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"Genesis. At last."
Genesis smiled at Sephiroth, a wide thing that was nothing but teeth. He was being made to kneel on the floor of this cave, held down by the unbreakable grip of tentacles wrapped around his legs, arms, and chest. The cave walls were covered in them. Fleshy appendages purple in color, writhing and pulsating. They all came from the center of the room, at the base of the throne Sephiroth sat upon.
Sephiroth was the name Genesis had for him, for lack of a better one. Very little of his old friend remained. The form was right, Genesis could not deny it, the naked creature sitting on that chair of bones looked indeed like Sephiroth. But the thing inside was not him. Anything that had once been Sephiroth had vanished.
Genesis tried to hide the shiver that ran down his back. It was neither due to the situation nor to the ghastly place he was in. It was because of Sephiroth's eyes. They bore into Genesis. Sephiroth's stare had always been unsettling in its focus, but it had never made Genesis feel truly small before.
"Will you not greet me?" Sephiroth asked.
"Pardon, I was distracted by your interior design choices."
"I made this place for you. It felt fitting."
Genesis glanced around. "Not that I don't appreciate the gesture, but you forgot a great deal about my tastes."
"Would red be more suitable?"
A ripple went through the mass of tentacles. Their color deepened and turned to dark red in seconds. Genesis did not like it more. It made him feel like he was standing inside the viscera of a great beast.
"I had heard nowadays you liked to fly about," he said.
"You are not worthy to see me that way. This is what fits you. The constraints of flesh, for the human who rejected the gift that was given to him."
"Jenova's DNA, you mean."
Sephiroth nodded. "I see you eradicated it when you cured your degradation."
"Are you saying you would have wanted me to keep it? Followed you down the path to become whatever you are now?"
"A god. I am a god."
Genesis sneered. "I see nothing holy in you."
"The blindness of ignorance. And you never would have been able to become what I now am."
"Why?"
"Because you were the inferior project. You had Mother's cells, but not the true ability of harnessing her power. Human, monster. Your place has always been below me," Sephiroth said, with the calm of someone who is stating a fact.
Genesis tugged at his restraints, to no avail. He burnt at the words. Not only because of the offense, but because he knew this was not Sephiroth. The old Sephiroth knew how to be arrogant and prideful, but he would have never called Genesis inferior by nature. This wasn't him.
Whether or not anything of Sephiroth still existed, Genesis did not know. He hoped, he prayed the Goddess that there would be a way to undo this monstrosity, but the chances of his friend still existing were little. He feared by now that the only thing to do would be to kill him. How, he didn't know. The power Sephiroth had harnessed with his ritual of death was beyond imagination.
Sephiroth stood from his throne, skin bare, his own hair the only cover he had. A vision of pure beauty in the middle of this stomach turning nightmare. "I am the new and only god of this world. Accept it."
"Sorry, I'm a busy man."
"Your Goddess? There is no force on this Planet rivaling me. The Goddess is nothing. The Goddess is me."
Genesis barked a cold laughter. "You don't look like I ever imagined her being."
"Shape is but a formality." As Sephiroth spoke, his body morphed. His hips became wider, his face softer, breasts grew on his chest and his penis retracted into a vulva. "Flesh is only a mold."
"And what would be your gift, then?" Genesis asked.
"I gift you a life, so that you may spend it adoring me. I gift you my presence, as I do with very few."
"How generous."
"You were dear to my heart once," Sephiroth said. He was taller than Genesis ever remembered him being. He stood in front of Genesis, and the tentacles forced him to keep his back straight. "Do you remember? Before any of us knew, before I awakened to myself. You, me, and Angeal."
"Keep Angeal's name out of your mouth!"
"Why should I not speak of one of my old friends?"
"You are not Sephiroth," Genesis snarled.
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "And you are not Genesis Rhapsodos, First Class SOLDIER. We contain the shadow of what we used to be, while not being anymore."
"Sephiroth would have never become you."
"You cling to the idea of the old me. The human Sephiroth. That man could have never become who I am now, yes, but he only existed within ignorant minds." Sephiroth ran his fingers through Genesis's hair. "I remember when you were promoted to First Class, and I found you crying in the restrooms like a child. When you were fifteen, and lit an entire floor on fire because of a materia mishap, and all the later times when you did it on purpose. When you dared me to go to bed with you, and I did even if I was a virgin. I remember the way your seed tasted, and how I let you take my mouth despite not wanting it, because I did not want to lose the dare."
Genesis flinched. "I never knew that."
"No need to look so stricken. I do not hold it against you, although Angeal might have. He was always so particular about those things." Sephiroth stepped to side, walking around Genesis. "My grasp of the Lifestream is still new, but I think once I have mastered it I will bring him back to life."
"No one can resuscitate the dead."
"I can. His loyalty shall be greatly appreciated. Do you not want to be waiting for him, once he will be back?"
Genesis shook his head. Some things were impossible. Angeal was gone, and no god or monster could bring him back. And Angeal, their Angeal, would never be loyal to Sephiroth how Sephiroth wanted. He would be horrified by this, and try to carve Sephiroth out of this god shaped mold, and furious with Genesis for having let it happen. He would be out of his mind if he knew Genesis had allowed their friend to become this, and he would be right.
The tentacles tightened, making Genesis gasp.
"I also remember your betrayal," Sephiroth said.
"Didn't know you still cared about Shinra."
"I do not care about that. I remember your betrayal of me. You hurt me greatly once, Genesis." Sephiroth's hand tightened in Genesis's hair, pulling. "I should thank you for it, because your words helped me awaken to the truth of my being. But they were not spoken to help, were they? You only meant to hurt me."
"If I could take them back, I would."
If he could go back in time and rip his own tongue out before calling Sephiroth a monster, he would. For so many reasons.
"You asked me for my DNA. You insulted me, and then acted like you had the right to demand my cells."
Genesis swallowed. "Not my proudest moment."
"No." Sephiroth walked back into view, and crouched in front of Genesis. He was a man once again. His face looked almost bored, but his eyes were shining. "You asked me for my cells to cure yourself, and then rejected Mother entirely. You were always volatile, Genesis, but these inconsistencies are beyond even you."
Genesis tried to shrug. "What can I say, I keep my mind open to new possibilities."
"So you do. But I believe it is time for me to honor your request, and give you what you once craved."
"What are you talking about?"
"My DNA. There is an emptiness in you. I shall fill it, in the name of the friendship we once shared. As you once helped me with words of acid, I will now grant your request with the pain you deserve."
"You know, I always thought I was the verbose one between us," Genesis said. He hoped the way his heart quickened was going unnoticed. Torture, was that what Sephiroth talked about?
Whatever he wanted to do, it was clear he wanted to push his DNA back into Genesis. He couldn't allow that. He was here to stop Sephiroth, not become his slave.
Sephiroth ran his thumb over Genesis's lips. "I shall pour it in you with generosity."
"Is this some kind of innuendo?"
Sephiroth did not answer. In his right hand, a dark liquid appeared, coalescing into the shape of a cup. In his left hand, a knife took form.
Genesis squirmed, eyeing the two objects. He couldn't see how they related to Sephiroth's words. The knife made him uneasy. Sephiroth meant to hurt him. Punish him for his past offenses, or for having attempted to fight him before being captured and dragged into this hellish hole.
Sephiroth rose the knife to his own throat, and with a smooth movement sliced through it. Genesis gasped, eyes wide. Sephiroth did not even blink. He kept the cup under his neck, and let his blood pool into it.
"How," Genesis whispered. The wound was deep. Sephiroth should not even be able to breathe that way.
"I told you. Flesh is but a mold," Sephiroth replied, speaking easily and clearly despite the large cut in his throat.
Genesis shook his head. No matter how Sephiroth had changed, he shouldn't be able to wound himself like this. Without fear or any apparent discomfort. He had cut through arteries with the same care someone might use for pulling out one hair.
When the cup was half full, Sephiroth rose it to Genesis's face. "Drink."
Genesis tried to move away. Aside from the horror of this, he couldn't allow Sephiroth to infect him with his cells. Who knew what kind of effect they would have now. Best case scenario, they'd mutate Genesis into a new kind of horror.
The blood stained knife traced a path on Genesis's cheek. "Always so contrary. Have you never heard that it is rude to refuse a gift given?"
Genesis was almost sure he had been the one to first explain that to Sephiroth, ages ago, when Sephiroth was an awkward teenager who only knew the rules that governed the Science Department.
The tentacles around his chest tightened enough to hurt. Genesis could not help the pained sound escaping him.
As soon as his lips were parted, Sephiroth pressed the cup to his mouth. He pinched Genesis's nose, blocking his airflow. The tentacles prevented Genesis from moving. He tried to fight it, but in the end he could do nothing but swallow the warm liquid. His stomach turned at the taste. The feeling of hot, fresh blood running over his tongue and down his throat was nauseating.
The blood was too hot. It felt scorching against the walls of Genesis's throat. He gasped once the cup was taken away, and would have bent in two had he not been held so tight. Liquid fire burnt his insides.
"It would not hurt so much had you not purged Mother from you," Sephiroth said.
Genesis shook, coughing. "What the hell did you give me?"
"My blood. Nothing but my blood."
"Why?"
"To punish you. To reward you. To show you what your place is."
Genesis looked up. Sephiroth's wound had stopped bleeding, but his throat was still stained red. "What do you want?"
Long fingers brushed his hair away from his face, softly dragging over his skin. "The same thing you wanted, when you were a god among men, First Class Rhapsodos."
"I don't think you want to beat yourself. Or developed a sudden passion for Loveless."
"Why did you want to beat me, Genesis? Why your drama and tantrums? Why always putting you at the center of attention? You wanted to be seen, and adored by the masses. And that is what all gods want, even the smallest ones. We recognize our place, and want to be treated as we deserve."
"You want me to worship you?"
"Yes," Sephiroth answered. "Take the place that was yours by right. I will make you my general, give you the power you always wanted, and all I ask in exchange is your soul, devoted to me."
"And betray everything on this Planet for you?"
Genesis gasped, the pain in his stomach redoubling. It radiated into his chest, down his legs, crawling into his head. Jenova couldn't be spreading so fast.
"I am everything that matters on the Planet, and you will see it, if you only stop stubbornly clinging to your hate of authorities."
"That's just part of my charm."
Sephiroth took Genesis's face in both hands, raising it. "Accept me."
"No."
"Adore me."
"No."
"You do not have a choice," Sephiroth said. He leaned forward, and kissed Genesis.
Genesis made a noise of disgust. His lips were still covered in Sephiroth's blood. It permeated the inside of his mouth, and Sephiroth was pressing his tongue inside, exploring it. As if he wanted to taste himself on Genesis. Never had a kiss felt so repulsive. He bit Sephiroth's tongue.
Sephiroth withdrew. "Is that what you desire then?"
"Stay away from me."
"I had not expected you to ask that so soon, but I want to show you I can be magnanimous with those I favor," Sephiroth purred.
His knife rose again. This time, he pressed it against his shoulder. Genesis watched, horrified, as Sephiroth cut off a thin strip of his own flesh.
"Stop," Genesis croaked. A possibility formed into his mind, one that went against all morals and taboos.
"Fear not. It does not hurt me. Nothing can."
Genesis shook his head as Sephiroth held the small slice to his face. He refused. He would not allow Sephiroth to do this to him. The bravado he had been trying to keep on was slipping, cold fear fighting with the unbearable heat burning him. This was worse than blood. His baser instincts revolted against this sort of thing.
"Do you remember once, when you took me and Angeal to one of your fancy restaurants?" Sephiroth asked. "You bought something called carpaccio. Raw meat, and if I remember right oil on it, and cheese. Angeal said it was disgusting, but you claimed it was refined cuisine."
Genesis kept his lips serrated. Sephiroth held the flesh right against them.
"I am afraid I have no seasoning for you now, but the quality of the meat is better than any you have ever had."
Genesis's nose was squeezed shut again. He tried to fight, but in the end the lack of air was unbearable. Opening his mouth was a reflex he could not control. Sephiroth forced it wider, pressing down on Genesis's lower jaw, and slipped the flesh right into Genesis's throat. Genesis's body swallowed it without his permission, not wanting to choke on it.
"There you go," Sephiroth said.
Genesis felt it slide in his esophagus and into his stomach. He wanted to throw up. His mind was growing numb with pain and horror.
Sephiroth cut another piece.
"No," Genesis whispered.
"It is for your own good."
Sephiroth repeated the process, giving Genesis no choice but to swallow more. Tears pooled in the corner of Genesis's eyes. He had been prepared for torture and pain, but nothing could have ever readied him for this. He had never thought he would become a victim of cannibalism, let alone in this sense.
"No more," he said, seeing Sephiroth raise the knife again.
"Will you beg me to stop?"
Genesis's pride had never been easy to swallow, but it was much preferable to anything else Sephiroth had been giving him. "Please stop."
A cold smile crossed Sephiroth's features. "Your prayer is heard. But gods know better than mortals."
The next slice was rubbed over Genesis's tongue, forcing Genesis to taste it before swallowing it.
Genesis coughed. Despite the nausea, he couldn't get rid of what was in his stomach. His body refused to do it. The burning had only increased as Sephiroth fed him. His head hurt, as if fire was licking at his brain.
He had to fight it. This had to be Sephiroth's DNA trying to break him down. Genesis tried to focus on something that would let him hold on to his mind, but concentrating was hard. Anything he tried to hold on to slipped from him. Even his horror was hard to grasp fully.
"How does the flesh of a god taste?" Sephiroth asked.
"Why would a god demand cannibalism of his followers?"
"This is not cannibalism. That implies something eating a member of its own species. I am not human."
Genesis's throat spasmed. "Then why show yourself as one?"
"Attachment. I am fond of this form, and so are you. You would not feel the horror you do had I presented myself differently, and that too is what you deserve"
Genesis could not fight as the next piece was pushed into his mouth, his body turning weak. It was sickly sweet. Slimy enough that it was easy for it to slide down his esophagus. Sephiroth's right shoulder was a bloody mess, and still he seemed unbothered by it. Meanwhile Genesis was sure that without the tentacles holding him still he would by now have fallen into the ground. His muscles were painfully tightening without his control.
"The only reason it disgusts you to feed on me is because you are conditioned to do so," Sephiroth said. "The same way you are conditioned to rebel to me. Chains society has placed on you. I will do you the favor of breaking them."
"Why?"
Sephiroth's face was almost tender as he pushed more of himself into Genesis. Like a father feeding a misbehaving child. "Is there a deeper act of worship, than to allow the divine to seep into you? You worshiped me once. As a child, when you joined SOLDIER to chase me. Worship me again, Genesis."
God or monster or creature with no name, it was undeniable that Sephiroth could go far beyond what was human nature. Genesis groaned in pain.
Sephiroth caressed his face. "Does it hurt?"
"Guess."
"That is good. Pain freed me from the lies I had been fed. It will free you too. You of all people should know how to embrace the fire that burns down the unworthy."
Genesis wanted to be free. He wanted to be let go, and to empty his stomach somewhere. He wanted the nightmare to end. The horror was so much the only way out felt to give in to it.
No. He could not do that. It was what Sephiroth wanted. Genesis had to stay strong, and keep himself through this.
"This is a little bigger. I suggest you chew."
The taste of it truly invaded Genesis's senses. Tough muscle, hard for Genesis's teeth to break. Sephiroth kept his mouth shut, giving him no choice but to eat.
He kissed Genesis's cheeks. His lips traced the path of the tears that had started to flow. "You will be the fear I set into weak hearts. You will burn the world for me, and slaughter the stubborn ones who keep fighting. My perfect SOLDIER. I will give you what you always wanted, to be the most feared of generals on this Planet."
"I'm not going to break," Genesis whispered, when the flesh had been eaten.
"You are breaking already."
Sephiroth kept feeding him, murmuring words of poison in Genesis's ears. Despite the tightness in his stomach, Genesis never truly felt full. There was always space for more. Everything Sephiroth gave him fit, no matter Genesis's protests. As if Sephiroth was more aware of his limits than Genesis was.
In fact, it wasn't long before Genesis began to feel hungry.
Sephiroth licked his blood dirtying Genesis's mouth. "You used to tell me how much it pained you that your book did not have an ending."
Genesis couldn't reply. His brain felt completely disconnected from his body. Something in his chest was empty, a gaping void that needed filling. A cold hole. Only Sephiroth's flesh could warm it, and Genesis hated himself for no longer being entirely nauseated by it. It was working, Sephiroth's DNA was beginning to claw at his brain, making it tell Genesis that he had to eat more.
"I have thought of a finale for you. After great pains, the hero finally meets the Goddess. He discovers that her gift had been delivered to him long before, but he had never been able to understand it. But she gives him the enlightenment he needs to see. She had been shaping him as her servant, tempering him, until he can be her right hand in striking the enemy that causes chaos in her world. I am sure you can put it into verses."
Genesis groaned.
Sephiroth smiled. "Yes, when you have returned to your senses. Worry not, the disorientation is only temporary. You will feel better when your mind will be restructured in its entirety."
Was there no fighting it? Genesis remembered it well, the effect that his own DNA had on his copies. Their personalities were overridden in minutes. Soon all that was left was what Genesis wanted them to be.
His DNA had been weak. The unstable, weaker version of what Sephiroth now had. When the reality of his degradation had not been weighing on him, there were times Genesis had felt godly. His was power over something deeper than life and death. Over flesh, broken and reformed into his image. Over mind itself. Divinity.
But he had always been but the servant of the Goddess. He had never seen himself as her equal. Now Sephiroth was here, with power he had absorbed from the Planet itself, and was the Goddess not of the Planet too? She had manifested herself to Genesis beneath Banora, in cave where the Lifestream reached the surface. Had Sephiroth taken in her power, too?
"The less you fight it, the better it will be," Sephiroth murmured, gently placing another piece between his lips. Genesis could see bone starting to peek out of his mangled shoulder.
He chewed, unable to do anything else. The sweetness was becoming more bearable. An acquired taste.
If the Goddess was in the Lifestream, and it in Sephiroth, why had she not rebelled? Could she not destroy him from the inside? She had purged Genesis of Jenova before, and restored his self. It was within her power.
He shuddered with the pain. Sephiroth was the perfect form, Genesis had only been a copy. Maybe he could not be changed.
Or maybe she had chosen not to.
A sudden spasm went through him, so strong his mouth opened in pain. The flesh fell from between his lips. Sephiroth was quick. He grabbed it with his own mouth, and pressed it in Genesis's with a kiss.
"Do not be messy," he chided.
Genesis looked at him, his eyes clouded with the tears, his vision as foggy as his mouth was. "Forgive me."
"All will be forgiven, if you just accept your place."
Genesis shivered.
Forgive me, for having pushed you to this.
Forgive me, for not being able to break you out.
Forgive me, for my weakness.
"You always had a special place in my heart, Genesis, and even if you trampled on it I will still welcome you," Sephiroth said.
Genesis's head lolled on his shoulders, too weakened to do otherwise.
"Would you like to see it?"
"Hn?"
Sephiroth sat back. His chest swelled, as if something were pushing from the inside against his sternum. His skin tore. White bone pushed out. Genesis's eyes widened as Sephiroth's ribcage opened, spreading at each side of him.
Like wings. Of light bone and dark blood.
It exposed what was inside. The intricate work of veins and arteries. Lungs, raising and falling. A red, beating heart. Things that should never be seen, but that Sephiroth could bare without any of the consequences a human would.
And he chose to bare it to Genesis. He was being made privy to this sight. A god's heart, pulsating with the blood that now filled Genesis's stomach and ran in his veins. The unbearable wrongness of such a sight warred with wonder of Sephiroth's power.
"Do you like this sight, Genesis?"
Did he? Words had always come easy to him, but now they slipped from his tired brain. It was macabre and gruesome and beautiful and terrible and awe-inspiring and none of those things could do justice to how Genesis felt.
"I see that you like it."
Sephiroth leaned forward, and his hand closed over Genesis's cock, hard within the confines of his pants. Were he not so enraptured by Sephiroth's heart, Genesis would have looked down at himself, shocked. He should not be hard. He had been angry and disgusted and frightened and now he floated in a daze as sweet as putrefaction, and none of those things were arousal. Was it Sephiroth's fire? Had it kindled this sort of reaction too?
Sephiroth undid Genesis's pants with one hand, freeing his erection. "Is this your first act of worship, Genesis? I must say, it fits you."
Sephiroth's fingers burnt too. Their touch was painful on Genesis's skin, and it made pleasure bloom inside of him.
"I can give you pleasures that you never imagined before. But first, you must tell me that you will be loyal to me."
Genesis stared at Sephiroth, mouth numb.
"It is indeed possible to shut you up," Sephiroth commented. "I will forgive your lack of words for now. Show me, then. Show me that you will worship me for as long as your life will last."
This grotesque god. The friend who had turned monster, or maybe vice versa, and the Lifestream running in him. Genesis's Goddess dwelling into this mold of flesh, and in turn into Genesis's own stomach thanks to Sephiroth's caring torture.
Genesis leaned forward. If he bit now into Sephiroth's heart, maybe Sephiroth would die. Or maybe it would just make blood spill, and bring no real change. If Sephiroth could be wounded mortally, he would not just put his weak spot on display. Unless he trusted Genesis that much. Experience said he should not.
Genesis licked the muscle. It tasted of blood, and it made Genesis's nausea rise, despite being the best thing he had ever tasted. The strong muscle contracted under Genesis's tongue. He felt the blood fill the chambers, and be squeezed out again.
"Good," Sephiroth breathed, with the tone one might reserve for a lover. "Good."
He rose, and straddled Genesis thighs. He lowered himself slowly, keeping Genesis's cock against his entrance, the muscles easily accepting him inside. He sank until Genesis was fully inside of him. His cock in his ass, his face pressed against his organs.
"Worry not. You cannot hurt me."
Genesis moaned in pleasure and pain, tongue lapping greedily against Sephiroth's insides. He tried to soothe the invisible wounds he had once left there, not knowing if he still hoped to snap Sephiroth out of it or if his mind had capitulated entirely. Sephiroth rode him, and Genesis lost even what little thoughts he still had. The pleasure brought by Sephiroth around him was nearly enough to cancel out the mind numbing pain still burning his nerves.
Genesis brushed against Sephiroth's lungs, and he wondered then what it would be like to push his cock in the space under Sephiroth's diaphragm. Fuck into that forbidden place, with veins pumping against him.
Sephiroth petted his hair, encouraging him. "You will forget why you ever refused me. You will be mine, and I will reward you in blood and torture."
Genesis came, screaming. It was too much for his body to handle. Some part of his brain gave out entirely, no longer feeling neither pain nor pleasure. There was only the awareness of pumping his come into Sephiroth, something that for the first time in his life felt only numb.
When Sephiroth drew back, Genesis couldn't help but whine.
"One day, you will return to me," Sephiroth said. "If I will ever allow you to die, you will become part of me forever. But for now, content yourself in knowing I am part of you."
The weight in Genesis's stomach seemed to pulse.
Sephiroth's ribcage closed once again. His chest was once again smooth, perfect. The gory mess on his shoulder had vanished too, fully healed.
Sephiroth's hard cock was pressed against Genesis's mouth. He parted his lips willingly, letting it slip inside. He didn't have the coordination to properly suck, not how Sephiroth deserved, but he tried to hollow his cheeks. Sephiroth took his pleasure into Genesis's mouth, fucking it until he spilled.
Genesis closed his eyes in bliss. He tried to taste Sephiroth's seed before swallowing it. The bitterness mingled so wonderfully with the blood coating his teeth.
The tentacles withdrew. Genesis fell down on the fleshy ground, unable to move. His muscles still spasmed. He couldn't control them, not when thought itself seemed like the greatest of hardships. Various tentacles nimbly undressed him, quickly getting rid of his clothes.
As soon as Genesis was naked, Sephiroth picked him up in his arms. Genesis arm dangled off to the side. He looked up at Sephiroth, confused. He was being held close to Sephiroth's chest, which Genesis found himself appreciating.
"You should rest now. Your body must elaborate what I gave you."
Genesis opened his mouth, but Sephiroth shushed him.
"I will hear all the words you have for me once you have recovered. I trust they will be many and well chosen."
Sephiroth brought him past the throne, to the far side of the cave. Genesis didn't know what he was walking towards until he noticed a figure kneeling. A pale, blonde man. A single white wing sprouted from his back. Masamune was buried to the hilt in his chest, the tip hidden somewhere between the tentacles.
Genesis was deposited in front of him. The man looked up at Sephiroth with cat green eyes, exactly identical to Sephiroth's. He seemed alive and alert, despite the sword going through his sternum. His stomach seemed swollen, and it took Genesis a moment to realize there was a large tentacle buried in his ass.
"Cloud. This is Genesis."
"You fed him," Cloud said. His voice held no emotion.
"I told you I would. Do not be jealous. Genesis has a role, just like you have yours, puppet. I leave him in your cares for now."
Cloud turned to Genesis. He gave no sign of pain for his wounds, nor pleasure from the tentacle for that matter, even if his cock was hard against his stomach. He appeared unconcerned by the obscene sight he made. There was a hint of something not unlike madness in his eyes.
"Be good."
Sephiroth stepped away. His body turned into a knot of tentacles, that unfurled and vanished within the rest.
"Where did he go?" Genesis murmured. Sephiroth shouldn't leave. He had to be where Genesis could see him.
"He is still here. We are in him."
Genesis looked at Cloud, and then looked at the cave. The tentacles. The ones Genesis had thought Sephiroth was just controlling. They were part of him. Genesis was lying in the middle of Sephiroth's body.
He felt small. He felt warm.
His eyes returned to Cloud. "Why?"
He rose his hand in the direction of Masamune, but his arm was like lead. Even speaking took everything out of him. His brain still burnt.
"Sephiroth said I am to be his sheath today," Cloud answered, with a hint of pride in his otherwise unemotional voice.
"Hurts?"
"Yes."
Genesis understood in that moment that it was not a bad thing. What pain Sephiroth gave was a reward. An honor and a pleasure.
He pointed at Cloud's hips next. He could see the tentacle moving behind Cloud, pushing in and out of him. White already stained his stomach. "Sephiroth says it is a waste to ever leave me empty," Cloud answered.
The last question Genesis had was for the strange, raised tissue on Cloud's body. A long vertical line going from his sternum to below where his navel should be. From the lower end, two more line began, going horizontally towards Cloud's sides. On his chest the line split, forming a Y. Like autopsy scars. Even the tissue itself was similar. Like Cloud's skin was sewn together.
It wasn't wire, holding those scars. Cloud's own skin was crossed together, almost like a closed zipper.
"Sephiroth likes to open me and play. These make it easy for him," Cloud answered. He stared at Genesis. "When he feeds you enough, he can change you too. I am his puppet. You will be his general."
Genesis licked his lips. "Do you love him?"
"More than you can imagine. And sometimes I hate him too, so much that I would die without him."
"Do you worship him?"
Cloud tensed, the tentacle inside him twisting. "We can do nothing else."