"I seem to...know her?"
The memory gradually took shape in Cloud's mind, and the outline of a woman gradually became clear, but he could not see clearly what she looked like.
The deep memories also gave him a headache. He held his head, groaned in pain, and his body swayed and he could not stand steadily.
"Are you okay, Cloud?" Wedge, who was standing by, saw this and quickly supported him, asking with concern, but all he got in response was Cloud's even more painful wail.
Shen Ye and his companions who were about to eat also stood up and looked at Cloud holding his head in pain. Everyone had a different expression on their face, but no matter what, they all showed a sense of worry.
"Help him sit down and rest for a while." Tifa, Cloud's childhood sweetheart, said to Wedge.
Wedge nodded and was about to help Cloud sit on a chair beside him, but at this moment, Cloud suddenly pushed him away and pulled out the sword of destruction on his magnetic back.
Seeing him like this, Shen Ye guessed that his spiritual world was invaded because of Jenova's influence.
"Wedge, get away from him." Shen Ye shouted.
Listening to Shen Ye's words, Wedge hesitated for a moment, but looking at Cloud holding the Buster Sword, he remembered the strength shown by Cloud in the battle of Mako Reactor No. 1 last night, and he was so shocked that he stepped back.
But at this moment, Cloud was looking at another scene.
In his "sight", Shen Ye and others in the bar had all disappeared, and the person who appeared in front of him was the person who drove him to join Shinra, his former idol, Sephiroth.
Also because of the influence of Zack's memory, and because Cloud has seen Sephiroth in the spiritual world more than once, he now completely regards Sephiroth as an enemy. Even though he was once his idol, Cloud swung his sword at him without hesitation.
"Hehe..." Sephiroth did not dodge and allowed Cloud's Buster Sword to split him in half. But to Cloud's surprise, Sephiroth, who was split in half, did not leave any corpse or blood, and just disappeared out of thin air.
Cloud was stunned for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, the scene in front of him turned into the Seventh Heaven again, but in this Seventh Heaven, besides him, there were also Aerith and Tifa.
But the next second, Shen Ye appeared beside Aerith and Tifa, and then Aerith and Tifa waved to him, each holding one of Shen Ye's arms, and disappeared with him.
Seeing this scene, Cloud could only reach out to them in vain, but he couldn't say anything.
"Are you in pain? Are you sad? Fate... should have favored you..."
Sephiroth's voice appeared like a ghost in Cloud's ears.
"It's a pity...your fate has been tampered with...perhaps...you can take another path?"
The voice was still speaking in his ears, but he could no longer hear it because the noisy sounds and exclamations pulled him back from his spiritual world.
"Cloud, wake up, Cloud."
The moment he opened his eyes again, Cloud saw Biggs and others standing far away, calling his name.
"Are you okay, Cloud?" Seeing that Cloud's eyes were gradually regaining clarity, Tifa, who was standing next to Shen Ye, asked with concern, her eyes full of worry - of course, that was all. For Cloud, she was thinking more about friendship now.
"I'm fine." Cloud understood Tifa's eyes and a bitter smile appeared on his lips.
"You almost split Wedge in half just now. If Shen Ye hadn't been quick and pulled him back, we would have to prepare a funeral for Wedge today." Jessie glanced at the frightened Weggie and said to Cloud with dissatisfaction.
Cloud then turned his gaze to Wedge. Seeing the horrified expression on his face, he put the Buster Sword back on his back, nodded slightly and said, "I'm sorry, Wedge."
"No...it doesn't matter. You didn't really hurt me anyway." Wedge gasped, trying to calm his wildly beating heart, but it was obviously of no use because his legs were still shaking.
"What happened to you just now?" Seeing that Cloud seemed to have really regained consciousness, Tifa brought him a glass of water.
Cloud picked up the water cup and took a big sip. After the cool liquid entered his body, his mind became clearer. He sighed and said, "I'm not sure. It seems to be a problem I developed during those years as a mercenary."
"Can it be cured?" Jessie asked from the side. "I don't want you to suddenly get sick and kill us all when we are on a new mission together in the future."
"It should be possible!" Cloud was not sure, but he was sure of one thing, his problem was definitely related to Sephiroth.
"That's good!" Jessie breathed a sigh of relief, although she didn't quite believe it.
…
After all this trouble, everyone continued to enjoy lunch.
Cloud, who was a bit of a loner by nature and had just almost hurt someone, sat alone at a table. However, Wedge and Biggs didn't mind and sat directly opposite him.
"Don't blame yourself, Cloud, you're just sick." Looking at Cloud who seemed to be in deep thought, Biggs and Wedge comforted him.
Cloud looked up at them expressionlessly and forced a smile: "Thank you."
This thank you was really sincere. Although they had only known each other for a short time, he could still feel their friendliness.
"You're welcome. We're companions in saving the planet together." Biggs said casually.
At this moment, Aerith placed three bowls filled with broth in front of them: "Try my cooking!"
"Thank you for your hard work, Miss Aerith." Wedge learned from Jesse that Aerith made the lunch. While thanking her, he took a big sip from the bowl and said in surprise, "It tastes really good!"
"Of course, Shen always praises my cooking skills." Aerith said without any surprise.
Just as she was about to turn around and go back to Shen Ye, she heard Cloud shout, "Are you... Aerith?"
Aerith glanced at him and nodded: "What's the matter?"
"No...it's okay." Although Cloud really wanted to ask, "Do you know me?", looking at the other person's unfamiliar eyes, he could only lower his head and drink the soup.
But what he didn't know was that the moment he lowered his head, a slight change of emotion appeared in Aerith's eyes.
However, Aerith quickly returned to normal, and sat back next to Shen Ye with a sense of relaxation and comfort.
Shen Ye stopped eavesdropping and picked up the bowl to blew away the non-existent hot air.
"Do you want me to help you blow it?" Aerith seemed to have guessed Shen Ye's thoughts. The corners of her mouth slightly raised up, and then she took the initiative to move over and blew it gently.
…