Making sense of the ending in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is no small task – but the question that is surely on everyone’s lips is whether everyone’s favorite Ancient Aerith still dies at the end of the game.
The ending of Disc One in the original 1997 version turned out to be one of the most iconic moments in gaming – and almost 30 years later it still remains a spoiler, but much of the game’s narrative insightfully relies on both our own knowledge and perhaps even that of the protagonist. about her death, which I highly praised in our glowing review.
However, things aren’t always as simple as you’d like them to be, and Rebirth’s willingness to play around with its own story causes the world to fall apart into different pieces – so if you’ve just finished and want to make sense of it – or just want to find out what’s going on with Aerith, read on because below you will find all the answers and your own interpretations.
SPOILER WARNING: Both Aerith’s fate and the ending of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth are heavily teased below. Only continue if you have completed the game or can’t wait to find out what happens because I’m revealing everything.
Will Aerith die?
Although it’s true Aerith continues to die at the hands of Sephiroth in the Forgotten Capital, at the same time, he also survives in another timeline which is created when the Cloud changes fate.
It’s quite a complicated ending creates multiple new timelines and realities in which Aerith’s fate changes. When Cloud breaks through the Whispers and blocks Masamune’s approaching attack, Aerith is “rescued” – but that’s only one timeline, and we quickly see that Aerith is actually killed shortly thereafter.
From what I gather, Aerith is dead in the “main” timeline where the rest of the team is, but remains “alive” in another one that perhaps only Cloud can access. In the final scene, Cloud and Aerith discuss her return and “reunion,” so we can only hope she’s not gone forever.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth ending explained
Understanding the ending of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth requires knowledge of many previous games from the FF7 stratosphere, but my great friend Jack has prepared a summary of the events of Remake and Crisis Core for you.
Moreover, Zack’s involvement in the game from the very opening scene is crucial to deciphering the ending, so I will discuss this in addition to all the events that take place in Chapter 14.
As mentioned, the game picks up where Remake left off, but instead of fleeing to Kalm, we see our cast injured and potentially dead after a slab collapses in Sector 7. Then Zack shows up – who was already almost dead at the end of Crisis Core – and manages to save both Cloud and Aerith. Most importantly, we also believe that Aerith’s White Matter is complete in this timeline.
Zack then takes Aerith and Cloud back to Elmyra’s house, where they remain unconscious and Marlene is there too. In this timeline, the sky is also cracked and the plants are withering, signaling that the end of the world is very close.
We learn that Biggs, like Zack, also escaped death – and later in the game it turns out that they were both “saved” by strange white whispers. These same Whispers also appear to fight the standard gray versions when Tifa is in the heart of the WEAPON in Gongaga.
It is never explicitly revealed what or who these Whispers are, but I conclude that they are an extension of both the Planet and Aerith herself. We understand that the original gray Whispers are the “arbiters of fate” who have repeatedly stopped the timeline of the Remake trilogy from going in a different direction.
These are most likely manifestations of Sephiroth, keeping everyone on track so he can obtain the Dark Matter, kill Aerith – the last remaining Ancient – and summon Meteor to destroy the world. The White Matter, then, is the Planet and the Ancients fighting against destiny to carve out a new fate. A key part of this is saving Zack and Biggs.
Another critical moment in the game is Costa del Sol, when Aerith shows Red XIII a transparent and empty ball of Matter that we can only assume previously held the all-important White Matter. He asks why it is empty – and this plays a huge role in the final moments of Rebirth.
Jumping to Chapter 13 and the Temple of the Ancients, we see Sephiroth grabbing Black Matter as it walks away from the team. He states that “This is the key… that grants access to the true counterpart hidden between the worlds.” Earlier, when Barret and Cloud are arguing about the Black Matter, Aerith states that “there’s no point in fighting over a fake”, so I conclude that the “real” Black Matter is hidden in another world and the one in this timeline is simply a way to unlock other realities.
It all centers around the concept of “reunification” – a unification of worlds, people, and realities that allows Sephiroth to end the planet and start over. Cloud and Aerith are then sent into the abyss and “wake up” back in Elmyra’s house, where we saw Zack earlier.
Aerith tells Cloud to think of it as “her dream”, and they go on a date, taking them to different places and eventually back to the church. Aerith then gives Cloud her White Matter and states that “This isn’t about me though. It’s about saving the world – and you.” He then creates a portal to the lifestream and pushes Cloud into it, and as Cloud falls, we see Sephiroth emerge through the door behind Aerith.
I can only assume that Aerith dies in this isolated timeline, but by giving White Matter – which casts Holy and counters Black Matter Meteor – to Cloud, Aerith keeps hope of saving the world alive and stops Sephiroth’s attempts to take full control of destiny.
It is in the lifestream that Sephiroth goes some way to explaining the nature of things. It details that when the limits of fate are crossed – which happened at the end of Remake – a new reality is born. There are “many worlds” on the planet beyond the one we know, but not everyone is destined to survive. In fact, Sephiroth aims to use Meteor to unite the various worlds on the planet, but in doing so, they will all be destroyed.
Cloud then finds himself in the Sleeping Forest and reunites with Aerith. He states that Sephiroth must be stopped by Cetra and takes the White Matter from the Cloud, giving him transparent White Matter in return. He is then engulfed by the white Whispers and wakes up in the Sleeping Forest again – but this time in the “main” timeline with the rest of the team.
We then reach the Forgotten Capital, where Aerith resides, and Cloud manages to break the barrier of the gray Whispers and break into the Planet Sanctuary. He sees Aerith praying in the center and Sephiroth’s blade descending on her like in the original game.
He manages to break free from the Whispers’ bonds and clash his sword with Sephiroth’s Masamune. Critically, the sparks we see from this collision are the same rainbow light we see in the stream of life, because in its prismatic nature we see the entry of one light or reality and the splinters of several new worlds.
Cloud manages to send Masamune flying and save Aerith, but just moments later we see a green flash and blood flowing on the ground, revealing that Aerith has indeed died. Her White Matter then falls into the water, and Aerith in Cloud’s arms appears to be alive again, talking to Cloud and touching his face.
We then see several flashes and realities seem to change, with Aerith being both alive and dead in both cases. Sephiroth then claims that “the confluence of worlds begins” – alluding to the divided nature of reality that has loss at its heart. He concludes that Cloud will “never see the truth with such blurry eyes,” but what is the truth really like?
You will then fight the final boss, which evolves between Jenova Lifeclinger, Sephiroth, and then Sephiroth Reborn. During the fight, you will reunite with Zack and Aerith, but will be separated from Zack when he is once again sent to a separate reality by Sephiroth.
The fight ends with Cloud and Aerith together as she seemingly disappears back into the lifestream, and Zack himself also slips into the lifestream just before the Meteor hits the world.
Back at the Planet Sanctuary, the team surrounds Aerith as she lies dead on the floor, but then Cloud – alone and surrounded by white whispers – tells Aerith to wake up, which she does.
In subsequent scenes, only Cloud sees Aerith – although there is a moment in the final scene where Red XIII appears to feel her presence – indicating that she is probably not just a projection of Cloud’s delusions.
While it’s very unresolved and largely left to interpretation at this point, my takeaway from this is that by falling into the lifestream when Sephiroth unlocked the convergence between worlds at the end of Chapter 13, both Aerith and Cloud exist simultaneously in all realities.
Aerith is indeed killed by Sephiroth in the Forgotten Capital – and probably perishes in the church too – but remains alive in one timeline, or at least in the stream of life itself. Cloud is able to see Aerith and connect with her because he too exists outside the confines of one world and the same goes for both Zack and Sephiroth.
Before the Tiny Bronco flies away in the final scene, Cloud asks Aerith if she will “be okay when she gets back”, and she replies that wherever she is is “like a second home”. This certainly indicates that she’s out there somewhere, and hopefully we’ll see them reunite in the third installment.
As for the black and white matter, in the last scene Cloud takes out the clear white matter that Aerith gave him, but putting it back in his pocket seems to turn it into black matter. It could very well be the “real” Black Matter, hidden “between worlds”, as Sephiroth states in Chapter 13. The White Matter exists in the current timeline – albeit lost in the waters of the Forgotten Capital – perhaps creating space for the real Black Matter to take on form.
However, a lot is left hanging before we see how everything unfolds in the third and final chapter of the Remake trilogy, but that’s how I interpret the ending of Rebirth and Aerith’s fate and current status in the timeline.
If you’ve completed the game and want to come back for the Platinum Trophy, make sure to get the 7th Infantry trophy with our guide, along with all the different romance options for your Ferris Wheel date, as well as all of the Carnival Carnival solutions. But for everything else and all the tips you’ll need, there’s no better place than our dedicated Final…
