Extinction only existed due to IW one upping 3arch to compete in Zombies, but can you imagine they actually brought the Cryptids back in the Aether and Dark Aether story so that these aliens wouldn’t be forgotten?
I had this idea for the Dark Aether story, where they became Dark Aether residents after Tag Der Toten’s ending when Sam & Eddie entered the new world, resulting things being merged and creating new species, thus, the creation of the Cryptids (which would ultimately retcon Ghosts’ story), and would result them inhabiting their corrupted existence, but ultimately trying to be out of the Dark Aether to lurk into.
Think of this for the Dark Aether story where the Russians not only discovered Die Maschine and the undead, but also the Cryptids living in the Dark Aether as inhabitants and residents and wanting to use them as a weaponization for experimentations.
Both Zombies and Cryptids working together (which IW Zombies did in Beast Beyond) would’ve been hella cooler and seeing the Cryptids back, since these guys are just in the dust…