A pair of eyes glowed with blue-green light from the depths of a dimly lit cavern. The trace amounts of light seeping into the cave revealed a somewhat humanoid silhouette sitting cross-legged within. It would not be strange to mistake the figure for an actual human.

That is... if it weren't for the fact that the figure had two horns growing out of its head, similar to a ram's. Veins that pulsed with bluish-green light covered its horns, faintly illuminating the figure's fearsome visage.

'Interesting. That little human seemed to have gleaned information just from looking at my puppet. How very interesting.'

The figure had been observing the foreigners for quite a while now, interested in their ways. After it had coincidentally found one of their corpses, eating it had given the figure knowledge of their language, among other things — including the fact that they were called "humans". Before, the figure had referred to them as metal-skinned because of the layer of armor they always wore.

Unfortunately, it seemed that these humans had some strange thing inhabiting their souls, so the humanoid figure could barely obtain any information at all, even after it ate more.

However, the little information that it had obtained filled the figure with an overwhelming desire.

'I want to go outside.'

The figure desperately wanted to break free of the cage he was born in. He could practically feel the wish filling every fiber of his being with the urge to rush toward the exit, throwing all caution to the wind. Still, it was intelligent enough to restrain itself. To even attempt it was, after all, tantamount to suicide.

'If it weren't for that scary old bastard...'

Clicking its tongue in frustration, the figure grit its jagged teeth while commanding most of its puppets to retreat. After all, now that the tiny human had revealed its secrets, that old fellow would likely hunt down the puppets the moment he felt their gaze.

'What fearsome intuition. Sensing something's gaze? Is that normal for humans? What terrifying creatures... I really should be more careful from now on.'

Shaking its head in regret over the fact that it would have to delay its dream yet again, the figure stood up and paced around the cavern while tapping its chin — a mannerism it had learned from the memories of one of the many humans offered to its stomach.

"Hm?" The figure turned its head to the side, staring into the depths of the cave, where not even a trace of light could reach. "You've awoken. Good. Come, Nethrodal. We've much to talk about..."

"What is it this time, Sephirion...?" A deep and grating voice, as if one was gargling stones, spoke out in annoyance from beyond the darkness. Soon, the source was faintly revealed to be a hulking humanoid figure with a single horn jutting out of its forehead. The new figure was tall — much taller than Sephirion, who was already quite tall by human standards. Its torso and limbs were thrice as thick as the first figure's, while the tail dragging along behind it was akin to the trunk of a tree.

'This fool. Wasting so much time sleeping just because there's nothing to be done...'

Sephirion grimaced as it gazed upon its only ally. Preferably, it would've wanted someone who could stand as a general of sorts — someone that could function well even without orders.

'Tasks are something one should find for oneself. Opportunities are to be made. Those who can only do what they're told are not generals. They're merely soldiers. I suppose I'll have to treat Nethrodal as such.'

It was truly a shame, though. Sephirion already had plenty of puppets. What it wanted was a collaborator. Someone who could fill in what it lacked.

Instead, it had just gotten another pawn.

'Well... I suppose Nethrodal is unlike most of my other pawns. I don't have any pawns as strong as this brute.'

"So?" Nethrodal lumbered over and roughly sat down in front of where Sephirion stood, causing the cave to shake from the impact of the monstrous figure's weight. "What's the problem this time? I can sense all your puppets scurrying away from that portal. I thought you wanted to get out of this accursed place?"

"Our goal hasn't changed, my large friend." Sephirion's mouth twisted into a frown as it crossed its arms. "There are some problems, though."

"And what are these... problems?"

"Namely, that scary bastard brought along a tiny human with him. And because of the little one's help, I can no longer observe the portal as closely as I have."

Nethrodal's draconic head tilted to the side as a three-pronged tongue fell out of his gaping mouth. "I do not see the problem with that. Just kill it. Eat it. Whatever. Humans are puny things already... if a tinier one shows up, doesn't that mean it's easy prey?"

"The damage has already been done. That old bastard can do the rest with his frightening senses."

"Oh... then we'll just kill that man too. I've been itching to fight him all this time, but you keep telling me not to..."

"You are falling into your usual thought processes again, Nethrodal." Sephirion wagged a finger in the air — another gesture it had learned from humans it ate. "Just because it is smaller than you, doesn't mean it will be easy to deal with. That scary guy beyond the portal is a wonderful example. Are you confident you can beat him?"

The titan bared its fangs, rows of sharp teeth peeking out of its wide mouth. "Of course."

'Fool. That's what the other one said. What was the result of that? Utter failure.'

Sephirion resisted the urge to shake its head and sneer at Nethrodal, lest its actions provoke the hot-headed imbecile. Even if Nethrodal wasn't an actual threat, it would still be an enormous waste of time to deal with the aftermath.

So instead, Sephirion smiled, baring fangs of its own. "Then what about me? Are you confident in dealing with me?"

Silence reigned in the cave as Nethrodal's scaly face twisted into what seemed like an expression of contemplation. In the end, the hulking monstrosity let out a low growl while settling down, shoulder's slumped.

"You're a tricky opponent, Sephirion. I don't want to have to fight you at all. I'm not even sure if what I'm looking at is your real body..."

'That's correct. This isn't my real body. Why does an idiot like you have such sharp intuition? Is that it? Do smart people just not have it? Am I too smart?'

Sephirion shook its head free of idle thoughts and nodded. "Right? That old man might also have tricks, same as me. Fighting him may not be as easy as it seems, y'know?"

'There's also the fact that I've seen him fight. So I can confirm you aren't his match... That is, if you were alone...'

Common sense would dictate that all Sephirion had to do would be to team up with Nethrodal to fight against the scary old man, but it wasn't that simple. It was never that simple.

'I'm a weakling, after all.'

Despite the fact that he was at the same level of evolution as Nethrodal, Sephirion was much weaker than the hulking giant. The other metal-wrapped humans — the ones that could fly, at least — that usually entered through the portal could kill Sephirion relatively easily. However, this did not mean Sephirion was useless.

Sephirion's strength lay in his various abilities, which had helped it survive such an inhospitable environment — where existence was a constant struggle against its own kind and the very land it was born in.

'Well... No matter how impressive I am, it isn't enough to deal with that hateful old geezer.'

Gnashing its teeth, Sephirion couldn't help but think back to all of his failed attempts. It had tried quite literally everything against the ancient swordsman: sneaking through; harassment through constant waves made up of its own kin; luring particularly strong kin into the portal's location; luring a lot of strong kin into the portal's location.

Hell, Sephirion had even tried multiple things at once. After luring a particularly strong member of its kin — it was a fellow humanoid, at that! — and even gathering the most massive army Sephirion had ever seen, Sephirion still wasn't able to sneak through the portal because of some kind of barrier.

'They're very well-prepared, these humans... I suppose it's to be expected of creatures that are so similar to me.'

Sephirion was actually quite fond of humans. It was mainly because of the similarities they shared with it. In fact, Sephirion was under the impression that someone had made these creatures in its image!

'Once I've made it out of this blasted place, I'll be sure to keep some as pets. I can't wait...'

"Sephirion..." Nethrodal frowned as it called out. "You're lost in your own head again."

"Oh. Silly me." Sephirion chuckled as it sat down, leaning its slender back against the cave's wall. "Where were we?"

"You were saying how that skinny bastard might have tricks like you."

"And do you agree? Or do you still think you can deal with him easily?"

Nethrodal growled low once again before turning its head away. "I'll admit it. Maybe it'll be a little hard. Only a little, though."

'I suppose this is a good start. What was an appropriate human expression for this... ah! A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. How profound.'

Perhaps educating this mass of muscle would not be a fruitless endeavor after all.

Sephirion decided to push the point further, trying to instill caution into the hot-headed titan. "And think about this, my large friend. What if there are others? Other — Transcendents, the humans call them — that are just like that old man? What would we do then?"

"Hmm..." Nethrodal frowned in thought before muttering, "If there were more, then they should have already shown themselves..."

"Perhaps you're right." Sephirion pointed a clawed finger at itself. "Again, let's look at me, shall we? I've been hiding my existence from the old man, haven't I? He knows about you since he's seen you once before. But not me. What if there were humans that thought just like I did?"

"... You're right." Nethrodal exhaled deeply, a plume of bluish-green mist streaming out of his mouth.

Sephirion smiled as he gazed at his pawn. "It's good that you understood my point. We must be careful, Nethrodal. These humans have been fending off our kind since before you or I were even born. They cannot be underestimated. We must think — use the weapon that separates us from most of our kin."

The draconic giant nodded its head. "I'm not good at thinking, so I'll do what you say, Sephirion. But what can we do?"

"That..." Sephirion hung his head low while chuckling. "is something I'm still thinking about. Shut up and let me think."

"Hrmm...." Nethrodal nodded again before shifting into a more comfortable position, leaning against the wall. "I'm hungry."

As if answering the question he didn't ask, Sephirion pointed to the cave entrance, where a swarm of hawk-like creatures — Nightmare Spawns, the humans called them — worked together to hold what looked like a worm. The worm was easily the length of multiple trees attached from end to end. It squirmed in protest, struggling to free itself from its avian captors.

"Perfect." Nethrodal opened its mouth wide, sucking in the worms and the entire flock of Sephirion's puppets.

"Hey. Those were my puppets."

"Sorry." Nethrodal its snout before burping, looking entirely unapologetic. "Couldn't tell them apart from the normal weaklings."

'Like hell you couldn't.'

Still, it wasn't much of a big deal. Sephirion could just get more. There were plenty of them to go around.

'Now... I need to think of another plan...'

Leaving the idiot to its own devices, Sephirion wracked his brain while stroking its chin and humming a tune he'd learned from a knight with musician parents. Sephirion thought, and thought, and thought, and thought some more. Until, finally, after hours of thinking, it finally came up with something it could be satisfied with.

"Nethrodal," Sephirion called out.

"Hrm...?" Nethrodal's eyes opened as it drowsily sat up. The fool hadn't been able to wait and fell asleep.

Holding back the insults in its heart before they could make it past its throat, Sephirion took a deep breath before asking, "You left those human-like things alone, right?"

"Which ones?"

"The ones that live here."

"Oh, those things..." The scaly giant scratched its head in thought for a while, testing Sephirion's patience, before Nethrodal finally nodded. "Yeah. I ate one of them and then backed off. It's been a while since then..."

"Great. Then do you still remember where they are?"

"They kinda move around a lot, but I think I can find them."

Sephirion smiled. "Wonderful. Then I want you to do that."

"Okay..." Nethrodal stood up, almost scraping the ceiling with its horn. "And then what do I do?"

"Protect them. Make sure they don't get wiped out."

The hulking giant tilted its head. "Protect...? Why should I?"

"Because I told you so." Sephirion rolled its eyes and shooed off its idiotic pawn. "I have plans for them. All you have to do is protect them and I'll do the rest."

"Alright... but what do I do with the, uhm... What were they called again? Tran... Tranny-thingy?"

"Transcendent. It's 'Transcendent', you buffoon. You, me, and that old bastard are all Transcendents. Get it right, for the love of..."

"Right. That. What do I do if one of those comes along?"

Sephirion had to take a moment to ponder the answer to that question. To be honest, it was the best-case scenario if the Transcendent Nightmares were left alone. Even if they couldn't be controlled by Sephirion's ability, they could still be lured into fighting Sephirion's enemies. It was something Sephirion had been doing for a long time now.

However, Sephirion was convinced that Nethrodal wouldn't be as invested in the job if there weren't any benefits.

"Fine. You can eat a few." Sehpirion relented, shaking its head with exasperation.

"Hehehe. That's what I'm talking about..." Nethrodal licked its snout again, the glow of its eyes intensifying. "It's been a while since I've eaten any... You always send them to that old man. I still remember that whale. That could've lasted me for months!"

"Yes, yes. It was dealt with quite easily too, much to my regret. Anyway, if I remember correctly, those human-like things that live here had a Transcendent amongst them, yes?"

"That's right. Just one, though. Not as strong as the old guy... I think." Nethrodal said hesitantly. "Not sure though. Maybe they have tricks..."

'The fool's learning.'

Sephirion couldn't help but smile at the strongest pawn's growth, although minuscule. "Then I want you to let one Transcendent through from time to time. Just so they don't get suspicious."

"Alright..." Nethrodal reluctantly agreed before stomping its way over to the outside. "I'll be off, then."

"Take care." Sephirion casually waved the giant off before sinking back into its own thoughts.

'I want those human-like things to be safe, but I can't have them being too comfortable either. A sense of urgency... desperation... They cannot lose these, otherwise, my plan won't work.'

While stroking its chin and hashing out the details of his grand plan, Sephirion commanded the majority of his puppets toward the general direction of the human-like entities, all while wondering how such weaklings survived in such an accursed place.

From what Sephiroth understood, the human-like residents of Outland — yet another term he learned from the old bastard's allies — were the original denizens of this world before Sehphirion's kin started appearing in it. Now, their numbers were few and their continued existence was without guarantee.

'I pity them. After all, once upon a time, I also had to scurry around hiding from all these monsters.'

Outland was a dog-eat-dog world — literally, since Nightmares ate each other to become stronger and evolve into higher beings. Even a special existence like Sephirion was not exempt from this rule.

'But they had the benefit of a pack. While I was always alone.'

That was why Sephirion envied these creatures. Sephirion had always wanted fellows worthy of trust, fellows that would protect it.

Fellows that would do everything Sephirion wanted.

'Perhaps that's why I obtained my ability? Well, it doesn't matter...'

From now on, Sephirion would have to stay away from that old bastard with the sharp metal thing that didn't seem to break no matter what was thrown at it. But that didn't mean Sephirion would be idle. Instead of constantly keeping watch over the portal and all that left through it, Sephirion would be busying itself with shepherding the human-like residents to an appropriate area.

And then, it would wait. It would patiently wait for the final piece that would set the gears of its plan in motion.

'Come here, little human boy. And make sure to take your keen eyes with you. I shall wait for you, my precious ticket to out of this accursed place...'

Sephirion chuckled as its mouth widened and a long slit opened in its forehead, revealing another eye. Eventually, chuckling turned into a cackle that echoed in the cave, reaching even its deepest depths. The humanoid Nightmare's three eyes glowed blindingly, illuminating the darkness with blue-green radiance.

'Please come to me.'