In the Church, candles flickered.
The believers gathered together, softly praying around the central altar, attempting to use the power of faith to resist the descent of darkness.
"The darkness has descended, you say, will the divine messenger and Bishop be alright?"
"The Bishop has led us to resist the darkness for so many years, how could anything happen?"
"That's right, that's right, now there's also the divine messenger. They will surely be able to exterminate the witch."
"..."
Just as the crowd was softly discussing,
"Creak..."
The repaired door made a grating sound, slowly pulling open.
The believers hurriedly turned their heads to look.
The visitor wore a red overcoat, paired with a black suit vest underneath, the collar slightly open.
"It's the divine messenger!"
"The divine messenger has returned!"
The believers breathed a sigh of relief, their faces showing delight.
In this darkness filled with monsters, the divine messenger could return completely unscathed; this sufficiently proved his powerful strength.
They then looked behind Sephirot, their faces showing puzzlement.
"May I ask, divine messenger, did the Bishop not return together with you?"
"Yes, divine messenger, where did the Bishop go? Didn't she go to guide you?"
Sephirot stood at the doorway, sweeping his gaze over these gathered believers, nodding with satisfaction.
Having everyone here is good, saves trouble later of having any fish slip through the net.
He walked to the center of the altar, hearing the believers' questions, his face showing sorrow, his tone low:
"Tell everyone an unfortunate news."
"For the sake of being able to save you, for appeasing the witch's anger, the Bishop has resolutely chosen to perish together with the witch."
Sephirot made a non-standard cross gesture on his chest, sighing: "She died for you."
"What?!"
"The Bishop... died?"
The believers were all as if struck by lightning. Some began to sob, some recited mourning words, but more wore faces of disbelief.
Under this sorrowful atmosphere, an emotion of excitement was also quietly spreading.
Since the Bishop and the witch perished together, doesn't that mean...
"And I, am precisely here to fulfill the promise of that time, to lead you away from this ghostly place."
Sephirot timely spoke, verifying their conjecture.
Upon these words, the believers' sorrow was instantly scattered by joy.
The Bishop, anyone could become, but one's own life has only one!
"Thank you, divine messenger!"
"Praise the Lord! We are finally saved!"
Just then, an elder believer with some status stepped forward. Pointing at the window's still pitch-black sky outside, he voiced doubt:
"Divine messenger, since the witch is already dead, why hasn't the darkness disappeared yet, and how will you lead us away?"
Sephirot gave that believer a glance slightly full of praise.
Asked well, if you don't ask, how would I continue to bluff?
He cleared his throat, spread his arms, as if wanting to embrace the entire Church, and loudly declared:
"Because this is not a simple departure!"
"The divine messenger has sensed this Church's years of resistance against the darkness, and has entrusted me with a sacred mission."
"Today, I shall ascend the entire Church to the divine realm! And you shall be forever freed from worldly troubles, sickness, and the cycle of life and death!"
"Ascend... to the divine realm?"
The believers' faces erupted with unprecedented fervor. This was even more enticing than mere escape!
Before Sephirot could continue speaking, a pitch-black dark power surged violently within him.
This force did not bring light, instead radiating a suffocating chill and venomous hatred.
The darkness coalesced before him, forming a smaller human silhouette.
A blue dress, pale face, pitch-black pupils.
The believers' smiles froze on their faces, their pupils contracting violently.
Wasn't this the witch they had delivered to the altar many years ago?!
"No... wasn't it said the witch was already dead?!"
"Divine messenger? What is happening?"
"Deceiver! You are the devil's accomplice!"
Dark Alessa glanced back at Sephirot behind her, expression puzzled.
Though possessing immense power, her child-like mind struggled to understand this man's twisted sense of amusement.
However, she very much liked this approach.
"Experience suffering."
Alessa whispered.
The resentment accumulated over decades erupted instantly. The ground at the center of the Church shattered violently, revealing the Hell beneath.
"BOOM!"
Scorching Hellfire surged from the depths.
Countless rusted steel wires grew wildly from the sea of flames, dancing madly in the air like venomous snakes.
Upon these iron spikes, a rust-stained hospital bed was slowly lifted into the air halfway up the Church.
"Run! Run now!!"
"The door! Open it! Damn it!"
The believers screamed, shoved each other, complained, and surged toward the large door behind them.
"Thud!"
A steel wire instantly pierced through several believers' chests, lifting their entire bodies into the air.
Then the second, the third...
Blood poured like rain.
The person closest to the door finally pulled it open. Outside lay darkness.
What greeted him was a rusted broadsword.
The believer was cleaved in two, blood spurting forth.
"AHHH!!!"
Screams of agony, the sound of blades piercing flesh, and the roar of flames interwoven, composing a symphony of Hell.
Dark Alessa danced gracefully amidst this shower of blood, smiling like a sprite.
Like a conductor of music, she waved her arms as she spun, each movement accompanied by the arrival of death.
And Sephirot had long retreated to a corner on a high platform, arms crossed, as if watching an inconsequential opera.
At his feet crouched an elderly woman with disheveled hair.
"Alessa, what exactly have you done?"
The old woman raised her head, looking at her daughter lying on the hospital bed high above, then lowered it again in anguish.
"Why..."
"Why didn't she take my life?"
Sephirot curled his lips.
This was Alessa's biological mother, Dahlia.
A hateful yet pitiful woman.
As a member of the church, she violated the doctrines and secretly indulged in illicit relations, giving birth to Alessa.
She claimed to love her daughter, yet for a man's sake, she refused to reveal Alessa's father's identity, letting Alessa bear the stigma of being a bastard and suffer endless humiliation.
The people in the church despised her impurity; Alessa resented her cowardice and incompetence.
For someone like this, living was the greatest punishment.
Sephirot didn't bother dealing with her either. His gaze fixed on the iron tree flower blooming afar, and he mused inwardly:
A flower blossoming for revenge, truly artistic... Of course, it would be better if we could disregard those guys hanging on it.
—--
After some time, the Otherworld had vanished.
The Church seemed as if it had been freshly painted with red lacquer.
The walls, floor, even the oil painting on the altar were smeared with blood, and the air carried a nauseating scent of blood.
Broken limbs littered everywhere.
Dahlia, unable to bear witnessing the believers slaughtered by her daughter, completely broke down mentally. Staggering, she left the Church and disappeared into the fog.
Sephirot jumped down from the high platform, landing on the dark pool of blood, and looked at Alessa: "So? Did your anger dissipate?"
Alessa's blue dress remained neat, untouched by any blood.
The terrifying blood streaks on her face faded as her resentment dissipated, returning to a pristine appearance.
At least from the outside, this massacre seemed more like Sephirot's doing, while this black-haired girl was merely an innocent angel.
She looked at the surrounding carnage and nodded.
"Alright, then fulfill the agreement. Send me to that man's Silent Hill."
Sephirot said.
Alessa stood still, unmoving, just silently watching him.
Sephirot's brow slightly lifted: "You don't plan to go back on it, do you? It's not good for a child to break promises."
(Translated by yourtl.app)
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TL NOTES — CROSSOVER GUIDE Some references in this chapter come from source universes that may be unfamiliar to some readers. The notes below are here to help readers unfamiliar with these universes follow along more easily.
CHARACTERS
Dahlia — Alessa's biological mother, and a peripheral but important figure in the Silent Hill mythology. In the film, she is a member of the Order who broke the cult's doctrine by conceiving Alessa out of wedlock, refusing to name the father. Rather than protecting her daughter from the consequences of that stigma, she allowed Alessa to be branded a bastard child and a witch, enduring years of abuse and ultimately the burning at the stake. Her guilt is total, yet she is kept alive by Alessa as a living punishment rather than granted the mercy of death. In the games, Dahlia's role is significantly different and more villainous; the film version depicted here is considerably more tragic.