rynling | Sometimes stories with less lore... are better

I’ve been learning a lot of Sephiroth lore via the scripts of minor FFVII spin-off games in order to write fanfic, and I’m not sure I appreciate that this lore exists.

I don’t really understand what Jenova’s ultimate goal is, but it essentially seems to be an extraterrestrial chaos demon that eats civilizations. The ancient Cetra managed to seal it, but they couldn’t kill it. While searching for traces of the lost Cetra civilization, Shinra scientists found Jenova and mistook it for the remains of a Cetra, a people who were naturally gifted in channeling the lifestream. When the Shinra scientists injected Jenova cells into their fellow humans in an attempt to recreate the magical gifts of the Cetra, the test subjects temporarily grew stronger but ultimately lost their minds. This is lore established in the original game, and it's fine.

However, in addition: In the two thousand years since it was sealed, Jenova has occasionally managed to travel through the lifestream and influence humans by taking the form of “spirits.” Five hundred years prior to the beginning of the game, these spirits inspired a swordsmith to create the Masamune, a deeply cursed weapon that Sephiroth later claims as his own during Shinra’s war with Wutai. In some sort of dream quest, Sephiroth came to an agreement with the spirits, who allowed him to wield the sword.

What this additional lore suggests is that the Nibelheim incident happened because Jenova has been directly communicating with Sephiroth... through his 500yo special magical sword. I mean like. I guess??