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[[caption-width-right:450:[[labelnote:Click here to see him as Emperor Solus zos Galvus]]\\
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/solus.png]] [[/labelnote]]
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/solus.png]] [[/labelnote]]
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* NotSoDifferentRemark: Emet-Selch says the easiest way to sway people to one's side is to conquer them, as he did in his years as Solus zos Galvus. After the Scions depose Vauthry and force him to flee, Emet-Selch congratulates the Warrior on doing just that to Eulmore, saying that it's no small feat to have won the people's favor so quickly after forcing them to surrender. The Warrior is clearly unnerved by the implication that their actions are not so different from the Garlean Empire's.
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Multicolored Hair has been made a disambig page
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* MulticoloredHair: Of the SkunkStripe variety. However, this is only as Solus, as his original body as an Amaurotine has white hair.
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If possible, I think the official renders should be used for their images.
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/solus_9.jpg]]
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/solus_9.jpg]]org/pmwiki/pub/images/ffxiv_sh_solus_zos_galvus_2.png]]
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As this
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He's the true identity of the founder of the Garlean Empire Solus zos Galvus, and the enigmatic unseen mastermind for many of the Calamities that befell the world across the millenias.
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* {{Dehumanization}}: Emet-Selch does a lot of this to the people of the world, considering them malformed creatures to broken and fractured by the sundering to be considered truly alive and human. It is implied he does this in order to keep the weight of the guilt of destroying countless lives through the Ascian's plans from wearing his concience down completely.
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I don't think this is likely, as the setup for him was planned likely before 15's release, as 15 came out in 2016, stormblood in 2017. Unless they explicitly state it, this seems unlikely.
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** Revelations about him in ''Stormblood'' reveal him to be a parallel to [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV Ardyn Izunia]]. Solus was the founder of the Garlean Empire who hid his nature as an Ascian and the true reason he founded the Empire, contrasting Ardyn being the brother of the Founder King of Lucis whose nature as a member of the royal family turned into a daemon was kept secret. In his younger host body and with his new outfit, Solus demonstrates a much more whimsical and mocking personality in-line with Ardyn, and his appearance echoes Ardyn with yellow eyes, dark red hair, and an elaborate black coat. They are also both immortals whose theatrical demeanor hides a broken soul.]]
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** His initial portrayal as Solus Zos Galus is one of [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Emperor Gestahl]], as the elderly old Emperor who rose to power from a militaristic nation and dies during the course of the game.
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** His initial portrayal as Solus Zos Galus Galvus is one of [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Emperor Gestahl]], as the elderly old Emperor who rose to power from a militaristic nation and dies during the course of the game.
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** His initial portayal as Solus Zos Galus is one of [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Emperor Gestahl]], as the elderly old Emperor who rose to power from a militaristic nation and dies during the course of the game.
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** His initial portayal portrayal as Solus Zos Galus is one of [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Emperor Gestahl]], as the elderly old Emperor who rose to power from a militaristic nation and dies during the course of the game.
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* {{Expy}}:
** His initial portayal as Solus Zos Galus is one of [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Emperor Gestahl]], as the elderly old Emperor who rose to power from a militaristic nation and dies during the course of the game.
** Revelations about him in ''Stormblood'' reveal him to be a parallel to [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV Ardyn Izunia]]. Solus was the founder of the Garlean Empire who hid his nature as an Ascian and the true reason he founded the Empire, contrasting Ardyn being the brother of the Founder King of Lucis whose nature as a member of the royal family turned into a daemon was kept secret. In his younger host body and with his new outfit, Solus demonstrates a much more whimsical and mocking personality in-line with Ardyn, and his appearance echoes Ardyn with yellow eyes, dark red hair, and an elaborate black coat. They are also both immortals whose theatrical demeanor hides a broken soul.]]
** In addition, he also calls to mind to [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyII Emperor Mateus]]. Both are emperors who are skilled in magical arts far beyond anything regular magic users are capable off, both die during the game and are replaced as an Emperor by their subordinate, and then both come back from the dead. Visually, both Mateus and Solus's return have similarities. Both appear from the throne sporting a vastly different appearance than before, both berate and mock their supposed successor for their incompetence and remind them of their place.(Even causing the successor to attempt an EnemyMine with the heroes, albeit unsuccessfully in Varis's case.) And lastly both look down on mankind and believe them to be guided by their selfish desires. The difference is, Mateus was a mortal who usurped the powers of hell for his own selfish desire for domination of the world, while Emet-Selch was an Ascian who possessed a random Garlean to become Solus zos Galvus as part of his plan to bring about the rejoinings to revive Zodiark and his race.]]
** His initial portayal as Solus Zos Galus is one of [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Emperor Gestahl]], as the elderly old Emperor who rose to power from a militaristic nation and dies during the course of the game.
** Revelations about him in ''Stormblood'' reveal him to be a parallel to [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV Ardyn Izunia]]. Solus was the founder of the Garlean Empire who hid his nature as an Ascian and the true reason he founded the Empire, contrasting Ardyn being the brother of the Founder King of Lucis whose nature as a member of the royal family turned into a daemon was kept secret. In his younger host body and with his new outfit, Solus demonstrates a much more whimsical and mocking personality in-line with Ardyn, and his appearance echoes Ardyn with yellow eyes, dark red hair, and an elaborate black coat. They are also both immortals whose theatrical demeanor hides a broken soul.]]
** In addition, he also calls to mind to [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyII Emperor Mateus]]. Both are emperors who are skilled in magical arts far beyond anything regular magic users are capable off, both die during the game and are replaced as an Emperor by their subordinate, and then both come back from the dead. Visually, both Mateus and Solus's return have similarities. Both appear from the throne sporting a vastly different appearance than before, both berate and mock their supposed successor for their incompetence and remind them of their place.(Even causing the successor to attempt an EnemyMine with the heroes, albeit unsuccessfully in Varis's case.) And lastly both look down on mankind and believe them to be guided by their selfish desires. The difference is, Mateus was a mortal who usurped the powers of hell for his own selfish desire for domination of the world, while Emet-Selch was an Ascian who possessed a random Garlean to become Solus zos Galvus as part of his plan to bring about the rejoinings to revive Zodiark and his race.]]
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** ''Endwalker'' reveals another was [[spoiler:his sense of duty. Upon hearing of the future the Warrior came from, Emet furiously decries it as falsehood, not in the least because he would ''never'' squander his duty to his people. Thing is, future!Emet's actions weren't the result of him squandering his duty, but the result of him carrying it for '''12,000''' years. His inability to let go of the past or what he felt he owed his people prevented him from ever [[GoingNative accepting the new world]] or coming to terms with his grief, because he was constantly driven by the sense that he ''had'' to bring them back. [[MilesToGoBeforeISleep Doing his duty consigned him to eons of misery, loneliness, and atrocities]], which eventually wore him down so much [[DeathSeeker it's implied he just stopped caring if he died]].]]
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** ''Endwalker'' reveals another was [[spoiler:his sense of duty. Upon hearing of the future the Warrior came from, Emet furiously decries it as falsehood, not in the least because he would ''never'' squander his duty to his people. Thing is, future!Emet's future Emet's actions weren't the result of him squandering his duty, but the result of him carrying it for '''12,000''' years. His inability to let go of the past or what he felt he owed his people prevented him from ever [[GoingNative accepting the new world]] or coming to terms with his grief, because he was constantly driven by the sense that he ''had'' to bring them back. [[MilesToGoBeforeISleep Doing his duty consigned him to eons of misery, loneliness, and atrocities]], which eventually wore him down so much [[DeathSeeker it's implied he just stopped caring if he died]].]]
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* LivingLieDetector: He claims that members of the Convocation are trained in spotting deception and they would immediately know it if someone lied to them, which carries heavy implications in the context of when he tells you this. [[spoiler:It means that the Emet-Selch of the past knows that the Warrior of Light isn't lying about their story of the Final Days of Amaurot and everything that happened between them and the Ascians of the present, giving him an entirely different reason to deny the story and angrily storm off. And because Hermes is aware that he couldn't get away with hiding the truth from them, he wipes his own memories along with the others when he decides to let Meteion sing her song of oblivion and enact the Final Days, creating a StableTimeLoop.]]
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He's the true identity of Solus zos Galvus, First Emperor of Garlemald, who has been in the background and unseen ever since the beginning of the story.
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He's the true identity of Solus zos Galvus, First Emperor of Garlemald, who has been in the background and unseen ever since the beginning of the story.
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fixing the order
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* FounderOfTheKingdom: He's the First Emperor of the Garlean Empire.
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* FounderOfTheKingdom: He's FinalBoss: After being outed as the First Emperor of mastermind behind Vauthry's creation and his kidnapping the Garlean Empire.Crystal Exarch to ensure the Warrior's transformation into a Lightwarden fails, he invokes his true name of [[OneWingedAngel Hades]] to fight the party at the end of ''Shadowbringers''.
* FinalExamBoss: His Extreme version has him summon up the shades of previous Ascians that have been killed over the story as well as using their attacks. Nabriales' meteor drop, Lahabrea and Igeyorhm's fire and ice as well as fusing to Ascian Prime.
* FinalExamBoss: His Extreme version has him summon up the shades of previous Ascians that have been killed over the story as well as using their attacks. Nabriales' meteor drop, Lahabrea and Igeyorhm's fire and ice as well as fusing to Ascian Prime.
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* ForgottenFriendNewFoe: A lot of his bitterness towards the Warrior of Light comes from the fact that they are the reincarnation of one of his closest friends, [[spoiler:Azem]], adding a whole new layer to his attitude. [[spoiler:They were so close that Emet defied the ruling of the rest of the Convocation to {{unperson}} them and secretly made a memory stone for them after they defected, and now not only do they not remember him, not only are they sundered, they're on the other side. He goes full denial when he sees Azem's appearance take over the Warrior of Light's for a split second, unable to get over the fact that despite not being fully merged with their other shards yet, they ultimately are still the same person.]]
* FinalBoss: After being outed as the mastermind behind Vauthry's creation and his kidnapping the Crystal Exarch to ensure the Warrior's transformation into a Lightwarden fails, he invokes his true name of [[OneWingedAngel Hades]] to fight the party at the end of ''Shadowbringers''.
* FinalExamBoss: His Extreme version has him summon up the shades of previous Ascians that have been killed over the story as well as using their attacks. Nabriales' meteor drop, Lahabrea and Igeyorhm's fire and ice as well as fusing to Ascian Prime.
* FinalBoss: After being outed as the mastermind behind Vauthry's creation and his kidnapping the Crystal Exarch to ensure the Warrior's transformation into a Lightwarden fails, he invokes his true name of [[OneWingedAngel Hades]] to fight the party at the end of ''Shadowbringers''.
* FinalExamBoss: His Extreme version has him summon up the shades of previous Ascians that have been killed over the story as well as using their attacks. Nabriales' meteor drop, Lahabrea and Igeyorhm's fire and ice as well as fusing to Ascian Prime.
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* ForgottenFriendNewFoe: A lot of his bitterness towards the Warrior of Light comes from the fact that they are the reincarnation of one of his closest friends, [[spoiler:Azem]], adding a whole new layer to his attitude. [[spoiler:They were so close that Emet defied the ruling of the rest of the Convocation to {{unperson}} them and secretly made a memory stone for them after they defected, and now not only do they not remember him, not only are they sundered, they're on the other side. He goes full denial when he sees Azem's appearance take over the Warrior of Light's for a split second, unable to get over the fact that despite not being fully merged with their other shards yet, they ultimately are still the same person.
* FounderOfTheKingdom: He's the First Emperor of the Garlean Empire.
* FounderOfTheKingdom: He's the First Emperor of the Garlean Empire.
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* StrawHypocrite: One of the founding tenets of his Empire was to prevent the summoning of Primals (or 'Eikons', as the Garleans call them) to make sure the world would not suffer from their reckless draining of aether and their destructive powers. Not only does Emet have no problem with Primal summoning, his plans actually 'encourage' it. The more Primals that are summoned and the bigger they are, the more certain a Calamity is to happen, which is what he wants to happen to help bring back Zodiark.
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* StrawHypocrite: One of the founding tenets of his Empire was to prevent the summoning of Primals (or 'Eikons', as the Garleans call them) to make sure the world would not suffer from their reckless draining of aether and their destructive powers. Not only does Emet have no problem with Primal summoning, his plans actually 'encourage' ''encourage'' it. The more Primals that are summoned and the bigger they are, the more certain a Calamity is to happen, which is what he wants to happen to help bring back Zodiark.
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Moving over from Solus on the Garlean page
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ffxiv_sh_solus_zos_galvus_2.png]]
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ffxiv_sh_solus_zos_galvus_2.png]]org/pmwiki/pub/images/solus_9.jpg]]
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[[folder:A-F]]
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* HundredPercentAdorationRating: As Emperor Solus, he became a Legatus in the Garlean military at age 24, pushed reforms that allowed magitek into the military, and by age 28 was so loved by Garlemald's people he was unanimously named Dictator.
* AmbiguousSituation: The nature of Emet-Selch's possession of Solus is something of a vague area. The game never really clarifies if Emet-Selch had been Solus from the very begining, or if Solus was just a person that Emet-Selch possessed at a certain point to direct the history of the nation. Some short stories released indicate that he had been Solus for long enough to have not only a grandson, but a great-grandson as well, suggesting that he had potentially been Solus since ''very'' early in the man's life, but it remains unclear. [[spoiler:His narration when the player at last arrives in Garlemald come ''Endwalker'' implies that there was an ordinary Garlean man named Solus once upon a time, before Emet-Selch took him over to kickstart an Empire.]]
* AtTheOperaTonight: As Solus, he was a very passionate patron of the arts. So much so that he personally saw to the construction of a massive airship for the Majestic Imperial Theater Company to serve as both their stage and the vessel with which they could take their performances to all corners of Garlemald. This fact becomes unsurprising given Emet's genuine love for theatrics.
* AwfulTruth: That the entire grand "civilizing mission" and "eikon-destroying crusade" that forms the core of Garleans' beliefs? It's a ''lie''. The Garlean Empire exists solely to serve as a gigantic engine of chaos and strife to induce Calamities, while also keeping light and dark in balance; it is the ultimate tool of the Ascians and its machinations have already brought about a Calamity.
* AwfulTruth: That the entire grand "civilizing mission" and "eikon-destroying crusade" that forms the core of Garleans' beliefs? It's a ''lie''. The Garlean Empire exists solely to serve as a gigantic engine of chaos and strife to induce Calamities, while also keeping light and dark in balance; it is the ultimate tool of the Ascians and its machinations have already brought about a Calamity.
* BlackHumor: He has, at the very least, shades of this. When Varis shoots him and he tumbles from the throne dais, he lands with a macabre smile on his face and reconstitutes seconds later, giving the impression it may have been on purpose - or that the entire fall may have been deliberately over-acted histrionics to remind Varis of [[DeathIsCheap a point]].
* BlingOfWar: As the first Emperor, he presumably established the ornate uniform the he and his successor wear, enormous shoulderpads and all. Upon his return in ''Stormblood', Emet-Selch instead wears a medal-bedecked long coat with a fancy undershirt.
* BlingOfWar: As the first Emperor, he presumably established the ornate uniform the he and his successor wear, enormous shoulderpads and all. Upon his return in ''Stormblood', Emet-Selch instead wears a medal-bedecked long coat with a fancy undershirt.
* BodyBackupDrive:There is at least one laboratory in the Garlean Empire dedicated to cultivating youthful clones of Solus and keeping them in stasis. Whenever Emet-Selch’s current host body dies, he simply possesses a fresh one from the lab. ''Shadowbringers'' elaborates on this process a bit more: he avoided jumping from body to body, but since he was technically just using the same body each time, he avoided exhausting himself. The best part for him is that he didn't even set up the cloning facility himself, his grandson Varis did, which proved incredibly convenient to Emet when he had to come back out of "retirement."
* DefeatEqualsFriendship: A firm, if not pragmatic, believer of this. He explains to the Warrior of Light that as a conqueror, toppling an enemy through might is only the first step of true subjugation. He states that it is crucial to treat the defeated with dignity and respect, that they might "let bygones be bygones" and win their hearts over. He is genuinely impressed that the Warrior of Light has successfully accomplished this with Eulmore and gives them a heartfelt compliment.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:E-J]]
* TheEmperor: Quite literally. He is the one who turned Garlemald into an empire, beginning with his expansion of power 50 years before ''A Realm Reborn''.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Once Elidibus leaves Varis to consider "his own doubt", Emet-Selch steps out from behind the Garlean throne, recounts his true backstory, and promptly reminds Varis exactly what Varis's ''real'' place in the grand scheme of things is, all while being as hammy and theatrical as possible. He then also [[KilledMidSentence gets shot dead by Varis]]... before [[DeathIsCheap returning and sighing about the futility of it a good ten seconds later.]]
[[folder:E-J]]
* TheEmperor: Quite literally. He is the one who turned Garlemald into an empire, beginning with his expansion of power 50 years before ''A Realm Reborn''.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Once Elidibus leaves Varis to consider "his own doubt", Emet-Selch steps out from behind the Garlean throne, recounts his true backstory, and promptly reminds Varis exactly what Varis's ''real'' place in the grand scheme of things is, all while being as hammy and theatrical as possible. He then also [[KilledMidSentence gets shot dead by Varis]]... before [[DeathIsCheap returning and sighing about the futility of it a good ten seconds later.]]
* EvilOldFolks: As Solus, he taught Garlemald that ruthlessness and constant conquest was the best way forward for them and in reality, was manipulating the entire nation into becoming an instrument of chaos. To be fair, however, Emet-Selch clarifies that while he does believe in forceful conquest, he also believes that is only the first step, and it can only be complete when the conqueror and the conquered develop a mutual respect for one another. Besides Gaius and Gabranth, no Legati seemed to take this into consideration.
* AFatherToHisMen: In ''Endwalker'', the Glory Be Soup derives its name from the Garlean soldiers praising Solus' name after he sat down to share dinner with them after some chilly evening training exercises, implying that for all his cruelty, he was popular with the men under his command.
* FounderOfTheKingdom: He's the First Emperor of the Garlean Empire.
* FounderOfTheKingdom: He's the First Emperor of the Garlean Empire.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Solus zos Galvus was originally a member of a noble family during the days of the then-weak Garlemald Republic. Sometime in his youth, he is presumably possessed by Emet-Selch and becomes the most influential figure in the history of Garlemald, if not of modern Hydaelyn.
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[[/folder]]
[[folder:G-O]]
[[folder:G-O]]
** We learn at the start of the ''Return to Ivalice'' quests to unlock the Raid, he was a great admirer of theater and was a patron of the arts. He even commissioned a [[CoolAirship very elegant airship]] for one of his favorite playwrights and his troupe, to allow them to bring theater to all corners of the Garlean Empire. And he did so freely, unlike Varis, who actively censored works, there is no hint that Emet-Selch attempted to stifle any creativity.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:K-S]]
[[folder:K-S]]
* MulticoloredHair: Of the SkunkStripe variety. However, this is only as Solus, as his original body as an Amaurotine has white hair.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Naturally, being an Ascian, but perhaps even more notable here. While previously Solus clearly showed his advanced age, on his return, he regains the appearance of a man somewhere between his late twenties or his thirties, looking notably younger than his ''own grandson''.
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[[/folder]]
[[folder:P-X]]
[[folder:P-X]]
* RetiredBadass: His age prevented him from taking to the front lines during the early parts of the story. Subverted once he returns in ''Stormblood'', where he even laments having been pulled out of retirement.
* SpeakIllOfTheDead: He blames Lahabrea for commiting a "crowning act of idiocy" (either the Ultima incident, or being killed by Thordan) as being the reason behind his premature exit from Ascian-style rest.
* StepfordSmiler: On two levels. On the one hand, his dutiful, focused personality as Solus is an act to hide his outright ''crazed'' personality as Emet-Selch... but even that [[SadClown is a happy face on a very depressed man]].
* StepfordSmiler: On two levels. On the one hand, his dutiful, focused personality as Solus is an act to hide his outright ''crazed'' personality as Emet-Selch... but even that [[SadClown is a happy face on a very depressed man]].
* StrawHypocrite: One of the founding tenets of his Empire was to prevent the summoning of Primals (or 'Eikons', as the Garleans call them) to make sure the world would not suffer from their reckless draining of aether and their destructive powers. Not only does Emet have no problem with Primal summoning, his plans actually 'encourage' it. The more Primals that are summoned and the bigger they are, the more certain a Calamity is to happen, which is what he wants to happen to help bring back Zodiark.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:T-X]]
[[folder:T-X]]
* TokenEvilTeammate: Mid-way through ''Shadowbringers'', he strongarms his way into the Scions' circle after realizing that the Warrior of Light being in the First irreparably jeopardizes his endgame plan for Black Rose, instead ''offering his services'' and trying to find a common ground. Despite still being [[ObviouslyEvil transparently evil]] and [[CardCarryingVillain reveling in it,]] [[VillainRevealsTheSecret he offers great insight into many of the story's mysteries]], [[BigDamnVillain and even saves the life of one the Scions.]]
* TheUnfought: Only as Solus; the emperor dies off-screen, purportedly due to his advanced age, before he is ever seen in-game. Indeed, the main characters don't even hear of his death and the ensuing war of succession until weeks after the fact. His ''true'' self, however, is the FinalBoss of ''Shadowbringers''.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: He just wants to save his world and reclaim the future that was stolen from his race. Too bad that means slaughtering untold millions and millions more to do so.
-->'''Emet-Selch''': "I will bring back our brethren. Our friends. Our loved ones. The world belongs to us, and us alone."
-->'''Emet-Selch''': "I will bring back our brethren. Our friends. Our loved ones. The world belongs to us, and us alone."
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* WellIntentionedExtremist: He just wants to save his world and reclaim the future that was stolen from his race. Too bad that means slaughtering untold millions and millions more to do so.
-->'''Emet-Selch''': "I will bring back our brethren. Our friends. Our loved ones. The world belongs to us, and us alone."
-->'''Emet-Selch''': "I will bring back our brethren. Our friends. Our loved ones. The world belongs to us, and us alone."
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* WellIntentionedExtremist: He just wants WholePlotReference: His backstory has very strong parallels to save his world and reclaim the future rise of power of UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar, which is fitting since the Garlean Empire has strong resemblance to the [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Roman Empire]]. The biggest contrast is that was stolen from his race. Too bad he then went on to reign for decades, and said reign is more in line with that means slaughtering untold millions and millions more to do so.
-->'''Emet-Selch''': "I will bring back our brethren. Our friends. Our loved ones. The world belongs to us, and us alone."of Emperor {{UsefulNotes/Augustus}}.
-->'''Emet-Selch''': "I will bring back our brethren. Our friends. Our loved ones. The world belongs to us, and us alone."
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** [[spoiler: Futhermore, despite evaluating that Hermes [[YoureInsane was insane]] for his improvised trial inflicted upon all of Man out of a misguided attempt to see if they were worthy to live, Emet-Selch would not only go on to inflict his own version of such a test upon the Sundered and especially the Warrior of Light, but much like Hermes' more sympthatic side towards his creations, Emet himself would have his more sympathetic side towards lives close to him interfere with his work which caused him to make Azem's crystal and the shade of Hythlodaeus, that both proceed to undermine his own plans. When told about this directly in the far past, he straight up is in disbelief and refuses to acknowledge that not only would he become such an megalomaniacal villain, but that he would plant the seeds to his own defeat... and then the memory loss ends up, whether subconsciously or not, causing him to do exactly that unawares.]]
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** [[spoiler: Futhermore, despite evaluating that Hermes [[YoureInsane was insane]] for his improvised trial inflicted upon all of Man out of a misguided attempt to see if they were worthy to live, Emet-Selch would not only go on to inflict his own version of such a test upon the Sundered and especially the Warrior of Light, but much like Hermes' more sympthatic sympathetic side towards his creations, Emet himself would have his more sympathetic side sympathy towards lives close to him interfere with his work which caused him to make Azem's crystal and the shade of Hythlodaeus, that both of which proceed to undermine his own plans. When told about this directly in the far past, he straight up is in disbelief and refuses to acknowledge that not only would he become such an megalomaniacal villain, but that he would plant the seeds to his own defeat... and then the memory loss ends up, whether subconsciously or not, causing him to do exactly that unawares.]]
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Changed line(s) 166 (click to see context) from:
** [[spoiler: Futhermore, despite evaluating that Hermes [[YoureInsane was insane]] for his improvised trial inflicted upon all of Man out of a misguided attempt to see if they were worthy to live, Emet-Selch would not only go on to inflict his own version of such a test upon the Sundered and especially the Warrior of Light, but he himself would have his more sympathetic side towards lives close to him interfere with his work which caused him to make Azem's crystal and the shade of Hythlodaeus, that both proceed to undermine his own plans. When told about this directly in the far past, he straight up is in disbelief and refuses to acknowledge that not only would he become such an megalomaniacal villain, but that he would plant the seeds to his own defeat... and then the memory loss ends up, whether subconsciously or not, causing him to do exactly that unawares.]]
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** [[spoiler: Futhermore, despite evaluating that Hermes [[YoureInsane was insane]] for his improvised trial inflicted upon all of Man out of a misguided attempt to see if they were worthy to live, Emet-Selch would not only go on to inflict his own version of such a test upon the Sundered and especially the Warrior of Light, but he much like Hermes' more sympthatic side towards his creations, Emet himself would have his more sympathetic side towards lives close to him interfere with his work which caused him to make Azem's crystal and the shade of Hythlodaeus, that both proceed to undermine his own plans. When told about this directly in the far past, he straight up is in disbelief and refuses to acknowledge that not only would he become such an megalomaniacal villain, but that he would plant the seeds to his own defeat... and then the memory loss ends up, whether subconsciously or not, causing him to do exactly that unawares.]]
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* IronicName: Despite his title meaning "Your Truth/Your Reality", [[MeaningfulName while fitting for a "perfect being"]] and [[VillainsNeverLie never really lying]], as Amaurot shows, he's willing to reject several worlds right to exist for his to come back, refusing to believe that they should exist in the first place. Even more so when he rejects the sight of the Ancient the Warrior of Light once was, calling it "a trick of the light".
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* IronicName: Despite his title meaning "Your Truth/Your Reality", [[MeaningfulName while fitting for a "perfect being"]] and [[VillainsNeverLie never really lying]], as Amaurot shows, he's willing to reject several worlds world's right to exist for his to come back, refusing to believe that they should exist in the first place. Even more so when he rejects the sight of the Ancient the Warrior of Light once was, calling it "a trick of the light".
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** [[spoiler: Futhermore, despite evaluating that Hermes [[YoureInsane was insane]] for his improvised trial inflicted upon all of Man out of a misguided attempt to see if they were worthy to live, Emet-Selch would not only go on to inflict his own version of such a test upon the Sundered and especially the Warrior of Light, but he himself would have his more sympathetic side towards lives close to him interfere with his work which caused him to make Azem's crystal and the shade of Hythlodaeus, that both proceed to undermine his own plans. When told about this directly in the far past, he straight up is in disbelief and refuses to acknowledge that not only would he become such an megalomaniacal villain, but that he would plant the seeds to his own defeat... and then the memory loss ends up, whether subconsciously or not, causing him to do exactly that unawares.]]
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* NoSell: Does this to ''[[AchillesHeel white auracite]]'' of all things. In the cutscene after his boss fight, the Scions rally themselves enough to impale him with white auracite, only for Hades to ''shatter'' it. It only holds him in place for a moment, and requires him being flat out KilledOffForReal for him to be stopped. [[spoiler:In Elpis, Hythlodaeus mentions that Hades has a "near-bottomless" well of aether, which is implied to be why he could pull this off; the white auracite simply couldn't hold all his aether, allowing him to maintain his body and crush it.]]
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* NoSell: Does this to ''[[AchillesHeel white auracite]]'' of all things. In the cutscene after his boss fight, the Scions rally themselves enough to impale him with white auracite, only for Hades to ''shatter'' it. It only holds him in place for a moment, and requires him being flat out moment; he has to be flat-out KilledOffForReal for him to be stopped.stopped, unlike every other Ascian. [[spoiler:In Elpis, Hythlodaeus mentions that Hades has a "near-bottomless" well of aether, which is implied to be why he could pull this off; the white auracite simply couldn't hold all his aether, allowing him to maintain his body and crush it.]]
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* NoSell: Does this to ''[[AchillesHeel white auracite]]'' of all things. In the cutscene after his boss fight, the Scions rally themselves enough to impale him with white auracite...only for Hades to ''shatter'' it. [[spoiler:In Elpis, Hythlodaeus mentions that Hades has a "near-bottomless" well of aether, which is implied to be why he could pull this off; the white auracite simply couldn't hold all his aether, allowing him to maintain his body and crush it.]]
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* NoSell: Does this to ''[[AchillesHeel white auracite]]'' of all things. In the cutscene after his boss fight, the Scions rally themselves enough to impale him with white auracite...auracite, only for Hades to ''shatter'' it.it. It only holds him in place for a moment, and requires him being flat out KilledOffForReal for him to be stopped. [[spoiler:In Elpis, Hythlodaeus mentions that Hades has a "near-bottomless" well of aether, which is implied to be why he could pull this off; the white auracite simply couldn't hold all his aether, allowing him to maintain his body and crush it.]]
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** [[spoiler: Even before the sundering he was abrasive and to-the-point at the best of times, but there is a gentle and caring soul under all of that. It also turns out it's almost comically easy to break down his said abrasiveness to get him to do things by asking really nicely in a way that would make him feel guilty to refuse multiple times, something Hythelodeus exploits ''often'' - and once he's actually doing it, he's having as much fun doing it as everyone else has watching him do it.]]
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** [[spoiler: Even before the sundering he was abrasive and to-the-point at the best of times, but there is a gentle and caring soul under all of that. It also turns out it's almost comically easy to break down his said abrasiveness to get him to do things by asking really nicely in a way that would make him feel guilty to refuse multiple times, something Hythelodeus exploits ''often'' - and once he's actually doing it, he's having as much fun doing it as everyone else has watching him do it.]]
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** [[spoiler: Even before the sundering he was abrasive and to-the-point at the best of times, but there is a gentle and caring soul under all of that. It also turns out it's almost comically easy to break down his said abrasiveness to get him to do things by asking really nicely in a way that would make him feel guilty to refuse multiple times, something Hythelodeus exploits ''often'' - and once he's actually doing it, he's having as much fun doing it as everyone else has watching him do it.]]
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* AssassinOutclassin: The Reaper questline reveals that Drusilla's grandfather attempted to assassinate Solus zos Galvus to end the furious conquest of the Garlean Empire before it began. But this being [[PhysicalGod Emet-Selch]], Drusilla's grandfather [[CurbStompBattle didn't stand a chance]]. The Reaper hobbled home with his hair bleached white from fear as he told his granddaughter that the most powerful man in Garlemald was no man at all.
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* AssassinOutclassin: The Reaper questline reveals that Drusilla's grandfather attempted to assassinate Solus zos Galvus to end the furious conquest of the Garlean Empire before it began. But this being [[PhysicalGod Emet-Selch]], Drusilla's grandfather [[CurbStompBattle didn't stand a chance]]. The Reaper hobbled home with his hair bleached white from fear overuse of his Voidsent powers as he told his granddaughter that the most powerful man in Garlemald was no man at all.all, implying he was at least able to put up enough of a fight to force Emet-Selch to use his Ascian powers.
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* NoSell: Does this to ''[[AchillesHeel white auracite]]'' of all things. In the cutscene after his boss fight, the Scions rally themselves enough to impale him with white auracite...only for Hades to ''shatter'' it. [[spoiler:In Elpis, Hythlodaeus mentions that Hades has a "near-bottomless" well of aether, which is implied to be why he could pull this off; the white auracite simply couldn't hold all his aether, allowing him to maintain his body and crush it.]]
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* {{Hypocrite}}: Despite being willing to consider the possibility of allowing the modern day races to continue their survival, Emet-Selch exhibits shades of this when discussing how he intends to bring an end to the sundered worlds in service of bringing back his world while at the same time decrying those who stand against the Ascians.
--->'''Emet-Selch:''' Always the same arrogance, the same insistence that the world belongs to them. As if theirs were the only rightful claim, theirs the only existence worthy of preservation!
--->'''Emet-Selch:''' Always the same arrogance, the same insistence that the world belongs to them. As if theirs were the only rightful claim, theirs the only existence worthy of preservation!
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** Even prior to that, he interrupts G'raha's attempted HeroicSacrifice by shooting him in the back. Had he let G'raha continue with his intended plan, the Scions would've been permanently stuck on the First and limited in their ability to counteract further plans by the Ascians.
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* PosthumousNarration: [[spoiler:The ''Endwalker'' trailers are narrated by him, despite the fact you killed him in ''Shadowbringers'' and all that remains of him is his shade.]]
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* PosthumousNarration: [[spoiler:The ''Endwalker'' trailers are narrated by him, despite the fact you killed him in ''Shadowbringers'' and all that remains of him is his shade. He also provides narration for each new location you enter for the first time in ''Endwalker''.]]
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[[WMG:[[center: [- ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' | ''[[Characters/FinalFantasyXIV Main Character Index]]''\\
[[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVTheWarriorOfLight The Warrior of Light]] ([[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVTankClasses Tank Classes]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVRangedClasses Ranged DPS Classes]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVMeleeClasses Melee DPS Classes]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVCasterClasses Caster Classes]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVHealerClasses Healer Classes]])\\
[[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVScionsOfTheSeventhDawn Scions of the Seventh Dawn]]\\
''Nations of Hydaelyn'': [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVTheEorzeanAlliance The Eorzean Alliance]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVIshgardAndDravania Ishgard and Dravania]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVOthardAndHingashi Othard and Hingashi]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVSharlayanAndThavnair Sharlayan and Thavnair]]\\
''Other Realms'': [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVTheFirst The First]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVUltimaThule Ultima Thule]]\\
[[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVAllies Other Allies]] ([[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVGrahaTia G'raha Tia]])\\
''Antagonists'': [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVAscians Ascians]] ('''Emet-Selch''') | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVGarleanEmpire Garlean Empire]] ([[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVZenosYaeGalvus Zenos yae Galvus]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVBozjanGarleans Bozjan Garleans]]) | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVPrimals Primals]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVRaidAntagonists Raid Antagonists]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVAntagonists Other Antagonists]]\\
''Class and Job Questlines'': [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVDisciplesOfWar Disciples of War]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVDisciplesOfMagic Disciples of Magic]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVDisciplesOfTheHand Disciples of the Hand]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVDisciplesOfTheLand Disciples of the Land]]\\
''Races'': [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVPlayableRaces Playable Races]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVBeastTribes Beast Tribes]]\\
[[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVSeasonalEvents Seasonal Event NPCs]]\\
]] -]]]
!!!Voiced by: Creator/HirokiTakahashi (JP), René Zagger (EN), Eilias Changuel (FR), Andreas Hofer (DE)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ffxiv_sh_solus_zos_galvus_2.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The Angel of Truth]]
[[caption-width-right:450:[[labelnote:Click here to see him as Hades]]\\
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hades_0.png]][[/labelnote]]
[[caption-width-right:450:[[labelnote:Click here to see him as an Ancient, pre-Final Days]]\\
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/emetselchancient.png]][[/labelnote]]
[floatboxright:
'''Race''': Ascian\\
'''Epithet''': The Architect\\
'''Discipline''': The Third Seat (Dark Knight, Black Mage)]
->''"Ours is a struggle to restore both mankind and the world to their rightful state."''
\\
A highly mysterious Ascian, and the third and final of their number to be native to the Source, according to Shadowhunter. Absolutely nothing is known of this individual save the name until ''Shadowbringers'' made him an important character.
Due to his extensive role in the story, '''all''' '''''Shadowbringers''''' '''spoilers are unmarked, and major''' '''''Endwalker''''' '''spoilers are ahead'''.
-----
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:A-F]]
* AbusiveParents: Zigzagged. What little we know of Solus's relationship with his son implies some amount of pride and love... only for his son to die young from disease, reinforcing his belief mortals are feeble & frail creatures. Emet winds up despising his grandson Varis for reminding him of his dead son.
* AlasPoorVillain:
** As the story goes on, it's clear that beneath the hamminess, Emet-Selch is a crushingly tired and lonely man who just wants to save his people and go back to the good old days. Indeed, his motives aren't villainous at all, it's his ''methods'' that cause the Scions to oppose him. In his final moments, he pleads with the Warrior of Light to not let the memory of Amaurot die. The Warrior of Light agrees to this with a nod, and Emet gives a small smile as he accepts his death.
** What little we glimpse of his mortal lives doesn't look bright, either. As Solus, he shows some pride in his son, only for it to be crushed when he dies young from disease. It ends up reinforcing his belief that mortals are feeble and frail and souring his relationship with his grandson Varis.
* TheAloner: He often works alone and keeps his intentions a secret, even from his fellow Ascians. Unlike Lahabrea though, he tends to get the job done and so Elidibus lets him do as he wishes without questioning him to his face.
* AntiVillain: To the extent ''the game itself'' calls him a hero in the text for Hades EX. Emet-Selch's goals are ultimately very relatable and sympathetic--the salvation of his loved ones and his people--[[TraumaCongaLine and he's so broken]] it's impossible not to feel for him. It's the [[WellIntentionedExtremist lengths he's willing to go to accomplish his goals]] that make him an antagonist, alongside his staunch refusal to acknowledge the living races as worth keeping around.
* TheArchmage: Even among Ascians, Emet-Selch possesses incredible talent for magic and aetherweaving rivaling that of Omega. Even in a society where creating almost anything out of thin air was common practice, the disparity becomes clear when it's explained that old-world Ascians would have to work together and sometimes even die to create a large-scale project, while Emet can magick ''an entire city complete with inhabitants'' into existence all by himself and appear no worse for wear. Granted, it's stated that the massive glamour will fade with time and it's both stated and observable by the player that the "inhabitants" are fairly limited in what they can actually do or think, but it's still staggering in scope, even in-universe. Other Ascians' discussion of him and his power tend to pretty much agree he was among the greatest and most powerful members of their race. Hythlodaeus, whom Emet-Selch himself saw as AlwaysSomeoneBetter, says that he knows of no mage more powerful than Emet-Selch.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Before the final fight when Alphinaud tries once more to reason with him, Emet-Selch asks one thing: half the Ascian population willingly and gracefully sacrificed themselves to save the other half from certain death. Could any of the Scions claim that the current inhabitants of the Source would do the same? The Scions can only look to the ground defeated for a moment, well aware what the answer is.
* AssassinOutclassin: The Reaper questline reveals that Drusilla's grandfather attempted to assassinate Solus zos Galvus to end the furious conquest of the Garlean Empire before it began. But this being [[PhysicalGod Emet-Selch]], Drusilla's grandfather [[CurbStompBattle didn't stand a chance]]. The Reaper hobbled home with his hair bleached white from fear as he told his granddaughter that the most powerful man in Garlemald was no man at all.
* BackupFromOtherworld:
** In 5.3, [[spoiler:the Warrior of Darkness calls him ''out of the Lifestream'' for aid, and he saves them from the void Elidibus banished them to. If it wasn't clear it was him (as he's wearing generic Amaurotine garb), Emet-Selch does his [[CharacterTic flippant hand wave]] as he walks away.]]
** [[spoiler:The Warrior of Light, using Azem's crystal, also calls upon Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus at the climax of ''Endwalker''.]]
* BadassBoast: Upon going OneWingedAngel in the final battle:
-->'''Hades:''' Behold, a sorcerer of eld! Tremble before my glory!
* BadassFingerSnap:
** Being a man of flair, Emet-Selch often works his magic with a solid snap of his fingers, audible even through his gloves. [[spoiler:This is a clue that the Amaurotian who saves you is him, as it summons you back with the same solid snap, and takes his leave with the same languid wave of a hand.]]
** [[spoiler:As a Trust, unlike other Black Mages who weave magic into the air, Emet snaps his fingers to cast his version of Xenoglossy.]]
* BattleThemeMusic: His fight begins with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSYGILOL-tg "Who Brings Shadow"]], a reprise of "Shadowbringers" that acts as a RageAgainstTheHeavens against Hydaelyn and the Warrior for opposing his efforts to restore his people. It's replaced with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W5yAbMLNCc "Invincible"]], a booming orchestral arrangement of "Shadowbringers", as Hades brings all he has to bear against you to secure the Ancients' future.
* BeenThereShapedHistory: He reveals to the Crystal Exarch that he was likewise behind the Allagan Empire's creation just as he was for the Garlean Empire's. Elidibus comments that Emet has a remarkable talent for nation building and has made many great empires across the worlds.
* BelievingTheirOwnLies: Not ''lies'' per se, but it's implied that "moral relativism and all that" is just what Emet tells himself to stay on his path, and that deep down he knows the ones he deems "broken" are very much alive. Hence, his desire for "a path of lesser tragedy".
* BeneathTheMask: Under Emet's flippant, cheerfully evil {{Troll}} nature lies literal ''eons'' of sorrow and pain over all he and his people have lost, and burning, bitter hatred for the goddess who damned his kingdom and all who fight in Her name. He is also painfully aware of the losses and tragedy his duty and empire building has been incurring over the millennia.
* BerserkButton: "Heroes", [[NotSoDifferentRemark being considered the same]], and the future.
** For heroes, while in Amaurot, if you say you came to "stop him," Emet notes how cliche it is... before going into a rant about claiming that there were many "heroes" who thought just like the Warrior does, and angrily states how not only were the Ascians villainized into monsters for wanting to save their world, the "heroes" all thought the current, broken world should be preserved, not at all caring about the world before and those lost in the Final Days and the Sundering.
** When Alphinaud claims that just like him, they too share his conviction in protecting ''their'' world from the threat of the Calamities, Emet-Selch goes TranquilFury and venomously asks if he thinks them the same.
--->'''Emet-Selch:''' ''(venomously)'' You think us the same? You think your tattered soul of equal worth to those ''I'' lost?
** For the future, he responds by knocking both Y'shtola and Urianger out cold just before the fight with Hades.
--->'''Emet-Selch''': ''[[GameFace (With red mask glowing)]]'' ''Do not presume to speak of '''my''' future!''
* BewareTheSillyOnes: When he is first introduced, he seems to be rather comical. He is even shot dead by Emperor Varis with a goofy look on his face, only to reappear shortly in another body taunting Varis. And throughout ''Shadowbringers'', he lightly taunts the Scions and is rather flamboyant. But when he gets serious, all of that drops and his voice drops to a low pitch. And he puts up a ''much'' bigger fight than Lahabrea did.
* BigBad: Of ''Shadowbringers''. Emet-Selch is TheManBehindTheMan to [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVTheFirst Vauthry]] and the architect of a plot to rejoin the First with the Source, which would kick off the Eighth Umbral Calamity.
* BigBadFriend:
** In ''Shadowbringers''. He spends most of the expansion ingratiating himself with the Scions, as it occurs to him that cooperation might reap better rewards than opposition. He tags along on a few excursions into Lightwarden territory, can be spoken to at length to get his unique perspective, and [[VillainRevealsTheSecret reveals some of the biggest twists in the story]]. He even steps in to save Y'shtola's life when she's lost in the lifestream. For all that, the party never lets their guard down around him, and he's bluntly honest about his goals as the conditions to realize them change. [[spoiler:However, see EvilPlan below...]]
** He's so this that in Patch 5.3, [[spoiler:Urianger says the scene of the Scions' departure would only be complete if the Exarch were there "with Emet-Selch ''smirking in the wings''".]]
* BigDamnHeroes: In 5.3, [[spoiler:his soul shows up to save your party from being banished to the Rift by Elidibus, before giving his usual cocky wave goodbye and disappearing into Aether again.]]
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Being one of the three "unbroken" Ascians, he has existed since before the Great Sundering and lived in a time where civilization and peace were on levels unimaginable by mortal men, and thus has ''very'' high standards of what people should accomplish. As a result he views "broken" beings as not being truly alive, and murdering them is more like stepping on ants. He even mentions moral relativism for why his morals and the Warriors' simply don't connect to the other, and it isn't until his defeat that he accepts their viewpoint and asks for them to remember the ancients in return.
-->'''Emet-Selch:''' But yes, moral relativism and all that. Case in point--I do not consider you to be truly alive. Ergo, I will not be guilty of murder if I kill you.
* BossBanter: As his fight as Hades in ''Shadowbringers,'' his banter is filled with either BadassBoast, [[SuperSupremacist his smug beliefs on the Star belongs only to them and the Warrior's insignificances]], or him calling out to the souls of the Ancients to help him in battle.
* CharacterTic: He has a unique way of waving goodbye--flipping his hand as if saying "shoo" while walking away. [[spoiler:This is the big give-away that the Ancient who rescues the Warrior of Darkness in 5.3 is really him.]]
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: He was considerably more zany and maniacal in ''Stormblood'' as opposed to in ''Shadowbringers''. However, it can be justified as his grandiose persona is indicated to be a mask to hide his inner sorrow as an Ascian. As he begins to warm up to the Warrior of Light, he begins to show more and more of his true self.
* CoolCrown: It's subtle, but his garb as Hades includes a regal-looking crown, befitting his namesake's title of king of the underworld. [[spoiler: It makes a second appearance as a magic circle around his feet when his shade rescues the party later on.]]
* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: In many ways, Emet-Selch is the opposite of his great-grandson Zenos. Where Zenos is a vicious BloodKnight who relies on physical force, Emet-Selch is a manipulative sorcerer who prefers to act from behind the scenes. Where Zenos puts up a MaskOfSanity to conceal his bloodlust, Emet-Selch projects an eccentric AffablyEvil persona to hide his inner pain. Zenos has no loyalty to the Empire and will burn the world for a chance to relive the greatest battle of his life, whereas Emet-Selch is defined by his love for his lost people and will commit atrocities to bring them back to life.
* CostumeInertia: He continues to wear his extravagant emperor's clothing in the First for some reason, despite Garlemald not even existing said world. It makes him look extremely out of place whenever he appears.
* CustomUniform: Unlike the plain robes of his Ascian compatriots, Emet-Selch's robes as emperor of Garlemald are of similar form but highly lavish, mirroring Emet-Selch's eccentricity. Also, unlike his comrades, he elects not to wear a hood and a mask, demonstrating how he is the only Ascian willing to reach out to the Scions. Only in his final scene and appearance during the Seat of Sacrifice is he seen wearing his Ascian and Ancient robes respectively.
* CynicismCatalyst: He remarks that mortals let him down time and again, and it is a culmination of these failures (in addition to his deep sense of grief and loss) that drives him to cause Rejoinings. The final straws were when his son, who had given him hope for the new world, [[YankTheDogsChain died young]] and then the Warrior of Light, who was a reincarnation of his old friend from the Original Star, [[YankTheDogsChain failed to contain the Flood of Light]].
* DeathEqualsRedemption: He concedes defeat at the very end and goes out quite somberly, merely asking that you remember him and his people. [[spoiler:Reinforced in the FinalBattle against Elidibus: Emet's shade rescues the party, preferring to see the Paragons' long road end with dignity than to watch his last living comrade lose himself in his lonely quest.]]
* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler: Implied, retroactively, by his past self's reaction to hearing about his actions in ''Shadowbringer''. As he says, if he truly wanted to beat the Warrior of Light and continue his plans, he could have just waited for the light corruption to destroy them. Instead, he invited them into the heart of his operation on The First and challenged them directly. Either he held the VillainBall at just the wrong moment for all his centuries-long plans to come crashing down, or on some level he wanted the Warrior to at least have a chance to prove him wrong and stop the ancient Ascian conspiracy.]]
* {{Determinator}}: How determined is he? You have to beat him twice in his boss fight. And even then, through nothing but willpower, Emet rouses himself for a third round, which is stopped by the aid of the Scions.
-->'''Hades:''' I... will... not.. yield...\\
Should I surrender this fight, what will become of it all..?\\
What will become of our triumphs? Our hopes? Our... our despair?\\
What of this anguish which yet burns in my breast even after the passing of eons?\\
No, ''no,'' '''no!''' '''''I will not let it all be for naught!'''''
* DeterminedDefeatist: As revealed by the 7th Tale from the Shadows, after his stint as Solus, the emperor of Garlemald, he wonders to himself if there is really any point in continuing the plan they had been working towards for so long. He notes that the only thing really keeping him going is the determination of his fellow Unsundered. We see during Shadowbringers that he clearly does care about what he's lost, but perhaps it is his not total devotion to the cause that allows him to calmly accept his defeat at the end.
* DidntSeeThatComing:
** Despite being the finest schemer among the Ascians, his plans for the First fall apart as soon as the Warrior of Light appears in the First. Not that he can be faulted, as the Warrior only appeared because of the Crystal Exarch ''travelling back in time'' '''and between worlds''' specifically to make it happen. As far as the original timeline goes, Emet-Selch won by a landslide.
** A smaller example is when while traveling in through the Rak'tika Greatwood, he's taken aback by "Minfilia" asking him to join them in fighting. It's only for a split second though, and immediately says no before explaining why he can't help fight.
** His final defeat is another prime example. Disappointed by the Warrior of Light's inability to contain the Light, Emet-Selch wrote them off as a failure ready to expire, and indeed, when it's time to fight him, they can barely stand. ...Until [[FallenHero Ardbert]], an AlternateSelf of the Warrior and a fragment of their soul, performs a HeroicSacrifice to merge with the Warrior, giving them the strength to not just contain the corrupted aether, but control it. Emet is ''absolutely shocked'', especially when he catches a glimpse of the person they used to be.
* DisappearsIntoLight: His body glows and breaks into [[FreezeFrameBonus seven]] fragments of light when he dies; notable because how he's the only Ascian to die this way. [[spoiler:This becomes relevant in Endwalker when you recall his soul from the Aetherial Sea to assist you near the end of the story]].
* DramaticIrony:
** [[spoiler: In ''Endwalker'', when you meet Emet-Selch in the past and reveal the truth of the future, he becomes very offended at the idea that he ever becomes a monomaniacal villain, saying he'd never go so far as to disrespect his loved ones by creating a phantom Amaurot with facsimiles within, let alone willingly invite his nemesis into his lair. Of course, he did in fact do all those things he said he'd never do, though he does admit he doesn't know what his future self had been through.]]
** [[spoiler: In addition, when he has his memory wiped and Hythlodeus suggests they'll learn the truth when they return to the aetheral sea, Emet-Selch dismisses his musing wholeheartedly, saying whatever revelations they had this day would not matter in the long run. In fact, ''everything'' he learnt that day was of extreme import, as they had in fact witnessed the birth of the creature that would eventually cause the calamity that would destroy the Ancient's civilization, and force Emet-Selch on his millennia-long vigil to restore his people. Had he remembered, he would have avoided many, many years of suffering for himself and his people. He himself points out the irony of asking the Warrior of Light to remember him, when ''all'' of his villainous deeds were the result of ''him'' forgetting about the Warrior of Light in the first place.]]
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Emet-Selch's actions show that the Ascians are not motivated by sheer malice or fanaticism, but out of love for their own people. Emet-Selch in particular seemed to have experienced love more readily than the other Ascians, fondly remembering his loved ones from Amaurot. He even truly loved his son of mortal origin, despite seeing them as woefully inadequate as an Ascian; his son's death is what finally made Emet lose hope in humanity. Hythlodaeus even calls him "a slave to sentiment", as shown by his decision to recreate Amaurot in the depths of the Tempest for no reason but nostalgia.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: After you absorb the light of the final Lightwarden, and it begins to transform you ''into'' a Lightwarden, Emet-Selch proclaims that your friends will turn against you and try to strike you down, as clearly you've become an enemy to them, and tells you to come to Amaurot where he will let you live with dignity til you inevitably transform. It doesn't seem to even occur to him that your friends will stick by you til the bitter end, indeed he believes that the fragmented "lesser" souls of mortals are incapable of true self sacrifice, and he sounds genuinely offended that you rejected his offer when you and your friends show up to stop him.
* EvilLearnsOfOutsideContext: As part of the [[AncientConspiracy Ascians]]' plan to rejoin TheMultiverse, they caused an apocalypse on a world called The First which then caused another apocalyptic event on The Source (the game's main setting). Centuries into the future, a group of survivors led by the Crystal Exarch figured out how to send [[LandmarkOfLore The Crystal Tower]] back in time to the First, and then summoned the PlayerCharacter and their allies to SaveBothWorlds. As the Ascian in charge of their plans on The First, Emet Selch was initially confused where this second Crystal Tower came from, but quickly pieced together the truth. However, though he knew ''what'' had been done, he still needed to know ''how'' it was done, and thus captures the Exarch at the end of the game planning to torture and experiment on him to learn the secrets of TimeTravel for the Ascians' own purposes.
-->'''Emet-Selch:''' The wisdom that man possesses may open up new worlds of possibilities. He has unlocked the secrets of travel across the rift -- and through time as well, it would seem. Quite an accomplishment for one of his [[FantasticRacism 'incomplete' nature]]. I must explore the limit of his capabilities, and harness that power for the Ardor.
* EvilPlan: His ultimate endgame, aside from reviving Zodiark and restoring Amaurot, was for the First to be brought to the tipping point of elemental imbalance toward Light. This would then cause the First's excessive Light to "seep" into the Source, empowering the Black Rose to the point where he could use it to effortlessly kill the Warrior of Light and the Scions and lay waste to Eorzea, which would in turn cause enough death and destruction to trigger a new Rejoining.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: When the final blow is dealt and its damage clearly fatal, Emet does not rage against the end. He simply asks that the Warrior of Light remembers the Ascians as they once lived. Once he knows that his people will be remembered he gives the Warrior of Light one final, sad smile before he disperses into aether.
* FantasticRacism:
** His inability to reconcile with the Scions on their points of view stems from this. He sees any of the races created after the world was shattered as 'lesser' due to them being far less powerful; as he explains it, Hydaelyn's powers essentially split people in half with the shards, dividing their aether and essence in half with it. Divide that by thirteen (as there are thirteen shards), and the races of the Source and the Shards are barely a shadow of what the Ascians were. To him, their condition is akin to a gross deformity or even being lobotomized, and it disgusts him.
** He absolutely ''despises'' Hydaelyn and her Light after what she did to his civilization. This hatred extends to anyone who has received the Blessing of Light, with him repeatedly calling the Warrior of Light a "monster" and an "abomination" throughout the final battle. A part of this hatred however, might also be due to the fact that the Warrior of Light is the source's reincarnation of one of his closest friends. To him, it probably is hell to find himself in that situation, with his friend on the other side of the balance, which makes him go full denial about it.
* FatalFlaw:
** His SuperSupremacist and FantasticRacism attitude, BlueAndOrangeMorality, and inability to let go from the past costs him dearly when after the Warrior fails to contain the Lightwardens' Light, and his SecretTestOfCharacter, he betrays everyone by kidnapping the Crystal Exarch so that he can make sure that the Warrior causes the Eighth Rejoining. When Ardbert and the Warrior [[FusionDance Rejoin before the final battle]], and Emet sees a vision of the Ascain the Warrior once was, Emet [[IRejectYourReality rejects the possibility that the Warrior is becoming the person they once were before the Sundering]]. After losing the fight, Emet, [[VillainousBreakdown in both rage and despair]], lunges towards the hero, only to be kept in place long enough by everyone else for the Warrior to condense the Light into an axe to slay the Ascian. In the end, [[GracefulLoser Emet accepts his defeat]], and merely [[LastRequest asks that they remember that the Ascians once lived]].
** ''Endwalker'' reveals another was [[spoiler:his sense of duty. Upon hearing of the future the Warrior came from, Emet furiously decries it as falsehood, not in the least because he would ''never'' squander his duty to his people. Thing is, future!Emet's actions weren't the result of him squandering his duty, but the result of him carrying it for '''12,000''' years. His inability to let go of the past or what he felt he owed his people prevented him from ever [[GoingNative accepting the new world]] or coming to terms with his grief, because he was constantly driven by the sense that he ''had'' to bring them back. [[MilesToGoBeforeISleep Doing his duty consigned him to eons of misery, loneliness, and atrocities]], which eventually wore him down so much [[DeathSeeker it's implied he just stopped caring if he died]].]]
* {{Foil}}:
** To the Crystal Exarch. Both are mysterious men with color schemes of predominantly black and red, with a little white. Both have ultimate goals revolving around the salvation of people important to them. Both are a long-lost friend of the Warrior of Light in some capacity. Both present themselves as your allies, but whereas the Exarch is secretive and hides his face, Emet is [[VillainsNeverLie straightforward]] and shows his. Both carry deep inner sorrow, but the Exarch deals with it by being quiet and withdrawn, while Emet is a SadClown. And finally, while both were watching to see how the Warrior would deal with the surplus of Light, the Exarch steps in to save them when they fail to contain it, while Emet grows bitter over their failure and becomes the FinalBoss.
** He is also one to Elidibus. Both are the final two unsundered Ascians left after the end of Heavensward. Emet-Selch is rather laid back and snarky most of the time while Elidibus is always very business-like and professional. [[spoiler:Emet-Selch was contemplating simply giving up the cause as pointless (as seen in the 7th Tale from the Shadows) while Elidibus is constantly determined to complete his task. Emet-Selch attempted to sway and bring the Warrior of Light to the Ascians' side (assuming they were physically capable of holding all of the First's light) while Elidibus deliberately avoids trying to find common ground with his enemy. Emet-Selch is burdened by the memories of everything he has lost, both as an Ancient of Aumarot and as Emperor Solus, the father whose son died of illness at an early age; Elidibus, due to his nature as a primal, has forgotten nearly everything from his past except for his duty. And finally, Emet-Selch dies gracefully, entrusting the memory of his people to the Warrior of Light while Elidibus dies crying in sadness as he remembers what exactly what he was fighting for in his final moments.]]
** Also to Venat/Hydaelyn, though Emet would probably hate to hear you say it. [[spoiler:Both were close associates with Azem/the Warrior of Light, Venat being their mentor and Emet being a [[TrueCompanions True Companion]]. Both were prodigiously powerful and well-respected Ancients, with Venat being TheAce and Emet being TheArchmage. Both love their people dearly and [[MilesToGoBeforeISleep undergo 12,000 years of extreme personal suffering for their sakes]]. Both were willing to make harsh sacrifices for the sake of those they loved, and both had even [[FutureMeScaresMe expressed aversion to hearing about those future actions]]. The major difference between them, and what sets them at odds, is what they view as the best course for those they love: Emet wants to sacrifice current inhabitants of the star to bring back the dead Ancients, while Venat feels that they must mourn those they lost while moving forward into the future.]]
* ForgottenFriendNewFoe: A lot of his bitterness towards the Warrior of Light comes from the fact that they are the reincarnation of one of his closest friends, [[spoiler:Azem]], adding a whole new layer to his attitude. [[spoiler:They were so close that Emet defied the ruling of the rest of the Convocation to {{unperson}} them and secretly made a memory stone for them after they defected, and now not only do they not remember him, not only are they sundered, they're on the other side. He goes full denial when he sees Azem's appearance take over the Warrior of Light's for a split second, unable to get over the fact that despite not being fully merged with their other shards yet, they ultimately are still the same person.]]
* FinalBoss: After being outed as the mastermind behind Vauthry's creation and his kidnapping the Crystal Exarch to ensure the Warrior's transformation into a Lightwarden fails, he invokes his true name of [[OneWingedAngel Hades]] to fight the party at the end of ''Shadowbringers''.
* FinalExamBoss: His Extreme version has him summon up the shades of previous Ascians that have been killed over the story as well as using their attacks. Nabriales' meteor drop, Lahabrea and Igeyorhm's fire and ice as well as fusing to Ascian Prime.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Quite a few that foreshadows Emet-Selch's big reveals of the game.
** In patch 4.4, Emet-Selch states "Ours is a struggle to restore both mankind and the world to their rightful state." He means his "struggle" against Hydaelyn to bring back the Ancient's Star and restore the fractured souls of those lost in the Sundering.
** When Alphinaud question's Emet's decision to team up with the Warrior and friends, Emet's response ends with [[WellIntentionedExtremist "You do not know our motive."]]
** During the same scene, he also says with "So come, shed your preconceptions. See beyond the scrupulous villains you take us for. When all is said and done, we may find ourselves pleasantly surprised," which foreshadows his reveal of the true nature of the world, the gods, and the Ascians, as well as his desire to legitimately turn over a new leaf should the Warrior of Light succeed in containing the Flood of Light.
** While in the Rak'tika Greatwood, he gives his sympathies over the apparent death of Y'shtola, saying "tis never easy to lose the ones we love", foreshadowing the reveal that he mourns the people lost during the Sundering.
** He's far more friendly toward the Warrior at first compared to the "tattered" other beings he looks down upon, reminiscing fondly about Amaurot and telling the Warrior that they'd like it. He then mutters that it's not like they would ''remember'' it, to the Warrior's confusion. These stray bits of dialogue foreshadow the Warrior's origins as the reincarnation of Azem, one of Emet-Selch's closest companions before the sundering.
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: During the final confrontation of ''Shadowbringers'', he rants at length about how all he wants is to restore his people's world and kingdom that Hydaelyn "robbed" them of and expose the hypocrisy of the Light to the Shards and the Source. As the Scions point out, while he has every right to be angry about his own losses, that doesn't give him the right to murder millions of people just to get his own back and even if those living within the Source and the Shards are "lesser", they still have a right to live.
* FutureMeScaresMe: [[spoiler: In ''Endwalker'', after the Warrior of Light tells him, Hythlodaeus and Venat everything about the Final Days and what follows, Emet-Selch takes particular exception to him being cast as a megalomaniac when dismissing their tale as fiction. In particular, he finds the concept of the phantom Amaurot to be a disgusting mockery of lives willingly given in honorable service of the star. Even after more or less agreeing that the Warrior came with a purpose, he continues to insist that he doesn't believe a word of their story right up to the point that he gets his memory wiped.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:G-O]]
* TheGhost: We at first only see the barest suggestion of their form and, when the idea of them is first introduced, no living man the story has seen or encountered them, on camera or off. At least, under this name. When he effectively "joins" you in ''Shadowbringers'', he drops the Solus alias and just goes by Emet-Selch.
* GivenNameReveal: Solus is an assumed name he used when he created the Garlean Empire. And Emet-Selch is the title of his position in the Ascians' ruling council. It's only right before your FinalBattle with him in ''Shadowbringers'' that he finally reveals his actual name is ''Hades'', the recurring most powerful dark magic user in the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series.
-->'''Emet-Selch:''' But come! Let us cast aside titles and pretense, and reveal our true faces to one another! '''I am Hades! He who shall awaken our brethen from their dark slumber!'''
* GoingNative:
** Defied. He tried to do so in the past. Emet did everything from making friends, getting lovers, having children, even choosing to die with the bodies he resided in. He bitterly responds to the Scions that despite it all he still found himself unable to accept the world as it currently is and found people to be grossly wanting. This presumably includes his own current grandson and great-grandson, who would definitely be... rather unimpressive, by his standards.
** ''Tales from the Shadows'' implies he was closer to going native than he admits. As Emperor Solus, he had to remind himself his grandson was just his ''body's'' grandson. He also shows a flicker of pride in his son... only to have it dashed when he dies young from an illness. His previous examples of FantasticRacism and claims that the current inhabitants are found wanting is a result of him trying to deal with the endless grief of an immortal being who lost mortal loved ones from going native and reconcile the multiple acts of genocide against mortals he has to commit to perform his duty and cause the rejoining.
* GoOutWithASmile: When he dies, he gives a genuine smile to the Warrior of Light, which has a lot of [[ForgottenFriendNewFoe implications]] [[{{Reincarnation}} between them]].
* GracefulLoser:
** [[VillainousBreakdown While the process of losing itself is not taken with grace]], once truly defeated he calmly accepts it and [[LastRequest simply requests]] [[FaceDeathWithDignity that you remember him, his city, and his people as he fades away]].
** He's such a good sport that [[spoiler:his spirit even helps the Warrior of Light defeat Elidibus later on, though Y'shtola speculates that it may have been as much for Elidibus's sake as the Warrior of Light, as the former at that point was little more than a primal stuck blindly carrying out an order for people he couldn't even remember anymore.]]
* GreaterScopeVillain: ''Fourfold'', having a hand in every conflict in the story since even before 1.0:
** Of the Garlean Empire and their efforts to sow unrest across The Source, given he is Solus zos Galvus.
** Of the Allagan Empire, as he confides to the Crystal Exarch in private, toward the same end as he founded the Garlean Empire: bringing about Calamities and causing Rejoinings.
** Of the Eulmore arc; it was he who proposed the idea of infusing the mayor's unborn child with the power of the sin eaters, creating the abomination that is Vauthry.
** Of the unsundered Ascians, he was the only one of sound mind: Lahabrea hopped bodies too often and Elidibus had lost most of his memories and identity. As soon as he is out of the picture, the original machinations of the Ascians begin to fall apart, with renegades like Fandaniel acting in open defiance of the still-present Elidibus.
* GrumpyBear: When he's not taunting others and rubbing their noses in his superiority, he's grumbling about how people ''won't leave him alone''.
* GuestStarPartyMember: [[spoiler:He, along with Venat and Hythlodaeus, can join the Warrior of Light as a Trust party member in Ktisis Hyperboreia, his job being listed as "The Third Seat" and functioning as either a Dark Knight or Black Mage.]]
* IHaveManyNames: "Emet-Selch" is just a title, and Solus zos Galvus was a pseudonym he used in the Source. As we learn at the end of ''Shadowbringers'', his true name is in fact [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Hades]].
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: After being defeated and returning to aetherial sea, he loses his traumatic VillainousBreakdown qualities, going so far as to carry out a BigDamnHeroes moment during the Warrior of Light's final confrontation with Elidibus. ''Endwalker'' reveals that he had already [[StableTimeLoop joined forces with the Warrior of Light in the past]], and has firmly been an ally upon regaining those memories after being defeated in ''Shadowbringers''. With help from Azem's summoning powers, he arrives with Hythlodaeus in Ultima Thule to [[BackupFromOtherworld rescue the Scions]] from their own individual HeroicSacrifice so they can face down [[BigBad Meteion]] in the FinalBattle to put a permanent end to the Final Days that destroyed the Ancients and triggered the entire Ascian conflict from the beginning.]]
* HiddenDepths:
** [[spoiler: Try as he might, there was more to suggest he cared about the unsundered races than he cared to admit. Before the final dungeon of ''Endwalker'' if you talk to Y'shtola, she muses that on Elpis, all of the Ancients regarded the Warrior as a mere familiar. By comparison, the shades in the phantom Amaurot regarded the Scions as Ancient children, leading Y'shtola to muse that, even if not just subconsciously, Emet-Selch knew his "not a person" schtick was bunk and acknowledged the sundered Spoken as real- if not naive and juvenile - people.]]
** [[spoiler: Before passing on to the lifestream once more, Emet-Selch lays out [[SequelHook multiple destinations the Warrior of Light could go to]] and recommends going and expanding their horizons as a bearer of Azem's crystal before adding "I certainly did", all but saying that while he carried Azem's crystal on his person, he spent at least some period of time living as Azem did; a world-wandering adventurer, learning what all wonders and secrets the world could hold, possibly even helping people as Azem would despite his belief the sundered races were "lesser".]]
* HoistByHisOwnPetard:
** Perhaps it wasn't the wisest idea for him to infuse the most powerful warrior on the entire star with the light from all five Lightwardens. Although, to his credit, he wasn't aware that Ardbert would be there to give the Warrior of Darkness a bit of extra help by combining their souls into one. In a dose of irony the merger even made the Warrior of Light strong enough to contain the light as Emet originally wanted, but at a point where they were decidedly set against one another allowing Warrior of Light to use the aether of the Lightwardens to forge the Blade of Light that kills him.
** There's also something to be said for him producing children as being a huge oversight on his part: his great-grandson Zenos becomes a SpannerInTheWorks in The Source and stops a Calamity by killing Varis, thereby ruining decades of plans from the Ascians towards the Rejoining.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters:
** He confesses if questioned after saving Y'shtola that all he does is plant the seeds for chaos to happen in most situations. Instead it is man who quickly begins to grow the seeds and harvest them to spread ruin. He merely watches as things tend to go as planned from afar.
** Part of his justification for the Ancients being superior to the modern races of the world is because they're not just biologically superior, but ''morally'' superior. He taunts the Scions asking if the inhabitants of the modern world would willingly sacrifice themselves to save half their people, as the Ascians did when summoning Zodiark. The Scions[[note]]notably the camera fixates on Alphinaud, arguably one of the most idealistic Scions, but one who has also experienced much betrayal and suffering at the hands of selfish people with no care for the greater good[[/note]] are silent, implying he may be right.
* HumbleHero: [[spoiler:In ''Endwalker'', Hythlodaeus reveals that Hades always came rushing to Azem's aid whenever the latter requested his help. Regardless of Hades' efforts in helping to change the lives of people around the world, he always considered his feats to be nothing remarkable. And yet, his constant acts of heroism for the people of the unsundered star alongside Azem led to him being overwhelmingly recommended for the seat of Emet-Selch after Hythlodaeus refused the position.]]
* InsultBackfire: After bemoaning the follies of men and their endless cycle of conflict, the Warrior can retort about how rich that is coming from one of greatest Bringers of Chaos stoking that conflict. Rather than take offense, Emet-Selch regards it as flattery and tells the Warrior to keep it coming.
* IRejectYourReality: After the Warrior and Ardbert rejoin as one, Emet-Selch sees a vision of the Amaurotine they used to be, Azem. Enraged that the reincarnation of one of his dearest friends would turn against him, he brushes aside that vision and prepares to do battle with the Warrior.
* IronicEcho:
** His mocking words that describe The First's despair at the sight of the Warrior of Light becoming the Prime Lightwarden of Norvrandt are repeated by the Crystal Exarch, described by the Future Source's despair as the Light-infused Black Rose causes the Eight Umbral Calamity.
--->'''Emet-Selch/Crystal Exarch:''' There is no hope. Our world is finished. ''Mankind'' is finished.
** [[spoiler:His mocking ReasonYouSuckSpeech to the Warrior before their final battle can be repeated by the ''Warrior themselves'' to give Elidibus a ReasonYouSuckSpeech just before their final battle.]]
--->'''Emet-Selch/Warrior:''' [[spoiler:You've no fight left to fight.]]
** Does this to ''himself'', unknowingly. Before his boss fight as Hades, he spits that the current inhabitants of the star cannot be entrusted with his people's legacy. [[spoiler:In Ktisis Hyperboreia, as the Warrior flees with Venat, Emet tells them not to squander the legacy he's entrusting to them. Adding to the irony, chronologically that occurred first, but due to the Warrior not traveling back in time yet and Emet's memory wipe, at the time of the fight neither of them was aware that he ''had already deemed'' the Warrior fit to carry his legacy.]]
* IronicName: Despite his title meaning "Your Truth/Your Reality", [[MeaningfulName while fitting for a "perfect being"]] and [[VillainsNeverLie never really lying]], as Amaurot shows, he's willing to reject several worlds right to exist for his to come back, refusing to believe that they should exist in the first place. Even more so when he rejects the sight of the Ancient the Warrior of Light once was, calling it "a trick of the light".
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler: Emet-Selch's final plea towards the Warrior of Light to remember their people's legacy is turned on its head when it is revealed that he is the one who has forgotten their first encounter thanks to being memory-wiped by Kairos. Emet-Selch being Emet-Selch, points out the irony as soon as he is summoned by the Warrior of Light to Ultima Thule, having his memory restored in the Underworld.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: [[spoiler:In Elpis, Hythlodeus recounts that Hades was not particularly liked amongst their people despite all his positive qualities due to his abrasive demeanor. However, with the help of more sociable comrades such as himself and Azem, others began to see Hades for the noble man he was and eventually led to him becoming a member of the Convocation.]]
* KilledOffForReal: A lot more of an important distinction from most, because most Ascians aren't "killed", per se, instead being drawn into a nearby aether battery and deconstructed into regular aether (see: Lahabrea and the Eyes of Nidhogg, several previous Ascians and White Auracite). Emet-Selch, however, is struck by such a massive concentration of Light that he ends up dying ''legitimately'', as he just can't keep going after having the entirety of all five Lightwardens flung straight into his chest. [[spoiler:This is important, as his whole, unsundered soul is out wandering the Lifestream, and answers the Warrior of Light's call for aid with Azem's crystal on two separate occasions.]]
* LastOfHisKind: Emet-Selch was the last true Ancient left among the Ascians, even among the Unsundered, emphasized further in ''Ere Our Curtain Falls'' where he laments that [[DeathOfPersonality the present Lahabrea and Elidibus are no longer who they once were.]] Lahabrea grew bolder and more zealous on ushering and prolonging the Umbral Calamities even when it ceased to serve their purposes. Elidibus, on the other hand, began to grow more and more autonomous due to his vanishing memories, indicated to have been worsened by the fact that he became a primal. Only Emet-Selch retained his sense of self, and even he was tempted to give in but refrained only from a sentiment of hope. Once he is defeated, Emet-Selch quietly accepts that there is no hope of restoring his people, in spite of Elidibus being still alive.
* LastRequest: After being defeated and fatally wounded, he asks the Warrior (who's a reincarnation of his close friend), to remember him, his city, and his people as he fades away. [[spoiler:Later patches show that honoring this request is ''much'' easier said than done, as the Warrior has never lived through the Sundering themselves, thus having an unintentional bias on that "memory", as Elidibus puts it; the fact that [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters the Source and Shards]] [[HistoryRepeats have never learned from]] ''[[HistoryRepeats their]]'' [[HistoryRepeats history]] also makes Elidibus doubt that they could even change, let alone uphold that promise.]]
* LaughablyEvil: He may be a SadClown, but he's still a ''clown''; his LargeHam mannerisms when under his StepfordSmiler facade are a joy to watch.
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFt8RnScxlc Bedlam's Brink]]
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In the lead up to the final battle with Emet-Selch, he tells the Warrior of Light that they should both cast aside titles and reveal their true selves to one another. At the start of the trial, Emet-Selch's name is listed as just "Hades" with no subtitle unlike every other boss in the expansion.
** [[spoiler:Before he returns to the Netherworld, he tries to cheer up the Warrior of Light by bringing up that they still have so much left to see and explore back on Etheirys, and encourages them to see it all for themself when it's all over. It's pretty much acknowledging the player's concerns about where the story might go from here now that the current MythArc is about to end.]]
* LemonyNarrator: [[spoiler: His narration for each new location introduced in Endwalker is generally snarkier than the ones from expansions before it.]]
* TheManBehindTheMan: The biggest example in the game. Allag, Garlemald, and Vauthry all owe their existence to Emet-Selch, who created them purely to be tools for advancing the Ascian agenda.
* MeaningfulName:
** His real name is Hades, the Greek god of the Underworld. As the "Through His Eyes" short story reveals, the Ancients actually called the Lifestream the Underworld, and Emet-Selch has always had a very close connection to it. This connection even allows him to locate souls and pull them out, as he does with Y'shtola. Emet-Selch also uses his powers to recreate a city of the dead, filled with shades of Amaurotians who perished in the Final Days, and the apocalypse that destroyed their world. During the fight against him, several times he calls out to the souls of the Ancients, even recreating shades of fallen Ascians.
** In the mythology of Ivalice, Emet-Selch was the Scion opposite to Zalera, the ''Death''-elemental Esper.
* MilesToGoBeforeISleep: Once the proverbial mask falls and the "real" Emet-Selch is revealed, he comes across as impossibly, unspeakably tired. It's all but stated that he's only half-heartedly going along with the plan of performing Rejoinings to summon Zodiark because he knows that Elidibus will never give up on it and he still cares enough about Elidibus to stick with him so that the latter will never be alone. Once he's struck down by the Warrior of Light, he seems almost happy to be put out of his immortal misery, especially after the Warrior of Light promises to remember the Ancients.
* MoreThanMindControl: He overtly states he is tempered by Zodiark and is well aware of the implications surrounding that, but to him it doesn't matter because summoning Zodiark and using his power to resurrect the Ancients is the only way he can see bringing them all back.
* MovingTheGoalposts: Due to his pride and refusal to acknowledge the living races as worthy of living, he gradually begins doing this later in the expansion. The Warrior of Light shows they don't have enough power to control the Lightwarden's Aether? Useless to him and he won't change his mind. Warrior of Light and friends show up and try to convince him otherwise? Test them again and then promptly say they failed anyway. The Warrior actually ''figures out'' how to contain the light by fusing with Ardbert thus proving to Emet-Selch that they were indeed Azem all along? [[IRejectYourReality That's just a trick of the light, nothing more.]] The story makes it clear this is partially because he doesn't want to acknowledge that the heroes have valid points, so he'd rather set goals and then deem them failures. It may also be that his tempering by Zodiark makes it impossible to see any worth in the sundered world, as that might lead hin to give up on Zodiark's goals.
* MrExposition: He reveals many hidden truths about the world over the course of ''Shadowbringers'', including the true nature of the Ascians, their relation to both Hydaelyn and Zodiark, and how the world was split into the Source and its thirteen Shards.
* MultiArmedAndDangerous: In his OneWingedAngel form, his skinny, long, pale arms are supplemented by two MASSIVE clawed arms around his shoulders.
* MyGreatestFailure: Hythlodaeus reveals he blames himself for failing the Ascians when they needed him. Despite how he might present himself, his guilt at failing all those who died only continues to weigh heavy on him, and with each passing century the burden he carries only grows as he tries to save them.
* MysticalWhiteHair: In "Through His Eyes", his original body as an Amaurotine is mentioned to have white locks of hair. He's also renowned as TheArchmage and possessed the ability to see souls to a level rivaled by few and only surpassed by his friend Hythlodaeus.
* MythologyGag: If his Solus Zos Galvus persona calls to mind [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV Ardyn Izunia]], then his Emet-Selch persona references Garland from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX''. [[spoiler:Like Garland, Emet-Selch's primary goal is the revival of his advanced yet long extinct race, at the cost of the currently living species that inhabit the the Source and it's reflections. Both their plans rely on the merging of worlds, rely on pawns they create to get their plans moving, both turn out to be the man behind the man of the supposed antagonist that they have a familial connection to, (Varis for Emet-Selch, Kuja for Garland), and have a connection to the main hero that goes before the events of the game. The Warrior of Light is the reincarnation of Emet-Selch's close friend, while Zidane is Garland's perfected angel of death. Both their endgames rely on the hero's soul to some extent, (Emet-Selch hoped that the Lightwarden's corruption would break the Warrior of Light's soul to bring about a rejoining, while Garland rips out Zidane's soul in an attempt at forcing obedience.) Lastly their plans are ultimately ruined by another villain they assumed they had under control. (Emet-Selch's posthumous plans for black rose and thus the rejoining is ruined by Zenos overthrowing Varis, while Terra along with its inhabitant's souls are destroyed by Kuja in addition to Kuja killing Garland himself.]]
* NameToRunAwayFromReallyFast: His real name is ''Hades'', for crying out loud.
* {{Necromancer}}: Hades calls forth the souls of deceased Ascians for aid, even merging them in the second half of the battle with his own as they unite to battle the Warrior of Light. The Minstrel’s Ballad: Hades’ Elegy takes this up a notch, with him summoning shades of Nabriales, Lahabrea, Igeyhorm and an Ascian Prime during the fight.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Following the VillainousBreakdown below if one highlights the tooltip granted the player it reveals that you're ''using the very light threatening to consume you to empower yourself enough to finish Emet-Selch.'' By orchestrating Norvrandt to be flooded by light ever since the original flood ended and allowing you to absorb said light for his own plans, the single most powerful Ascian ever faced has unwittingly given the Warrior of Light a Blade of Light powerful enough to destroy him, even without his soul being entrapped in auracite.
* NotAfraidToDie: Despite all of his planning and willingness to fight to the end, Emet-Selch was prepared for either eventuality that he would either; win or die against the Warrior of Light. [[spoiler:He gave his convocation crystals which allowed him to raise up other Ascians to the shade of Htyhlodaeus, in the hopes that it would reach the Warrior of Light in the event of his death. ''Tales of Shadow'' showed that he was already on the verge of giving up on the entire plan, if it weren't for Elidibus' determination and the fact he would be alone if he did truly give up. Notably he was resting in oblivion after his body's death and only woke when Lahabrea was killed off. And finally, he left behind Azem's crystal, which allowed the Warrior of Light to properly use their power of Azem to gather allies, including the shade of Emet-Selch himself if s/he needed his assistance.]]
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: In his first meeting with the Scions, he plays himself off as not being particularly strong, implying that he might be concerned about facing Thancred in a one on one fight and noting that since Lahabrea was slain by the Warrior of Light, he likely wouldn't be able to do much better. This is completely an act. He is a powerful enough wizard that he is able to casually defeat all of the Scions single handedly without even drawing upon his full strength, and it takes the Warrior of Light empowered by Ardbert's soul PLUS 7 other Warriors of Light from other shards, AND all of the Light Aether the Warrior of Light had accumulated across the First to finally bring Emet-Selch down.
* OddFriendship: Hades' closest friends before the star was sundered were Hythlodaeus and Azem, both of whom were far more outgoing, eccentric, and liable to bend if not break the rules if given the chance. He complains about Azem in particular, as Azem's tendency to openly defy the Convocation chiseled wrinkles into Hades' forehead. Despite this, the narration of the sidestories in "Tales from the Shadows" [[spoiler:as well as when the Warrior meets him in Elpis]] show that he enjoys their company and has a hard time saying no to them.
* OneWingedAngel: In addition to the form he takes when he invokes his true name of Hades, he has a further one where he completely casts off his body, combines his essence with the lost souls of his Ascian brethren, and becomes a monstrosity littered with Ascian masks over its body. Taken UpToEleven in Hades's Elegy where instead of casting Dark Cauldron, he fuses with all of the Ascian souls to become even bigger, using only Dark Current, Gigantomany and Quadstrike to destroy you above the sky of the dying Star.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:P-X]]
* PhysicalGod: He's more powerful than any being the Warrior has faced up to that point, requiring the combined might of the Scions, the Warrior of Light and seven other heroes from other shards, and the entirety of the Flood of Light concentrated into a single attack to be put down. Even Calamity-causing dreadwyrms like Bahamut and Shinryu were felled by the Warrior and a handful of their adventurer companions rather than an apocalyptic amount of power. As per Emet-Selch's own words, had he simply brought his full strength to bear from the start, the Scions would have been utterly crushed.
* PosthumousNarration: [[spoiler:The ''Endwalker'' trailers are narrated by him, despite the fact you killed him in ''Shadowbringers'' and all that remains of him is his shade.]]
* ReunionVow: [[spoiler:In ''Endwalker'', when his and Hythlodaeus's real farewell time finally come, Hythlodaeus tells the Warrior of Light that he will pray so that they, himself and Emet-Selch reunite in their future lives, to be together again, just at they wished in the past. Emet-Selch, as a fine tsundere, first denies the claim, but the look and smile he gives to the Warrior of Light makes clear that he is not against the three of them reuniting in their next lives.]]
* RootingForTheEmpire: Inverted in-universe. Emet-Selch genuinely hoped that the Warrior of Light would be able to contain the power of all five Lightwardens within them, as it would have, to him at least, meant that the people of the thirteen shards may actually be worthy to carry on the legacy of the Ascians after all. It was a test that was ultimately failed.
-->'''Emet-Selch:''' What a disappointment you turned out to be. I placed my faith in you. Let myself believe that you could contain the Light. But look at you now, halfway to becoming a monster. You are unworthy of my patronage.\\
[...]\\
'''Alphinaud:''' What was your true purpose in approaching us?\\
'''Emet-Selch:''' By your Twelve, boy, have I not told you before that everything I said was the truth? You were specimens by which I might gauge man's potential as it stands. I genuinely had an interest in you. Genuinely considered taking you on as allies. Provided ''he/she'' could contain and control the Light. If not ''he/she''--and by extension you--would be no use to me. 'Twas as simple as that.
* SadClown: One would be forgiven for initially thinking that Emet-Selch is having the time of his life, enjoying every second of plunging the Source and the other worlds into chaos. However, it becomes apparent later on that his cheerful and mocking attitude is merely a mask that conceals a crushingly tired and guilt-ridden man. Even sadder is that it is implied this persona was based off of his colleague Hythlodaeus, who had a rather jovial disposition with a tendency to tease others, whereas Hades was originally much more melancholy in comparison.
* {{Schemer}}: Emet-Selch's role is [[TheChessmaster to conspire, plot and scheme new ways to ensure Calamities.]] It's even lampshaded in one scene:
-->'''Y'shtola:''' You're plotting something.\\
'''Emet-Selch:''' Every hour of every day. But never you mind about that.
* TheScrooge: [[spoiler:When the Warrior visits the unsundered past in ''Endwalker'', Emet-Selch lends the Warrior some of his aether to render the Warrior tangible and intelligible. When Hythlodaeus later asks if Emet-Selch could lend some more, Emet-Selch refuses to waste anymore of his own aether. Hythlodaeus then jokingly complains that Emet-Selch scrimps and saves his aether so much that you'd think Emet-Selch ''didn't'' have a nigh-bottomless well of it at his disposal.]]
* SecretTestOfCharacter: His interest in cooperating with the Warrior of Light stems from their ability to contain the Lightwardens' aether without transforming. This is implied to be a feat that an "unbroken" being from the old world would be able to do with ease, and if the Warrior can rise to the challenge, Emet-Selch is willing to abandon the Rejoining and accept that the Source and the Thirteen have the potential to attain the old world's glory. Unfortunately, the Warrior fails, and Emet wastes no time resuming hostilities. Ironically, when the Warrior and Ardbert [[FusionDance Rejoin]] to contain the light before the final fight, the Warrior had essentially "passed" Emet's test, but by then, the line was already drawn in the sand, and the ensuring fight ends with Emet getting blown though by the concentrated Light from the Flood.
* ShadowArchetype: To the Warrior of Light. Like them, Emet-Selch carries the expectations of an entire people on his shoulders and fights to save his loved ones and world. Like Emet, the Warrior of Light carries their share of trauma, pent-up anger, and guilt for what they've experienced and done, as the Dark Knight questlines reveal. Emet is basically them after ''eons upon eons'' of fighting. It's quite telling that the Warrior of Light's creed, "For those we have lost. For those we can yet save" can apply equally well to Emet-Selch.
* SignatureMove: He has two of these in the final boss fight:
** In his first form he has "Ancient Dark IV", a powerful blast of dark magic charged up by the fervor of the Shadows of the Ancients.
** In his second form he has "The Dark Devours", repeated blasts of dark magic which he uses in an attempt to snuff out the player’s light. Once the light has been smothered he’ll begin casting his true signature move, "Black Cauldron", which is an instant kill if allowed to go off.
* SlouchOfVillainy: He has a very distinctive posture and walk, condescending and eccentric but later described as "as if he has the weight of the world on his shoulders".
* SourSupporter: [[spoiler:When you go back in time to Elpis, the first thing you'd notice about Emet is that he complains about everything. ''Everything.'' To the point where you may wonder why he still has friends. But according to Hythlodaeus, Emet never refuses an opportunity to help his friends or to aid people in need, and as a result of that, he is deeply respected the world over.]]
* StraightMan: The short stories reveal that Emet-Selch used to consider himself to be one to his more zany fellow Amaurotians. To the trollish Hythlodaeus to the painfully earnest Eldibus, alongside the recklessly adventurous Azem, Emet-Selch considered himself to be sanest of the bunch but it is made clear that he still loved all of them dearly.
* SuperSupremacist: He refuses to accept the current races of the worlds as worthy stewards of the Ascians' legacy, believing them to be not even a fraction as strong or noble as the Ascians. Considering the Asicans were capable of creating ''anything'' out of thin air using only a sliver of their aether in the same way the current races must use a veritable reservoir to summon a Primal, and over 80% of them willingly sacrificed themselves in three different events for the sake of the world, he has a point. Of course, as with any supremacist, it comes with him treating the non-Ascian races as dirt, at best only useful to help further his own plans. Best shown when in "Hades's Elegy", upon achieving his final form:
-->'''Emet-Selch:''' ''We'' are the blessed. ''We are the chosen!''
* SuperweaponSurprise: During his first meeting with the Scions, Emet-Selch says that he is talking with them instead of attacking them because he knows how strong the Warrior of Light is, and he's certain that if he came after them, he'd end up dead just like Lahabrea. This is a complete and total lie, he is much more powerful than all of them and casually wipes the floor with the rest of the Scions without breaking a sweat. It takes the combined power of the Warrior of Light freshly fused with Ardbert (something that Emet-Selch couldn't have seen coming), seven other heroes from other shards summoned by G'raha Tia, and the combined efforts of the rest of the Scions to stun Emet-Selch with the white Auracite for him to finally be taken down with a Blade of Light made from the Flood that threatened to consume the First.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: As Hades, he serves this as a Primal for the Ancients, in a vein similar to Louisoix becoming Phoenix, due to him being "raised up by the souls of [his] fallen brethren," even fusing with all of them in the extreme version of his trial. [[spoiler:Ironically enough, the Ascians ''do'' have a Primal in the form of Elidibus, who instead takes the form of the original Warrior of Light.]]
* SympathyForTheHero: When the Warrior of Light seemingly starts transforming into a Sin Eater, Emet-Selch expresses genuine pity at their situation, and offer them to come to his hideout, the Tempest, so that they can complete their painful transformation in peace and dignity. He then tells them that he will "see them off", which takes a new meaning in light of the 4th "Tales from the Shadows", as Emet-Selch is able to see the souls of the dead departing and traveling, seemingly offering to guide them, in a way, when their time comes. Which makes his true name of Hades make more sense. The fact that the Warrior of Light's original self was a very close friend of his probably has a lot to do with it.
* TeleportSpam: [[spoiler:As a Trust party member, he and Hythlodaeus don't bother to run out of the way off large AOE attacks, simply teleporting to a safe spot as necessary.]]
* ThanatosGambit: Emet-Selch, [[XanatosSpeedChess for good reason]], believed he wouldn't be beaten. This did not stop him leaving one last scheme behind. [[spoiler:Fortunately for everyone, it's a benevolent scheme: Emet passed on the memory crystals of the Convocation of the Fourteen to the shade of Hythlodeus so that they would reach the Warrior of Light, along with imparting some helpful magic in Azem's crystal specifically. Emet knew the Warrior of Light's next opponent would be Elidibus, and so gave them the tools to end Elidibus' tragic crusade.]]
* ThisCannotBe: He has that reaction when a glimpse of the Warrior of Light's original self appears instead of their current appearance to him. He immediately goes in denial about it, unable to face the fact that the person in front of him is so much like their original self despite not being "complete".
* TimeAbyss: Emet-Selch claims that he has lived a "thousand thousand of (the player character's) lives", and it likely is not a hyperbole. He states that he does not like to think about how much time has passed since the days of Amaurot, and considers a century in the rift to be enough for a good nap.
* TorsoWithAView: The Warrior finishes him off by concentrating the entire Flood of Light into an axe made in the shape of Ardbert's Bravura before thrusting it through him. When he returns to his Garlean form, a hole has been sheared straight through him with the axe resting on the ground behind him.
* TragicKeepsake: [[spoiler:Azem's memory crystal. Normally someone who left the Convocation of the Fourteen would not have a memory crystal made, but Emet-Selch made one in secret for his dear friend. He makes sure it finds its way back to its owner (the Warrior of Light, a fragment of Azem) after his defeat.]]
* TragicVillain: Emet-Selch is ultimately a man who survived the complete destruction of his home and race, emerged into a world that had forgotten all about them, and just ''could not'' adjust to his new reality no matter how he tried. ...So he decided to try and bring back the old, at the expense of everyone else.
* TraumaCongaLine: Despite how he looks and acts, his life has not been an easy one.
** First his world faced the apocalypse, and he had to watch half the surviving population sacrifice themselves, twice, to save it by summoning Zodiark and then fix the damage. Then a group of dissidents created Hydaelyn to keep Zodiark in check and protect the new life from being sacrificed...except in doing so, Hydaelyn shattered everything into 14 shards that [[BlueAndOrangeMorality Emet considers barely alive]]. This put him at the DespairEventHorizon, yet he spent literal eons working away tirelessly to save their world, only to accidentally turn the 13th Shard into the Void.
** He tried to adjust to his new reality, doing everything he could from getting friends, having a family, fighting alongside mankind, and even letting himself die in his bodies, but was continuously disgusted by the new worlds for their ignorance, weakness and wanting, as well how his people were labeled as monsters and [[{{Unperson}} erased from history]]. Then, as Solus zos Galvus, he had one son who actually gave him hope for humanity... [[YankTheDogsChain before dying young]], enforcing his belief that HumansAreFlawed and everything must be restored to the way they were before. Then when he "died" and entered "retirement", his grandson would do everything in his power [[{{Unperson}} to erase him from history]], starting with his love of theater. And because of Lahabrea's failures with the Ultima Weapon and The Warring Triad, he is then forced out of his "retirement", but his plans for the Eighth Umbral Calamity are immediately foiled by the Warrior being summoned to the First.
** Emet gets [[HopeSpot one last glimmer of hope]] by the fact that the Warrior is a reincarnation of one of his closest friends who, if capable of containing the Flood of Light, can prove that there is hope for mankind. [[YankTheDogsChain They fail]], so Emet kidnaps the Exarch to force the Warrior to become a Lightwarden, which fails as well when Ardbert sacrifices himself to allow the Warrior to contain the Light. This gives Emet a glimpse of his old friend, [[IRejectYourReality but he rejects it]], and they battle, during which he [[VillainousBreakdown snaps hard]] and is ultimately run through with a Blade of Light. In the end, the only ray of hope is that Emet [[LastRequest asks them to remember the Ancients]], which they agree to, [[GoOutWithASmile and he accepts his death with peace.]] In short: the only happy parts of his eons-long life were before the Final Days, and the very end.
* TrueCompanions: He used to be this with [[spoiler:Azem and Hythlodaeus. As Endwalker reveals, despite not wanting to believe what the Warrior of Light told him about the future, he was still on his way to become this with the Warrior themselves, Azem's current incarnation, until he and Hythlodaeus' memories got erased. The way the three interact when they finally reunite in present time indicates this bond still survived, despite its complexity and Azem being reincarnated into the Warrior. This culminates in a ReunionVow between the three, as Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus leave to be reincarnated.]]
* {{Tsundere}}: [[spoiler:Very much. ''Tales From the Shadows'' and Elpis show that he was prone to griping about his TrueCompanions, particularly Azem's, antics and scolding them for [[BunnyEarsLawyer their blithe]] [[TheGadfly mannerisms]]. However, he cared for them deeply and never failed to rush to Azem's aid if s/he needed him. It's perhaps best shown during his, Hythlodaeus, and the Warrior of Light's (Azem's reincarnation) ReunionVow: Emet scoffs that he's not looking forward to it, then gives the Warrior a sincere smile.]]
* TwoAliasesOneCharacter: ''Shadowbringers'' reveals that the LargeHam, newly revived [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVGarleanEmpire Solus zos Galvus]] and the mysterious Emet-Selch are one and the same.
* UnreliableNarrator: While his love for his people and anguish over their fates are very much real, ''Endwalker'' retroactively reveals [[spoiler:he was wearing ''quite'' a pair of rose-colored glasses about them: the Ancients, while not evil, were quite apathetic to the value of an individual's life, intolerant of flaws, and [[NotSoAboveItAll did not always use their creation magicks responsibly]]. They certainly ''would'' and ''did'' sacrifice themselves for the greater good, but they were no wiser or more perfect than the current inhabitants of the star. It's implied Emet was subconsciously aware of this but [[IveComeTooFar had been laboring too long and was too enslaved to duty]] to give up his course.]]
* VillainsNeverLie: He doesn't lie, unlike most others including his fellow Ascians. It fits his title of [[MeaningfulName Emet-Selch, the Angel of Truth]]. However, it doesn't stop him from skewing the truth at times, for omitting certain context. That and his own bias pertaining to Hydaelyn. When he betrays everyone and Alphinaud asks [[WasItAllALie what was Emet's true purpose in approaching them]], Emet is legitimately offended.
-->'''Emet-Selch:''' [[ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne By your Twelve, boy, have I not told you that everything I said was the truth?]] [[VillainTakesAnInterest You were specimens by which I would gauge man's potential as it stands.]] [[SincerityMode I genuinely had an interest in you. Genuinely considered taking you on as allies.]] [[SecretTestOfCharacter Provide that]] ''[[SecretTestOfCharacter he/she]]'' [[SecretTestOfCharacter could contain the light.]] If not then he/she -- and by extension you -- would be of no use to me. [[BrutalHonesty 'Twas as simple as that.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: His starts right before his boss fight and extends all the way until his [[GracefulLoser final defeat]]. When the Warrior of Darkness gets a HeroicSecondWind thanks to Ardbert [[HeroicSacrifice Rejoining]] his fragment to the Warrior's original soul, Emet is shocked. Then he briefly sees the image of the Ancient that the Warrior used to be, goes into denial, and becomes ''absolutely furious'' when the Crystal Exarch summons backup from other worlds.
--> '''Ardbert, speaking through the Warrior of Darkness:''' [[BadassBoast This world is not yours to end.]] [[DeclarationOfProtection This our future. Our story.]]\\
'''Emet-Selch:''' ''[briefly sees the Ancient the Warrior once was]'' No... It can't be...[[IRejectYourReality Bah, a trick of the light.]] [[SuperSupremacist You are a broken husk, nothing more.]] [[EvilGloating How can you hope to stand against me alone?]]\\
'''Crystal Exarch:''' [[BigDamnHeroes We stand together!]]\\
'''Emet-Selch:''' [[DidntSeeThatComing How did─!?]] ...I'm surprised you can stand at all.\\
'''Crystal Exarch:''' I could not well leave matters half-finished. [[CallBack Let expanse contract, eon become instant!]] [[TheCavalry Champions from beyond the rift, heed my call!]]\\
'''Emet-Selch:''' Damn you! ''Damn you all!''
* VillainSong: "Who Brings Shadow", a reprise of "Shadowbringers", which in the context of your fight with Emet-Selch becomes a LightIsNotGood RageAgainstTheHeavens against both ''[[WhatTheHellHero Hydaelyn and the Warrior of Light]]'' for constantly fighting against his and the other Ascians' attempts to, [[HeroOfAnotherStory from their point of view, make the world and everyone in it whole again]], while also lamenting how the two of you aren't so different, how WeUsedToBeFriends, and the fact the Ascians still [[YouCantGoHomeAgain can't go home again]].
* VillainTakesAnInterest: He became interested in all the Scions and sought to make them genuine allies if they agreed to his alliance. Unfortunately The Warrior of Light failed his SecretTestOfCharacter by being unable to sustain the combined Light of the Lightwardens within, dashing his hopes and him expressing disappointment as a result.
* VillainousRescue: [[spoiler:His soul saves the party from Elidibus. Y'shtola speculates that he did this because he could no longer bear to see his old friend, the last of the unsundered, champion the cause alone.]]
* VitriolicBestBuds: In ''Tales from the Shadows'', he constantly complains about, insults, and snaps at Hythlodaeus, who he privately calls a close friend. Hythlodaeus isn't fazed one bit by it. The tales from the shadows also implies his friendship with Azem was akin this.
* WalkingSpoiler: His very existence would have redacted his entire folder. Even in his first appearance at the end of ''Stormblood'' he drops one of the biggest lore bombs in the story, and continues to do so throughout all of ''Shadowbringers'', revealing a lot of the world's biggest mysteries.
* WesternZodiac: His title as the opposite the the Death-elemental esper Zalera from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has him represent Gemini.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: {{Discussed}}: Because the races of the Source and its reflections have but a fraction of aether and lifespan as the Ascians, Emet-Selch considers them less than living beings. As he sees it, he wouldn't be committing murder if he killed one of them, because he hardly considers them to be ''alive'' at all.
-->'''Emet-Selch''': [[LampshadeHanging But yes, moral relativism and all that]]. Case in point - I do not consider you to be truly alive. Ergo, [[BlueAndOrangeMorality I will not be guilty of murder if I kill you.]]
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: As an Ancient, Hades was originally a rather lethargic and surly individual who misliked being bothered and preferred being left to his own devices. Upon being left as one of the three last beings of his kind, he could have easily given in to his nature and given up on restoring his people without any consequence, but instead Emet-Selch decided to bear the brunt of the burden, working tirelessly in search of ways to bring about the Rejoining.
* WhamLine:
** [[VillainRevealsTheSecret He reveals some major truths]] in ''Shadowbringers'', and delivers one of the biggest twists in the story in regards to Hydaelyn and Zodiark, a bombshell that changes the scope of the entire story and casts the player's role and relation to it in a very different light.
--->'''Emet-Selch''': They are gods after a fashion, yes. The eldest and most powerful... '''of primals'''.
** Another one is during his talk alone with the Exarch, and blatantly admits to having a hand in Allag's rise.
--->'''Emet-Selch''': [[AbusivePrecursors The once great nation]] whose ingenuity gave birth to this tower [[ManBehindTheMan was shaped by my hands]]. As such I know full well the wonders it can facilitate... [[BeyondTheImpossible and those it cannot.]]
* WhamShot: [[spoiler:The Amaurotine shade who saves the PC from Elidibus is revealed to be none other than Emet, when he departs the battle with his trademark flamboyant waving gesture.]]
* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Downplayed, he has a streak of white hair on an otherwise head of black hair. The ''Tales From The Shadows'' story "Through His Eyes" describe his hair before the fall of Amaurot as fully silver-colored, though at that point he was by no means evil.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: He just wants to save his world and reclaim the future that was stolen from his race. Too bad that means slaughtering untold millions and millions more to do so.
-->'''Emet-Selch''': "I will bring back our brethren. Our friends. Our loved ones. The world belongs to us, and us alone."
* WrittenByTheWinners: He views the Ascians as victims of this. All they want is to restore the world to its original state and bring back everyone they lost, but the champions of Hydaelyn have thwarted them time after time and demonized them as {{Card Carrying Villain}}s who want to destroy the world for kicks. When you confront him before the final boss fight, he makes it clear that he intends to return the favor:
-->'''Emet-Selch:''' The victor shall write the tale, and the vanquished become its villain!
* XanatosSpeedChess: He shows quite the aptitude for it in ''Shadowbringers''. The Warrior of Light ruins his plans for the First just by showing up? He recognizes the futility of fighting them and, recognizing the soul of his old friend in them, offers himself as an ally. The Exarch tries to save them when they fail to contain the Light? Emet shoots him, leaving the Warrior with the inevitable fate of becoming a Lightwarden who will help carry out the First's Rejoining, and kidnaps the Exarch to gain his knowledge for use in future Rejoinings. The Warrior shows up in Amaurot with allies instead of alone as he requested? Alright, time to get his hands dirty.
[[/folder]]
[[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVTheWarriorOfLight The Warrior of Light]] ([[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVTankClasses Tank Classes]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVRangedClasses Ranged DPS Classes]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVMeleeClasses Melee DPS Classes]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVCasterClasses Caster Classes]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVHealerClasses Healer Classes]])\\
[[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVScionsOfTheSeventhDawn Scions of the Seventh Dawn]]\\
''Nations of Hydaelyn'': [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVTheEorzeanAlliance The Eorzean Alliance]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVIshgardAndDravania Ishgard and Dravania]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVOthardAndHingashi Othard and Hingashi]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVSharlayanAndThavnair Sharlayan and Thavnair]]\\
''Other Realms'': [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVTheFirst The First]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVUltimaThule Ultima Thule]]\\
[[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVAllies Other Allies]] ([[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVGrahaTia G'raha Tia]])\\
''Antagonists'': [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVAscians Ascians]] ('''Emet-Selch''') | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVGarleanEmpire Garlean Empire]] ([[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVZenosYaeGalvus Zenos yae Galvus]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVBozjanGarleans Bozjan Garleans]]) | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVPrimals Primals]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVRaidAntagonists Raid Antagonists]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVAntagonists Other Antagonists]]\\
''Class and Job Questlines'': [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVDisciplesOfWar Disciples of War]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVDisciplesOfMagic Disciples of Magic]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVDisciplesOfTheHand Disciples of the Hand]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVDisciplesOfTheLand Disciples of the Land]]\\
''Races'': [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVPlayableRaces Playable Races]] | [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVBeastTribes Beast Tribes]]\\
[[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVSeasonalEvents Seasonal Event NPCs]]\\
]] -]]]
!!!Voiced by: Creator/HirokiTakahashi (JP), René Zagger (EN), Eilias Changuel (FR), Andreas Hofer (DE)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ffxiv_sh_solus_zos_galvus_2.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The Angel of Truth]]
[[caption-width-right:450:[[labelnote:Click here to see him as Hades]]\\
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hades_0.png]][[/labelnote]]
[[caption-width-right:450:[[labelnote:Click here to see him as an Ancient, pre-Final Days]]\\
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/emetselchancient.png]][[/labelnote]]
[floatboxright:
'''Race''': Ascian\\
'''Epithet''': The Architect\\
'''Discipline''': The Third Seat (Dark Knight, Black Mage)]
->''"Ours is a struggle to restore both mankind and the world to their rightful state."''
\\
A highly mysterious Ascian, and the third and final of their number to be native to the Source, according to Shadowhunter. Absolutely nothing is known of this individual save the name until ''Shadowbringers'' made him an important character.
Due to his extensive role in the story, '''all''' '''''Shadowbringers''''' '''spoilers are unmarked, and major''' '''''Endwalker''''' '''spoilers are ahead'''.
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* AbusiveParents: Zigzagged. What little we know of Solus's relationship with his son implies some amount of pride and love... only for his son to die young from disease, reinforcing his belief mortals are feeble & frail creatures. Emet winds up despising his grandson Varis for reminding him of his dead son.
* AlasPoorVillain:
** As the story goes on, it's clear that beneath the hamminess, Emet-Selch is a crushingly tired and lonely man who just wants to save his people and go back to the good old days. Indeed, his motives aren't villainous at all, it's his ''methods'' that cause the Scions to oppose him. In his final moments, he pleads with the Warrior of Light to not let the memory of Amaurot die. The Warrior of Light agrees to this with a nod, and Emet gives a small smile as he accepts his death.
** What little we glimpse of his mortal lives doesn't look bright, either. As Solus, he shows some pride in his son, only for it to be crushed when he dies young from disease. It ends up reinforcing his belief that mortals are feeble and frail and souring his relationship with his grandson Varis.
* TheAloner: He often works alone and keeps his intentions a secret, even from his fellow Ascians. Unlike Lahabrea though, he tends to get the job done and so Elidibus lets him do as he wishes without questioning him to his face.
* AntiVillain: To the extent ''the game itself'' calls him a hero in the text for Hades EX. Emet-Selch's goals are ultimately very relatable and sympathetic--the salvation of his loved ones and his people--[[TraumaCongaLine and he's so broken]] it's impossible not to feel for him. It's the [[WellIntentionedExtremist lengths he's willing to go to accomplish his goals]] that make him an antagonist, alongside his staunch refusal to acknowledge the living races as worth keeping around.
* TheArchmage: Even among Ascians, Emet-Selch possesses incredible talent for magic and aetherweaving rivaling that of Omega. Even in a society where creating almost anything out of thin air was common practice, the disparity becomes clear when it's explained that old-world Ascians would have to work together and sometimes even die to create a large-scale project, while Emet can magick ''an entire city complete with inhabitants'' into existence all by himself and appear no worse for wear. Granted, it's stated that the massive glamour will fade with time and it's both stated and observable by the player that the "inhabitants" are fairly limited in what they can actually do or think, but it's still staggering in scope, even in-universe. Other Ascians' discussion of him and his power tend to pretty much agree he was among the greatest and most powerful members of their race. Hythlodaeus, whom Emet-Selch himself saw as AlwaysSomeoneBetter, says that he knows of no mage more powerful than Emet-Selch.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Before the final fight when Alphinaud tries once more to reason with him, Emet-Selch asks one thing: half the Ascian population willingly and gracefully sacrificed themselves to save the other half from certain death. Could any of the Scions claim that the current inhabitants of the Source would do the same? The Scions can only look to the ground defeated for a moment, well aware what the answer is.
* AssassinOutclassin: The Reaper questline reveals that Drusilla's grandfather attempted to assassinate Solus zos Galvus to end the furious conquest of the Garlean Empire before it began. But this being [[PhysicalGod Emet-Selch]], Drusilla's grandfather [[CurbStompBattle didn't stand a chance]]. The Reaper hobbled home with his hair bleached white from fear as he told his granddaughter that the most powerful man in Garlemald was no man at all.
* BackupFromOtherworld:
** In 5.3, [[spoiler:the Warrior of Darkness calls him ''out of the Lifestream'' for aid, and he saves them from the void Elidibus banished them to. If it wasn't clear it was him (as he's wearing generic Amaurotine garb), Emet-Selch does his [[CharacterTic flippant hand wave]] as he walks away.]]
** [[spoiler:The Warrior of Light, using Azem's crystal, also calls upon Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus at the climax of ''Endwalker''.]]
* BadassBoast: Upon going OneWingedAngel in the final battle:
-->'''Hades:''' Behold, a sorcerer of eld! Tremble before my glory!
* BadassFingerSnap:
** Being a man of flair, Emet-Selch often works his magic with a solid snap of his fingers, audible even through his gloves. [[spoiler:This is a clue that the Amaurotian who saves you is him, as it summons you back with the same solid snap, and takes his leave with the same languid wave of a hand.]]
** [[spoiler:As a Trust, unlike other Black Mages who weave magic into the air, Emet snaps his fingers to cast his version of Xenoglossy.]]
* BattleThemeMusic: His fight begins with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSYGILOL-tg "Who Brings Shadow"]], a reprise of "Shadowbringers" that acts as a RageAgainstTheHeavens against Hydaelyn and the Warrior for opposing his efforts to restore his people. It's replaced with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W5yAbMLNCc "Invincible"]], a booming orchestral arrangement of "Shadowbringers", as Hades brings all he has to bear against you to secure the Ancients' future.
* BeenThereShapedHistory: He reveals to the Crystal Exarch that he was likewise behind the Allagan Empire's creation just as he was for the Garlean Empire's. Elidibus comments that Emet has a remarkable talent for nation building and has made many great empires across the worlds.
* BelievingTheirOwnLies: Not ''lies'' per se, but it's implied that "moral relativism and all that" is just what Emet tells himself to stay on his path, and that deep down he knows the ones he deems "broken" are very much alive. Hence, his desire for "a path of lesser tragedy".
* BeneathTheMask: Under Emet's flippant, cheerfully evil {{Troll}} nature lies literal ''eons'' of sorrow and pain over all he and his people have lost, and burning, bitter hatred for the goddess who damned his kingdom and all who fight in Her name. He is also painfully aware of the losses and tragedy his duty and empire building has been incurring over the millennia.
* BerserkButton: "Heroes", [[NotSoDifferentRemark being considered the same]], and the future.
** For heroes, while in Amaurot, if you say you came to "stop him," Emet notes how cliche it is... before going into a rant about claiming that there were many "heroes" who thought just like the Warrior does, and angrily states how not only were the Ascians villainized into monsters for wanting to save their world, the "heroes" all thought the current, broken world should be preserved, not at all caring about the world before and those lost in the Final Days and the Sundering.
** When Alphinaud claims that just like him, they too share his conviction in protecting ''their'' world from the threat of the Calamities, Emet-Selch goes TranquilFury and venomously asks if he thinks them the same.
--->'''Emet-Selch:''' ''(venomously)'' You think us the same? You think your tattered soul of equal worth to those ''I'' lost?
** For the future, he responds by knocking both Y'shtola and Urianger out cold just before the fight with Hades.
--->'''Emet-Selch''': ''[[GameFace (With red mask glowing)]]'' ''Do not presume to speak of '''my''' future!''
* BewareTheSillyOnes: When he is first introduced, he seems to be rather comical. He is even shot dead by Emperor Varis with a goofy look on his face, only to reappear shortly in another body taunting Varis. And throughout ''Shadowbringers'', he lightly taunts the Scions and is rather flamboyant. But when he gets serious, all of that drops and his voice drops to a low pitch. And he puts up a ''much'' bigger fight than Lahabrea did.
* BigBad: Of ''Shadowbringers''. Emet-Selch is TheManBehindTheMan to [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVTheFirst Vauthry]] and the architect of a plot to rejoin the First with the Source, which would kick off the Eighth Umbral Calamity.
* BigBadFriend:
** In ''Shadowbringers''. He spends most of the expansion ingratiating himself with the Scions, as it occurs to him that cooperation might reap better rewards than opposition. He tags along on a few excursions into Lightwarden territory, can be spoken to at length to get his unique perspective, and [[VillainRevealsTheSecret reveals some of the biggest twists in the story]]. He even steps in to save Y'shtola's life when she's lost in the lifestream. For all that, the party never lets their guard down around him, and he's bluntly honest about his goals as the conditions to realize them change. [[spoiler:However, see EvilPlan below...]]
** He's so this that in Patch 5.3, [[spoiler:Urianger says the scene of the Scions' departure would only be complete if the Exarch were there "with Emet-Selch ''smirking in the wings''".]]
* BigDamnHeroes: In 5.3, [[spoiler:his soul shows up to save your party from being banished to the Rift by Elidibus, before giving his usual cocky wave goodbye and disappearing into Aether again.]]
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Being one of the three "unbroken" Ascians, he has existed since before the Great Sundering and lived in a time where civilization and peace were on levels unimaginable by mortal men, and thus has ''very'' high standards of what people should accomplish. As a result he views "broken" beings as not being truly alive, and murdering them is more like stepping on ants. He even mentions moral relativism for why his morals and the Warriors' simply don't connect to the other, and it isn't until his defeat that he accepts their viewpoint and asks for them to remember the ancients in return.
-->'''Emet-Selch:''' But yes, moral relativism and all that. Case in point--I do not consider you to be truly alive. Ergo, I will not be guilty of murder if I kill you.
* BossBanter: As his fight as Hades in ''Shadowbringers,'' his banter is filled with either BadassBoast, [[SuperSupremacist his smug beliefs on the Star belongs only to them and the Warrior's insignificances]], or him calling out to the souls of the Ancients to help him in battle.
* CharacterTic: He has a unique way of waving goodbye--flipping his hand as if saying "shoo" while walking away. [[spoiler:This is the big give-away that the Ancient who rescues the Warrior of Darkness in 5.3 is really him.]]
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: He was considerably more zany and maniacal in ''Stormblood'' as opposed to in ''Shadowbringers''. However, it can be justified as his grandiose persona is indicated to be a mask to hide his inner sorrow as an Ascian. As he begins to warm up to the Warrior of Light, he begins to show more and more of his true self.
* CoolCrown: It's subtle, but his garb as Hades includes a regal-looking crown, befitting his namesake's title of king of the underworld. [[spoiler: It makes a second appearance as a magic circle around his feet when his shade rescues the party later on.]]
* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: In many ways, Emet-Selch is the opposite of his great-grandson Zenos. Where Zenos is a vicious BloodKnight who relies on physical force, Emet-Selch is a manipulative sorcerer who prefers to act from behind the scenes. Where Zenos puts up a MaskOfSanity to conceal his bloodlust, Emet-Selch projects an eccentric AffablyEvil persona to hide his inner pain. Zenos has no loyalty to the Empire and will burn the world for a chance to relive the greatest battle of his life, whereas Emet-Selch is defined by his love for his lost people and will commit atrocities to bring them back to life.
* CostumeInertia: He continues to wear his extravagant emperor's clothing in the First for some reason, despite Garlemald not even existing said world. It makes him look extremely out of place whenever he appears.
* CustomUniform: Unlike the plain robes of his Ascian compatriots, Emet-Selch's robes as emperor of Garlemald are of similar form but highly lavish, mirroring Emet-Selch's eccentricity. Also, unlike his comrades, he elects not to wear a hood and a mask, demonstrating how he is the only Ascian willing to reach out to the Scions. Only in his final scene and appearance during the Seat of Sacrifice is he seen wearing his Ascian and Ancient robes respectively.
* CynicismCatalyst: He remarks that mortals let him down time and again, and it is a culmination of these failures (in addition to his deep sense of grief and loss) that drives him to cause Rejoinings. The final straws were when his son, who had given him hope for the new world, [[YankTheDogsChain died young]] and then the Warrior of Light, who was a reincarnation of his old friend from the Original Star, [[YankTheDogsChain failed to contain the Flood of Light]].
* DeathEqualsRedemption: He concedes defeat at the very end and goes out quite somberly, merely asking that you remember him and his people. [[spoiler:Reinforced in the FinalBattle against Elidibus: Emet's shade rescues the party, preferring to see the Paragons' long road end with dignity than to watch his last living comrade lose himself in his lonely quest.]]
* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler: Implied, retroactively, by his past self's reaction to hearing about his actions in ''Shadowbringer''. As he says, if he truly wanted to beat the Warrior of Light and continue his plans, he could have just waited for the light corruption to destroy them. Instead, he invited them into the heart of his operation on The First and challenged them directly. Either he held the VillainBall at just the wrong moment for all his centuries-long plans to come crashing down, or on some level he wanted the Warrior to at least have a chance to prove him wrong and stop the ancient Ascian conspiracy.]]
* {{Determinator}}: How determined is he? You have to beat him twice in his boss fight. And even then, through nothing but willpower, Emet rouses himself for a third round, which is stopped by the aid of the Scions.
-->'''Hades:''' I... will... not.. yield...\\
Should I surrender this fight, what will become of it all..?\\
What will become of our triumphs? Our hopes? Our... our despair?\\
What of this anguish which yet burns in my breast even after the passing of eons?\\
No, ''no,'' '''no!''' '''''I will not let it all be for naught!'''''
* DeterminedDefeatist: As revealed by the 7th Tale from the Shadows, after his stint as Solus, the emperor of Garlemald, he wonders to himself if there is really any point in continuing the plan they had been working towards for so long. He notes that the only thing really keeping him going is the determination of his fellow Unsundered. We see during Shadowbringers that he clearly does care about what he's lost, but perhaps it is his not total devotion to the cause that allows him to calmly accept his defeat at the end.
* DidntSeeThatComing:
** Despite being the finest schemer among the Ascians, his plans for the First fall apart as soon as the Warrior of Light appears in the First. Not that he can be faulted, as the Warrior only appeared because of the Crystal Exarch ''travelling back in time'' '''and between worlds''' specifically to make it happen. As far as the original timeline goes, Emet-Selch won by a landslide.
** A smaller example is when while traveling in through the Rak'tika Greatwood, he's taken aback by "Minfilia" asking him to join them in fighting. It's only for a split second though, and immediately says no before explaining why he can't help fight.
** His final defeat is another prime example. Disappointed by the Warrior of Light's inability to contain the Light, Emet-Selch wrote them off as a failure ready to expire, and indeed, when it's time to fight him, they can barely stand. ...Until [[FallenHero Ardbert]], an AlternateSelf of the Warrior and a fragment of their soul, performs a HeroicSacrifice to merge with the Warrior, giving them the strength to not just contain the corrupted aether, but control it. Emet is ''absolutely shocked'', especially when he catches a glimpse of the person they used to be.
* DisappearsIntoLight: His body glows and breaks into [[FreezeFrameBonus seven]] fragments of light when he dies; notable because how he's the only Ascian to die this way. [[spoiler:This becomes relevant in Endwalker when you recall his soul from the Aetherial Sea to assist you near the end of the story]].
* DramaticIrony:
** [[spoiler: In ''Endwalker'', when you meet Emet-Selch in the past and reveal the truth of the future, he becomes very offended at the idea that he ever becomes a monomaniacal villain, saying he'd never go so far as to disrespect his loved ones by creating a phantom Amaurot with facsimiles within, let alone willingly invite his nemesis into his lair. Of course, he did in fact do all those things he said he'd never do, though he does admit he doesn't know what his future self had been through.]]
** [[spoiler: In addition, when he has his memory wiped and Hythlodeus suggests they'll learn the truth when they return to the aetheral sea, Emet-Selch dismisses his musing wholeheartedly, saying whatever revelations they had this day would not matter in the long run. In fact, ''everything'' he learnt that day was of extreme import, as they had in fact witnessed the birth of the creature that would eventually cause the calamity that would destroy the Ancient's civilization, and force Emet-Selch on his millennia-long vigil to restore his people. Had he remembered, he would have avoided many, many years of suffering for himself and his people. He himself points out the irony of asking the Warrior of Light to remember him, when ''all'' of his villainous deeds were the result of ''him'' forgetting about the Warrior of Light in the first place.]]
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Emet-Selch's actions show that the Ascians are not motivated by sheer malice or fanaticism, but out of love for their own people. Emet-Selch in particular seemed to have experienced love more readily than the other Ascians, fondly remembering his loved ones from Amaurot. He even truly loved his son of mortal origin, despite seeing them as woefully inadequate as an Ascian; his son's death is what finally made Emet lose hope in humanity. Hythlodaeus even calls him "a slave to sentiment", as shown by his decision to recreate Amaurot in the depths of the Tempest for no reason but nostalgia.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: After you absorb the light of the final Lightwarden, and it begins to transform you ''into'' a Lightwarden, Emet-Selch proclaims that your friends will turn against you and try to strike you down, as clearly you've become an enemy to them, and tells you to come to Amaurot where he will let you live with dignity til you inevitably transform. It doesn't seem to even occur to him that your friends will stick by you til the bitter end, indeed he believes that the fragmented "lesser" souls of mortals are incapable of true self sacrifice, and he sounds genuinely offended that you rejected his offer when you and your friends show up to stop him.
* EvilLearnsOfOutsideContext: As part of the [[AncientConspiracy Ascians]]' plan to rejoin TheMultiverse, they caused an apocalypse on a world called The First which then caused another apocalyptic event on The Source (the game's main setting). Centuries into the future, a group of survivors led by the Crystal Exarch figured out how to send [[LandmarkOfLore The Crystal Tower]] back in time to the First, and then summoned the PlayerCharacter and their allies to SaveBothWorlds. As the Ascian in charge of their plans on The First, Emet Selch was initially confused where this second Crystal Tower came from, but quickly pieced together the truth. However, though he knew ''what'' had been done, he still needed to know ''how'' it was done, and thus captures the Exarch at the end of the game planning to torture and experiment on him to learn the secrets of TimeTravel for the Ascians' own purposes.
-->'''Emet-Selch:''' The wisdom that man possesses may open up new worlds of possibilities. He has unlocked the secrets of travel across the rift -- and through time as well, it would seem. Quite an accomplishment for one of his [[FantasticRacism 'incomplete' nature]]. I must explore the limit of his capabilities, and harness that power for the Ardor.
* EvilPlan: His ultimate endgame, aside from reviving Zodiark and restoring Amaurot, was for the First to be brought to the tipping point of elemental imbalance toward Light. This would then cause the First's excessive Light to "seep" into the Source, empowering the Black Rose to the point where he could use it to effortlessly kill the Warrior of Light and the Scions and lay waste to Eorzea, which would in turn cause enough death and destruction to trigger a new Rejoining.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: When the final blow is dealt and its damage clearly fatal, Emet does not rage against the end. He simply asks that the Warrior of Light remembers the Ascians as they once lived. Once he knows that his people will be remembered he gives the Warrior of Light one final, sad smile before he disperses into aether.
* FantasticRacism:
** His inability to reconcile with the Scions on their points of view stems from this. He sees any of the races created after the world was shattered as 'lesser' due to them being far less powerful; as he explains it, Hydaelyn's powers essentially split people in half with the shards, dividing their aether and essence in half with it. Divide that by thirteen (as there are thirteen shards), and the races of the Source and the Shards are barely a shadow of what the Ascians were. To him, their condition is akin to a gross deformity or even being lobotomized, and it disgusts him.
** He absolutely ''despises'' Hydaelyn and her Light after what she did to his civilization. This hatred extends to anyone who has received the Blessing of Light, with him repeatedly calling the Warrior of Light a "monster" and an "abomination" throughout the final battle. A part of this hatred however, might also be due to the fact that the Warrior of Light is the source's reincarnation of one of his closest friends. To him, it probably is hell to find himself in that situation, with his friend on the other side of the balance, which makes him go full denial about it.
* FatalFlaw:
** His SuperSupremacist and FantasticRacism attitude, BlueAndOrangeMorality, and inability to let go from the past costs him dearly when after the Warrior fails to contain the Lightwardens' Light, and his SecretTestOfCharacter, he betrays everyone by kidnapping the Crystal Exarch so that he can make sure that the Warrior causes the Eighth Rejoining. When Ardbert and the Warrior [[FusionDance Rejoin before the final battle]], and Emet sees a vision of the Ascain the Warrior once was, Emet [[IRejectYourReality rejects the possibility that the Warrior is becoming the person they once were before the Sundering]]. After losing the fight, Emet, [[VillainousBreakdown in both rage and despair]], lunges towards the hero, only to be kept in place long enough by everyone else for the Warrior to condense the Light into an axe to slay the Ascian. In the end, [[GracefulLoser Emet accepts his defeat]], and merely [[LastRequest asks that they remember that the Ascians once lived]].
** ''Endwalker'' reveals another was [[spoiler:his sense of duty. Upon hearing of the future the Warrior came from, Emet furiously decries it as falsehood, not in the least because he would ''never'' squander his duty to his people. Thing is, future!Emet's actions weren't the result of him squandering his duty, but the result of him carrying it for '''12,000''' years. His inability to let go of the past or what he felt he owed his people prevented him from ever [[GoingNative accepting the new world]] or coming to terms with his grief, because he was constantly driven by the sense that he ''had'' to bring them back. [[MilesToGoBeforeISleep Doing his duty consigned him to eons of misery, loneliness, and atrocities]], which eventually wore him down so much [[DeathSeeker it's implied he just stopped caring if he died]].]]
* {{Foil}}:
** To the Crystal Exarch. Both are mysterious men with color schemes of predominantly black and red, with a little white. Both have ultimate goals revolving around the salvation of people important to them. Both are a long-lost friend of the Warrior of Light in some capacity. Both present themselves as your allies, but whereas the Exarch is secretive and hides his face, Emet is [[VillainsNeverLie straightforward]] and shows his. Both carry deep inner sorrow, but the Exarch deals with it by being quiet and withdrawn, while Emet is a SadClown. And finally, while both were watching to see how the Warrior would deal with the surplus of Light, the Exarch steps in to save them when they fail to contain it, while Emet grows bitter over their failure and becomes the FinalBoss.
** He is also one to Elidibus. Both are the final two unsundered Ascians left after the end of Heavensward. Emet-Selch is rather laid back and snarky most of the time while Elidibus is always very business-like and professional. [[spoiler:Emet-Selch was contemplating simply giving up the cause as pointless (as seen in the 7th Tale from the Shadows) while Elidibus is constantly determined to complete his task. Emet-Selch attempted to sway and bring the Warrior of Light to the Ascians' side (assuming they were physically capable of holding all of the First's light) while Elidibus deliberately avoids trying to find common ground with his enemy. Emet-Selch is burdened by the memories of everything he has lost, both as an Ancient of Aumarot and as Emperor Solus, the father whose son died of illness at an early age; Elidibus, due to his nature as a primal, has forgotten nearly everything from his past except for his duty. And finally, Emet-Selch dies gracefully, entrusting the memory of his people to the Warrior of Light while Elidibus dies crying in sadness as he remembers what exactly what he was fighting for in his final moments.]]
** Also to Venat/Hydaelyn, though Emet would probably hate to hear you say it. [[spoiler:Both were close associates with Azem/the Warrior of Light, Venat being their mentor and Emet being a [[TrueCompanions True Companion]]. Both were prodigiously powerful and well-respected Ancients, with Venat being TheAce and Emet being TheArchmage. Both love their people dearly and [[MilesToGoBeforeISleep undergo 12,000 years of extreme personal suffering for their sakes]]. Both were willing to make harsh sacrifices for the sake of those they loved, and both had even [[FutureMeScaresMe expressed aversion to hearing about those future actions]]. The major difference between them, and what sets them at odds, is what they view as the best course for those they love: Emet wants to sacrifice current inhabitants of the star to bring back the dead Ancients, while Venat feels that they must mourn those they lost while moving forward into the future.]]
* ForgottenFriendNewFoe: A lot of his bitterness towards the Warrior of Light comes from the fact that they are the reincarnation of one of his closest friends, [[spoiler:Azem]], adding a whole new layer to his attitude. [[spoiler:They were so close that Emet defied the ruling of the rest of the Convocation to {{unperson}} them and secretly made a memory stone for them after they defected, and now not only do they not remember him, not only are they sundered, they're on the other side. He goes full denial when he sees Azem's appearance take over the Warrior of Light's for a split second, unable to get over the fact that despite not being fully merged with their other shards yet, they ultimately are still the same person.]]
* FinalBoss: After being outed as the mastermind behind Vauthry's creation and his kidnapping the Crystal Exarch to ensure the Warrior's transformation into a Lightwarden fails, he invokes his true name of [[OneWingedAngel Hades]] to fight the party at the end of ''Shadowbringers''.
* FinalExamBoss: His Extreme version has him summon up the shades of previous Ascians that have been killed over the story as well as using their attacks. Nabriales' meteor drop, Lahabrea and Igeyorhm's fire and ice as well as fusing to Ascian Prime.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Quite a few that foreshadows Emet-Selch's big reveals of the game.
** In patch 4.4, Emet-Selch states "Ours is a struggle to restore both mankind and the world to their rightful state." He means his "struggle" against Hydaelyn to bring back the Ancient's Star and restore the fractured souls of those lost in the Sundering.
** When Alphinaud question's Emet's decision to team up with the Warrior and friends, Emet's response ends with [[WellIntentionedExtremist "You do not know our motive."]]
** During the same scene, he also says with "So come, shed your preconceptions. See beyond the scrupulous villains you take us for. When all is said and done, we may find ourselves pleasantly surprised," which foreshadows his reveal of the true nature of the world, the gods, and the Ascians, as well as his desire to legitimately turn over a new leaf should the Warrior of Light succeed in containing the Flood of Light.
** While in the Rak'tika Greatwood, he gives his sympathies over the apparent death of Y'shtola, saying "tis never easy to lose the ones we love", foreshadowing the reveal that he mourns the people lost during the Sundering.
** He's far more friendly toward the Warrior at first compared to the "tattered" other beings he looks down upon, reminiscing fondly about Amaurot and telling the Warrior that they'd like it. He then mutters that it's not like they would ''remember'' it, to the Warrior's confusion. These stray bits of dialogue foreshadow the Warrior's origins as the reincarnation of Azem, one of Emet-Selch's closest companions before the sundering.
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: During the final confrontation of ''Shadowbringers'', he rants at length about how all he wants is to restore his people's world and kingdom that Hydaelyn "robbed" them of and expose the hypocrisy of the Light to the Shards and the Source. As the Scions point out, while he has every right to be angry about his own losses, that doesn't give him the right to murder millions of people just to get his own back and even if those living within the Source and the Shards are "lesser", they still have a right to live.
* FutureMeScaresMe: [[spoiler: In ''Endwalker'', after the Warrior of Light tells him, Hythlodaeus and Venat everything about the Final Days and what follows, Emet-Selch takes particular exception to him being cast as a megalomaniac when dismissing their tale as fiction. In particular, he finds the concept of the phantom Amaurot to be a disgusting mockery of lives willingly given in honorable service of the star. Even after more or less agreeing that the Warrior came with a purpose, he continues to insist that he doesn't believe a word of their story right up to the point that he gets his memory wiped.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:G-O]]
* TheGhost: We at first only see the barest suggestion of their form and, when the idea of them is first introduced, no living man the story has seen or encountered them, on camera or off. At least, under this name. When he effectively "joins" you in ''Shadowbringers'', he drops the Solus alias and just goes by Emet-Selch.
* GivenNameReveal: Solus is an assumed name he used when he created the Garlean Empire. And Emet-Selch is the title of his position in the Ascians' ruling council. It's only right before your FinalBattle with him in ''Shadowbringers'' that he finally reveals his actual name is ''Hades'', the recurring most powerful dark magic user in the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series.
-->'''Emet-Selch:''' But come! Let us cast aside titles and pretense, and reveal our true faces to one another! '''I am Hades! He who shall awaken our brethen from their dark slumber!'''
* GoingNative:
** Defied. He tried to do so in the past. Emet did everything from making friends, getting lovers, having children, even choosing to die with the bodies he resided in. He bitterly responds to the Scions that despite it all he still found himself unable to accept the world as it currently is and found people to be grossly wanting. This presumably includes his own current grandson and great-grandson, who would definitely be... rather unimpressive, by his standards.
** ''Tales from the Shadows'' implies he was closer to going native than he admits. As Emperor Solus, he had to remind himself his grandson was just his ''body's'' grandson. He also shows a flicker of pride in his son... only to have it dashed when he dies young from an illness. His previous examples of FantasticRacism and claims that the current inhabitants are found wanting is a result of him trying to deal with the endless grief of an immortal being who lost mortal loved ones from going native and reconcile the multiple acts of genocide against mortals he has to commit to perform his duty and cause the rejoining.
* GoOutWithASmile: When he dies, he gives a genuine smile to the Warrior of Light, which has a lot of [[ForgottenFriendNewFoe implications]] [[{{Reincarnation}} between them]].
* GracefulLoser:
** [[VillainousBreakdown While the process of losing itself is not taken with grace]], once truly defeated he calmly accepts it and [[LastRequest simply requests]] [[FaceDeathWithDignity that you remember him, his city, and his people as he fades away]].
** He's such a good sport that [[spoiler:his spirit even helps the Warrior of Light defeat Elidibus later on, though Y'shtola speculates that it may have been as much for Elidibus's sake as the Warrior of Light, as the former at that point was little more than a primal stuck blindly carrying out an order for people he couldn't even remember anymore.]]
* GreaterScopeVillain: ''Fourfold'', having a hand in every conflict in the story since even before 1.0:
** Of the Garlean Empire and their efforts to sow unrest across The Source, given he is Solus zos Galvus.
** Of the Allagan Empire, as he confides to the Crystal Exarch in private, toward the same end as he founded the Garlean Empire: bringing about Calamities and causing Rejoinings.
** Of the Eulmore arc; it was he who proposed the idea of infusing the mayor's unborn child with the power of the sin eaters, creating the abomination that is Vauthry.
** Of the unsundered Ascians, he was the only one of sound mind: Lahabrea hopped bodies too often and Elidibus had lost most of his memories and identity. As soon as he is out of the picture, the original machinations of the Ascians begin to fall apart, with renegades like Fandaniel acting in open defiance of the still-present Elidibus.
* GrumpyBear: When he's not taunting others and rubbing their noses in his superiority, he's grumbling about how people ''won't leave him alone''.
* GuestStarPartyMember: [[spoiler:He, along with Venat and Hythlodaeus, can join the Warrior of Light as a Trust party member in Ktisis Hyperboreia, his job being listed as "The Third Seat" and functioning as either a Dark Knight or Black Mage.]]
* IHaveManyNames: "Emet-Selch" is just a title, and Solus zos Galvus was a pseudonym he used in the Source. As we learn at the end of ''Shadowbringers'', his true name is in fact [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Hades]].
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: After being defeated and returning to aetherial sea, he loses his traumatic VillainousBreakdown qualities, going so far as to carry out a BigDamnHeroes moment during the Warrior of Light's final confrontation with Elidibus. ''Endwalker'' reveals that he had already [[StableTimeLoop joined forces with the Warrior of Light in the past]], and has firmly been an ally upon regaining those memories after being defeated in ''Shadowbringers''. With help from Azem's summoning powers, he arrives with Hythlodaeus in Ultima Thule to [[BackupFromOtherworld rescue the Scions]] from their own individual HeroicSacrifice so they can face down [[BigBad Meteion]] in the FinalBattle to put a permanent end to the Final Days that destroyed the Ancients and triggered the entire Ascian conflict from the beginning.]]
* HiddenDepths:
** [[spoiler: Try as he might, there was more to suggest he cared about the unsundered races than he cared to admit. Before the final dungeon of ''Endwalker'' if you talk to Y'shtola, she muses that on Elpis, all of the Ancients regarded the Warrior as a mere familiar. By comparison, the shades in the phantom Amaurot regarded the Scions as Ancient children, leading Y'shtola to muse that, even if not just subconsciously, Emet-Selch knew his "not a person" schtick was bunk and acknowledged the sundered Spoken as real- if not naive and juvenile - people.]]
** [[spoiler: Before passing on to the lifestream once more, Emet-Selch lays out [[SequelHook multiple destinations the Warrior of Light could go to]] and recommends going and expanding their horizons as a bearer of Azem's crystal before adding "I certainly did", all but saying that while he carried Azem's crystal on his person, he spent at least some period of time living as Azem did; a world-wandering adventurer, learning what all wonders and secrets the world could hold, possibly even helping people as Azem would despite his belief the sundered races were "lesser".]]
* HoistByHisOwnPetard:
** Perhaps it wasn't the wisest idea for him to infuse the most powerful warrior on the entire star with the light from all five Lightwardens. Although, to his credit, he wasn't aware that Ardbert would be there to give the Warrior of Darkness a bit of extra help by combining their souls into one. In a dose of irony the merger even made the Warrior of Light strong enough to contain the light as Emet originally wanted, but at a point where they were decidedly set against one another allowing Warrior of Light to use the aether of the Lightwardens to forge the Blade of Light that kills him.
** There's also something to be said for him producing children as being a huge oversight on his part: his great-grandson Zenos becomes a SpannerInTheWorks in The Source and stops a Calamity by killing Varis, thereby ruining decades of plans from the Ascians towards the Rejoining.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters:
** He confesses if questioned after saving Y'shtola that all he does is plant the seeds for chaos to happen in most situations. Instead it is man who quickly begins to grow the seeds and harvest them to spread ruin. He merely watches as things tend to go as planned from afar.
** Part of his justification for the Ancients being superior to the modern races of the world is because they're not just biologically superior, but ''morally'' superior. He taunts the Scions asking if the inhabitants of the modern world would willingly sacrifice themselves to save half their people, as the Ascians did when summoning Zodiark. The Scions[[note]]notably the camera fixates on Alphinaud, arguably one of the most idealistic Scions, but one who has also experienced much betrayal and suffering at the hands of selfish people with no care for the greater good[[/note]] are silent, implying he may be right.
* HumbleHero: [[spoiler:In ''Endwalker'', Hythlodaeus reveals that Hades always came rushing to Azem's aid whenever the latter requested his help. Regardless of Hades' efforts in helping to change the lives of people around the world, he always considered his feats to be nothing remarkable. And yet, his constant acts of heroism for the people of the unsundered star alongside Azem led to him being overwhelmingly recommended for the seat of Emet-Selch after Hythlodaeus refused the position.]]
* InsultBackfire: After bemoaning the follies of men and their endless cycle of conflict, the Warrior can retort about how rich that is coming from one of greatest Bringers of Chaos stoking that conflict. Rather than take offense, Emet-Selch regards it as flattery and tells the Warrior to keep it coming.
* IRejectYourReality: After the Warrior and Ardbert rejoin as one, Emet-Selch sees a vision of the Amaurotine they used to be, Azem. Enraged that the reincarnation of one of his dearest friends would turn against him, he brushes aside that vision and prepares to do battle with the Warrior.
* IronicEcho:
** His mocking words that describe The First's despair at the sight of the Warrior of Light becoming the Prime Lightwarden of Norvrandt are repeated by the Crystal Exarch, described by the Future Source's despair as the Light-infused Black Rose causes the Eight Umbral Calamity.
--->'''Emet-Selch/Crystal Exarch:''' There is no hope. Our world is finished. ''Mankind'' is finished.
** [[spoiler:His mocking ReasonYouSuckSpeech to the Warrior before their final battle can be repeated by the ''Warrior themselves'' to give Elidibus a ReasonYouSuckSpeech just before their final battle.]]
--->'''Emet-Selch/Warrior:''' [[spoiler:You've no fight left to fight.]]
** Does this to ''himself'', unknowingly. Before his boss fight as Hades, he spits that the current inhabitants of the star cannot be entrusted with his people's legacy. [[spoiler:In Ktisis Hyperboreia, as the Warrior flees with Venat, Emet tells them not to squander the legacy he's entrusting to them. Adding to the irony, chronologically that occurred first, but due to the Warrior not traveling back in time yet and Emet's memory wipe, at the time of the fight neither of them was aware that he ''had already deemed'' the Warrior fit to carry his legacy.]]
* IronicName: Despite his title meaning "Your Truth/Your Reality", [[MeaningfulName while fitting for a "perfect being"]] and [[VillainsNeverLie never really lying]], as Amaurot shows, he's willing to reject several worlds right to exist for his to come back, refusing to believe that they should exist in the first place. Even more so when he rejects the sight of the Ancient the Warrior of Light once was, calling it "a trick of the light".
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler: Emet-Selch's final plea towards the Warrior of Light to remember their people's legacy is turned on its head when it is revealed that he is the one who has forgotten their first encounter thanks to being memory-wiped by Kairos. Emet-Selch being Emet-Selch, points out the irony as soon as he is summoned by the Warrior of Light to Ultima Thule, having his memory restored in the Underworld.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: [[spoiler:In Elpis, Hythlodeus recounts that Hades was not particularly liked amongst their people despite all his positive qualities due to his abrasive demeanor. However, with the help of more sociable comrades such as himself and Azem, others began to see Hades for the noble man he was and eventually led to him becoming a member of the Convocation.]]
* KilledOffForReal: A lot more of an important distinction from most, because most Ascians aren't "killed", per se, instead being drawn into a nearby aether battery and deconstructed into regular aether (see: Lahabrea and the Eyes of Nidhogg, several previous Ascians and White Auracite). Emet-Selch, however, is struck by such a massive concentration of Light that he ends up dying ''legitimately'', as he just can't keep going after having the entirety of all five Lightwardens flung straight into his chest. [[spoiler:This is important, as his whole, unsundered soul is out wandering the Lifestream, and answers the Warrior of Light's call for aid with Azem's crystal on two separate occasions.]]
* LastOfHisKind: Emet-Selch was the last true Ancient left among the Ascians, even among the Unsundered, emphasized further in ''Ere Our Curtain Falls'' where he laments that [[DeathOfPersonality the present Lahabrea and Elidibus are no longer who they once were.]] Lahabrea grew bolder and more zealous on ushering and prolonging the Umbral Calamities even when it ceased to serve their purposes. Elidibus, on the other hand, began to grow more and more autonomous due to his vanishing memories, indicated to have been worsened by the fact that he became a primal. Only Emet-Selch retained his sense of self, and even he was tempted to give in but refrained only from a sentiment of hope. Once he is defeated, Emet-Selch quietly accepts that there is no hope of restoring his people, in spite of Elidibus being still alive.
* LastRequest: After being defeated and fatally wounded, he asks the Warrior (who's a reincarnation of his close friend), to remember him, his city, and his people as he fades away. [[spoiler:Later patches show that honoring this request is ''much'' easier said than done, as the Warrior has never lived through the Sundering themselves, thus having an unintentional bias on that "memory", as Elidibus puts it; the fact that [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters the Source and Shards]] [[HistoryRepeats have never learned from]] ''[[HistoryRepeats their]]'' [[HistoryRepeats history]] also makes Elidibus doubt that they could even change, let alone uphold that promise.]]
* LaughablyEvil: He may be a SadClown, but he's still a ''clown''; his LargeHam mannerisms when under his StepfordSmiler facade are a joy to watch.
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFt8RnScxlc Bedlam's Brink]]
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In the lead up to the final battle with Emet-Selch, he tells the Warrior of Light that they should both cast aside titles and reveal their true selves to one another. At the start of the trial, Emet-Selch's name is listed as just "Hades" with no subtitle unlike every other boss in the expansion.
** [[spoiler:Before he returns to the Netherworld, he tries to cheer up the Warrior of Light by bringing up that they still have so much left to see and explore back on Etheirys, and encourages them to see it all for themself when it's all over. It's pretty much acknowledging the player's concerns about where the story might go from here now that the current MythArc is about to end.]]
* LemonyNarrator: [[spoiler: His narration for each new location introduced in Endwalker is generally snarkier than the ones from expansions before it.]]
* TheManBehindTheMan: The biggest example in the game. Allag, Garlemald, and Vauthry all owe their existence to Emet-Selch, who created them purely to be tools for advancing the Ascian agenda.
* MeaningfulName:
** His real name is Hades, the Greek god of the Underworld. As the "Through His Eyes" short story reveals, the Ancients actually called the Lifestream the Underworld, and Emet-Selch has always had a very close connection to it. This connection even allows him to locate souls and pull them out, as he does with Y'shtola. Emet-Selch also uses his powers to recreate a city of the dead, filled with shades of Amaurotians who perished in the Final Days, and the apocalypse that destroyed their world. During the fight against him, several times he calls out to the souls of the Ancients, even recreating shades of fallen Ascians.
** In the mythology of Ivalice, Emet-Selch was the Scion opposite to Zalera, the ''Death''-elemental Esper.
* MilesToGoBeforeISleep: Once the proverbial mask falls and the "real" Emet-Selch is revealed, he comes across as impossibly, unspeakably tired. It's all but stated that he's only half-heartedly going along with the plan of performing Rejoinings to summon Zodiark because he knows that Elidibus will never give up on it and he still cares enough about Elidibus to stick with him so that the latter will never be alone. Once he's struck down by the Warrior of Light, he seems almost happy to be put out of his immortal misery, especially after the Warrior of Light promises to remember the Ancients.
* MoreThanMindControl: He overtly states he is tempered by Zodiark and is well aware of the implications surrounding that, but to him it doesn't matter because summoning Zodiark and using his power to resurrect the Ancients is the only way he can see bringing them all back.
* MovingTheGoalposts: Due to his pride and refusal to acknowledge the living races as worthy of living, he gradually begins doing this later in the expansion. The Warrior of Light shows they don't have enough power to control the Lightwarden's Aether? Useless to him and he won't change his mind. Warrior of Light and friends show up and try to convince him otherwise? Test them again and then promptly say they failed anyway. The Warrior actually ''figures out'' how to contain the light by fusing with Ardbert thus proving to Emet-Selch that they were indeed Azem all along? [[IRejectYourReality That's just a trick of the light, nothing more.]] The story makes it clear this is partially because he doesn't want to acknowledge that the heroes have valid points, so he'd rather set goals and then deem them failures. It may also be that his tempering by Zodiark makes it impossible to see any worth in the sundered world, as that might lead hin to give up on Zodiark's goals.
* MrExposition: He reveals many hidden truths about the world over the course of ''Shadowbringers'', including the true nature of the Ascians, their relation to both Hydaelyn and Zodiark, and how the world was split into the Source and its thirteen Shards.
* MultiArmedAndDangerous: In his OneWingedAngel form, his skinny, long, pale arms are supplemented by two MASSIVE clawed arms around his shoulders.
* MyGreatestFailure: Hythlodaeus reveals he blames himself for failing the Ascians when they needed him. Despite how he might present himself, his guilt at failing all those who died only continues to weigh heavy on him, and with each passing century the burden he carries only grows as he tries to save them.
* MysticalWhiteHair: In "Through His Eyes", his original body as an Amaurotine is mentioned to have white locks of hair. He's also renowned as TheArchmage and possessed the ability to see souls to a level rivaled by few and only surpassed by his friend Hythlodaeus.
* MythologyGag: If his Solus Zos Galvus persona calls to mind [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV Ardyn Izunia]], then his Emet-Selch persona references Garland from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX''. [[spoiler:Like Garland, Emet-Selch's primary goal is the revival of his advanced yet long extinct race, at the cost of the currently living species that inhabit the the Source and it's reflections. Both their plans rely on the merging of worlds, rely on pawns they create to get their plans moving, both turn out to be the man behind the man of the supposed antagonist that they have a familial connection to, (Varis for Emet-Selch, Kuja for Garland), and have a connection to the main hero that goes before the events of the game. The Warrior of Light is the reincarnation of Emet-Selch's close friend, while Zidane is Garland's perfected angel of death. Both their endgames rely on the hero's soul to some extent, (Emet-Selch hoped that the Lightwarden's corruption would break the Warrior of Light's soul to bring about a rejoining, while Garland rips out Zidane's soul in an attempt at forcing obedience.) Lastly their plans are ultimately ruined by another villain they assumed they had under control. (Emet-Selch's posthumous plans for black rose and thus the rejoining is ruined by Zenos overthrowing Varis, while Terra along with its inhabitant's souls are destroyed by Kuja in addition to Kuja killing Garland himself.]]
* NameToRunAwayFromReallyFast: His real name is ''Hades'', for crying out loud.
* {{Necromancer}}: Hades calls forth the souls of deceased Ascians for aid, even merging them in the second half of the battle with his own as they unite to battle the Warrior of Light. The Minstrel’s Ballad: Hades’ Elegy takes this up a notch, with him summoning shades of Nabriales, Lahabrea, Igeyhorm and an Ascian Prime during the fight.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Following the VillainousBreakdown below if one highlights the tooltip granted the player it reveals that you're ''using the very light threatening to consume you to empower yourself enough to finish Emet-Selch.'' By orchestrating Norvrandt to be flooded by light ever since the original flood ended and allowing you to absorb said light for his own plans, the single most powerful Ascian ever faced has unwittingly given the Warrior of Light a Blade of Light powerful enough to destroy him, even without his soul being entrapped in auracite.
* NotAfraidToDie: Despite all of his planning and willingness to fight to the end, Emet-Selch was prepared for either eventuality that he would either; win or die against the Warrior of Light. [[spoiler:He gave his convocation crystals which allowed him to raise up other Ascians to the shade of Htyhlodaeus, in the hopes that it would reach the Warrior of Light in the event of his death. ''Tales of Shadow'' showed that he was already on the verge of giving up on the entire plan, if it weren't for Elidibus' determination and the fact he would be alone if he did truly give up. Notably he was resting in oblivion after his body's death and only woke when Lahabrea was killed off. And finally, he left behind Azem's crystal, which allowed the Warrior of Light to properly use their power of Azem to gather allies, including the shade of Emet-Selch himself if s/he needed his assistance.]]
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: In his first meeting with the Scions, he plays himself off as not being particularly strong, implying that he might be concerned about facing Thancred in a one on one fight and noting that since Lahabrea was slain by the Warrior of Light, he likely wouldn't be able to do much better. This is completely an act. He is a powerful enough wizard that he is able to casually defeat all of the Scions single handedly without even drawing upon his full strength, and it takes the Warrior of Light empowered by Ardbert's soul PLUS 7 other Warriors of Light from other shards, AND all of the Light Aether the Warrior of Light had accumulated across the First to finally bring Emet-Selch down.
* OddFriendship: Hades' closest friends before the star was sundered were Hythlodaeus and Azem, both of whom were far more outgoing, eccentric, and liable to bend if not break the rules if given the chance. He complains about Azem in particular, as Azem's tendency to openly defy the Convocation chiseled wrinkles into Hades' forehead. Despite this, the narration of the sidestories in "Tales from the Shadows" [[spoiler:as well as when the Warrior meets him in Elpis]] show that he enjoys their company and has a hard time saying no to them.
* OneWingedAngel: In addition to the form he takes when he invokes his true name of Hades, he has a further one where he completely casts off his body, combines his essence with the lost souls of his Ascian brethren, and becomes a monstrosity littered with Ascian masks over its body. Taken UpToEleven in Hades's Elegy where instead of casting Dark Cauldron, he fuses with all of the Ascian souls to become even bigger, using only Dark Current, Gigantomany and Quadstrike to destroy you above the sky of the dying Star.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:P-X]]
* PhysicalGod: He's more powerful than any being the Warrior has faced up to that point, requiring the combined might of the Scions, the Warrior of Light and seven other heroes from other shards, and the entirety of the Flood of Light concentrated into a single attack to be put down. Even Calamity-causing dreadwyrms like Bahamut and Shinryu were felled by the Warrior and a handful of their adventurer companions rather than an apocalyptic amount of power. As per Emet-Selch's own words, had he simply brought his full strength to bear from the start, the Scions would have been utterly crushed.
* PosthumousNarration: [[spoiler:The ''Endwalker'' trailers are narrated by him, despite the fact you killed him in ''Shadowbringers'' and all that remains of him is his shade.]]
* ReunionVow: [[spoiler:In ''Endwalker'', when his and Hythlodaeus's real farewell time finally come, Hythlodaeus tells the Warrior of Light that he will pray so that they, himself and Emet-Selch reunite in their future lives, to be together again, just at they wished in the past. Emet-Selch, as a fine tsundere, first denies the claim, but the look and smile he gives to the Warrior of Light makes clear that he is not against the three of them reuniting in their next lives.]]
* RootingForTheEmpire: Inverted in-universe. Emet-Selch genuinely hoped that the Warrior of Light would be able to contain the power of all five Lightwardens within them, as it would have, to him at least, meant that the people of the thirteen shards may actually be worthy to carry on the legacy of the Ascians after all. It was a test that was ultimately failed.
-->'''Emet-Selch:''' What a disappointment you turned out to be. I placed my faith in you. Let myself believe that you could contain the Light. But look at you now, halfway to becoming a monster. You are unworthy of my patronage.\\
[...]\\
'''Alphinaud:''' What was your true purpose in approaching us?\\
'''Emet-Selch:''' By your Twelve, boy, have I not told you before that everything I said was the truth? You were specimens by which I might gauge man's potential as it stands. I genuinely had an interest in you. Genuinely considered taking you on as allies. Provided ''he/she'' could contain and control the Light. If not ''he/she''--and by extension you--would be no use to me. 'Twas as simple as that.
* SadClown: One would be forgiven for initially thinking that Emet-Selch is having the time of his life, enjoying every second of plunging the Source and the other worlds into chaos. However, it becomes apparent later on that his cheerful and mocking attitude is merely a mask that conceals a crushingly tired and guilt-ridden man. Even sadder is that it is implied this persona was based off of his colleague Hythlodaeus, who had a rather jovial disposition with a tendency to tease others, whereas Hades was originally much more melancholy in comparison.
* {{Schemer}}: Emet-Selch's role is [[TheChessmaster to conspire, plot and scheme new ways to ensure Calamities.]] It's even lampshaded in one scene:
-->'''Y'shtola:''' You're plotting something.\\
'''Emet-Selch:''' Every hour of every day. But never you mind about that.
* TheScrooge: [[spoiler:When the Warrior visits the unsundered past in ''Endwalker'', Emet-Selch lends the Warrior some of his aether to render the Warrior tangible and intelligible. When Hythlodaeus later asks if Emet-Selch could lend some more, Emet-Selch refuses to waste anymore of his own aether. Hythlodaeus then jokingly complains that Emet-Selch scrimps and saves his aether so much that you'd think Emet-Selch ''didn't'' have a nigh-bottomless well of it at his disposal.]]
* SecretTestOfCharacter: His interest in cooperating with the Warrior of Light stems from their ability to contain the Lightwardens' aether without transforming. This is implied to be a feat that an "unbroken" being from the old world would be able to do with ease, and if the Warrior can rise to the challenge, Emet-Selch is willing to abandon the Rejoining and accept that the Source and the Thirteen have the potential to attain the old world's glory. Unfortunately, the Warrior fails, and Emet wastes no time resuming hostilities. Ironically, when the Warrior and Ardbert [[FusionDance Rejoin]] to contain the light before the final fight, the Warrior had essentially "passed" Emet's test, but by then, the line was already drawn in the sand, and the ensuring fight ends with Emet getting blown though by the concentrated Light from the Flood.
* ShadowArchetype: To the Warrior of Light. Like them, Emet-Selch carries the expectations of an entire people on his shoulders and fights to save his loved ones and world. Like Emet, the Warrior of Light carries their share of trauma, pent-up anger, and guilt for what they've experienced and done, as the Dark Knight questlines reveal. Emet is basically them after ''eons upon eons'' of fighting. It's quite telling that the Warrior of Light's creed, "For those we have lost. For those we can yet save" can apply equally well to Emet-Selch.
* SignatureMove: He has two of these in the final boss fight:
** In his first form he has "Ancient Dark IV", a powerful blast of dark magic charged up by the fervor of the Shadows of the Ancients.
** In his second form he has "The Dark Devours", repeated blasts of dark magic which he uses in an attempt to snuff out the player’s light. Once the light has been smothered he’ll begin casting his true signature move, "Black Cauldron", which is an instant kill if allowed to go off.
* SlouchOfVillainy: He has a very distinctive posture and walk, condescending and eccentric but later described as "as if he has the weight of the world on his shoulders".
* SourSupporter: [[spoiler:When you go back in time to Elpis, the first thing you'd notice about Emet is that he complains about everything. ''Everything.'' To the point where you may wonder why he still has friends. But according to Hythlodaeus, Emet never refuses an opportunity to help his friends or to aid people in need, and as a result of that, he is deeply respected the world over.]]
* StraightMan: The short stories reveal that Emet-Selch used to consider himself to be one to his more zany fellow Amaurotians. To the trollish Hythlodaeus to the painfully earnest Eldibus, alongside the recklessly adventurous Azem, Emet-Selch considered himself to be sanest of the bunch but it is made clear that he still loved all of them dearly.
* SuperSupremacist: He refuses to accept the current races of the worlds as worthy stewards of the Ascians' legacy, believing them to be not even a fraction as strong or noble as the Ascians. Considering the Asicans were capable of creating ''anything'' out of thin air using only a sliver of their aether in the same way the current races must use a veritable reservoir to summon a Primal, and over 80% of them willingly sacrificed themselves in three different events for the sake of the world, he has a point. Of course, as with any supremacist, it comes with him treating the non-Ascian races as dirt, at best only useful to help further his own plans. Best shown when in "Hades's Elegy", upon achieving his final form:
-->'''Emet-Selch:''' ''We'' are the blessed. ''We are the chosen!''
* SuperweaponSurprise: During his first meeting with the Scions, Emet-Selch says that he is talking with them instead of attacking them because he knows how strong the Warrior of Light is, and he's certain that if he came after them, he'd end up dead just like Lahabrea. This is a complete and total lie, he is much more powerful than all of them and casually wipes the floor with the rest of the Scions without breaking a sweat. It takes the combined power of the Warrior of Light freshly fused with Ardbert (something that Emet-Selch couldn't have seen coming), seven other heroes from other shards summoned by G'raha Tia, and the combined efforts of the rest of the Scions to stun Emet-Selch with the white Auracite for him to finally be taken down with a Blade of Light made from the Flood that threatened to consume the First.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: As Hades, he serves this as a Primal for the Ancients, in a vein similar to Louisoix becoming Phoenix, due to him being "raised up by the souls of [his] fallen brethren," even fusing with all of them in the extreme version of his trial. [[spoiler:Ironically enough, the Ascians ''do'' have a Primal in the form of Elidibus, who instead takes the form of the original Warrior of Light.]]
* SympathyForTheHero: When the Warrior of Light seemingly starts transforming into a Sin Eater, Emet-Selch expresses genuine pity at their situation, and offer them to come to his hideout, the Tempest, so that they can complete their painful transformation in peace and dignity. He then tells them that he will "see them off", which takes a new meaning in light of the 4th "Tales from the Shadows", as Emet-Selch is able to see the souls of the dead departing and traveling, seemingly offering to guide them, in a way, when their time comes. Which makes his true name of Hades make more sense. The fact that the Warrior of Light's original self was a very close friend of his probably has a lot to do with it.
* TeleportSpam: [[spoiler:As a Trust party member, he and Hythlodaeus don't bother to run out of the way off large AOE attacks, simply teleporting to a safe spot as necessary.]]
* ThanatosGambit: Emet-Selch, [[XanatosSpeedChess for good reason]], believed he wouldn't be beaten. This did not stop him leaving one last scheme behind. [[spoiler:Fortunately for everyone, it's a benevolent scheme: Emet passed on the memory crystals of the Convocation of the Fourteen to the shade of Hythlodeus so that they would reach the Warrior of Light, along with imparting some helpful magic in Azem's crystal specifically. Emet knew the Warrior of Light's next opponent would be Elidibus, and so gave them the tools to end Elidibus' tragic crusade.]]
* ThisCannotBe: He has that reaction when a glimpse of the Warrior of Light's original self appears instead of their current appearance to him. He immediately goes in denial about it, unable to face the fact that the person in front of him is so much like their original self despite not being "complete".
* TimeAbyss: Emet-Selch claims that he has lived a "thousand thousand of (the player character's) lives", and it likely is not a hyperbole. He states that he does not like to think about how much time has passed since the days of Amaurot, and considers a century in the rift to be enough for a good nap.
* TorsoWithAView: The Warrior finishes him off by concentrating the entire Flood of Light into an axe made in the shape of Ardbert's Bravura before thrusting it through him. When he returns to his Garlean form, a hole has been sheared straight through him with the axe resting on the ground behind him.
* TragicKeepsake: [[spoiler:Azem's memory crystal. Normally someone who left the Convocation of the Fourteen would not have a memory crystal made, but Emet-Selch made one in secret for his dear friend. He makes sure it finds its way back to its owner (the Warrior of Light, a fragment of Azem) after his defeat.]]
* TragicVillain: Emet-Selch is ultimately a man who survived the complete destruction of his home and race, emerged into a world that had forgotten all about them, and just ''could not'' adjust to his new reality no matter how he tried. ...So he decided to try and bring back the old, at the expense of everyone else.
* TraumaCongaLine: Despite how he looks and acts, his life has not been an easy one.
** First his world faced the apocalypse, and he had to watch half the surviving population sacrifice themselves, twice, to save it by summoning Zodiark and then fix the damage. Then a group of dissidents created Hydaelyn to keep Zodiark in check and protect the new life from being sacrificed...except in doing so, Hydaelyn shattered everything into 14 shards that [[BlueAndOrangeMorality Emet considers barely alive]]. This put him at the DespairEventHorizon, yet he spent literal eons working away tirelessly to save their world, only to accidentally turn the 13th Shard into the Void.
** He tried to adjust to his new reality, doing everything he could from getting friends, having a family, fighting alongside mankind, and even letting himself die in his bodies, but was continuously disgusted by the new worlds for their ignorance, weakness and wanting, as well how his people were labeled as monsters and [[{{Unperson}} erased from history]]. Then, as Solus zos Galvus, he had one son who actually gave him hope for humanity... [[YankTheDogsChain before dying young]], enforcing his belief that HumansAreFlawed and everything must be restored to the way they were before. Then when he "died" and entered "retirement", his grandson would do everything in his power [[{{Unperson}} to erase him from history]], starting with his love of theater. And because of Lahabrea's failures with the Ultima Weapon and The Warring Triad, he is then forced out of his "retirement", but his plans for the Eighth Umbral Calamity are immediately foiled by the Warrior being summoned to the First.
** Emet gets [[HopeSpot one last glimmer of hope]] by the fact that the Warrior is a reincarnation of one of his closest friends who, if capable of containing the Flood of Light, can prove that there is hope for mankind. [[YankTheDogsChain They fail]], so Emet kidnaps the Exarch to force the Warrior to become a Lightwarden, which fails as well when Ardbert sacrifices himself to allow the Warrior to contain the Light. This gives Emet a glimpse of his old friend, [[IRejectYourReality but he rejects it]], and they battle, during which he [[VillainousBreakdown snaps hard]] and is ultimately run through with a Blade of Light. In the end, the only ray of hope is that Emet [[LastRequest asks them to remember the Ancients]], which they agree to, [[GoOutWithASmile and he accepts his death with peace.]] In short: the only happy parts of his eons-long life were before the Final Days, and the very end.
* TrueCompanions: He used to be this with [[spoiler:Azem and Hythlodaeus. As Endwalker reveals, despite not wanting to believe what the Warrior of Light told him about the future, he was still on his way to become this with the Warrior themselves, Azem's current incarnation, until he and Hythlodaeus' memories got erased. The way the three interact when they finally reunite in present time indicates this bond still survived, despite its complexity and Azem being reincarnated into the Warrior. This culminates in a ReunionVow between the three, as Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus leave to be reincarnated.]]
* {{Tsundere}}: [[spoiler:Very much. ''Tales From the Shadows'' and Elpis show that he was prone to griping about his TrueCompanions, particularly Azem's, antics and scolding them for [[BunnyEarsLawyer their blithe]] [[TheGadfly mannerisms]]. However, he cared for them deeply and never failed to rush to Azem's aid if s/he needed him. It's perhaps best shown during his, Hythlodaeus, and the Warrior of Light's (Azem's reincarnation) ReunionVow: Emet scoffs that he's not looking forward to it, then gives the Warrior a sincere smile.]]
* TwoAliasesOneCharacter: ''Shadowbringers'' reveals that the LargeHam, newly revived [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIVGarleanEmpire Solus zos Galvus]] and the mysterious Emet-Selch are one and the same.
* UnreliableNarrator: While his love for his people and anguish over their fates are very much real, ''Endwalker'' retroactively reveals [[spoiler:he was wearing ''quite'' a pair of rose-colored glasses about them: the Ancients, while not evil, were quite apathetic to the value of an individual's life, intolerant of flaws, and [[NotSoAboveItAll did not always use their creation magicks responsibly]]. They certainly ''would'' and ''did'' sacrifice themselves for the greater good, but they were no wiser or more perfect than the current inhabitants of the star. It's implied Emet was subconsciously aware of this but [[IveComeTooFar had been laboring too long and was too enslaved to duty]] to give up his course.]]
* VillainsNeverLie: He doesn't lie, unlike most others including his fellow Ascians. It fits his title of [[MeaningfulName Emet-Selch, the Angel of Truth]]. However, it doesn't stop him from skewing the truth at times, for omitting certain context. That and his own bias pertaining to Hydaelyn. When he betrays everyone and Alphinaud asks [[WasItAllALie what was Emet's true purpose in approaching them]], Emet is legitimately offended.
-->'''Emet-Selch:''' [[ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne By your Twelve, boy, have I not told you that everything I said was the truth?]] [[VillainTakesAnInterest You were specimens by which I would gauge man's potential as it stands.]] [[SincerityMode I genuinely had an interest in you. Genuinely considered taking you on as allies.]] [[SecretTestOfCharacter Provide that]] ''[[SecretTestOfCharacter he/she]]'' [[SecretTestOfCharacter could contain the light.]] If not then he/she -- and by extension you -- would be of no use to me. [[BrutalHonesty 'Twas as simple as that.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: His starts right before his boss fight and extends all the way until his [[GracefulLoser final defeat]]. When the Warrior of Darkness gets a HeroicSecondWind thanks to Ardbert [[HeroicSacrifice Rejoining]] his fragment to the Warrior's original soul, Emet is shocked. Then he briefly sees the image of the Ancient that the Warrior used to be, goes into denial, and becomes ''absolutely furious'' when the Crystal Exarch summons backup from other worlds.
--> '''Ardbert, speaking through the Warrior of Darkness:''' [[BadassBoast This world is not yours to end.]] [[DeclarationOfProtection This our future. Our story.]]\\
'''Emet-Selch:''' ''[briefly sees the Ancient the Warrior once was]'' No... It can't be...[[IRejectYourReality Bah, a trick of the light.]] [[SuperSupremacist You are a broken husk, nothing more.]] [[EvilGloating How can you hope to stand against me alone?]]\\
'''Crystal Exarch:''' [[BigDamnHeroes We stand together!]]\\
'''Emet-Selch:''' [[DidntSeeThatComing How did─!?]] ...I'm surprised you can stand at all.\\
'''Crystal Exarch:''' I could not well leave matters half-finished. [[CallBack Let expanse contract, eon become instant!]] [[TheCavalry Champions from beyond the rift, heed my call!]]\\
'''Emet-Selch:''' Damn you! ''Damn you all!''
* VillainSong: "Who Brings Shadow", a reprise of "Shadowbringers", which in the context of your fight with Emet-Selch becomes a LightIsNotGood RageAgainstTheHeavens against both ''[[WhatTheHellHero Hydaelyn and the Warrior of Light]]'' for constantly fighting against his and the other Ascians' attempts to, [[HeroOfAnotherStory from their point of view, make the world and everyone in it whole again]], while also lamenting how the two of you aren't so different, how WeUsedToBeFriends, and the fact the Ascians still [[YouCantGoHomeAgain can't go home again]].
* VillainTakesAnInterest: He became interested in all the Scions and sought to make them genuine allies if they agreed to his alliance. Unfortunately The Warrior of Light failed his SecretTestOfCharacter by being unable to sustain the combined Light of the Lightwardens within, dashing his hopes and him expressing disappointment as a result.
* VillainousRescue: [[spoiler:His soul saves the party from Elidibus. Y'shtola speculates that he did this because he could no longer bear to see his old friend, the last of the unsundered, champion the cause alone.]]
* VitriolicBestBuds: In ''Tales from the Shadows'', he constantly complains about, insults, and snaps at Hythlodaeus, who he privately calls a close friend. Hythlodaeus isn't fazed one bit by it. The tales from the shadows also implies his friendship with Azem was akin this.
* WalkingSpoiler: His very existence would have redacted his entire folder. Even in his first appearance at the end of ''Stormblood'' he drops one of the biggest lore bombs in the story, and continues to do so throughout all of ''Shadowbringers'', revealing a lot of the world's biggest mysteries.
* WesternZodiac: His title as the opposite the the Death-elemental esper Zalera from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has him represent Gemini.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: {{Discussed}}: Because the races of the Source and its reflections have but a fraction of aether and lifespan as the Ascians, Emet-Selch considers them less than living beings. As he sees it, he wouldn't be committing murder if he killed one of them, because he hardly considers them to be ''alive'' at all.
-->'''Emet-Selch''': [[LampshadeHanging But yes, moral relativism and all that]]. Case in point - I do not consider you to be truly alive. Ergo, [[BlueAndOrangeMorality I will not be guilty of murder if I kill you.]]
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: As an Ancient, Hades was originally a rather lethargic and surly individual who misliked being bothered and preferred being left to his own devices. Upon being left as one of the three last beings of his kind, he could have easily given in to his nature and given up on restoring his people without any consequence, but instead Emet-Selch decided to bear the brunt of the burden, working tirelessly in search of ways to bring about the Rejoining.
* WhamLine:
** [[VillainRevealsTheSecret He reveals some major truths]] in ''Shadowbringers'', and delivers one of the biggest twists in the story in regards to Hydaelyn and Zodiark, a bombshell that changes the scope of the entire story and casts the player's role and relation to it in a very different light.
--->'''Emet-Selch''': They are gods after a fashion, yes. The eldest and most powerful... '''of primals'''.
** Another one is during his talk alone with the Exarch, and blatantly admits to having a hand in Allag's rise.
--->'''Emet-Selch''': [[AbusivePrecursors The once great nation]] whose ingenuity gave birth to this tower [[ManBehindTheMan was shaped by my hands]]. As such I know full well the wonders it can facilitate... [[BeyondTheImpossible and those it cannot.]]
* WhamShot: [[spoiler:The Amaurotine shade who saves the PC from Elidibus is revealed to be none other than Emet, when he departs the battle with his trademark flamboyant waving gesture.]]
* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Downplayed, he has a streak of white hair on an otherwise head of black hair. The ''Tales From The Shadows'' story "Through His Eyes" describe his hair before the fall of Amaurot as fully silver-colored, though at that point he was by no means evil.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: He just wants to save his world and reclaim the future that was stolen from his race. Too bad that means slaughtering untold millions and millions more to do so.
-->'''Emet-Selch''': "I will bring back our brethren. Our friends. Our loved ones. The world belongs to us, and us alone."
* WrittenByTheWinners: He views the Ascians as victims of this. All they want is to restore the world to its original state and bring back everyone they lost, but the champions of Hydaelyn have thwarted them time after time and demonized them as {{Card Carrying Villain}}s who want to destroy the world for kicks. When you confront him before the final boss fight, he makes it clear that he intends to return the favor:
-->'''Emet-Selch:''' The victor shall write the tale, and the vanquished become its villain!
* XanatosSpeedChess: He shows quite the aptitude for it in ''Shadowbringers''. The Warrior of Light ruins his plans for the First just by showing up? He recognizes the futility of fighting them and, recognizing the soul of his old friend in them, offers himself as an ally. The Exarch tries to save them when they fail to contain the Light? Emet shoots him, leaving the Warrior with the inevitable fate of becoming a Lightwarden who will help carry out the First's Rejoining, and kidnaps the Exarch to gain his knowledge for use in future Rejoinings. The Warrior shows up in Amaurot with allies instead of alone as he requested? Alright, time to get his hands dirty.
[[/folder]]
