Chapter 819: Zack, Living Only in Memories

Unlike the previous Golden Country Torna DLC, which altered the game's combat system, the DLC content for Final Fantasy, apart from the map, did not feature significant changes to the combat system.

After all, Golden Country Torna was released after the game's launch.

However, the DLC content concerning characters like Zack, while playable independently, is unlocked during gameplay, much like the DLCs in Bloodborne and Dark Souls, where a portion becomes available mid-game, and you can choose to play it or continue with the main content.

Of course, the degree of freedom is considerably reduced, as Final Fantasy is a story-driven RPG.

“Is that Zack? His entrance is so similar to Cloud's!” Song Ren couldn't help but exclaim as he saw Zack and the Shinra forces arriving in Wutai for a mission after entering the DLC.

But Song Ren's attention was quickly drawn elsewhere, because as Zack infiltrated the station, Sephiroth surprisingly appeared.

Sephiroth easily defeated Zack. Fortunately, at the critical moment, Zack's old bro, the strongman named Angeal, saved him.

Sephiroth defecting from Shinra at this point?

Song Ren was a little surprised, but before he could react, the game screen changed again.

It turned out that what Zack was experiencing was merely a VR training session.

“So, I'm playing VR inside VR again?” Hearing this Matryoshka doll-like explanation, Song Ren was utterly speechless.

This reminded him of Cloud's party's experiences within Shinra in the game previously.

However, Song Ren soon noticed something very peculiar: Cloud's greatsword was on that SOLDIER named Angeal.

So, how did that greatsword end up with Cloud?

Watching this scene, Song Ren felt a mix of curiosity and anticipation.

Furthermore, before clicking on this DLC, his main focus was actually on Sephiroth and the mysterious Zack.

But when truly revisiting Zack's story, this old bro named Angeal, it must be said, also gave Song Ren a good impression.

Compared to the burly, dark-skinned, and boisterous Barret, Angeal was much more reliable.

He was not only Zack's superior but also his mentor, constantly reminding Zack of the SOLDIER's honor.

And this old bro was especially caring towards his friends. Earlier, he had just said that the Buster Sword was a weapon left to him by his father, and he would rather use his fists than let the sword get dirty, damaged, or worn out, as that would be the greatest pity.

But when Zack was in danger, he decisively used this sword, which he cherished as a treasure, and even tsundere-ly stated that Zack was only a tiny bit more important than the sword.

As the story progressed, Song Ren found that many previously confusing details could now be explained.

When he was still a great hero, Sephiroth's personality was calm, brave, and he possessed a strong sense of responsibility, even a hint of humanity.

For example, during missions, Sephiroth believed that since he was stronger than everyone else, he should naturally undertake the most dangerous and difficult tasks.

But even though he wished he could solve everything himself, when actually carrying out these missions, Sephiroth would not complete them alone. Instead, he would consider his companions' thoughts, leaving weaker enemies for them to handle.

Sephiroth had always been proud of his identity as a human.

This was also the ideology constantly instilled in him by Shinra.

Yet, at the same time, Sephiroth was aloof; he didn't protect his companions because of his title as a great hero.

He simply acted out of his duty as a human, as if he were a machine programmed with commands to protect his species.

Along with Sephiroth, Angeal and a man named Genesis were also 1st Class SOLDIERs. Not long after, Shinra SOLDIER Genesis went missing on the battlefield. Angeal and Zack went to search for him, but only found Genesis's clones. Soon after, Angeal also disappeared.

Zack, recommended by Sephiroth, joined the search for the reasons behind Angeal and Genesis's disappearances. They also uncovered the Jenova Project, though at this time, the Jenova Project did not yet involve Sephiroth.

The project exposed at this point was merely the Jenova G Project, where G referred to the name of a woman injected with Jenova cells—this woman being Angeal's mother.

Unlike Sephiroth, who was injected with Jenova cells as a fetus, Genesis and Angeal, though also experimented on as fetuses, were incomplete.

Thus, one after another, they began to degrade and learned the truth of their monstrous nature.

Such a truth was an immense blow.

Honor, arguably, is the most complex thing.

Even those as strong as Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth, all 1st Class SOLDIERs, couldn't let go of it.

To use Angeal's story, his hometown produced delicious fruits called 'dumb apples'.

And his good friend's home had the largest fruit tree, which produced the most delicious fruit in their hometown.

But no matter how much he wanted to eat them, Angeal would never ask his good friend for them, because he couldn't abandon his dignity, abandon his honor.

Angeal was such a person who valued honor above all else.

The same was true for Genesis; he desperately wanted to surpass Sephiroth and become a hero.

Sephiroth, however, took all of this lightly. He was sufficiently calm, but also secretly held responsibility more dearly than anyone else. Yet, this responsibility wasn't driven by emotion, but by identity.

He was human, so he possessed human pride; if he was a monster, then he would do what a monster should do.

They bore the honor of 1st Class SOLDIERs, and they fought for the honor of being human heroes.

But the truth was that their humanity had already been stripped away by humans themselves.

So, Genesis, who learned of his origins first, decided to seek revenge on Shinra and brought Angeal over to his side.

With the help of Dr. Hollander, a Shinra scientist consumed by resentment, Genesis created clones to attack Shinra headquarters.

Inside Dr. Hollander's secret laboratory, Angeal, standing before Zack, slowly raised his Buster Sword, his single white wing unfurling behind him.

'I've become a monster. Isn't a monster's purpose revenge or world domination?' Angeal said, looking at Zack.

'No! Wings aren't proof of a monster!' Zack walked towards Angeal.

'Then... what is this?'

'An angel's wing!'

'I see... then what kind of ideal should an angel possess? What kind of dream should I have? An angel has only one dream!'

'Tell me, Angeal!'

'To become human!'

Facing an enraged Angeal, Zack was utterly defeated and fell from the upper levels of Midgar.

However, what followed was a familiar scene.

Song Ren blinked as he watched Zack being awakened by Aerith; it was almost identical to the scene where Cloud fell!

But unlike Cloud, who seemed to use indifference to conceal his introverted nature, even his insecurity, Zack was always full of optimism, sunshine, and passion.

In Angeal's words, Zack was like a puppy.

In the Slums, Zack quickly became friends with Aerith.

And Zack vowed to repay Aerith, because she had saved him.

Even though Aerith said she merely woke Zack up and did nothing else.

Seeing the ground full of flowers, Zack quickly got an idea, because flowers were very rare in Midgar.

'We can sell flowers in Midgar! Midgar full of flowers, wallet full of gil!'

Aerith was also very tempted by Zack's suggestion.

But Aerith didn't sell a single flower.

Zack thought it was probably because the flower wagon wasn't pretty enough.

So Zack promised Aerith that he would definitely make her an even prettier flower wagon in the future.

The subsequent story involved Zack going out on missions.

After which he would go on dates with Aerith.

“So, is Aerith selling flowers all because of Zack?”

“Then Zack...”

A bad feeling arose in Song Ren's heart.

Because whether it was Cloud's later story, or Advent Children, Zack only lived in memories!

Moreover, when Cloud met Aerith in Midgar, she was carrying a flower basket, not a flower wagon.

“But it's fine. Just like Xenoblade Chronicles' Golden Country Torna, knowing in advance that it might be a tragedy will make it easier for me to bear when the time comes.” Song Ren comforted himself.

Isn't a tragedy a tragedy precisely because of that sudden blow?

Like a jump scare in a horror game.

But now that he already knew Zack essentially lives only in memories, the sadness would be much less. Plus, having gone through Aerith's tragic story before, his defense had now gone up a notch. Perhaps even Mr. Chen's 'knife' wouldn't be able to break his hyper armor then.

(End of Chapter) <>