Does Aerith die in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?

We can finally answer the question that has kept every FF7 fan up at night, as we reveal Aerith’s fate in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Spoiler warning.

Let’s be honest, Square Enix’s introduction of the Whispers in the Final Fantasy Remake has been leading up to this moment. While they’re an effective plot device, we all know they were introduced as a way of keeping us all guessing in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and second-guessing Aerith’s fate.

Rebirth’s penultimate chapter takes us to the City of the Ancients—the sad scene of Aerith’s shocking death in the 1997 original. While that aspect of things is about as much of a spoiler now as Darth Vader being Luke Skywalker’s father, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has a chance to rewrite history.

This is your final spoiler warning.

What is Aerith’s fate in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth? (Spoiler warning)

After a long journey through the Temple of the Ancients, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth finally takes us to the City of Ancients, AKA the Forgotten Capital. Here, in a like-for-like retelling of the original story, Aerith is on her knees praying in a bid to use the White Materia to thwart Sephiroth’s desire to summon Meteor.

Then, just like the OG title, as Aerith is praying, a figure emerges falling from the sky above—it’s Sephiroth. Hurtling toward Aerith at a rate of knots with his Masamune sword readied, it seems like she’s destined for the same fate all over again. Just as Sephiroth reaches her, Cloud seemingly intervenes and fends off the execution attempt as he foresaw in his vision at the end of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

However, we eventually see Sephiroth’s blade covered in blood. Cloud is unfortunately unsuccessful, and once again, Aerith dies at the hands of the one-winged angel himself. Curiously, the image flickers between the sword having blood and having no blood. Once again, it’s toying with the idea of multiple timelines, interconnected worlds, and the existence of a fully-fledged FF7 multiverse.

While it’s pure conjecture on my part, there’s a chance we could go full Avengers Endgame and end up with a scenario at the end of part three in which Aerith lives. We shall see.

Ultimately, Aerith passes away as Sephiroth looks on gleefully and laughs. The heart of the story is still the same: Sephiroth wants to use the Black Materia to summon Meteor to destroy the planet, and he has to kill Aerith to stop her from using Holy Materia to prevent Meteor’s arrival.

When all is said and done, unlike the rest of the party, Cloud is still able to see and hear Aerith. So the good news, at least, is that she could still have a prominent role in the third and final chapter of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy.