From the author of
"An Autobiography of Vincent Valentine"
Phoenix Down.
Phantom Wall Devils: A tale of Sephiroth
Part: Epilogue
Nun
"THIS is the end of him, here he lies:
The dust in his throat, the worm in his eyes,
The mould in his mouth, the turf on his breast;
This is the end of him, this is best."
(Amy Levy, 'Epitaph' British poet [1861-1899])
"Sors immanis et inanis rota tu volubilis satus malus vana salus semper dissolubilis obumbrata et velata michi quoque niteris;"
(Fate: monstrous and empty, you whirling wheel, you are malevolent, well-being is in vain and always fades into nothing, shadowed and veiled you plague me too; [Carmina Burana: Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi 25. "O Fortuna" (O Fortune)] Translation by Phoenix Down)
So. That's it. I bet you want to know what happened, then, right? Yeah. Well. I'll tell you what happened.
Nothing.
Abso-fucking-lutely, nothing.
Sephiroth finished his story, stood, and walked into the hallway.
He stopped, smiled, and then asked.
"So, do you want to follow me down this hallway, down this long dark tunnel into the unknown- to the land of the dead?"
I paused and stared at him.
For a moment, just a moment- he didn't look like an angel to me.
He just looked, you know, human.
Then, I told him what I always told him when he asked me.
He turned, and smiled, and walked away.
Then, he was gone.
It took me a while to compile all of the tapes I've thus far collected in the interview. There were twenty-four of them all together, both sides filled.
I listened to them again, and typed out everything, and added my comments- like I told you, what your reading here.
When I was finished, I went and took a walk back to my apartment complex.
Like I had suspected, I was evicted.
I talked to my landlord, and begged for him to give me my place back- but he said there were people already committed to moving in.
I told him to fuck himself- you bald- fat fucker.
I went and took a walk, then.
There was nothing better to do; I had no job, no home, and no money.
But I figured that I'd walk into the newspaper office, and show them my tapes and transcripts- I'd have my job back then for sure.
You won't believe whom I ran into then, as I was walking.
Misty, my cousin.
She asked me where the fuck I'd been, and how I looked skinny, and like shit- why haven't she seen me- blah blah blah.
I told her nowhere, just, you know, around.
Then, she asked me about the hallway- she asked me what kind of weird drugs I had been doing.
She remembered when she said that I showed her the basement- and she said that I thought I had been seeing weird shit.
I told her- no, I've been fine. That was it.
Then, she dropped it.
We walked for a little bit- then she went home.
I continued wandering until I got to a dirt road. There was thick, black forest on either side of me.
The place seemed familiar.
And as I kept walking, I thought of the fire that my sister was burned in.
You know- as crazy as it sounds- I don't think that it was my fault anymore.
My friends started the fire; sure- I could have done more about it- but- that's not what happened.
I can't continue living like a dead man.
Maybe, that's why I didn't go down that hallway.
Then, as I walked, a pair of red eyes blinked at me in the forest.
"He's gone... isn't he? You... didn't go down that hallway, if you had- he would have returned... I saw it all in my nightmares- what would have happened if he returned to the living..."
I told Vincent Valentine that everything was ok, and the tunnel was gone.
"Good." His sad eyes seemed to flash a smile.
I asked Valentine where he was going now.
"Nowhere... perhaps back to my nightmares, back to my dreams..."
Sweet dreams.
I told him.
As I continued walking down that dirt road, I saw a dog.
He was a small dog, not much older than a puppy.
He whimpered, and began to follow me, sniffing my heels.
I bent down, and rubbed his sandy fur.
He wagged his tale.
Together, like friends, we walked home.
~The End. Phoenix Down.
"An Autobiography of Vincent Valentine"
Phoenix Down.
Phantom Wall Devils: A tale of Sephiroth
Part: Epilogue
Nun
"THIS is the end of him, here he lies:
The dust in his throat, the worm in his eyes,
The mould in his mouth, the turf on his breast;
This is the end of him, this is best."
(Amy Levy, 'Epitaph' British poet [1861-1899])
"Sors immanis et inanis rota tu volubilis satus malus vana salus semper dissolubilis obumbrata et velata michi quoque niteris;"
(Fate: monstrous and empty, you whirling wheel, you are malevolent, well-being is in vain and always fades into nothing, shadowed and veiled you plague me too; [Carmina Burana: Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi 25. "O Fortuna" (O Fortune)] Translation by Phoenix Down)
So. That's it. I bet you want to know what happened, then, right? Yeah. Well. I'll tell you what happened.
Nothing.
Abso-fucking-lutely, nothing.
Sephiroth finished his story, stood, and walked into the hallway.
He stopped, smiled, and then asked.
"So, do you want to follow me down this hallway, down this long dark tunnel into the unknown- to the land of the dead?"
I paused and stared at him.
For a moment, just a moment- he didn't look like an angel to me.
He just looked, you know, human.
Then, I told him what I always told him when he asked me.
He turned, and smiled, and walked away.
Then, he was gone.
It took me a while to compile all of the tapes I've thus far collected in the interview. There were twenty-four of them all together, both sides filled.
I listened to them again, and typed out everything, and added my comments- like I told you, what your reading here.
When I was finished, I went and took a walk back to my apartment complex.
Like I had suspected, I was evicted.
I talked to my landlord, and begged for him to give me my place back- but he said there were people already committed to moving in.
I told him to fuck himself- you bald- fat fucker.
I went and took a walk, then.
There was nothing better to do; I had no job, no home, and no money.
But I figured that I'd walk into the newspaper office, and show them my tapes and transcripts- I'd have my job back then for sure.
You won't believe whom I ran into then, as I was walking.
Misty, my cousin.
She asked me where the fuck I'd been, and how I looked skinny, and like shit- why haven't she seen me- blah blah blah.
I told her nowhere, just, you know, around.
Then, she asked me about the hallway- she asked me what kind of weird drugs I had been doing.
She remembered when she said that I showed her the basement- and she said that I thought I had been seeing weird shit.
I told her- no, I've been fine. That was it.
Then, she dropped it.
We walked for a little bit- then she went home.
I continued wandering until I got to a dirt road. There was thick, black forest on either side of me.
The place seemed familiar.
And as I kept walking, I thought of the fire that my sister was burned in.
You know- as crazy as it sounds- I don't think that it was my fault anymore.
My friends started the fire; sure- I could have done more about it- but- that's not what happened.
I can't continue living like a dead man.
Maybe, that's why I didn't go down that hallway.
Then, as I walked, a pair of red eyes blinked at me in the forest.
"He's gone... isn't he? You... didn't go down that hallway, if you had- he would have returned... I saw it all in my nightmares- what would have happened if he returned to the living..."
I told Vincent Valentine that everything was ok, and the tunnel was gone.
"Good." His sad eyes seemed to flash a smile.
I asked Valentine where he was going now.
"Nowhere... perhaps back to my nightmares, back to my dreams..."
Sweet dreams.
I told him.
As I continued walking down that dirt road, I saw a dog.
He was a small dog, not much older than a puppy.
He whimpered, and began to follow me, sniffing my heels.
I bent down, and rubbed his sandy fur.
He wagged his tale.
Together, like friends, we walked home.
~The End. Phoenix Down.