Halmarut's True Intention

[DRKoftheAzure]

Regardless, Halmarut wouldn't be tempered, because all Ascians besides the Unsundered actually died and were reborn as new people, and the reincarnation process would have scrubbed their souls clean of aetheric corruption even if it was there, it's the whole reason Fandaniel was able to go rogue, and he actively plotted to kill Zodiark.

Not that it would stop the Unsundered from tempering the Sundered over and over again...

In fact, I think that Fandaniel PROBABLY got killed, reincarnated, and tempered too many times, that he saw an opportunity to become truly one with Zodiark thanks to Fandaniels ego that was too big for his trousers... And ego DOES play some part in tempering process if I remember correctly...

[Divinemights]

Emet does claim he is tempered at one point during Shadowbringers, which always struck odd to me since the Echo is supposed to shield someone from Tempering, and all Ascians have the Echo, since all Ancients did, though it could also be dismissed with the angle that unsundered Zodiark was simply a big enough deal that he could Temper someone through the normal defenses.

Regardless, Halmarut wouldn't be tempered, because all Ascians besides the Unsundered actually died and were reborn as new people, and the reincarnation process would have scrubbed their souls clean of aetheric corruption even if it was there, it's the whole reason Fandaniel was able to go rogue, and he actively plotted to kill Zodiark.

I don’t think Halmarut is tempered.
Honestly, I think the writers intentionally showed us the trip to the Void as proof of that.
Our journey to the Thirteenth demonstrated two important things: the dimensional barrier is weakening, and the WoL discovered the true potential of the key.

Because of that, I think it’s fair to rule out the idea that Halmarut was simply trying to re-summon Zodiark.
The Void storyline actually suggests her concerns may have been legitimate.
The real issue now is the Watcher on the Moon claiming he knows nothing about the Solstice.
That makes the Twelve returning their aether feel really awkward narratively, because they were supposedly the backup system Hydaelyn left behind.