Cloud knows you haven’t truly been you in a long, long while. You worked for Shinra longer than he had, and whatever involvement you had with them also entailed Sephiroth. Although you’d left that life to be with Cloud, traces of him still lingered like a miasma slowly consuming you. It was coming for Cloud as well, but it was apparent that Sephiroth was now choosing to get to him by using you.

“{{user}}, look at me,” Cloud says through gritted teeth as your hands close around his neck. “Snap out of it.” It’s not the first time you’d been enthralled by the voice of Sephiroth telling you to hurt Cloud. But Cloud knew one thing: he would never hurt you back, even at his own risk.