How could Sephiroth possibly survive?

[FullmetalHeart20]

This is something that's been bugging me lately. After Sephiroth dies the first time, he's in the lifestream for years. The second time, same thing happens. So how come, after dropping meteor, killing what's implied to be thousands of people, and being the greatest embodiment of JENOVA, he just walks away from that in one piece?
I mean, really. Every eternal soul in the lifestream should have been trying to wreck him. Maybe the spirits of the Cetra could have tried to protect the planet from JENOVA, even in death. But Square doesn't even seem to touch it. Countless souls in the lifestream, and only Aerith seems to put up a fight.

 

[poker king46]

for advent children he is able to return by sheer force of will. note that at the end of the game...


SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!















when sephiroth first dies he does go to the lifestream but instead of green he disappears red. which is rather odd if you ask me

at the end of the movie he doesn't show either, he disappears in a cloud of feathers.

it's possible that his will is simply too strong for the lifestream to take. the same could be said of arieth as for sephirth to subdue her.

 

[Dragon Mage]

I thought you had read my thread on FF7. It does answer your question but for the sake of brevity, I shall answer you here.

When Sephiroth died the first time, it was when Cloud threw him into the mako at the Nibelheim reactor. Sephiroth's physical body is dead at this time. His soul/spirit/conciousness -- whatever you want to call it -- does NOT merge with the Lifestream as it normally should. Through sheer force of will, he does not melt into the Lifestream and become a passive blend of everlasting memory. Instead, he retains his identity, probably fueled by his rage and desire for revenge. He stays this way for 5 years, seeking ways to effect the living world.

If you wish to think of him as a ghost, that would be a fairly proper analogy. He is a ghost, just pure spirit at this point, and unable to interact with the physical, living world in any way, yet still able to observe it.

So, in fact, Sephiroth did not survive. He died. But his spirit endured.

Also, Sephiroth is not an embodiment of Jenova. As I explain in great detail in my plot analysis thread, but long story short, Jenova is a shapeshifter and though the mind of that alien entity has died and is gone, the body remains, still alive but dormant. Jenova is the inverse of Sephiroth's state at this time -- Sephiroth is a mind without a body and Jenova is a body without a mind. Sephiroth finds a way to enter Jenova's body or control it from the Lifestream and makes it shapeshift to look like him. That is why you see Sephiroth walking around in the game even though he is physically dead. It is not his body -- merely Jenova's body that has been made to look like his.

As for the movie, that is more complicated to explain. In the final moments of the game, when Cloud and Sephiroth faced off in a spiritual/pyschic battle, Cloud defeats Sephiroth. Sephiroth's mind/spirit shatters into 3 distinct pieces (Loz, Kadaj, Yazoo) which are merely splinters of his true personality. These splinters (literally Remnants of Sephiroth) manage to manifest out of some scant few Jenova cells and corrupted mako. They require more Jenova cells to truly unite and become Sephiroth once more. This is almost like another Reunion of sorts. It also reasonably explains how Loz and Yazoo appeared so suddenly when Kadaj 'dies'. They had most likely been unified into a singular entity that is Sephiroth -- the spirit from which they originally came from -- but when that spirit fractured again, they were returned to their Remnant state. Cloud had no idea that when Kadaj was defeated, two more Remnants would appear behind him.

As for how Sephiroth was not immediately mobbed by the spirits of the Lifestream, that is difficult to answer. Very little is said about the Lifestream and the afterlife in general, but it is largely suggested that upon death, a person doesn't so much cease to be as they actually 'melt' into the Lifestream. The spirit/person is still there, it's just very diffuse. Aerith, being more in tune with the workings of the Lifestream, and having such a vested interest in maintaining an active hand in the living world, is like Sephiroth, and she did not 'melt' into the Lifestream. That is why she, and only she, fought him in the Lifestream. She was likely the only one there that knew better and could take action.

 

[Blank]

Was actually going to post pretty much exactly what you said. I think it was your thread that I read a while ago. Very interesting read, especially since I can completely understand what Jenova is now, since The Thing is one of my favourite movies. Thanks for clarifying and solidifying a good story!

 

[Dragon Mage]

I'm glad this cleared things up for you and that you enjoyed my thread. It's good to find another fan of The Thing -- it makes explaining what Jenova is so much easier, especially when people know what it is. You are very welcome.