Dumbledore hastily stepped in front of Cloud. He looked ok, but the blue veins were visible on his cheek, “Come on, boy. Are you ok?”

“He’s not ok,” Sephiroth smiled, without making a move, “You need it, don’t you? The Serum? You can’t even use your strength without destroying anything around you.”

“I thought…you could still hear me…and others when we talked. I am glad you can’t,” Cloud dashed forward, and the Buster Sword appeared in the palm of his hand. He sliced it forward, and Sephiroth countered as Masamune materialised, stopping his advancement.

Sephiroth raised his right hand, which was free, firing lighting to stop Dumbledore’s advancing attacks of pure force. The lightning crackled against the force, fighting against it. Though his attention was on Cloud, “How?”

Sephiroth turned his eyes towards the Space Stone, swaying on Cloud’s chest, the veins still throbbing, “Did you get poisoned? No, you should have resistance.”

Cloud swung the sword from his bottom right to upper left, clashing against Sephiroth, who effortlessly blocked it. At the end of the swing, he freed his grip on the Buster Sword, rotating it over so that the bladed side faced Sephiroth and slashed again. More sparks came out as the two weapons collided, and the pushback gave Cloud more space. He let go of the Buster Sword, which pierced the ground while he used the opportunity to twist, punching him in the face, which Sephiroth blocked by his hilt.

Cloud backed away while taking the Sword in his hand, his feet left the ground, his kick about to hit Sephiroth in the chin, and in the air, he put Buster Sword in front of his body, blocking it.

‘I need to be faster.’

“In your condition, you need to stop!” Lucrecia shouted at him, “You can’t hold any longer.”

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes, seeing the blue pillar behind Cloud; it hadn’t disappeared, “Ah, that makes sense. You destroyed your body from the inside, didn’t you?”

“Cloud.”

Cloud glared at Dumbledore, standing about tens of steps away from him, “Stay back. Dumbledore.”

Dumbledore smiled, blinking at Cloud, “I would like it if you stopped underestimating me.”

The air around him changed, making Sephiroth narrow his eyes and focus on Dumbledore. This was the first time he had felt in this world; this guy was a bit formidable. Although he might have the upper hand against Cloud, his strength depended on Cloud’s, a limit that he wanted to get rid of.

Even though Dumbledore said that—Sephiroth didn’t take him seriously, he was ready to fight. He raised his head to look at the giant falling towards them and scoffed, disappearing. The time slowed down, the giant that was falling slowed down, and Sephiroth appeared in front of Dumbledore, piercing Masamune forward. He was sure that this one wouldn’t even be able to react, and his focus was more Cloud, and yet, Masamune was deflected by a shield.

He shifted his eyes to Dumbledore’s, who didn’t do it on instinct but with full awareness. He slashed, and Dumbledore moved just as fast, defending that again. He went as fast as the thirteen attacks, each of which seemed to have been blocked by Dumbledore.

Sephiroth appeared behind Dumbledore, with his back to Dumbledore’s, breathing heavily. The giant started falling again and then again slowed down.

Sephiroth went onto an offensive, pivoting when Cloud appeared between the two, clashing with Masamune. The two of them disappeared, reappearing behind Dumbledore, who took the opportunity to attack Sephiroth.

Sephiroth’s arm turned brittle, devoid of all water, and his arm regenerated, and this time he was the one who got pushed back. Though, when he swiped forward, Cloud had to pierce his sword since he couldn’t swing because that would have been cut.

Sephiroth cast the spell ‘reflect’ on himself to protect himself from Dumbledore’s attack for a moment, “He’s holding you back.”

The three of them Apparated out of the way as the giant fell to the ground. They reappeared a few meters away, beside the fallen giant.

‘Faster,’ Cloud imagined every possible pattern of attack he could at that moment, yet none of them stood out. Dumbledore would have to face the full brunt if he let up and attacked from above.

“Cloud. I have an idea. Let’s try this together,” Zack’s visage appeared beside Cloud, placing his hand on his shoulder.

“Ok,” Cloud gave up a little control of his body, raising the Buster Sword above his shoulder, pointing forward.

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes; Cloud’s stance would usually decrease his range to that of the weapon in his hand, and in this case, to the length of Buster Sword. He glanced towards Dumbledore, diving in, but his reaction was delayed when he realised that the Buster Sword was near his cheeks. He raised the Katana, and the two blades collided against each other, sparking, and then as abrupt as it came, Cloud disappeared alongside the Buster Sword. When he appeared, he was above Sephiroth, who could see the Buster Sword appear in his hand.

Sephiroth blocked the blow, taking a step back to collect himself when a cracking sound entered his ear. Cloud apparated behind him, without the Buster Sword, but the swinging motion was still there as the Buster Sword started materialising in the middle of the swing. Though this time, it hit much harder than before. He moved away, and Cloud followed. Before anyone knew it, they had started moving at speed unseen to even Wizards who were used to dodging the magic. However, it was observable to someone like Dumbledore, who followed the two of them through the battlefield.

He wanted to keep up, but he lacked the stamina to continue this for long, and being on the battlefield, he decided to preserve strength until necessary. While the centre of the battle became a no-go zone, the current Minister of Magic had plans to help them get the upper hand in the fight if she got time from babysitting someone that sneaked in.

“Uuuuuuaaauuuwaaaarrrruuuuuuttthhhhhhhhhhhh,” Aerith massaged, pulling the cheeks of the red-haired girl in front of her to punish her, “What are you doing here?!”

“I came to inform you that Hermione destroyed Horcruxes!!” Natasha answered Aerith, standing at the end of the lines, few battles were going on here, and Aerith would whenever anyone came here. The ones, usually a Wizard or the Goblins, that fought against them went back into the fray. She froze for a moment, feeling death over her shoulder, and in a flash, it disappeared. She blinked, and as her eyes opened, she noticed Cloud, Dumbledore, and another guy with silver hair fighting against them, having apparated behind Aerith and then teleporting again.

“I know that! They are all over the place. It’s obvious that Horcrux was destroyed,” Aerith patted Natasha’s head, looking at the massive battlefield. Though many might be surprised, the battle between the Wizards was much shorter than the one between the Muggles. There was no new blood in the Wizard War that was being fought in the Mirror World. Muggles had to feed new blood to continue the war. No one was going to come or go out. Everywhere you saw, it was starting to thin down, especially with Tifa running wild over. There was Sephiroth to keep Cloud and Dumbledore in check, but no one could keep Tifa in check.

Natasha stood in front of her, “Don’t worry. I can see them. I’ll protect you.”

“Right,” Aerith took the staff, which started floating in the air, and she sat down sideways, “Come on. We have to hurry.”

“Right,” Natasha jumped on the staff, “Who are we going to fight?”

“No one,” Aerith zoomed in towards the centre of the battlefield, passing through numerous people. Most of the Wizards were standing over someone who had fainted, and it was clear that fighting was starting to die down, and their side was winning. When they reached the centre, Aerith stopped, raising her hands towards the sky.

A magic circle with a rosy glow appeared around Aerith, spreading outward. It only went about tens of meters when it stopped. Only orange lines appeared, reforming another magic circle, increasing it by another ten of meters, and then another until this magic circle spread through the whole battlefield.

A flower appeared at the centre of the magic circle, opening its petals, providing immunity to physical damage, “Planet’s Protector.”

The glow attracted many, and while some were too busy being punched, they realised the benefit soon.

“Uhh…” Hagrid was punched by the giant, pinned under when he realised that a shield was protecting him. He darted his eyes around, panicking, wondering who helped him, and when it hit him, he couldn’t be punched. He jumped on his feet, pushing the giant, “I am invincible!!!”

Elsewhere, there was a Werewolf, Fenrir Greyback, trying to make another one of his kind, the one that had been struggling. Lupin held his palm with both hands, holding back his nail from touching his forehead, scratching his head and turning him into a Werewolf.

The two of them froze for a moment when this magic circle appeared under them, when the magic energy visibly rose, much like the petals of a flower. It loosened Lupin’s grip a little, and Fenrir’s nail touched his forehead, “It’s over for you!! Lupin!!”

He scratched down, but rather than cuts appearing on Lupin’s face—Fenrir’s nails dragged against the shield, an invisible one, creating a screeching sound to spread around them.

(It will last 80 Seconds.)

“80 seconds,” Lupin raised his body, raising his eyebrows, “Hahahaha, more than enough!”

Now that he didn’t have to worry about Fenrir’s bite or scratch, he jumped on his, wrapping his hand around the creature’s neck, holding him in place, “Sirius!! Tonks!! Do it!!”

“No!!” Tonks and Sirius screamed when both of them heard Aerith’s voice in their head.

(80 seconds – Physical Damage Immunity.)

“Fuccck!! Whatever!” Tonks didn’t have the time to test, so she fired magic, and not only her, but so did Bill and Fleur. They hit Fenrir, with white blasts appearing in front of him, which continued for the next minute until Fenrir reverted to human form, falling to the ground. His face was covered in shock, not understanding to the last moment.

Though many benefitted from the Immunity from Physical Damage, a woman stood in the centre of the crater, standing on the tallest of giants, who were no longer awake. Her breasts heaved as she looked over her shoulder to a few Centaurs, the giants on their side, students of the other two schools and Hagrid, “Spread out. Help anyone that needs it. It’s about time we end this war.”

“UWWWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“END THIS WAR!!!”

“END THIS WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“!!!!!!!!!!!END THIS WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Tifa watched them spread out, in teams, in races, and her body divided into red blocks; her eye appeared at the centre, beside Aerith. She was about to ask how it was going when her eyes landed on Natasha, “What is she doing here?!”

“She came to inform that Horcrux was destroyed,” Aerith beratingly glanced at Natasha, who shrugged, only when Tifa landed on the Staff, weightlessly.

“Throw her out! Now.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Aerith started opening a portal, and Natasha defiantly stood up on the floating staff, “No! I won’t go!”

“This is not your place to fight!”

“It is! I am a Wizard too!”

Tifa took a deep breath, cupping Natasha’s cheek, “Please. If you stay, you will get one of us killed.”

“I won’t! I really won’t!” Natasha pleadingly looked at Tifa.

Tifa pressed her lips, softly smiling, “You will. Because we would never let you die…and if a killing Curse came towards you…then one of us will stand in front of you and take it. Why do you think Aerith kept you beside her? She kept you in a place where she could block any spell coming for you.”

Natasha parted her lips and glanced downward, but she could only see Aerith’s back. Her lips trembled, and she tightened her jaw, “That’s not fair.”

“I know you are worried,” Tifa hugged her, “Please. Leave. We’ll be back, alive. I promise. All of us.”

“Ok,” Natasha closed her eyes when the staff pivoted, allowing Natasha to be near the portal, and she jumped to the other side, on the floor right in front of her, “Don’t die….”

Tifa widened her eyes, tucking her hair behind her ear, watching Natasha mouth a word and a beautiful smile on her lips, “Yeah. We won’t.”

While Aerith closed one portal, another opened right below them; with the crackling sound, they appeared again. Though they didn’t seem equal this time, one of them had reached his limit. She didn’t have to confer with Tifa; she knew she was thinking the same thing when they jumped down from her staff, landing beside Dumbledore and Cloud.

Aerith raised her hand, and her staff landed in her hand, which she slammed down on the ground, creating a shield, “How are you doing? Headmaster?”

Dumbledore gasped for breath, his beard was a mess, and his glasses were broken, “I’d be better if I were a century younger.”

“Hehe,” Aerith grinned, narrowing her eyes, turning her gaze towards Sephiroth. “Why are you here?”

She turned her gaze towards Cloud since Sephiroth didn’t answer, ignoring her. He looked visible tired, but his cheek visibly told another story. There were veins on his cheeks, bluish, pulsing, and they probably spread through his whole body, and his grip on the sword was trembling.

Sephiroth smiled. “I can play this game as long as you want, but it seems all three of us are reaching our limit. It’s the perfect opportunity for me to get what I want.”

“What is it that you want?” Tifa had already started the party chat to ask Aerith if she could heal Cloud and know what had happened that put Cloud in such a condition.

(She can’t. If I could be healed so quickly, Jenova Cells would have done so. This isn’t an injury…it’s poisoning.)

(What did you do, Cloud?)

(I…lowered the Resistance to Space Stone trait from my DNA.)

“Why?!” Tifa shouted aloud, and Cloud moved her out of the way, stopping Masamune, while Dumbledore and Aerith fired magic spells.

(To poison my cells. Weaken my body to the point where I can’t use my full power. I am on my last legs. That was the best way I could come up with to suppress my strength.)

“By being—”

(By being near death!)

As much as Tifa wanted to punch him in the face, a sudden turn of events caught their attention. Something unexpected.

“Expelliarmus!!”

It wasn’t a spell that Dumbledore fired, or Aerith, Tifa, Cloud, or even Sephiroth. It was a spell that came from an unexpected place, hitting Dumbledore. The wand in Dumbledore’s hand was thrown off and soon stopped in mid-air, getting pulled into the hands of the person who fired that spell.

“It was fun while it lasted, Cloud,” Sephiroth smiled; his visage started to disappear, revealing a laughing Voldemort, “Hahahahaha! Finally, old man!! It is mine! The Elder Wand, the strongest Wand in existence!”

Even though they were surprised by him, their attention was on the one who had the Wand, “Harry?”

“Harry?!”

“Harry,” Cloud narrowed his eyes, seeing the boy shake with an edgy look, seemingly under control, and the Wand slipped from his hand, falling on Voldemorts, who let go of his control on Harry.

Voldemort admired the wand, “Ah, this wand, it finally belongs to me.”

“Dumbledore,” Harry rushed over to him, holding him up, holding his wand, pointing at Voldemort with a shaking arm, “Sorry, I am sorry, I am so sorry! I thought I could!”

“It’s ok,” Aerith grinned, standing in front of them, “I am here to protect you.”

“Avada Kedavra,” Voldemort fired the Killing Curse without warning, which they thought was for Aerith. But against all odds, she raised her staff, placing it in front of Dumbledore, and the killing curse hit against it, stopping.

“I said…I am here,” Aerith’s smile wasn’t as cheery but much more threatening.

“Not for long,” Voldemort glanced towards the staff, “I will ask you for the last time. Join me.”

“Never—”

“Avada Kedavra!”

“Dumbledore!!” Harry pushed Dumbledore out of the way, and the curse nearly missed him, but it angered Voldemort even further.

“AVADA KEDARVRA!!!”

“NO!!!!” Harry shouted, pointing his wand forward, and a jet of right light met with Voldemort’s green, fighting at the centre. The two sides fought against it, and Tifa was planning to attack Voldemort while he was busy, but her footsteps froze. She wasn’t the only one, so was Aerith. They couldn’t understand what was going on.

Voldemort’s arm was starting to turn darker, as if death was enveloping him, spreading further. His mouth was agape, and he wanted to stop the spell but couldn’t. The world around him slowed down, he couldn’t understand what had happened, but time didn’t change its speed only for him. For another, it had all but stopped.

“Sephiroth….so that’s what Genesis meant. My darkness,” Cloud put his hand on his knee, forcing himself to keep standing even though his arms were trembling.

Sephiroth appeared in front of him, standing on the other side of two jet streams frozen in time, “It took you a while to figure out.”

“What is Elder Wand?”

“Three brothers, travelling along a lonely, winding road at twilight, reached a deep treacherous river where anyone who attempted to swim or wade would drown. Learned in the magical arts, the brothers conjured a bridge with their wands and proceeded to cross.

Halfway through the bridge, a hooded figure stood before them. The figure was the enraged spirit of Death cheated of his due. Death cunningly pretended to congratulate them and rewarded them with their chosen gifts.

The eldest brother, a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence. Death granted his wish by fashioning the Elder Wand from a branch of a nearby elder tree standing on the river banks. The second brother, an arrogant man, chose to further humiliate death and asked for the power to recall the deceased from the grave. Death granted his wish by crafting the Resurrection Stone from a stone picked from the riverbank. The third and youngest brother, the most humble and wise, did not trust Death and asked for something to enable him to go forth without Death being able to follow. A reluctant Death, most unwillingly, handed over his own invisibility cloak.

The three brothers took their prizes and soon went on their separate ways.

The eldest brother travelled to a village where a wizard with whom he had quarrelled lived. He sought out a duel and fought the wizard using the wand, instantly killing the latter. Leaving his enemy dead on the floor, the eldest brother walked to an inn not far from the duelling site and spent the night there. Taken by his conscience and lust for the Elder Wand's power, the eldest brother boasted of this wand gifted by Death and his own invincibility. That very night, a murderous wizard killed the eldest brother. The unknown murderous wizard crept to the inn as the eldest brother slept, drunk from wine. The wizard slit the oldest brother’s throat for good measure and stole the wand. That was when Death took the first brother for his own.

"Greeting Death as an old friend, they departed this life as equals."

The second brother returned to his home, where he lived alone. Turning the stone thrice in his hand, the figure of the girl he had once hoped to marry before her untimely death appeared at once before him, much to his delight. Yet she was sad and cold, separated from him as by a veil. Though she had returned to the mortal world, she did not truly belong there and suffered. Finally, the second brother, driven mad with hopeless longing, committed suicide by hanging from his house’s balcony to join her. That was when Death took the second brother for his own.

Death searched for the youngest brother as years passed but never succeeded. It was only when the third brother reached a great age that he took off the Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to his son. Greeting Death as an old friend, they departed this life as equals.”

“Where did you hear that story?”

Sephiroth smiled since it was apparent where he heard it, “His memories are inside you, Cloud. Or how did you think you came up with the plan?”

Cloud looked away, unsure, “I…came up with the plan?”

“I did,” Sephiroth raised his chin, cocking his head, “I am you.”

Cloud narrowed his eyes, “How does the plan end?”

Sephiroth glanced towards Voldemort, “There is something that even Voldemort doesn’t know about the Elder Wand. It changes its loyalty every time the holder is defeated.”

“That’s why you used Harry…if he has the control of the Wand….”

“Voldemort’s spell backfires.”

“How did you know that part?”

“Since it was your plan. I got control of Voldemort whenever he rested. I sought a few people out to learn more about the Elder Wand and the Invisibility Cloak. After all, they appear on the Keychain you acquired from Harry Potter.”

“What about Harry? He also keeps Voldemort alive.”

“Yes, well,” Sephiroth pointed at Voldemort, and the time for the two started moving again, “Now. I will be reborn anew, which would mean the boy’s death.”

“No,” Cloud spoke up, and everyone heard his voice, but they were all looking at Voldemort’s body, fallen, “You won’t kill Harry!”

“Cloud…” Tifa muttered, patting his back, “It’s over. Voldemort’s dead.”

“Not him…”

“You know it’s necessary. To kill Voldemort, you need to kill Harry Potter. Knowing that responsibility, that burden is what gave me the chance to break away,” Sephiroth slowly disappeared, and so did Voldemort’s body, and his voice rang out before he even came to be. To everyone. The darkness rose in the air, swirling around, reforming back into Sephiroth, who floated in the air, smiling, saying, “Your weakness is what gave birth to me. Cloud. And now…with his death. I will be free.”

Sephiroth swung Masamune, causing a storm that threw Aerith, Cloud, Dumbledore and Tifa backwards, while Harry, strangely, wasn’t hit by the storm. He watched in despair as Sephiroth floated closed on them, slicing towards his neck, “Goodbye. Kid.”

A crack resounded, and Harry saw it, in slow motion, Dumbledore appearing in front of him, putting his body in front of Harry’s, and the sword coming closer. The next moment, he felt blood on his face, warm, but it wasn’t as much as he would have thought. He slowly realised that it wasn’t Dumbledore who was bleeding, but Cloud, who appeared at that moment and held the sword in his hand, which was bleeding.

Cloud looked up with a piercing gaze; his blood covered his cheek, his body was poisoned, and it was growing weaker by the moment, “I will not fail again. You won’t kill Harry.”

“If only you possessed the strength to follow through,” Masamune turned intangible, passing through Cloud, becoming tangible again. Still, before it reached Dumbledore and Harry or became tangible again, red blocks appeared, forming a foot covered in the boot, which slammed down, stopping the intangible sword from advancing.

“Good thing we are here. Isn’t it?” Tifa reformed between them, increasing Masamune’s gravity and that of Sephiroth, who held it, severely slowing his movement.

“Intangibility,” Sephiroth looked towards Tifa’s foot. He planned to go about another way when massive ice came towards him, sharp spikes making their way for him rose to the sky, and he flew up to dodge them, following them to find Aerith at the end, holding a red materia, and a Goddess with blue skin, standing behind her, “Shiva.”

He summoned the Masamune to him and changed his plan of action, “You can’t be beside the boy forever. I will kill him.”

“I can be,” Cloud muttered, audibly enough that those near him heard it, and those with Superhuman hearing heard it too.

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes, and it took a moment for him to understand. He turned his attention towards Harry, controlling the boy’s mind, but the burning feeling covered his body, feeling what Harry was feeling. The blood, Cloud’s blood on Harry’s face, submerged inside his body, spreading through every inch of him.

He screamed, feeling his mind twist when Sephiroth tried to take control, and then moments later, he felt himself being pushed out of his mind as a soothing feeling covered him. He held his head; his muscles squirmed, his heart was faster than 300 beats per second, and his temperature rose, burning. He thought he was suffering when all that ended abruptly, leaving only unimaginable strength the pain behind.

Cloud pierced Buster Sword in the ground, supporting himself as he rose on his feet, “I will protect him…even if I die.”

Harry bit his lips; his face was covered in tears. He wasn’t sure what it was, the searing pain he went through or Cloud’s back as he made his final declaration. His breathing had become irregular. He didn’t even know when but the memories of his mother’s sacrifice that Cloud showed him kept coming back. Sixteen years ago, he was powerless, and he could only cry as his mother sacrificed herself for him, and now, sixteen years later, he was in the same spot.

“Not again!! I won’t lose anyone again!!!”

Harry raised his wand, firing a jet stream of red light, which Sephiroth blocked with his Masamune, but it hit hard enough that even he was forced back.

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes; although the boy hadn’t learned to use it, he held power at the same level as Cloud. With those two here, and Cloud, even in a half-dead state, let alone Genesis, waiting, “Oh well. That’s the end of this chapter. 

"You might have won this battle, Cloud. But the war isn’t over."

"It’s a big world out there, and I will find a way to eliminate this limit. The next time we see…I’ll be truly alive.”

Cloud looked at him with a blurry gaze, and moments later, Sephiroth disappeared from his senses. What replaced him was a black feather that slowly floated down, falling in front of him, and he too fell with it, “He’s a sore loser.”

“Cloud! Cloud!!!”

“It’s over….” Cloud let out a breath, barely able to keep his eyes over. He heard Tifa, saw her when she knelt in front of him, but there was only one thing in his mind, ‘It’s…finally…over.’