Here's something interesting from a translation of DotF's Episode Ardyn section:
The Beyond, a space connected by the Crystal, where none could ever cross over in the flesh. Two thousand years ago, when Ardyn’s soul had been rejected by the Crystal, in that instant, it had been imprisoned in the other world.
Before, he had thought his immortality the Scourge’s doing. But in truth, that he could not die was because his soul was not on this side, but in the Beyond.
[...]
Once Ardyn’s existence was extinguished to the last, Noctis would be extinguished as well. The death of the True King, the last Lucian monarch. In exchange, the Crystal that had absorbed all daemonkind would shatter, and the world would be cleansed…
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source]
This is one of those things that makes DotF's questionable relationship with canon frustrating. Because the lore details offered here... actually seem more consistent with canon than with DotF itself?
The most important implications seem to be as follows:
- The Beyond isn't so much a physical space inside the Crystal as it is a preexisting non-physical space connected to the physical realm by the Crystal.
- The assumption made amongst the English-speaking audience that Bahamut's claim, of Ardyn, that "One so impure of body and soul was deemed unworthy of the Crystal’s Light, and forbidden to ascend" meant that Ardyn's soul could not be allowed to pass on to the afterlife was... actually pretty close to the truth. Ardyn is immortal because his soul is trapped, not because he's a daemon (which makes a lot of sense, since daemons are, as a rule, not immortal).
- Using the power of Providence shatters the Crystal. This is consistent with the animation shown after Noct is slain on the throne, but never specifically clarified in the game itself.
- By imprisoning Ardyn's soul in the Beyond, the Crystal that connects the physical realm to the Beyond is able to absorb all of daemonkind... and, because of this, shattering the Crystal becomes a means to cleanse the world of the Scourge.
With regards to #1, this is a pretty blatant connection between FFXV and FNC, since the connection between the Seen and Unseen Realms are of utmost importance in the FNC mythos.
With regards to #2, the existence of this particular bit of lore in the final game's lore bible would certainly explain why the EN localization team felt comfortable using much more ambiguous language than the JP writers did -- they actually were intending to imply something more complex than Ardyn simply being unable to become King.
With regards to #3, the consistency with the animation could also suggest that we're dealing with restored lore from the final game's lore bible rather than new lore designed for Dawn of the Future.
And, with regards to #4, the mechanism by which the world is cleansed basically brings everything together in canon... including most of Episode Ardyn. Ardyn wasn't given his powers to heal people of the Scourge; they were always meant to make him a conduit for the Scourge and thereby draw it off into the Crystal where it could be destroyed all at once. Even Ardyn being intentionally freed from Angelgard shortly before the plan bore fruit makes sense under this paradigm -- by tying all of the world's Scourge to himself in his attempt to seek revenge, Ardyn unknowingly facilitates the Scourge's destruction.
The strange thing, though, is that the Ardyn-as-Scourge-conduit paradigm doesn't actually leave a lot of room for Ardyn's behavior in the alternate route to ruin Bahamut's plan. If he absorbs the Scourge, he pulls it into the Crystal, which
should be the absolute best way to ensure the Scourge's destruction... so DotF!Bahamut wanting him to spread the Scourge rather than absorbing it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Even spreading the Scourge shouldn't really ruin the plan, though, because Ardyn spreading the Scourge appears to tie the Scourge to himself sufficiently to ensure its destruction when the Crystal is shattered.
Anyway, I think this particular bit of lore might be the missing piece needed to understand the logic of the ending of FFXV proper, which is... odd, but I'll take it. XD;
