The ruthless slaughter along the way had made everyone understand just how decisive this man could be.
But they had not expected him to be so ruthless even to himself. He had done it so cleanly and casually that it was almost as if he had plucked a single hair from his own head.
In reality, this man had forcefully cut off one of his own ribs and pulled it out of his body. The sight made their scalps crawl.
"Take this."
Kain shoved one of the divided pieces into the hands of someone who was still frozen in shock.
Aerith could not summon the white Whispers, and having to stay glued to her side the entire time was troublesome. He needed to solve that problem quickly.
So he tried something.
Back in Warhammer, the bones of Untouchables were used to create anti-psyker objects.
In that case, his own blood and bones might also be effective against the Whispers.
The test result proved that they were.
With that, there was no need for him to keep personally protecting Aerith at point-blank range.
He opened the panacea, drank one bottle, then forced another bottle directly into the wound.
"Tifa, if I can't make it in time, use that method."
"Okay."
The "method" had already been explained to her through the Hyperdimensional Channel. If Kain was below and could not get back in time to save Aerith, Tifa would eject him from this world and then invite him again. That way, Kain could make himself appear at the location she designated, instantly returning to their side.
After Kain disappeared from sight and headed toward the elevator shaft, Tifa looked down at the section of bone spike in her hand.
She looked toward Aerith. Judging from Aerith's expression, she still did not understand what Kain's actions meant, but Tifa knew.
Tifa had noticed Kain suddenly cut open a wound on himself, smear his blood onto a short blade, and shoot it at one of the Whispers. The result had clearly been effective.
Although it had not completely destroyed the Whisper, it had felt as if the thing had been severely wounded.
After that, Kain had immediately removed one of his own bones and split it into three pieces. Aerith received the largest piece, while Tifa and Yuffie each received one as well.
"Tifa, what exactly did Mr. Kain—wah!"
Aerith had finally snapped back to her senses and was about to ask what was going on when a Whisper suddenly burst up from the floor without warning, startling her so badly that she instinctively swung at it.
Huh?
The thing had actually been scattered by her blow.
After staring blankly for a moment, Aerith understood. She no longer needed to ask Tifa.
She knew the purpose behind Kain's actions, and her grip tightened around the bone.
At that moment, the guilt inside her grew even stronger. She felt as if she owed him far too much.
She was dragging him down too badly.
At the same time, Aerith failed to notice that another emotion within her was also becoming more intense. For now, it had simply been buried beneath her overwhelming guilt and shame.
"That guy really is reckless. He scared me too!"
Yuffie grumbled as she struck down one of the Whispers.
Because Kain had left, the Whispers were beginning to surge toward Aerith.
Honestly, Yuffie now felt a strong sense of envy toward Aerith. She envied Aerith for being treated by him this way.
Even though Aerith's identity seemed special, if a man were willing to go this far for her, Yuffie would be moved beyond words. She might even offer herself to him on the spot.
This was getting bad. He had not torn out a bone for her sake, but somehow, she was falling for him even harder.
At this rate, she was going to become Aerith's "enemy."
...
Shinra's underground research facility belonged to Hojo.
Rufus's explanation to the president had also been transmitted here through a connected line, letting Hojo hear it clearly. It made him understand that the Jenova he had been studying was not, in fact, an Ancient Cetra.
In truth, Hojo had also faintly sensed that something was wrong with Jenova. He had suspected there was a problem.
But so what?
His research had already reached this stage. To Hojo, there was no real difference between the Ancient Cetra and Jenova as an extraterrestrial life-form.
As for the claim that Jenova itself possessed a will and could possibly confuse and control others, Hojo felt no fear whatsoever.
Even if it were true, what could it actually do?
Besides, after so many years of research, no one understood Jenova better than he did.
If this thing truly had consciousness, it could not be that powerful. With only that tiny amount of cells, how much information could it possibly store?
Otherwise, that headless main body would have casually controlled a few test subjects and released itself long ago.
And yet, in the end, it had still needed outside assistance to escape. It had even transformed into Sephiroth.
At the time, Hojo had not known what that outside force was. He had only seen black, three-dimensional shadow-like things appear and interfere, causing the accidents that allowed the main body to break free.
Now, Hojo already knew what those black things were.
Because Hojo had injected himself with Jenova cells.
Originally, he had intended to wait until his research had advanced further before injecting them.
But from the current situation, he had no way out other than injecting Jenova cells. The man Aerith had brought would absolutely come to clean him up.
So he injected the half-finished product into himself and immersed himself in a specially prepared mako cultivation pool.
The result was success.
He had succeeded in obtaining certain knowledge—knowledge those Whispers had helped him extract from the Lifestream.
He immediately sent information to all the test subjects, ordering them to devour one another. The Whispers would merge in as well, while the mako pool opened and flooded everything, nurturing the birth of a perfect life-form.
So right now, Hojo was like a believer walking toward a sacred pool that would purify his body and soul.
Within it, he would be reborn.
He would become the Whispers, and the Whispers would become him. They would exist physically in reality, becoming controllers of fate that ruled reality itself.
He would carry out the fate of destruction, but that did not mean he himself had to perish.
He was merely destroying the foolish humans of the present, destroying these defective life-forms.
After destruction came rebirth.
As the Creator, as a god, he would remake a new world and new life.
He would create a paradise that belonged to him.
A heaven that belonged to him.
"I really must thank you all."
If Aerith and the others had not thrown fate into chaos and refused to submit to it, Hojo would never have received such treatment.
Hojo was sincerely grateful to them from the bottom of his heart. They had allowed him to complete the perfect work he most wanted to achieve ahead of schedule.
And that perfect work was himself, not Sephiroth.
Sephiroth had merely been the stepping stone that allowed him to enter the realm of perfection.
Come.
Today was the day he became a god.
Hojo stepped forward and entered the pool of apotheosis that would grant him rebirth.
With every step he took, with every part of his body that sank in, he felt every cell in his body transforming.
And not only his cells. Even his soul was ascending.
The sensation was magnificent.
The power of a god was permeating his entire body, transforming him from a mortal vessel into a deity.
Come!
Let him become a god.
Let him become the god of fate!
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]