The Echo of a Nightmare
The image of the white-haired woman, framed by fire and chaos, had seared itself into Arthur's mind.
As they descended deeper into Mako Reactor 7, the truth, or a chilling version of it, began to solidify.
'She is not Sephiroth… But Sephira…'
Arthur had checked her parameters and found that she was super strong.
She was level 8 and she had all of her parameters at SSS.
Arthur shook his head.
She was much stronger than the original must be because of the Whisperers.
His mind raced, piecing together the impossible. This wasn't a physical encounter.
It was a vision, a glimpse into the Lifestream, the river of spiritual energy that flowed beneath the planet.
He hadn't met her in reality; he had perceived her essence, her powerful presence within the planet's very lifeblood.
The realization brought a fresh wave of dread.
If Sephira existed only as a memory or a burgeoning consciousness within the Lifestream, yet still possessed such overwhelming power, what would happen if she truly manifested?
Her Level 8 and SSS parameters weren't just theoretical; they were a horrifying potential.
'The Whisperers,'
He thought, the answer hitting him with chilling clarity. They were the causes.
If the timeline had been altered, if Cloudia was here instead of Cloud, if events had strayed too far from their destined path, the Whisperers might be influencing the Lifestream, trying to birth an even stronger counter-force.
Sephira, empowered beyond the original, to ensure a certain, more destructive outcome, a cataclysm on an even grander scale.
This was more than just a fight against Shinra; it was a battle against a twisted destiny, a premonition of a new, potentially insurmountable threat.
The clang of metal against metal echoed through the reactor, the very air vibrating with the raw power Arthur exerted.
He didn't physically clash with Sephira, but he fought her influence, her spectral presence pushing against his mind, testing his limits.
He wasn't containing a physical being, but a spiritual surge, a malevolent energy attempting to break free from the Lifestream's confines.
"It's too strong, Arthur!"
Barret roared from the sidelines, his gun-arm useless against an unseen foe.
Yuffie, surprisingly, hadn't abandoned her attempts to help.
She darted in, a quick flash of her shuriken cutting through the air, aimed at where Sephira's vision seemed strongest.
But the blade passed through, an immaterial attempt against a spiritual enemy.
"Such childish efforts,"
A voice, cold and ethereal, echoed in Arthur's mind, seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere at once.
"Do you truly believe a few insects can stop the inevitable?"
Arthur knew what he had to do. He couldn't defeat this premonition, this nascent evil.
But he could delay it, push it back into the Lifestream's depths.
Enough time for Avalanche to complete their mission.
"Avalanche!"
Arthur's voice boomed, cutting through the clang of unseen forces.
"Forget the diversion! Go for the core! Now!"
Cloudia, ever quick to understand, immediately began relaying new instructions.
"Tifa, Barret, Jessie, Biggs, Wedge! Move! Find the main cooling system! Aerith, stay with me! We'll provide cover!"
The spectral presence of Sephira seemed amused by their sudden shift in tactics.
"Running already? How disappointing."
Her focus, however, remained on Arthur, her icy gaze an invisible pressure.
"You cannot escape your fate."
This was Arthur's chance. He unleashed a wave of raw energy, not aimed to damage Sephira, but to repel her influence, to create a spiritual barrier that pulsed with crimson light.
It wasn't meant to hold her indefinitely, but to buy precious seconds, to force her nascent consciousness back into the Lifestream.
Sephira, caught off guard by the unexpected maneuver, recoiled slightly.
The spiritual force pushed against her, distorting her spectral form, sending ripples through her ethereal presence.
She scowled, her silver eyes narrowing, visible only to Arthur.
"A temporary inconvenience,"
Her voice snarled in his mind, striking at his mental defenses.
The spiritual barrier buckled, shimmering violently, but held. For now.
Arthur pressed his advantage, channeling more power into the containment field, forming a small, self-sustaining bubble of energy around Sephira's ethereal form.
He was effectively trapping her, isolating her influence from the rest of the group. It was a massive drain on his power, but it was their only hope.
"Go!"
Arthur yelled, straining against the immense spiritual pressure required to maintain the field.
"Go now!"
The Avalanche members didn't need to be told twice.
Tifa and Barret sprinted towards the lower levels, followed closely by Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge, who were already plotting their approach to the cooling systems.
Cloudia and Aerith positioned themselves strategically, providing covering fire and readying their own abilities to assist.
Yuffie, though still wide-eyed, seemed to grasp the urgency.
She looked at Arthur, then at the pulsating area where Sephira's presence was contained, and for once, didn't ask a question or demand shiny treasure.
She just nodded, a newfound seriousness in her gaze, and dashed after the others.
As Arthur poured his energy into maintaining the spiritual containment, Sephira began to unleash her own devastating, ethereal power.
Her masamune, though unseen by the others, glowed with a malevolent, shimmering light, and each strike against Arthur's mental barrier sent shockwaves through his mind.
The hum of the spiritual field grew louder, more strained.
"You can only prolong the inevitable!"
Sephira's taunting voice echoed directly in his thoughts.
"This world will burn, and you, its foolish variable, will be powerless to stop it!"
Arthur gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his forehead. He could feel the strain, the immense pressure on his mind and spirit.
The field pulsed, showing cracks, but he refused to yield.
Every second he held her, every moment he kept her contained within the Lifestream, was a second gain for Avalanche.
Meanwhile, Tifa and Barret led the charge to the main cooling systems.
They moved swiftly, eliminating any Shinra resistance with brutal efficiency.
Tifa's fists were a blur, striking with precision and force, while Barret's gun-arm barked, tearing through enemy lines.
"Jessie, what's your ETA on the explosives?"
Barret yelled, taking cover behind a large pipe.
"Almost there!"
Jessie replied, her voice strained as she connected wires to a critical junction.
"Just a few more seconds!"
Wedge and Biggs provided crucial cover, their limited weaponry surprisingly effective against the disoriented Shinra troopers.
Aerith, from her vantage point, began to channel her own energy, preparing a healing spell for Arthur, knowing he would be utterly drained. She subconsciously provides him with lifestreme.
Cloudia worked furiously on her device, analyzing the reactor's schematics, looking for any additional weaknesses, any way to speed up the process.
A loud, metallic groan echoed from below.
"Got it!"
Jessie's triumphant shout rang out over the comms.
"Cooling systems are overloaded! Get ready for the big boom!"
Arthur felt a surge of relief, but it was quickly replaced by renewed urgency.
The moment the cooling systems failed, the reactor would become unstable. He had to be released from Sephira's spiritual prison, and then they all had to escape.
"Avalanche! Fall back! Now!"
Arthur roared, channeling the last of his spiritual strength.
Sephira, sensing the imminent instability of the reactor and the success of Avalanche's mission, unleashed a final, devastating mental assault against Arthur's spiritual containment.
With a sound like shattering glass in his mind, the force field collapsed.
"Impressive, for a mere adolescent dragon,"
Her voice echoed, laced with cold fury, fading as she retreated deeper into the Lifestream.
"But next time, you won't be so lucky."
Arthur, utterly drained, staggered back, his spiritual defenses crumbling.
Aerith immediately rushed to his side, her hands glowing with healing energy, desperately trying to mend the strain on his mind and body.
"Let's go!"
Tifa yelled, appearing with the rest of the group.
"The whole place is coming down!"
The ground beneath them buckled, and the roar of the collapsing reactor filled the air.
They had succeeded in destroying the reactor, but Sephira's terrifying premonition lingered.
…
Inside Arthur's soul, a silent battle raged.
Great Red and Ophis observed it all, their gazes unwavering.
They possessed the power to intervene, to sweep away the encroaching darkness, but to do so would deny Arthur a crucial opportunity—the chance to overcome a truly formidable opponent.
[This is something he has to conquer on his own. These whisperers are a nuisance to deal with,]
Ophis stated, her voice devoid of emotion as she effortlessly snared a whisperer within her infinite aura, then erased it from existence.
Great Red nodded, a flicker of concern in her draconic eyes.
While worried for Arthur, she knew he desperately needed experience confronting cosmic entities.
Whisperers, despite their insidious nature, were the weakest of their kind, easily dispatched if one only knew how.
[If it truly comes down to it,]
Great Red rumbled,
[He can always unleash our Sacred Gear and tear this reality apart.]
...
Little spoiler: Arthur wreck havoc on the first floor. How dare they be greedy. How could they disrespect Emilia. He had show who is the boss. (Fairytail won the vote by the way. He is going to go to sixth floor with Rimuru, Milim, Shion, and Shuna.)
...
[email protected]/phelio 100+ more chapters