Synodic Scribe's "The Steady Change in Writing..." Video

[Valence]

Stormblood has practically nothing to do with Hydaelyn and Zodiark though. Why would you even consider it part of the story? It's the "Boring middle part" that ultimately matters very little in the end.

Neither does HW then, unless you consider that there is an Ascian trying to pull the string behind Thordan, but then it's been the same behind garlemald for a way longer time. And that's the point, the WoL is constantly fighting events set in motion by ascians one way or another, whether it's an invading imperial legion (ARR), an endless war (HW), an invading foreign power (SB). It just happens that hydaelyn vs zodiark becomes more relevant in SHB and onward because that's where we finally start unraveling what's behind the veil instead of fighting threats sent at the world to generate a rejoining.

Trying to drive a wegde between interconnected events is pointless. That you found the middle part boring is one thing, but it doesn't change the fact that the middle part is no less important to the story than what happened before, it just continues raising the stakes and making the looming threats growing closer and closer until ShB happens, and this time the only reason you actually move the story forward into deeper revelations is Emet Selch amusingly enough, because without him it would have ended up being about twarting yet another ascian threat, just in a more "after the fact" fashion than most due to the state of the First when the WoL finally comes there. If anything, the Stormblood middle part is literally what drives the story toward Endwalker Garlemald, and set things in motion for the final days to trigger.