It took them more than ten (very frustrating) minutes of just wandering in the Tiny Bronco to find the Temple of the Ancients. It turned out to not be just east, but south as well. Quite far south if the pyramid-like structure was what they were looking for. Sephiroth was pretty sure it was.
"'Just go east,' he says," Genesis grumbled. "Yes, let's follow the advice of the untrustworthy traitor in our midst."
Neither of the other two said anything as Angeal, whom Sephiroth had given the controller to, had Cloud run up to the ruins.
The screen switched to a closer view of it and panned down just as Cloud ran onto the screen. Aeris, Cloud and Sid split apart (still strange) and the flower girl walked onto the rope bridge leading across a... moat? Some kind of defense? Well, whatever it was, Aeris fell onto her knees over it.
"Why is it always rope bridges?" Genesis asked. "We've seen how they fail."
Angeal shrugged and Sephiroth didn't bother to answer. Genesis pouted.
Aeris laid down on the bridge, talking about how she could feel that this was the Temple of the Ancients, how she could feel the knowledge floating there… Then she said something about how it could become one with the planet but was stopping itself from doing so with the sheer strength of will. Cloud asked if she was alright, if she understood. She didn't answer and ran into the building, talking about how it's uneasy but happy because she's there, but that she doesn't understand.
"Sounds like she understands to me," Genesis said.
"Shh," Angeal hushed as Aeris said she wanted to go inside. So they went up the stairs and ran into a person in a black cape.
Sephiroth grit his teeth, brow furrowed.
The caped person had the number 9 tattooed on them… and then it somehow rose into the sky with green flashes and vanished.
"What was that?" Genesis asked.
"I… have no idea," Angeal said with a frown.
"She was sending him on – helping him," Sephiroth said softly. Both of his friends turned to him. "That is my hypothesis," he went on, not wanting to explain (or even acknowledge) that it just felt right.
The game didn't comment on it, so all they could do was run inside. So they did.
They met Tseng there, leaning against a stone.
"Is he wounded?" Genesis asked.
The Turk said he'd been betrayed. "It would seem so," Sephiroth answered. He honestly felt little remorse for the man. He was, after all, a Turk. After sector 7, kidnapping Aeris and then Marlene, he felt that karma had finally caught up with the man.
'It's not the Promised Land Sephiroth is searching for,' the Turk said.
Cloud seemed to focus on the game version of the Silver General being there at all. Sephiroth wanted to know what his digital counterpart was really after.
Tseng went on to say that letting Aeris go was the beginning of his bad luck. Sephiroth thought it had started long before that, but it was something he didn't see a need to discuss, so he said nothing.
Aeris said Tseng had been wrong, that the President had been wrong and that she wouldn't help him. Sephiroth frowned. She wouldn't help him heal? Wouldn't help him find the Promised Land? Both? Neither?
"That was… vague," he said.
"Indeed," Genesis muttered.
Angeal said nothing.
Aeris went on to say that either way, ShinRa could never have won. And wasn't that poetic justice? The company that would do anything to win and make themselves more powerful put themselves in a position where they couldn't win through their own arrogance and greed?
Tseng seemed to accept that, saying that had been harsh but something she would say. Sephiroth disagreed. Aeris spoke her mind, true, but she didn't seem to be harsh about it. Her words hadn't even been harsh then, just… true. Of course, it was likely the truth of the words that had been harsh, not the words themselves.
The Turk then gave them the keystone and told them to put it on the altar and, laboriously, moved out of the way. Before going to the altar, Angeal walked Cloud over to Aeris, who had turned away from the group and looked as if she'd been crying. She said that even though Tseng was an enemy, she'd still known him since she was little. She couldn't say many people knew her, but Tseng was one of them.
Sephiroth wondered what it would be like, having to watch a friend who had become an enemy die. He tried to imagine Angeal and Genesis in that scenario and had to repress a shudder. That would be… difficult. Even if, for some reason, they were at odds when it happened.
The altar had a series of circles connected by paths leading to the edge closest to them. All the circles lit up and then Cloud sank through the floor.
What.
"Where even was the keystone?" Angeal asked.
Genesis snorted.
Sephiroth shook his head.
Cloud and his party came into what looked like a maze of stairways and walkways haphazardly thrown together. They also ran into a strange creature that they tried to follow, chasing them throughout the place, running into monsters even here, of course.
They caught up to the strange person with the large hat. All they said was, 'Nyum, nyum.' Aeris seemed to understand him, though. She explained that they were the bodies of the Ancients, left to protect the temple.
"Not doing their job well, are they," Genesis asked sardonically.
"Are they… zombies?" Angeal asked, frowning.
Sephiroth blinked. Aeris had said they were the bodies of the Ancients left behind, separated from their planet for a long time, and as such they'd lost the ability to talk…
"I… think so," Sephiroth said, uneasily. He didn't like the idea of zombies being an actual phenomenon.
Hojo must never know about this game. Sephiroth wondered if he would have to convince the Turks of this. Because he would. The very idea of Hojo even contemplating some of the ideas this game postulated… no. Just, no.
The Ancient in the group said she could only understand so much of what he'd said.
And yet, somehow they could buy things from him; items, weapons and bangles.
"This game just keeps getting more and more ridiculous!" Genesis said, exasperation dripping from his words.
"I agree," Sephiroth said.
"Me too," Angeal said.
"Good. It's nice to know I'm not the only one with any brains around here."
The other two rolled their eyes and returned their focus on the game.
They wandered around a little more, trying to figure out where they were supposed to go next when they ran into another, for lack of a better word, Ancient zombie. They decided to follow them. It led the group to the most ridiculous place where boulders in the shape of a 'C' kept rolling down a path perpendicular to the path from the entrance. Half-way up the path, a stone walkway led to a pool of what looked like water.
"Where do they get all of those? How haven't they run out? Hasn't this been going on for centuries?" Genesis asked, sounding utterly done.
"There has to be a sensor of some sort," Angeal said, "the Ancients were able to talk with the planet. Perhaps they didn't need materia to perform magic."
Genesis humphed, unwilling to cede the point. Sephiroth could see Angeal's reasoning but felt it was giving the game a little too much credit.
In any case, they had to time their run up the pathway before they got to the pool and the materia there. Then they went back to timing their runs and got to the top of the walkway. Once they did, the stones stopped rolling down. It still seemed a bit far-fetched to Sephiroth, but then a lot of this game did.
Aeris looked like she was almost out of breath, but she turned and ran back to the pool they'd found the morph materia at. She said the pool was full of the knowledge of the Ancients – of a sentience. She said it was trying to talk to her but, again, she couldn't understand it. Something about danger and an evil consciousness…
Sephiroth was pretty sure he knew where this was going.
The pool said it would show her.
Through the transparent outlines of the group's heads, they could see a room with Tseng standing in it. The room had hieroglyphics and old pictures all over the walls. Then Elena ran up to him, asking if they could really find the Promised Land with this. Tseng shrugged and said he wondered. Then he told her to report to the President. Before she left, he asked her to dinner.
"Well, what do you know, Turks can have hearts," Genesis said dryly.
Elena left, Tseng went back to studying the walls… and then the music changed. Game Sephiroth's transparent head (and sword, of course) came by. Then he became opaque somehow and Tseng acknowledged him. Game Sephiroth thanked Tseng for opening the door. Instead of running, as he likely should have, the Turk asked what the room was.
"How can he possibly know?" Genesis asked.
Apparently he did, because he started explaining that the room was, 'A treasure house of knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients.' Then he went on to say he was becoming one with the planet.
"Are they simply changing motivations to suit their narrative?" Genesis asked, face deadpan.
"It certainly seems so," Angeal muttered.
Sephiroth appreciated that.
A lot.
Then Game Sephiroth split into two, one of them transparent and seeming to get closer to the three onlookers, going on about how he'd meld with all the energy, knowledge and wisdom of the planet, claiming it for his own.
"Since when do you like to monologue?" Genesis asked, now looking almost amused.
Sephiroth scoffed. "I don't."
Angeal smirked at that.
Of course, then opaque Sephiroth stabbed Tseng.
The transparent Sephiroth laughed, saying that it is through death that a new spirit is born. That they would live again… through him.
"Awfully arrogant, isn't he?" Genesis asked.
Sephiroth's face had gone blank again. His hand clenched, but he was proud of the fact that nothing came out through his voice when he said, "Indeed."
The vision faded and the three of them at the pool spoke about how they needed to 'end it here'. With two more disks, Sephiroth doubted that was how it would play out.
Newly determined, the three of them continued through the Temple.
They moved to go out of the room, and ran into another bird-like Ancient zombie. Who let them rest, restoring their HP and MP. At least they were pleasant zombies, Sephiroth supposed.
The next room held a sort of clock that acted as a risky bridge they had to manipulate. The center dias looked like it had a mouth that opened and closed… and they expected Cloud to walk across it. Right. It didn't take them long to figure out how to work the mechanism, and a couple of minutes later they moved into the next room. Well a next room as they ended up back where they'd started in the stair-maze room… but it had a treasure box with a ribbon in it.
"Useful, if it's the kind of ribbon I think it is," Angeal said. At Sephiroth's glance, he went on to explain. "I've heard of ribbon relics that have some sort of magic woven into them that stops all status effects."
"Those don't exist," Genesis said.
The brunet shrugged. "Neither does the Leviathan Materia, supposedly."
"This game makes unbelievable claims," the red-head returned.
Angeal raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Like a church in sector five and a vent large enough for people to crawl through from a bathroom to the main meeting room or echoes of conversations that no one should know about or—"
"Very well, you've made your point," Genesis snapped. "Besides, that doesn't mean everything has to be true! It was off about the girl's name. And the puppy's. And surely not all the strangeness can be waved off with 'Game Insanity'."
It went unsaid that 'off' didn't necessarily mean 'wrong' and most of the insanity was poor representation of people or story elements but somewhat explainable by low budget and limitations of the medium.
After a moment, the brunet just shrugged and turned back to the screen. A moment later, Genesis did as well, grumbling under his breath about how he didn't need enemies when he had these kinds of friends. He didn't really sound angry though, so Sephiroth let it slide as the game continued.
They also found a Princess Guard staff, which had no materia growth but some excellent stats for Aeris.
In the next room, they found themselves chasing (and apparently having to capture) another Ancient zombie by guessing where different archways in the wall would lead.
"How did Game Sephiroth get past all of this?" Sephiroth wondered. "It isn't as if I can fly." And somehow, he didn't think his crazy counterpart would have the patience to go through all of this.
The other two shook their heads.
Far too many frustrating guesses later, they finally caught their Ancient bird-zombie.
Sephiroth frowned at that thought. And there was Genesis creeping into his inner monologue again.
The zombie let them rest and save the game. They did so and then moved to the next room.
Which just happened to be the room with the murals. Despite not being physically in danger, he braced himself anyway.
Cloud angrily called out for 'Sephiroth' and the screen flashed white. Then two transparent overlaps of the polygon character appeared, rising to its feet, with the game Masamune in hand.
"I'll give him this, he has a decent sense of drama," Genesis commented. Sephiroth wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or angry at that and settled for something a little in between.
Then Game Sephiroth said something strange: He said he'd always be by Cloud's side. What did he mean by that rather ominous statement?
They ran further into the room only to stop when they met a far more solid looking representation of the Silver General. He said that the room was a treasure house of knowledge. Cloud said he didn't understand. Game Sephiroth laughed and jumped off the screen towards the top.
They had Cloud run farther in and once again straight into Game Sephiroth. It took Sephiroth a moment to realize the mural his game counterpart had been studying had what looked like a picture depicting a very large comet. Sephiroth had a Comet Materia. He'd personally overloaded and not gotten anything larger than the side-table at the end of his couch. Most people didn't get that big, even.
He didn't say anything, waiting for the game to explain.
The characters on screen spoke and Game Sephiroth again mentioned that he would become one with the planet (something they still had no actual context for) before devolving into a laugh and jumping up and backwards off the screen again.
A little further and they found Game Sephiroth sitting down, leaning his back against the altar talking about how it was almost time, 'Mother', and how they would soon be one. So he would be one with Jenova and with the planet? Was he insinuating that Jenova was the planet? That made no sense…
And then they approached him. Somehow, this version of AVALANCHE didn't seem all that saner than Game Sephiroth.
Aeris asked how he would become one with the planet…
And he explained it. Went on about how if the planet gets injured badly enough, energy will coalesce to heal it and Game Sephiroth wanted to throw the ultimate black magic at the planet, 'Meteor'. He spoke about all of this as he changed color and didn't seem to be fully there.
Genesis, once again, seemed to be on the same page as him. "There's drama, and then there's stupidity. Or sheer arrogance."
"Why would he just explain himself like that? That's not like Sephiroth at all," Angeal agreed.
Sephiroth felt himself relax a little. Hearing them say that over and over again should mean he would become desensitized to the warmth their support brought… and yet, he couldn't say that was happening. Against all odds, he just felt more and more grateful for it.
Then Game Sephiroth seemed to fly right past (or through? It was difficult to see) Cloud, and said 'Wake up', before vanishing… again. Cloud chased him, the other two followed.
When they caught up with him, he was standing in front of the Meteor mural and… laughing?
"Oh, that cannot be good," Angeal said softly.
"Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul… You have a talent for understatement, my friend," Genesis muttered.
The brunet shook his head. "Did he just overpower Cloud? Or possess him?" Angeal asked, sounding both disbelieving and utterly confused.
"I… am not sure," the thespian said, both troubled and contemplative judging from his tone.
Sephiroth also wasn't sure what to think. Did his game counterpart have some way to control Cloud? If so, how? Why Cloud and not, say, Aeris? Wouldn't that be more beneficial and help him reach his (rather ridiculous) goal of merging with the planet?
They watched in a sort of morbid fascination as Cloud laughed and spoke of Meteor and 'Mother'. He also seemed to have the strange doubleness (for lack of a better word) that Game Sephiroth had had. It almost looked he was splitting, or like like his soul didn't quite match up with his body and was lagging behind or trying to break free, perhaps?
If the game makers were going for a surreal feeling, they certainly hit their mark. For once.
After a moment, he said his name was Cloud and he remembered his way. The doubleness stopped and he turned to the other two, who seemed understandably relieved.
Then he asked if something was wrong. They responded that nothing was, which seemed rather stupid to Sephiroth. That wasn't something they could just brush off. That indicated a serious psychosis reminiscent of some war veterans he'd seen. They repressed terrible memories and just remained in a state of denial until they snapped and their minds broke.
What had Cloud gone through that would result in something like that?
"What was that?" Genesis asked.
"Stress Shock," Sephiroth responded.
The other two paused and looked over at him, so he continued to explain.
"We've all seen the results of war and trauma. Can you honestly tell me his denial doesn't remind you of the remnants of a shattered mind trying to deal with the horrors of war?" He frowned and looked back at the screen. "Not everyone reacts in predictable ways to such things, but it is far too reminiscent of battle trauma. I suspect something happened to him and this is how the game portrayed it, likely due to other limitations in the medium. And Game Sephiroth," he almost sneered the name, "is taking advantage of his shattered mind somehow."
"Hmm," Genesis hummed thoughtfully, "that would explain why he went after Cloud and not, say, Aeris."
So he'd noticed that too? Of course he had. Genesis had a sharp mind and he loved plays and books enough to spot such things. So Sephiroth simply nodded.
"They should have said something to him," Angeal said, frowning.
Despite his earlier thoughts, Sephiroth had to disagree. "With a powerful, known hostile in the room, it would be more damaging to say something to him now and either end up in an argument, set him off, or rob him of his ability to fight. They'll have to tell him later."
"True," Angeal agreed, but he didn't sound pleased.
The group examined the mural on the wall, confirming that it had been what Game Sephiroth spoke of. They also mentioned the Black Materia and how that was what called the spell of Meteor down.
"I wonder," Genesis said, "where did this 'Black Materia' come from?" Sephiroth glanced over at his friend in question. "Why would the ancients make such a materia? Did they really have such powers as to actually produce whatever kind of materia they wanted? If so, why create something so destructive?"
"If Ancients and humans are related," Angeal answered, "then there were likely some power-hungry among them. If President ShinRa knew his company could make something like that…" he trailed off, knowing that he didn't have to finish.
"So they recognized the threat and hid it away?" Genesis asked as Aeris went on to explain. Although, how she knew how to read the hieroglyphics, Sephiroth had no idea.
The screen started shaking. They blamed Game Sephiroth. He (or his disembodied voice, if Sephiroth caught the subtext correctly) denied any fault… and then the group had to fight a red dragon.
"So, there is a defense," Genesis mused.
Of course, once they finished the battle, there was no sign of Sephiroth. There was, however, a Bahamut materia. The king of dragons – one of the rarest materia to have ever existed (not counting Leviathan).
"I don't know how they are so lucky as to keep finding these materais, but I want that luck," Genesis grouched.
After a couple of seconds' contemplation, they decided to head back to the strange altar Game Sephiroth had been leaning against. They found a transparent, floating pyramid above it. How strange. The three game characters spoke of how it said 'Black Materia' on it and then what they should do about it. A menu came up that said 'Shake it', 'Take it', and 'Leave'.
"Leave," Genesis said, almost immediately. "With Cloud potentially compromised, them possessing it would be more of a risk and danger than leaving it alone. Game Sephiroth hasn't taken it yet, and either it's another example of game logic – insanity, excuse me – or there's a reason. If he hasn't taken it already, he won't."
Angeal shook his head. "It's still too dangerous to leave it. We have no idea what Game Sephiroth will do to get it or how many people he'll…" he faded off, glanced over at Sephiroth, then went on as if nothing had happened. "How many people will die if we simply leave it alone and someone besides Cloud can handle it. This is a chance, I say take it."
"Shake it," Sephiroth disagreed with both of them. "We'll obviously have to do something to get it besides simply taking whatever it is, and somehow I doubt we can move on in the story if we don't try."
"If it were just a game, I would agree," Genesis said. "But as you've both proven time and again, it isn't."
"That doesn't mean there isn't a narrative," Sephiroth replied. "And these people haven't shown the… highest mental acuity."
The red-head sighed, looking put upon, as if he was the one who had to deal with everything and not watch as a third party. "Very well. Shake it."
Angeal shrugged and picked that. The whole room shook again and then… nothing. Aeris said she'd ask what they should do.
"Why didn't she ask before?" Genesis grumbled.
No one seemed to care enough to answer that so they moved on.
After a couple of seconds, Aeris told them that the temple itself is the Black Materia. Sephiroth closed his eyes and tried to imagine how something like that could even be possible.
"What?" Angeal asked, confused.
"My soul, corrupted by vengeance, hath endured torment…"
He didn't finish the line, and it did fit rather well like that.
Aeris went on to explain that the mechanism was a miniature of the temple and that by solving puzzles, the building would grow smaller and smaller until it could fit in the palm of a hand. She said something about the person solving getting smaller too…
"It's a shrinking spell of some kind?" Genesis asked, looking suddenly more intrigued and skeptical.
The Ancient must have mistranslated, because she also said that whoever stayed to solve the puzzle, would die. So, no shrinking spell as the Temple got smaller. Sephiroth blinked. What a horrible way to die… He'd much rather just prefer a sword through the gut.
Cid suggested they leave it alone. Cloud pointed out that Game Sephiroth had 'flunkies' (the black-robed figures, likely) to sacrifice. Although why he hadn't brought any with him for just this occasion…
Going crazy didn't seem to do Sephiroth any favors.
He examined that thought again and decided to ignore the blatant obviousness of the statement.
While they were deciding what to do, Cloud's PHS went off.
"That's some good reception," Angeal said.
"It is supposed to be in the future," Sephiroth pointed out.
Cait Sith was on the other end. He said he'd (somehow) overheard the whole thing. Had he planted bugs on them?
"This is why you always carry around a jammer," Genesis said haughtily.
Cloud said they couldn't let ShinRa get their hands on the Black Materia any more than they could Game Sephiroth. Cait Sith pointed out that they didn't have many options. He wasn't wrong.
"I still say we just leave it," the Commander muttered.
Angeal just rolled his eyes and picked that they didn't have another choice. Apparently he'd taken Sephiroth's point about the potential narrative to heart. It was a little ironic that he'd had to argue the point when Genesis was usually the one to push similar ideas.
Cait Sith said he'd meet them at the exit (how did he expect to get past all the monsters himself?) and for them to hurry out. They retraced their steps.
The next two rooms were easily traversed, but the third, a fairly unfamiliar one, was moving strangely and had ominous music to it as well. Cloud ran up to the door as Aeris and Cid ran out of him and turned around. The door wouldn't open… and then a giant head and arms of some sort came out of the wall.
"What in the name of Gaia is that?!" Genesis exclaimed.
"I'm glad I made sure they had full health," Angeal muttered.
The thing had some devastating attacks. Fortunately, they had a lovely new summon to play with, that did a lot of nice damage. Once they got their limit breaks in, though, it went down easily enough.
No sooner had they defeated the Demon Wall than Cait Sith came in through the door.
"Whatever happened to waiting at the exit?" Genesis asked, annoyed. None of them were very happy with Cait Sith right now.
No one seemed to really know what to say to the back-stabbing betrayer, although somehow it got around to Aeris asking him to predict how compatible she and Cloud were. Sephiroth rolled his eyes at the utter inanity.
Cait Sith said that Cloud and Aeris were perfect for each other (and poor Tifa). He said they had a great future ahead of them.
"They hardly know each other!" Genesis protested. "Even if it took the equivalent of months to get here – something we saw no indication of – they haven't been alone since they first met! This is ridiculous."
He huffed, then cleared his throat, "Legend shall speak of sacrifice at world's end..."
Angeal raised an eyebrow at Genesis in amusement. "A sacrifice? "
"Cloud will have to pick eventually. Either one or the other or neither. I doubt either of the girls would be happy with 'both'."
Sephiroth still thought it all pointless, but decided not to say anything.
Cait Sith went on to babble inanely even more and said that he'd be Cloud's preacher or anything he wanted. Somehow, he was under the delusion that they would trust him again.
Then he turned and bowed, as if ashamed, and thanked them for believing in him, despite knowing he was a spy. Well, Sephiroth supposed they were technically believing in him at the moment, but they honestly had no other choice. Then he said it was the final farewell and Aeris wished him to be strong.
"I say, 'Good riddance,'" Genesis said dryly. Angeal shot him an exasperated look and thus didn't see Sephiroth nodding in agreement. Then it showed Cait Sith bouncing along in the hieroglyphics room (were there any more monsters to confront?) and bouncing along as the room shook.
'She told me to be strong. I'm so happy.' The text appeared on the screen.
"If that's all it took to make him happy, no wonder ShinRa got a hold of him," Genesis groused.
Then the puppet tripped, very slowly rose again, and said something about still being able to move. Why would he say that? He hadn't even reached the altar where they were supposed to solve puzzles yet.
Then he did reach it, and the mechanical cat commented on the craftsmanship. A 'ding' that Sephiroth usually associated with picking up an item or materia sounded. Did that mean he'd solved a puzzle? Then he just… stood in front of the table and looked around… wasn't he supposed to be solving puzzles still?
He said he was embarrassed about wanting to save the planet too, that there were many stuffed animals but just one him. Sephiroth supposed that was true. He wasn't an expert at coding, but he knew enough to see uniqueness when he saw it.
'Don't forget me, even if another Cait Sith comes along.'
"Oh, Gaia, there are more of them?" Genesis asked, sounding both tired and horrified.
"He only solved maybe one puzzle," Angeal said, annoyed. Sephiroth snorted quietly to show his agreement.
The screen faded to white and Sephiroth really couldn't say he was terribly upset.
Then it showed Cloud, Aeris and Cid outside, watching the temple as a dark green aura interspersed with lighter green lightning appeared around it. Then it disappeared and the group ran back across the bridge.
The group reached the edge of a rather square hole. At the bottom, a black orb floated.
Cid said he was going to have a smoke – that it was 'something' to have a smoke in a place like 'this'.
What.
"Doesn't he always smoke?" Genesis asked, bored. "The hand-waving at this part astounds me."
Cloud jumped down into the hole, and Aeris climbed down after him.
"Don't let him touch it!" Angeal yelled at the screen. "He's obviously compromised somehow!"
The blond picked it up. Then turned to ask if Aeris could use it. She said only people with 'great spiritual power' could use it.
"How does one obtain 'great spiritual power'?" Sephiroth asked his friends. Angeal shook his head and Genesis shrugged.
Fortunately the game explained that it would take a good deal of spiritual energy, so many people using it at once.
"Well, that's a relief," Angeal said, sitting back against the couch.
Sephiroth frowned. Something was off here… and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a frown on Genesis.
Then Aeris said 'somewhere special, where there is plenty of the Planet's energy'.
So, theoretically, if Game Sephiroth got his wish of merging with the Planet's energy and taking it for himself… but then, why would he want to destroy the world after that? He needed Meteor to injure the planet, but he needed the Planet's energy to summon Meteor.
Unless he somehow had enough energy already… but how could he have gotten that?
They suggested the Promised Land… and rejected it. Wise of them seeing as there was no proof the Promised Land existed.
Then they said that Game Sephiroth was different – not an Ancient. Right, since Jenova wasn't an Ancient…
Sephiroth grit his teeth and his hands became fists again. This was getting… frustrating.
Because he wasn't an Ancient, he couldn't find the Promised Land.
Of course, then Game Sephiroth appeared at the lip of the hole. To Cid's credit, he immediately ran towards the threat, but then the silver-haired character rose into the air, claiming he was far superior to the Ancients. He traveled the Lifestream and gained the wisdom and knowledge of the Ancients, or at least he claimed so. Oh, and he did so after the extinction of the Ancients as well…
"Definitely arrogance," Genesis muttered.
Sephiroth focused on keeping his breathing even instead of commenting. He didn't expect a game to make him this… angry, no matter how accurate it could be.
Then Game Sephiroth said he'd create the future.
Aeris protested. Game Sephiroth said, 'Wake up' and the screen flashed. Then Cloud fell to his knees as Game Sephiroth slowly descended – still through the air, of course – into the pit. There were two Clouds at that point, although one of them looked significantly smaller than the other.
"Can't you control him?" Genesis asked.
Angeal held the controller in front of his friend's face as he pressed buttons and used the joysticks. Only the smaller Cloud moved, and even then he only turned in place.
'Good boy,' Game Sephiroth said. Sephiroth could just imagine the smug, superior tone that Hojo used… except in his voice. It made him sick.
Then only the younger Cloud could run around while the older Cloud got up and began to run in slow motion towards Game Sephiroth… while Aeris stood around, of course. No matter what Angeal did, they couldn't stop Cloud from giving the Black Materia to the Sephiroth on the screen.
xXx
AN: If we knew it was coming does that still make it a cliffhanger? *ponders*
So! I've finally finished my webcomic! If you'd like to read it all, you can go here: webtoons dot com /en/challenge/hope-for-scars-h/list?title_no=430254&page=1 (without spaces, dot = . ), or you can google 'webtoons hope for scars' and it's the first one that comes up. :)
Also, Discord: discord dot gg /9tMAyCxEqJ (without spaces, dot = . )
Thank you so much, Imagination7413 ! You really saved this chapter!