Chapter 813 - 813: Those Familiar Stabs!

Ben actually had a pretty good time with this part of the story in the Train Graveyard.

Even though the extremely eerie atmosphere initially made him a little scared, the later "cuddled between Tifa and Aerith" moment quickly dispelled that spooky fear.

And as the truth about the ghosts was revealed, Ben gained a different perspective. The ghost that found Cloud and the others was actually a very lonely one, wanting to play hide-and-seek with people. They were friendly.

But they were trapped here by an undead being riding a black carriage.

Furthermore, on their way to escape the Train Graveyard and head to the slums, Aerith was swept away by this evil undead being.

A wave of Aerith's past memories was also shown here, focusing on letting players understand Aerith's history.

"So, Advent Children depicted Tifa and Cloud's experiences, and this scene depicts Aerith's past. Are they playing the stock market now? Aerith stocks or Tifa stocks?" Looking at this part of the story, especially when Cloud and Tifa tore through the black vortex at the last moment and arrived in front of Aerith, Ben muttered to himself.

Such actions aren't uncommon in anime and games. Even games under Nebula Games, like "The Witcher: Wild Hunt," have similar designs, don't they?

"If I had to choose, hmm... I'd still go with Tifa." Ben smacked his lips.

Compared to Aerith, he really did prefer Tifa's type.

Entering the boss battle, it wasn't as difficult as the one against the Unknown at the arena. By reasonably using the summon and the accumulated energy bar, plus having Tifa in the party for this fight, Ben didn't adjust the difficulty to easy.

Watching the final scene where the ghosts transformed into blue starlight and ascended, Ben mused.

Combining the game's world, his current experience, and the content of the CG movie Advent Children, he had some theories.

That is, within the world of "Final Fantasy," all living beings originate from the planet's power, and after death, these beings become the Lifestream and re-integrate into the planet.

Simply put, it forms a nesting doll pattern, and extracting Mako is equivalent to killing the planet's life.

"Thinking about it this way, it makes a lot more sense. But what about Sephiroth? Is Sephiroth still a SOLDIER belonging to Shinra at this point?" While advancing the story, Ben actually had many questions in his mind.

But as the plot progressed, these lingering questions were temporarily put aside.

Cloud and the others, who came out of the Train Graveyard to the slums, were a step too late. By the time they arrived.

The Shinra army had already attacked Sector 7, and the entire Sector 7 was almost completely destroyed by Shinra.

And in this battle, the Avalanche trio, who had adventured with Cloud before, all sacrificed themselves.

Wedge, who liked to call Cloud "Big Brother" and kept a bunch of cats, fell directly from the tower, his fate unknown.

Biggs covered his companions, holding the line alone on the tower. By the time Cloud arrived, he couldn't hold on any longer.

And Jessie, when Cloud and Tifa arrived, although she repelled the Shinra soldiers with the explosives in her hand, she herself was severely wounded.

"Hate it, Tifa always makes that strange face," Jessie said with a smile, comforting Tifa who looked heartbroken, despite being gravely injured.

"The last person I spoke to in this life was Cloud... Hmm, that's not bad."

"My bombs killed many people. Is this Bell a retribution?"

"Actually, I've always believed... we could all... eat my mom's cooking again."

"Look, Tifa is crying... But you guys should go now, right? You've been watching me... I'm really embarrassed."

As the words fell, Jessie's eyes slowly closed, and her hand resting on Cloud's shoulder dropped powerlessly.

Beside her, Tifa let out a mournful cry.

Looking at Jessie in the game, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed, and Tifa heartbrokenly weeping beside her.

Ben was completely stunned.

Even though he knew Jessie wasn't a main character, Ben never expected Jessie to die.

Because in his scenario, Jessie was likely to end up as a character like Nia in "Xenoblade," eventually becoming a sort of "runner-up" character.

After all, during the mission, she developed feelings for Cloud due to his several rescues and their adventures. And with her cheerful personality, she actively pursued the emotionally dense Cloud.

But in the end, she lost to Tifa, her childhood sweetheart, successfully becoming a "runner-up" character that players found endearing.

But what the heck is this now!?

What's with these familiar stabs!?

Although this wasn't in the game's setting, Ben's mind flashed with memories of Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge.

At the same time, it wasn't over. The next second, the scene switched to Aerith's side. Aerith, entrusted by Tifa, went to Seventh Heaven bar and rescued Marlene, Barret's daughter.

But Shinra soldiers led by Tseng also surrounded Seventh Heaven. To save Marlene, Aerith chose to leave with the Shinra people.

Seeing this, Ben suddenly had a very bad feeling.

That is, could this "Final Fantasy" be a tragedy!

Just the scene of Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge meeting their demise had played out, and now Aerith left with Shinra to save Marlene.

Although Tseng always looked like a gentleman, Reno and Rude before him had always wanted to take Aerith away.

Also, in the movie "Advent Children," why didn't Aerith make an appearance? Even if the official ending cemented Tifa and Cloud together, as a fellow adventurer, Aerith wouldn't just disappear without even meeting Tifa and Cloud.

"It... shouldn't be, right!"

Ben didn't want to think about that possibility. While it's true that Boss Lucas had a history of this, there had also been good moments, even if few, but they did exist, didn't they?

So at this moment, he still chose to believe in Boss Lucas.

After all, they had already delivered the stab of Jessie, and three at once.

Didn't they also stab Vandham in "Xenoblade"?

This thought lingered in Ben's mind, and he didn't even pay much attention to the plot of rescuing Barret.

For this part of the story, Lucas still used the cutscene from the original game, where Reno activated the plate separation device before Cloud could arrive.

In the remake, due to the Whispers' setting, fate was pulled back onto its original track, and Barret was given the persona of a "bullet shield" user. Lucas saved that for the subsequent second part.

Hiding all the way, they arrived at Aerith's home and learned about the Ancients from Aerith's adoptive mother.

The reason Shinra wanted to find the Ancients was actually to find the location of the Promised Land.

Because it was a place only the Ancients knew, and legend said there was infinite Mako energy there.

However, this information didn't hold Ben's attention much. At this moment, the thing he wanted most was to hurry to Shinra and rescue Aerith.

(End of chapter)