intended destination, and they find themselves just on the other side of a barb wire fence that leads into Locus Amoenus.
The Corvos Revelgrounds –
The party climbs through the fence and find themselves in the aforementioned city of splendor and festivities. There are amusement park rides, zoos, concerts, and even parades to distract the surviving citizens from the war outside. However, all of these are carefully crafted propaganda pieces as the senior members of the party note. At this point, Fandaniel (who I have admittedly not focused too much on along with Zenos) makes an appearance to taunt the party and delay them further (while Anima continues siphoning aether to power the beam that would release Zodiark.)
Fandaniel transforms back into his Amon persona and enthralls half the crowds and forces them to do battle with each other, spreading an enormous amount of chaos through the zone. The WoL and the party work their way through various amusement park themed areas in order to quell the violence before going after Amon himself, who awaits them at the end of the Pompa Sancta parade – which tells the story of the Empire similar to how in FFXIII it depicted the war of transgression. After fighting through some very real holographs, the party faces off against Amon himself and seemingly defeat him before it is revealed he was just another clone. Fandaniel taunts them yet again and leaves behind a portal that takes them straight to the imperial capitol where Zenos awaits them.
The Outer Capitol –
By this point, the other allied nations have reached the capitol outskirts. A story segment similar to Endwalker’s Garlemald segment takes place, with characters like Jullus making an appearance. The goal here would be to humanize and provide further insight as to what daily life in Garlemald was like, beyond the glamours of Locus Amoenus and the military bases scattered across the world. Leaders like the tempered ones that were slain in the Imperial Air Fleet are further expanded upon, and the party comes to regret having acted so hastily in eliminating key figures that may have been able to help provide stability for the country. The question asked is: if they were forced into that situation would they really do anything different? Al-Cid makes a return and angrily demands to see his future bride, but it becomes clear that no one knows where Thancred and the Grand Duchess are. After resolving the initial plotline in the region, Thancred returns alone and explains all that had happened recently.
After having escaped from the prison, they made it as far as the Burn before they were captured by an imperial airship, which they only narrowly managed to escape from due to the commotion caused by the fall of the Neo-Bahamut. Not long after that, he saw firsthand how the Garlean people reacted to the return of the Grand Duchess, realizing that she was indeed very much beloved by them and capable of persuading them to stop fighting each other and to turn their blades towards the true enemy: Zenos Viator Galvus as she herself brands him and the “demons” that serve him.
It is clear that while she does not necessarily want to continue the fruitless war against Eorzea or continue conquest for the sole sake of conquest, she wants the best for those under her care and has a strong fighter’s spirit, embodying all that an idealized Garlemald could be. When pressed on the issue by Thancred, she reveals that she has a good idea of which territories would fare well on their own and which are strongly in favor of remaining in the empire, explaining to him that turning all these territories loose to their respective rebel armies would not necessarily prove beneficial. She believes it would be an act of extreme irresponsibility to entrust those citizens to the care of hyperaggressive or dogmatic leaders, citing Archbishop Thordan or Ilberd as examples. She is also vocally against the idea of Sharlayan style democracy, and impresses upon Thancred the various times that the imperial senate moved in unison to commit acts of evil that both of them would rightly condemn, from poisoning water supplies to outright assassinations of dissenting nobles within her own family. Effectively, what may work for Sharlayan would not work in Ilsabard.
She then pledges to lead her people to a new era of prosperity but is cut short by the appearance of Fandaniel. He remarks on how similar she is to Scylla, a rival turned-test subject to which he sewed the heads of hounds onto. She is abducted and the crowd is slaughtered by the tempered. Given how these events coincided with the WoL felling Amon’s clone in Corvos and immediately being granted access to the capitol, the party realizes that they are being steered into this rescue mission (all while Anima continues to drain the land and temper wider swathes of people.)
The rescue mission is seemingly successful, but the Grand Duchess is tempered by Anima and attacks Al-Cid, insulting and nearly killing him before Gaius leaps in to intervene. Unable to strike against her, he takes the blow for Al-Cid while him and Thancred restrain her in order for her tempering to be undone. Despite this, she succeeds in slaying Al-Cid while he once again proclaims his love for her and his gaze lingers on her belly – heavily suggesting that she was already pregnant with his child (and thus the rightful heir to Rozarria) at this point. He looks at Thancred and entrusts her protection and that of his child over to him, and when Svetlana awakens she is shocked by all that has happened. She is taken in by Lucia to recover and come to terms with the current state of affairs while the party presses on to the inner capitol.
The Inner Capitol –
This place would differ from the city outskirts in that it would have a distinctly creepier, more Resident Evil vibe to it. The closest examples I can think of would be the treck through Gralea or the return to Insomnia in FFXV. Signs of disappearances like clothes left behind and strewn over the streets, all while people at varying degrees of tempering patrol the remaining ruins. Rather than the Tower of Babil being a twisted version of the imperial palace, it would be the highest spire of the palace which would have tall dark towers incorporated in its design from the start.
The party would fight their way through the streets and beneath them via the subway until they reach the palace gates where a showdown between the last remaining Lunar Primals would take place. After a bitter fight, the way lies open and the final dungeon begins. Zenos once again tests the WoL’s strength and retreats before instructing Anima to feed on the souls of their allies, prompting the final battle against the transformed Varis. The party is victorious but Fandaniel in his wrath and Zenos by way of his cruelty instruct Varis to temper the remaining Garleans in the capitol. Rather than comply, Varis speaks to the WoL and instructs them to “do what must be done” before essentially shutting himself down, the land finally free of Anima’s influence.
However, this gives Fandaniel and Zenos enough time to activate the lunar transporter and crack open the moon, unravelling all but one of the brands that hold Zodiark in place. Hydaelyn intervenes at this point by forcibly taking control of Y’shtola against her will. She sends the two far away from their destination, but then destroys the transporter in a shocking move, preventing the party from giving chase.
In the aftermath of these events, the Grand Duchess Svetlana regains her senses and announces not the surrender of the Garlean people, but the start of a new campaign for freedom against the Ascians and the monstrosities they left behind, pledging to support the allied nations in a battle for the fate of the entire star. This appeals to the militaristic spirit of her people while diverting their attention away from the nations she has recently formed an alliance with. She successfully makes peace with the Rozarrians, who relent and recognize that the child born of her union with Al-Cid will bring a lasting peace between them and Garlemald.
The Scions return to Thavnair and in discussing the current predicaments, they decide to turn to Sharlayan for aid in seeking a means to reach the moon with Hydaelyn having destroyed the transporter while the WoL seeks out Elidibus on the First to learn whatever they can of Zodiark and Hydaelyn.
Elpis –
The scions go on to Sharlayan to beseech their aid in constructing a vessel capable of reaching the moon now that Cid and Nero were both lost in the battle of the imperial fleet and fall of Sky Fortress Neo-Bahamut. The WoL in the meantime returns to the First and gains an audience with Elidibus in the Crystal Tower, specifically calling attention to how Hydaelyn stopped the WoL from pursuing Zenos and the nearly-freed Zodiark.
Elidibus lambasts the WoL for their ignorance much to their shock and speaks in no uncertain terms what was painfully obvious to all except the WoL themself: that Zodiark is a threat to Hydaelyn and so is anyone who carries his blessing of darkness. Better to have Zenos wander the moon aimlessly in search of a way into its core where Zodiark sleeps than risk her champion learning the truth of all things. With the last of his energy, he propels the WoL back in time to the Unsundered World and bids them to seek their answers from the one who started it all.
The WoL awakens in Elpis and is found in a similar manner to Endwalker, with Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus empowering their aether to the point where they can interact with their immediate surroundings. However, by this point Hermes has already taken on the mantle of Fandaniel and instead of being there to recruit him, the pair are there to inquire about the recently disappeared Azem. Not long after this, they encounter Venat who reacts enthusiastically to the presence of the WoL and her blessing upon them, claiming them as her creation in an unnerving manner. She joins the party and the trio set off to meet Hermes/Fandaniel. (Note – Venat is not the former Azem in this retelling. She is a close friend and associate of them instead.)
Though Hermes is indeed plagued by feelings of doubt as to the meaning and purpose of all life, his assistant and creation Meteion reassures him of its worth and is delighted to meet their guests. She and the WoL listen in on the conversation regarding Azem’s disappearance but Meteion notices something strange about Venat’s emotional state, though she keeps this information to herself at the moment. The following morning, the beasts within Ktisis Hyperboreia are unleashed within the facility and the party springs into action in order to quell the chaos.
However, in the aftermath of the disaster Venat approaches Hermes alone while Meteion looks on from a distance. She taunts him and essentially “pushes him over the edge” of despair while offering to create a just world where such creations could be free. He relents and hands over a concept for an unknown creature to which Venat reacts with an eerie smile, remarking that he will not be a part of such a world, and that neither will Azem. She then uses the memory wiping device on him while Meteion looks on in horror, who then flees.
Venat, Emet, Hythlodaeus, and the WoL decide to continue their search for the missing Azem by meeting with Elidibus and Lahabrea who were recently involved in an investigation regarding Pandaemonium, whose nearest entrance is ironically the Island Closest to Heaven. From this point on, the WoL hears Meteion periodically sending them cryptic messages, though he is unable to make much sense of them.
The Island Closest to Heaven –
The Island Closest to Heaven is essentially the Vylbrand of the Unsundered World, a tropical paradise that takes after the likes of Bodhum or New Bodhum in terms of architecture in order to demonstrate that the ancients had varying styles of building depending on the locale. The isle also is home to creations (Sirens) that sing in order to lure those lost at sea back to the shore. However the concept is not quite perfected yet, despite being functional enough by Hythlodaeus’ standards in order to carry out their purpose and add a sense of wonder to the isle. I also picture islands like Besaid and Kilika when it comes to this zone.
Elidibus mistakes the WoL for the real Azem when they arrive, and is shocked to discover that they are indeed missing. Lahabrea is disgusted by what he perceives as a “foul stain” on the WoL’s aether, suggesting that Venat’s blessing may not truly be without its drawbacks. They investigate the island for clues and learn of Azem’s previous deeds here, all while Meteion tries in vain to draw the WoL away from the party (as in, Venat) in order to speak with them alone. Venat comes close to snaring and killing Meteion at one point during the course of their journey in the zone, unbeknownst to the rest of the party.
The investigation is cut short by the release of Pandaemonium’s beasts despite having recently ensured the security of the facility. They rampage across the island and the party is forced to put many of them down. The WoL notices that Venat regards the malformed beasts with a strange look, as if she admired such monstrosities for their “infinite potential for entertainment.” They are taken aback by how little regard she has for the lives of the ancients which the beasts attacked, as if the world was just a stage for her to watch such horrors play out for her amusement. Before leaving the isle, she retrieves various concepts from Pandaemonium in order to “save for later.” A drawing of the concept she had already obtained from Hermes alludes to it being her form as the goddess Hydaelyn.
Anamnesis Anyder –
Finally, their search takes them to Anamnesis Anyder, which is similar to Final Fantasy Type-0’s Akademeia. It is revealed that Azem was sighted there some days ago being accompanied by 12 other ancients. This peaks the WoL’s curiosity and they make the mistake of trying to investigate alone. They go to the offices of these 12 scholars who express remorse and concern for what they just did, while others being fully committed to the ideology taught to them by Venat.
The WoL eventually arrives in Venat’s private apartments where they discover the scene of Azem’s murder, with no body left behind. All that remains is their bloodstained mask. Venat closes in on the WoL and holds her sword to their throat, praising how far they had gotten to that point but that they would be powerless to stop what would come next. She also freely admits to unleashing the beasts located on Elpis and in Pandaemonium, saying that the most useful of light’s powers is: illusion. She banishes the WoL into a nightmare realm – the Historia Crux, where they are forced to fight through all the calamities that transpired during Hydaelyn’s reign as the “supreme goddess” of the land including events like the War of the Magi.
The WoL is seemingly overpowered by the nightmare realm until they are broken free of it by Meteion. Now awake, she explains to the WoL that the final days had already begun with Venat having unleashed countless monstrosities onto the people with a spell she cast from within the center of the star, causing the ancients to lose control of their magic. Afterwards, she re-emerged with her disciples who by now are fully tempered into believing the notion that the purpose of life is to suffer, for the world is too much of a bore otherwise. Those who rejected these notions fed themselves to Zodiark in an attempt to cling to hope and bring back their loved ones, and in response Venat is preparing to sacrifice herself and her followers in order to summon forth Hydaelyn from the concept given to her by Hermes.
However, prior to the summoning she abducts and has the (separated) Elidibus, Emet-Selch, and Lahabrea look on at her ascension which is also witnessed by the WoL. The newly summoned Hydaelyn attempts to destroy them outright but Meteion is able to rescue them from their bindings – only for Emet and Lahabrea to attack the WoL, since Venat claimed he was her familiar. However, in the chaos they are forced to hide themselves in the rift during the climactic battle between the two gods, which the WoL and Meteion go on to witness alone. They narrowly escape the sundering themselves by being thrust back into the future by the end of the spell that kept the WoL anchored there, and Meteion accompanies him.
They also witness a scene in which a paranoid Hydaelyn reveals that the only person who could possibly stop her is the reincarnation of Azem, who would be predisposed to rejoining his former allies and gaining Zodiark’s blessing of darkness from Elidibus/Themis unless she tempers him first (despite Emet and Lahabrea considering his disappearance a defection and a contributing factor in the fall of the star, and specifically highlighting that anyone that resembles Venat’s familiar/Azem must be slain, despite Emet’s secret desire to restore Azem’s memory using his crystal).
The Lunar Surface –
After returning to the present, Meteion has seemingly aged from a childlike form into a mature adult, similar to Rydia. She reveals that the ordeal they had just experienced left her much changed, and that she feels considerably stronger. She expresses her wish to join the party and does so as the party’s new Summoner, calling upon the original concepts for Ifrita, etc. However, it is noted by Y’shtola that this is actually due to degradation from lack of maintenance by Hermes and that if left unchecked her life force would be spent at any given moment – a rate 10 times higher than how her aetherial vision taxes her own body.
The Sharlayans by this point have aided the scions in constructing the Ragnarok, which ferries them to the moon after a harrowing journey through space where they are accosted by creatures formed by both Zodiark’s darkness and Hydaelyn’s interference. There, they meet the Loporrits which were a failed concept abandoned by Hydaelyn on the moon for their lack of “amusement” who eagerly await the return of their mother, which they mistakenly believe is Meteion due to her avian appearance. This allows her to convince them to lead them towards the entrance to the Lunar Subterrain, hidden beneath the Crystal Palace from which Hydaelyn temporarily watched over the star before retreating into the aetherial sea. Before moving on, Meteion instructs the Loporrits to wait for them on the Ragnarok so that they can be ferried back to the star.
The Lunar Subterrain –
The party trecks through a luminous cavern full of creatures heavily aspected towards darkness, and various crystalline walls where Zodiark projects memories of the Unsundered World from the people he absorbed. They also witness how very human and similar to themselves the ancients were, apart from the utopian nature of their society that lacked death and illness outside of rare instances. The party remarks that what Hydaelyn did was an act of unspeakable evil, and that in order for the star to be truly free that they must obtain Zodiark’s blessing in order to destroy the goddess once and for all. The song “Close in the Distance” is associated with this zone instead of Ultima Thule.
However, after such a prolonged absence Fandaniel makes his return and cackles with glee at how Zodiark will tear the star apart, end all life, and put an end to the wicked goddess. Meteion is shocked to hear him say such things after having taken such pains to impart on him the beauty of life which she believes in, only for him to lash out at her. The party is forced into battle with him and defeats him, but Meteion refuses to let the WoL land the killing blow. She cradles him in her arms and shortly before he passes, he remembers her and remarks that the only goddess the world ever had was her, leaving the party to wonder what he means by this.
The party is too late to stop Zenos from overpowering the unintelligible cacophony of voices within Zodiark and taking control of the primal himself, prompting the final showdown between him and the WoL at the moon’s core. As the battle progresses, more and more souls successfully liberate themselves from Zodiark, with one in particular leaving behind a familiar looking aetherial bow used by the WoL to shatter Zodiark’s mask. Vrtra temporarily reverts to dragon form in order to aid Estinien in landing the final blow from above while the WoL strikes at Zodiark’s heart. Afterwards, the god is defeated and his darkness disperses into the air, engulfing the party.
They are spoken to here by the lingering spirits of Themis, who left a part of him behind in Zodiark, and Hythlodaeus who was one of the first sacrifices to the god. Together, they impart the blessing of darkness onto the WoL and the party and implore them to set their star free from Hydaelyn’s tyranny and obtain justice for all the hurt she has caused over the millennia. However, rather than perishing and returning to the aetherial sea, the two opt to turn themselves into indestructible crystal on the moon’s surface – putting them forever beyond Hydaelyn’s reach so long as their souls remained locked within.
Crystal Memoria –
The party returns on the Ragnarok with the Loporrits to Sharlayan. However, they receive word that Hydaelyn has unleashed all manner of monstrosities from the Final Days onto the world and that aetherial conditions have heavily shifted towards light-a warning of a coming flood of light in order to subject the Source to the same calamity that befell the First. In order to force their way into the aetherial sea, the strongest mages of the world assemble in Sharlayan in order to create a portal that would lead into Hydaelyn’s domain.
Y’shtola, Sadu, Urianger, Matoya, G’raha Tia, and mages from the various beast tribes begin enacting the spell which rapidly drains their aether and claims the lives of several. This includes Urianger, who can at last reunite with Moenbryda. Sadu’s life is also claimed but she proudly boasts that it won’t be long till she returns again. Y’shtola is nearly killed as well but Matoya sacrifices herself in her place, telling her to not squander the opportunity she’s being given, and to go back to that “oaf” she left behind on the First if she can – to not hide herself away from the world in a cave with books like she did. G’raha Tia comforts her in saying that if nothing else, they’ve been given the chance to reunite with their loved ones on the First someday, and promise to work together on that goal once all this is over. With that, the portal is opened, and the party ventures forth into the depths of the aetherial sea.
Here, rather than tender memories being projected onto the crystals like in the case of Zodiark, Hydaelyn’s Crystal Memoria showcases the bloodiest moments of human history while “proud angels” and sin eaters rampage through the zone. It is abundantly clear that Hydaelyn/Venat views these struggles as little more than entertainment and that she considers it a lot more “fun” compared to life in the Unsundered World despite the carnage. Her mental state is explored in that she feels that her hands are clean because she merely “guided” people into doing the things they did in these conflicts rather than taking on an active role, leading the party to question whether or not her behavior is all that different from Emet’s. They come to the conclusion that it is different, for while Emet was desperately trying to bring back his loved ones for thousands of years, Hydaelyn inflicted this torment onto humanity for her own vanity. Eventually the party comes before the Mothercrystal and the WoL uses the blessing of darkness to shatter it, while the spirit of Emet-Selch looks on. The crystal disintegrates and Hydaelyn emerges from it, unfurling her wings and looking down at the WoL with cold eyes.
She again remarks on their progress and how far they’ve come, and the party declares their resolve to fight against her and free the star from her influence. Hydaelyn attacks them without warning and Meteion leaps in front of the WoL to take the hit intended for them. This shocks and enrages the party, who immediately retaliate. Vrta reverts to dragon form and lunges at her only for Hydaelyn to encase him in a block of crystal, and casts down the remaining other party members before challenging “Azem” once more.
A 3 phase fight ensues, with the first phase taking place at the “Lake of Ice” as seen in the original Endwalker MSQ. The 2nd phase involves her subjugating and riding away on Midgardsormr in order to escape the WoL’s final blow and recover her health. By this point Vrtra breaks free of his crystal prison and lets the WoL on their back in order to pursue his father. They are accosted by the last of Hydaelyn’s sin eaters in this add phase before the dragons both release their riders from their backs and send them plummeting towards the surface of the moon. Hydaelyn’s wings are damaged by the fall and is thus forced to fight on land with no means of escape, and in her frenzy nearly overpowers the WoL. Themis and Hythlodaeus release themselves from crystal stasis in order to hold her back while the WoL deals damage to her, but both are ultimately sacrificed in order to render her vulnerable. With one final blow, the WoL slays Hydaelyn who disperses into light and moondust.
The WoL shuts their eyes on the surface of the moon, only to awaken back in the aetherial sea surrounded by their comrades who wonder what is going on. They hear a new voice echoing the words, “Hear, Feel, Think,” that they recognize as belonging to Meteion, who appears before them once more. It is revealed that in truth, hers was the concept for a creature that would safeguard and protect “extant phenomena,” which corresponded to Fandaniel’s duties as part of the convocation. The concept for Hydaelyn’s goddess form was a precursor to her own, with they difference being that Hermes was in a more hopeful state when he created the concept for Meteion. Though she lacks the destructive powers of Hydaelyn, she nevertheless has the power to nurture and materialize life forms, holding dominion over the aetherial sea.
With that, she transforms into her true and final form, assuming her role as the star’s guardian and light of hope. She bids her friends spread this hope for all life far and wide, so that one day in a distant future mankind might someday regain a sliver of that lost paradise. Despite current man’s imperfections, she believes in them with all her heart and declares that all those with good in their hearts will find their way to her and back to the world of the living if they choose to return and be reborn. She then returns the WoL and their allies who had survived up until the point of Hydaelyn’s battle to the shores of Sharlayan (with Urianger, Cid, Gaius, Sadu, Emet-Selch, Hythlodaeus, etc. and several others remaining behind as per their choice). The remaining scions then part ways, with the fate of the WoL in the aftermath being left unclear so the player can fill that in for themselves. The honor of singing “Flow” goes to the Goddess Meteion instead of Venat. The Loporrits also choose to collectively fall asleep so that they can return to Meteion, having accepted that Venat would never return for them, with Meteion welcoming them with open arms.
All images are sourced from google images, the Final Fantasy Wiki, or similar sites.
Originally Posted by anhaato
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