【SC】Endless Journey

After Pete left, the two looked at each other in the room, and it took about a minute for Sephiroth to sit by the bed again.

Claude looked around for a while, and as expected, he saw only one bed: "You are already 1.9 meters tall, Sephiroth. We don't need to sleep together."

"But you were in a coma before. I need to observe your situation at any time. It will be inconvenient if you are far away."

Sephiroth put the bag of liquid food in his hand on the bedside table, turned his face to check carefully, and let him break away until he confirmed that there were no visible sequelae.

Claude was still on guard, and Sephiroth realized this, so he gave up the follow-up action.

"You've been sleeping for a week, is there anything uncomfortable now?" Sephiroth asked.

"No." - or not seriously.After all, this is not the first time Claude has been unable to move independently for a long time, and he is already very familiar with the feeling of rusty limbs.

The room fell into silence again.

They were all waiting for the other party to ask questions, so as to confirm how much the other party knew about Zhu Nong's incident.But Sephiroth's mood was much more complicated. In the past week, he had enough time to think about everything that happened at that time, and gradually connected some irrelevant clues together.

The moment he spread his black wings, he realized that he was no different from the man in his dream in terms of appearance, sword-handling habits engraved in his genes, or non-human parts. The difference that occasionally appeared in his heart Yu's mother's voice was exactly the same as that man's voice, so the answers to some questions were ready to come out.

— a part of that man is inside him.

When he found out about this, and then recalled his past experiences, he noticed many contradictory points that he had been ignoring. For example, when Claude knew who his so-called mother was for the first time after he had a personality, his expression was very strange, as if clearly Knowing that his prototype is someone else; for example, Claude took the initiative to give him the village rain, but he was full of hostility to the way he used a knife; for example, Claude asked him not to kill people at will, but based on "I know you can become a worthy The person I admire and admire, you have done it", this statement is very subtle, and he still doesn't know what he has done; another example is that he can only hear the voice of Claude Strife, but he can see it directly. to the man's memory.

From this, Sephiroth thought of a very bad possibility.If, what he meant, if the relationship between him and that man is like Claude and his mother, they are clones who inherited the will and memory of the other party, then what Claude said most of the time may not refer to him, but to that man.

The man killed his mother's family, burned down his hometown, fought with his mother countless times, and left many scars inside and outside his mother's body. The mother had an unforgettable hatred and anger towards that man, and this emotion was also passed on to Crowe. Germany.Sephiroth originally thought that he hadn't done this to Claude, and that Claude should love him instead of hating him, but he was suddenly shaken now.

For the first time, Sephiroth wondered who Cloud was seeing when he looked at him.

"Who is Zack?"

Pete gave him a look when he went out, and Sephiroth knew that Claude had found out about the wings, so he decided to start with a topic that he was eager to know, but it was not so easy to arouse the other party's vigilance.

Claude refused coldly: "I can only tell Pete about this."

Claude had never rejected him because of the third person before, and Sephiroth's face darkened immediately: "Why? You shouldn't even know him."

"I don't know him, and you don't know that name, so you don't have to pry into other people's privacy. I don't have the right to decide for him whether to tell you about it."

Sephiroth was a little angry, but he still tried to sound calm: "If I didn't ask, you never offered to tell me. I just want to know about you, me, and mother. You always Know, but won't tell me. You don't trust me?"

Claude reminded him lightly: "I have answered some of your questions. Murasame and Masamune."

"What about the unanswerable questions?"

"That's something you don't need to know."

Sephiroth laughed suddenly, his green vertical pupils were full of sarcasm.

"You're hiding a lot of truths that are important to me, things that should be up to me to know or not to know, but you're making the decision for me. You're even more considerate to an outsider you've never met than you are to me , you hate me so much?"

When he heard the last sentence, Claude's eyelashes trembled unconsciously.After a few seconds, the other party replied in a low voice: "I didn't."

Sephiroth was deeply stabbed by the opponent's momentary hesitation.He thought of Catholm's distorted smiling face, and the evaluation he made of Claude before he died, and suddenly realized that he might have wishfully misinterpreted Claude's attitude towards him all these years.

A trace of imperceptible malice rose from the depths of his heart, so he imitated the man's tone and said the sentence: "'You are my...doll'."

Before Sephiroth could finish speaking, he saw Claude jumping up from the bed suddenly, grabbing his collar with such force that he could almost strangle him.He saw the other party's originally young blue pupils shrunk into vertical pupils similar to his in an instant, and a kind of anger he had never seen was burning in the young man's eyes.

"How much do you remember?"

Claude's voice was very low, and the murderous intent in his tone was closer to the mother in his dream than ever.

"So you know who he is." Sephiroth replied with a sneer.

Only then did Claude realize that he was being tempted, and he let go of his hand suddenly.

"You know I'm not a clone of Claude Strife, you watch me refer to him as your mother all the time, but you've never corrected that or told me the truth just because you don't want me to know The existence of that man?" Sephiroth rubbed his bruised throat, and a sarcastic smile appeared on his lips, "Why? Because you want me to listen to you and be a human being obediently, but in fact, I and He is also a winged alien, and you and Cloud Strife are also immortal monsters?"

He saw Claude's eyes widen in pain because of his words, and a trace of revenge flashed in his heart.The other party seemed to be considering how much information he could reveal to him, and retorted palely: "You are different from him, you don't have to be him, and I didn't force you to be a human being, I just hope you can carefully consider what kind of person you want to be." people."

"So you know I'm different from him." Sephiroth said sarcastically, "I thought you wanted to kill me just like your mother killed him."

"I didn't. Sephiroth, I—"

"Oh, speaking of Sephiroth. What exactly is 'Sephiroth'? Since my mother used to keep calling that name, I took it as my own. But it's someone else's name, right? Is it funny that you always knew I took other people's names as my own and never told me the truth?"

The air suddenly became dead silent.

Claude was silent for a long time before replying in a very obscure but firm tone: "No. That's your name."

These words were like a handful of cold water, extinguishing the anger in Sephiroth's heart.

"Cloud Strife is aware of your existence. It was you who he called, and has always been. The name never belonged to another."

Pete didn't mean to eavesdrop on the conversation between the two, but Angel wasn't there. He was really afraid that the two would fight, so he waited in the corridor.The sound insulation of this hotel is not very good, and the sound of the two people arguing behind them is very exciting, and it is difficult for him to ignore the content.

To his surprise, the room was silent for a long time after the conversation, and it was Claude who came out again.

The blond-haired young man glanced at him, and then showed that complicated look, motioning for him to leave with him.

"Uh——where are you going? Is it better to take a rest first after waking up?" Pete chased after him, carefully studying the other party's expression.

"Go to the Golden Disc Amusement Park, my bird was sent in." Claude flipped through the news during his coma.

"Are you a breeder?" Pete was a little surprised.

"You can also say that. But the most important thing is to participate in the chocobo competition. I need cash." Claude smiled lightly at him, allowing him to see a little shadow of the young man in his dream from the other person's face.

... By the way, that's the difference.

The blond-haired young man in the dream always had a soft expression, and occasionally a shy smile appeared on his face, but when Claude was awake, he always refused to be thousands of miles away, giving him an indescribable sense of alienation.

As if noticing his question, Claude slowed down.

"Tomorrow... no, I will come to you in a few days." Claude nodded slightly, "I will try my best to answer what you want to know."

Pete remembered the other party's previous conversation with Sephiroth, and couldn't help swallowing: "Should I know?"

The young man didn't expect him to ask such a question, he hesitated for a few seconds, and finally replied: "You can make your own decision."

Pete watched the young man leave the hotel, and when he turned around, he saw Sephiroth standing at the end of the corridor.He saw a flash of irritability on the other person's face as a delusion, his eyes stayed on himself for a moment, and then he slammed the door without saying a word.

Cloud didn't seem to come back that night, nor did Sephiroth go to him.Pete and Angel's room was at the other end of the corridor. They sat by the bed and carefully listened to the movement outside, both at a loss for the current situation.

When Angel decided to go to the Western Continent with the cargo ship, it was doomed that they would never be able to return to Midgar.From an official point of view, they are deserters. From their point of view, they rescued the crew members of an entire cargo ship and more than 300 soldiers from the military of the Grand Duchy. If they return to Midgar, they will definitely be court-martialed. So Angel decisively chose to leave.

But in fact, they have no additional information other than the order to hunt down Sephiroth, and even why they hunted down Sephiroth is just their guess based on previous rumors.Sephiroth destroyed a secret research institute funded by the military, massacred the researchers inside, and then disappeared for two full years. This matter was also kept secret in the army, but Angel had a channel to learn about it, so Pete also got a little message from him.He guessed that the military's original intention was to hunt down the escaped experimental subjects, but Sephiroth's growth had exceeded the controllable range, and the military decided to kill Sephiroth.However, no one expected that Sephiroth had evolved a new trait, and the hunt failed completely. After a scuffle, the opponent was out of the control of the military again.

According to Angel and Pete's understanding, that wing is completely beyond the scope of human beings, so that research institute is actually producing some non-human super creatures.If this is true, then it is reasonable for Sephiroth to destroy the research institute that made himself.but--

"...Claude."

The two men mentioned the name at the same time, and fell silent at the same time.

The appearance of Claude made things even more confusing.

Sephiroth mentioned Claude before, they are clones of the same person, in a sense Claude is his younger brother.Angel and Pete imagined Claude as a smaller version of Sephiroth until they met the real person on the cargo ship, but the moment they saw Claude they suddenly realized that there was no connection between the two.

Although Cloud has the same super soldier abilities as Sephiroth, he is closer to ordinary humans than Sephiroth on any level, and seems to know a lot of information that Sephiroth does not.Even the top military officials didn't know about this matter, so that Sephiroth was the only one on the hunting warrant they got.

"This is very strange." Angel supported his chin, and the wrinkles between his brows deepened, "If they are all experimental subjects of the institute, and Claude also has the ability of a super soldier, why did they only recruit Sephiroth?" ?”

"It seems that the higher-ups don't know there is such a person at all?" Pete also folded his arms in a learned manner, "But it doesn't make sense, since they are all experimental subjects of a certain project, the higher-ups always have to check and accept them regularly. Results?"

"That's not necessarily true. Based on my understanding of the above, most of them will not check it themselves, and whatever the research institute reports is what it is. The question is why does the research institute hide the existence of this person? And assuming that the information Sephiroth knows is correct, They are experimental subjects cloned from the same person, who is that person?"

The two looked at each other, vaguely aware that they were involved in a huge and unpredictable trouble.

Pete waited anxiously for two days, and finally received a message from Claude on the third morning, asking him to meet at a small bar in the Golden Disk amusement park in the evening.

"But it costs 3000 Gil to enter the venue, and I don't have that much money." Pete was a little embarrassed.

"It's okay, I can take you in with my employee card." Claude quickly replied.

So that afternoon Pete appeared at the entrance of the employee passageway of Kingdee Playground. After a while, Claude, wearing a rider uniform, came out of it, handed him an ID card, and the two entered the employee area together.

This was the first time in Pete's 20-year life that he entered the largest playground on the planet, and he was a little dizzy for a while.

The main building of the park hangs high in the sky, and the huge golden disc looks like some kind of alien building, and the scene is spectacular.The searchlights under the tower densely surround the disc, and the lights and music are intertwined in the sunset, making the whole park look resplendent.

They walked for more than ten minutes before entering the main hall. The interior space of the building was flatter than the exterior. Luxurious marble decorations and hand-woven carpets spread throughout the hall, and all kinds of service staff and tourists in strange clothes walked through it. It's like entering a world in a movie.

Pete was very curious about everything here, looked around along the way, and almost got separated from Claude.When he finally looked back, he noticed that Claude was wearing white tights and leather boots, and his delicately tailored vest was tightly fastened to his chest.

"Do you need to dress so formally for the competition?"

Pete asked casually, but Claude explained to him very patiently: "Because employees can't bet by themselves, I will find other customers to appoint me to participate in the competition, so that I can draw [-]% of the bonus. This operation is allowed Yes, so as riders, we have to wear special clothing to compete with professional riders, so as to distinguish them from other players who participate freely.”

"Sounds great?" Pete admired sincerely.

"If you want to watch it, you can wait for the evening show. I have three games left today." The young man smiled at him faintly.

Claude pushed open the door of the bar, nodded to the bartender, and sat down in the booth in the corner.He ordered a glass of Cosmic Canyon, and then pushed the wine list to Pete, who showed a dazed look, so Claude immediately understood, ordered the same wine for him, and then handed the wine list back to the waiter.

"Are you an adult?" Pete looked at him suspiciously.

"It's an adult on the employee card." The blond youth blinked.

After the waiter was completely away, Pete cleared his throat and spoke again: "I...have thought about it for a long time."

"Huh?" Claude turned his head slightly, indicating that he was listening.

"...I really want to know about myself." Pete scratched the short hair on the back of his head, trying to organize his words, "As you can see, the situation after leaving Junong is actually very chaotic, and I don't know what I should do now. What, where should I go in the future, so I can only think of what to do. I know that some things may have happened to you and Sephiroth that I cannot understand. Knowing these things may make my situation more troublesome. But I've always had the feeling that ... if I let go of those truths, and because of that, don't do what I'm supposed to do, I'll be left with regrets for the rest of my life."

Claude did not answer immediately after listening, but looked at him with a soft look.For a moment, Pete felt that there seemed to be a mature soul living in the other party's body, and that kind of expression, which could almost be called kind, reminded him of his relatives far away in the Eastern Continent.

"No, there is nothing you should do." Claude said softly, "You have done a good job, so I hope you can enjoy your life in this new continent...but I respect your wishes , if you want to know, I will tell you all."

"Uh, thank you?" Although he didn't know why the other party treated him so well, Pete was still deeply moved.So he blurted out another question that had bothered him for days: "Then why don't you tell Sephiroth what he wants to know?"

Claude fell silent for a while.After a while, the other party sighed in a low voice.

"Let's start with your story." The young man raised his eyes, and his strange blue pupils showed some worry, "How much do you know about this planet?"

In the next two hours, Pete's world view was completely refreshed.

Before Claude told the history of the planet, he only knew that Gaia was an ordinary planet. He had never heard that Gaia had its own will, and he did not know that the flow of life that is the foundation of all living things can also be in the core of the planet. Cycle back and forth between surfaces.Everything in his dream happened 200 years ago. The protagonist in the dream is Zacks Phil, who was him in the previous cycle. He worked together in Shinra Corporation in the old Shinra era.

"Wait." Pete thought the name sounded very familiar, "Claude Strife, is that the one that the Redeemer group said—"

"Savior." Claude completed the rest of the sentence for him.

Although Pete is not a religious believer, he has heard the story that the Redeemer preached that the planet was attacked by a meteorite called by an extraterrestrial disaster 200 years ago, and the savior defeated the disaster and saved the planet.

Pete reacted for a while, then suddenly looked at the young man in shock: "So, you and Sephiroth are actually his..."

— clones.Pete didn't say the word, but Cloud acquiesced.

This incident was too bizarre, as if he had just learned that a character in a myth and legend existed for a second, and the clone of the deity was sitting in front of his eyes.

Pete was dumbfounded, and it took him 5 minutes to digest the information.After a while, he found another important doubt in it: "But if you are all his clones, why does Sephiroth look completely different from him? And Cloud Strife is human , so what happened to Sephiroth's wings?"

"That's the problem." Claude's expression became extremely serious, "He is not a clone of Claude Strife, but someone created him by taking samples from Claude's sleeping crystal. come out."

Pete froze.

If Sephiroth wasn't a clone of the hero who saved the planet 200 years ago, but was able to be cloned with Cloud and have non-human features, then he's more likely to be...

He suddenly widened his eyes and looked up at Claude. The young man's eyes confirmed his thoughts.

Pete suddenly realized that this matter was a hundred times more serious than he and Angel imagined.

Claude knew that Sephiroth was very entangled with his attitude, so he never told the other party the truth.

It was impossible for his cells to clone himself. The reason why C-11 showed his appearance was because the other party's will changed the embryo of C-11.In other words, he was born out of Sephiroth's strong yearning.

Just like 200 years ago, Sephiroth is the real mother of S cells and has unlimited jurisdiction over other individuals implanted with S cells.But this Sephiroth is too young, and still has illusions and dependence on the role of mother.The other party hoped that he in the crystal could accompany him, and inadvertently used this force to drag him out of the flow of life, resulting in the current situation.

How ironic, he couldn't have been summoned from the crystal because he felt that Sephiroth was dying and called him, but he didn't expect to be sensed by Sephiroth and pulled back to the surface of the planet.Catholm reinjected Sephiroth's cells into his little clone's body, and Jenova's gene recombination characteristics forced his will into this clone. All these were artificial coincidences. He, Sephiroth and Katterholm, each of their psyches are exploited with precision.

Sephiroth doesn't know anything, and Carter Holm is dead. If he wants to investigate this matter, he can only start from the origin of the Institute and the Redeemer.

Claude walked into the alley closest to the hotel on the street at four o'clock in the morning, and finally stopped when he was about to leave the alley.

"Sephiroth." He sighed softly, and turned to the shadow behind him, "Have you followed for a few days, have you gained anything?"

The tall shadow walked from the darkness to the moonlight, and the silver hair like a waterfall exuded an inorganic light.

He waited for a long time, but the other party seemed to have no intention of speaking, so Claude continued to walk towards the hotel.Until he entered the room and took off his coat, Sephiroth stood behind him like a sculpture, his wings suddenly spread out, completely covering him in shadow.

Claude had to turn around, looked at the black wing he was so familiar with, and then turned his gaze back to the other person's face: "What do you want to do."

"You can tell Pete, but you don't want to tell me directly." Sephiroth's expression was dim in the backlight.

"You already guessed it, what's the difference if I say it again." Claude lowered his eyelashes, trying to go around to the bathroom from his side, but the path was completely blocked by wings.

"Claude, you learned the whole truth from your mother from the very beginning, but I didn't." Sephiroth looked at him coldly, "I know I'm a clone, I have no biological meaning parents, so I regard Claude Strife as my mother, and I even know everything about this mother body by consulting the literature. What is the meaning of my existence, and what kind of experience can I have as an experimental subject? The future, these are the answers I found after I knew where I came from. But it took me so many years to realize that the meaning I was looking for before may be wrong, do you know what it feels like?"

Claude listened quietly, with a look of pity in his pupils: "I know. It's because I know that I didn't correct you."

Sephiroth laughed almost mockingly: "So? Now that I know that I am a descendant of Planet Calamity, you don't intend to kill me?"

Claude shook his head slightly: "You just know about him, and what to do is up to you. You are not him, so I won't hurt you before you do those things."

"I don't need your sympathy!" Sephiroth growled.

Claude fell silent when he heard the words.

Sephiroth was only talking in anger, but the other party's reaction made his heart cold.

...so it's true.

Claude has always seen himself that way.The love he thought was just a little charity from the other party, in order to appease this... monster himself.

Seeming to have guessed his thoughts, Claude sighed. "I don't sympathize with you," he raised his eyes, with a hint of confusion in his blue pupils, "I just... want to reconcile with myself."