Halmarut's True Intention

[ChrysOCE]

This is only part tongue in cheek. But, given how both Endwalker and Dawntrail played out, I think you are giving the writers far far too much credit, to come up with this kind of thinking. I would presume that the story will very much be as they indicate, with any level of subversion or deeper plot being the same as "the Scions are in conflict with each other!"

I really do hope there is some actual depth to the story...

[Vrankyl]

neat but the game kinda contradicts that.

zodiark was made to put the world in a kind of stasis to stop dynamis

Hydaelyn was made to reshape the world and split zodiark up

also your description of zodiark is more fitting for what halmarut supposedly wants/needs
''the power to reshape and overwrite reality'' sounds alot more affective then ''maybe if i cosplay as Hydaelyn the planet will just sorta do as i say''

Zodiark did not put the world in stasis to stop Dynamis. Rather, Zodiark reinvigorated the aetheric currents, causing them to be more active and thus unable to be influenced by Dynamis. A power attributed to darkness with is activity, flow, and restoration.

[Jeeqbit]

A thematic parallel to FF7, with “Meteor” replaced by “Solstice”

We've had this plenty of times.

• 1.x (dalamud)
• 5.0 (8th umbral calamity)
• 6.0 (final days)
• 8.0 (solstice it seems)

Just something I expect of most expansions at this point.

Now, I'm taking their word for it that we are going to rejoin the shards, but I see no evidence of it from all the concept art and information we've got, and it would throw so many lore questions like whether we'd grow taller and more powerful. I expect it will get way more complex when we actually do the story.

As for who the final boss is, let's review:

• Thordan appeared in the launch trailer for Heavensward, but that's it.
• Zenos appeared in the launch and music trailers for Stormblood. That's it.
• Emet-Selch DID appear in the Stormblood patches as well as the Shadowbringers launch trailer.
• Meteion had the most briefest inclusions in the Endwalker launch trailer, mostly voice, in a way that didn't seem like they were an enemy even.
• Sphene was in the Dawntrail launch trailer but by this point we get it; it was obvious that mystery character in launch trailer is final boss.

So until the launch trailer at least, there's no way we can be sure we have seen the final boss of 8.0. But precedent would say that Halmarut probably isn't the final boss.

[VeyaAkemi]

We've had this plenty of times.

• 1.x (dalamud)
• 5.0 (8th umbral calamity)
• 6.0 (final days)
• 8.0 (solstice it seems)

Just something I expect of most expansions at this point.

It's funny that you mention Dalamud because it was THE Meteor parallel, it even was indirectly called Meteor because of Project Meteor.

[Divinemights]

[/LIST]So until the launch trailer at least, there's no way we can be sure we have seen the final boss of 8.0. But precedent would say that Halmarut probably isn't the final boss.

This is why I think it’s basically a FF7 parallel.
Halmarut is the Aerith.
WoL is the Sephiroth, not as a villain, but as the one who has to end her

Her death isn’t the end goal.
It’s the requirement.
If she’s trying to recreate Hydaelyn’s summoning, then someone has to become the “trigger” that completes the process and that’s where WoL comes in.

[Jeeqbit]

Halmarut is the Aerith.
WoL is the Sephiroth, not as a villain, but as the one who has to end her

Well great! If that's true I should prepare my Samurai with the right sword and equipment.

[Jeeqbit]

One thing that could support this, as much of a stretch as it is:

Zenos is about the closest thing we have to a Sephiroth, even having the Samurai blade and long hair.

Halmarut tries to imply that you are like Zenos, showing his reaper weapon fall from the sky and kill without caring about anyone or anything else.

Then you are a reaper in the trailer.

(And what are reapers famous for being? Grim reapers that come when it's time)

[Averax]

I don't think she's trying to become the next Hydaelyn (that would take a monumental amount of aether to pull off anyway). I think she has, in a roundabout way, made the WoL a winterer without directly asking them to be one. The winterers' overall goal is to preserve life on the star by any means possible.

Halmarut didn't have to come out and say anything to us, but she did. She said "Hey, here's what's happening, and here's what we're doing about it. If you don't like it, find a better way" She actually invites us to figure out a solution that will preserve the most life, because that's her endgoal. She strikes me as being very pragmatic. Where the unsundered were causing rejoinings to make things as they were, she wants to cause them to save lives, even as it costs them. So she comes to us with the problem, because she knows we've got a track record for beating impossible odds, and she thinks we might be able to do something about it.

[Supersnow845]

It’s obvious without the unsundered the remaining ascians have no reason to stand in opposition to the WOL because they know standing in opposition to the walking tactical nuke is basically a one way ticket to the Lifestream

She definitely seemed like a “there is no downside to informing the WOL about the solstice given he controls the key and fighting him won’t help anyway”

Either the WOL fixes her problem for her or at worse doesn’t actively hinder hers

[TaleraRistain]

Even if Halmarut is trying to become a new Hydaelyn, the WoL might see that's still just a temporary solution and the same end could happen in the future if someone removed Halmarut. I got a lot of a XIII feel from things I saw in Evercold and I'm wondering if we somehow "rebirth" the Source and the reflections into forms that are connected and nature sees as one whole so they would not need to consolidate down into a single star.