The explosion at Mako Reactor 1 was like a boulder dropped into the stagnant waters of Midgar, stirring up towering waves.
Panic spread among the residents of Sector 7, and Shinra’s alarms and the footsteps of patrol troops echoed through every corner.
The entire slums fell into unprecedented chaos.
“This way!
Hurry!” Tifa pulled Cain along, weaving through the maze of alleys as they tried to avoid Shinra’s search parties.
Barret stayed behind to cover their retreat.
His massive frame and the Gatling gun on his arm were enough to make any soldier who tried to pursue them think twice.
“We have to split up!” Barret stopped at a three-way intersection and said to them, “We’re too big a target.
We’ll get surrounded too easily.
Tifa, take Cain back to Seventh Heaven.
I’ll draw the pursuers away!
We’ll meet at the bar!” “But…” Tifa looked worried.
“No buts!
That’s an order!” Barret roared, leaving no room for argument.
Then he turned and ran in another direction, deliberately making a huge racket to draw most of the pursuers after him.
“Let’s go, Cain!” Tifa hesitated no longer and pulled Cain into an even narrower alley.
However, Shinra reacted far faster than they had imagined.
Several Riot Troopers holding riot shields suddenly appeared at the mouth of the alley, blocking their path.
“Stop!
Avalanche terrorists!” Tifa immediately took a fighting stance, but she had just been through a fierce battle, and her stamina was badly drained.
Cain stepped forward, shielding Tifa behind him.
He was just about to draw the Buster Sword from his back when a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
Using such a conspicuous weapon here would only draw more enemies.
He glanced around, and his gaze locked onto a pile of discarded metal pipes nearby.
He casually picked up a steel pipe half as tall as a person, weighed it in his hand, then faced the Riot Troopers as if he were holding nothing more than a wooden stick.
The battle broke out in an instant.
The Riot Troopers were well trained and coordinated perfectly.
Their riot shields formed an almost airtight shield wall.
But their opponent was Cain.
The steel pipe in Cain’s hand, reinforced by his terrifying monstrous strength, was no less powerful than a heavy weapon.
He used no flashy techniques, only simple swings and brutal strikes.
Clang!
With the first blow, one soldier’s riot shield was smashed inward, deeply dented.
The massive impact split the web of his hand open and forced him staggering back.
Clang!
Clang!
Two more blows followed, and the shields of two other soldiers were sent flying outright.
The shield wall collapsed instantly.
The remaining soldiers stared in horror at the “monster” in front of them, the one holding a steel pipe.
For a moment, they even forgot to fight back.
Cain gave them no chance.
He charged into their midst and swung the pipe left and right.
After a series of muffled impacts and screams, all the Riot Troopers were knocked to the ground within seconds, completely losing the ability to fight.
The entire process was clean and efficient, without even drawing blood.
He had simply disabled their ability to move with precision.
“Go!” Cain threw away the now-warped steel pipe, grabbed Tifa, who was still stunned, and continued their escape.
Tifa looked at his broad back, her heart full of shock.
She realized that Cain seemed to be consciously controlling his strength, avoiding unnecessary killing.
That gave her a small sense of relief.
The two of them twisted left and right through the maze-like alleys, gradually shaking off most of the pursuers.
But Cain had taken a heavy impact to his back in the earlier explosion while protecting Tifa, and now sharp waves of pain came over him one after another, slowing his steps.
“Cain, are you hurt?” Tifa noticed something was wrong.
“I’m fine.” Cain shook his head, but the cold sweat seeping from his forehead betrayed him.
Just then, they ran into a dead end.
At the mouth of the alley, several Shinra soldiers appeared again.
“Oh no…” Tifa’s heart sank.
Cain shielded Tifa behind him and gripped the hilt of the Buster Sword on his back.
It looked like he would have to go all out this time.
“Hey!
Over here!” A clear, pleasant voice, like wind chimes, suddenly came from the side.
The two of them followed the sound and saw a young girl in a pink dress, carrying a flower basket, standing by the second-floor window of an old building and waving desperately at them.
She had a pair of clear green eyes that seemed able to see straight through a person’s heart.
“Hurry!
Climb up here!” The girl pointed to a fire escape leading up to the second floor.
The Shinra soldiers noticed her as well and immediately raised their guns to aim.
“Stay out of this!
Get lost!” Cain did not hesitate at all.
He trusted the pure goodwill in the girl’s eyes.
He pushed Tifa toward the ladder and let her climb first, while he drew the Buster Sword and held it across the mouth of the alley, buying time for her.
“Go!” he shouted to the girl.
But the girl gave him a reassuring smile.
Then she took a yellow flower from her basket and gently tossed it toward the soldiers.
Something strange happened.
The flower bloomed with a soft green light in midair.
Wherever the light reached, the soldiers moved as if they had been hypnotized, their movements slowing while their eyes began to glaze over.
“This is…?” Cain stared at the scene in surprise.
“Magic,” the girl said, blinking playfully.
“Now it’s your turn.
Hurry up!” Cain hesitated no longer.
He quickly climbed the ladder and slipped through the window.
The moment he entered the room, the girl closed the window as well, shutting out the noise outside.
A faint floral fragrance filled the room.
It seemed to be a small flower shop, with all kinds of fresh flowers arranged everywhere.
“Thank you for saving us,” Tifa said gratefully to the girl.
“You’re welcome.” The girl smiled, but her gaze fell on Cain, carrying a trace of curiosity and scrutiny.
“I’m Aerith.
What about you?” “I’m Tifa.
He’s Cain.” “Cain…” Aerith softly repeated the name, then walked up to him and looked up into his eyes, which also glowed faintly green.
The instant her gaze met Cain’s, both of them trembled at the same time.
Images that did not belong to Cain were once again forcibly pushed into his mind.
This time, the scene was incredibly clear.
Zack, a black-haired SOLDIER, was smiling as he handed a yellow flower to the girl named Aerith in front of him and said, “The price is one date.” Aerith, however, saw another scene.
She saw Cain on the edge of a cliff, holding a man’s corpse and wailing.
The man’s face was that of Zack, the person she had thought about day and night.
She also saw the violent blue flame of a soul inside Cain, one that did not belong to this planet, as well as the Jenova energy filled with resentment that was trying to corrode him.
“Zack…” Aerith whispered unconsciously, and her eyes instantly misted over.
“How do you…” Cain also stared at her in shock.
The images in his mind had formed some kind of mysterious resonance with this girl.
The air between them seemed to freeze.
Tifa looked at the two of them in confusion, not understanding what had happened.
“You… knew him?” Aerith’s voice carried a slight tremble.
Cain fell silent.
He remembered Zack’s final request.
He opened his mouth, but he did not know how to explain that cruel tragedy to the girl in front of him.
“He was… a very important friend of mine,” Cain finally answered with only those words.
Aerith looked at him, and the sorrow in her eyes gradually gave way to an even more complicated emotion.
She could feel that, deep in Cain’s soul, he carried Zack’s dreams and regrets.
She could also feel the pain and confusion Cain was experiencing at this very moment.
She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and gave him a gentle yet strong smile.
“Is that so?
Then we’re friends too.” She took the most beautiful yellow flower from her basket and held it out to Cain.
“It’s nice to meet you.
This is a gift for you, Mr.
Bodyguard.” Her smile was like warm sunlight.
It swept away the heavy atmosphere in the room and also illuminated the shadow in Cain’s heart left behind by Zack’s sacrifice.
Cain looked at the flower in front of him, then at Aerith’s green eyes, which seemed able to see through everything.
He reached out and accepted the flower.
At that moment, because of an unexpected meeting, the fates of the three of them became tightly bound together.
And Cain also faintly sensed that this mysterious flower seller before him might become the key to unraveling the mystery of his own existence, and to resisting that invisible “fate.”