The creature rose from the swirling green light of the Lifestream.
It was a mirror image of Sephira, but twisted, like a broken reflection.
Its eyes glowed with pure hatred, and its body rippled with dark energy.
It was a manifestation of all of Sephira's rage and sorrow, a creature born from her deepest pain.
"Find him,"
Sephira commanded, her voice weak from the effort.
"Break him. Erase him from this existence."
The creature, the Echo of Despair, vanished in a flash of dark light.
It was heading to Midgar, drawn by Arthur's powerful presence.
Meanwhile, in the briefing room, the group was getting ready to move.
"We need a plan,"
Tifa said, looking at the holographic map.
"Midgar is a mess. Shinra security will be everywhere, and with the reactors gone, the whole place is a ticking time bomb."
"That's why we need to be fast,"
Arthur replied.
"Sephira is vulnerable now. The Whisperers are a mess, and her spell on us was broken. She's likely regrouping and will try something new. This is our chance to end this, to stop her before she can unleash her full power."
"We go in, we find Sephira, and we take her down,"
Cloudia said, her voice full of determination.
"Simple."
Barret gave a grim nod.
"Sounds good to me. Let's do this."
"Wait,"
Yuffie said, her eyes wide.
"What about the Whisperers? What if they get in our way?"
"They're not a threat right now,"
Arthur explained.
"Rufus's gamble threw them into chaos. They're trying to fix things, but it's a mess of paradoxes. They're blinded. They won't see us coming."
"So it's just us against Sephira and a city in chaos,"
Aerith said.
"Just like old times."
She smiled, a small but brave expression.
Arthur squeezed her hand.
"Exactly. We'll do this together."
Just then, a wave of cold dread washed over Arthur.
It was a feeling of pure despair, a familiar taste of Sephira's magic, but it was stronger now, and it felt like a physical punch to the gut. It wasn't a spell; it was a being of pure hatred and sorrow.
"She sent something,"
Arthur said, his voice a low growl.
"A creature. Something born of her rage."
Everyone looked at him, their faces a mix of confusion and fear.
"Where is it?"
Tifa asked, her hand on her sword.
"It's on its way to Midgar,"
Arthur said, his eyes fixed on the holographic map.
"It's drawn to me. She's not trying to fight me anymore; she's trying to erase me. She sent a part of herself to do it."
"Then we'll face it together,"
Aerith said, her voice firm.
"Whatever she sent, we'll stop it."
Arthur nodded, a grim determination setting in.
The game had changed. It wasn't about subtle plans and clever spells anymore. It was a direct, brutal conflict.
"Let's go,"
He said.
"Midgar is calling."
The group gathered their gear and moved out.
The air was heavy with the smell of smoke and the metallic scent of fear.
The war had begun, and they were walking right into the heart of it.
They were no longer just a group of friends; they were a united front against a force of nature, a family ready to face down a god's rage.
They flew towards Midgar in a Shinra transport helicopter, the familiar cityscape now a smoke-choked ruin.
From above, the destroyed Mako reactors looked like gaping wounds in the earth, and the Whisperers, like swarms of angry bees, zipped through the air, trying to stitch the reality back together.
But their movements were frantic and clumsy, their corrections creating more paradoxes than they solved.
"It's worse than I thought,"
Cloudia muttered, her face grim as she piloted the helicopter.
"The whole city is a temporal paradox. The Whisperers are going to tear it apart from the inside out."
Suddenly, the helicopter lurched violently.
A blast of dark energy slammed into the side, sending the aircraft spiraling.
"What was that?"
Barret yelled, clinging to his seat.
Arthur's eyes narrowed, searching the chaotic sky.
"It's here,"
He said, a cold certainty in his voice.
He pointed to a shape forming in the swirling chaos. It was a dark, shadowy figure, a mirror image of Sephira but with eyes that burned with pure, white-hot hatred.
It moved with a disturbing grace, weaving through the frantic Whisperers as if they weren't even there.
"It's coming for us,"
Aerith said, her hand tightening on Arthur's.
"I'll handle it,"
Arthur said, getting up.
"This thing is a part of Sephira's soul. It's a fragment of her rage. I have to face it alone."
"Are you crazy?"
Tifa cried.
"We'll fight it together! We're a team!"
Arthur shook his head.
"No. This isn't a fight. This is a duel. If you all get involved, it'll just make things worse. Its purpose is to destroy me, and me alone. If I can't beat it, then we can't beat Sephira."
He opened the helicopter door, the wind from the rotor blades a violent, deafening roar.
"Trust me,"
He said to Aerith, his eyes full of a love that was both an anchor and a weapon.
"I won't let her win."
He jumped.
He plummeted towards the city below, a blur of motion against the chaos.
As he fell, the Echo of Despair descended to meet him. It was a silent, furious confrontation.
They met in mid-air, a collision of light and shadow, love and hate.
Arthur's magic, a swirl of dragon-fire and celestial light, met the Echo's dark, corrosive energy.
The impact sent a shockwave that rippled through the air, briefly calming the frenzied Whisperers. But the calm was short-lived.
The battle had begun, and with it, the Lifestream itself began to scream.
Up in the helicopter, the others watched in terrified silence.
They saw the flashes of light and the tendrils of dark energy.
They saw their friend, their leader, fighting a literal piece of his enemy's soul.
"He's going to be okay, isn't he?"
Aerith whispered, a single tear tracing a path down her cheek.
Cloudia didn't answer.
She couldn't. She just steered the helicopter towards the city, towards the heart of the chaos, praying that her tactical sense was wrong for once.
Because the way she saw it, this wasn't just a battle for one man's life; it was a battle for the fate of reality itself. And the odds were not in their favor.
Arthur and the Echo of Despair met in a flash of light. It wasn't just a physical fight; it was a battle of souls.
Arthur's magic, born from a mix of dragon and cosmic power, slammed into the Echo's dark energy.
It was like a wave of pure light hitting a wall of absolute darkness.
The Echo was a reflection of Sephira's rage.
It didn't just fight; it tried to break Arthur from the inside. It sent out whispers of doubt and sorrow, showing him a future where he failed and his friends were lost.
But Arthur fought back, his heart fueled by the love he shared with Aerith and the others.
This connection wasn't a weakness; it was his greatest strength.
He focused his mind, a skill he called Super Focus. It let him see every move the Echo made before it happened.
He was faster, too, thanks to his high AGI. He dodged a blast of dark energy, his movements a blur in the chaotic sky.
"You can't win,"
The Echo hissed, its voice a hollow copy of Sephira's.
"You are just a foolish boy playing at being a god. I will erase you."
Arthur didn't answer with words. He answered with action. He powered up a Dragonic Canon, a massive beam of energy that glowed with the power of a true dragon.
The Echo met his attack with a wave of pure despair, a black hole of nothingness that tried to swallow his light.
The two powers collided, and the air screamed.
The force of the blast sent a shockwave that rattled the buildings below.
The Whisperers, for a moment, stopped their frantic movements, looking at the two battling forces.
Arthur felt his body screaming in protest.
The Echo's power was a cold, draining weight on his soul. He had to end this, and he had to do it now.
He reached deep inside himself, pulling on his most dangerous power: Reality Blending (Partial Released).
He didn't use it to change the world; he used it to change himself. For a single, terrifying moment, he was not just a boy with powers. He was a force of nature, a part of the universe's fabric.
His eyes glowed with an otherworldly light, and a faint, golden aura surrounded him.
He wasn't just fighting the Echo anymore; he was showing it what a true godling could do. He raised his hand, and instead of a blast of energy, he sent out a single, concentrated beam of light.
It wasn't a beam of destruction.
It was a beam of reality, a surgical strike on the Echo's very being. It was the absolute opposite of the Echo's despair. It was the truth of existence, the simple fact that things could be.
The light hit the Echo, and the creature screamed. Not in rage, but in agony. It wasn't being destroyed; it was being unmade. Its very essence, its foundation of sorrow and rage, was being replaced by the truth of hope and existence.
The Echo of Despair didn't explode or turn to dust. It simply faded away, like a bad dream in the morning light.
It was gone, and with its disappearance, the cold dread Arthur had felt was replaced by a sense of calm.
He fell towards the city, his body exhausted but his spirit renewed. He had won.
He had not only defeated a part of Sephira; he had shown her that her rage was nothing compared to the power of hope.
Up in the helicopter, Cloudia saw him fall and quickly flew to catch him.
He landed in the helicopter, his body limp.
Aerith rushed to his side, her hands glowing with a gentle, healing light. He was safe.
"That was… insane,"
Barret said, staring at the empty sky where the Echo had been.
"I know,"
Arthur said, his voice a tired whisper. He looked at Aerith, and a tired smile touched his lips.
"But we're not done yet. She knows we're here now. We need to find her. The true fight is about to begin."