At the end of the game, after you fight the two forms of Sephiroth, you see Cloud leave his body and go through some kind of tunnle, where he meets Sephiroth. There are three outcomes that i had in mind...

1) Sephiroth had been defeated already, after you fight the two forms, and this was more of a mental defeat, so Cloud could finally relax and know it was over, and conquer the one objective that caused him and his friends so much pain.

2) Sephiroth is still alive, preserved in the lifestream after the crater collapses, once again, a mental defeat took place.

3) Sephiroth was defeated. He exists, no longer. Cloud destroyed him once and for all.

Cloud defeating Sephiroth mentally would explain why it is impossible to lose against Sephiroth. (unless square intended it to be that way after facing the bosses before it.)

What do you think?

I always thought it was metaphorical, showing us Cloud finally defeating the Sephiroth inside him, and that everything that happens is just in his head.

Many people believe that it was all in Cloud's head at the end of the game, yet Cloud separated from himself the same way in the Temple of Ancients when he gave the black materia to Sephiroth. It certainly wasn't only in Cloud's head in the Temple of Ancients, so why do people think it's only in Cloud's head at the end of the game? If it was real the first time, why isn't it real the second time?

*Tries to remember* Was it Spirit Cloud or Real Cloud that gave him the materia at the temple?

Spirit Cloud - the Real Cloud is lying on the ground as Spirit Cloud runs to Sephiroth with the Black Materia. You also see Young Cloud standing over Real Cloud shouting, "Noooo!!!"

*Furrows brow, trying desperatly to remember* Well, if Aly says it's so, then it must be so!

It seemed very real to me also, if only because of Sephiroth's face before he was finally defeated. I don't think Cloud could have imagined that kind of real horror in Sephiroth; if it wasn't real, I think Seph would be more prone to simply disappearing. I also start to wonder about Cloud if his imaginary version of Sephiroth is shirtless. :unsure:

I think where they are and exactly what happened is open to interpretation, but I also don't see it as all in Cloud's head.

I think that its pretty much real. I mean, its like trying to defeat Ultimeticia in FF8, and you get so many forms before you fight her final form..or the true form of her..and then she babbles about time.
Also, if it wasn't real, Cloud would still be on that cliff instead of so far away and having to rescue Tifa. When it happened, he was on that same spot but afterwards, he's on the bottom. So, I think that its really real. That Cloud went to defeat Sephiroth because he still felt his presence. But then again, its not like its the end of Sephiroth, since he came back from that eternal slumber when everyone thought he died. He's just so surprising. :lol: