Chapter 820 - 820: How Could Anyone Be So Cruel?

With a sigh, Ben continued playing through the DLC content. Compared to the main game, the story for Zack's DLC wasn't very long.

He was already in the latter half of the playthrough. At this point, Zack and a Turk named Tseng were traveling together to the border to investigate Genesis's whereabouts.

It was here that Zack met Cloud, the game's protagonist, for the first time, and they hit it off immediately.

They also had something in common: they were both from the countryside.

However, even though Cloud was the main character of the game, it was clear that Zack had more screen time in this DLC.

'Honor disgraced, wings broken when trying to fly; this is the monster's end.' Genesis, a representative of the artsy types, who always carried a copy of "loveless," hadn't forgotten his dramatic flair even after being defeated by Zack.

There was one thing Ben truly had to admit: Genesis was undeniably cool.

Sephiroth, Genesis – these 1st Class Shinra SOLDIERs were all exceptionally stylish.

Even the older brother, Angeal, while perhaps not as handsome as Sephiroth or Genesis in appearance, carried himself with a powerful, manful demeanor.

Especially the line: "As a SOLDIER, you must have dreams, never forget your dreams."

This became Zack's lifelong creed.

So, when Genesis began singing his opera, Zack spoke up: "We are not monsters! We are SOLDIERs! Where is your honor?"

Faced with Zack's question, Genesis slowly retreated towards the reactor, chanting as he went: "Even without a promised tomorrow, I will surely return to where you are; if this world threatens my life... then, let's go down together."

With his words, Genesis leaped into the Mako reactor.

Ben: ??????

Watching Genesis disappear from view, Ben couldn't help but smack his lips.

The lines were so cool, and the action was so dramatic, but what happened to the "go down together" promise?

Ben continued playing. As Zack ventured deeper into Modeoheim, he discovered Angeal and Holland, learning more details about the Jenova Genesis Project.

Faced with Zack, Angeal, who greatly valued honor, made a decision.

"Zack, do you remember? We promised to fight against everything that brings pain to the world. Now, what brings me pain is myself." Angeal looked at Zack and summoned the monsters around them that possessed Jenova cells.

As a perfect test subject for the Jenova Genesis Project, he had the ability to absorb and split. However, even so, absorbing too many Jenova cells at once would lead to an irreversible state.

Under the input of countless monster cells, Angeal became the monster he hated.

The battle lasted from noon until evening, and the entire laboratory in Modeoheim shattered during the fight between Zack and Angeal. In the end, Angeal, now a monster, was killed by Zack.

Angeal, lying on the ground, showed a smile of relief and handed the Buster Sword to Zack.

"Well done, Zack... It's up to you now. Don't forget your honor."

[Carry your dreams. If you want to be a hero, you must carry your dreams, and honor.]

Angeal's words echoed in Zack's mind. Returning to Aerith's church, Zack, who had always been optimistic, shed his tears for the first time.

At this moment, Aerith saw the sorrowful Zack and gently walked over, crouching down and hugging him tightly from behind.

After this, came the memories that had belonged to Cloud.

In Cloud's hometown, during a mission to investigate a Mako reactor, Sephiroth also betrayed Shinra.

Zack was defeated by Sephiroth. Faced with the massacre of his hometown and the unknown fate of his childhood friend Tifa,

Cloud finally stepped forward. He picked up Zack's Buster Sword and, in the end, launched a surprise attack, knocking Sephiroth into the Mako reactor, though he himself was severely wounded.

At the same time, this part of the story proved one thing: that Hojo's earlier claims about clones were nothing but a lie.

When Shinra personnel arrived, Hojo took the severely injured Zack and Cloud back for experimentation, injecting them with Jenova cells.

By the time Zack woke up, four years had passed. Cloud, unable to become a SOLDIER due to his will and spirit, remained in a dazed coma.

Upon waking, Zack took Cloud and escaped from Shinra.

Of course, there was another character in this part of the story that surprised Ben quite a bit: a Turk girl named Cissnei, who seemed to have a special relationship with Zack.

"Hey... Cissnei, can you be someone my parents can talk to?" Knowing he was wanted by Shinra and couldn't return to Gongaga for a peaceful life, Zack wanted Cissnei to help look after his parents.

"Sure, I'll be glad to. I owe you one." Cissnei smiled.

"I bet they'll ask about a bride or something."

"They already have."

"Then what did you say about that! Cissnei!" Hearing this, Zack suddenly panicked.

Ben watched this part of the story and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

So, this was the protagonist's treatment, huh?

He always had girls around him who liked him, and not just one!

Even though it was just a DLC, in this DLC, Zack was the main character!

While feeling emotional, Ben was also a little amused, as Zack and Cissnei's conversation was quite humorous.

But the next part of the story completely took away Ben's amusement.

Because at this time, Zack and Cloud were high-priority targets for Shinra. They were intercepted and ambushed countless times along the way. And because Cloud had merged with Jenova, it attracted Holland and Genesis, who wanted to capture Cloud for research.

However, Genesis and Holland, unable to cope with the deteriorating effects of merging with Jenova cells, were no match for Zack. They were ultimately defeated by Zack.

It was then that Zack received a letter from Aerith.

After four years of waiting, Aerith had been waiting for Zack to fulfill their shared goal with a flower cart: to sell flowers in Midgar.

[This is the 89th letter, but there's no sender's address anymore. This is the last letter... Zack, the flowers sold very well, and everyone was smiling. This is all thanks to Zack - Aerith]

"Four years! So what is this ending!"

Zack's mind flashed with Aerith's image. He looked towards Midgar.

Then, he picked up the unconscious Cloud and grabbed the Buster Sword.

No matter what, he had to go back to find Aerith because he had an unfulfilled promise with her.

As they approached the plains of Midgar, Zack's eyes held a glimmer of hope. Although Cloud hadn't fully recovered, he could now utter simple words.

"Just kidding, I won't leave you behind. We're friends, Cloud."

"When we get to Midgar, let's become mercenaries."

Back in the plains of Midgar, Zack, driving the vehicle, smiled and talked to himself, looking at the still dazed Cloud in the back.

"So, don't put a death flag on yourself!" Ben, watching Zack's smiling face, had a bad feeling.

This was a classic death flag!

As everyone knows, when someone says things like 'I'm going back home to get married after this battle' or 'I'm quitting after this,'

they've basically pre-ordered their own funeral.

Now, Zack had said something similar.

Coupled with "Advent Children" and the fact that the Buster Sword later became Cloud's weapon,

these all hinted at Zack's fate for Ben.

On the plains of Midgar, the driving Zack stopped the vehicle.

Shinra pursuers had sealed off this area.

Midgar was just ahead, so close, just a little bit further.

Zack looked at the unconscious Cloud in the vehicle and a characteristic smile spread across his face.

He carried Cloud out of the vehicle and placed him beside some hidden rocks. Zack gave a soft laugh, raised his right hand, and patted Cloud's head. Then, with a final look at Cloud, he turned and walked away, carrying the Buster Sword on his back.

At this moment, Cloud seemed to have regained some consciousness. He looked at Zack's retreating figure and slowly raised his hand, as if trying to hold him back.

"Seriously! The price of chasing freedom is high!"

Holding Angeal's Buster Sword with both hands, Zack looked up at the sky with a smile as the approaching Shinra soldiers neared.

"So... embrace your dreams!"

"No matter what, never give up your pride as a SOLDIER."

"Welcome!"

Continuous battles, endless enemies, waves after waves repelled.

Although Ben, controlling Zack, had defeated Angeal, Genesis, and countless monsters before, he couldn't hold out against these countless enemies, which came like a tide.

His health steadily dropped, and his supplies dwindled.

At the same time, the sky gradually darkened, and at some point, it began to rain.

As Ben used his last Potion, and Zack's last bit of health was depleted, the screen switched to a church in the slums of Midgar.

Aerith was tending to the flowers in the church. The sky, which had been clear and sunny, suddenly began to rain.

As if sensing something, Aerith looked up blankly at the raining sky, clasped her hands in prayer, but a moment later, she let out a gasp.

Then, the scene returned to the wilderness of Midgar.

Zack, covered in blood, lay in the mud. The heavy rain washed away the blood from his body, but the next moment, blood flowed again from his wounds. Only the rise and fall of his chest seemed to prove he was still alive.

In the distance, a weakened Cloud, crawling on the ground, kept trying to reach Zack.

"Zack... Zack..."

Still not fully recovered from the side effects of Mako radiation, Cloud crawled to Zack's side and stared blankly at the motionless Zack on the ground, instinctively calling out the name he remembered.

Zack looked at Cloud beside him and smiled. Even at his last moment, his face bore a smile.

"For me... and for you..."

"For me and for you?" Cloud stared blankly at the dying Zack.

"Yes, you... you have to live. You... are proof that I existed."

"My honor and my dreams... I give them all to you."

Handing Cloud the Buster Sword beside him, Zack closed his eyes, lying on the ground with a smile.

"I am proof that you existed." Holding the Buster Sword, a dazed Cloud murmured, looking at Zack on the ground.

After an unknown amount of time, Cloud seemed to remember something. Amidst the pouring rain, he looked at Zack on the ground and let out a mournful cry.

[His pupils were blurred, making it impossible to see clearly.]

[He couldn't discern the mixed emotions in his heart...]

[Why, gazing up at the lonely starry sky,]

[Why, can I still see a smile?]

Accompanied by the interlude titled "Why," Zack's past words seemed to echo in Cloud's ears.

"You must have dreams. If you want to become a hero, you must have dreams."

The rain had stopped at some point. Still feeling a bit disoriented, Cloud looked at the Buster Sword in his hand.

Then, looking towards Midgar in the distance, he slowly stood up and began to move forward, one step at a time.

At the same time, Zack in "another world" seemed to have come back to life. He slowly opened his arms and rejoined the planet's Lifestream.

"She... said she was afraid of this incredibly ordinary sky, but... this sky feels so good."

"Please give me a pair of those wings too."

At this moment, Zack finally had the wings he had envied in Angeal.

Wings that belonged to an angel, and also to a hero.

"Cloud... I'm leaving Aerith in your care."

As Zack faded away, the in-game screen gradually dimmed and returned to Cloud's mental world.

At this moment, Cloud finally recalled everything that had happened.

"Having dreams... If you want to be a hero, you must have dreams."

Looking at Tifa beside him and the Buster Sword in front of him, Cloud got up from the bed and gently grabbed the hilt of the sword, closing his eyes.

"Thank you, Zack. You can rest peacefully now."

"I won't forget your teachings."

Taking a deep breath, Cloud's eyes regained their resolve.

He wasn't excited by Cloud's awakening, nor did he continue pushing the plot to save the world and defeat Sephiroth upon returning to the main game.

This was because Ben was still immersed in the scene of Zack's death and let out a cry from the depths of his soul.

"Boss Lucas, damn you!"

He had actually been mentally prepared for Zack's death.

But when the moment truly arrived, he found he couldn't bear it.

How could anyone do this!

How could anyone deliver such a devastating blow!

Ben's game screen gradually blurred.

The most crucial point was that this blow was a double whammy, complete with flashbacks.

Zack's tragic death, coupled with his dying wish for Cloud to take care of Aerith, seemed like only one point.

But for players who had experienced "Final Fantasy," it was almost an instant stab to the chest. And then, Boss Lucas, not yet satisfied, reopened the wound that hadn't fully healed and sprinkled salt on it.

How could someone be so cruel?!

(End of this chapter)