The young boy sifted through the piles of debris and dust-covered articles within basement of the abandoned mansion, he came upon a small book bound by thick layers of wood and fabric. Small insects flew up and scattered everywhere as he carefully lifted the cover out of curiosity. The weathered pages, almost disintegrating with age, revealed a tragic yet memorable tale. The story of a doomed planet and the fate of the people who lived through its dying days ...
Cloud walked slowly along the edges grasping the guard rails of the "Highwind." A lingering sensation of intense pain pulsed through his head as he paced the deck of the huge airship. A flux of green, red and blue light danced before his eyes. "These ... visions ... dreams ... .I've been haunted by these images ever since that day." He paused and gritted his teeth with fury and guilt. "That day that Aerith ... "
"Are you gonna stand around here all day talking to yourself?" A voice interrupted. Cloud turned around and saw that it was Tifa, seated on the roof of the Highwind's cabin smirking in a self-aggrandizing way at him. She jumped off and landed lightly on the wooden floor deck. "What's up? You look like a walking zombie. I was afraid you might fall off the ship."
"Visions ... I've been having a recurring dream every night ever since we left the Forgotten Capital."
"A dream? Do you think you could share it with your childhood friend?" Tifa purposely ignored the fact that Aerith was killed at the Forgotten Capital partly because of jealousy and partly because, neither her or Cloud wanted to remember the atrocious way their friend was murdered.
Cloud stared at her skeptically and Tifa glanced back with pretentiously innocent eyes then, he began to speak. " I don't know exactly how or when it starts. All that I can remember, is that multiple shades of light invade my eyes at its onset. The lights begin to clear up and are replaced by total darkness. Then, slowly, three visions that seem to take place simultaneously emerge. Out of these images, one is of me and my friend Zack before his death, except this time my mind was not fogged up by Mako Energy. I saw quite clearly that he was trying to tell me something, but I couldn't read his lips and no voice could be heard as he gradually grew weaker. Another image that somehow happens simultaneously with the vision of Zack, is of a young girl with golden hair set with a tiara adorned with a single white gem. Her emerald-green eyes seem to look intently into mine. Her eyes burn with fiery red patterns that continuously change, yet it didn't seem strange to me. I don't know how, but her eyes had the same serenity as Aerith's."
"Oh ... ." Tifa interrupted, as she drew imaginary circles on the flooring with her feet. Cloud continued his story. " The last overlapping image is the most significant and confusing to me. I see a town engulfed in flames much like the one that consumed Nibelheim 5 years ago. Then 'he' would be standing amidst the blazes. That monster ... Sephiroth! In this vision, I noticed a different side of Sephiroth. His eyes were filled with intense emotion ... fear. Sephiroth's entire body was trembling as he raised his Masamune to confront an unkown adversary. In this dream, I would always look up and see the figure of a huge dark crimson dyed monster. Sephiroth, would gaze upon the monster with a mixture of fear and anxiousness in his eyes, muttering words that are foreign to me. The only words that I could grasp were, 'Sardius ... .give me the power ... .Sardius ... Sardius.' then a white light would engulf everything like it was trying to erase that scene from my memories." Tifa closed her eyes in deep thought for a moment and finally said.
"This dream seems to mean a lot to you. To tell you the truth, I've been a little bit worried about you. You've never opened up to any of us until now, so it's hard for anyone in our group to tell what you're thinking. You're too determined to finish whatever task you set for yourself. Look Cloud, the whole world is right before us." Tifa was now scanning the moving scenery that the Highwind presented them. "It doesn't matter if you feel confused or lost sometimes. We're still young and I think it's important to feel that way sometimes." Cloud's eyes were wide with a look of sudden enlightenment. His expression softened and he cast a glance at the vast world below them.
"You're right Tifa ... Thanks for cheering me up."