A foreigner's journey

In the real world, the bonfire is still burning brightly under the night sky.

The spectacular River of Life fountain has dissipated, leaving only scattered streams of life lingering in the camp. Claude was still lying unconscious on the blanket, and Jesse lay beside Claude and fell into a deep coma.

The other companions stood around the two of them, looking at them worriedly.

In the eyes of Heather and the other three telepathic users, strong life energy is constantly overflowing from Claude's body.

This means that Claude's sperm hole has been opened, and the forced enlightenment has entered a stage that cannot be stopped. If he cannot wake up in time, he will end up like Drake in the One Piece world, turning into a withered corpse.

Tifa looked at Heather: "Brother, how long can he hold on?"

"Claude has been soaked in Mako liquid for a long time, and with the support of Jenova cells, he can last longer than normal people, about 5 minutes."

Heather crossed her arms: "But this is irreversible consumption in a short period of time. As long as he doesn't wake up and control his spermatozoa and thoughts, it will only be a matter of time before he turns into a corpse."

As he said that, he looked at Alice next to him: "Are you okay?"

Alice wiped her red eyes and forced a smile: "Well, I'm fine, teacher."

She witnessed Zack Phil's final fate in Cloud's memory.

Two months ago, Zack relied on his amazing willpower to defeat the Jenova cells in his body. Not only did he destroy the culture tank, but he also escaped from the underground laboratory of the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim with Cloud.

But at that time, Claude had suffered from severe Mako poisoning due to being soaked in Mako for a long time and being invaded and tortured by Jenova cells, and became a vegetative state like Jesse's father.

Zack persisted in running away with Claude, avoiding the pursuit of Shinra troops. Until not long ago, he discovered that Shinra was no longer pursuing them, and thought that Shinra had finally given up. Zack happily told Cloud and planned to take him to Midgar to start a new life.

Because there is a girl there that he wants to see again, and he owes her a four-year commitment, and Zack has a lot to say to her.

Sitting in the truck carriage leading to Midgar, Zack took the groggy Cloud and talked freely about his reverie about the future.

If you want to make a lot of money, go to Midgar and become a mercenary. If you save enough money, you can open a master house.

"When the time comes, the two of us will work together to become the best all-around helper in the Midgar slums!" The handsome black-haired man said with a smile while stroking Claude's hair.

But reality is always riddled with ironies.

They were still caught up by Shinra, and this time Shinra sent out a large force to surround and suppress the two of them. It was a powerful force capable of wiping out 10 1st-level warriors.

Hiding Claude behind a rock, Zack, with determination to die, picked up the destruction sword and charged towards the overwhelming army.

I don't know how long it took, but maybe his willpower and concern for his friends took the upper hand. Claude, who was in a daze, staggered out of the shelter of the rocks.

It was raining in the sky and corpses were everywhere on the ground. It was hard to imagine what kind of fierce battle had occurred.

Soon, Claude tripped over the body on the ground and fell to the ground. He struggled to crawl through the muddy water, looking for his best friend.

Finally, on the top of the slope in front of the cliff, Claude found Zack.

At this time, there was almost no intact part of Zack's body, and there were all deep and fatal wounds from gunshot wounds and knife cuts. He just lay paralyzed in the muddy water, and struggled slightly when he noticed Claude approaching him. For a moment.

"Stay alive..."

Zack's face was mixed with blood and rain, but he could still be seen smiling:

"You are my...proof...of living."

At this time, Cloud was poisoned by Xenovia and Mako and his personality was chaotic, but he still nodded slowly.

Zack used his last bit of strength to lift the Destroyer Sword tightly in his hand and handed it to Claude: "My... glory and dreams... are all handed over to you..."

Cloud took the Destruction Sword blankly and repeated Zack's words: "I am the proof that you...are alive."

In the end, Zack smiled with relief and died in the heavy rain, leaving only the collapsed Claude crying in despair.

Because he felt the host had a great psychological shock and stimulation, in order to prevent the host from being completely overwhelmed, the Jenova cells in Claude's body began to activate at full strength, which not only repaired the penetrating wounds in Claude's body that had not yet fully healed, but also His brain nerves, which were in a mess due to severe Mako poisoning, were repaired.

In the end, with the efforts of Jenova cells and Claude's own latent wishes, a new personality was born.

This new personality dragged the Destruction Sword and continued to walk towards Midgar. Finally, it was discovered by Heather and Tifa at the Seventh Street Slum Station and brought back to Seventh Heaven. At that time, the new personality was completely completed. .

This is the end of Zack Fair and the beginning of Claude Strife.

After comforting Alice for a while, Heather counted the time and frowned slightly: "It's too slow. What on earth is Jesse doing?"

Tifa shook her head: "Sneaking into the stream of life and the depths of other people's memories to sort out personalities and emotions, Jesse is not a professional in the first place."

"If this continues, Jesse will probably be dragged by Claude into the endless abyss when his life is exhausted, and he will never be able to wake up again." Alice said worriedly.

Barrett wanted to shout and cheer for Claude and Jesse, but Heather gave him a hard look and had to give up. However, he still encouraged them in a low voice. Yuffie, who was infected by the atmosphere, also whispered softly along with him. Cheer for your teammates.

One minute passed, two minutes passed...

The essence in Claude's body was flowing faster and faster, and the skin on the surface of his body began to show withered wrinkles. Apparently, the replenishment speed of Jenova cells could not keep up with the flow of essence.

Barrett couldn't hold it in anymore and yelled: "Asshole! Claude, do you want Jesse to die with you? Wake up together!"

Suddenly, Jesse and Claude opened their eyes at the same time.

Jesse was still a little confused, as if he had just woken up. Claude was sober and wanted to get up, but found that his whole body was weak.

There was no time to care and ask, Heather immediately squatted next to Claude, held his head and said quickly: "Close your eyes and imagine yourself in any position. Think of [qi] as blood circulating throughout the body, starting from the top of the head and passing through Right shoulder, hand, foot, then to the left, repeating the cycle.”

"Angry?" Claude felt that he almost didn't have the strength to speak.

"It's what you are constantly emitting from your body. Don't waste time. Once all this stuff is gone, you will die completely."

Heather said in a deep voice: "Focus your attention and do what I say."

Although he is usually reticent, Claude actually trusts Heather very much. He immediately closed his eyes as Heather said and began to try his best to feel the flow of Qi.

Perhaps he really was the absolute protagonist with extraordinary talents. It only took less than twenty seconds for Claude to gradually master the flow of mental energy.

"Very good, then imagine that the air flow slows down, gradually stops, and floats around you, forming a wall."

Heather's voice rang in Claude's ears, and everyone around them held their breath and did not dare to make any sound for fear of affecting Claude.

Gradually, the thought energy in Claude's body wrapped around his body like clothes.

Thirty-seven seconds, this is how long it took Claude to master [Tangle] from his first contact.

Heather looked at Claude with some surprise. This kind of qualification... is not much better than that of Sons of the World such as Gang Fulis and Killua. Perhaps only Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean world is better. He should be faster.

Heather stood up and stretched out her hand to Cloud: "How do you feel? This is the secret of the strength of me, Tifa and Alice, the ability called [Thread]."

Claude grabbed his hand and was pulled up. He staggered as soon as he stood up, but it was Jesse who ran over to help him and kept him from lying on the ground again.

"I feel weak all over... Is this also the effect of [Nian]?" Claude spoke weakly.

Heather curled her lips: "That's because you woke up too late and too much energy was lost in your body. Well, I won't ask what you and Jesse are doing in the conscious world. You are full of energy and It’s understandable for boys and girls who are trying the forbidden fruit for the first time.”

Not to mention that Claude and Jesse's faces were reddened by Heather's words. Heather stretched out her hand and wiped it on Claude's forehead: "Well, my body is very depleted and my energy is very low. I need to take a good rest. Fortunately, now that you have activated Nian, you can quickly recover your physical strength through Nian, and you will be able to recover within a few days."

"I can teach Claude about the four basic elements of reading ability!" Alice raised her hand.

"It's too early. He has now learned how to use [Tangle]. He will wait until he is proficient in using it before proceeding to the next step."

Heather saw the hesitant expressions of Barrett and Yuffie: "Why, you two want to learn too?"

Barret and Yuffie nodded quickly.

"The decisive battle is about to begin. I don't have time to teach you how to practice self-reflection. Let's wait until we defeat Sephiroth."

It's not that Heather is conceited, but that he is really unsure about Barrett and Yuffie's telekinesis training qualifications. If he encountered an example like Drake, wouldn't he have to watch Barret and Yuffie turn into corpses amidst the screams?

Claude's move was purely helpless. If he didn't help him forcefully open his mind, he would have to be a vegetative state for the rest of his life.

After living in the Final Fantasy world for so many years and getting along with many friends day and night, Heather's hostility and violence are no longer as strong as they were in the previous worlds. Although Heather usually has a venomous tongue towards these friends, she actually values ​​her friendship with them very much.

Tifa watched Jesse helping Cloud back to the tent, then turned to look at Heather: "Brother, what should we do next? Continue to look for Sephiroth?"

"No, we need more help."

Heather pointed at Yuffie: "When Claude recovers a little, we will set off to this guy's hometown."

"Huh?" Yuffie was stunned: "Wutai didn't provoke you, so why go to Wutai?"

"Because my [trophy] is still in the Five Saints Tower, you haven't forgotten it, right?"

Heather laughed sadly:

"Old man Zangana tricked me six years ago, so I temporarily stored the loot in the Five Saints Tower. Now, it returns to its original owner."