【SC】Endless Journey

"Mother, can you hear me?"

who is it?

"Mom, I really want to see you."

Who is... mother?

"Mother—you see I did it, will you be proud of me?"

...do what?

In the night, the Zhunong Military Port illuminated by landscape lights, the rampant giant mechanical guards, the soaring flames generated by the battle, and the shivering and terrified ordinary people crowded in front of the collapsed buildings——

"I offer them—despair."

Claude woke up suddenly, gasping for air, as if a drowning person had just been washed to the shore.

Some pictures he shouldn't have seen crazily rushed into his mind, accompanied by blood and screams, which made him feel a familiar chill from the depths of his soul.

That was the scene in Sephiroth's eyes, and it was transmitted to his brain for some unknown reason.

Claude's body was shaking.He still remembered that Sephiroth left the institute with the military before he lost consciousness, but he didn't know, or refused to imagine that Sephiroth slaughtered ordinary people who were not soldiers in the war.

Claude immediately clicked on the communication terminal to check the war information.He saw reports of the war between the Pan-Midgar Duchy and Junon in the past year, and found that the war had ended three days ago—because Junon's capital was attacked and the presidential palace was directly destroyed.Although the president himself happened to be away that day, all the family members of the president and most of the cabinet members who lived in the mansion and had meetings at that time were all killed in the explosion, and Zhu Nong was dead in name only.

Claude knew that it was not an explosion at all, it was Sephiroth who killed everyone in the presidential palace with his own hands.

The situation I least expected to see finally happened.His heart sank like a heavy boulder.

Cloud has always been noncommittal about the teachings of the Redeemer.As the guardian of the planet, he has always dealt with tangible threats from inside or outside the planet.In his opinion, the problems that the Redeemer wants to solve come from the invisible threats in the development of human civilization, which is beyond his reach.But if they continue to do what Sephiroth hates, they may awaken the other's self, and then prompt Sephiroth to continue his unfinished business, which will be another disaster for the planet.

Cloud doesn't want Sephiroth to regain his hatred for the planet, so he's been trying to hide his pain from the other side.He wanted to do his best to provide Sephiroth with a mentally healthy growth environment, so he let Sephiroth take care of himself like a pet, even if the other party was the type who would kill small animals.

But the war ruined it all.

When Claude met the last Sephiroth, the other party was already the chief hero on the Wutai battlefield. He knew what kind of end Sephiroth, as a war hero, would eventually go.The battlefield will increase Sephiroth's self-identity, while also reducing his awe of life.Sooner or later, the other party will realize that he is stronger than most creatures on this planet, and his experience in the research institute and on the battlefield may give him a bad impression of humans, so when Sephiroth does not intend to endure, the end of the world will come soon. will come.

Cloud turned off the terminal, took a deep breath, and jumped off the bed.

He is out of time.He must face his destiny head on.Sephiroth was his destiny.

The only thing Claude can be thankful for now is that Sephiroth regards himself as a mother, so at this stage the other party will not spontaneously stand on the opposite side of the planet.But if he can't use his identity well, Sephiroth will eventually become the enemy of the planet.He had to stop this from happening.

Claude walked out of the room, adjusted to the light outside, and rushed towards the experimental area.The researchers on the road were very surprised to see him sober, but he didn't have time to explain one by one, so he broke into Katterholm's research room directly.

Omitting the pleasantries that were almost equivalent to psychological warfare, this time he clearly stated the purpose: "I want to see Sephiroth, where is he?"

Catholm was very surprised, leaning on the frame of the mirror and looking at him carefully for a moment, then leaned back and sat back in the office chair. "You regained consciousness, how did you do it? What happened this morning?"

"I want to see Sephiroth, and I will tell you the rest slowly."

"So you can indeed communicate at the level of consciousness? He awakened you?" Carterholm touched the stubble on his chin thoughtfully, "This shows that my theory is correct... yes, very good. "

"I want to see Sephiroth, and I want Six Styles." Claude repeated.

"Oh? Are you finally planning to use the power of the savior?" Katterholm's glasses flashed with excitement, but seeing his murderous eyes, he still answered the previous question: "Sephiroth is on the side of the army. We have been unable to contact him for a few days. But his location has returned to Midgar, and I can ask my subordinates to contact the military to try."

"Thank you." Claude walked to the sofa and sat down, regaining his usual vigilant expression, "What do you want to ask, you can ask now."

Catholm was surprised by his cooperative attitude, so he pushed the swivel chair in front of him and leaned slightly. "What did you sense from Sephiroth?"

"Your death date." Claude replied angrily.

Cooperation is impossible, and he has not yet forgiven the experimental accident that caused him to lose consciousness for eight full months.If during this period Sephiroth had awakened enough to destroy the planet for several rounds, Katterholm must realize the seriousness of this matter.

When the whole of Midgar was celebrating this unscrupulous victory, Sephiroth received an email from the research institute for the first time, and Cloud was completely awake.

"Sorry." He put down the juice and squeezed to Angel's side from the hilarious crowd, "I have to go back to the institute."

Angel was chatting with other people, and turned his head unfocused: "What, your brother has something wrong again?"

"He's awake."

Although Sephiroth tried his best to suppress his excited tone, the joy in his pupils still gave him away.Angel had never seen such an expression on his face before, and couldn't help but froze in place.

"Hey, isn't this our hero!" Pete squeezed from the side and stuffed another glass of beer into his hand, "Come and pay tribute to Sephiroth! For the great victory he brought us! Cheers!"

"cheers!"

Sephiroth couldn't refuse their kindness, took a sip reluctantly, and then pressed Pete's arm that was about to raise the glass again: "I really have to go, Claude is waiting for me."

"Huh? What a pity." Pete lowered his ears like a puppy, but soon recovered his smile: "Congratulations to your brother on his recovery? It's important to reunite with relatives, so I'll take you back?"

"No, the Institute is here to pick me up, they are already in the parking lot." Even so, Sephiroth still smiled gratefully in the face of Angel and Pete's concerned gazes, "Thank you for your continued care .”

"It should." Angel was filled with emotion, "I hope to hear such good news when I see you next time."

Considering that it might take a long time to go back this time, Sephiroth packed most of his things into his luggage before rushing to the parking lot.He opened the door and found that the driver was White, who was responsible for recording Claude's training data.

"It's you?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow.

"The research institute is also very busy now, and it's a little short of manpower." White shyly stroked the short hair on the back of his head.

Sephiroth did not continue to question his driving skills, and asked while wearing his seat belt: "When did Claude wake up?"

"Three days ago, but we couldn't contact you at that time, and the email was not sent until today."

Sephiroth pondered slightly. "At that time, I had just finished my mission and was on my way back, so I handed in all the communication tools."

"That's what we guessed too, so we came to pick you up today." White reversed the car out of the parking space and gestured excitedly with one hand, "Congratulations anyway! You are a big contributor to this victory, although the outside world is not will know who you are, but within the military you are already a well-known hero!"

Sephiroth didn't make any comments on this matter, but there was an inconspicuous arc on his lips: "Did Claude ask me?"

White nodded vigorously: "Actually, it is Claude who wants you to go back this time."

Sephiroth was a little surprised: "Claude wants me to go back? Did he see the news?"

"This matter has been discussed in the institute these days, and he can definitely hear it."

Sephiroth fell into thought when he heard this.

He hadn't seen the "real" Claude for a long time, and from time to time, he would miss the admiration and fascination in his eyes when he was a child.That kind of Claude hasn't appeared since he was three years old, and the other party has always been avoiding him and fearing him since then.But it is different now, he is an excellent soldier, he has become strong and mature, everyone is impressed by his aura, and he believes that Claude is not immune.

Sephiroth began to look forward to his younger brother's expression when he knew this.

As soon as he stepped into the hall of the institute, a head of shining blond hair flashed across Sephiroth's vision.He took a few steps after the golden color, and found that Claude was standing at the entrance of the training area, with a six-style back that was a bit taller than the opponent's back, and his small figure was almost buried by the researchers passing by.

"Claude?" He was surprised that the other party started using his mother's sword. "You were training just now?"

Claude turned back when he heard the sound, and his eyes became a little complicated when he saw him: "...Welcome back. Will you go back later?"

This demeanor, this tone, is definitely that rebellious and unlovable little brother.Sephiroth thought he would be a little disappointed, but in fact he was very happy, so he hugged his brother's shoulders intimately.

"The war with Junong is over. Although their president is still on the run, we have completely captured the capital, and most of the cabinet members have been dealt with by me. Now Junong is completely in a state of disunity, and it is impossible for them in a short time -"

Claude stopped suddenly and broke his hands on his shoulders.

Sephiroth was taken aback for a moment, but saw a serious expression on his younger brother's face that he had never seen before, as if he was facing a terrible enemy.

"Claude?" He didn't expect such a reaction from Claude at all, so he looked at him suspiciously.

The young man clenched his lower lip, unloaded Six Forms from his shoulders, and held them tightly in his hands. "Go to the training room."

Sephiroth glanced back at White, who didn't know what happened.He had no choice but to entrust White to take the luggage back to their room, and he followed Claude back to the training area.

Cloud turned off all data collection and camera systems in the main control room, and then walked into the training room.Sephiroth walked in together, trying to guess Claude's intentions, after thinking for a while, he still didn't know where he had provoked him again.

"Draw the knife." Claude looked at him coldly.

Sephiroth was a little dazed, so Claude repeated: "Draw the knife."

After hesitating for a moment, he finally pulled out Murasame and got ready to fight.

The moment he didn't react at all, Claude flew towards him like a bullet, and the six-style sword rushed towards him overwhelmingly.Sephiroth only had time to raise his hand to block, and was sent flying by the huge momentum.

"...?!"

Sephiroth had never received such a powerful attack head-on, as if the energy of the guarding mechanical light cannon had been compressed onto the thin blade of the sixth style, the terrifying explosive force almost shattered his ulna.

... If that explosive blow hit the wall, it could cut the training room in half.

Sephiroth turned over in the air, propped his feet against the wall as a cushion, and then fell back to the ground.He looked at Claude in shock, the blond boy turned his head slightly, held the Six Forms in front of him, and made a standard hand gesture.

"Come on again," Claude said.

Sephiroth did not dare to neglect this time, and chose to attack first.

He rushed to the other side at a speed not inferior to that of Claude just now, and he slashed out horizontally in the posture of Murasame Zuakui.He hesitated for a millisecond on how much force he should use, and Claude's Sixth Form had already been swung backhand.

That heavy chop caused Sephiroth's back to hit the ground hard, and he slid for a long distance in embarrassment.

Sephiroth coughed violently, barely propping himself up with the rain.At this time, Claude has reassembled the six styles, and the tip of the sword is pointing directly at his chest.

"Come again."

The long-lost pain brought back some of Sephiroth's sanity.He realized that he couldn't treat the blond boy in front of him as his dear brother, and at this moment, the other party was the most terrifying enemy.He didn't have any room to think about whether he should keep his strength so as not to hurt Claude. If he still thought leisurely like this, he might die in Claude's attack.

So Sephiroth took a deep breath, gripped the hilt of Murame's knife, and lifted it over his shoulder again.

"bring it on."

Claude lowered his brows, and in the next second, the sword light of the Six Forms flashed in front of his eyes again.

It wasn't until the eighth time that Sephiroth was thrown out that he realized that this was Claude's punishment for him.

He is omnipotent and invincible in the outside world, and has never tasted defeat. In front of him, the crystallization of science and technology is like a piece of scrap metal, and the enemy's soldiers are like brittle white paper under his hands-but such him Facing his ten-year-old brother's helplessness, Sephiroth's world was shaken.

He knew that Claude was not simple, but he never imagined that the other party could do this.The blond boy in front of him made him feel strange, as if he had never known him for more than three years.

This is the real usage of the Six Forms.This is my mother's sword skill.

Although there is no evidence to point this out, Sephiroth is extremely certain.

He knew that Claude had inherited his mother's appearance and will, but he didn't know that Claude had even inherited his mother's strength.Claude once pointed out the name of that style when he was practicing the prison gate, so he once thought that what he mastered was his mother's moves. It was not until today when he saw Claude using the six-style method that he realized that his mother's swordsmanship system and I am completely different.

But...if my mother didn't use this system at all, why did I spontaneously master this kind of swordsmanship?

If Claude only inherited his mother's sword skills, why is he familiar with his own moves?

More importantly, if Claude is punishing his arrogance now, is it because of Claude's personal thoughts, or does his mother not agree with him?

Sephiroth sank into deep self-doubt.

Cloud is indeed punishing Sephiroth for his actions against unarmed civilians during the war.But he stopped at the end and did not continue the battle to destroy Sephiroth's worldview.

He was so familiar with Sephiroth, he knew where the opponent's next move would be as soon as the opponent's eyeball moved.This young Sephiroth has no chance to find any opportunities under him. If he wants to, he can make Sephiroth lose earlier, but he doesn't. clear reality.

In fact, Claude's physical strength has reached its limit, and the nearly four-year age difference between the two puts him at a natural physical disadvantage.Sephiroth has never been suppressed like this before. If the opponent maintains the momentum of the onslaught, he will lose because his body cannot withstand the impact, but the opponent does not dare to try.

Cloud doesn't want to hurt Sephiroth.He just wants the other party to know that he can't do whatever he wants, that not all life in this world will be under his control, and he must not regard killing as an ordinary thing like eating and drinking.

So when Sephiroth had no intention of getting up again, Claude hung down the six poses, walked up to the opponent, and stretched out his hand to him.

Sephiroth raised his head abruptly, but saw a little sadness that he couldn't understand in those young blue pupils.

"... Sephiroth, listen to me."

Claude lowered his voice, his weary tone made him sound like someone else.

"You absolutely, absolutely must not get the blood of ordinary people on your hands. Once the killing starts, there is no turning back."

In his previous life, Sephiroth experienced a false start, was born as a product of experiments, did not know who his biological parents were, and spent his entire childhood in brutal battles, but no one told him that all this was abnormal.He longed for his mother's love, but he didn't even have a concept of what this thing looked like, so he responded enthusiastically to Xenovia's call.

Claude has been thinking that if this Sephiroth can have a normal growth experience, maybe he won't be so eager for what he doesn't lack, so he must correct him before everything is distorted.Perhaps Sephiroth will still be evil in the future, and he will be responsible for sanctioning the other party, but more than anyone else, he hopes that Sephiroth can have a normal life, even if it is an ordinary life that has nothing to do with heroes, it is better than repeating the self-destruction of the previous life path of.

Sephiroth didn't understand.So he looked at Claude suspiciously, waiting for the other party to explain further.

"More than anyone else, I hope you can—" Claude paused, "...happy. So promise me that you will never kill anyone unless it is to protect yourself."

The hand was still hanging alone in the air, Sephiroth was silent for a moment, and held it firmly.

Claude pulled him up, but he almost fell forward.Every inch of his body was screaming for pain, and the result of overuse of this body was a severe strain. He hoped that the shock just now hadn't affected the internal organs, but cold sweat had already oozed out of the tip of his nose uncontrollably.

Just when Claude was about to fall to the ground, he fell into a warm embrace.

Sephiroth picked him up with one arm, carefully wrapped his hands and feet as he did when he lost consciousness, and lifted the six poses for him with the other hand.Cloud didn't have the strength to struggle, so he let himself lean on Sephiroth's shoulder.He felt the other person's body tense for a moment, and then relaxed cautiously, as if he was a dangerous and fragile object.

Sephiroth was on guard against him.This cognition made Claude a little subtle.

They walked towards the room in a strange silence, attracting everyone's attention along the way.Sephiroth ignored those gazes, and Claude let him hold himself and swagger through the streets.

Just when he thought that Sephiroth was not going to reply to him, the other party walked into their room, put him gently on the bed, and squatted in front of him.

"You've always been able to do that," Sephiroth said.

This was the first time Cloud saw Sephiroth deliberately keeping eye level with him.He knew that Sephiroth meant that he completely suppressed him in the training room, so he didn't deny it.

So a trace of confusion flashed in the other party's eyes: "Then why...you never resist?"

Asking this question from Sephiroth's mouth is as ironic as if using authenticity to open his wound.But Claude restrained his expression, sighed indistinctly, and pinned behind Sephiroth's ears a strand of silver hair that blocked his vision.

"I'm waiting for you to grow up... until we all grow up."

He lowered his eyes, and what he could see were their hands. The size contrast was like him when he was a boy and Sephiroth when he was an adult.He remembered that when he was in Nibelheim a long time ago, those hands also fell on his shoulders, and the warm touch even passed through the leather, all the way to the bottom of his heart.

"I want to believe in you. I know you can become someone worthy of my admiration and admiration, and you've done it before, so maybe... your future self will still be able to."

The bright green pupils suddenly narrowed.

For a few seconds, Sephiroth's mind went blank, and his inner shock was no less than seeing his mother open her eyes for the first time.

Before that sentence, he was still wondering whether Claude was admonishing himself or planning to use the six moves to enforce it from now on, but he never thought that his younger brother had such deep expectations of him.

"You were my hero when I was a kid."

The scene of his brother muttering to himself many years ago suddenly appeared in Sephiroth's mind.At that time he didn't know the deep meaning of this sentence, but now he knows.

An unprecedented sense of heaviness spread from the bottom of my heart.Sephiroth suddenly remembered some things that he was about to forget, such as his longing and pride for his mother when he was very young, such as they were born extraordinary and destined to walk a completely different path from ordinary people.

The Institute does not need heroes, humans do not need heroes, and the planet does not need heroes, but Cloud does.So from now on, he will be Claude's own hero.