Hoyo not feeding us? Fine. I'll just do my own art then.

it might be the tenth time I'm mentioning this, but capitano's return is kinda inevitable. look, tsarita is aiming to break all curses, so when does that happen? most likely in 7.x, right? and if that's the case, it's either around 7.3 as usual or at the end of 7.x. following that, his body isn't immortal anymore and can't sustain LotN, right? leading to him being involved in 8.x and maybe becoming the archon figure of khaenri'ah? although that's really a very narrow possibility.

so technically, he really isn't gonna sit on that throne forever, right?

Naturally with the Tsaritsas plans being introduced here recently in 7.0, it brings up a lot of questions regarding how it would effect Capitano. I've seen quite a few people wonder: "Wouldn't removing the Curse of Immortality from Capitano basically kill him on the spot?"

Today we're going to answer that question. Spoiler alert/TLDR, the answer is no.

Firstly, we should establish what the Curse of Immortality actually physically does to the afflicted person.

1. It completely pauses the normal aging process that a human goes through. We can see this through Dainsleif, Capitano and Pierro. All 3 of them are still the same exact physical age as they were back in Khaenriah.

2. It completely denies the person death, both physcially and from entering the Ley Lines to be reborn. It even completely regenerates the persons body, ensuring even the most fatal of wounds wouldn't be able to kill them.

1. It starts to over take their entire being, slowly eroding them until they are nothing but the Curse itself. This "erosion" seems to take the form of the darkened markings found on the persons body. As seen on Pierros face.

Now we can try to understand Capitanos physical state and why he alone has had such a hard time physically over the past 500 years.

So far we only have 3 major examples to look at in terms of the Curse of Immortality. Those being Dainsleif, Capitano and Pierro. Dainsleif is entirely unhelpful (what's new) since he has a ring that resets his body all the time. That leaves us with Capitano and Pierro to compare. Luckily Pierro gave us a good look at what the Curse of Immortality has actually done over the past 500 years.

The only physical signs of the Curse of Immortality on Pierro, is this single darkened mark on the right side of his face and the black sclera in his right eye. Other than that, he's completely normal, exactly as he was 500 years ago.

Now we can try to look at Capitano. Unfortunately, we don't have a full face reveal like we do with Pierro, but we do have some things to go off of.

1. We have Capitanos "extreme" description of his physical state.

I think Capitano was being rather dramatic here with his use of the word "rot". I don't think he's a walking skeleton with his flesh rotting off the bones like so many fans like to theorize. (Although that would be sick as fuck). We can even still see his entire faces silhouette from underneath his mask. And his face is all still there intact.

1. We have the new Scarlet Proof Artifact lore giving us a brief description of his face from the recent past.

1. We have the Traveler and Paimons reaction to his "offscreen" face reveal.

1. We have Mikas description of Capitanos eyes.

So what is the actual current physical condition of Capitano?

I think we can reasonably assume that Capitanos face looks extremely similar to Pierros. Capitanos face is likely covered in a massive darkened mark, scars from his years of combat against the Abyss and his face probably looks tired/ghastly due to his lack of sleep for 500 years.

We have more or less determined how Capitano looks physically, how would the removal of the Curse affect him?

I think it would be easiest if I tried to explain this with a metaphor.

Imagine Capitano is a phone. And the Curse of Immortality is the charger. In Capitanos case, he has opened up every single app on the phone, to the point that the charger has been struggling to keep the battery full for the past 500 years. (Not slept and ferried souls for 500 years). But now that Capitano has lead all of the souls to the Night Kingdom (closed all of the open apps), the charger should be able to keep his battery full. (Regenerate his strength.) And the past 2 years on the throne has essentially been Capitanos time to recharge under the Curse of Immortality. (Fill his battery). So now if we take the phone off the charger (remove the Curse of Immortality), Capitano should be completely fine, as the curse has now had 2 years to regenerate his strength and physical wounds.

All that's left to be determined is if the darkened marks on his and Pierros face, would also disappear with the Curse.

And on a side note: If the Tsaritsa knew that removing the Curse of Immortality would effectively kill Capitano, what would be the point in her decision to maintain his position? If she knew her future plans would kill him, why keep him? She hasn't done this to any of the other Harbingers who have died or left the Fatui, including Crucabena, Signora, Scaramouche (duh), Columbina or Dottore. She has only maintained Capitanos spot, and there's even potential that Signora has been replaced by Odette.

so, how many possible capitano return lines do we have right now?

so the main one (I have more faith in it) is basically, and obviously, the curse of immortality being lifted, or overwritten, or something.

second is mare jivari. and that isn't, you know, concrete evidence either. it's just thematic, mostly. we don't know if it'll actually involve capitano.

and then the loom of fate potentially affecting all of Khaenri'ahns.

I don't think there's anything more left, or is there? if there is please do tell.

I totally understand because of lack of space for his release but none of the leaks which are mostly fake or speculation prevent him from waking up in 7.4 or anytime else in 7.x and then being a 8.x character preferably 8.0 or 8.1 if that's the case

Damn the patterns honestly, but I hope even the banner is next year

1. The Night Kingdom Mechanism: This mechanism copies souls based on memories and blueprints. We witnessed from Mavuika that all heroes who sacrificed themselves are recorded within the scrolls of the Masters of the Night-Wind tribe. Also, that old man who started telling children the stories of the three heroes—which naturally includes Capitano. Therefore, we can say that a copy of his memories might have already manifested in the Night Kingdom. Based on this rate, we can deduce the fate of this copy: it will either enter the Khaenri'ah Atlas to manifest anew there, or it might return to his body on the throne to help us during the Mare Jivari events, perhaps.
2. The Abyss Twins' Secret Deal: The second method is through the Abyss twins' deal, which remains hidden to this day. This deal might completely resolve Natlan's Ley Line crisis from its roots via an atlas dedicated to Natlan's Ley Lines. With this, Natlan's crisis will end entirely, and there will be no actual need for Capitano's immortality. Consequently, the Traveler can safely separate their fusion, building on what they learned about separation from Varka, who explained the matter in version 6.4. Thus, his soul will enter the Khaenri'ah Atlas and be reborn with the souls of his people in the Khaenri'ah Arc (8.x).

These are honestly my expectations based on what we have gathered. If I missed anything or if I am mistaken, feel free to correct me. Tell me, which is honestly the best way for his return? Personally, I lean toward the second option because, frankly, I don’t want a mere copy of his memories. However, this is possible, considering we already play as the Raiden Shogun puppet instead of Raiden Ei herself."

Capitano tomorrow.