FINAL FANTASY VII
THE CHANGE OF TIME
Chapter 14
Sephiroth grumbled in mild irritation as he finally reached Nibelheim's gates. In order to reach Nibelheim he had to first swim across a small stretch of ocean before draggin himself up a cliff and circling a large mountain, then travel across about
ten miles of grassland populated heavily by wolves. Luckily he had managed to heal himself before the journey, as the friends of Cloud had healed him only enough so that he would live. He couldn't really blame them, but it didn't stop him from being annoyed.
He shivered as he entered the town, listening to the nighttime sounds as he glanced at the moon, a shiver passed up his spine as he remembered the last time he was here. He glanced around warily, then made his way into the villiage, this time
examinging every aspect of the place.
"So this is my hometown?" Sephiroth asked himself. He then looked to the mansion and muttered "My birthplace," He scoffed as he moved for the inn.
As he opened the door the man behind the counter let out a long yawn as he stretched, then his eyes widened as he saw who exactly had just stepped in. "You!" He exclaimed.
Sephiroth glanced around and said "Indeed,"
"Your Sephiroth!" The man continued looking more shocked by the second.
"I know," The silver haired man replied waiting for this man to settle down.
"Y-your supposed to be dead," The man stuttered.
Sephiroth sighed as he said "I assure you reports of my demise were highly exxagerated, now can I have a room or do you want to point at me some more?"
"O-oh, of course. Room 3, free of charge!" The man declared handing Sephiroth the key to the room.
"Thank you," Sephiroth remarked.
"So what brings the great Sephiroth here?" The man asked nervously.
"I was born here, I felt like visiting my hometown," Sephiroth explained. Then without another word he moved upstairs.
Cloud shivered, feeling the cold air washing over him as he slowly looked up at his surroundings. He was in something of a cave, and there seemed to be massive monsters imbeded in the walls. Water dripped from an unseen place making
the blond shiver. He examined himself closely, blood dribbled from his shoulder where he noticed a gash, and in a pool of water on the ground next to him he saw his reflection. There was a small scrape on his cheek, and he seemed skinny and he was very pale.
"What happened to me?" He asked, only then noticing how dry his mouth and throat were.
"You are my puppet, you did as I instructed," f-Sephiroth's voice drifted to his ears.
"Sephiroth! Show yourself!" Cloud exclaimed snapping to his feet and reaching for his blade, only to find it missing.
f-Sephiroth suddenly appeared nearby and said "Very well then,"
"Where are we?" Cloud asked.
"The northern cave, it formed when Mother first landed on this planet. An eternal tribute to mother!" f-Sephiroth said spreading his arms wide.
"And why am I here?" Cloud asked.
"Simple, we are here to do away with this rebellios side youv'e developed," f-Sephiroth informed him, then he lifted his hand and formed a mental link with Cloud who dropped to his knees screaming, and he felt everything he was being removed.
Once everyone was asleep, Sephiroth left the inn and moved towards the old mansion. This was where it all started, according to f-Aeris. If she was telling the truth, then this was where he had lost it, and turned into a monster. He frowned
as he thought of it.
"What a blight upon the land," Sephiroth commented, then stepped in. It took him very little time to find the basement, and then enter the library. He approached one of the shelves and grabbed a book at random. For hours he read from
a number of books, slowly uncovering what his future self had five years before. But Sephiroth saw them for what they were, and in the early morning several hours later he tossed the last book aside before walking to the center of the library, a hard look in his eyes.
Slowly he lifted his arms to the sides, letting his anger run free. His coat began to flutter, than flap upwards even as his hair began to whip around while an orangish glow began to eminate from him. Smoke rose from the book and wooden
floor bords while the floor buckled and collapsed beneath Sephiroth who hovered in place with a growing look of rage on his face. The glow around him strengthened and he strained every muscle in his body to containt he growing energy held within him. Then in maxed out releasing a low hum the whole room vibrated. Then a brief moment of absolute stillness.
"This should never have existed, and so it won't," Sephiroth whispered. Then all the energy was released at once in an explosion that instantly reduced everything in the room to ashes and tore up into the mansion above while a tidal wave of
flames tore through the entire basement leaving nothing intact, while the shockwave smashed everything within the building before the whole building collapsed on itself sending a pillar of flame into the early morning sky as smoke billowed outwards.
A moment passed before people began pouring from their homes and looking at the destruction in shock. Then came a secondary explosion as flaming pieces of debris were launched skywards at various angles as a figure shot out of it
trailing smoke before going through a single flip and landing in a crouch before the crowd.
Sephiroth slowly stood, brushing some ashes from his shoulder guard as he did. He looked at the crowd who looked at him in awe and confusion. "Good morning," He greeted, then made his way back to the inn.