Will (Final Fantasy XVI)

Will , also known adjacently as the bonds of consciousness , is Ultima's term for sapience in Final Fantasy XVI that separates his species, as well as humans, from other lifeforms, such as animals. Will is similar to the real world concept of free will, characterized by the being's ability to have a sense of self and freedom of thought, which allows them to strive for true liberty. Ultima considers it mankind's greatest sin and a violation toward his collective.
In gameplay, the term "Will" is used for stagger mechanics. Bosses and formidable foes (even when nonhuman) have "will gauges", which, when depleted, staggers the enemy for a set amount of time, making them unable to retaliate and more susceptible to receiving damage. Clive's abilities deal both normal damage as well as "will damage", determining how good they are at chipping away at the enemy's will gauge.
Ultima considers his free will a signifier of their race's superiority while having a nihilistic view on human will, seeing it as an anomaly that ought to be purged. He considers lifeforms' "will free" forms as "divine": the Akashic. To sever the bonds of consciousness that strengthen mankind's will, including Clive Rosfield's, he casts Primogenesis, transforming much of humanity into his mindless servants and hoping to loosen Clive's resolve.
When Clive confronts the Ultima collective aboard Origin, he argues that Ultima and mankind are the same in having freedom of thought and sapience, but that humankind supersedes Ultima's race for their ability to bond and work together. Though Clive faces Ultima alone, he is bolstered by the faith his friends have in him and the connections he has made throughout his journey. Ultima is unable to take over Clive's body as a vessel as Clive's will is too strong for Ultima to purge, though Ultima declares that breaking Clive is his will. Though Clive was to be Ultima's vessel as "Mythos", Ultima instead dubs him "Logos", a Mythos soiled by free will. In the battle of wills, Clive yet emerges the champion and Ultima's race ends with him spitefully claiming that humanity will never flourish without their gods' guidance.
==Behind the scenes==
Ultima considering mankind developing a will of their own a sin may hearken to the concept of original sin, the Christian doctrine that holds that humans inherit a tainted nature and are in need of regeneration due to fall of man when a serpent tempted Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, resulting in mankind's expulsion from paradise. In an inversion of this belief, the Gnostic religion held that a savior had told Adam and Eve that eating the fruit was the way into salvation, allowing them to attain gnosis (Greek noun for knowledge, with implication in Gnosticism that gnosis is insight into humanity's real nature as divine).
Final Fantasy XVI has many Gnostic themes in that it depicts the demiurge (lesser deity who created and continues to maintain the material universe) as an adversary to the actual Supreme Being and in extension mankind who promises a false paradise, and Clive positing that mankind and Ultima are essentially beings on the same level of existence (their difference being that mankind is inherently cooperative).
==Citations==
category:Final Fantasy XVI