Aerith ' s Death Aerith ' s Death scene in " Final Fantasy VII " is a pivotal moment in the " Compilation of Final Fantasy VII " . As a central character in the game , Aerith ' s death is considered one of the notable events in the history of the series due to its shocking and unexpected introduction . Occurring at the end of the game ' s first part , this scene acts to motivate Cloud to further pursue his nemesis , Sephiroth . Story . Sephiroth intends to use the Black Materia to call the Ultimate Destructive Magic — Meteor — to heavily injure the Planet . By placing himself at the center of its impact zone , Sephiroth intends to merge with the Lifestream as it emerges to heal the Planet ' s wound , and become a god . Cloud acquires the Black Materia , but Sephiroth exerts his influence over Jenova ' s cells that reside within Cloud , and takes control of him , forcing him to hand the Materia over . Realizing she may be the only one able to stop Sephiroth , Aeris ventures to the Forgotten Capital to use the White Materia to summon Holy , the only power able to counter Meteor . In a temple underneath the city , Cloud and the party find Aeris praying on an altar . As Cloud approaches her , Sephiroth attempts to take control of him and kill her with the Buster Sword , but Cloud resists . As Aeris finishes praying , Sephiroth descends from the ceiling and impales her with the Masamune . Dying , Aeris collapses into Cloud ' s arms as her hair ribbon unravels , the White Materia bouncing off the altar into the water below . Enraged , Cloud turns on Sephiroth , who turns out to be another disguised part of Jenova . Cloud and his allies fight Jenova∙LIFE , and after Jenova is dispatched , Cloud carries Aeris to the pool of water in the center of the city , and lays her body to rest beneath the water . Reeve , through Cait Sith , later tells the party he informed Elmyra Gainsborough of Aeris ' s death , and consoled her . After her death , Aeris ' s spirit enters the Lifestream and remains sentient , both during the ending of " Final Fantasy VII " and in " " . Gameplay . When the player arrives in Forgotten Capital the path that leads to the sections beneath the city is blocked by a large simulacrum of a fish . In one of the abandoned houses on the east side of the city the player finds beds where the party can sleep for the night . During the night Cloud wakes up , claiming he can hear Aeris calling for him . If the player then enters the middle path from the entrance to the city , the fish is missing and in its place stairs lead down . The stairs lead to a section underneath the city where the player finds a save point and Aeris praying on the altar . Cloud ' s party members stay behind while he approaches her alone . The player must jump across the platforms to the Water Altar , but as Cloud approaches Aeris he begins to act strangely , as he is under Sephiroth ' s influence . Whenever the player presses the confirm button Cloud comes closer and closer to attacking Aeris , until his team mates ' protests stop him in the nick of time . This triggers the FMV where Aeris is killed by Sephiroth , and the White Materia falls into the water beneath the altar . Cloud mourns for Aeris ' s death while Sephiroth gloats and then flies away dropping a piece of Jenova ' s body that transforms into Jenova∙LIFE . Jenova∙LIFE is a boss battle where " Aerith ' s Theme " plays in place of the normal Jenova battle music . The battle is one of the easiest boss battles , and it was likely planned so for the player not having to view the scenes of Aeris ' s death again , which would happen if they were to lose the boss battle , as this may have lessened the scene ' s emotional impact . After the boss is defeated , the player gets a cryptic message assigned to Jenova saying Cloud is just a puppet , and Sephiroth will be gone . Depending on who is in the player ' s party during Aeris ' s final moments , each character pays their respects in their own way : Cloud picks up Aeris ' s body , which triggers the FMV where he lays her to rest in the lake . Afterward Cloud and the others return to the house with the beds . Cloud vows to avenge Aeris ' s death and settle things with Sephiroth . The scene ends disc 1 , or part I in the PC version re - release . Development . While designing " Final Fantasy VII " , character designer Tetsuya Nomura was frustrated with the " perennial cliché where the protagonist loves someone very much and so has to sacrifice himself and die in a dramatic fashion to express that love " . He found this appears in both films and video games from North America and Japan . Director Yoshinori Kitase concludes : While reflecting on the game , Tetsuya Nomura comments that " Death should be something sudden and unexpected , and Aeris ' s death seemed more natural and realistic . When I reflect on " Final Fantasy VII " , the fact that fans were so offended by her sudden death probably means that we were successful with her character . If fans had simply accepted her death , that would have meant she wasn ' t an effective character " . Event planner Motomu Toriyama has said that the idea of having Aeris die had a great impact on all the development staff , and that he decided to dedicate his efforts to depict Aeris in as appealing way as possible , so she would become an irreplaceable character to the player in preparation for that moment . In a screenshot published before " Final Fantasy VII " was released , Aeris is seen facing left while she prays , but in the final game she is facing the steps . In the picture Cloud is also standing on the steps which is never seen in - game , as upon reaching the platform he is immediately transported to a close - up view of the altar . The revised position of Aeris praying may have contributed to the numerous inconsistencies within the scenes . During the writing of the script , the development team were discussing the possibility of killing off nearly the entire cast of player characters , with only three surviving , an idea suggested by Yoshinori Kitase . However , the team eventually decided against the idea , as Tetsuya Nomura argued that it would dilute the meaning of Aerith ' s death . Eventually , they decided that only Aerith should die . Her death scene was written by Kazushige Nojima . Other appearances . Two years after the events of " Final Fantasy VII " , Aerith ' s death and Zack ' s sacrifice , and his inability to prevent either event from happening , haunts Cloud to the point of crippling depression . While in pursuit of thwarting Kadaj and the other Remnants of Sephiroth , Cloud seeks to find forgiveness for his self - perceived " sins " . While attempting to amend , Aerith ' s spirit from within the Lifestream reveals she never blamed him for her death , only that she was happy he came for her in the end . " Dissidia Final Fantasy " . Sephiroth ' s Hell ' s Gate HP attack consists of him leaping into the air and descending rapidly while stabbing the Masamune down , mirroring his pose when he impaled Aerith . " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " . Aerith ' s animation while charging Holy mirrors her prayer stance before her death . " Theatrhythm Final Fantasy " . This scene appears in the " Aerith ' s Theme " Field Music Sequence track , among other scenes . The scene appears approximately halfway through FMS . The scene is edited however to not show Sephiroth impaling Aerith — as he descends there is a burst of light , which fades to show Aerith falling forward as she does after Sephiroth withdraws the Masamune . The sequence of the White Materia falling is similarly cut short : after it falls to the floor another flash of light cuts the scene to Cloud laying Aerith to rest . Aerith ' s descent into the water marks the end of the FMS if the player fails the Feature Drive , which extends the song . " Final Fantasy Trading Card Game " . A card depicting a Yoshitaka Amano artwork of Cloud mourning for Aeris appears on a card . As it is considered Aeris ' s card , it is wind - elemental . Other media . Film . Aerith ' s death is referred to in the CG - animated Disney film , " " . When Ralph is entering Game Central Station , graffiti can be seen spray - painted on the walls on the sides of the entrance . " AERITH LIVES ! " is painted in thick black ink to the left of the archway . Games . In " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " , Caius lays Yeul ' s body into water similar to Cloud and Aeris in this scene . In " Final Fantasy Tactics " , if Cloud abandons the party due to low Bravery , he will say " I couldn ' t even save one girl . What do you expect from me ? " Impact . The meme " Aeris Dies " is a popular spoiler taunt that refers to this scene . It is mostly seen used in videogame pop culture . Aerith ' s death was listed # 3 on ScrewAttack ' s " Top 10 OMGWTF Moments " , where it was listed as everyone ' s first excuse to cry during a video game . Aerith ' s death was also listed # 1 on IGN ' s " Top 100 Video Game Moments " . A lengthy petition asking for Aerith ' s revival by Japanese players was sent to Yoshinori Kitase . However , Kitase stated that , " There are many meanings in Aerith ' s death and that could never happen " . Merchandise . The scene where Cloud lays Aerith ' s body to rest was depicted , among other " Final Fantasy " scenes , as a cold cast statue as part of Squaresoft ' s Final Fantasy Cold Cast Collection . Only 3 , 000 of these cold casts were made , each coming with a card and card stand that has the statue ' s limited number and description . The series has been out of production since 1999 . At 2008 , Kotobukiya released another limited edition Aerith sculpture , which depicts Aerith praying for Holy . The sculpture measures 43cm or 16 . 92 " in height and includes a stand .