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Sephiroth, hearing her stumble, glanced over his shoulder toward her. Seeming to ignore the fact that she had done something that could be used to embarass her, he calmly asked, "Do you not find it amusing, as well?"

Smirking, he shrugged. "Perhaps. I was speaking about the battle that occurred here. What fools actually thought that such an attempt would actually create effective warriors?"

"The very fact that the Jenova cells could not control them proves just how faulty they are in their own design. The original members of SOLDIER were fearless and powerful, yes, but it was the driving of the Jenova cells that made them so. Without that drive, the cells were useless. With these, the Jenova cells are prevented from driving them. They get no use from the cells. However, it is only a matter of time before they fall to the same fate as the original members of SOLDIER." Tilting his head, he glanced around, then stepped further inside. "As for the fate of the Black Materia..such talk is not good for the open, where any ears might hear.."

"I can stop them as I am, now, yes. But it would take more effort than they are worth. Therefore, I intend to...train myself further. However, by the time I am finished, they may well be suffering the effects of their faulty origin." Glancing around the house, he walked further in, himself, and leaned back against the railing next to the staircase. "As for the Black Materia, you do not have to worry about it being found. When..it was used the last time..it was inside a condensing mass of mako, which was surrounding my body....the Black Materia was diluted within the mako...losing its Meteor ability...however...the mako recondensed it....within my bloodstream...it gave me further power than what I already had..that was how I gained abilities not available by normal means of materia use.."

"Neither of you can provide the skill necessary for me to battle. I shall go to the northern crater. I will be finished training when the crater is no longer infested with monsters." Pushing away from the railing, he moved to the door. "I cannot guarantee another Meteor not happening. Think of how many Bolt materias there are...odds are, another Black Materia may be condensing somewhere. You ought to prepare, as well." So saying, he left abruptly, darting through the air toward his intended training location.

Hardly twenty meters from the edge of the town of Icicle, the air began to ripple. This may not have been noticeable at first, but as this was because the air itself was increasing to temperatures well beyond the noon sands of the desert, the snow beneath the roiling air mass began to melt. As the air continued to increase in temperature, even the permafrost thawed, allowing the grasses that had once grown in this land before it became frozen to once again be exposed to the open air. They did not last long, however, as they were almost instantly reduced to ash.

As it was, everything within a ten-foot circle seemed to be nearing the temperature of an inferno's core, yet everything outside remained the same, sub-zero chill. The air itself within the circle ignited, forming a massive pyre, reaching well over fourty feet into the air. At the base of the blaze, black crystals began to sprout from the ground, forming a cocoon-like structure in the midst of the blaze. Once this formation had grown over eleven feet in height, the blaze instantly flickered, then died, allowing the cold to crash inward toward the newly-formed object. It very much looked as if it were made from onyx, the black, glass-like surface reflecting everything around it. The cold, however, could only come so close, unable to enter within four feet of the object. Within the distance was not an inferno, however, but merely the temperature of a warm summer's day.

Inside the black, glass-like object, fire again flared up, but stayed perfectly within the crystal. The fire continued to blaze strongly, although the object gave off no heat. Toward the top, approximately ten feet high, two more points of flame ignited, forming into two rings which seemed to peer through the crystal, darting about as they "studied" the surrounding area.

When the flaming rings turned to her, the entire crystal became wrinkled, as if made from a cloth-like material, despite having been perfectly smooth not moments before. Parting at the side that faced toward her, the entire crystalline surface, inner flames and all, was moved away, spreading out like massive wings. What they were attached to, however, had until that moment been hidden beneath them. A rather large individual, ten feet in height, stood before her. His hair, raven-black, flowed down to the middle of his back, while his bangs, made of the purest silver, were draped to either side of his face, reaching only to his chin. His eyes were solid black orbs, in which the flaming rings blazed, serving as irises. He wore a billowing, black cloak, beneath which could be seen only a portion of a bright red yukata. His feet, visible just past the lower edge of the cloak were heavily booted. As what had been the surface of the massive crystale folded behind his back, becoming wings, they became perfectly transparent, seeming to vanish from reality. However, occasionally they would twitch, seeming to distort space, revealing that they were still there.