The rain was continuous, and the adventurers had gathered inside the house. Only their captain, Jack Harper, was absent.
"Is the captain still out in the rain?" Evander Marlowe asked.
Elliot Gray nodded. "The blow was too great. He's in a state of self-imposed exile."
Evander Marlowe scratched his head. "This is my fault. I didn't tell him this part of the plot, or he wouldn't have killed them."
Elliot Gray thought for a moment. "To survive in this cycle of reincarnation, one is bound to face such moral and value clashes sooner or later," he said. "While this clash came a little early and was a bit more intense, it might not be a bad thing. At least the captain can reflect in peace, without having to fight while undergoing such a soul-searching ordeal. He has to get through this on his own."
Jack Harper was sitting alone in the rain because he couldn't resolve the turmoil in his heart. In any society or culture, killing children is unforgivable. This isn't about any belief system; it's a fundamental constraint derived from biological instinct. Even wild beasts rarely harm their young, let alone a human. Although Jack Harper's emotions had been frozen solid by ten years in the Ice Prison, he hadn't discarded this basic morality. That's why when the twins, Lilith Vale and Caelum Vale, had attacked him with knives, axes, and guns yesterday, he didn't kill them. Instead, he did his best to bring them back and restore their humanity.
He never imagined that he himself would, in the blink of an eye, slaughter a thousand children. Even though he was completely unaware at the time. Even though the children had turned into fairies when he killed them. And even though those fairies were man-eaters. They were still a thousand young lives, and no matter what, he couldn't escape the mounting guilt in his heart.
Of course, Jack Harper's initial ability, "Ice Hell," could freeze any emotion and absorb its power to strengthen the ability. Through this cycle, he could easily dissolve his guilt if he wanted to. But if Jack Harper did that, it would be tantamount to condoning the slaughter. He didn't want to become a person who could kill a thousand children and then feel no guilt afterward. What would be the difference between a person like that and the monsters of Unit 731?
So Jack Harper would rather sit alone in the rain, meditating silently and enduring the intense, self-inflicted disgust. The other members of the team reacted differently to his actions.
Lilith Vale and Caelum Vale, the little loli and shota, had no proper sense of right and wrong, and they didn't understand what was wrong with Jack Harper's actions at all. Flora felt some pity but no malice. As a Claymore warrior, she had also fought awakened beings who were once their companions and who would revert to their human form upon death. In her view, slaying a demonized person and restoring their human form in death was cruel, but by no means wrong.
Elliot Gray and Evander Marlowe already knew the plot, so they were mentally prepared. They only blamed themselves for not being proactive, and the psychological impact was not very significant. The priest Frankie Romano had spent the afternoon burying the bodies of the dead children with the townspeople. Now, he was holding a cross and praying softly. Although he was still dressed in his old sleeveless floral shirt and shorts, no one doubted his identity anymore.
The two police officers, Claire Whitmore and Logan Barrett, however, showed clear signs of repulsion and hostility toward Jack Harper. Because Logan Barrett's injuries hadn't fully healed, they had arrived late and hadn't seen the before and after. Although someone explained what happened afterward, the initial visual shock of seeing Jack Harper standing amidst the corpses of countless children caused a dramatic shift in their emotions, and they instinctively disbelieved the explanations.
The last newcomer, the female high school student who had narrowly escaped, was petite with a baby face, and looked to be only thirteen or fourteen. According to her introduction, her name was Sierra Snow, and she was classmates with the two high school students who had died. It seemed they had all died together in a spring outing traffic accident and entered this cycle of reincarnation together. She was also full of fear for Jack Harper, but after the deaths and injuries among the newcomers yesterday, the police no longer provided her with a sense of security. So now she was following Elliot Gray and Evander Marlowe.
As Jack Harper sat alone in the rain, he didn't notice the ice katana "Snow Moon Flower" he had stuck into the stone slab behind him was quietly changing. This weapon from the
Monster Hunter 2g game world had twelve stages from its initial form to its final completion. It was for this reason that its previous owner had incorporated the "Demon Sword" forging technique into its creation. In the process of the twelve transformations, twelve demonic runes were gradually added. As a result, when the forging was complete, this "Snow Moon Flower - Modified" was slightly different from others of its kind, with twelve nail-sized white runes on each side of the blade near the hilt. However, it seemed the original "Demon Sword" forging technique was flawed, so the previous owner, despite completing the forging process, didn't get a powerful demon sword. Instead, it only gained the effect of slaying spirits on top of the "Snow Moon Flower's" basic abilities.
But now, after absorbing the essence and souls of a thousand children, the twelve magical runes on the katana had turned as crimson as fresh blood. The thick demonic light, though it tried its best to hide, seemed ready to drip off the blade. Because Jack Harper's back was to the demon blade and he was a little distraught, a wisp of black mist emerged from the blood-red runes after they flickered a few times, and slowly wrapped around Jack Harper.
Completely unaware, Jack Harper was enduring the constant turmoil of pain in his heart. He didn't intend to eliminate this guilt; instead, he was willing to undergo a complete baptism of this pain to calm his dark emotions. However, he didn't notice that because of the faint black mist behind him, the guilt in his heart, instead of subsiding, was intensifying, crashing against his mind like a boundless sea of suffering, slowly drowning him.
It was like boiling a frog in warm water. At the beginning, the subtle danger was impossible to detect, but by the time the damage was enough to be noticed, the victim no longer had the chance to even be alarmed.
Why don't you just die...
You killed so many children, why don't you just die...
You should die...
Go die...
Die...
Die...
Die...
Die...
Countless voices echoed in Jack Harper's mind, repeating over and over. There were his own voices and the voices of countless children, all repeating the word "die," slowly eroding Jack Harper's will to live. At the same time, the black mist from the "Snow Moon Flower's" runes grew thicker, gradually enveloping Jack Harper and causing him to sink deeper into self-reproach. His hands slowly rose, reaching for his own throat.
The wailing and curses of a thousand tragically killed children, combined with the demon sword's ability to attack the heart, were enough to make anyone feel that life was no longer worth living. But Jack Harper was a special case. He had survived ten years in the Ice Prison, a desperate situation where he couldn't even think, and his instinct for survival had permeated every cell of his being. Thus, the two forces were in a stalemate, a "to be or not to be" deadlock. If this continued, the defensive Jack Harper would inevitably lose. However, when the black mist gradually wrapped around his entire body and began to penetrate inward, it suddenly triggered two unexpected events.
One unexpected event was the golden light that erupted from his rear shoulder and chest. That was the fist energy from the "Hegemonic Fist" of the female dragon warrior Luna Celeste, who had chased Jack Harper and his companions in the open world. This arrogant, golden fist energy, even while sealed by the holy ice aura, maintained its regal pride. So when the black mist with its decadent, self-destructive will approached, it triggered a strong repulsion from the fist energy, blowing a basin-sized hole in the black mist in those two places.
The other unexpected event was Jack Harper's jade-green left eye. This eye had originally been blinded in a battle in the
Claymore world by Flora's awakened form. However, it was later restored in the world of
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children with the super-regenerative power of Jenova's cells, though it had become a Jenova host's characteristic jade-green beast eye. At the end of the
Advent Children mission, all of his Jenova cells were washed away by the Planet's Life Stream, but for some reason, his left eye did not return to its original state.
At this moment, this eerie green eye suddenly broke free from Jack Harper's control and automatically shone with an emerald light. Then, in a manner opposite to the golden fist energy, it formed a vortex that continuously sucked in the black mist generated by the runes. As the black mist weakened, Jack Harper's consciousness immediately began to clear.
"Huh? What am I..." Looking at his hands almost clutching his throat, Jack Harper broke out in a cold sweat. He knew he had just nearly died.
At the same time, a low, cold voice sounded in his mind: "Hmph, don't just stand there, activate 'Ice Hell'!" The voice was incredibly familiar. Jack Harper instinctively used "Ice Hell," and in an instant, he froze the guilt that had been surging like a tide in his heart. His consciousness completely cleared, and he immediately recognized the owner of the voice. Overjoyed, he said, "Sephiroth, you're alive?"
The owner of the voice was indeed the great boss from
Advent Children, the one-winged angel Sephiroth, who had once possessed Jack Harper. Jack Harper was already a huge fan of this silver-haired swordsman, known as the "most handsome boss in history". After sharing a large number of his memories in the
Advent Children world and empathizing with his tragic journey, Jack Harper's admiration had evolved to the level of a confidant. He had thought this lonely, unparalleled warrior had vanished after that battle, and he often felt a sense of loss. He never expected to see him again, and was overjoyed.
However, Sephiroth's voice was indifferent as he spoke to Jack Harper in his mind: "The danger isn't over. Expand the range of 'Ice Hell' with all your might!" Jack Harper knew that Sephiroth, freed from Jenova's control, was a warrior of the highest integrity and would never deceive him. He did as he was told, but was puzzled, saying, "My 'Ice Hell' can only work inside my body. How can expanding it..."
Before he could finish, he realized the difference. In order to amplify Jack Harper's self-destructive thoughts, the black mist from the "Snow Moon Flower's" runes had already connected with his emotions. Now that Jack Harper's self-destructive emotions were frozen, the ice power, following the black mist, was actually spreading in reverse toward the sword where the runes were located. The runes seemed to have a will of their own and immediately tried to retract, but they were held in place by the black vortex of Jack Harper's green left eye, unable to retreat an inch.
Within seconds, the entire snow-white katana was covered in a layer of frost. The runes, which had been glowing red, were now frozen in a deep blue.
While freezing the runes, Jack Harper also perceived what was happening inside the sword. From a psychic perspective, thousands of human souls—men, women, young and old—were bound within the blade. However, at the very core, there were two swirling, black and white streams of light, like a DNA helix, with their ends connected to form a ring. If he looked closely, he would see that the two streams of light were formed by the wailing souls of five hundred boys and five hundred girls, with each soul surrounded by six runes. They had been completely corrupted by the black energy, becoming vicious and ferocious, and they were constantly devouring the other souls that made up the swirling light streams. In the very center of the double helix ring, an unknown black mist had condensed into a sphere, like a placenta, and was nurturing something.
With Jack Harper's "Ice Hell" power intervening, the souls within the blade were also frozen.
"What's going on?" Jack Harper asked, confused. "Why did this katana attack me, and Sephiroth, how are you alive?"
Sephiroth's voice was silent for a moment before he spoke again: "Jackie, do you trust me?"
Jack Harper replied, "Why would you ask such a question? I know you, just as you know me. Since I know the kind of person you are, how could I not trust you?"
"Then, spill your blood on this blade!" Sephiroth's voice was still calm, but a hint of anxiety was hidden in his words.
Jack Harper didn't hesitate. He raised his hand and broke the blood vessels in his wrist. A torrent of fresh blood gushed out, drenching the snow-white katana. At the same time, a wisp of black energy shot out from Jack Harper's green left eye and landed on the Snow Moon Flower.
Because the "Ice Hell" ability was active within the blade, Jack Harper could clearly feel that the black energy from his left eye, once it entered the sword, immediately broke through the layers of ice and moved toward the black mist placenta in the center of the light ring. It burrowed into it, and in a shock to his spirit, the power of "Ice Hell" was forcibly ejected from the blade. His last sensation was of something emerging from that black mist placenta.
Simultaneously, the katana began to make a distorted "cracking" sound, and shards of ice fell from the blade. Large clouds of black mist spewed from the runes, wrapping the blade like a silkworm cocooning itself. A tragic green flame ignited from the bottom and burned upward, quickly turning into a torch-like inferno. Inside the green flame, the katana continued to emit the sound of twisting metal, like a large snake being scorched as it was bound. In the heavy rain, it looked incredibly demonic.
After several minutes of burning, the flames suddenly subsided and collapsed inward. The black mist also vanished, revealing the shape of the katana once again. But this time, the style of the katana had completely changed.
"Is this... Masamune?" Jack Harper instantly recognized the new form of the katana. It was Sephiroth's iconic, extra-long katana, looking exactly like the one he had once wielded in
Advent Children, except for the six runes that still remained at the end of the blade.
In true Japanese swords, a regular katana is called a "uchigatana" and is generally less than a meter long. The maximum length of a "tachi" is typically only around 1.5 to 1.6 meters, and anything longer is called a "nodachi". However, the difference between a tachi and a nodachi is not just in length; it's also in proportion. A nodachi is a purely two-handed sword, with a long, heavy handle and a thick, wide blade, like an enlarged uchigatana. The original "Ice Blade - Snow Moon Flower" was a two-handed nodachi with a blade length of about 1.8 meters and a cylindrical handle as thick as a teacup, and 80 centimeters long. Although its style was considered the most slender and elegant of its kind, the blade's width was still seven to eight centimeters, and the back was one centimeter thick. In contrast, Sephiroth's "Masamune," although an astounding three meters long, had a flat, rectangular handle only forty to fifty centimeters long. The blade's width was only a little over three centimeters, and its thickness was a mere few millimeters. From a distance, it looked like a silver line. Sephiroth often wielded it with one hand, so the "Masamune" was actually an "uchigatana with an extended blade," not a nodachi.
Seeing the original "Snow Moon Flower" become the "Masamune," Jack Harper was stunned. But the next change surprised him even more. The mutated Masamune katana rose from the ground as if controlled by an invisible hand, and floated horizontally in the air. A child, who looked to be only five or six, appeared out of thin air on the blade. The child had shoulder-length silver hair and sea-blue eyes. With a beautiful, cold, and androgynous face, wearing a knee-length white hospital gown, with bare, snow-white legs and feet, the child looked like a beautiful little ghost. Jack Harper looked at the floating ghost loli and found the silver hair and green eyes to be eerily familiar. He couldn't help but ask, "Sephiroth, is that...?"
"It's me... my childhood form," Sephiroth's voice was still calm, but Jack Harper thought he detected a hint of embarrassment.
Jack Harper was not stupid. He had already known from the description of the "Ice Blade - Snow Moon Flower - Modified" that its previous owner had modified it using a secret demon sword forging technique. He had also learned the details of the so-called demon sword from Elliot Gray. Connecting the dots, he guessed most of the truth and asked, "Did me killing a thousand children, by chance, cause the 'Demon Sword Forging' to finally succeed? And is he the sword spirit of this new 'Masamune'? But Sephiroth, why did the sword attack me before, and why has it now become 'Masamune,' and why does the sword spirit look like you as a child?"
The original owner of Jack Harper's "Snow Moon Flower" had stumbled upon a secret demon sword forging technique. He found that all the steps were detailed, but the final "sword sacrifice" part just before the sword was finished was vague. So, when he reached the final step of forging, he tried various methods for the sacrifice. With his Bronze-level strength, he naturally couldn't slaughter a city for the sacrifice, and he failed to find another way. As a result, he ended up with a half-finished product.
The two generations of swordsmiths before him didn't know that the one who recorded this secret forging technique was a demon from the demon realm. It wasn't that he didn't want to be clear; it was that in the demon realm, there were hundreds of ways to sacrifice a sword, each with a different effect on the final product. These methods were widely known among demons, so there was no need to go into detail. However, the materials required for those methods were almost all unique to the demon realm. In the human world, there was only one method that could truly be used, the simplest yet most evil one: sacrificing the sword with "the blood of five hundred pairs of young boys and girls." As long as this method was used, a powerful sword spirit would be created, and it would also absorb the power of any nearby deceased beings to strengthen itself.
This method was so evil that a normal person wouldn't even think of it, let alone do it. Jack Harper's actions, by inadvertently killing a thousand children who had turned into fairies, recreated the transformation of the demon sword. Because it was a living sacrifice, the resulting sword spirit was perfect. In the future, it could continuously absorb the power of those who were killed to grow stronger, with no issues at all.
"I know you have many questions. Listen to me quietly," Sephiroth's voice said again in Jack Harper's mind. "In that world, I thought the Planet's Will would cleanse all the Jenova cells from your body, which would have meant the complete disappearance of both my human side and my Jenova side. But I didn't realize that your left eye had regenerated with the power of Jenova's cells, so this part of the gene mutated and gained a part of Jenova's genetic code. And because it wasn't completely Jenova cells, it escaped the cleansing of the Life Stream. It was because of this small remnant that both my and Jenova's original wills were preserved. Of course, these remnants had completely lost all their memories and will, and without an outside force, we would have been in a state of eternal sleep."
"But this time, you were invaded by the demon blade, and the dark psychic fluctuations caused us to awaken," Sephiroth continued. "I had already left a lot of my memories in the dreamscape of your heart, and I retrieved them as soon as I woke up. As for the Jenova side of my will, it has also grown stronger by absorbing the demon blade's negative energy. However, without Jenova's memories, it's like when I mistakenly thought I was a descendant of the Ancients—it doesn't know who or what it is. As for why the demon blade attacked you, based on the information you know, I think it was because the sword spirit that was being nurtured lacked a core and wanted to absorb your soul to form the spirit. When I sensed this, I tampered with the Jenova side's memories and used your blood as a guide to lead it into the demon sword, where it would become the sword spirit instead of you. In the memories I've modified, it will worship you as it would the Jenova 'mother,' becoming your most loyal sword spirit. The demon sword also, because of its influence, has changed into the 'Masamune' shape I am most familiar with, but I think this blade should have another name?"
Before Jack Harper could ask anything else, the young Sephiroth said in a cool, child's voice, "The blade's name is 'Deep Snow Masamune.' My master can call me 'Deep Snow.'"
"What about the souls that were originally sealed in the sword?" Jack Harper asked, thinking of the thousand children's souls.
The loli-spirit answered as gravely as a warrior, "All the souls have been assimilated into me. However, if my master wishes, I can release them. After all, their purpose was to nurture the sword spirit, and now that the spirit has been created, their existence is no longer important. But if I release them, my power will also fall back to its baseline, not much stronger than its original semi-complete state."
Jack Harper didn't hesitate. "Release all the souls," he said. "And in the future, without my special command, you are not to forcibly take any souls."
The loli-spirit, in the form of a young Sephiroth, showed no resistance. He simply nodded and said, "As you command."
Immediately afterward, without any discernible action from him, thousands of white lights flew out of the sword. They became like fireflies, fluttering in the air. However, just as Jack Harper thought they had been freed, a force more despairing than the previous black mist from the runes suddenly reached out from the void. Although it was formless and intangible, it stirred the rain around it, capturing large swaths of the light points and pulling them into an unknown space. The light points, which were the souls, couldn't make a sound, but they gave the feeling of a tragic wail. The remaining light points scattered, trying to flee, but the despairing force covered everything. There was nowhere to run, and in their final, desperate tremor, half of the remaining light points self-destructed and flowed into the "Deep Snow" Masamune.
The despairing force seemed unwilling to give up, trying to attack the demon blade by following the power of the lost souls. But the loli-spirit, after absorbing the power of the self-destructing souls, instantly grew from the appearance of a five- or six-year-old to that of a seven- or eight-year-old. Facing the attacking force, the three-meter-long blade of the Deep Snow Masamune automatically rose and slashed down, cleaving the invisible force in two. The force trembled violently and then disappeared back into the void without a trace.
In the rain, a sigh seemed to be heard.
"What... was that?" Jack Harper was stunned and couldn't help but ask.
Sephiroth's voice replied indifferently, "That is the source of the planet's life force, another form of the 'Life Stream.' The Planet's Will is inherently neutral, like a force of nature. But in the world where I existed, the Ancients had continually merged with it, so the Life Stream there was filled with kindness and peace. In this world, however, the Life Stream is filled with countless vengeful and despairing souls, so the planet's entire power is hostile to life. In other words, when a life in my world dies, it feels like it's entering heaven, carefree and joyful. But when a life in this world dies, it feels like it's falling into hell, with no hope, eternally sinking into a cycle of souls fighting and hating each other. That's why those souls were willing to destroy themselves rather than merge into the planet's pulse."
Jack Harper nodded, also remembering the explanations from Elliot Gray and Evander Marlowe. He then asked, "So, Sephiroth, what are your plans? Can you create a body and return like last time? I wonder if we can still find the original Jenova cells."
"No, I have no intention of becoming a Jenova puppet again," Sephiroth calmly refused. "If I can't be a complete human, I would rather disappear. But before that, as a way of repaying you for helping me, I will stay by your side. Although I don't have a body right now, the 'Deep Snow' sword spirit is, in a way, my other half, so if needed, I can enter it and control it in combat."
"Don't worry," Jack Harper said, reassuring him. "In these countless worlds, there must be a way for you to become a complete human again."
At that moment, footsteps were heard in the rain, as their other companions had realized something was wrong and were coming over. Sephiroth gave a low laugh and, turning into a green light, entered the Deep Snow Masamune through Jack Harper's left eye. Jack Harper was startled, but the next moment he understood what Sephiroth meant. Because the first person to arrive was the blonde, silver-eyed warrior girl, Flora.
"Jackie, are you okay?" The girl's young voice was filled with concern and tension.
"I'm fine, Flora, I'm fine," Jack Harper said, shaking his head. He took a breath, and the negative emotions that had been frozen inside him thawed out. Feeling that familiar rush of self-loathing again, Jack Harper couldn't help but frown, but he found he wasn't as pained or guilty as before. "There was a small accident. I'll tell you about it later," he said. "But don't worry, everything will be alright."
Flora looked at Jack Harper's pained, wry smile and sighed softly. She walked up to him, cupped the boy's cheeks with her long, white hands, and said softly, "Don't be like this, Jackie. Whatever pain you're feeling, please share it with me."
Then, as the boy watched in slight surprise, the girl closed her silver eyes, bent down, and kissed his lips. After a moment , Jack Harper's eyes filled with a smile of emotion. He suddenly raised his hands, wrapping one around the girl's slender, resilient waist and placing the other on her back, pulling her full chest and rounded hips tightly into his embrace. Then he kissed her back with force, using his tongue to part her teeth, tangling with her small, fragrant tongue, and passionately intertwining with her.
"Mmm..." Flora trembled as Jack Harper kissed her deeply, and her entire body seemed to go limp. In the nearly suffocating embrace, she was pressed down into the rain, and the two of them, ignoring the puddles on the stone ground, continued to kiss and roll around without end. The green light of the Deep Snow Masamune flashed and turned into a card, flying back into Jack Harper's inventory. In the rain nearby, several footsteps approached and then retreated. In the pattering rain, the sound of tearing cloth was heard. Then, a semi-spherical ice dome enveloped the area.
Flora was 1.9 meters tall, and she was wearing high-heeled leather boots. Jack Harper was frozen at the age of sixteen, and he was only 1.76 meters tall. So when they kissed, Flora had to look down!