Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth X Cloud. All characters property of Square. The Quickening by Fire Ceremony (Strength_Love The young man looked around, his blue eyes blazing of focus and determination. He had searched the world over for his enemy and now he was within reach of the goal. He could even smell his enemy’s presence in the cold and damp air. “Sephiroth!” Cloud yelled. The name of his hated opponent reverberated into the cave tunnel and was swallowed by the darkness. Silence. Cloud continued down the long tunnel, straining his eyes in the low light afforded by the cave walls. Sephiroth turned his head to the sound reaching him through stone and darkness. Cloud. He was here. This was the first time Sephiroth had heard Cloud’s voice since their encounter at the City of the Ancients, three weeks ago. He knew the younger man was pulled steadily and mercilessly towards him and the site of Reunion, but he hadn’t thought he would show the relentless determination and expert tracking ability that he did. Sephiroth had no memory of Cloud as a young soldier but their first meeting had seared itself into his mind and created the knowledge that Cloud would eventually be able to find him. He just hadn’t thought it would take as little time as it had. Well, that didn’t matter much, the site of Reunion was almost finished. Just a few more additions to the crystal strands and everything would be ready. Cloud pulled himself up on the ledge, his bare arms, covered with cuts and bruises from the unforgiving cliff surface, shaking with the strain. But now he was here. He could feel the Mako in his body vibrate in resonance with the Mako present in the rock, this resonance having drawn him up and into this part of the cave system. The energy seemed to be steadily increasing, pulling him to its source. The nearer to the source he came, the more his determination to find Sephiroth grew, because Sephiroth was most probably at the center of the energy, like a spider sitting in its web. Soon, soon he would be there too. On top of the ledge, Cloud allowed himself some rest. With a trembling hand, he loosened his canteen from the belt, unscrewed the cork and drew a mouthful of water. The water was cold from the ambient temperature and cooled his burning lips and throat, giving a momentary respite from thirst. With a discipline born of necessity, he put the cork back on and fastened the canteen into place. Despite the cold of the tunnels, he was sweating. With the back of his hand, he wiped perspiration from his forehead. He couldn’t allow himself to feel tired, he had to continue. Cloud stood and entered the mouth of the cave a few meters in front of him. Inside, the cave walls seemed to vibrate with energy, the vibrations strong enough to create a low hum in the air. The hairs on Cloud’s arms rose. Lifestream. He was near the site where Lifestream penetrated the rock of the crater, where Sephiroth would be. He couldn’t wait to find him. After twenty meters, the tunnel widened into a large, circular cavern with a domed ceiling stretching high up into the darkness. The cavern was the largest individual “room” Cloud had encountered inside the crater and it was huge, easily measuring forty by forty meters across. In the center of the cavern, suspended between floor and ceiling, was an enormous globule of loosely knit strands of Mako crystal. The center of the web was glowing with a bright light shining through the translucent material. The light was the edge of Lifestream. Finally. Cloud ran to the crystal web and began climbing the smooth, cold strands. They were easily as thick as his arm and bore his weight well. He was so near, so near. Hungry, thirsty and exhausted beyond caring, Cloud climbed higher and higher into the web. Above him, interlacing crystal strands created an irregularly shaped orb. This had to be the web’s center. Searching for a way inside, Cloud scanned the criss-crossing strands above him. There, a small opening a few meters above and to the left, almost invisible in the dense crystal lattice. He climbed up to the opening and pulled himself through. The first thing Cloud saw was the column of moving and flowing light at the center of the crystal sphere. The light was strong enough to make it painful to look directly at it for more than a few seconds, it was like looking into the sun. The second thing which fell on his eyes was a tall, black clad figure standing to the right of the light column with his back turned to him. The sight of his enemy caused a wave of anger and hatred to well up inside his mind. “Sephiroth!” Cloud hissed reflexively. Sephiroth turned, his long white hair flowing through the Mako saturated air. “Cloud!” he said, relieved the wait was finally over. He took in the youth. His wide purple pants were torn and scuffed, the skin of his arms riddled with cuts, his narrow face dirty and drawn with exhaustion. Even the proud hairspikes on top of Cloud’s head looked ruffled and droopy. The climb through the crater had clearly taken its toll. “Sephiroth!” Cloud yelled and drew his sword. “Prepare to die!” He charged to cross the few meters that separated him from Sephiroth as quickly as possible. Sephiroth raised his eyebrows. He didn’t bother to draw his weapon, but simply stretched out left hand and sent an energy blast in the direction of the charging man. Cloud was hurled off the floor and thrown into the “wall” of the sphere, then fell to the floor. Breathing hard, he struggled to get up and reach for the sword which had fallen less then half a meter from his hand. Sephiroth leapt forward and gave the heavy sword a kick. It went flying across the crystal floor and into Lifestream. It burst into light, then disappared. Cloud sprang up and put one gloved fist in Sephiroth’s face. Sephiroth drew back from the hit. He smiled and licked his lips. They tasted sweetly of blood. He narrowed his eyes and returned the punch that Cloud had given him. Bleeding from one nostril, Cloud sank to the floor again, unconscious, his face and hands slack and his chin resting on the chest. Sephiroth smiled and bent down. He opened Cloud’s materia armlets and pulled them from his wrists, before throwing them into the light column. They too burned brightly in the searing light before disappearing with a flash. Sephiroth then gingerly picked up the younger man and slung him across one shoulder. |
|||