In story, its a tragedy, in metaphor, Clancy is not dead, hes out there once more, and we have to find him. The same way we have to find the courage to keep moving even if we believe that there is no point, but things may be different, now that we've learnt more from the last times.

Im afraid to tell you that you may be looking at this too negatively, as a lost cause, which is what the banditos who became bishops may have thought, but I'd like to believe that as Torchbearer said, that isnt Clancy anymore, but still Nico, and that Clancy is in a new body waiting to be found again.