Alternative scenario regarding One Ring's destruction

[Farael]

Originally Posted by Boromir88

This is actually a fault caused by the movies, they all weren't "Kings of Men." After they received their Rings:

So after they got the nine they became kings, sorcerers, and warriors. Before, the most we are told were that 3 were Lords of Numenor:

Touche, I won't lie and I must say I had the movies in mind when I wrote that, but the first time I read LoTR I thought they had all been fallen kings (somehow related to the spirits in the Barrow-Downs) While that last assumption has sort of gone away, I still think of them as kings and the movies reinforce my mistake =P

Now, back in topic, what I think that happened was that the power of the nine rings (and Sauron by association and thus The One by association through Sauron... if that makes any sense) was what kept the Nazghul "alive" (or perhaps "undead"). After that power was removed their souls had no longer anything to bind them to Middle Earth. Their bodies were long gone and there was nothing else holding them back, so they were able to go. Also, as they had once been men, their fate was that of men, so they would escape beyond the circles of Arda. What would happen then only Eru knows, but as far as we know, it's not that they could have been rejected from that destiny(unlike Saruman, for example, who is rejected from Valinor)