fallen warrior

Here's the problem: in Final Fantasy XIV, the dead do not always stay buried.

At least, their bodies don't. The Ascians have a tendency to use the flesh of anyone they find useful for their purposes, from fallen princes to your own Scion allies. And is it really that much of a surprise that, upon learning of Emet-Selch's demise, the last remaining unsundered Ascian would choose Ardbert for his next vessel?

Needless to say, you know it isn't actually Ardbert from the first glance. At this point, Ardbert's soul has been rejoined with yours. But the Ascian Elidibus has chosen Ardbert's body to puppeteer for his own mysterious ends: to create more Warriors of Light.

...Wait, what? The Ascians are the bad guys. What use would they have for even more heroes that might stand in their way?

Determining the answer to this is easier said than done. Even when you get a chance to speak to Elidibus directly, he makes it clear his purpose is at odds with your own.

Elidibus: As for you... Look at yourselves. Look at your history. Look back one hundred short years, to how your greatest warriors were undone. And now? At but a word from me, you raise your hands in answer like the puppets you are. Naught has changed. You fail and you fail and you learn nothing─allow that which is most important to slip through your fumbling fingers like so many grains of sand. Again and again and again. And you would remember us? You do forget yourselves. There is no common ground to be found between you and I. Nor do I require any. I have my duty.

An unsurprising response, but it smarts, all the same. One might have hoped that Elidibus would recognize Emet-Selch's final concession and join hands with us. But, this being a video game with an inevitable boss encounter ahead, such cannot come to pass.

With no common ground to be found with Elidibus, the Scions instead turn to the past, to try and learn more of the Ascians' long-lost world. And while the answers you find are illuminating, they still don't explain Elidibus's goal — or, more crucially, who and what he is. When you meet again, Elidibus names himself a Warrior of Light, for as the Emissary, his role is to guide the people on their true course, like a proper hero.

In seeking to learn more of Elidibus's goals, you travel once more to Amaurot, Emet-Selch's facsimile of the Ascian's original world. There you find Elidibus and engage in a battle against him, as he wields Ardbert's body like his own.

Elidibus: I may not be the real Ardbert, but you'd do well not to underestimate me. All that made him the warrior he was─every battle waged, every blow swung─is part of my very being. So come! Fight me like you mean to take my head!

And even though you defeat him, it's more than a little unsettling to fight what is, in essence, a part of yourself. Again and again Elidibus claims his goal is the salvation of the star, but it's clear that his version of saving the world is nothing like your own.

What would Ardbert think of this? It's impossible to say, because by this point he's simply you. One can imagine, however, that he would shudder to be used by an Ascian in this way, especially after all he's given up for his cause. Elidibus makes a mockery of Ardbert's flesh, puppeting him from one end of Norvrandt to the other in the name of his so-called purpose. It's not like you weren't going to take Elidibus down sooner or later, but to me this whole thing makes it personal. Ardbert deserves better than this fate.

Elidibus does finally shed Ardbert's form when you come to confront him for the final time, instead taking the form of the original Warrior of Light. The battle that follows tests the very limits of your endurance, but you prevail.

Ardbert's body is consumed in Elidibus's transformation, but after the battle Urianger discovers the Crystal of Light that Ardbert once bore as proof of his role. This you take to Seto, Ardbert's amaro, who is grateful for the token to remember his old friend by.

And yet: Ardbert lives on inside you. So in the end, he's able to reconnect with his one last friend.

Ardbert: Seto, my old friend. You've grown!
Seto: Oh! Oh, Ardbert! How I've missed you! I'm sorry I couldn't keep you safe... Or even console you. Had I only learned to speak sooner, I would have told you how much you meant to me. How much I cared.
Ardbert: I knew. I always knew. But I'm happy to hear it nonetheless. Thank you, Seto. My partner in crime.

Ardbert makes no further appearances in the story, but that doesn't mean he's not present. He will always remain a piece of the Warrior of Light, of you, the hero who saved two worlds. And when you most need a push, he'll always be there to help you move forward.

It's terribly fitting, then, that at the end of Endwalker, as the Warrior of Light faces the being that brought death and destruction to countless stars, the song of hope that rings out is in Ardbert's voice. Who else could understand the Warrior of Light's struggle so intimately? And who else would be there for you, when you're alone at the edge of the universe, but yourself?

There's always someone to believe in. Sometimes, as hard as it can be to understand, that person is you.

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