^^^thats what I was thinking. I can’t imagine anyone would put a post there if it wasn’t necessary.

I would ask a contractor that understands structural engineering to visit your space and let you know what can be done easily.

If you are talking about removing the half wall only, there is electrical that has to be rerouted and possibly flooring that may not be continued under the wall. Drywall and baseboards around the post would have to be repaired after the wall is gone.

The soffit may not be empty. Electrical may have to be rerouted. There may be ductwork or plumbing in the soffit, possibly even a beam. If the soffit is empty, there needs to be enough room in the ceiling above for your lighting boxes. Joists, beams, ductwork, plumbing, electrical can all get in the way. That being said, I have had empty soffits that were just put in place for decoration or supporting kitchen cabinets from above.

If you are talking about removing the wall behind the sink, that probably has all those things in it, plus venting for sink drain. And it could be load bearing.

FYI waterfall counters are IMO only right in very contemporary spaces and without pics of the spaces yu are dealing with we have no idea.Usually when there is a post in a space it is holding something up so you need IMO a structural engineer to both check out what the post is doing and suggest what can be done to remove it. The soffit you need to know what is in there often electrical or plumbing runs in there . I see a ton of clutter in the kitchen so not contemporay clean space right now for sure .Post more pics here in comments DO NOT start another post.

Don't make any decisions until you take out one of the lights and look inside the bulkhead. I suspect it covers something and the column supports something.

There is no duct work in our house as we have daikin units . Our house isn’t very contemporary however we are hoping to go for a more “ modern vintage style.

None of those ideas are any good. Learn to first do no harm. Having a waterfall will not make that kitchen modern. It will just look like an embarrassingly expensive carbuncle. Like a crop top on your grandmother.