The basement of Seventh Heaven was Avalanche’s secret base.
It was completely different from the lively atmosphere of the bar above.
The air was filled with the smell of engine oil, gunpowder, and tension.
A huge map of Midgar lay spread across the table, with their next target circled in red.
Mako Reactor 1.
“This plan has to go off without a hitch!” Barret’s rough voice echoed through the cramped space as he slammed his metal prosthetic arm down onto the map.
“We’re gonna show those Shinra bastards what happens when they suck the life out of the planet!” The other three members of the team, honest and simple Wedge, tech-obsessed Biggs, and lively, pretty Jessie, were all gathered around the table with serious expressions.
“The bomb’s power has already been tuned to the maximum.” Jessie pushed up the goggles on her head, her face carrying a trace of excitement and confidence.
“As long as we can get it installed, I guarantee we’ll blow that damn reactor sky-high!” “The problem is getting inside.” Biggs pointed at the security deployment marked on the map.
“Mako Reactor 1’s guards are much tighter than the ones we dealt with before.
We got lucky last time.” “We need a powerful attacker,” Wedge added, worry written all over his face.
“Someone who can tear straight through Shinra’s defense line from the front.” Barret fell silent.
He knew that with only the four of them, the risk of this operation was extremely high.
He needed stronger combat power, a trump card who could crush the enemy defenses like a bulldozer.
Against his will, the image of the figure who had easily lifted an oak barrel in the back yard surfaced in his mind.
After the meeting ended, Tifa stayed behind.
“Barret,” she said softly, “let Cain join us.” Barret spun around sharply, his brow locked in a frown.
“Tifa!
Do you know what you’re saying?
That guy’s background is a mystery, and… something’s wrong with his head!
How can we trust him with a life-or-death mission?” “He isn’t a bad person.” Tifa met Barret’s gaze, her tone firm.
“You saw it too.
He’s kind, and he’s strong.
Very strong.
That’s exactly the power we need right now.” “That power’s too dangerous!
We don’t understand it at all!” Barret paced back and forth irritably.
“What if he loses control on the battlefield?
What if he’s a spy Shinra sent after us?” “I trust him.” Tifa’s words were simple, but powerful.
“And maybe… this mission can stimulate something in him and help him recover some of his memories.
He can’t go on like this forever.” Barret’s mind was locked in fierce conflict.
Reason told him that Tifa’s suggestion was far too risky.
Emotionally, however, he trusted Tifa’s judgment, and he truly coveted Cain’s unfathomable strength.
If they could turn that power to their side, their odds against Shinra would rise dramatically.
In the end, he let out a long sigh and gave in.
“Fine… but we test him first,” Barret said.
“Jessie, get things ready.
I want to see with my own eyes what this guy can really do.” The next day, Tifa brought Cain into the basement.
It was Cain’s first time there.
He curiously looked over the equipment and weapons around him, and a subtle flicker of familiarity flashed through his eyes.
“Cain,” Tifa said, looking at him seriously, “we have a request.
We’re doing something… something very important for the planet, but we need your help.
Would you be willing to… join us?” Cain looked into Tifa’s expectant eyes, then looked at Barret standing off to the side with his arms crossed and a stern expression on his face.
He did not answer immediately.
Instead, his gaze shifted toward the enormous map of Midgar on the wall.
His eyes landed precisely on Mako Reactor 1, the place marked with a red circle.
A sharp pain suddenly stabbed out from the depths of his mind.
Several blurry images that did not seem to belong to him flashed past, the same kind of bombing mission, the same kind of mako reactor, but the people beside him were not Tifa and Barret.
“Whispers…” The word slipped from his mouth in an uncontrollable murmur.
“What did you say?” Tifa had not heard him clearly.
Cain shook his head and forced the discomfort down.
He did not know why he had said that word, and he did not know where those images had come from.
But he could feel that place exerting a strange pull on him, as though something important was waiting for him there.
“I’ll… join,” he said slowly, making his decision.
Hearing his answer, Tifa let out a breath of relief, and a smile appeared on her face.
Barret, however, only snorted and pointed to a battle simulator nearby.
“Don’t get happy too soon.
If you wanna join us, you get through my test first!” Jessie had already finished adjusting the simulator.
She winked at Cain and encouraged him in a low voice.
“Good luck, big guy!
Show our leader what you can do!” Cain stepped into the simulator.
The scene before him instantly changed, placing him on a simulated battlefield.
Several Shinra security robots charged at him from every direction.
“Show ’em what you’ve got!” Barret shouted from outside.
Cain did not draw the Buster Sword from his back.
He only calmly watched the charging robots and slowly raised his right hand.
Under everyone’s stunned gazes, his right arm was instantly wrapped in blue-green light, and a savage demonic arm appeared out of thin air.
Then he moved.
His figure was as fast as a phantom, rushing into the formation of robots in an instant.
The demonic arm operated in a way that defied imagination.
It extended, seized a distant flying security drone, forcibly dragged it down from the air, and then smashed it into another robot as if throwing away trash.
Boom!
The two robots collided and exploded into a burst of sparks.
Then, facing a large machine soldier rushing toward him, Cain neither dodged nor backed away.
He met it head-on with the demonic arm.
The collision of metal and demonic claws produced a grating crash that set everyone’s teeth on edge.
The alloy drill that machine soldier was so proud of was crushed into a twisted spiral by the grip of those claws.
The basement fell deathly silent.
Barret, Tifa, Jessie, Wedge, and Biggs all stared at the simulated screen in disbelief.
That was no longer a battle.
It was a pure display of power.
Cain barely moved more than a few steps, yet with that strange arm, he dismantled every simulated enemy into scrap.
When Cain walked out of the simulator, the demonic arm had already disappeared, and his right arm had returned to normal.
He looked at the dumbstruck Barret and asked calmly, “Is that enough?” Barret opened his mouth, but for a long while, no words came out.
He swallowed, his heart filled with indescribable shock.
He had thought Cain was merely strong, but he never imagined that he possessed such… inhuman power.
“That’s enough… of course that’s enough!” In the end, Jessie was the first to break the silence.
She rushed over to Cain excitedly, her eyes shining with admiration.
“Oh my god!
Cain!
You were so cool!
What was that arm?
Is it magic?
Or some kind of prosthetic?” Cain looked at her and shook his head.
“I don’t know.” Barret finally recovered from his shock.
He looked at Cain, his gaze becoming extremely complicated.
There was fear, caution, and even dread, but more than anything, there was excitement he could not suppress.
He walked up to Cain and, for the first time, extended his hand, the one that was not his metal prosthetic.
“Welcome to Avalanche, Cain,” he said in a low voice.
“Starting today, you’re our strongest trump card.” Cain looked at the hand extended toward him, then looked at Tifa and Jessie, who were smiling brilliantly beside him.
After a moment of hesitation, he reached out as well and shook Barret’s hand.
A faint current passed through their clasped hands.
It was the resonance between power and power.
Cain did not know what Avalanche was, nor did he know what they were trying to do.
All he knew was that Tifa needed him, this fierce-looking man had acknowledged him, and that lively girl admired him.
Here, he was needed.
That was enough.
He officially became a member of Avalanche.
And his joining also signaled that this tiny resistance organization was about to unleash a storm beyond even their own imagination, a storm powerful enough to shake the fate of the entire planet.