"I would say that a significant part of my genetics being that of something that's not remotely human - something wholly destructive that seeks the death of the planet and everything on it, an organism that grants me properties only shared by other creatures the humanity of my world recognizes and classifies as monsters - is a relatively objective baseline," Sephiroth says, dry as desiccating powder. "It's more a statement of my biological nature than a value assessment. Though my actions don't speak much better of me, as far as that goes. I can easily be classified as a monster by any number of criteria, many of which I doubt you share. I'm not trying to imply anything about your own nature; despite the unusual similarities we have elsewhere, I doubt you're anything like me as far as these matters are concerned."

The cat gets one last stroke before he straightens, getting back to his feet. (And now it's far more obvious just how tall he is.) Talking about this...doesn't really leave him feeling as though he should be interacting with innocent people or animals. "To be a human isn't monstrous; a human can be anything they choose," he says aloud. "To be an empty vessel isn't monstrous; you contain nothing harmful, and presumably like a human you can determine for yourself what you are as long as you retain your free will. To be a vessel that contains a goddess isn't monstrous, because one assumes a goddess to be benevolent, in which case what you contain is only a force of good. But what can someone so thoroughly blended with a parasitic being hostile to all life, to the point where there's no distinction where one ends and the other begins, actually be other than a monster? At my best, I'm simply a monster that acts against its own nature. I won't say there isn't merit to that...but it doesn't change what I am."