(01-31-2018, 11:41 PM)Teadrinker Wrote: the fact Zenos is alive
It might not be Zenos. It could be a clone, a la FF7. Or an Ascian, as others have speculated. They were producing Resonant supersoldiers in Ala Mhigo, and you fight some of them as common mobs emerging from experiment tubes in Castrum Abania. A clone wouldn't be that much of a stretch.
The plot taking the time to remind us of the emperor's all-eikons-must-die policy at the same time as Hell's Lid / Byakko has interesting implications. How much of the Empire knows that their golden boy Gundam-piloted Shinryu? Do they know that you're now making friends with auspices in their temple and sparing their lives, when one of the specific talking points during the peace negotiations is your eikon-slaying ability?
The 4.X buildup with imperial refugees from the Ivalice raid and now Asahi's claims highlight the infighting going on in the Empire, which probably gets invaded and sorted out in 5.0. Then on to Zodiark in 6.0.