So with everything that's happened in the aftermath of the Aoi War: there's something that I've been thinking about how it's going to be involved moving forward: Etherion.

When Room 3173 was first brought up, Witch said it needed the authentication of all 4 Shining Stars to open it. Since this was Ziggys ship and he built the Stars himself, I always read "authentication" to be based around their Ether Powers: you would need the Ether signiture of all four to open the door, which is why Homura, having Valkyries power was a perfect fit.

Now though; I'm not so sure. I sincerely doubt Etherion is never going to be brought up again, but whoever takes over as Shield has to somehow replace Witch not only in her role as protector of the ship, but her role as one of the four keys to Room 3173, which as far as we can tell was something that she didn't pass on.

What do you guys think is going to happen?

Also fwiw: while there's been a lot of talk about who is likely to replace Witch as the new Shield of Edens: if it is the case that the Ether Gear doesn't need to match: I personally hope it will be Laguna. To me: that just makes the most sense as he was by far the most indebted to Witch out of the crew, and his Water power: while not as versitile is the closest match to Witchs' Element Ether.

On the other hand: theres also the possibility that they will actually need to find someone else with Element Ether to function in Witchs' stead. Which is something I wouldn't be opposed to if I'm honest. The potential for character interactions with someone literally forced to step up to fill Witch's place would be kinda insane to see.