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My soul, corrupted by vengeance, hath endured torment . . .

The pain of deterioration burned through him, setting nerves on fire, filling his muscles with a blazing pain.

Was . . . was this the gift of the goddess?

Everything he thought he knew screamed against it, but his anguished soul understood that it was.

What was the purpose of such misery? Did the goddess enjoy watching him writhe in agony?

He could barely even move his fingers, let alone pick up his sword, and yet he was expected to defeat the man that killed both Angeal and Sephiroth?

Why would the goddess inflict this living death upon him?

Was there even a goddess?

With that thought, a burst of fiery anguish swept over him, suffusing his entire body with a raging inferno, and answering all his questions.

The firestorm eventually left him, leaving his withering body devoid of all feeling. He stood up, straight for the first time in years, secure in knowledge of what he had to do.

Genesis turned to face Zack, ready for his own death.

. . . to find the end of the journey in my own salvation . . . and your eternal slumber.

A.N.: This is based on my interpretation of the 'gift of the goddess'. I feel that it's reasonably supported by the game, with the 'Loveless' passage above, and the fact that Genesis believes that the gift of the goddess is some sort of 'all-encompassing salvation'. What could be more all-encompassing than pain? And, since it leads to salvation (kinda like the Divine Comedy's view of purgatory), it actually makes sense!

You may have noticed the part where it says "he was expected to defeat". I think that Minerva has a kind of foresight, and knows that Zack needs to die for Sephiroth to be stopped by Cloud.

Um, yeah, you probably think I'm a lunatic now.