Vincent P.O.V
I crept silently behind sephiroth as we stalked through the corridor. The small clatter of my armor echoed loudly in the distance. Moonlight and stained-glass windows making obscure shapes in shadows about the marble tile and columns that lined alonged the width of the hall.
The ribboning fabric of my tattered cloak made a ssshh sound as it slid across the floor behind me like the underbelly of a snake. Sephiroth and I had been trekking for some time now. He had led me down into the deepest, darkest bowels of the castle and scarcely said a word, which made me wonder what was on his mind.
It was almost impossible to discern Sephiroth's thoughts. Almost as impossible to fathom anything he did. Despite many believing he had slowly gone insane from thousands of millenia trapped in this hell dimension, he was actually quite wise.Unpredictable; which made him a lethal enemy indeed. Until I'm able to learn more, I must bide my time carefully.
A cascade of silver hair swept behind Sephiroths shoulder as he took into carefull consideration the Roman numerals carved into the pairs of granite columns, starting from 'X' and moving fiercly into 'VII, VI, V' as we passed. Then 'IV, III, II' and finally 'I'
At the end of the corridor, the numeral'I'wasin the shape of a gigantic doorway. It wasn't like anything I'd ever seen. It was tall. Night-sahde crystaline consisting ofa path of parallel aqueduct outlining the frame. Daimond fragments were glazed over the surface in a glossy coating;designed to appear like the sky itself. The diamonds were glinting, resembling stars and the constellations of the Four Gods.
Miniture comets shot about while meteors showered down in various spots on the door. All the universe revolved around A Iris at the direct center of the door;Sephiroth had to reach up in order to touch it.
One by one, like gems, the planets aligned around the iris. Below, The saphire colored mercury, Then the turquoise earth whilst it's pearly moon revoled slowly around it. Ruby mars(It's two moons) andamber venus. Above was The emerald Jupiter,(It's 9 moons floating gently around it) then cistrine Uranus, followed by neptunes Topaz glow. Next was Amethyst saturn and last, An Onyx pluto.
Sephiroth opened the palm of his hand, a small orb manifested in his palm. He placed it inside the Iris. The orb appeared clear. Like glass. And Just a fragile. I stared at Sephiroth who looked eerily calm.
" Watch." He said to me.
I gazed into the orb. First a spark of fire. Then it grew bigger, spreading like a wildfire before it's firce orange and crimson flames completely consumeditself, lashing out like the flames of the sun themselves.
The flames completely filled the iris. A neon blue liquid suddenly filled the aqueducts, flowing through them like a rapid river beforea crease appeared in the middle of the door. The flames died out and the door began to open. A blinding light flooding out the door, engulfing Sephiroth.
Where had he gone and what did he just do?
"Come." His voice beckoned me.
The light then Enveloped me as well. I heard the distinct sound of a door closing shut behind me before the light disapeared and I was able to register the situation.
I was in a room.
It was so complex, yet simple. I found myself lost in the details of it. Marble stone pillars lined along the walls with vines of jasmine and black roses twined every which way around them. Candlelabra's standing out in the space between the pillars.The red and black silks draped over anything that would stand still. As I moved, The candlelabra flames grew brighter. The sweetaroma of Lavender and roses consumed me.
I covered my mouth, coughing uncontrollably. It was overwhelming.
Sephiroth grinned," Go further." He said to me.
I raised my brow at him." Do you not trust me?" He asked," I'm given you what you wanted."
I eyed him suspiciously. It's true, sephiroth was a man of his word but, there was always some sort of twist. "How do I know that you've really given me what I want?"
Sephiroth said nothing. Only started on towards the end of the room. Obviously unaafected by the powerful scent." Stand up." He said harshly," This scent is a toxin. Most men would have passed out upon entering the room,but since you're a chosen one, I'd expected as much."
"Come. You can approach. It will not kill you.You might feel slightly dizzy but it'll pass."
I walked with him. Fighting to breathe. I saw a circular pool of dark water. A small island made of marble was centered in it. Stepping stones leading up to it.Then a clear, black veil hanging from the ceiling like a covering around the island. so long, it floated on the surface of the water. Finally a thick, white bed.
"What is it?"
Sephiroth smile and pressed his finger to his lips."Shh. Not so much noise." He skimed the water with his foot. The foggy darkness disapeared momentarily. The water was clear. So were the two black-scaled serpents sleeping several feet below. I stepped back. Was this some kinda of trick?
"Be quiet. Her pets are very protective of her. Should anything go amiss..."
He didn't have to finish the sentence. I took one step forward. Then another. And another. Stepping quietly as possible over the stones.
Soft breathing; like a caressing wind. Could it be..Lucrecia maybe? With a sway of Sephiroth's hand, he parted the veil.
At the edge of the bed I sat. It was soft. Comfortable.But the dark aura I sensed was unmistakable. It couldn't have been lucrecia. It was the same dark aura I sensed From Sephiroth.
I let my eyes wander. A women was sleeping next to me. I edged closer along the bed. She slept slightly askewn. Lustrous waves rippled freely upon her shoulders. The lavender and rose scent was stronger now.
I felt dreary. Like I'd pass out any moment now. Still, the scent confounded me. Tempting me to find out who this was. If not lucrecia, who could it be?
Dressed in blood-red silk that ribboned, folded and creased along her beautifuly shaped body. My mouth dried and my desire to know who she was grew stronger. Gently, I turned her over.
"WHAT!" I gasped, almost screaming. The aroma filled my throat and I started to cough once more. The water stirred. Sephiroth was looking serious, but Maniacal.
What kind of sick joke was this!"Sephiroth! This is!" This was unspeakable.
" This is Kimiko!"
" Yes and no." he said placidly.
Did he clone her? I covered my mouth and nose to halt the aroma." What the hell kind os sick joke is this?"
"You wanted her, did you not?"
"This isn't her! " It was but, not the one I knew. Not the Kimiko I took care of for almost 2 months after she left the shichinintai. Never Had I sensed such a dark power from her." You're insane. I wanted the real thing, not a clone."
"HA!" He bellowed." This is as real as it gets."
What did he mean by that?
"This is her true self. The part of her soul that was locked away at her birth. The true essence of herself. Caelestis."
I gasped, " Then that means...the rumor was true. About Koenma and the world 16years ago?"
Sephiroth nodded. I whiffed the lavender-rose scent once again. She was still sleeping. The bed cradling her body with the softness of a cloud like she was a newborn. Blood-stained silk draped about her arms in a shawl, the end of it curving around the sloping of her breasts, giving a faint blush to them and the apples of her cheeks. The rosey gloss of her lips. That red dress revealing tempting parts of soft white skin beneath the fabric. She looked so aesthetic laying there. The temptation I felt shifted to pure desire.
Shallow, I know. She was purely beautiful. more so than the real Kimiko. Yet, there was something fake about her beauty. Like It masked something much more sinister beneath that elegant exterior. It bothered me how much evil I sensed from her body. She was sleeping so soundly and pure. Like a infant before they grew up and learned the harsh ways of humanity's true warring nature. The power I sensed Was apocolyptic.
Sehpiroth let out a loud sigh. Gently, he said,"Caelestis, Excitate vos e somno, liberi mei. Somnus...est mon."
Her heavy lidded eyes opened slowly. The first thing she saw was me. Her lips parted and she hurriedly looked away,"Father?" She cried softly. I knew it wasn't Kimiko. Caelestis spoke in a somewhat archaic accent like Sephiroth. Also, Kimiko was only a teenager. Still practically a child. Caelestis was about my age. She was a fully grown women. equipped with...er...everything a women should be. Which made her even more fatal.
"Liberi mei." He sighed sharply, placing his hand over his heart. With an expression like a father seeing his daughter being born into the wold. I blinked and Sephiroth was standing next to me. He was so fast. The ability to shift his body through time a space was she never hesitated to take advantage of. To us, only a split second passes but to him, we appear to be moving in slow motion.
Sephiroth pushed me to the side," My daughter, Are you well?"
He took her hand in his. She shifted her gaze, " Who is this?" she asked, glaring at me.
"This is Vincent. Your new guardian."
"Guardian!" The water stirred and rippled as she smacked his hand away. She looked insulted," You leave me here for over a decade, awakening me for THIS?"
The chamber shook at the sound of her last word. black-scales slid and turned beneath the surface in such a way, it looked fragmented.
It vexed me a little that Sephiroth had allowed anyone to him in that tone. Apparently, he didn't. He plunged his hand through Caelestis's stomache, his hand pierced throught her skin like it was wet paper.
She cringed, blood dripping over the white spread and absorbed into the same colored clothing she wore. She gasped on agony. Blood trickling down the side of her lip.
"You spoiled brat, how dare you speak to me like that! I created you. Would you rather I rip out the remainder of your soul and mount your body like a trophy on my wall? You should be thanking me you're not DEAD!" He sneered. Enjoying ey moment of this. I couldn't help but stare. The way his blood covered hand stuck out the small of her back. It was disturbing. A shiver went through me. Was I actually scared?
"Well..." she swallowed, "I see you haven't CHANGED!" She tore her nails into his arm and broke it clear off. I jumped back. Watching in disgust as she pulled Sephiroth's severed from inside her body and then carlessly throwing it into the pool of water where I saw the shadows of serpents scraping at one another for the meat.
Sephiroth laughed like a madman. A new arm growing in the old one's place. Caelestis licked the blood from her lips, the wnd sephiroth made was healing as the blood disapeared leaving small twists of smoke. Before long she was laughing also.
I knew it. She was just deranged and homicidal as Sephiroth was. So this was the truth: Sephiroth was Death. And Death birthed a Daughter.
I sat there lost in thought. I didn't even realize Caelestis Staring at me.
"So, this is mine?"
"Yes. was very anxious to see you."
She crawled over the white spread. Her shawl moving in a dreamy motion along with her body as she curled her hips arounmy back,"He's handsome."
I froze as she circled me like hungry leopard. Lust sizzling in my blood like fire." Father, I like this one." Her thick breast slid over my back. Slender fingers tousling my hair as she nuzzled her had near the base of my neck." He's dark. With an even past. I sense redemption."
Sweat broke across my forehead. Her eye fluttered closed in pleasure." His body warms." She grinned, " He's lusting for me."
Sephiroth was on the otf the room now. Here I was, under his...daughter. Trapped and unable to move." Most men do."
The door opened. She placed both hand on my chest. I smelled fire and brimstone as her hand pushed deep into my chest. Like a ghost, except I could actually feel her grip on my heart and the slowing pulse as my heart began to stop. I couldn't breath, I couldn't speak. I was frozen in death. Sephiroth had tricked me! He was trying to dispose of me! My body shook uncontrollably. It was suffocating.
"Don't break him too soon." Sephiroth warned, " Daddy still needs him for some things."
"Yes sir." She withdrew her hands and I fell to the floor, gasping for air. What he up to? And What kind of power did She posses. It's true, I wasn't going to die. not yet, anyway.
"Where are you going father?" She asked so innocently.
"To track down your 'Brother'. I can't have him traipsing about right now."
"STRIFE'S HERE?" She said absolutly giddy.
"Unfortunatly." Sephiroth muttered." Not to mention your innocence."
"What? How old am I now?"she asked.
"Well... you're 17. And a mercenary. You absolutly refuse to leave this...mortal."
"A mortal?"
"Well.. Bakajikara's son."
Caelestis shrieked," Are you serious?" She laughed suddenly," Is he handsome?"
Sephiroth spat," you seem to think so.Apparently, you love him."
She squealed, " Really? Me, in love?"
"Yes." Sephiroth said bothed vexed and loathsome." I grow tiresome of it."
With that said, he left. The door closing loudly behind him.
"Imagine..me, in love." She swooned, "It's funny. Isn't it Vincent?"
She leaned over the edge of the bed. Her gaze was pure. Like a child's eyes. They had a deep glow in the midnight color. Like Mako energy. Her eyes were like Cloud's. This was the part of kimiko that was Cloud's 'Sister'.
"Vincent." She wimpered, " come here. I need you."
What had we unleashed upon the world?
Author's Note
Words:Excitate vos e somno, liberi mei( wake from your sleep, my child)Somnus est non(your rest is gone.)
It's a verse from Sephiroth's theme, " One winged angel."
I'm here to clarify, before ayone Gets TOO confused.
Cloud is not really Kimi's brother. (More so than Tamahome) But Cloud is just a failed Clone of Sephiroth.
Caelestis is Kimiko's other side. Her evil side. When Kimiko was born, the darkest/evil portion of her soul was sealed away(Thus, Caelestis was born.)Cloud feels guilty b/c of the "Situation"(which will unfold as the story goes on) that happened and he failed to stop the corruption of his sister.(That's partly why Caelestis is deranged)
Vincent's lover was named Lucrecia(If you've played FFVII, then you know who she is). His past will unravel soon.
Despite this,Kimi and Caelestis are complete oposites. Kimiko still has her humanity. She's like a regular women and feel emotion like on too. Caelestis is Like a Female Sephiroth.
It'll get pretty hectic from now on and I just don't want anyone Being all" What the hell is going on?"
LOL. Write more soon.