And so there I was, Soldier first class... I was the pride and envy of Midgar. Angeal and Genesis wish they could have held a light to me. Cloud desired to be me so badly, hahaha... That little runt would even pretend to be soldier first class. Who could blame him? I was Midgar's own Uncle Sam, Shinra wants you. The truth is I thought of Cloud as a little brother who'd eventually have his day in the light, not that I care really... trust me, I don't. I'd be happy for him. I just wanted to leave everything and be by myself on an island. In other words, I wanted to retire and kick back with a few drinks... But no.
One day, there I am in the Shinra Manor library in Nibelheim. I was alone, having intense flashbacks to the filthy Shinra test tube monsters while wondering if I, too, am really a monster. When I opened that book on the ancients, I don't know what happened to me. My veins felt stiff, my body felt colder; It felt like a parasite was invading my mind and jerking me around like a string puppet. Now I've felt off before but not to the extent of this very day. Something so deep inside of my mind was triggered when I opened that book, I felt like my soul was retreating into the lifestream as my body was being possessed.
My gut told me not to look further into my origins. I just had to know... I mean, wouldn't you?! I feel as though that book was cursed when I was reading it though. Who am I kidding? It probably wasn't worth it, but hindsight is 20/20. A few pages in and I'm not even conscious anymore, I could hear the book being read on the topics of the Cetra taking the planet back, but I wasn't even conscious or the one reading it then, and Jenova wasn't even a real Cetra. Don't get me started. This was the beginning of a true nightmare.
Something else was inside of me... Something sinister that had been there for some time but couldn't quite take hold until now. Do you really think it was me that did all of this? I'm an empath, I didn't burn down Nibelheim with Claudia Strife or kill Aerith, but you'll never learn that talking to someone else, especially not right now.
So going back, I was only conscious inside my possessed body when I would see Cloud in front of my face while I couldn't even tell him I'm here. It was torture, like watching my body try to kill my little brother. I wanted more than anything else to just die. Jenova is a plague... I must fight these genes off like an autoimmune disease, I'd tell myself every day. The first time Cloud and I fought outside of the Nibelheim generator, I was hoping I'd just be dead. If it weren't for Tifa and Cloud's meddling in the reactor, my body would have merged with a terrible monster locked up there and possibly killed them both.
So, there I am after multiple encounters with Cloud and his toy soldiers. All right, fine, they aren't so bad for getting through the Northern Crater and muscling through those damn Tonberries. Anyway, I find solace in the final blow that sends my body into the lifestream. Finally, the deed is done, I think to myself. I was happy for my little brother, and scared for my own life, if I'm being honest. Am I even alive at this point? If you have Jenova cells, you're told you never die, but I was in that lifestream for a Long time. Aerith helped me stay inside the stream so I wouldn't be forced against my will further.
Get this though. I'm there inside the lifestream. I see Jenova there too... she's hissing at me, shooting dark tentacles at Aerith. I buy Aerith enough time to stop meteor from consuming the Earth and she just disappears. Just like that, she's gone with a flash. Why? How the hell would I know why? I have never been inside of the lifestream this long. I never saw her inside again and to this day, I wonder why. Why was I able to stay in the lifestream so long without her then?
Fast forward... 700 years later. What the hell just happened? I'm not in the lifestream anymore and there's vegetation everywhere, and I mean everywhere. I'm smiling, playing in the fields with other kids as I hear a voice.
A woman: Lance! It's time for dinner honey!
Lance: My name isn't Lance, it's Sephiroth!
Woman: You hush right now, or I'll smack you! Everyone in the neighborhood stares at us every time you say that you know?!
Another woman: Demon child!
Random man: Cetra Spawn of Evil!
Yeah... I wasn't making any friends today. I'm freaking Sephiroth though! That's who I am! I was Sephiroth 700 years ago, and I'm Sephiroth now.
This lady... all right, for all intents and purposes, she's my mother and her name is Lumeria. I can't say I hate her. So far, she's spoiled me with good lavender bath bombs and my own Chocobo suits to dance around in at home with her when she's doing a HoneyBee dance routine.
Did I mention that I'm just 5 years old? I still remember most of my past, maybe it's the Jenova cells in my body. I tell you, if I ever somehow see that psycho Professor Hojo again, I swear I'm going to dice him up into fine pieces with my Masamune, if I ever find that too, and toss his remains inside of a Marlboro. Then and again, I don't know if I want to make the breath of a Marlboro any more toxic than it already is.
Speaking of people who knew Hojo, Vincent and Lucrecia are still around, in case you're wondering. Did you think they would disappear for some reason? If Lucrecia is immortal, I must be super immortal then, right? I suppose I owe it to myself to see my last mother someday. I know my existence bothered Vincent, but I don't blame him. He should have been my father anyway. New body, new life though, am I right? YOLO, You only lifestream occasionally. Bad joke, I'm a "villain", not a comedian, right?
Long story short, I'm back. I will never be a memory. Still, I don't know if this is a good thing because I felt more like myself in the lifestream, and the last thing I need to be is another soulless husk to string around like Pinocchio.
