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Aeris...
Is this it, then? Sephiroth was behind me somewhere, searching. I know he is, I feel him, his blind confusion. To be honest, I pity the man. Maybe that's why I'm not afraid now. But I can't give up yet. I can't withdraw conciousness from this world, not until it's done.
I walk down, down to a gentle darkness lit by a cool, mystical glow. Strange. There must be at least a hundred pearly white stairs, leading down into the depths of a forgotten cetra capital, pure and untouched by time. But I felt as if I was floating rather than walking, struggling. My spirit could no longer be contained in such a small body. I had to move on.
No. I can't yet. Think, Aeris. Aeris. My name. Think straight while you still have the time...
..and then forswear it.
Holy. I need this body to finish the Summons. Holy is the last hope of the Planet. If I don't do what my ancestors could, then no one can. The Planet will be lost to chaos, all the lore, life, and wisdom lost with Sephiroth's Meteor. Why doesn't he understand?
But then again... no one does... maybe they would if they realized that not everything precious in this world is something you can touch. I suppose that's why they believed so strongly in a Promised Land. Now that I think about it, the thought of draining the place of Mako makes me laugh.
Ah... the last step. The Forgotten Capital stands shining , surrounded by glowing sacred waters. The altar in the middle... I walk there...
A stable thought plays in my mind. Because I am the last Ancient... If I let go of my physical self long enough to summon Holy... will I be able to come back? To condense myself back into the bounds of human flesh? I shake my head. Of course I will. Somehow. For them...
I stand at the altar and fold my hands. I must pray to the Planet, to the Lifestream, like I have done so many times. To do what I do best, to protect, to mend. If I don't, who will?Because I am the last Ancient... it is my duty.
Because I am the last Ancient.
...That's what I had been told all my life. Feeling so lonely, I had believed it. I had endured it. Cetra blood was a curse as well as a gift. How many times had it brought me pain? But better me than another.
Because I am the last Ancient...
Planet....
...right?
The blood of the Ancients runs through many.
But it's numbers have diminished. I'm alone, Planet. How can I let myself go when our page in history is over? Who will be here to protect you?
It was never about blood. To hear the voice of the Planet...
But to most that voice is masked.
But you were never alone...
Planet! The Planet spoke beyond words... but I couldn't cross over yet. I had to translate it into physical thought... perhaps that's why I couldn't understand.
Time and nature... evolution... beyond the times of now. You could not destroy time and time always has a way...
Do you mean fate, Planet?
When it spoke again, it was a different tone. Ah, my child, you created this fate yourself. The Cetra's page has not yet been turned...
Mother! You're still here... what do you mean?
You've seen it all yourself, Aeris. Watch...
Then I felt a great light, and I remembered that little girl who loved flowers...