The Story of Victoria Strife

Chapter 8: Shadows in the Blood

The air in the room was suffocating. The weight of Sephiroth's presence hung heavily, his mere existence creating a tension that made it difficult to breathe. Victoria sat on the cold floor, still recovering from the fight and the abduction, but her mind was racing. She could feel the cold gaze of the remnants fixed on her, a predator sizing up its prey.

Kadaj smirked, his piercing eyes never leaving hers. "You must have a lot of questions, Victoria," he said softly, his voice dripping with malice. "About us. About why you're so... important to them."

Yazoo and Loz flanked him, watching her closely, but it was the looming shadow of Sephiroth behind them that sent a chill down her spine. His green eyes, glowing faintly with Mako, seemed to peer right into her soul, making her feel as though every secret she held was laid bare before him.

Victoria forced herself to sit up straighter, her body aching from the earlier battle. "You're nothing more than remnants," she spat, refusing to show any weakness. "Why should I care about your games?"

Kadaj's smirk widened, and he leaned forward, closer to her. "Oh, you will care. Because we share more than just a name in common, Strife."

Victoria's pulse quickened. "What do you mean?"

Loz stepped forward, his brutish figure intimidating but his face wearing a childish grin. "We're all experiments, you know. Like you. We were made—born from Sephiroth's will, from Jenova's cells."

A cold knot formed in Victoria's stomach. She didn't want to believe it, but deep down, part of her knew they weren't wrong. The years she spent in Shinra's labs, subjected to experimentation that she tried so hard to forget, had left her marked. She had been altered—her very being changed at a fundamental level. She wasn't like her brother, Cloud, or even like Vincent. She was a product of something darker.

"I'm nothing like you," she whispered, though her voice wavered.

Kadaj stood abruptly, his smirk vanishing, replaced by a cold, focused expression. "Oh, but you are. You're not just Cloud's sister, Victoria. You're part of something much larger—something you can't escape from."

Sephiroth, still standing in the shadows, finally spoke. His voice was soft, almost a whisper, but it commanded the room. "You carry within you the same essence. The same potential for power, for greatness."

Victoria shook her head, standing on shaky legs. "I won't let you control me. I've spent my life fighting against that."

Sephiroth's lips curved into the faintest smile, but it was devoid of warmth. "You misunderstand, Victoria. It's not about control. It's about destiny. You were never meant to fight it."

Suddenly, the room seemed to tilt. The walls spun, and Victoria felt her legs give out beneath her. She crumpled to the floor, her vision darkening once more. But before she lost consciousness, she heard Kadaj's voice, quiet and cruel.

"You'll come to understand soon enough. We all did."

When Victoria awoke, she was no longer in the strange, Mako-lit room. Instead, she found herself lying on a soft bed, the familiar creak of wood around her. Blinking against the light filtering in through the window, she recognized Vincent's mansion. Her heart raced as she sat up, her body still aching but her mind sharper than before.

She was back.

The room was empty, but the door creaked open as Vincent entered, his crimson cloak trailing behind him. His expression was grave, as though he had been waiting for her to wake. He moved to her side, kneeling beside the bed, his intense gaze softening slightly.

"You're safe now," he said quietly, his voice filled with a quiet reassurance that only Vincent could give.

Victoria reached up, rubbing her temples as the memory of what happened started flooding back. "The remnants... Sephiroth... I—"