Nanaki was on the edge of the cliff outside the tiny village on the outskirts of Midgar where he and Vincent had taken refuge from the busy city. He lay on his stomach, head resting on massive paws whilst scanning over the desolate deserts of frozen sand way below the massive rock. He was submerged in thoughts regarding the future and had avoided human contact the whole day.
"I thought I'd find you here," came from the background.
Nanaki recognized Vincent's voice and didn't even bother to turn when his friend seated himself. Vincent made a few attempts to start a conversation, which was a new feature very unlike his usual persona, for the gunman was mostly a recluse; a state he enjoyed far more than company. Nanaki had noticed this dramatic change within his friend and nodded to himself; it was time to speak.
"Do you remember the time of the final War?" he asked with a deep murmur, his vocal cords hardly trembling to the faint breeze from his chest.
Vincent confirmed with an extensive exhale; nothing more had to be said. He remembered very well, for it was the time when Sephiroth was finally defeated and destroyed.
With his eyes fixed on Midgar at the horizon, Nanaki continued speaking.
"We committed a horrible crime that day. To cure a disease we sacrificed a lamb that was our only hope to defeat the real plague that was emerging. We were scared Vincent… and we let our fear defeat us."
Vincent remained silent for a while, only listening and observing the noise that slowly took shape inside his head. He couldn't grasp some things Nanaki said.
"What plague, Nanaki?"
The feline warrior snorted the dust beneath his face as he sighed.
"The plague that Aeris warned me about."
Vincent cocked his head and peeked out from underneath his great mantle; "Aeris?"
Nanaki nodded and repositioned his muscular tail, causing the fire at the very tip of it to emit a burst of sparks.
"She's been speaking to me for a while. I was waiting for the right time to be able to talk to you about it, but you had to suffer through your own purgatory and change your mindset before you could be receptive to the knowledge she has been whispering into my mind."
"Nanaki, I'm not following you," Vincent claimed, now fully engaged in the conversation.
The feline lifted his head from the soft bed of his furry paws and glanced out over Midgar like a guardian.
"Sephiroth was defeated by us only because the trinity of brothers could not unite their powers. It took all of us using all our powers to send him into the hell where he is trapped now, but… it would have taken only one of us through gentle words to save him from the hell he was already in when he was alive."
"We didn't know, Nanaki," Vincent added in shame knowing very well that he was lying to some extent.
And the confirmation of his failed attempt to mislead came in a stinging snap delivered by his most trusted friend.
"You knew, Vincent. You were the only one who knew… even before he was born."
Nanaki stood up and placed his massive head on the shoulder of the already burdened warrior, whispering; "And you were the only one who could have saved him. But it is time you forgave yourself." With that Nanaki left his place and began walking back to their humble home. It didn't take long, however, before Vincent caught up with him, not being able to let go of the conversation.
"I admit I was weak then, Nanaki, and if there was a way for me to correct what I've done, I would… but…"
"But what?" Nanaki threw in, stopping and directing his gaze at his friend.
"But what can I do now?" Vincent asked.
The feline stepped closer to the Daemon lord, pushing his consciousness into the feeble human mind and breaching its darkest corners where deep secrets hid. He snorted a smile, free from resentment or scorn.
"He has nestled into your heart, hasn't he?"
Vincent lowered his head in shame. Nanaki was a sentient being of an old species and more finely tuned to the faint whispers of the vibrating essence of life that lingered on as remnants of past lives in Nature's grand garden, hence he could hear Aeris. He could receive her messages when everyone else heard nothing but a faint breeze. Nanaki was a channel to the Cetra, her voice among the living and thus, Vincent had to swallow his abashment in order to become her tool.
"Yes, he has," Vincent finally replied, "I feel things I haven't known for what seems a lifetime. I can feel his pain every night, but when I see him smile he makes me complete."
Nanaki nodded proudly and then kept on strolling along a moonlit path towards their small guesthouse.
"I guess we are ready then," he added and dove into the message from the last Cetra. "Listen Vincent, we need to go back to what happened those few moments before the final destruction of Sephiroth. Do you remember that Kadaj was hanging on the building, holding the container of Jenova's remains?"
Vincent confirmed wordlessly and Nanaki went on.
"Kadaj united with the remnants of Jenova to allow for Sephiroth to break through to this plane and possess his body as a vessel, but when the angel was destroyed, Kadaj's dying body was taken back to the Lifestream…"
"Taking more of Jenova with him," Vincent finished the sentence and halted. "By the grace of Gaea, it never occurred to me that it would be possible. She's more complete."
"Not only possible," Nanaki added, "Jenova's ancient powers hindered Sephiroth and the spawn's, as well as all those created from her essence like Angeal and Genesis, from being accepted by the Lifestream. They all became trapped in limbo, cocooned inside Jenova's nightmares. They are drifting through space and time in a dark world, nourished by their very own fear tormenting them; a dimension of the daemons where they suffer through the worst imaginable until they can be free."
"Why me?" Vincent asked. "Why has he come to me?"
Nanaki took a deep breath, lifting his head to the dark skies and marvelling at the billions of little twinkling stars, lowering it heavily.
"Because your past unites you two," he answered. "He is the child of the woman you once loved. I'm sorry to say, but Lucrecia will never be free from her prison. Even if the walls of her crystal fortress would crumble, she has still encaged her heart in guilt by sacrificing her child to the purest evil in man. I know you still have feelings for her, but the only way to save Lucrecia is by saving Sephiroth. The question is, my dear friend…"
Vincent lowered his gaze, knowing the finishing part of the sentence would pierce his heart with anguish and pain, but Nanaki was relentless as a messenger of truth.
"… whom will you choose in the end? You loved her and you still visit her cage every opportunity you get, but you dream of him every night and… I know that Chaos has been calling for Sephiroth deliberately. I can feel his rumbling echo being carried into the Lifestream through the powers of the earth… calling, calling… calling. And I know you are waiting with great anticipation. Your last union left his scent lingering on your skin for days. He has marked you."
Feeling dismayed and awkward Vincent began his plea of defense. "Nanaki… I…"
"It's all right, Vincent. We will know by the morning."
Vincent lifted his gaze, sparking ever so steadily in the presence of Chaos, but the Turk calmed quickly and the Daemon slipped away into his core.
"The night is here," Nanaki sighed, "and I shall leave you to your thoughts."
Vincent remained at the edge of the city. His thoughts were whirling and though Sephiroth flickered through his mind, the memories landed on Lucrecia. The human felt the shame Chaos had brought about and a sense of anger towards Nanaki for granting the Daemon more power over the flesh than Vincent had previously allowed. Chaos was obsessed with Sephiroth, not the young man as such of flesh and blood, but the pleasure he could gain from their union. When Vincent's will crumbled during the nights, Chaos called upon Sephiroth for one purpose only; and Vincent had to carry the burden of shame when the memories of the previous night came rushing back. But Vincent had found a way to circumvent Chaos' desires by sleeping during the day and staying awake during the night. It had kept the Daemon at bay, but tonight, Vincent had to face Sephiroth.
A gentle breeze chased the dusk into the night, awakening the mighty chorus of nocturnal creatures that welcomed the obscurity with grandeur, darkness; the day of the demons and the secrets of hearts. It had been an unusual night. Complete absence of physical intimacy left Chaos dormant through the nocturnal hours as Vincent gazed upon the blackening skies. The late summer made the nights warm and the desert sands trapped the heat of the day to provide a pleasant bed where the Daemon lord lay next to the angel, dazzled by the stillness surrounding them.
Invisible barriers that their emotions were incapable of breaching separated the two beings of opposite powers, and thus they just lay like ghosts next to each other and remained so for hours. Sephiroth was manifested in all his former glory, fully equipped with his characteristic, ivory shoulder pads, leather gear on his body and Masamune at his side like a loyal follower. In very much the same way, Vincent was hiding inside his red mantle, head wrapped in the blood red bandana, right hand carrying the metal claws of the Daemon, and his feet tucked inside boots reinforced and dressed with metal accessories to serve as weapons. Beside him was Cerberus, his weapon of destruction and only true friend.
There they were; two warriors drifting and two restless souls in mourning. They had slipped far away from one another and the thoughts of the angel were no longer appealing to Vincent. He tried to keep Sephiroth out of his soul, his presence at bay, and made efforts to think more often about Lucrecia; the main reason being that the question Nanaki once posed was still haunting him.
"Whom will you choose in the end?"
Vincent didn't have to choose. He had loved Lucrecia and no matter how vividly Sephiroth spoke to Chaos, the human had chosen to resist and thus Sephiroth broke the silence with a cautious inquiry.
"Have you forgotten me?"
Vincent didn't want to answer, but deep down he decided this would be the final night he would meet with Sephiroth. He had to break this vicious circle of nightmares. The war was not his to fight and there was nothing that could be done for Sephiroth. Vincent wasn't even sure why these dreams had appeared and thus discarded them as drops of guilt he needed to resolve.
"I haven't forgotten you, Sephiroth, but I'm no longer angry with myself. I did what I had to do."
Sephiroth's face twitched into a smile, but it was veiled in sadness.
"Duty first, my friend."
"We've never been friends, Sephiroth," floated coldly from Vincent. "I never knew you. You've been a dream to me…"
He could almost feel his own heart breaking under the weight of his words, but he couldn't pretend that everything was as it should be when every part of his being was rebelling against the illicit union between two daemons. For hours on they were silent. The winds whispered gently into their ears and the creatures of the night created the dialogues that was missing between the two warriors. The nocturnal beings spoke in an unknown language and interacting on behalf of the Daemon and the angel. Finally, Sephiroth spoke again.
"I didn't know this would be our last night together."
At first, Vincent was caught by surprise at having his secret brutally revealed, but understood that in the world of the spirits nothing could be hidden in the depths of one's soul.
"Yes," Vincent confirmed. "I have decided to retract my presence from your world."
"Why?"
"Because I can't go on being tied to a dream, Sephiroth. You are not real and never will be. By the time the sun rises you will fade and be kept locked away in a world separate from mine. I have to let you go."
True to his nature as a Soldier, Sephiroth released a single word 'understood', but there was something soft inside his voice. Vincent felt Chaos rebelling and attempting to break through, but the angel calmed him with gentle words.
"It's all right… tell Chaos that it doesn't matter anymore… I can never be what I once was. My name is no longer what you remember it to be." Sighing, Sephiroth sat up, staring down from the cliff and way beyond the horizon that was slowly blushing with the break of dawn. "This," he continued, "is just an empty representation of what I used to be, but there is nothing inside. I am hollowed out and it's too late to stop it now. I'm to be united with my spawn and coil around the Universe to split into a thousand nations."
Vincent sensed an alarming message hidden inside the enigmatic words and turned his head towards the angel. Sephiroth's broad back filled his view against the dawning day. The Daemon lord sat up, wanting to ask the former Soldier what lie beneath his sadness, but let the urges pass without acknowledging them. 'Let me save you', was what echoed in his head 'I want to take you away from this hell', but Vincent knew his powers were far from sufficient to even consider the possibilities of this bold idea. The chances of reawakening Lucrecia from her prison seemed far more probable than the tribulation that was associated with Sephiroth, and Vincent made his choice based on the feeble logic of a plausible outcome. It was gambling with chance, but he had to make a decision and he chose the less painful one. The thought of losing Sephiroth for good was by far more bearable than the thought of never reuniting with Lucrecia.
"The valley is beautiful," Sephiroth smiled and walked to the edge of the cliff, gazing down on Midgar. "I've forgotten what it looks like while still half asleep… so peaceful."
As the first rays of the sun announced the break of dawn, Sephiroth began withering and his complexion began fading with the morning mist. Vincent shot up from his place, realizing he had wasted an entire night without as much as saying goodbye properly to the man who had given him endless pleasures whilst humbly accepting the pain exuded through Chaos' untamed passion. Vincent positioned himself between the sun and the seraph and worryingly tried to persuade Sephiroth to move into the shadows, but to no avail.
The shadow of the night was slowly chased away by the light slipping closer to the angel, engulfing the entire valley in light. The lingering remnants of the night were growing weaker just as the strength leaving the essence of Sephiroth's being, left him frail.
"Please," Sephiroth reached out and placed a hand on Vincent's shoulder, "I'd like to see the sun. I haven't seen it for so long… not felt its warmth."
Hesitantly but unable to deny a last wish, Vincent slowly moved out of the way and allowed the golden rays of the sun to fall upon the seraph. The black wing extended over the pale statue of the angelic man like a dove exposes his splendor. But as an abomination of the living, the velvety feathers caught fire, each delicate quill burning like a tortured soul. Sephiroth remained smiling at the warmth. His eyes were sparkling with joy as the golden disc rose above the horizon and swallowed his body in the piercing light. The fragile statue burst into flames and turned to ashes before the mourning eyes of Vincent. The charred image of a lost soul remained frozen only for a swift moment until the gentle caress of a breeze ripped it apart.
At the sight of it, Chaos erupted with a powerful roar, exposing his misery to the waking world as he threw himself on the ground. He burrowed his fists into the dirt to capture the ashes of the angel. His claws dug deep into the flesh of his palms whilst clutching the remains close to his demonic heart. The shrieks of pain and agony he delivered towards the sun had called upon the attention of Nanaki who immediately hurried to aid his friend. The sight of the writhing creature, rubbing the remains of ashes into his own chest, was utterly wrenching and seeded a sense of hopelessness. Watching the earthly power being fuelled by the tremendous despair that overtook Chaos, Nanaki understood that Vincent had made up his mind about whom he had chosen to follow to the end of time.
"I'm sorry, my friend," the feline purred sympathetically, but he knew that nothing could ease the grief of the Daemon.
Nanaki knew that the same righteous laws like those, which made up the societies of man, did not govern Chaos. The weapon of Gaea cared nothing for the guilt of impossible, perhaps even destructive passion; he cared only about the emotions that defined the very concept of words such as desire. He indulged in every second he spent with the angel; whether it was a man or woman made no difference. He just desired and that was all. The shell into which his adored soul was trapped didn't matter; he just desired. But Vincent Valentine was still human and his past and upbringing, colored by the inflated human laws, determined his choice for the future. Humans; for every day Chaos was trapped in Vincent, he took a step closer to hating those demimonde creatures, whose laws and self-righteousness was but a sad mirror of the contrasting principles governing their lives. And now, he too was bound to descend into this life of dishonesty where everything reeked of dishonesty.
"I hate HIM!" Chaos roared and dug his claws into the flesh of his chest, tearing the skin and ripping the muscles to pieces in an attempt to find the orb that was controlling him in this cage of frailty that he despised.
Nanaki had to intervene before the Daemon destroyed the body to which it was bound for it would also destroy him. The feline and the earthly weapon battled over the flesh, but the relentless logic and firm belief of Nanaki convinced Chaos to have mercy on Vincent. Panting with fatigue and wounded by the sharp claws, Nanaki gazed upon Chaos hovering above his body.
"Give me a chance Chaos. I will speak to the Cetra. You must understand that we need Vincent."
"But I don't need him!" came the resolute answer. "He despises me as his true self and denied me my only source of fulfilment. He lives off a dream and ripped reality from my hands. For that he deserves to die!"
"I agree," the feline nodded and staggered up to the red Daemon. He knew he had to use sharp logic to convince the powerful being from claiming Vincent's life. "But give me one more chance. If I cannot make him listen, you can have him. I have no use for Vincent Valentine if he is locked inside his own self-pity. He hinders you and he hinders himself and he cannot serve as a warrior on our behalf. One more chance, Chaos, that's all I ask of you."
The yellow glowing eyes were fixed on the big cat, wings flapping tirelessly to keep the manifestation of anger above the ground. A spine chilling rumble descended over Nanaki delivering the promise of 'one last chance', before Chaos disappeared in a halo of red mist and dove into the chest of the convulsing human.
That night, the first flakes of snow began to fall and life drifted into a dormant state, waiting for the cold winter to encase it in a soft blanket. Late summer gave way to the bitter autumn, which was soon followed by the sad, sad winter. The days were shorter and the nights extended long into the days. The birds sat shivering on cold, bare branches and their chirping was weak from the chill. Even the stars trembled in the black skies as if they were frozen crystals on a velvety canvas. Life slipped into hibernation as sound slumber descended upon the season, but the dreams of the tired warriors were scarred and tainted by the obscurity of the underworld. In this way, seasons chased each other over the cycle of a year as they had done for eons and a cruel winter was slowly defrosting to the promising spring as Sephiroth fell into oblivion.