SOURCE : A MULTIVERSE TRAVEL

Chapter 877 - 856 ( Mako Reactor - III )

"Hmm? What's that?" Barret asked, frowning slightly as his gaze fell on a strange green stone lying halfway toward the reactor's main console.

"We're in luck," Cloud replied, picking up the stone and making it vanish into his inventory. "[Materia: Cure]."

"So that's what processed materia looks like?" Barret asked, eyes widening in surprise. "It's the first time I've seen one in its most stable form."

"But they sell it at the shop across from Tifa's bar…" Cloud replied, giving him a blank look.

"Really?" Barret said, scratching his head, his face taking on a slightly embarrassed expression—he hadn't known that. "Well, yeah, I guess I've never really looked… Although, if it's the kind they sell there, it must be the weakest form. Still, I'm actually surprised they'd have materia in such a… poor place…"

Barret frowned at his own words, but he had to admit there was truth to them.

Only the poor and marginalized lived in the slums of Midgar's sectors—people forced into collapsing buildings, surviving on scraps tossed down from above, or stealing just to stay alive. Midgar was a jungle where only the strong or the lucky could endure, and that was exactly what Barret wanted to change. The first step toward that goal was to destroy the root cause of it all: Shinra. But Shinra was like a hydra—cut off one head, and two more sprouted, each more poisonous than the last. This mission was just the beginning, and it could easily take more than a lifetime to see through to the end.

"Will this stone be enough to heal Jessie?" Barret asked, brow furrowed.

"Yes. It's a complete and perfectly good materia," Cloud replied, rubbing his chin. "Anyway, we should keep moving… though I have to admit, I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Are you serious?" Barret asked with a deep frown. "We're almost at our target."

Cloud just shrugged.

"Anyway, let's keep going. We can handle anything. After all, you were a First Class SOLDIER," Barret said irritably. "So get your ass moving—that's what I'm paying you for."

Cloud shook his head and followed behind Barret, watching as the man held the bomb so tightly it made him uneasy—if Barret gripped it any harder, Cloud half-expected the whole thing to go off and take them all with it.

---

"Why are you following me, Zack?" asked a pretty, brown-haired girl wearing a white summer dress and a small red jacket over her shoulders. "I thought you were on a mission with Cloud."

"He said he could handle it himself, Aerith. Besides, I'm a lot more worried about you," Zack replied, keeping himself hidden because he knew plenty of eyes were watching the girl as she sold her flowers. "By the way… what are you doing here? We agreed you wouldn't come back to this area to sell flowers."

"I'm sorry, but I can't just stay at home while you're out there doing everything you can to help the planet," Aerith replied, still smiling as she handed a flower to a little girl. She didn't sell it—she simply gave it away, because the child's eyes shone with genuine longing. "I can hear the planet crying with every passing hour. Shinra's done too much damage."

"I know… but that's why you need to be careful. Sooner or later, they'll find out the truth about you. And…" Zack's words caught in his throat for a moment. "…I'm asking you—don't go wandering into dangerous places, not when I might be away on missions."

Aerith sighed softly. "I understand…"

"Thank you, Aerith. You don't know how much it means to me that you'd finally listen. I honestly don't know what I'd do if something happened to you while I wasn't around to protect you," Zack murmured, closing his eyes for a moment. "We can fix this, though…"

"No. Don't even think about it," Aerith said, frowning. "The planet needs you, Zack."

Lately, Aerith had felt as if something in her life was shifting—fate itself twisting in small ways. For once, it felt like a good change. Her visions of her own death were fading, replaced by an image of a happy future: living with Zack and her parents in a house far from Midgar, surrounded by flowers. It was a dream come true… yet deep down, part of her still believed her sacrifice was necessary for the planet's survival. Gaia didn't need the Cetra—at least, that was what she told herself.

"I can feel your emotions, Aerith, and don't you dare think about it. I'm not letting you die," Zack said in a steady, almost neutral tone. "Even if the world ends, I won't let you die. And if that moment ever comes, I'll follow you to the afterlife myself."

"You're an idiot," Aerith muttered with a small smile. "You could find someone better than me."

"No. There's no one better than you. You're the only one who can hold a place in my heart. If you die, my heart dies with you," Zack said firmly. "So, for both our sakes, live. I promise I won't give up, and I'll support you in whatever way you want."

"I understand. You don't have to say anything else," Aerith replied, her cheeks flushing red as his words echoed in her mind. To her, they sounded dangerously close to a marriage proposal—and she wouldn't deny it, she liked the sound of it.

"I'm still going to keep looking after you. But we'll be leaving here soon—if what I read is true, Shinra troops will have this whole area under siege," Zack said seriously.

"I understand," Aerith nodded again, resuming her flower-selling while ignoring the crude remarks of passing drunks.

---

"We've arrived. This is the main reactor module," Cloud said, eyeing the console with a frown. "Has it been modified?"

"Something wrong?" Barret asked, glancing at the blond.

Cloud didn't answer right away. A sudden, stabbing pain hit his head, like something—or someone—was trying to force its way into his mind. His natural mental barrier was strong enough to repel it unless he allowed it in, but the sensation still lingered. "This is a trap…"

"A trap? What the hell do you mean? This place looks exactly like the central console that controls the entire reactor," Barret said, baffled.

"This is the right place. The problem isn't the location—it's…" Cloud's voice trailed off as his expression shifted sharply. He heard it: the sound of something mechanized moving rapidly toward them. "Get down!"

Barret was still confused when he heard the warning, but the sharp crack of a gunshot made him dive to the floor. A red beam of light cut through the space where he'd been standing moments before. "Shit—if I hadn't moved, I'd be a damn donut right now…"

Cloud didn't respond. He tightened his grip on his spear as the source of the sound came into view—a massive, four-legged robot with twin machine guns for arms, its deep red armor gleaming under the reactor lights. The most dangerous-looking feature, however, was the enormous pointed tail aimed squarely at the two [Avalanche] infiltrators.

"That's a new model," Cloud muttered.

"You know what that thing is?" Barret asked, transforming his prosthetic into a machine gun.

"It's a Guardian unit—probably an upgraded version of the Spider model," Cloud answered. "I'd guess it's the Scorpion model."

"No, really? I hadn't noticed," Barret shot back sarcastically. "How dangerous is it?"

"Honestly? No idea. Could be on par with a mid- or high-class SOLDIER. I won't know until we fight it," Cloud said, spear still in hand.

"Oh, great news," Barret muttered. "Well, if it's First Class level, we'll just have to beat it with everything you've got."

Cloud gave a silent nod, focusing inward as he began to gather his chaotic energy—the strange force the system couldn't fully block, likely because it existed outside [Source]'s control. He couldn't access his full elemental powers, but materia could still serve as an anchor to help him channel mana. He even felt that he might be able to absorb materia entirely, using it as though it were his own natural magic—but that theory remained untested.

-

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