Possible Spoilers - Maybe not - I don't know
Hey, so i joined this chat, because I constructed a theory, and I'm by no means master of the lore, so I could be wrong... But is it possible that Xal'atath is Azeroth, separated and is but the void or husk left behind? I was watching a Bellular video and he said that the titans imprisoned her, but it was actually the old gods and then I went down this rabbit hole that i can't get out of. Xal'atath taunts the titan security system by saying "you know what I am." Magni communes with the worldsoul of Azeroth in Cata and is turned to Diamond, in that same expansion the Dark Phoenix mount is introduced (it's a theory, but it could be a hint) - my theory is Azeroth, the titan was ripped in half, one half lies dormant at the core, with the husk being Xal who was imprisoned later by the old gods. So azeroth isn't an unborn titan but rather a titan that lives similar to how a phoenix does - live, die, rebirth - anyways, completely theory and there's probably something I'm missing or a hole in there some where, but I thought it was interesting.
Points of interest:
-She wants to merge with the world-soul, not corrupt it. Coverage of Patch 12.2 says that unlike other forces, she isn't trying to turn the world-soul to the Void. She wants to become one with it, which fits someone trying to become whole again. -"You know what I am." In the Eclipse cinematic she says this to the titan security guarding the core, as if they recognize her or have met her before.
-"The Worldsoul, so long denied me, shall be mine." The word "denied" suggests something withheld from her rather than something she simply wants to take.
-The titans hid the core away. The Mantle Vault is described as a cavern the titans hid hundreds of millions of years ago, which you can read as a protective vault or a prison cell.
-Azeroth reacts with "Radiant Screams." As Xal'atath tries to merge with the world-soul, Azeroth's "Radiant Screams" trigger events across the Mantle Vault. "Radiant" is Light language, which fits the idea that Azeroth holds the Light half. -The patch is called "Eclipse." An eclipse is literally light and darkness overlapping and joining.
-Both are "she." Magni, the Speaker for Azeroth, refers to the world-soul as "she," matching Xal'atath. Maybe this is simply meant like she as in my car is a she.
-Lore precedent for a split being. The naaru M'uru, a being of pure Light, fell and became Entropius, a Void being. Light and Void have already been shown to be two states of the same entity.
-Titans aren't purely good. Sargeras, a titan, fell and turned on the Pantheon, and the Pantheon's plan was to recruit Azeroth into their ranks. That leaves room for them to have split or caged her.
-Midnight keeps showing Light with Void inside it. The Sunwell was corrupted into the Darkwell, and the Ashes of Belo'ren mount is a phoenix from Al'ar's line touched by the Void.
-She fought the Old Gods. She betrayed and attacked the Old Gods, the parasites infesting Azeroth. That fits someone defending something that belongs to her. -The Dark Phoenix mount's flavor text. It says dark phoenixes have a kind and cheerful disposition despite their name. This is thematic, not evidence, since the mount predates Xal'atath.
If there are any loremasters in here, give me a shout. I could be way off on this, just thought it was an interesting theory and there's an itch in my brain with this I just can't seem to scratch.
It's just fan art by Aredheel... but man, that itch just gets worse.
https://www.reddit.com/r/wow/comments/hqoh0j/titan_azeroth_by_aredheel_art/
edit: apparently this was discussed before, had no idea, but everyone seems to think not.
https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/could-xalatath-be-azeroth/1943516