Alessa?
Sephirot narrowed his eyes, his gaze meeting that cold stare.
Why would she be here?
Is it because she sensed the demonic bloodline within me, felt threatened, and used the Armless Man to test me?
Years ago, she endured humiliation due to her illegitimate status and was seen by fervent believers as a witch who blasphemed the Gods.
Ultimately, incited by the Bishop, the believers sent Alessa to the stake.
That trial unexpectedly failed, leaving only a little girl severely burned all over her body, enduring pain day and night in a hospital bed.
The pain bred hatred, and Dark Alessa was born.
She constructed a new Silent Hill modeled on the town, imprisoning all surviving sinners in this world, subjecting them to endless punishment.
And Sephirot and Rose were now within this world, also known as the Fog World.
An isolated cage, outsiders can't enter, those inside can't escape.
It's worth mentioning that before descending into darkness, Alessa transformed the last shred of goodness in her heart into a baby girl and sent her to an orphanage in the outside world.
The baby girl was eventually adopted by Rose and her husband and named: Sharon.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Sephirot had been silent for a while, Rose followed his gaze, but only saw fog.
"Something was watching us in the fog earlier."
Sephirot withdrew his gaze, not revealing Alessa's presence.
"What?!"
Rose's breathing instantly became frantic.
"Calm down. As long as you don't run off, I'll protect your safety until the job is over."
Sephirot said.
He remembered in the movie, Rose, to find her daughter, had to go to the school for a key, solve puzzles at the hotel, go through the plot, with various accidents and monsters interfering along the way...
Eventually arriving at the Church, finding her captured daughter Sharon.
The whole process was tightly linked, full of despair and horror.
Wait.
Sephirot paused.
What does the movie plot have to do with me?
The deadly monsters in Silent Hill are nothing to fear for him, and the believers entrenched in the Church are ultimately just ordinary people with only faith.
He felt the boundless power within him, touching the cold weapons at his waist.
Since the Church is the convergence point of all plots in Silent Hill.
Then I can just rush straight through it, right?
The advantage is entirely mine!
Thinking this, Sephirot suddenly spoke: "We're going to the town's Church. There, all the current survivors of the town are gathered."
"The Church...?"
Some hope seemed to ignite in Rose's eyes.
She grabbed Sephirot's clothes, "You mean Sharon will be there? The Church might offer her some refuge, right?"
Sephirot glanced at her, not crushing this mother's naive fantasy.
...The town was eerily quiet, and the fog grew denser here, almost reaching a point where one could barely see beyond their outstretched hand.
The buildings on either side of the street were dilapidated, with shattered display window glass, and abandoned vehicles scattered haphazardly along the road, as snowflakes drifted down.
Rose looked at the town submerged in the thick fog and asked puzzledly, "What exactly happened here?"
Sephirot patted the snowflakes off his shoulders, "A great fire decades ago ignited the coal mines beneath this town, and it has never been extinguished since."
"Poisonous gas continuously rises from the depths, which is also the reason why this town was abandoned."
Suddenly, his expression turned cold, and at the same time, he reached out and pressed down on Rose's shoulder.
In the distance, a little girl wearing a blue dress stood alone in the middle of the road, blocking their path.
"Sharon?!"
Rose also spotted the figure in the distance.
She struggled and shouted, "Let me go! That's my daughter!"
"Stay quiet, lady."
Sephirot frowned slightly, his arm exerting a little force to lift Rose entirely off the ground.
"?!"
Rose only felt her footing vanish, her whole body suspended diagonally in mid-air like a cat grabbed by the scruff of its neck by the hand of fate.
Her legs kicked wildly, her hands clawed at Sephirot's unmoving fingers, her face a mix of shock and humiliated anger:
"What are you doing?! Put me down, I need to find my daughter!"
"Since I accepted the job, I'll naturally help you find your daughter, but until then, you cannot hinder my work."
Ignoring Rose who was thrashing about in his grip, Sephirot walked towards the direction of the little girl.
This Sharon was merely a phantom created by Alessa to guide Rose, posing no threat at all, and there was no need to waste time detouring.
Alessa's hollow eyes stared fixedly at Sephirot approaching, the temperature plummeted sharply, and even a thin layer of frost formed on the ground.
But Sephirot acted as if nothing was wrong, passing by her.
Even as they brushed shoulders, Sephirot smiled and nodded at her.
"Excuse me, little one."
Upon hearing this, Alessa's face, usually devoid of any expression, stiffened slightly.
In this world filled with sin and fear, why would someone flash her such a perfunctory smile, as if encountering a neighbor's child, while she was a demon?
She tilted her head slightly, her movements sluggish, a trace of bewilderment showing in her numb expression.
Before she could figure it out, Sephirot had already walked far away, carrying Rose, without even turning back.
Alessa watched their figures gradually vanish into the fog.
"He's gone?"
Sephirot sensed the movement behind him and did not put Rose down because of Alessa's disappearance.
He suddenly felt...
Carrying Rose like this was quite convenient, and it could also prevent the plot inertia from stirring up any further trouble.
Ignoring Rose's resistance and her threatening complaints, Sephirot carried her through the desolate streets.
A massive cliff abruptly stood in the middle of the road, the abyss below shrouded in thick fog, bottom unseen, completely severing the main thoroughfare leading to the church.
"The road is cut off?"
Sephirot released his grip.
Rose fell to her feet, legs buckling instantly, collapsing kneeling onto the ground.
She rubbed her bruised shoulder, crawled to the cliff edge, gazing into the boundless white fog far away, her expression filled with despair.
"We can't cross this, we have to find another way! Maybe inside that building next..."
Sephirot ignored her muttering, first picked up a rock and tossed it into the mist.
"No barrier, no invisible wall."
He stood at the edge of the broken road, pupils slightly contracting.
The abilities of his Demonic Bloodline allowed Sephirot to see farther in the fog; he spotted a landing point on the opposite side.
Twenty meters or more...
With his current physical fitness, he probably could jump that distance.
But while carrying a burden like her, forcing the jump was most likely to result in both of them splattered into mush.
"System."
Sephirot summoned the system panel in his mind.
As a pragmatic Devil Hunter, he firmly believed that nothing in this world couldn't be solved by paying.
If there was, it just meant you hadn't paid enough yet.
In the Mall, he quickly located the skill he needed.
[Devil Trigger double jump]
[Price: 200 points]
[A Devil Hunter's basic skill. After learning, can condense a magical foothold in mid-air, enabling a second jump.]
As for finding a detour?
Compared to exploring those unknown areas, spending money to avoid trouble was the wisest choice.
Besides, completing this quest would bring in five hundred points; rounding it off meant it was basically free.
"Exchange."
Sephirot moved his intent slightly, without hesitation.
[Exchange successful]
Points deducted. A scorching power abruptly manifested within Sephirot's body, flowing into his legs, giving him a delusion that gravity no longer could restrain him.
"Mr. Sephirot? Are you listening?"
Beside him, Rose was still anxiously muttering to herself, "We need to turn back quickly, I saw an alleyway over there just..."
Sephirot gave Rose a strange look. This woman, why insist on heading into those creepy alleyways when there's a proper wide road available?
He suddenly spoke: "Ms. Rose, do you sense anything abnormal?"
"What?"
Rose was startled.
"Nothing. Next, keep your mouth shut, don't bite your tongue."
Sephirot shook his head, suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist, hoisting her onto his shoulder.
"Wait! Are you trying to..."
Rose instantly realized, terror exploding immediately, "No! You'll kill us both! It's impossible to jump this!"
"There is nothing impossible in this world."
Sephirot retreated a few steps backward, crimson light swirling in his eyes, his red trench coat flapping fiercely in the wind,
"Only things one dare not imagine."
He gave Rose no chance to refuse, tensed the muscles in his legs.
A run-up,
Acceleration,
The leap.
"Boom!"
Cracks instantly shattered beneath his feet. Sephirot leapt toward that abyss!
(Translated by yourtl.app)
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TL NOTES — CROSSOVER GUIDE Some references in this chapter come from source universes that may be unfamiliar to some readers. The notes below are here to help readers unfamiliar with these universes follow along more easily.
POWERS / ABILITIES
Devil Trigger — In the Devil May Cry series, Devil Trigger is the signature power transformation of demon hunters with demonic blood. By releasing their suppressed demonic nature, they briefly shift into a more powerful form with enhanced speed, strength, and regeneration, while often gaining access to new abilities. It is associated with crimson energy and dramatic visual effects. Here, Sephirot purchases a limited version of this ability ("double jump") through his System, allowing him to conjure a magical foothold mid-air and launch himself a second time. This is also a direct reference to DMC gameplay mechanics, where Devil Trigger and double-jumps are core player abilities.
CONCEPTS
Fog World — One of Silent Hill's three overlapping realities. In this state, the town appears abandoned and draped in perpetual fog, cut off from the outside world: roads leading out are severed, signals fail, and monsters roam the streets. It is the "default" cursed state of the town, maintained by Alessa's passive influence. The Fog World is distinct from the Otherworld (a more extreme hellish dimension that manifests when Alessa's rage peaks) and the Real World (the normal, uninhabited, non-supernatural town).