There was a basement at the bottom of the stairwell. It was rudimentary and sparse with little architectural work, the walls and floor comprised of the purple bedrock that the village of Nibelheim sat on. Chains dangled from the ceiling and a cool breeze was blowing through the narrow room. Cloud could hear a faint voice coming from the other end. It was Sephiroth. Who was he talking to, he wondered?

He opened the door at the end of the basement and stepped foot into a dusty library. There was a large wooden desk to his right, its surface taken up with stacks of papers, lamps and strange contraptions that only a scientist could understand. The rest of the vast room was taken up with rows and rows of full bookshelves so high that they touched the ceiling. Cloud had never seen so many books in his entire life.

Sephiroth was pacing the floor with his head buried in the pages of a book. Cloud backed away so that he was half obscured by the door. He mouthed at Hiro to keep quiet and then listened.

"…an organism that was apparently dead, was found in a 2000 year old geological stratum. Professor Gast named that organism, Jenova…"

He walked towards Cloud and for a moment he was sure he'd get caught, but Sephiroth was glued to the words on the page.

"X year, X month, X day," droned Sephiroth. "Jenova confirmed to be an Ancient… X year, X month, X day. Jenova project approved. The use of Mako Reactor 1 approved for use…"

Sephiroth walked further into the library, stopped halfway and looked up at the ceiling. Cloud could hear him sighing even though there was now a distance between them.

"My mother's name is Jenova… Jenova Project… is this just a coincidence?"

For the very first time, Cloud could hear a tremor in the man's voice. Whatever Sephiroth had read in that book, it had shocked him to the core.

"Professor Gast…" he moaned. "Why didn't you tell me anything?" He wiped his face as if swatting away a tear. "…Why did you die?"

Cloud had heard enough. He couldn't let Sephiroth suffer from his thoughts any longer. Even though he was a cold-hearted man who prefered to face his demons on his own, Cloud figured he could at least try and help someone in need; even someone like Sephiroth. He approached him from behind.

"Hey."

Without turning, Sephiroth replied in barely a whisper, "Let me be alone."


"Sephiroth didn't come out of the Shinra Mansion," Cloud said as the group listened intently. "He continued to read as if he were possessed by something, and not once, did the light in the basement go out…"


Cloud and Hiro kept guard in the Shinra Mansion, taking it in turns to keep watch on the secret passage. It was Hiro's turn so Cloud took a nap in the bedroom on the other side of the mansion.

He awoke with a start. It was the early hours of the morning and Sephiroth had not yet emerged.

"Sephiroth seems different…" said Hiro as Cloud entered the room at the other side.

He decided he needed to venture down into the library.

"Wait here," he told Hiro.

The soldier nodded. Cloud entered the secret passageway and made his way down the spiral staircase. The hair on the back of his neck bristled. He had a bad feeling about this. When he could hear Sephiroth's howls of maniacal laughter, he knew his feelings were right. Taking a deep breath, Cloud walked through the library and towards Sephiroth.

"Who is it!?" yelled Sephiroth. He was sitting at a large desk at the back of the library with piles of books stacked high around him. He looked up. His eyes were dark and sunken but so full of hatred. "Hmph… traitor."

"Traitor?" asked Cloud, puzzled.

Sephiroth stood up and began pacing the room.

"You ignorant traitor. I'll tell you. This Planet originally belonged to the Cetra." He waved his arms animatedly. "Cetra was an itinerant race. They would migrate in, settle the Planet, then move on. At the end of their hard, harsh journey, they would find the Promised Land and supreme happiness." He looked at Cloud straight in the eyes. Cloud wanted to look away but something in those eyes was drawing him in like a black hole would draw in light. "But, those that disliked the journey appeared. Those who stopped their migrations built shelters and elected to lead an easier life. They took that which the Cetra and the planet had made without giving back one whit in return!" He lowered his voice. "Those are your ancestors."

What had happened to him? This wasn't the Sephiroth Cloud knew. He was sharp-minded, cold, meticulous in any mission that came before him and radiated a sense of power that enthralled anyone who worked beneath him. Now he seemed to have aged twenty years overnight into a bitter, twisted man who rambled about everything and nothing, uncaring as to who listened.

"Sephiroth…" muttered Cloud, keeping his distance.

"Long ago, disaster struck this planet," Sephiroth continued. "Your ancestors escaped… they survived because they hid. The Planet was saved by sacrificing the Cetra. After that, your ancestors continued to increase. Now all that's left of the Cetra is in these reports." He gestured towards the stacks of books piled on top of the desk.

"What does that have to do with you?" Cloud asked.

"Don't you get it? An Ancient named Jenova was found in the geological stratum of 2000 years ago. The Jenova Project." He took a deep breath. "The Jenova Project wanted to produce people with the powers of the Ancients… no, the Cetra." He walked towards Cloud. "…I am the one that was produced."

"Pr… produced!?" gasped Cloud.

"Yes. Professor Gast, leader of the Jenova Project and genius scientist, produced me."

Cloud was struggling to process this new information.

"How… how did he…?" he spluttered.

But Sephiroth was done talking. He turned and marched through the library, his angry footfalls echoing through the large room.

"Se… Sephiroth?" Cloud called.

"Out of my way," he declared. "I'm going to see my mother."

To be continued…