Chapter 816: Great Filial Son Sephiroth

After escaping from Midgar, Cloud recounted the grievances between himself and Sephiroth. Five years ago, Cloud had traveled with Sephiroth to his hometown, Nibelheim, to investigate the aging Mako Reactor on Mount Nibel.

Not only was the Mako Reactor deteriorating, but many cruel monsters had also appeared. As the game screen flashed back five years, Sephiroth made his first appearance in the game. Although only present as a memory, merely seeing Sephiroth leaning against the plane instantly gave one a sense of oppression. Of course, Song Ren felt this might also be because he knew this was the final BOSS.

However, he was quickly drawn in by Cloud's demeanor.

“What heavy rain!” Cloud exclaimed, looking at the downpour outside the window. He then gave a hearty laugh and expressed concern for the silent, masked Shinra soldier beside him, whose face he couldn't see.

“Hey… you, be quiet,” Sephiroth leaned there, a little helpless seeing the excited Cloud.

“I got some new Materia! I really want to try it out right away!” Cloud was extremely enthusiastic.

“...Such a child,” Sephiroth shook his head upon hearing this.

“This behavior doesn’t feel like Cloud at all! What happened to make Cloud like this?” Song Ren felt a little strange.

The flashback sequence made Song Ren feel like it wasn't the same character, aside from sharing a face. From what he had experienced of Cloud’s demeanor, it was more aloof, even with a tendency towards introversion. But now, it seemed the former Cloud was very cheerful and optimistic?

So, what happened to make Cloud like this?

Song Ren watched the subsequent plot with curiosity. When Cloud asked about his hometown, Sephiroth simply replied calmly: “My mother is Jenova. She died after giving birth to me.”

However, this news immediately startled Song Ren. The screen then switched back to the game's main storyline, and Barret and his companions’ reactions confirmed Song Ren’s guess.

Jenova, the monster that had appeared earlier in Shinra.

But Tifa’s reaction at this moment made Song Ren feel a little strange; she seemed hesitant to speak, with an expression of bewilderment. However, Song Ren didn’t pay too much attention at this point. His focus remained on Sephiroth. What was Sephiroth's relationship with that Jenova?

Even though it was just a flashback, Song Ren could sense that despite Sephiroth's cold demeanor in this brief segment, he was quite caring towards the Shinra soldiers under him. He always led the charge in every battle, and Sephiroth even preferred not to let other soldiers engage, fearing casualties. He gave off the impression of having a very strong sense of responsibility.

Having no desire to explore Nibelheim, Song Ren quickly walked around twice and immediately triggered the game's plot. On their way to the Mako Reactor, Sephiroth and his team hired villagers as guides; Tifa was one of them. Before departing, they even took a group photo at the entrance.

Subsequently, Cloud, Sephiroth, Tifa, and a helmeted Shinra grunt (who clearly looked like a minor character) advanced towards the Mako Reactor facility deep within.

After investigating and repairing the problematic areas, Sephiroth and his team accidentally discovered egg-shaped cultivation tanks filled with Mako fluid arranged around the Mako Reactor. And these cultivation tanks actually contained humanoid creatures that had transformed into monsters. Sephiroth discovered the connection.

“You ordinary special forces soldiers are humans who have been immersed in Mako energy. Although different from ordinary people, you are still human at least,” Sephiroth said to Cloud, revealing a horrifying truth.

“But what are they? They are immersed in Mako energy of even higher density.”

Shinra soldiers themselves were created by subjecting human bodies to large amounts of Mako radiation. So, did that mean there was no difference between Shinra soldiers and monsters?

Was Sephiroth, the strongest of the Shinra soldiers, and the other first-class special forces members, no longer human?

This conjecture was voiced by Cloud.

Such a revelation infuriated Sephiroth, even causing 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 Mansion on the outskirts of the village, frantically reading through the research materials left behind.

If a person goes mad, either they are overwhelmed by emotions and lose their reason, or their madness leads to absolute calmness. Evidently, Sephiroth was the latter. Through the documents, Sephiroth believed he understood everything: decades ago, Shinra had excavated a 2000-year-old geological creature from the ice of a glacier region, in a state of suspended animation.

Professor Gast, responsible for the research, named this species Jenova, and through further study, confirmed it was an ancient race that had died out long ago. To harness the ancient race’s abilities, researchers began deeper investigations, calling it the Jenova Project.

And Sephiroth’s mother was also named Jenova. Was this just a coincidence?

Clearly not. Even as Sephiroth mumbled to himself, more and more documents confirmed his suspicions. If a person's beliefs are shattered, that person might collapse, be shocked, and hesitate, giving rise to various complex emotions.

But Sephiroth was different. Known as a great hero, he was too calm, or perhaps too extreme. He once took pride in his human identity, driven by the conviction of Sephiroth the Great Hero, always leading from the front in battle.

But now, all of Sephiroth’s beliefs were destroyed. He believed his mother was an ancient race, and that the original inhabitants of this planet were the ancient race. Humans were merely a subsequent race that had usurped it. Thus, as the last of the ancient race, Sephiroth believed he had the responsibility and duty to reclaim the planet from humanity.

So Sephiroth walked out of the mansion and began a massacre. Tifa’s father was among the villagers killed, and Tifa herself was cut down by Sephiroth.

By the time Cloud arrived, it was too late. The village was engulfed in flames. Sephiroth stood in the original spot, separated by the inferno, staring expressionlessly at Cloud for a moment, then slowly turned with the longsword in his hand and walked into the depths of the blaze.

“Holy cow, that scene!”

Although Sephiroth’s descent into darkness was so sudden, and his methods so cruel, from an aesthetic standpoint, Song Ren had to admit one thing: the moment Sephiroth disappeared into the flames was just incredibly cool. He even felt it was entirely worthy of being listed among the most spectacular antagonist entrances to date.

And the scene where Cloud and Sephiroth were about to face off in front of the Mako Reactor left Song Ren utterly astonished. Standing before the cultivation tanks, Sephiroth slowly raised both hands.

“Mother possesses the most excellent power, wisdom, and magic. She should have been the ruler of the planet.”

“But they… those worthless creatures, are stealing this planet from Mother’s hands. But now I am by your side, so do not worry…”

The performance, like something out of Shakespeare, completely captivated Song Ren. What stunned him even more was that just as he thought an earth-shattering BOSS battle with Sephiroth was about to begin, an early taste of it, the flashback ended.

In Cloud’s words, his memory broke off there. He didn’t know what happened in between, and although he believed his abilities were insufficient to kill Sephiroth, later Shinra news reports claimed Sephiroth was dead.

Looking at Barret, who had returned to the hotel and was clamoring to continue their journey, Song Ren smacked his lips, recalling Cloud’s flashback sequence.

So, the main reason for Sephiroth’s transformation was his attribute of being a great filial son!? Compared to Arthas or Jaina, who players have long jokingly called great filial sons, it feels like Sephiroth is the true great filial son in every sense of the word?

(End of Chapter) <>