Into oblivion I had fallen. My plans had been torn apart. Many did not feel
my bane. The destruction I wield was defeated by my nemesis. Long have I
waited, but now, a thousand years after my destruction, I will return to
inflict my damage upon the planet once more.
* * *
The sky had been restless that night in Cosmo Canyon. The clouds had opened up after the storm and the sun was revealed to the planet once more. The sun was especially warm that morning as Cloud awoke from a restless sleep. He had been kept awake most of the night, thanks to the thunder that had pounded the world the night before. It had been years since the world had seen such a storm, but after what he'd been through, nothing as trivial as a storm seemed to matter.
He rose from his bed wearing nothing more than a pair of shorts. Despite the weather, it was still warm in Cosmo Canyon, as ever it was. Cloud looked into the mirror at his sweating body. His porcelain flesh showed many scars, most of which he collected during his battle with Sephiroth the previous month, but now he was finally starting to heal properly. But no matter how much his body healed, one mental scar would never be healed.
He placed his hand on his face and descended onto his bed. The look on her face as Sephiroth had cut through her still haunted him. A tear trickled through his fingers. Many celebrations couldn't hide the fact that he had lost someone very dear to him. Aeris, the sole survivor of the ancient race known as the Cetra, had died an innocent in his quest to stop a great evil, and he still blamed himself for what had happened. But Aeris' prayer lived on. She had saved them, not truly alive, but not truly dead. Lifestream destroyed meteor, and now the people of the world could finally sing Aeris' requiem in peace.
But Cloud had to shake of his sadness. Today was a new day with new possibilities, and despite what had happened, life went on. Cloud had to realise that her death was meant to happen. She had given him more in death, than she ever could in life. And now Cloud was going home a hero. But he would make sure that everybody knew about Aeris, the unsung hero. Cloud was going back to Midgar.
Cloud turned and took down his clothes of the hooks in his small, wooden room. He dressed swiftly and took one last look around the room. He looked at the tiny bed, which to untrained eyes, looked deceptively uncomfortable, when really it was the most comfortable bed Cloud had ever slept in. He looked again at the mirror and smiled. He knew that everything would be okay. The world had not ended, and so, the lives of him and his friends went on. Then he looked out of the window into the Canyon, when he noticed something very wrong about it.
The great fire, which usually burned so proudly in the centre of Cosmo Canyon, was gone. All that was left was a pile of old wood and a shining peace of materia.
Cloud scrambled out of the door and climbed down the familiar ladder that led to the courtyard, and ran towards the heap of charcoaled wood, when he noticed something else. The canyon was empty, save for his sword, which had been mysteriously dug into the ground near the wood. For some unknown reason, Cloud removed his sword from the ground and cautiously moved towards the materia on the ground. Then a strange thing happened. A voice called to Cloud in his head. A familiar voice.
"Strike it!" the voice said, insistently.
"What?" Shouted Cloud, mystified by the voice in his head. "Who are you?"
"Do as I say, Cloud," said the voice again. "Strike the materia, or you shall surely perish!"
"Why? Who are you?" Said Cloud, but no answer came. The only sound he could hear was the whooshing wind around him. He looked down at the materia and took a long stare. The materia was scarlet and smooth. It sat beautifully inside the old wood, looking out of place in its surroundings. But there was something very peculiar about this materia.
Inside the jewel itself, something appeared to be glowing, which meant that this materia was fresh. This was near impossible, because it was known around the world that it takes generations for materia to saturate and become useable. It was also quite unlikely that some materia was able to saturate while inside of a fire. Someone, or something had put this materia here.
And then Cloud remembered something else. Red materia was summoning materia. Inside of the jewel on the floor was a great beast with immense power. Cloud wondered what he should do. If I strike the materia, I might disturb the beast, then I will surely perish, he thought. Then he remembered what the voice had said. "Strike the materia, or you shall surely perish!"
Cloud wasn't the most intelligent person, but he knew that mysterious voices don't just speak to you every day, so he decided he would follow the voices advice, after he tried a little experiment of his own.
He crouched on the floor and began to move some of the wood away. Then he moved his hand towards the materia. Sweat poured of his head. Then something happened. He remembered being somewhere else. Somewhere were nobody but he had ever gone. A room. A light of hope that only Cloud had seen was contained in this mysterious place. He was placed there soon after Sephiroth was sentenced to oblivion. He found quiet in the room. Something he hadn't had for so long back then. And then a hand emerged from the light.
Aeris' hand.
At that point, Cloud returned to Cosmo Canyon once more, tears falling of his face. He was lost without her. But he had to go on. He wiped his face and continued his hand towards the materia. He the grabbed it in his hand a tried to take it of the ground, but instead of coming with him, it propelled Cloud backwards with immense power. Electricity crackled over him as he lay twitching on the ground.
Cloud built up his strength and scrambled to his feet. He dusted of his clothes and looked towards the woodpile once more. He had disturbed something very powerful, and was now afraid. But he remembered the words once more. The voice had told him he was going to die if he didn't follow the instructions it had given him.
Then Cloud made up his mind. He would strike the materia. He had nothing to lose, and despite his obvious fear, he was curious to see what would happen.
Sword in hand, Cloud walked towards the materia again. And then with all of his might, he struck the jewel. Suddenly, the jewel exploded under the weight of his sword and Cloud was thrown back again by the power that was hidden inside it. When he looked again in its direction, he saw a great vortex, stemming from the wood. The swirling noise hurt his ears and he clutched them.
Then, something exploded inside of the vortex, creating a blinding light around Cloud forcing him to close his eyes. He seemed to spend an eternity kneeling on the floor, clutching his head with hands, eyelids clasped together. Then, as if by magic, the rumbling he could hear through his hands stopped.
Slowly, he opened a single eye to see what had happened. What he saw was a strange beam of light emerging from the shattered materia. He opened his other eye and moved his hands from his ears. In a single motion, he jumped to his feet and began creeping towards the harmless looking light. The light was green and white, with strange wisps swooping around inside of the beam. Then it happened again.
"Step into the light," said the voice again.
Cloud dared not question the orders he had been given, so he stepped slowly onto the shards of materia. He placed his hand in the light. It was cold to touch, but bearable. He then stepped inside the green light. His body felt different when he placed himself their. He felt, somewhat, weightless. Then his vision became different. Everything around him looked like it was inside of some green liquid. He became afraid and tried to leave the light, but he suddenly began to move upwards at a tremendous speed.
The light around him had become a tunnel as he spiralled upwards. He remembered being in a place like this before, just before his final confrontation with Sephiroth. The tunnel had become black and he couldn't see were he was going, until, finally, he emerged into the light.
* * *
The sky had been restless that night in Cosmo Canyon. The clouds had opened up after the storm and the sun was revealed to the planet once more. The sun was especially warm that morning as Cloud awoke from a restless sleep. He had been kept awake most of the night, thanks to the thunder that had pounded the world the night before. It had been years since the world had seen such a storm, but after what he'd been through, nothing as trivial as a storm seemed to matter.
He rose from his bed wearing nothing more than a pair of shorts. Despite the weather, it was still warm in Cosmo Canyon, as ever it was. Cloud looked into the mirror at his sweating body. His porcelain flesh showed many scars, most of which he collected during his battle with Sephiroth the previous month, but now he was finally starting to heal properly. But no matter how much his body healed, one mental scar would never be healed.
He placed his hand on his face and descended onto his bed. The look on her face as Sephiroth had cut through her still haunted him. A tear trickled through his fingers. Many celebrations couldn't hide the fact that he had lost someone very dear to him. Aeris, the sole survivor of the ancient race known as the Cetra, had died an innocent in his quest to stop a great evil, and he still blamed himself for what had happened. But Aeris' prayer lived on. She had saved them, not truly alive, but not truly dead. Lifestream destroyed meteor, and now the people of the world could finally sing Aeris' requiem in peace.
But Cloud had to shake of his sadness. Today was a new day with new possibilities, and despite what had happened, life went on. Cloud had to realise that her death was meant to happen. She had given him more in death, than she ever could in life. And now Cloud was going home a hero. But he would make sure that everybody knew about Aeris, the unsung hero. Cloud was going back to Midgar.
Cloud turned and took down his clothes of the hooks in his small, wooden room. He dressed swiftly and took one last look around the room. He looked at the tiny bed, which to untrained eyes, looked deceptively uncomfortable, when really it was the most comfortable bed Cloud had ever slept in. He looked again at the mirror and smiled. He knew that everything would be okay. The world had not ended, and so, the lives of him and his friends went on. Then he looked out of the window into the Canyon, when he noticed something very wrong about it.
The great fire, which usually burned so proudly in the centre of Cosmo Canyon, was gone. All that was left was a pile of old wood and a shining peace of materia.
Cloud scrambled out of the door and climbed down the familiar ladder that led to the courtyard, and ran towards the heap of charcoaled wood, when he noticed something else. The canyon was empty, save for his sword, which had been mysteriously dug into the ground near the wood. For some unknown reason, Cloud removed his sword from the ground and cautiously moved towards the materia on the ground. Then a strange thing happened. A voice called to Cloud in his head. A familiar voice.
"Strike it!" the voice said, insistently.
"What?" Shouted Cloud, mystified by the voice in his head. "Who are you?"
"Do as I say, Cloud," said the voice again. "Strike the materia, or you shall surely perish!"
"Why? Who are you?" Said Cloud, but no answer came. The only sound he could hear was the whooshing wind around him. He looked down at the materia and took a long stare. The materia was scarlet and smooth. It sat beautifully inside the old wood, looking out of place in its surroundings. But there was something very peculiar about this materia.
Inside the jewel itself, something appeared to be glowing, which meant that this materia was fresh. This was near impossible, because it was known around the world that it takes generations for materia to saturate and become useable. It was also quite unlikely that some materia was able to saturate while inside of a fire. Someone, or something had put this materia here.
And then Cloud remembered something else. Red materia was summoning materia. Inside of the jewel on the floor was a great beast with immense power. Cloud wondered what he should do. If I strike the materia, I might disturb the beast, then I will surely perish, he thought. Then he remembered what the voice had said. "Strike the materia, or you shall surely perish!"
Cloud wasn't the most intelligent person, but he knew that mysterious voices don't just speak to you every day, so he decided he would follow the voices advice, after he tried a little experiment of his own.
He crouched on the floor and began to move some of the wood away. Then he moved his hand towards the materia. Sweat poured of his head. Then something happened. He remembered being somewhere else. Somewhere were nobody but he had ever gone. A room. A light of hope that only Cloud had seen was contained in this mysterious place. He was placed there soon after Sephiroth was sentenced to oblivion. He found quiet in the room. Something he hadn't had for so long back then. And then a hand emerged from the light.
Aeris' hand.
At that point, Cloud returned to Cosmo Canyon once more, tears falling of his face. He was lost without her. But he had to go on. He wiped his face and continued his hand towards the materia. He the grabbed it in his hand a tried to take it of the ground, but instead of coming with him, it propelled Cloud backwards with immense power. Electricity crackled over him as he lay twitching on the ground.
Cloud built up his strength and scrambled to his feet. He dusted of his clothes and looked towards the woodpile once more. He had disturbed something very powerful, and was now afraid. But he remembered the words once more. The voice had told him he was going to die if he didn't follow the instructions it had given him.
Then Cloud made up his mind. He would strike the materia. He had nothing to lose, and despite his obvious fear, he was curious to see what would happen.
Sword in hand, Cloud walked towards the materia again. And then with all of his might, he struck the jewel. Suddenly, the jewel exploded under the weight of his sword and Cloud was thrown back again by the power that was hidden inside it. When he looked again in its direction, he saw a great vortex, stemming from the wood. The swirling noise hurt his ears and he clutched them.
Then, something exploded inside of the vortex, creating a blinding light around Cloud forcing him to close his eyes. He seemed to spend an eternity kneeling on the floor, clutching his head with hands, eyelids clasped together. Then, as if by magic, the rumbling he could hear through his hands stopped.
Slowly, he opened a single eye to see what had happened. What he saw was a strange beam of light emerging from the shattered materia. He opened his other eye and moved his hands from his ears. In a single motion, he jumped to his feet and began creeping towards the harmless looking light. The light was green and white, with strange wisps swooping around inside of the beam. Then it happened again.
"Step into the light," said the voice again.
Cloud dared not question the orders he had been given, so he stepped slowly onto the shards of materia. He placed his hand in the light. It was cold to touch, but bearable. He then stepped inside the green light. His body felt different when he placed himself their. He felt, somewhat, weightless. Then his vision became different. Everything around him looked like it was inside of some green liquid. He became afraid and tried to leave the light, but he suddenly began to move upwards at a tremendous speed.
The light around him had become a tunnel as he spiralled upwards. He remembered being in a place like this before, just before his final confrontation with Sephiroth. The tunnel had become black and he couldn't see were he was going, until, finally, he emerged into the light.