Lashiec...is he really dead?

Those of you who have played PSIV would know when you defeat Lashiec he says that he will reincarnate to serve him (Darkforce) over and over. But Darkforce serves the profound darkness. The profound darkness is defeated and many presume darkforce to be destroyed to. Do yous think that Lashiec would be dead as well? In PSIII which takes the same AW timeline as PSIV Darkforce is still alive even after Profound Darkness would have been destroyed in PSIV. So do you think Lashiec would be too? Just a curiosity I had.

Interesting point. My understanding is that the Profound Darkness spawns “Dark Force” entities, which can exist independently. With the destruction of the Profound Darkness, no further “Dark Force” entities will be created, but existing manifestations of “Dark Force” will continue to survive until independently defeated. Hence, if a “Dark Force” entity managed to smuggle on board the ship in PS3, it would remain in hibernation and resurface after 1,000 years to create havoc, in spite of the demise of the Profound Darkness from which it was originally derived.

(A game-based analogy would be the wretched Igglanova, which keeps spawning those little monsters – I believe they’re called Xanafalgue. Even after you kill the Boss, any surviving progeny have to be defeated independently!)

With regard to Lassic, the pivotal question is whether he reincarnated of his own accord, for revenge, or was reanimated by the Profound Darkness as one of its undead minions.

As he goes down, Lassic’s own words are: “I must work for Him! As long as He exists, I will continue to bring calamity to the future of Algo!”

Rune Walsh later muses: “If you think about it, he's pretty pathetic. He was seduced by an enormous power... and now he is but a puppet.”

Both these comments suggest that Lassic is now largely under the control of the Profound Darkness. Following its destruction, Lassic would presumably be liberated from its control, and may finally find peace. One possible parallel might be Bram Stoker’s Dracula, who assumes a look of peace once he has been released from his undead status.

I suppose Lassic might subsequently choose, entirely of his own volition, to reincarnate for personal revenge, but he would have to do so without the might of the Profound Darkness behind him. IMHO this scenario is possible but unlikely, since (by his own admission), the need to serve the Profound Darkness was the driving force behind Lassic’s resurrection. I'm curious to know everyone else's take on this.

Oh, and apologies for using the PS1 variation of "Lassic" rather than Lashiec

I think it's possible that he could return, but unlikely. I see Lashiec as more of a servant of Dark Force than the Profound Darkness. For example, Lashiec says in PSIV that he'd been waiting in his castle for a thousand years. I take that to mean he was revived during or shortly after PSII. Since the Profound Darkness didn't have access to Algo at that time, he must have been brought back by Dark Force. He may ultimately serve the Profound Darkness by being a slave of Dark Force, but his direct contact seems to be limited to Dark Force.

Since there's still at least one Dark Force out there roaming the universe, it could return to Algo and revive Lashiec. I doubt it would bother, though. Lashiec failed to stop Protectors twice, so he has been pretty ineffectual when it comes down to the wire.

I see what your saying Srijita. I'm satisfied with what you have explained too.
and hay no problem about the whole Lassic thing.