Chapter two starts with Aerith remembering that this is the place Shinra wanted: The Promised Land. They could never have it, of course, as no living being can be here. The reactors have impacted the world but probably couldn’t destroy it outright...at least not quickly. She then thinks about Cloud, Tifa, and Barrett. Upon thinking of Barrett, a silhouette appears before Aerith. Vague and indiscernible at first, but it soon emerges to be a young woman. Aerith asks if the woman knows them. Unable to respond at first, Aerith introduces herself as a member of AVALANCHE. When the phantom hears the name, the silhouette’s memories conjure her up in full, and she can introduce herself as Jessie, one of the members who died in the Sector Seven plate crash. Aerith mentions that she’s only met Wedge, which ticks Jessie’s memories, causing the rotund Wedge, as well as Biggs, to appear from their memories.
Wedge is happy he gets to see his friends again before asking about Barrett. Aerith tells the now Senior Members of AVALANCHE about what’s been happening with the group, Shinra, and Sephiroth. Aerith then senses a deep sadness in the phantoms and asks what’s wrong.
The three members wanted to redeem themselves. The Mako Reactor explosion killed so many people, which has caused a significant amount of regret. At the time, they thought sacrifices were needed to save the planet, but are unsure now. We then gain backstory on AVALANCHE. The plan to blow up the reactor was concocted by a former iteration of the group, and no one knew how big the explosion would be. Because of that, when the three ended up here, they just wanted to disappear and merge with the stream, but their guilt and sadness wouldn’t allow them. Jessie even asked Aerith to leave them alone so that they wouldn’t affect her.
Aerith reminds them of how hard they fought before the plate crashed, and how their sacrifice allowed so many to get to safety. Not only that, but it allowed Aerith to save Marlene. Although lives aren’t something you can add or subtract, that sacrifice must be equal to lives lost. “It’s not only sins you carry.”
Upon this, the three thanked Aerith and faded back into the Lifestream. The book says back to the prisons they made for themselves, but I like to think there’s more ambiguity.
Chapter three begins with Aerith unsure of how time works down here. Has it been days, years, or minutes? She hoped that the AVALANCHE members would find their way until she sensed another phantom. An artificial hand rose before her, and the first thought that crossed her mind was Barrett. Her next was of Marlene. At this thought, the phantom responded as though he knew who Marlene was.
A man appeared and recognized Aerith from somewhere. Aerith recognized the man with a gun on his arm and shrouded in red as Dyne from Corel Prison. Dyne is unsure how an innocent girl could end up in the same place as a man who wanted the world to end. Aerith doesn’t believe that that’s what Dyne truly wanted. “Even though you really care about Marlene?”
The two debate for a moment before Aerith becomes the pinnacle of resolute. When the man with the machine arm thinks he scared the white mage, he suddenly realizer he has no power. She compared Dyne to Barrett, who even after had his life ruined, took care of Dyne’s daughter and is still fighting to save the planet. Dyne says that nothing matters as he mentions all the people he’s killed who now cling to him as the red, sticky mist around him.
Aerith approached the phantom and said that the red is of his own creation. It isn’t real, and only of his mind. He is holding himself back. Dyne asks if he’ll be able to meet Marlene when she reaches the end of her lifespan? Something odd is mentioned about starting over, which I think is a reverence to how the Lifestream returns life to the planet from all the dead souls in some reincarnation like cycle. Dyne then smiles, and Aerith can see the face, not of a killer, but of a man who loves his hometown and family. As the tip of his gun arm disappears, he says that this is what he has to do. He’ll think about all the people he’s killed for a bit longer as the Mako particles surround him. As Dyne returns, his last word is “Elenor”...
”And so, Aerith went back to her journey.”
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