Maehiro Kazutoyo wrote the original story and screenplay in Japanese (cited in the credits of FF16 and FF16 Ultimania), so I want to share some of the nuances of the Japanese version to an English speaking audience. Key differences in bold.
Joshua's dialogue in Japanese reveals that, "over half my body is petrified" :((((((
Joshua's explanation of the relationship between Ultima and Clive is very different between Japanese and English. Maehiro Kazutoyo wrote the original story and screenplay in Japanese (cited in the credits of FF16 and FF16 Ultimania), so I want to share some of the nuances of the Japanese version to an English speaking audience. Key differences in bold.
JP->EN
Joshua
すべてを焼き尽くす イフリートの火…
すべてを再生する フェニックスの火…
それを併せ持つのがアルテマだと思っていた…
でも…そうじゃない…
分かったんだ…
なぜ 奴が兄さんを器にできないか…
The fires of Ifrit, which consume everything…
The fires of Phoenix, which restore life to everything...
I thought that with these two things, it would be Ultima…
But that’s not it…I know now…
Why he(Ultima) can’t use you as a vessel
Clive
もういい!しゃべるな!
That’s enough! Stop talking!
Joshua
聞くんだ クライブ
アルテマは神として…自ら作り出した人々の…信仰を集めた…
つまり…奴は願望の受け皿…人の想いを託された者だ…
Listen to me, Clive
As a god, Ultima gathered faith from the people he created…
That is to say…he is the recipient of wishes…of people’s thoughts…the being that people entrusted their thoughts/wishes to…
Clive
まさか…!
(surprise)
Joshua
そうさ…奴の中には数多の思念が渦巻いている…
強固な自我を…つくり上げるまでに…
まったく とんだ皮肉さ…
あんなに人の自我を否定しておいて
僕たちと同じなんだから…
そして…兄さんも多くの想いを託されてる…
“人が人として生きられる場所”をつくりたいというシドや仲間たちの想い…
少しでも多くの人を救いたいという ロズフィールド一族の想い…
兄さんをそばで守りたいという ジルの想い…
その想いが…強いほど...
託された者の自我も強くなる…
兄さんとアルテマは…互いに強固な自我を持つがゆえに…決して溶け合うことができないんだ..!
だから兄さんに…僕の想いも託すよ…
この力で…奴を超えて…!
兄さんなら きっと奴を倒せる…!
That’s right… there are many thoughts/wishes swirling inside him(Ultima)...until a strong Ego is built up…
What terrible irony…To deny people’s Ego to that extent…He is the same as us…
And…brother, you have also been entrusted with so many thoughts.
The thoughts of Cid and his friends, of wanting to create “a place where people can live as human beings…”
The thoughts of the Rosfield family, of wanting to save as many people as possible…
The thoughts of Jill, of wanting to protect you at your side…
These thoughts…the stronger they are…
The stronger the person they are entrusted to becomes…
Brother and Ultima…you both have strong Egos…
Therefore, you can never melt together…!
So for that reason…I will also entrust my thoughts to you…
With this power…you will surpass him…!
If it’s you, brother, you can definitely defeat him…!
*想い - a concept that encompasses many meanings: thoughts, wishes, desires, feelings, even love and affection
EN->JP
Joshua
The one possessed of the destructive flames of Ifrit…
And the healing flames of the Phoenix…
This I once believed would be Ultima’s true form.
But I was wrong.
I see it now…
Why you will never become Ultima’s vessel…
イフリットの破壊の炎...
そして フェニックスの癒しの炎...
これがアルテマの本当の姿だと思っていた。
でも、間違えた。
今分かってる…
なぜ兄さんはアルテマの器になれないのか...
Clive
I don’t care! Just hold on!
構わん!しっかりして!
Joshua
Listen to me, Clive.
You remember the murals? People once knew that Ultima was their god…That he created them…
And they worshiped him. Prayed to him. Looked to him for guidance.
In vain.
In vain…for he did not listen. Did not acknowledge our will. And so we strayed from his path to forge one of our own.
So absorbed was he in his own desires–
So driven by his own will alone–that he shunned the one thing that could have made him truly powerful.
Faith. The same faith people now place in you.
Faith that you will fulfill their dream, Cid’s dream, of creating a better world for us.
Faith that you will follow in Father’s footsteps, and save those who need saving most.
Faith that you will answer Jill’s plea…to save yourself.
The difference is, Clive, that you chose to listen. And that is what has steeled our bonds.
Bonds that helped you stand firm when Ultima’s pull was at its strongest.