FanArt: Maiden who Travels the Planet

"The Promised Land"
Translation, FFVII: Advent Children OST, Track 2:  The Promised Land

Why do we cling to paradise?
Why do we punish the fleeting heart?
The world has not abandoned us.
The faint, even rhythm.
The heart, guiding death.
The pulse of the servants in the ground.
The tender life returns to the planet.
Must we sacrifice the soul?
Why do we cling to paradise?
Why do we seek forgiveness
In the Promised Land?

(translated myself and reworded so it sounds less awkward). 

An iconic moment in Final Fantasy history, the death of Aerith Gainsborough. This particular moment has always stuck with me, the image of Cloud releasing her body back to the Lifestream. It's beautiful and sad, and I love it endlessly!

About the pic, this is many months on-again-off-again work using Corel Painter 8. I'm exceptionally happy with the end result. As those of you "in the know" probably noticed, this is the Cloud and Aerith as seen in Advent Children, which I adore. Therefore, the reason Cloud isn't wearing the gauntlet on his left arm is because I used the Advent Children scene as my reference, and he isn't wearing it there. I assumed it was safest to stay with the most current canon continuity. *shrug*

Enjoy! Please comment and check out my Sci-Fi/Fantasy Gallery, since it's much bigger than my FanArt one.

Update: After uploading, I realized the "light" effect was way too overpowering and was distracting from the characters. SO! I went back, decreased the light rays, and increased the contrast a bit for clarity. I think it looks much improved!