A Theory?
I'm onto you, Nomura-san, with your faulty translations and misdirection and probably flux capacitors before this thing is over with...
I was watching a collection of Sephy's appearances in Remake part 1, and it occurred to me - in his first appearance to Cloud, the first time they talk, and you see Cloud calling for his mother while Sephy is talking about cold steel rending her flesh or something, I think we all assumed oh, shit, Cloud's mom wasn't a casualty of the fire, Sephy sought her out and deliberately killed her. But...
What if he was referring to Aerith? If Remake is, in a sense, both Aerith and Sephy each attempting a massive do-over, if they've both in some way come from the future, Sephy could be taunting Cloud not about his mother's death, but Aerith's, the one he more famously was unable to save.
Naturally, being of a SaveSephy mindset all the time, I'd like to think Sephy is, in his own autistic way, poking Cloud the way he is, and being so cryptic with his words, to give him a chance to keep Aerith alive. Why? I don't know. Maybe he needs her help with something. Maybe it's only because of the fondness he had for Zack.
I know, there is that other line, about "her begging me to spare you," but if Aerith's death scene comes about in a future part of Remake, it wouldn't be out of character for Aerith to try to protect Cloud, to even offer herself in his place. This is where, ideally, Zack makes a heroic entrance. :)
What do you think? Am I completely crackers? Or am I making unauthorized entries into Nomura-san's brain like I did in the Madness days?
Zack: "Don't remind me, please."