Johnny walked along the dusty path cutting through the market toward the old Church.
One year had passed since the incident at the logistics warehouse, and time seemed to have treated Johnny's body differently than other teenagers his age. At fifteen—the same age Guts had first plunged into the battlefield as a full-fledged mercenary—Johnny had metamorphosed.
He now stood at a towering 190 cm, a genetic anomaly that forced the adults in the market to crane their necks just to speak to him. His frame wasn't just tall; it was thick and dense. Every inch of muscle had been forged by swinging a hundred-kilogram slab of iron thousands of times. His face had hardened, the jawline sharp and defined as if chiseled from granite, shedding the last traces of childhood softness.
On his left cheek sat a long, jagged red line—a scar that hadn't yet fully faded. It was a "gift" from a young Behemoth (different from the first one) that had wandered into Sector 6, a side job from the Turks that had nearly cost him an eye.
His heavy footsteps halted when the massive Shinra monitor in the center of the market suddenly flared to life, cutting off a commercial for 'Potion' energy drinks.
A digital siren wailed.
"URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR ALL CITIZENS OF MIDGAR."
The Shinra logo spun, replaced by the stiff, impassive face of a spokesperson from the Department of Public Security.
"The Shinra Electric Power Company reports a limited security disturbance caused by an armed terrorist group in the outskirts of Midgar."
The image on the screen shifted to grainy footage of several figures in SOLDIER uniforms attacking a Shinra outpost. However, their faces were obscured or blurred out.
"This group has been identified as former members of a military unit who have lost mental stability due to illegal Mako exposure and substance abuse. They are now acting outside the law."
The spokesperson's voice emphasized every word with a tone of disdain.
"These individuals—whom we have designated as 'Mass Deserters'—are no longer part of the noble active SOLDIER program. They represent neither the honor, the discipline, nor the strength of Shinra."
"Shinra security units, including the Turks and SOLDIER 1st Class, have been fully deployed to neutralize this threat. We guarantee that this is an isolated incident. There is no widespread threat to the public."
The screen returned to the classic propaganda slogan: 'Shinra: Protecting Your Future.'
Johnny snorted roughly and resumed walking.
"Crazy..." he muttered under his breath. "Just last year, the Turks and I were busy cleaning up AVALANCHE's mess. The Wutai War was just officially declared 'over'... and now there are SOLDIERs turning traitor?"
He exhaled a long breath, white steam escaping his mouth into the cold morning air.
"This world never runs out of ways to create war," Johnny thought. "But at least... in this world, I have a place to come home to. I fight monsters because I choose to protect, not just to scrape by for coin like the war dog I used to be."
As he walked, Johnny reflected on the last year of his life.
He had become a sort of secret "sweeper" for Reno and Rude. Hundreds of failed experimental monsters flushed into the sewers by Shinra had met their end at the edge of the Dragon Slayer. And there was something strange—every time he killed a powerful monster, his body felt like it was absorbing something. Perhaps it was their residual Lifestream, or maybe a side effect of living in a city full of Mako reactors. What was clear was that he was getting stronger. Far stronger than any normal human being.
His thoughts shifted to Aerith.
The girl was always whining about wanting to join the hunt. "I'm not a princess to be locked in a tower, Johnny!" she had said back then.
Johnny finally allowed it, but with strict conditions: only weak monsters around the Sector 5 Church. He was still traumatized by the thought of the Soulbound. If Aerith suddenly decided to swap wounds or share her life force with him again, Johnny wouldn't be able to forgive himself.
Because of that, Johnny became obsessive about defense.
Embedded in the Dragon Slayer and his custom monster-leather bangle were rows of expensive support Materia:
Vitality Up and Spirit Up to harden his skin and mind against physical and magical attacks.
HP Up so his body could withstand massive amounts of damage.
Block Materia for absolute defensive techniques.
The logic was simple: If I don't bleed, Aerith won't feel pain through the Lifestream Bond. Even though the Soulbound exchange was technically still possible, he ensured that in battle, Aerith only used Cure on him or skills that didn't use her own body as a resource.
Johnny also bought an MP Up materia (since his natural MP capacity was about the size of a teaspoon, just enough for one emergency Curaga).
And for Aerith... Johnny offered a faint smile as he recalled the events of last week.
He had bought Aerith a top-quality set of Ice, Lightning, & Wind materia, along with a Mythril Bangle slotted with HP Up and MP Up. He presented it all to her in the living room, right in front of Elmyra.
("Consider this a down payment on the marriage dowry," Johnny had said with a completely flat, innocent face.)
Elmyra had laughed so hard she choked on her tea. "You're only fifteen, Johnny! Are you trying to marry my daughter or draft her into a war?!"
The woman had grabbed a broom from the corner and swatted Johnny's butt playfully. "Get a real job first, then talk about dowries!"
Aerith had laughed until she held her stomach, while Puck and Ivalera—still hiding—giggled as they watched 'The Black Swordsman' get beaten with a broom by a housewife.
Johnny smiled to himself at the memory.
"You've got some nerve, Boss," Puck's squeaky voice came from his jacket pocket. The elf popped his head out. "The old you would have just stood there and scowled. The 'Guts' I knew would never make a joke about marriage."
Johnny tapped Puck's head gently with one finger.
"You're right, Puck. Here... I'm different."
He had lived in Midgar for two years now. Johnny recognized the change. The old Guts was a fortress built of trauma and pain, sealed tight against the world. The current Johnny was more open.
Although the Lower Sector Slums were filthy, impoverished, and full of thugs, the atmosphere was different from his old world. In the old world (Berserk), hunger meant death. Sickness was divine punishment. And every night was a terror of being eaten by demons.
Here? Neighbors shared soup when someone was short on food. Market thugs greeted him with respect (and fear). Children laughed as they chased rats.
Johnny looked around. He saw a mother hanging laundry between chaotic power lines, humming a soft tune.
"There is still light in their eyes," Johnny thought. "They are poor, they are oppressed by Shinra, but their eyes aren't dead. Not like the eyes of the people in Midland after the Eclipse."
"As long as that light exists," Johnny gripped the handle of his sword, "I will ensure it doesn't go out."
The old Church came into view at the end of the road. Johnny quickened his pace. Aerith was surely waiting.