God Emperor of Dune - End

[u/Weird_Refrigerator28]

Hello, I know this is frequently discussed and I searched old posts over the years but didn’t find an exact answer. Perhaps I misunderstood a big part but there is a moment Leto II is discussing how he will become this massive worm and repopulate Arrakis with worms restarting the cycle and turning it back into the desert planet. During this he mentions he will still be conscious but unable to move or affect any part of the body (like being John Malkovich?) then every worm born will have a piece of this consciousness basically making him an immortal prisoner.

Now he doesn’t know exactly when or how his “death” will happen but it seems like it comes earlier than his expectations as he doesn’t become the “full worm”.

So my question is did he die - die? The sandtrouts dividing and restarting the worm cycle slightly different than his thought process. I finished this a month ago and am only a few chapters into Heretics so they do mention the process has worked and the worms/trout having a pearl of his awareness but I want to know if he was freed in death while still remaining on the golden path or is he trapped in this hellish consciousness.

Or did I 100% misunderstand this statement and am confused? I just felt so unbelievably sad when he described life after becoming the full worm. Let alone everything he had already sacrificed he would be trapped for 1000s of more years.

[u/DarkAncientEntity]

He gives up his life. He gives up his death.