Chapter 8
Sephiroth blinked and turned over to his side. The incessant beeping was annoying, and he sat up. He looked around and pulled his clothes until he found his watch. He pressed a button, and it fell silent. He blinked, and the green number glowed 6 am on his watch. He fell back against the sleeping bag with a thump and rubbed his forehead. They had moved to the tent after several hours of repeated lovemaking the night before and fell asleep in blissful exhaustion. He turned over and pulled Cloud close to him and allowed his eyes close, falling back to sleep.
Beep-beep-beep!
He gritted his teeth, wondering why the watch was going off again. Didn't he turn it off a moment ago? He brought it to his face and blearily looked at it. His eyes widened, realizing two hours had passed. He nudged Cloud gently, "Wake up. We need to get up."
Cloud mumbled from deep in the cover. "It's not morning yet. It's still dark."
He chuckled, "Sorry, love. It is morning, 8 am to be precise. We got to get moving on."
"Oh." She emerged from the bag, her hair appearing more like a rat nest. She rubbed her head and turned her still closed eyes to him. "Mm, where are we going?"
Amused by her antics. "Kings' Tomb and Summon?" He asked as he pulled the sleeping bag open and stood up, stretching. He turned to her, and she opened her eyes, unfortunately right at the level where his crotch is. She blinked and shot her head up, blushing. He laughed and held out his hand. She grasped his hand, and he pulled her up. "A quick dip should get us awake and energized." He grabbed her bridal style and went to the river, stepping into the liquid. They hummed as they felt their sleepiness and exhaustion fade away as the silky water washes over them.
They emerged from the ether river and dressed in a fresh set of clothes and packed their camp. Cloud went to the river and dipped three bottles of ethers and placed them in her bag. He handed her an energy bar and a cup of hot coffee with sugar and milk, the way she liked it. He took his black and strong. They started to hike, eating their breakfast and missing the place they left behind already.
"We're getting close," Cloud said as she felt the summon calling get stronger.
They had stopped for lunch several hours ago and assumed they had traveled a total of thirty miles so far. They agreed to camp out in the tomb once they find it. They were beginning to miss the open sky and the warm sun. The deeper they went into the crater, the cavern grew colder, and there was ice sheet covering the illuminating walls like glass.
Cloud shivered and pulled her jacket tighter. Sephiroth ducked under a low ceiling of icicles and slipped down a sheet of ice. He grunted as he landed on the bottom. She peered over the ice, seeing he had gone down the slope sheet and fell right before the familiar door. "There it is." She said as she climbed and slid down the ice like it was a slide and came to a stop by his side. He helped her up.
They turned to the door and saw a similar design on the face. A circle in the center had nine spokes. However, the missing talk was in a different place on the ring.
Sephiroth took out a knife and slit a small cut on his finger. He drew the blood on the space, creating the tenth spoke. The door cracked and creaked, moving to the side, revealing the tomb within.
Cloud smiled as they entered, approaching the statue in the middle. It was a different man this time. Sephiroth glanced up at it. This man had medium length hair tied back with a ribbon and similar crown on his head. Instead of a robe, he had an elaborate tunic and thick belt. He looked muscular. He had palindromes on his shoulders, and there was intricate design along the edge of the armor.
"The second king, the king of strength." She said softly.
He asked, "The one before this one?"
"The first king, son of Meteor. He greeted death and welcomed him. He was the second king, he greeted Titan and took his strength."
Sephiroth turned to the statue. "So, Titan is the summon you will take from this one?"
"Yes."
He reached out and touched the statue. It glowed, and the palindromes disappeared. He felt the weight settle on his shoulders, and he looked to find them on his shoulders.
She smiled at him and said, "It's a good look on you. It's very becoming."
He chuckled and closed his eyes, thinking them away. He felt the weights fade and opened his eyes to find them gone. But he could sense them in his mind.
She turned and reached up to the pendant around the king's neck. The orb emerged, and she took it, bringing it to her chest and it disappeared into her. She opened her eyes, they glowed white, and the ground shook.
Sephiroth ducked as the pieces of ceiling tumbled down. A corporeal form of a man appeared before them, kneeling and its size nearly taking the entire tomb. He swallowed as the corporeal form faded, becoming a mist and went right into Cloud. He turned to see her eyes return to their lovely shade of blues.
"Titan." He said with a hint of amazement, and she nodded, grinning.
"His strength is amazing." She told him. "He will be very formidable."
"I bet." He said as he slid the backpack off his back and knelt to unpack few things. Cloud followed suit with her pack. They had everything set up for the night, deciding against using the tent in the tomb.
"If this is the tomb, where would their bodies be buried?" He asked as he held her close, looking up at the statue. They were huddled in the sleeping bag together to stay warm. It was freezing in the tomb, and their breath crystallized in the air.
She turned her head from his chest. "They are not buried. The tombs were erected to preserve the memories of them and to hold the legacies." She shifted her head up to meet his eyes, "Traditionally, they burned on the pyre."
He hummed and said, "The more you tell me about the Kings of Old, the more I am disgusted by the ShinRa for hiding the history and removing it from the land. I never knew any of these. Jenova and Hojo were careful in selecting what I should learn. There were times that I asked Angeal, my servant, questions that he could not answer. He died when I got a bit older." He frowned. "I am not sure how he died. He disappeared one day, and Jenova told me he passed away and I did not need a servant anymore."
Cloud frowned, "Sound like a horrible woman."
"She wasn't a great mother figure either." He squeezed her, "Let's get some sleep. We've got a long way out."
She snuggled close to him, grasping his hand. "Good night, I love you."
He remained awake for a little while longer, mulling over the thought of his ancestors before sleep took him.
"Oh!" Cloud shielded her eyes as they came out of the cavern. They had found a different path from the tomb, and it took them less time to find the exit of the cave, coming out at the base of the glassy spiral monument.
Sephiroth squinted his eyes as he scanned the crater around them. "At least we're out." He gestured to the rim of the crater that rose thousands of feet high above them. "We got a heck of a climb." He pulled a rope out of his pack and started to tie them around his waist and turned to her, wrapping the other end of the rope around her waist. "Just in case." He pulled it taught and tested the strength of his knots. He pulled out gloves and a pick-ax from her pack and handed them to her. He did the same for his and pulled the gloves on. "We're going have to be careful. Follow my every move."
She beamed at him. "Silly, I am from Niflheim. I go ice climbing from time to time. Can't be much of a difference."
He shrugged, returning the smile. "Less cold, less slippery, but dangerous all the same." He nudged her cheek with his fist affectionately. "Come on." They started to trek toward the north part of the crater and climbed the rocky face of the bowl.
"Oh!" Cloud muttered as the rock gave away under her foot halfway up the cliff. She held onto her pick-ax and struggled to find a foothold.
He looked over his shoulder and waited, feeling the tug on his waist. "You all right there?" He asked.
"A moment." She called back and swung slightly and stretched, landing her foot on another rock and held on, panting. "Rock gave away." She said and then continued to climb.
They managed to reach the rim after three grueling hours of climbing. Sephiroth helped Cloud up before they collapsed on the ground at the top, panting and covered in dirt and sweat.
"I miss the ether waterfall. It sounds so refreshing at the moment." She muttered, lying down akimbo.
He wiped his mouth after drinking from his canteen and handed it to her. "I'm not going back down there anytime soon. We need to get to Kalm Town."
"How far is it?" She asked as she sat up and drank from the canteen.
He pulled out a map and a GPS Cid had given him. "Kalm Town is twelve miles from here. We should be able to get there by sundown, granted if we don't run into any Wutaians."
She stood up and stretched. "Then we should get a move on." She helped him up, and they continued their trek, heading northwest across the grassy field.
An airship appeared over their heads, and they hurried to hide in a small wood ahead of them. But as they reached the tree line, the warriors dropped down on them and closed in. Sephiroth grabbed Cloud and moved her to stand behind him. He could see they were more experienced warriors by their uniform design and knew they would have a challenge on their hands. He commanded for Masamune to appear. He felt the weight of the palindromes on his shoulders, and the sword in his hand appear. He felt at ease with them on, as if he was born into them. He fought off few of them but more kept dropping down on them from the airship.
Cloud kept behind him, feeling a panic rise. Her eyes darted to find a suitable spot to hide, but they surrounded them. They were closing in, and she could see Sephiroth struggling. Suddenly, her eyes went white, and she felt the corporeal form burst from her like an explosion. She gasped and watched as the summon swirled in the sky above and became a form of a giant man with muscles. He roared, shaking the ground.
Sephiroth and the warriors he was battling paused, turning their heads to see the titanic summon loom over them, casting an enormous shadow. His roar was thunderous. The warriors yelled in their native language, and he could catch few of them to be expletives.
The titan swept his hand across the ground, knocking the warriors aside. Another swing hit the airship out of the sky, sending it to the ground in a fiery crash.
Sephiroth took the opportunity and grabbed Cloud's hand and ran into the forest. They could hear the scream of the warriors and the roar of the titan. They kept running until they couldn't and stopped. They doubled over, panting.
Sephiroth looked up, realizing everything was silent. Not a birdsong in the tree. He murmured, "shit, that was tremendous."
Cloud gasped as she felt the corporeal form return to her invisibly. "It's over. Titan just returned to me now." She held a hand to her heart, feeling the rapid staccato of her heartbeats.
"You all right?" He asked as he found a log to sit and pulled a canteen out. She nodded and sat next to him, doing the same thing. "How the hell did that happen? I thought you could control them?"
She shook her head. "I can control them if I need them. But they can come out on their own if I am in danger. I guess it sensed the danger and came out on its own."
"Well, that's good to know." He said and closed his canteen, having drained the last of the water from it. He turned his head and chuckled. "We're almost to Kalm Town."
"Oh, good. A bed sounds very nice right now." She said as she stood up and stretched. Her legs burned in protest. "And a hot shower."
"Let's check it out. Hopefully, there are no Wutaians there." He said as he stood and they walked through the dark wood.
Aerith placed the book she was reading down in her lap and asked, "Why are you not telling him about the general yet?"
Zack turned his head from his place on the couch. He had been lounging on it lazily and counted the tiny cracks in the ceiling. He shrugged, "I don't know. It just felt like the right thing to do." He turned back to counting the crack and realized he had to start over again and cursed inwardly.
"It had been, what? Three weeks?" Aerith asked as she stood up and went over to Zack. "We're locked in this wing, given permission to move about with escorts. Nothing has had changed since we got here. What is General Valentine waiting for? Where is everyone else being held?"
General Valentine had caught the tail end of her question as he entered the study. "I am waiting for Princess Cloud."
Zack sat up immediately and glared at the man. "They're probably dead or gone overseas by now."
General Valentine chuckled. "No. They're on the run. They have been giving my warriors difficult time. They have been seen north of the crater recently."
Zack stood up and crossed his arms defiantly. He watched as the general of Wutai walked around the room. His red cloak ditched, and he was wearing a black shirt, black pants, and boots. He was a good-looking man with ink-black hair that hung down around his shoulder, framing his pale face. He had Wutaian feature but was not dark enough to be one of them. Zack couldn't place how familiar the man looked. It still nagged him. He asked, "At least tell us why you want the princess."
General Valentine paused in his pacing and turned to the two of them. "Princess Cloud is a Summoner, correct?"
Aerith nodded and replied, "It's a no secret. Everyone knows that."
He wagged his finger as he continued his pacing before them. "She is to marry the prince and help him ascend the throne. It says so in the prophecy."
"Yeah," Zack muttered. "That's another thing everyone knows."
"However, no one knows that Prince Rufus isn't the rightful prince." General Valentine pointed out. "He is not of the bloodline of the Kings of Old."
Zack frowned. "So, he's King ShinRa's illegitimate son?"
General Valentine chuckled and turned to Zack. "No. My son is the rightful heir, and he was lost to me since birth." Aerith gasped, and Zack's jaw dropped. The man continued, "You see, my name is Vincent Valentine Crescent. I was King Consort to Queen Lucrecia Crescent, the former queen of Asgard. And this," He gestured to the room, "was our home twenty-five years ago, before ShinRa."
Zack stared at the man with an astounded face. "You… you were supposed to be dead."
"Indeed," Vincent replied. "When my wife was killed," He shook his head, "I know you believed she died in childbirth. But that wasn't true. Her handmaiden killed her and took our son. Her husband had me assassinated, but I got away and recovered from my wounds." He unlatched the buttons on his shirt to pull it aside, showing several scars from gunshot wounds to his chest. "They missed my heart."
The commander muttered expletives under his breath as he saw the scars. He wagged his finger toward Vincent. "It's a no wonder I thought you looked familiar. Your portraits in the attic, I've seen them." Vincent nodded. Zack ran his finger through his tousled hair. "So, you have no idea where your son is, the supposed prince that Princess Cloud was supposed to marry?"
"Indeed. I have been looking for him for years. He should be twenty-five years old by now, and gods know where he is." Vincent said as he waved his hand.
Zack looked away as his thought processed in his mind. Aerith stepped up to Vincent and asked, "You were trying to help Cloud, not capture her?"
"That's right."
"Oh."
"With Princess Cloud, she would've been able to find my son. You see, there are more to the prophecy than just their fate." Vincent said and pulled out the book from his pocket and flipped the pages to where he had marked. "The rightful heir will ascend the throne with the help of the Summoner. Peace will be restored and the three kingdoms united in harmony." He looked up to the two, "That was the last lines of the whole prophecy." He clapped the book close. "She will help the rightful heir to ascend the throne. She will find him and know he is the one. And Niflheim, Wutai, and Asgard would unite in the alliance."
Zack glanced up. "You said your son was taken at birth. Did you even get to see him?"
Vincent sighed forlornly. "Only for a moment. I remember he had green eyes and pale hair." He smiled wistfully. He turned angrily, "Jenova and Hojo would not tell me where he is."
"I thought you had everyone arrested?" Zack asked.
"You see," He turned back to the commander, "Jenova was Lucrecia's handmaiden, and Hojo was the attending physician when our son was born."
Zack's eyes widened. "Shit, now that makes sense."
Aerith sat down, covering her mouth in shock. "It can't be…"
Vincent glanced at the two, suspecting they know more. "Now, I've been told that the general with Princess Cloud is proving to be very formidable. He was seen wielding a sword." He flipped the page and showed them the drawing of the nodachi. "This. The Masamune of King Alexander, the first King." Zack swallowed, he had never seen Sephiroth wield a sword like that before. "Only the rightful heir to the throne can obtain the Kings' legacy. Masamune is one of the legacies. Either he took it from my son, or…"
"You think Sephiroth is your son?" Zack asked and then slapped his mouth, realizing he said the name.
"Sephiroth?" Vincent asked. "No, it can't be." He grabbed Zack by the shirt and pulled him close. "The general, his name is Sephiroth?" Zack bit his lips, refusing to reply. Vincent shook him angrily. "No one, I say." The Wutaian general snarled, "No one knew my son's name outside the room when he was born. Only four of us knew."
Zack stumbled and fell to the floor as Vincent shoved him. He rubbed his chest; he was beginning to see the similarities between Vincent and Sephiroth. They could genuinely be father and son. "Sephiroth is the Imperial General. Jenova and Hojo continued to serve King ShinRa and raised him as their son. If he is truly the rightful heir and has one of the legacies of the kings of old, then maybe you need to tell your warriors to back off and let them come to you."
Vincent sighed. "There is one problem. They have to be found soon as possible."
"What? What do you mean?" Zack asked. Vincent flipped the page to the end of the book and handed it to him. Zack read the passage, "The offering of the Summoner and the King grants another hundred of years of blessing to the kingdom. If there shall be no offering, the gods will turn their back. The Summoner will cease to exist. The King of Old will turn to dust." Zack frowned at the dark passage, feeling foreboding descending on him. He kept reading the rest of the passage and shot his head up, wide-eyed, "It says the world will end if they don't offer to the gods."
Vincent looked grim. "The Summoner will lose her power and die. The prince, being the heir of the Kings of Old will also die, and the gods will abandon this world. It's one of the agreements between Madoshi, the first man, and the god's eons ago. That's why it is important to keep the blood-line alive and to sit upon the throne. It is their power that keeps the world in balance."
Aerith stifled a sob and turned away.
Zack turned to her, asking, "Did you know about this?" She nodded. "What? Why didn't you tell me?"
She wiped her eyes and said, "The Book of Oracles is taken seriously in Niflheim. When Cloud and I met Sephiroth at Costa Del Sol station, I immediately knew he was the one." She turned to him and stood straight. Zack's eyes widened as she began to glow and her clothes changed, becoming a long robe and her head covered in a delicate hood. "I am an Oracle of the Nibelheim Oracles. It is my duty to serve the Summon and help her." She then faded and returned to normal.
Vincent crossed his arms over his chest and asked, "A quiet mess we are in."
Zack turned to him and said with a deadpan, "No shit, Sherlock!" He threw his hands up in the air. "If you haven't interfered, maybe they would have finished by now!"
Aerith laid her hand on his shoulder and shook her head. "No, Zack. If Vincent has not interfered, Cloud would marry the wrong prince and still die by the blood moon." She looked at the older man, "and they would not have discovered their fate. Everything works out as written by the Norns."
Vincent nodded and said, "I've been getting reports from my warriors that Princess Cloud had obtained three of the summons so far. Shiva, Hades, and Titan. However, the blood moon is two weeks away." Zack and Aerith gasped in surprise. "Now you see why it's imperative they are needed here."
Zack muttered few choices of expletives under his breath. "Can you have your warriors to back off?"
"No," Vincent replied and turned, leaving.
"The fuck why not?" Zack shouted as the door shut close.
Aerith sat down and replied. "It did not matter how many summons Cloud collects. Sephiroth and Cloud must be brought here to do the ceremony to stave off the curse of the blood moon."
Zack rolled his eyes and slumped down in the chair and spread his legs out and allowed his arms to drop over the sides of the armrest. He blew his bang out of his eyes. "This is so fucked up." He glanced over to Aerith. "Cloud know this?"
Aerith shook her head. "No. The Queen did not want her to worry about it. We all had thought Rufus was the prince and everything had worked out. When Cloud and I arrived in Costa Del Sol, I was confused when I sensed the bloodline in Sephiroth rather than Rufus; it took me a bit to figure it out. I was going to tell Cloud but," She waved her hand in the air, "the train."
Zack covered his face with his hand and dragged it down slowly as he groaned.
"My sentiment, exactly." Vincent deadpanned.
Note:
I hope you are enjoying the story. ^_^
No, this story will not end the way FFXV ended.
Thank you for reading! Until then!
