Chapter 12: Sephiroth's Prophecy
The light was blinding. It filled every corner of Naruto's vision, leaving him as blind as if he were standing in darkness. He could see nothing but the endless plains of white around him; hear nothing but the loud pounding of his heart inside his chest. His head ached terribly. The endless buzz ringing in the back of his head was getting louder. He could not see the others standing beside him. He could not hear their voices speaking around him. He was completely alone in the vast white emptiness.
As if answering his silent prayers, the light around him began to dim and recede. Naruto was relieved to see the room emerge from the light, but he was surprised to find that it was no longer the room in which he had stood a moment ago. Strange, he hadn't felt his body move somewhere new. This was a new room he had never seen before, and yet the sight of it filled his heart with trepidation and awe.
Naruto now stood in the middle of what appeared to be a wide, vast hall. Tall walls of stone towered around him—thick walls, strong walls, to protect the room from intrusion. There was only one entry point—a large stone door at the back of the room. Many small wooden torches lined the walls. Every one of these was lit, lighting up the wall. The eerie shadows cast by the flames made the walls themselves appear to be on fire.
Through the dancing patterns of flames Naruto could see markings upon the wall. They were murals and there were many of them, painted across the stone in mixtures of ancient paint and stone carving. The pictures were strange and ancient, and though the light was dimming Naruto could not see the pictures clearly. But there were many of these murals, spreading the length and breadth of the walls.
"…What's going on?" Naruto said aloud.
His voice sounded so incredibly strange in the ghostly silence of the room. There was no echo to his voice, despite the walls gathered around him. The words just seemed to disappear right after leaving his mouth, almost as though they never existed. He turned to the right and saw Kyuubi. She turned to him and smiled.
"Don't worry; it's just a projection in our minds. The spirits are showing us something," she said calmly and turned back to watch but not before grasping his hand and intertwining her fingers with his.
People began to emerge from the light. There were two figures, dressed in dark blue suits and white shirts, standing in front of the murals, looking up at them. One was a tall man, with long black hair that hung around his shoulders. The other was a woman, shorter than the man, with short blonde hair and an anxious but eager expression. Naruto gasped in recognition.
Tseng and Elena of the Turks.
Before Naruto could say anything, Elena suddenly turned and ran over to Tseng.
"Tseng, what's this?" she asked, waving her hand towards the murals. "Can we find the Promised Land with this?"
Beside her, Tseng looked up at the murals. His eyes scanned the paintings, trying to make sense of them. He curled his lip and rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. "…I wonder," he said, more to himself than to Elena. Shaking his head briefly, he glanced at Elena. "Anyway, we have to report to the President."
Elena nodded her head. Her gaze turned towards the murals. The main painting towered over her and Tseng. It was quite obviously the main painting—it was both the largest and the most terrifying of them all. She shuddered. She didn't like this Temple. Not one bit. It gave her a creepy feeling right through her body—from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She didn't want to leave Tseng alone in this horrible place, but orders were orders and she had to obey.
Giving Tseng a quick bow, Elena ran past him towards the open door. Before she even reached halfway she faltered and came to a stop. She clenched her fist tightly, almost drawing blood. She turned back to Tseng, suddenly uneasy.
"Be careful, Tseng," she said suddenly. She bit her lip hard and this time she did draw blood. Its sweet taste filled her mouth. She cursed herself, unable to say what she really wanted to say.
"Yeah…" Tseng replied absently, still focused on examining the murals in front of him. Elena was about to turn away and run towards the door, when Tseng suddenly took his gaze away from the murals and turned to face her. "Hey, Elena," he said. "How 'bout dinner after this job's over?"
Unable to believe what she had just heard, Elena almost choked and fainted right there and then. Tseng… wanted to have dinner… with her! Her heart leaped into her throat, her stomach leaping about like butterflies. It was only her training as a Turk that allowed her to quickly regain her composure and stop her from embarrassing herself. Even so she couldn't stop a faint tremor of happiness creeping into her voice.
"Th… Thank you very much," she said, her face flushing to a deep crimson. Her head felt dizzy and light as she gave another quick bow to her superior. "If I may be excused…" The Turk then turned and quickly darted off through the open door, wishing that the butterflies in her stomach would stop fluttering.
Tseng was now left alone in the mural room. He waited until Elena had shut the door behind her and then turned back towards the murals. He craned his neck back, looking up once more at the main mural that dominated most of the final wall. Looking up at this mural sent the same shiver down his spine. Was his mural they key to the story? He stepped closer to the wall, trying to figure it out.
"Is this the Promised Land?" he said aloud, talking to himself. "No, it can't be…"
While all this was going on, Naruto and the companions continued to watch from the back of the room. They heard the words spoken, had watched Elena turn and run from the room. They gazed up at the murals. Like Elena, they also felt that strange sliver of fear run down their backs. The murals bode great evil, and they all knew it.
A sudden draft of freezing cold air brushed past Naruto's shoulder. He shuddered, the hair on the back of his neck pricking up as his shoulder went numb from the sudden cold. He exhaled and his breath came out as a puff of icy white smoke. It felt as though some cold, ghostly presence had walked past him, and its frozen aura had chilled him to the bone. Naruto turned his head and looked behind him, but saw nothing. He quickly glanced at the others. They had not noticed it.
He was beginning to think it was just his imagination, when a flash of white light filled the room and he heard Aeris cry out in horror. He turned back to the room, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
Sephiroth was there, kneeling close to Tseng in front of the murals. His body glowed with an eerie, faint white aura, and he was semi-transparent, as though he wasn't really there. The masamune lay limp in his hand, the blade across the floor. Tseng could not see him. Another white flash filled the room and the aura disappeared, the translucency gone.
Tseng turned in surprise at the sight of the flash. When he saw Sephiroth kneeling beside him, his eyes opened wide in horror.
"Sephiroth!"
Slowly Sephiroth began to stand. His black overcoat unfurled around him as he stood; the strong leather creaking as he moved. The long lengths of silver hair fell about his face, shrouding it from view. His fist clenched tightly around the handle of the masamune, and he lifted the blade up from the floor. The edge of the blade glinted blood red in the firelight. When Sephiroth was standing he raised his head and looked at Tseng through his glowing eyes.
The sight of those fierce Mako eyes made Tseng's blood run cold. He knew he should grab the gun that he kept hidden beneath his blazer and shoot, but he couldn't move. His body refused to obey. All he could do was turn his eyes away from Sephiroth's face, to avoid looking into those cold, killing eyes.
A small smile touched Sephiroth's lips. He seemed almost amused by Tseng's fear of him. He took a step forward. "So you opened the door," he said, motioning with his hand the door behind them. His voice was so soft it was like a whisper. "Well done."
Tseng continued to avoid Sephiroth's gaze. Instead he looked up at the murals, trying hard to ignore the oppressive cold chill that had filled the room upon Sephiroth's arrival. "This place… What is it?" he asked. He couldn't hide the quiver in his voice as he spoke.
Again Sephiroth smiled, amused. He walked over and stood beside Tseng. "A lost treasure house of knowledge. The wisdom of the Ancients…" He looked almost lovingly at the main mural towering above them. His eyes seemed to glitter dangerously in the firelight. He spread his arms wide and gazed up at the ceiling. "I am becoming one with the Planet."
"One with the Planet?"
There was a white flash of light. Unbeknownst to Tseng, a second image of Sephiroth had appeared in the room. It was a flickering image, barely visible in the light of the room. It walked calmly away from the real Sephiroth and stood in the centre of the room, its arms spread wide in some holy gesture. Tseng could not see it, but it was very clearly visible to Naruto and his friends, watching from the back of the room.
The real Sephiroth lowered his arms and turned to face the mural again. Tseng swallowed and tried to take a deep breath. The air was getting thicker. "You stupid fools," Sephiroth said harshly. The smile was gone. "You have never even thought about it. All the spirit energy of this Planet. All its wisdom… knowledge… I will meld with it all. I will become one with it… It will become one with me."
"…You can do that?"
Slowly Sephiroth lowered his head and stared straight ahead, fingers flexing tightly around the handle of the masamune. When he spoke, it was an indistinct whisper. "The way… lies here."
Suddenly Sephiroth turned, gripping his sword in both hands. He dashed forward, moving so fast all Tseng could see was a dark blur coming straight towards him. A flash of silver swiped through the air and a small spray of blood splattered onto the walls. Tseng fell to his knees, cradling an open wound in his chest and stomach. Blood beat down steadily onto his hands, staining his shirt a deep red. He tried to look up at Sephiroth, but dizziness won and he fell to the floor at Sephiroth's feet.
"Only death awaits you all," Sephiroth said, as a blood red aura began to slowly seep into the room in front of Naruto and the others. "But do not fear. For it is through death that a new spirit energy is born. Soon, you will live again as a part of me."
He laughed. The echoes resounded off the walls of the chamber, growing thicker as the choking red aura grew deeper and darker. The spirit-like Sephiroth standing in the middle of the chamber lowered its sword and gazed directly in the direction of Naruto and the others, a chilling smile on its face. Then it leapt up and flew to the ceiling, disappearing within the red cloud. The last thing Naruto heard before the cloud closed in completely was Sephiroth's continuing evil laugh.
When the blood-red aura finally faded from sight, the companions found themselves back in the stone corridor. Ahead of them the pool of water shimmered coldly, as though chilled by its own horrific vision. Aeris turned to Naruto and the others, her face pale and hands shaking. "Did you see it?" she asked.
Tifa nodded nervously. "…I saw it," she replied, although she wished that she hadn't.
At the far side of the corridor, Vincent folded his arms and gazed at the pool. "An illusion that the Ancients showed…" he murmured softly.
Feeling a sudden wave of nausea from the pit of her stomach, Tifa slumped onto the floor. A cold chill swept across her body. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders. Sephiroth's words were echoing in the back of her mind. Tseng… She wished she could get the image of him lying injured outside the Temple out of her mind, but she couldn't blot it out. Memories of her father lying in a pool of his own blood. Would that be their fate? Would they all…? Tifa squeezed her eyes shut.
She opened them again as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Naruto and his warm eyes. Suddenly she felt better. Something in that gaze banished almost all her fears. She nodded and smiled at him. He smiled back and released her shoulder.
"…Where is this room with the pictures on the walls?" Cloud was asking Aeris as Tifa climbed back onto her feet. No one had noticed her fall and shake apart from Naruto. If they others had seen it, they certainly didn't mention it.
"Almost there…" replied Aeris.
Cloud looked down at the floor, frowning thoughtfully. The others stood patiently, awaiting his decision. "Sephiroth is here, right?" he asked. Aeris nodded. Cloud looked down a moment longer, before he raised his gaze and looked at Aeris. "No matter what he thinks, it's going to end here. I'm taking him out!"
Naruto and Gaara shared a glance but said nothing.
"You mean WE are, right?" said Barret, lifting his gun-arm high. A loud echoing click revealed that he had loaded the chamber with bullets.
"Don't forget about us," agreed Nanaki. Around him the others all nodded and commented in complete agreement with Barret and the hound. Even Tifa managed to nod, although her face was still pale and her hands were still trembling. But the same determination showed in her face. She wasn't about to let a little moment of self-doubt and fear stop her from continuing with Cloud and the others.
Cloud looked around at the group and smiled. They were a motley group, but they were certainly a spirited one. Although Vincent did not smile as the others did, Cloud knew that inside the mysterious man felt the same determination that the others shared. Even as Cloud watched, Vincent drew his gun from its holster and began loading new bullets, picked up from the weapon shop on the coast, into the chamber. When full Vincent twirled the gun loosely and slipped it back into the holster.
With everything settled, the companions headed off. Aeris took charge as she led them back up the corridor. No one was at all surprised to find the Ancient spirit they had been chasing waiting at the top. It seemed as though their very purpose was to guide the group through the maze.
The spirit smiled as Aeris approached. Its floating body moved bobbed up and down anxiously and it pointed to the right corridor. Aeris looked. The shadows enveloping the corridor began to clear. An open doorway was revealed from within the shadows where it had been hidden before. That was where they had to go next. Aeris took the spirit's cold, ghostly hands in her own, thanking him for his help.
She was about to walk away, but the spirit gripped her hand tighter and wouldn't let go. He began to mumble incoherently, his ghostly lips trying to form words he had long-since forgotten. Aeris tried hard to listen, but it was no use. It was like trying to understand a small child saying its first words. There were numbers… and words… but they were so messed up. Aeris really wished she could understand. "Nyum… nyum… six…" was all Aeris could make out of the inane babble.
The spirit released her. Aeris bowed in thanks and then hurried after the others, who were waiting for her by the door. Even beside the door the shadows were thick and heavy, and they could not see what lay beyond it. But that did not worry anyone. They were in high spirits now. They were confident that they could handle any dangers in their path, pass any trials the Temple threw at them. This level of confidence was probably only short-lived, and so they wanted to get moving before it dissipated. Naruto nodded at Aeris as she approached. Aeris nodded back, signalling that she was ready to move on. Naruto turned back to face the open door and stepped through the shadows…
…And nearly fell to his death.
"Wha wa wa wa wa WAAAAHHH!!"
There was no path on the other side of the door. It came to a very abrupt end—so abrupt that Naruto did not see it until he put his foot out and realised that there was nothing to stand on. Staggering, he waved his arms wildly, and almost fell over the edge. A large hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him safely back.
"Whew! Thanks Barret!" Naruto said as he saw who had steadied him.
The new room was circular and almost empty, except for open doors that were positioned around them. Each door had an ancient numeral carved above it, from I to XII. Standing alone in the centre of the room was a stone pedestal, glowing a calm, soothing blue. Three stone hands, like those on a clock, moved slowly around it. The hour hand stopped just ahead of their door, the X door.
Before Naruto could ask what they should do, the light on the pedestal began to glow brighter. It brightened and lifted from the pedestal, cloaking it in a light blue aura. A small, indistinct figure appeared in the centre, too faint to see clearly, but definitely there. Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but the figure spoke before him.
"I am the Time Guardian." The figure's voice was quiet and melodious, almost musical. It was as though the figure was speaking from somewhere far from where they were. "Ye who seek the knowledge of the Ancients. I control the time, select your path."
Naruto turned to the others. The other companions looked anxiously at one another and shrugged, not knowing what to answer. Every single one of those doors led somewhere, he knew, but there was no clue as to where. More parts of the maze? Hidden rooms containing treasure? It was incredibly time-consuming to search them all. It was time they just didn't have. If Sephiroth found the black materia before they did…
Then, Aeris stepped forward and faced the Time Guardian. "We choose the time half past ten," she said, loudly and clearly for the Time Guardian to hear.
Almost instantaneously the hands began to move. A loud, ear-piercing grating sound echoed through the chamber as the minute hand shook free of its still prison and began to tick slowly around the clock. Each time it moved the pedestal shuddered, sending tiny pieces of rock and dust falling into the black abyss beneath it. The hand moved nearly a full half hour, before stopping in front of the door marked VI—six.
"…It is time… You may proceed," said the Time Guardian. Aeris bowed slightly in thanks. The Time Guardian began to fade as the light seeped from the pedestal and disperse into the shadows. When the Time Guardian was gone, all was dark once again. The path ahead was clear.
Aeris turned and faced the others, grinning cheerfully. Naruto and the others were looking at her questioningly. Barret opened his mouth and began to speak, but he quickly shut it again and shrugged his heavy shoulders. Why bother asking how she knew when he wouldn't understand it anyway?
They began to make their way across the clock. Aeris led the way again, being the first to make the short jump onto the hour hand hovering about half a metre away from the door. The hand shuddered and creaked loudly as she put her weight on it, but it did not break and held firm. Cautiously she began to walk across it, one foot slowly in front of the other, but with enough speed so that she could outrun the approaching second hand, which was still ticking steadily.
She reached the pedestal just as the second hand passed above the hour hand. It ticked harmlessly passed and Aeris quickly motioned for the others to cross before she crossed the minute hand to the sixth door. They had to move quickly, for the second hand was approaching the minute door. Yuffie and Cid ended up having to jump the last few feet to the door to avoid being swept off the hand and into the abyss. When they were all safely across, they stepped through the sixth door.
The companions were surprised when they entered the next chamber. It was large, but not so much large in size as it was in height. They had been incredibly surprised when they stepped out of the doorway and saw a sheer rock face staring back at them, blocking any routes ahead. Instead the route was down below, by the means of a number of jutting ledges, each with doors. They stood on the top ledge. The companions groaned. Did they have to choose a door again?
A gentle clicking sound made Aeris look to her right. There was a very large stone door directly in the centre of the top ledge and in front of it was an Ancient spirit, locking the door with an old steel key. Aeris tugged on Cloud's shirt and he looked. As if realising it was being watched the spirit looked up and saw the nine companions staring at it. It stared too, until it jumped up in a panic and ran away, disappearing inside one of the shadowy doors.
Aeris ran over to the door the Spirit had been guarding. The stone doors were big and thick and loomed over her. She leaned against the doors and pushed with all her might. They did not budge. "Hey! It's locked!" she moaned. The spirit had locked the door. She turned to the others. "No good! We'll have to catch it!"
The others wailed in dismay. Naruto called everyone together. After a brief discussion and a few sarcastic comments from Barret about spiky-headed stamina freaks the group split up, moving to their assigned positions on the ledges below and muttering quietly about how the black materia was more trouble than it was worth. When the others were out of earshot, Aeris turned to Cloud.
"You must be tired," she said to him.
Cloud took a deep breath and sighed. "Yeah," he admitted, smiling softly. Unknowingly he put his hand to his head and rubbed his temples. The headache was returning. "I want to go home."
Aeris covered her mouth and giggled. "Yeah. But it'll all be over soon! Just hang in there. Someday we'll look back at these hard times and laugh."
Cloud looked at her cheerful, smiling face and couldn't help but smile too. He was about to say that he hoped they could all laugh together someday. Perhaps someday they would all meet up again in Tifa's bar, the Seventh Heaven, and talk and laugh about their long journey together. The rises… and the falls… and Barret's sarcastic comments. Heck, he wouldn't even mind Cait being there right then. He was about to tell Aeris all this, but right then there was a loud cry from below.
The spirit had come out of its hiding place, thinking that the scary-looking intruders had gone. It had come out of one of the shadowy doors and came face-to-face with a tall, menacing looking figure with long dark hair and a flowing red cape. But before Vincent could grab the spirit it turned tail and fled back into the shadows. "Bugger!" Vincent muttered uncharacteristically. It emerged again just seconds later, right in front of Yuffie, who yelled loudly as she dived to grab the spirit. She missed and swore very loudly.
The next few minutes looked like something out of a circus. The spirit dodged and dived, disappearing into the shadowy catacombs of the doors and reappearing just seconds later through another door. The eleven companions worked hard to catch the spirit, but he was incredibly fast and managed to avoid all their lunges. Cid became incredibly confused when he tried to run through one of the doors and ended up stepping straight back onto the ledge—although it was a different ledge from the one he had started on.
Eventually, after numberless amounts of diving and lunging, they caught the panicking spirit. The spirit stood frozen, locked in the firm grips of Vincent and Naruto, who worked together to keep the terrified spirit under control until it calmed down. They were all sweating and covered in dust and dirt. But they had the spirit now and that was all that mattered.
'We got you now you little basted!' shouted Naruto in his mind causing Kyuubi to start laughing hard. 'Don't make me come down there!!' he threatened before focusing on what was happening.
They left it to Aeris to commune with the spirit, who, like the others, could only mumble certain words and they were disjointed and jumbled up. Somehow she got the spirit to understand that they weren't here to wreck the Temple. The spirit seemed to sigh in relief and handed out the steel key it used to lock the stone doors. Aeris said her thanks as Naruto and Vincent released the spirit, who floated off to the edge of the ledge to watch them.
The key in hand, Aeris walked over to the large set doors on the topmost ledge. She slid the key into the tiny lock on the front and turned it round. A loud, resonating click could be heard. The companions then worked together to push the large doors open. An eerie draft blew through the doors as they opened, but no one noticed. Then, when the doors were opened enough for people to slip through, they entered the next chamber.
Once inside, Aeris looked around. "This is the room with the murals…"
Cloud growled in his throat as he looked around the room.
"Where are you? Sephiroth!"
A cold chill descended on the chamber. The companions stiffened in fright, as if sensing the approach of a dark and evil presence. The temperature of the room dropped so dramatically that they shivered, their breath coming out in short puffs of white. The cold froze their bodies and they could barely move. Their hands could not even move to reach their weapons.
The only one able to move was Cloud and Naruto. Ignoring the growing chill Cloud ran forward into the chamber, his glowing blue eyes looking around wildly for some sign of Sephiroth. He did not draw his sword. Sephiroth was here somewhere. Although he couldn't see it, he could feel it in his heart. Cloud skidded to a stop in front of the wall of murals. There was a flash of white light. Cloud looked to his right.
Sephiroth was there. He faced Cloud, standing beside the wall of murals. His entire body glowed with a strange white aura, his image slightly distorted and multiplied, like a shadow trying to walk within the living body. He raised his gaze to look at Cloud. There was a knowing smile on his face, an evil look in his green eyes.
Cloud looked back, silent. Sephiroth watched him closely, looking deep into Cloud's face, as though searching for something. When he found it he smiled shrewdly, although it was a hidden smile, invisible to Cloud. Sephiroth spread his arms wide and began to levitate in the air, his feet hovering above the floor.
"So cold." Sephiroth's voice was soft but chilling. "I am always by your side." The swordsman gently waved his hand to the murals behind him. His long leather cloak creaked as he moved. "Come."
Another flash of white light burst through the chamber, forcing Cloud to shield his eyes. When the light faded, Sephiroth had gone. But Cloud knew that Sephiroth would not go far. Without looking back at the others he ran forward, following the direction that Sephiroth had pointed him. He headed deeper into the mural chamber.
Tifa was about to run forward after Cloud when a hand grabbed her arm. She stopped and turned back to face Aeris. The Ancient seemed somewhat apprehensive, her forehead creased in concern. Tifa didn't need to ask what it was. She could feel it, too. The entire chamber seemed on edge. The air was crackling with conflicting power, just the way the atmosphere does before a storm breaks out upon the land. This was what the mural room felt like right now. The air was electric; the hairs on her arms were standing on end. Glancing around, Tifa could see that the others felt the same. Nanaki was nervous, Yuffie jumping from foot to foot. Only Vincent's face was impassive, unreadable. Already silent and aloof, he seemed even more so now he had seen Sephiroth with his own eyes.
Seeing that Cloud was beginning to pull away from them, the companions hurriedly ran after him. They did not get very far when another flash of light lit up the chamber and Sephiroth reappeared, just like before. Once again the man stood by the murals, no longer looking at them but up at the wall.
"Splendid," said Sephiroth without looking at them. He steadily turned and began to walk slowly toward the group as they stood nearby. His long silver hair swayed gently from side to side as he moved, his boots making nearly no sound on the ground. "A treasure house of knowledge…"
Cloud almost spat in anger. "I don't understand what you're saying!"
Sephiroth focused his green eyes on Cloud. The expression in those eyes sent chills down everyone's spines. They were cold eyes. Laughing eyes. Then he laughed. A deep, mocking laughter that sent more than chills down the companions' spines—it made their hearts skip a beat and made them sweat in fear. Sephiroth continued to laugh as he rose up off the floor again and flew back to another part of the chamber.
The companions ran, this time together, to the place where Sephiroth had stopped to wait for them. He did not move far. When they reached him he was once more looking up at the murals—eyeing them over with intense curiosity and smiling with the knowledge they brought. The main mural—the central piece of all the artworks—loomed before him. Sephiroth glanced at the group and then motioned to the fresco.
"Look well."
Everybody turned to look at the painting. It was old and faded, but it was the clearest of all the paintings, as well as the largest. Painted on the ancient stone wall were people, many people, standing together with their heads turned to the sky, arms raised before them as though trying to ward off something terrible. Above them, in the 'sky' was a gigantic painting of a rock engulfed in flame. This rock was heading toward the people. This was what they were trying to prevent.
"At what?" Cloud asked, not understand what Sephiroth was trying to say. What was so important about an old wall painting?
Sephiroth seemed almost amused. "At what which adds to the knowledge of…" He turned away and spread his arms wide, lifting his head to the sky. "I am becoming one with the Planet." He laughed again, his laughter shuddering through him.
While he laughed his body began to rise up from the floor again. He flew backward, moving so fast that Cloud and his friends quickly lost sight of him. They looked quickly around the chamber. When they finally spotted him they began to run toward him, hurrying to catch up with him.
At the end of the chamber, Sephiroth sat silently in front of the altar. His head bobbed as though he were not fully awake. His sword sat silently across his legs. His hand lightly gripped the handle, not fully aware that he was holding it.
Resting on the altar behind him was a model of the Temple of the Ancients. It was made of many interlocking pieces of stone and seemed to radiate with power. The model flickered as the light from the fire torches around it cast fiery shadows upon it.
None of this Sephiroth noticed, so unaware was he of his surroundings. It was only when he heard the thud of approaching feet that he opened his eyes and lifted his head. Gazing through almost sleepy eyes, he saw Cloud and his friends approaching.
"…Mother… It's almost time… Soon… We will become one."
The companions approached. Worn out and weary from their long trek through the Temple, they were panting now. Except for Cloud. His eyes were still alight; glaring at Sephiroth with such anger that it seemed to come off him in waves. It was to Cloud that Sephiroth looked, before slowly climbing to his feet.
"How do you intend to become one with the Planet?" Aeris demanded.
Sephiroth stood upright. "It's simple," he said. Fully awake now, he tightened his grip on his sword and swiped it in front of him. His 'shadow' had returned, moving almost in time with him. "Once the Planet is hurt, it gathers Spirit Energy to heal the injury." He swiped his sword again, marking the point the injury. "The amount of energy gathered depends on the size of the injury."
The companions watched as Sephiroth then took his sword in both hands and thrust it deep into the rock beneath him. The sword cut easily through the rock, sinking a good two feet beneath its surface. But it was Sephiroth's face that scared them. The face was manic, smiling, as though he gained pleasure from the act of injury.
"…What would happen if there was an injury that threatened the very life of the Planet?" Sephiroth continued, not taking his eyes away from the point where his sword cut the rock. "Think how much energy would be gathered!"
Once more Sephiroth smiled. He pulled the sword from the rock. His eyes widened in desire, as though he could see the Spirit Energy forming in the small wound he had just created. As he continued, his body began to glow. Naruto gasped as he realised what he was getting at.
"Ha ha ha. And at the centre of that injury, will be me. All that boundless energy will be mine." Almost unconsciously Sephiroth swiped his sword in front of him. The tip narrowly missed Cloud, Aeris and Cid, who were closest to him. "By merging with the energy of the Planet, I will become a new life form, a new existence. Melding with the Planet… I will cease to exist as I am now… Only to be reborn as a 'God' to rule over every soul." By now his whole body was glowing an eerie pinkish-white colour.
It took a few moments for Sephiroth's words to sink in. "An injury powerful enough to destroy the Planet?" said Aeris. "Injure… the Planet?"
With his sword hand Sephiroth pointed to the mural they had just past—the one with people and the fire-rock in the sky. "Behold that mural," he said to them. "The Ultimate Destructive Magic… Meteor."
In an instant his plan became crystal clear. The companions uttered gasps of shock and horror. Barret gave a pain-filled cry and raised his gun, but Vincent quickly stopped him. It would do no good to shoot Sephiroth when they were all so close together. But Cloud voiced all their thoughts in just three simple words.
"That'll never happen!"
Sephiroth smiled. Then, without warning, he suddenly leaped forward. He was heading straight for Cloud. Cloud had no time to draw his sword. Not that he needed to, because Sephiroth's body suddenly became transparent and passed right through him, the sword flying harmlessly through his chest.
A sharp pain like a powerful electric shock exploded inside Cloud's head as Sephiroth passed, making his head spin and stars dance like fireworks in front of his eyes. He could hear Sephiroth's voice inside his head, yelling at him to 'Wake up!' Cloud could not speak or breathe. Panic engulfed him as he became swamped in an endless darkness, with Sephiroth's voice the only thing he could hear. All of this happened in just a second. After that instant the pain was gone and Cloud could see and breathe again, although the stars and dizziness remained. He spun around, the others invisible to him, trying to see where Sephiroth had gone.
"Where are you? Sephiroth!"
Another blast of electricity burst through his mind and Cloud spun around to face the others, although he wasn't looking at them. He ran forward, pushing past the group as though they weren't there. He headed back toward the murals.
Aeris also began to push her way through the group, calling for Cloud and trying to grab hold of him. She couldn't reach him and it seemed as though he couldn't hear her, either. "Wait, Cloud!" She broke through the group at last and ran forward, the others following behind her.
Seconds later they skidded to a stop—staring at the horrifying sight before them.
Cloud had come to a stop in front of the central mural—the mural they now knew depicted the terrifying power known as 'Meteor'. Cloud stood silently before it, looking at it, and yet not seeing it at all. He was trembling from head to foot, his body glowing with that seem eerie, ghostly glow that Sephiroth had. And, like Sephiroth, Cloud had a dark shadow of himself that moved with him, slightly out of time with the rest of his body. Cloud's face was pale, his blue eyes blank and empty as if in some faraway place. He looked like a ghost out of a nightmare!
"Cloud!" cried Aeris, horrified by what she was seeing. She tried to look away.
In response to her voice, Cloud snapped his head round to face her. Yuffie cried out. Cloud's eyes really were blank and empty—the pupils were nowhere to be seen. A small, dark smile touched his lips as he looked at them. If he even saw them at all. He glanced at them emptily for a moment before turning back to the mural.
"Cloud!" called Cait. "What's wrong with you?"
Cloud snapped his head round to look at them again. His face did not change. His eyes were still empty. The dark smile was still there. His shadow moved with him, slightly out of time and giving him a ghostly aura. One look from those cold, empty eyes made the others shiver. Something was not right. Cloud turned back to face the mural again. His shoulders started to shudder as he began to laugh.
"Sephiroth's controlling him!" Naruto cried out.
"Ha ha ha…" Cloud's laugh sounded ghostly and eerie. The voice was his, and yet it was also not his own. Yuffie shivered down to her boots. "Black Materia. Ha ha ha… Call Meteor." He continued to laugh, his whole body shaking as he moved.
"Cloud! Get a hold of yourself!" Aeris shouted.
There was a flicker of recognition in Cloud's eyes as he glanced at her again. He stopped laughing and the dark smile vanished. He squeezed his eyes shut and clutched his head tightly, as though trying to stop himself from hearing something. Still the shadow moved with him. In Cloud's mind, the ringing noise became louder.
"Cloud…" his voice trembled as he spoke, "I'm… Cloud…" Cloud clutched hard at his head, digging his fingernails deep into the skin of his scalp until he drew blood, which trickled down his face. Then he let go and shook his head. "How should I?"
Cloud tried to move, but his body was held in place by some unknown force. The others watched in horror as Cloud began to perform various poses they had seen him do frequently during the time that they had travelled together. From tilting his head in confusion to the simple standing gesture that he made every now and then—all of these were repeated over and over. Behind him the others watched, frozen, each of them thinking that at last Cloud had completely lost his mind and gone mad. They watched until, at last, Cloud finished moving, and the shadowy version of himself disappeared inside his body again. The glow faded.
Cloud nodded. "…I remember! I remember my way!"
Now able to move, he turned to face the others. He saw them all looking at him strangely. No one would look him in the eye. Yuffie looked at the ground, Cid scratching his head, and Nanaki tried to look as though he was looking at something else. Tifa had turned away completely, unable to look anymore. Only Aeris and Naruto looked at Cloud directly, their eyes filled with concern.
"…Cloud."
Cloud shrugged his shoulders dismissively. He then glanced over their shoulder at the others. Confused, he said, "Mm? What's wrong? Is something wrong?"
Aeris sighed sadly. As she had expected, Cloud had no memory of what had just happened. "…It's nothing," she lied, "so don't worry about it." She turned around to face the others, a stern look in her eyes. "Right, Cloud! It's nothing." The others shrugged, not wanting to say anything. Aeris stared at them for a moment longer before turning back to Cloud. "Sephiroth got away," she said.
"…Don't worry about it," said Cloud, oblivious of Aeris's cold, telling stare. "I understand what he was saying." Not seeing the astonished gazes of the others, Cloud turned back to the mural of Meteor. "So this must be Meteor, right?"
One by one everyone raised their heads and gazed up at the mural. It was most certainly the main focus of all the paintings—being both the largest and the clearest. All the other paintings were scratched and faded with age, while this one remained almost clear. A few scratches in the rock here and there told its age, but the image itself remained clear. The giant rock in the sky tumbled toward the people below. People who were understandably very afraid of its coming.
Tifa looked up at the mural in awe. "Is something going to fall from the sky?"
Cid curled his lip in disgust, unimpressed. "I don't know what the hell it is but it's falling from the sky?" He snorted derisively. "Hmph! It's not even an omen."
"No…this is serious stuff," said Naruto. Everyone turned to him for an explanation.
"The black materia calls forth Meteor, the Ultimate Destructive Magic. It seems that Meteor is a close by wayward planet and its called forth when the black materia is used. If meteor collides with us then all life, no, the whole planet will be wiped out!" Naruto explained.
There was a long pause as Naruto's words sunk in. In everyone's thoughts the same image flowed. The image of a single Planet floating aimlessly, harmlessly, through space, unaware that it was about to be snatched off course. When it is, it cannot escape. It is pulled by an irresistible, alluring force away from the space it knows. Before it can realise what's happening that Planet finds itself on a collision course with another Planet. It cannot turn. It cannot run. It collides into that Planet.
Their Planet.
Whilst they were thinking about this, something began to happen to the chamber in which they stood. The ground began to faintly tremble beneath their feet. A dark red aura settled upon the chamber, blotting out the murals. The room also became tremendously hot, as though a fierce fire had suddenly been lit.
Cloud turned his head round and round, looking to the ceiling.
"Sephiroth?"
No sooner did he speak did he realise he was wrong. He turned to face the top corner of the mural room, where a large red dragon sat waiting atop a large gap in the ceiling, which hadn't been there before. Cloud quickly drew his sword from behind him. As he moved, he was aware of the voice laughing inside his head.
"Ha ha ha… It is not me."