Chapter 816 - 816: Sephiroth the Devoted Son

After escaping Midgar, Cloud recounted the grievances between himself and Sephiroth along the way.

Five years ago, Cloud and Sephiroth had visited Cloud's hometown, Nibelheim, to investigate the aging Mako reactor in Mt. Nibel.

This was because not only was the Mako reactor aging, but many cruel monsters had also appeared.

As the game's visuals shifted to five years prior, Sephiroth appeared for the first time. Even though he was only present in flashbacks, just seeing Sephiroth leaning against a plate gave one a sense of pressure. Of course, Ben felt this might also be because he knew he was the final boss.

However, he was soon captivated by Cloud's behavior.

"What heavy rain!" Cloud exclaimed, looking at the downpour outside, then flashed a cheerful smile, showing concern for the silent, expressionless Shinra soldier beside him who wore a mask.

"Hey... you, don't make so much noise," Sephiroth leaned back, looking somewhat annoyed at the excited Cloud.

"I got some new Materia! I really want to try it out now!" Cloud was extremely excited.

"...What a child," Sephiroth shook his head upon hearing this.

"This behavior doesn't seem like Cloud at all! What happened to make Cloud like this?" Ben felt it was quite strange.

This flashback part of Cloud's memory made Ben feel that apart from looking the same, he wasn't the same character at all.

Based on Cloud's behavior he had experienced, he seemed more aloof, even introverted. But now it seemed the Cloud of the past was very cheerful and optimistic?

So what happened to make Cloud turn out this way?

Ben watched the subsequent plot with curiosity. When Cloud asked about his hometown, Sephiroth's reply was simply: My mother is Jenova, and she died after giving birth to me.

However, this news caused Ben to jolt. The scene then switched back to the main game, and the reactions of Barret and the others confirmed Ben's suspicion.

Jenova was the monster that had appeared in Shinra earlier.

But at this moment, Tifa's reaction made Ben somewhat puzzled. She seemed hesitant to speak and had a look of confusion.

However, Ben didn't pay too much attention to this. His focus was still on Sephiroth. What was Sephiroth's relationship with that Jenova?

Although it was just a flashback, in this brief segment, Ben could sense that although Sephiroth appeared aloof, he was quite caring towards the Shinra soldiers below.

In every battle, he would always charge in first. Sephiroth even disliked letting other soldiers fight, fearing casualties, giving the impression of having an extremely strong sense of responsibility.

With no interest in exploring Nibelheim, Ben quickly browsed around for a couple of circles before triggering the game's plot.

When heading to the Mako reactor, Sephiroth and his team hired residents from the village as guides. Tifa was the one hired at that time.

And before they set off, they took a group photo at the entrance.

Then, Cloud, Sephiroth, Tifa, and a Shinra grunt who could clearly be seen as a minor character wearing a helmet, proceeded into the Mako reactor facility.

After investigating and repairing the problematic area, Sephiroth and the others unintentionally discovered egg-shaped incubation pods filled with Mako liquid surrounding the Mako reactor.

And inside these pods were humanoids who had transformed into monsters. Sephiroth discovered the connection.

"You ordinary special forces soldiers have been soaked in Mako energy. Although you're different from normal people, you're still human," Sephiroth said, revealing the shocking truth to Cloud.

"But what are they? They've been immersed in a higher density of Mako energy."

Shinra warriors were created by letting the human body absorb a large amount of Mako radiation. Does this mean that Shinra warriors are no different from monsters?

Were Sephiroth, the strongest of the Shinra warriors, and other first-class special forces no longer human?

This guess was voiced by Cloud.

This fact made Sephiroth angry and even led him to doubt himself, because he knew he was different from Cloud and the other Shinra special forces.

Upon returning to Nibelheim village, Sephiroth went to the Shinra villa outside the village and frantically read the research documents left behind.

If a person goes mad, either they are swayed by emotions and lose their reason, or the mad person becomes absolutely calm. Clearly, Sephiroth was the latter.

Through the documents, Sephiroth believed he understood everything. Decades ago, Shinra had excavated a creature from the ice layer in the glacial region, which was in a state of suspended animation, a creature from 2000 years ago.

Dr. Gast, who was in charge of the research, named this species Jenova and, through further research, confirmed that it was the ancient species that had died out long ago.

In order to utilize the abilities of the ancient species, the researchers began more in-depth research, naming it the: Jenova Project.

At the same time, Sephiroth's mother was also named Jenova. Was this just a coincidence?

Obviously not. Although Sephiroth was muttering to himself, more and more documents confirmed his guess.

If a person's beliefs are destroyed, that person may collapse, be shocked, and hesitate, giving rise to various complex emotions.

But Sephiroth was different. The great hero was too calm, or perhaps too extreme.

In the past, he was proud of his human identity and lived by the belief of the great hero Sephiroth, so he always charged into battle first.

But now, all of Sephiroth's beliefs had been destroyed. He believed his mother was an ancient species, and the original rulers of this planet were the ancient species.

Humans were merely a later species that had come and taken over. Therefore, as the last of the ancient species, Sephiroth believed he had the responsibility and obligation to reclaim the planet from humans.

Thus, Sephiroth walked out of the villa and began a massacre.

Tifa's father was one of the villagers killed, and Tifa herself was also struck down by Sephiroth.

By the time Cloud arrived, it was already too late.

The village was engulfed in flames. Across the inferno, Sephiroth stood on the ground, his expressionless gaze fixed on Cloud. Then, holding his long sword, he slowly turned and walked into the depths of the flames.

"Damn, this scene!"

Although Sephiroth's descent into villainy was sudden and his methods were brutal.

From an aesthetic perspective, Ben had to admit that the scene of Sephiroth disappearing into the sea of flames was incredibly cool.

He even felt it was significant enough to be ranked among the most stylish villain entrances in current memory.

And the scene before the Mako reactor, where Cloud and Sephiroth were about to have their final battle, further amazed Ben.

Sephiroth, standing before the incubation pods, slowly raised his hands.

"Mother possessed the most superior power, wisdom, and magic, and was meant to be the ruler of this planet."

"But they... these worthless beings, are stealing this planet from Mother's hands. But now I am by your side, so you need not worry..."

The performance, akin to Shakespeare, completely stunned Ben.

What stunned him even more was that just when he thought he was about to experience a world-shattering boss fight with Sephiroth, the flashback ended.

In Cloud's words, his memory was interrupted here. He didn't know what happened in between. Although he believed he wasn't capable of killing Sephiroth, later Shinra news reports stated that Sephiroth was dead.

Looking back at the inn, where Barret was eagerly urging them to set off again, Ben clicked his tongue and recalled the flashback he had just experienced with Cloud.

So, the main reason for Sephiroth's descent into villainy was his devoted son attribute!?

Compared to characters like Arthas and Jaina, who players have long joked about as devoted sons, doesn't Sephiroth seem like the true devoted son?

(End of Chapter)