The two of them rolled on the ground like gourds, tumbling several times. For a moment, neither of them could get up.
Aiden felt like the hand holding his sword was about to break, but he still didn't let go of his sword. He lifted Aerith, who was pressing on top of him, down. Enduring the pain, he stood up and looked at Cloud not far away.
Cloud lowered his head and glanced at his sunken chest, but he just gently stroked it with his hand, and it returned to normal. Then he slowly walked toward Aiden, dragging the giant sword in his hand along the hard ground, sparking as it scraped.
Aerith's gaze was somewhat sorrowful. Everything at this moment, she felt, was caused by her own selfishness. If it weren't for her insistence on changing fate, perhaps none of this would have happened today. But… after painfully thinking it over, she said to Aiden, "If he's not taken down in one strike, he will never die."
"Of course I know that, but I can't use any stronger move." Aiden said bitterly. Even earlier, under the amplification of Aerith's magic circle, he was only able to use a move like Heaven-Restoring Whirling Sword.
Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, "Can you still communicate with the Lifestream here?"
The Lifestream is pure energy.
"I think I can." Aerith closed her eyes to connect with it, then opened her eyes and said.
"Good, then please channel all the Lifestream you can into my body." Aiden pointed his sword at Cloud and said.
"But… but the Lifestream is highly toxic to humans. Otherwise, Shinra wouldn't have produced so few special soldiers." Aerith said.
"There's no other way now." Aiden said anxiously, "Hurry up, Aerith."
Seeing Cloud getting closer and closer, Aerith slowly nodded, then brought both hands together in front of her chest.
All of a sudden, a surge of pure energy enveloped Aiden, drilling into his body through every pore. And at that moment, he had only one sensation.
Pain.
The powerful energy almost instantly filled his body to the brim. A massive amount of Lifestream, too late to be converted into inner force, rampaged inside his body. Every single cell in his body seemed to be crying out in agony.
Even so, he still raised his sword, pointing its blade at Cloud.
He was going to unleash the strongest move he could currently use.
At the instant Aiden stood holding his sword, in the space of the time node, a cool and clear female voice softly chanted, "Light clouds emerge from the moon, the wind is still at night, flowers bloom in cold shadows, reflecting a startling swan."
And with the chanting of that voice, around Aiden appeared flower buds that had yet to bloom. Those flower buds held infinite vitality. Even though they hadn't opened, they were still incredibly beautiful.
However, in Cloud's eyes, those flower buds contained endless killing intent.
Cloud's expression turned serious. He stopped in his tracks, slowly raised his sword, and uttered his first words upon entering this space, "Super Ultimate Martial God Domination Slash!"
Then, the sword in his hand instantly split, transforming into five swords, scattered around Aiden.
This was his ultimate technique. In the future, he used this move to kill the descending Sephiroth. But in this world's timeline, Cloud had not learned it.
However, since Cloud was being controlled by Fate, he could also use this move.
Facing this move, Aiden's expression did not change at all. He continued to coldly look at Cloud, waiting for his attack, also waiting for the blooming of those flower buds.
Ultimately, Cloud couldn't hold back. The next second, he rushed toward Aiden, intending to lift him off the ground with his sword.
But just halfway through his charge, the flower buds around Aiden bloomed.
The blooming of those flowers was breathtakingly beautiful, even causing Cloud to pause, as if wanting to admire them carefully.
It was precisely during this moment of distraction that Aiden moved, his whole body turning into a stream of light, appearing in front of Cloud, and performing an incredibly gorgeous sword technique against him.
"So beautiful..." Not far behind, Aerith looked at Aiden, not knowing whether she was praising the flowers or admiring Aiden's movements.
However, this extremely beautiful sword technique indeed had devastating power. When Aiden stopped, Cloud slowly closed his eyes.
"Fate… should not be altered." His tone was calm, but filled with resentment.
Then, countless Whispers burst from his body, scattering throughout this time node.
As the protagonist of this world, he had failed. Fate could no longer favor him.
After all the Whispers left his body, his dull eyes returned to normal. He turned his head to Aerith and said the last words of his existence in this world, "I hope you find happiness, Aerith."
As his voice fell, countless cracks appeared in the space of the time node, finally collapsing with a thunderous crash.
And he, too, turned into specks of green light, completely vanishing from this world.
The time node is a strange place. No matter what happens there or how long it takes, in the real world, it's only a moment.
So, after the time node collapsed, when the figures of Aiden and the others reappeared on Shinra's rooftop, Tifa and Scarlett's memories were still stuck in the shock of the vortex above the sky.
"Aiden!" The first to react was Tifa. She was the closest to Aiden. When she saw him reappear in her line of sight, she ran over and hugged the swaying, almost-falling Aiden.
"Where's Sephiroth?" After hugging Aiden, Tifa looked toward where Cloud had stood before. But by now, Cloud had completely disappeared from this world, so in her memory, there was only Sephiroth, no Cloud.
"He… returned to the Great Hollow." Aerith looked around the rooftop. As a key piece in Fate, she hadn't forgotten Cloud, but she didn't see Sephiroth.
After the collapse of the time node, the heavily injured Sephiroth could no longer maintain his avatar. After everyone returned to reality, he also returned to the Great Hollow.
"So we defeated Sephiroth? We won?" Tifa looked at her man, asking joyfully.
Aiden weakly nodded. Once everything was over, the side effects of the Lifestream began showing in his body. He was in tremendous pain.
"Let me rest a bit." Aiden looked at the girl holding him, leaned up, kissed her red lips, then closed his eyes.
———
When he woke again, Aiden found himself lying in a room at Stargazing Heights. The familiar furniture and Tifa lying beside him clearly indicated that this was Tifa's bed.
Tifa hadn't slept. She was lying on her side, propping her chin with her elbow, staring at Aiden without blinking.
"You're awake." When she saw Aiden open his eyes, Tifa's beautiful eyes were full of joy.
"Mm, where are Aerith and the others?" Aiden nodded. His body still ached, and he struggled to sit up, but found he couldn't use any strength.
"Hmph! I stayed with you all night, and the first thing you ask about when you open your eyes is them." Tifa's eyes widened, and she suddenly felt wronged.
But despite the grievance, Tifa still said, "They went to clean things up. Scarlett is reorganizing Shinra's forces. Jessie went with Barret to calm the slums. Yuffie's with them too."
"What about Aerith?" Aiden pulled Tifa into his arms and continued asking.
"She took Miss Elmyra to Sector Five. But before leaving, she said she was going to mourn an old friend… Aiden, do you know who that friend is?" Tifa quietly asked while lying in his embrace.
"I don't know." Aiden shook his head. But in fact, he knew very well who Aerith was mourning.
Cloud.
But because Aiden had killed Cloud at the time node, he had completely disappeared from this world's timeline. So even if they brought up the name Cloud, Tifa and the others wouldn't remember who he was.
"Oh."
Hearing Aiden say he didn't know, Tifa didn't ask further. Now, in her eyes, there was only Aiden. All the regrets and awkwardness of the past had disappeared with Cloud's death.
After lying quietly for a while, Tifa suddenly said, "Aiden, it's just the two of us now."
"So?" Aiden's hands around her began to misbehave, gently caressing her exposed skin.
"So… Aiden, before getting out of bed, let's get some exercise." Tifa said, blushing.
"Sure, early morning exercise is good for body and mind." Though his body still hurt a bit, that was just the Lifestream's aftereffect, it wouldn't stop him from doing something intense.
Feeling his hands slowly moving downward, Tifa held his hand and, seeing Aiden's confused look, said, "I'm going to lock the door."
Tifa got up and locked the doors and windows, but when she came back, she was already wearing nothing…
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y