Chapter 822: I Will Never Be a Memory

It has to be said, what leaves the deepest impression is tragedy.

This is why, throughout history, many literary and artistic works have concluded with tragedy.

Overseas, there are Shakespeare's works like Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and domestically, there's Liang Zhu, and so on.

These stories mostly end in tragedy, leaving a lasting impression on people.

And in Final Fantasy.

Zack sacrificed himself to protect Cloud, Aerith was killed by Sephiroth to save the world, and Jessie and the rest of the Avalanche trio sacrificed themselves.

From early to late game, it can be said that players' tears were completely drained.

It also sparked much resentment from many players.

............

In the game, just like the previous storyline of Aerith's death, Song Ren took more than half a day to calm his emotions, cautiously advancing through the subsequent plot.

Although, judging by the characters appearing in Advent Children, it seemed no more characters were meant to die.

But after Zack's brutal blow, he dared not take any chances.

At this point in the game, Cloud, with Tifa's help, had also recovered.

At this moment, Cloud truly became himself.

He was no longer the confused Cloud who had previously imitated Zack's actions.

His hand tightly gripped the Buster Sword beside him; for Cloud, who had regained his memories, it was no longer merely a weapon.

From Angeal to Zack, and then into his hands.

This sword carried their honor and dreams.

After Cloud returned to normal, the colossal meteor in the sky continued its descent.

Although Aerith's White Magic had successfully activated, it couldn't take effect because Sephiroth still existed.

That was the Black Magic used by Sephiroth.

Aware of this, Cloud and the others prepared to confront Sephiroth for a final showdown.

But at this moment, a Shinra armed monster called 'WEAPON' uncontrollably surfaced from the sea, advancing directly towards Midgar.

Marlene, Aerith's adoptive mother, and countless innocent civilians in Midgar—considering all this, Cloud and his companions decided to intercept WEAPON mid-way.

Yet, just as they were preparing to engage WEAPON, on the rooftop of the Shinra Headquarters in the center of Midgar, a gigantic cannon was erected.

This was Shinra's method to deal with Sephiroth; with the cannon's firing, WEAPON was successfully destroyed, and even the barrier over the Great Northern Crater was shattered.

However, under Sephiroth's Black Magic power, the immense energy was reflected back towards Shinra Headquarters.

Shinra President Rufus was even buried beneath the ruins. Seeing this, Song Ren finally understood why Rufus was paralyzed from the waist down in Advent Children—it turned out he got hit by his own cannon shot!

However, with Rufus's fate unknown, different departments within Shinra began to vie for power. Cait Sith, acting as a double agent, explained the current situation within Shinra to Cloud.

Even more terrifying than the power struggle was that without the Shinra Director's restraint, Hojo completely lost control. He wanted his biological experiments to surpass scientific weapons, so he decided to open all the Mako Reactors, causing Mako to leak.

The consequence of this would be to directly blow up all of Midgar.

At the same time, in this part of the story, Vincent's tale delivered another emotional blow to players.

Although it didn't bring the same pain as Zack and Aerith, it was still a story filled with sadness.

Of course, even more importantly, in the story of Vincent Valentine, a revelation left countless players dumbfounded.

That was the true identity and origin of Sephiroth, the game's ultimate BOSS.

It turned out that Sephiroth's birth mother was originally Vincent's lover.

When Vincent was young, he worked for the Turks, and during an experiment, his girlfriend indirectly caused Vincent's father's death.

This filled her with guilt, making her unable to face Vincent, and ultimately she chose to break up with him.

But after the breakup, she was deceived by Hojo.

However, Hojo, being a mad scientist, had no love for her.

Because Hojo's goal from beginning to end was only one: to use her to implant Jenova cells into the newborn fetus for further experimentation.

Even Vincent's transformation into a monster was Hojo's doing.

This revelation made many feel sorry for Vincent; not only did he lose his girlfriend, but he was also turned into that.

The unveiling of this plot segment left countless players utterly shocked.

When the 'Advent Children' movie was first released, many players didn't actually feel intense hatred towards Sephiroth.

Because from his appearance to his departure, Sephiroth only fought Cloud from start to finish.

As for evil deeds, it could be said he did none at all.

Furthermore, Sephiroth's entrance was incredibly stylish, making a grand appearance to the 'deng deng deng deng' fanfare of 'One-Winged Angel' (music).

Even as Sephiroth made his exit, his theme music was still playing.

Even the chorus of his BGM was Sephiroth's name.

It could be said that in terms of presence and spectacle, no one in Cloud's league could compare to Sephiroth.

Such a character naturally garnered a large fan base.

Although after the game launched, Sephiroth's evil deeds—manipulating Cloud and killing Aerith—made many grit their teeth in hatred towards him.

However, when it came to his looks and cool factor, no one could find a single fault with Sephiroth.

“Are you kidding me? Hojo could have such a son!?”

Song Ren looked at this part of the story, completely bewildered.

If looks were scored out of 100, how could Hojo, a guy with a 10-point face, father a 90-point Sephiroth?

Did he have a damn genetic mutation?

Or are Jenova cells just that powerful?

Able to transform Sephiroth, who inherited Hojo's ugly cells, into a handsome devil?

The striking contrast caused by this revelation largely diluted the sad aspects of Vincent's story.

Arriving at Shinra, they eliminated Hojo, the source of all evil, who had been turned into a monster by the Mako and Jenova cells implanted in him.

Song Ren could feel that the game was drawing to a close.

Because next, Cloud and his companions were heading to the depths of the Great Northern Crater, where Sephiroth resided.

Like most games, this segment of the story allowed players to make final preparations, continue developing characters, or complete side quests on other maps, ensuring no regrets were left for this playthrough's save file.

Upon reaching the Great Northern Crater, Cloud and his companions once again encountered Sephiroth.

At this moment, Sephiroth seemed to have become a god.

But with the help of Cloud, Tifa, and their other companions.

They still managed to defeat Sephiroth with great difficulty.

However, despite this, Sephiroth had not yet vanished.

Because Jenova cells still flowed within Cloud's body, which meant Sephiroth's spirit also persisted within Cloud.

The reason Sephiroth was able to manipulate Cloud before, besides Cloud's own mental issues, was partly due to this.

This battle was one that belonged solely to Cloud and Sephiroth.

The Cloud of the past was so vulnerable against Sephiroth.

But the current Cloud was no longer the weak person he once was.

‘To have a dream, to want to be a hero, you must have a dream...’

‘You still came! Even though you're about to break down yourself, right?’

Zack and Aerith seemed to appear in Cloud's mind.

Once again, he raised the Buster Sword in his hand and charged towards Sephiroth.

From feeling helpless about not having the strength to protect Tifa, idolizing Sephiroth and joining Shinra, to meeting Zack, witnessing his hometown's destruction, and the death of his dear friend.

Transcending those former false memories, the current Cloud no longer needed to imitate anyone.

Just as Zack had once hoped and wished, Cloud had long since become a hero.

Omnislash, compared to the six-hit version used in Advent Children, was still incredibly spectacular when performed with the Buster Sword, the weapon inherited by the special forces soldier (Zack).

It wasn't luck, nor was it a fluke; at this moment, Cloud possessed enough power to defeat Sephiroth using his own strength.

It was as if it were a recreation of the final scene in 'Advent Children'.

As the final sword strike pierced Sephiroth's body, Cloud descended from the sky.

‘Farewell... Sephiroth.’ Watching Sephiroth gradually vanish into the sky, Cloud slowly said.

The airborne Sephiroth merely offered a cryptic smile and once again uttered that line.

‘I... will never be a memory.’

Watching Sephiroth disappear, the in-game Cloud showed little reaction.

But Song Ren exhaled slowly; he understood that Sephiroth would never truly die.

Back when he watched 'Advent Children,' Song Ren hadn't grasped the meaning of that particular sentence.

But now, having understood Sephiroth's origins, the story of Zack and Cloud, and Jenova's lore in Final Fantasy, Song Ren finally understood what that sentence meant.

It was like a set of Matryoshka dolls.

Why wouldn't Sephiroth die?

Because this planet possesses a unique energy called the Lifestream; all life on the planet originates from it, and thus returns to the Lifestream after death.

The same applied to Sephiroth.

But the key was that Sephiroth had already merged with Jenova cells.

It could be said that Jenova was Sephiroth.

But on the other hand, Sephiroth was also a life form of this planet.

Therefore, after death, Sephiroth would return to the Lifestream, which also meant that as long as the planet wasn't destroyed, Sephiroth would not truly die.

However, compared to this, a more crucial point before Cloud and his companions was that the White Magic Holy was cast too late, even having an adverse effect; the entirety of Midgar had been destroyed by an immense power.

Even the planet itself was in peril, but just as countless people despaired, a miracle occurred.

To everyone's astonished gaze, green light surged from the Lifestream, quickly forming a barrier between the meteor and the planet.

Accompanied by a blinding white light, everyone closed their eyes, and in the darkness, Aerith's beautiful face and her smile suddenly appeared.

Aerith, who had died and returned to the Lifestream, was still protecting everyone, protecting the planet.

Finally, after all the battles concluded, Cloud, holding the Buster Sword, returned to the place where Zack had sacrificed himself to protect him, slowly plunging the Buster Sword into the ground.

With this, all game content concluded.

Watching Cloud's receding figure grow smaller, and as the game development team credits and end credits rolled.

Song Ren took a deep breath, his heart filled with emotion.

(End of Chapter) <>