The Sephiroth Ghost

[Serapy]

Sephiroth (the real 'alive' one) died in that reactor. Now through out the whole story, the appearances of himself that we have witnessed, I believe that it's obvious that Sephiroth was a ghost after all. Basically, he became a ghost after his death.

Although he was being infused with Jenova cells, that's how he has managed to gain power whilst he was a ghost, he was trying to get more power (Black Materia, etc) so his powers will make him more real, in which case, did happen, sort of anyway but when Cloud killed him again, his ghost simply disappeared. The source of his ghost (Jenova cells) still exist, that's why he appeared in AC again.

[Aeris's Ghost in that Chruch during FF7)
[Zack's Ghost in the photo of AC]
[Zack and Aeris walking and fading away from the end of AC]

Even if you still don't believe that Sephiroth became a ghost after his death, this still prove that there's really an existence of ghosts in the FF7 unverise.

[The Ceej]

The villain in that game was not a ghost of Sephiroth. He was a clone of Sephiroth. I thought everyone knew that.

[Bolivar]

yep he was a clone, which is why he had a "1" tattooed on his arm. It's hard to explain why his appearance matched that of Sephiroth, I think maybe he was an actual "clone" in the western sense of the word.

[The Crystal]

What you follow throghout the game is Jenova's body using Sephiroth's appearance. The clones are nothing more than normal people from Nibelheim who cannot shapeshift.

[Big D]

Sephiroth didn't die in the reactor, he entered the Lifestream and eventually wound up at the Northern Cave.
The entity pursued by the party - the one who appears to be Sephiroth - is, in fact, Sephiroth himself - but he's using Jenova's headless body as a means of interacting with the real world. It's much like his resurrection in Advent Children - his mind and spirit occupying a substitute body made of Jenova cells.

This isn't speculation, it's detailed in the Ultimania Omega text. It's also the only theory that's consistent with the events of the game.

The 'Clones', are, as others have said, simply test subjects who are carrying Jenova cells and have wrapped themselves in black cloaks. Because their minds aren't strong enough to resist the cells that have overrun their bodies, they've become virtual slaves to the Reunion instinct, and are completely susceptible to Sephiroth's influence and commands.

[NeoCracker]

GET BACK TO YOUR FF VIII FORUM!

And yes, Listen to the Big D.
He's bigger then your average D for a reason.

[cloud21zidane16]

Big D explained it all.

[leader of mortals]

I thought the sephiroth you see in the big crystal was the real sephiroth that was thrown into the lifestream at the reactor... and thats how he is at the Northern Crater. The Sephiroth you follow is a clone.

[Captain Maxx Power]

Extremely poor Future Esthar impressions belong solely in the realms of FF8.

[Serapy]

His clone is another word for ghost in my book.

[Sephitachi7]

How so? Ghosts are not tangible. Jenova is and it changes shape to look like Sephiroth. This is why everytime you see Sephiroth flying or appear and disappear, you usually fight a part of Jenova in its true form. This is because it is Jenova and not a ghost. Cloud and the others fight Jenova, and Jenova kills Aeris in the shape of Sephiroth. With this you can conclude that Jenova is tangible, real, physical. All of these are not ghost-like characteristics. At least from the context I've always known, a ghost isn't any of these.

[Heath]

His clone is another word for ghost in my book.

Yeah, I've gotta disagree. A clone and a ghost are different things entirely. D covered it, as others have said.

[MJN SEIFER]

Serapy's post is pretty logical, even though there are certain things that say it might be wrong (Big D's post particularly) out of all theories of FFVII I have seen, this one is probably the closest to being accurate, with out actually being right.



yep he was a clone, which is why he had a "1" tattooed on his arm. It's hard to explain why his appearance matched that of Sephiroth, I think maybe he was an actual "clone" in the western sense of the word.

That is probably a good assumption. I have grown up thinking that this is something given Sephiroth's memories, controlled by Jenova (not Jenova herself though) - however the books I keep hearing about probably disagree.

A quick look at Serapy himself...


Sephiroth (the real 'alive' one) died in that reactor. Now through out the whole story, the appearances of himself that we have witnessed, I believe that it's obvious that Sephiroth was a ghost after all. Basically, he became a ghost after his death.

May I first state that he is not insisting fact. Ok? Good. Now, this could actually work as there is some evidence that he could indeed be a ghost (or even an unsent if you feel like bringing one of my theories back). For one thing Cloud sees a vision, of a Sephiroth ghost, shortly before he is taken over. Also having a Jenova cell could have kept him "alive" after his death. The same thing happened to Leceria (or however you spell it).

However there is evidence otherwise.


Sephiroth didn't die in the reactor, he entered the Lifestream and eventually wound up at the Northern Cave.
The entity pursued by the party - the one who appears to be Sephiroth - is, in fact, Sephiroth himself - but he's using Jenova's headless body as a means of interacting with the real world. It's much like his resurrection in Advent Children - his mind and spirit occupying a substitute body made of Jenova cells.

This isn't speculation, it's detailed in the Ultimania Omega text. It's also the only theory that's consistent with the events of the game.

The 'Clones', are, as others have said, simply test subjects who are carrying Jenova cells and have wrapped themselves in black cloaks. Because their minds aren't strong enough to resist the cells that have overrun their bodies, they've become virtual slaves to the Reunion instinct, and are completely susceptible to Sephiroth's influence and commands.

Excellent. And this is actually pretty close to what I believed except for a few flaws in my version (mainly the whole Jenova thing - which has been shot to pieces. Well I enjoyed my theory while I had it)

Will type more tomorrow, be it editorial or reply.

[The Crystal]

Theories and assumptions about this matter, means nothing. Square-Enix already said it was Jenova's headless body being controlled by Sephiroth.

[MJN SEIFER]

Theories and assumptions about this matter, means nothing. Square-Enix already said it was Jenova's headless body being controlled by Sephiroth.

Which is what I said basically, I was just saying a) the things I used to believe, and b) that what Serapy said was logical, just wrong.

[Dragon Mage]

yesh, Big D nailed it in one.

How else do you think the Remnants came to be in AC?

In Cloud's final battle with Sephiroth he shattered the 'will' of Sephiroth's spirit, which was controlling Jenova's body. Sephiroth's spirit, you see, never merged into the Lifestream because he resisted it via power of will.

When Cloud shattered that spirit, the remains became the Remnants. Again, the Remnants were just parts of Sephiroth's spirit in Mako colacecsed into material form, all pulled together by the power of will.

yarly!

[The Crystal]

The SHM are bodies formed of tainted spirit energy(the Negative Lifestream Sephiroth used in the end of the movie) and part of his will(to make them find the J-cells).

[Serapy]

The reason why I thought of this theory is because of Aeris and Zack ghost appearances. They all could be linked. There's no actual proof that the appearance of Aeris has been incorrectly programmed in FF7.

Cloud may or not have been injected with J-cells, explain why he could be able to see Aeris and Zack appearances? If it was only Zack, not aeris... it would make sense but why Aeris now?

[Big D]

Ghosts are rife in FFVII. There are ghostly monsters in the Sector 7 train graveyard. The spirit of Elmyra's husband tried to visit her after he died, but returned to the Planet before he could get to her. The Gi Tribe were trapped in this world after their defeat, and their spirits lingered in the cave behind Cosmo Canyon. When the Black Materia needed to be guarded and the knowledge of its existence protected, several Cetra chose not to return to the Planet, and remained at the Temple of the Ancient in the form of 'spirit bodies'.

Then there are the guys from the training facility in Sector 7, killed when the plate fell but unable to return to the Planet because of their unfulfilled desire for knowledge, hence their appearance in the Respectable Inn in Junon. I mention them separately, as they're perhaps more of a joke/tutorial tool rather than actual characters.

My point is... Something?
Oh yeah. Ghosts, or spirits that haven't (yet) faded away, aren't exactly unknown in FFVII. Aerith's ghost is the most talk-about example, even if it appears prematurely due to some sort of glitch.

[Serapy]

Ghosts are rife in FFVII. There are ghostly monsters in the Sector 7 train graveyard. The spirit of Elmyra's husband tried to visit her after he died, but returned to the Planet before he could get to her. The Gi Tribe were trapped in this world after their defeat, and their spirits lingered in the cave behind Cosmo Canyon. When the Black Materia needed to be guarded and the knowledge of its existence protected, several Cetra chose not to return to the Planet, and remained at the Temple of the Ancient in the form of 'spirit bodies'.

Then there are the guys from the training facility in Sector 7, killed when the plate fell but unable to return to the Planet because of their unfulfilled desire for knowledge, hence their appearance in the Respectable Inn in Junon. I mention them separately, as they're perhaps more of a joke/tutorial tool rather than actual characters.

My point is... Something?
Oh yeah. Ghosts, or spirits that haven't (yet) faded away, aren't exactly unknown in FFVII. Aerith's ghost is the most talk-about example, even if it appears prematurely due to some sort of glitch.

Yeah, I guess that's a good reason why one of the graphic designers have added the Zack's ghost to the AC photo in near of the end.