Knowing and studying one’s parentage can provide an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at a person, including those who are intent on complete world domination like Final Fantasy 7’s Sephiroth. Regarded as one of the most iconic villains in video games, the former Soldier legend has sought dominion over the planet since finding out the truth about his origins.

For years, Sephiroth fought for Shinra, never knowing he was experimented on as a fetus and injected with alien cells. Who would subject their child to such experimentation? Let’s take a dive into the dark history of Sephiroth’s parents and what ultimately led the swordsman down his path of villainy.

Updated March 2, 2024 by Casey Foot: With Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth finally upon us, we thought it was an appropriate time to update this article on the origins of Sephiroth and his true parentage. We've updated the formatting for better readability.

Arrival Of Jenova

Roughly 2,000 years before the events of Final Fantasy 7, a race of beings called the Cetra inhabited the planet. The Cetra were believed to have been able to communicate with the planet itself.

There were also 'normal' humans, but the Cetra were the dominant species.

An extraterrestrial that would be known as Jenova landed on the planet and began waging war against the Cetra by turning them into monsters.

In the end, Jenova virtually wiped out the Cetra race but not before being imprisoned deep within the North Crater. With the Cetra nearly extinct, the human race became the new dominant species on the planet, for better or worse.

Fast-forward a couple of thousand years to about 30 years before the events of Final Fantasy 7. One of Shinra’s top biologists and head of the Science Research Development division, Professor Gast Faremis, discovered Jenova in the crater.

Professor Gast mistook Jenova for a descendent of the Cetra, or possibly a Cetra herself. Led by Professor Gast, Shinra began the Jenova Project, injecting cells of the being into human fetuses in the hopes of creating a human-Cetra hybrid to lead the company to the promised land described by the extinct race.

Jenova Project

Shinra and Professor Gast transported the Jenova specimen to the Nibelheim Reactor at Mt. Nibel. Joining Gast in his research were fellow Shinra scientists Professor Hojo and Lucrecia Crescent.

The trio experimented on unborn human children trying to create a Cetra hybrid, but when the early results brought super soldiers and nothing Cetra-related, Gast left the project.

Hojo and Lucrecia continued working with Shinra, and the pair eventually entered a romantic relationship themselves, which resulted in Lucrecia becoming pregnant.

A common misconception and fan theory is that Vincent Valentine is Sephiroth’s father because Vincent and Lucrecia were also lovers.

However, Lucrecia turned Vincent down because she felt responsible for his father’s death in an experiment gone wrong.

Hojo and Lucrecia would attempt to inject Jenova cells into their unborn child, but Vincent would try to stop them.

Hojo shot Vincent and before sealing him away in the basement of Shinra Manor, experimented on his body as well. Hojo and Lucrecia’s unborn child, whom they injected with Jenova cells, would become Sephiroth.

Sephiroth’s Parentage

Even though Sephiroth refers to Jenova as “Mother,” Lucrecia is his biological mother. He’s correct in the fact that his body contains cells of the extraterrestrial, but he’s mistaken in believing he’s a descendant of the Cetra.

Following Sephiroth’s birth, Lucrecia fled Shinra and found refuge in Crystal Cave. In Final Fantasy 7, you can find Lucrecia with Vincent, and they’ll recall memories of working together on the Jenova Project.

After a somber reunion, Lucrecia’s body is encased in natural materia and is crystallized forever.

Hojo, on the other hand, wasn’t necessarily aligned with Shinra and its goal of reaching the promised land. He was focused more on discovering the many secrets of the Cetra, and then, Jenova.

Once Sephiroth found out the truth of his origins, Hojo committed himself to helping his son in his quest for world domination. He injected himself with Jenova cells to try and stop Cloud in Midgar but was ultimately defeated.