Remnants of Sephiroth



The Remnants of Sephiroth (also known as SHM  or Silver Haired Men) are a trio of young men that serve as the primary antagonists of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Formed when Sephiroth's will refused to be absorbed into the Lifestream, the members of the trio each embody Sephiroth's willpower and are a fragment of him, although they are clearly distinguished as separate entities to themselves and each embodies certain traits more than others.

Attributes
The remnants of Sephiroth are Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo. Kadaj is the representation of Sephiroth's hatred and rage and serves as the leader. Loz is the manifestation of Sephiroth's physical strength and speed as well as his attachment to Jenova. Yazoo represents Sephiroth's charisma and aloof demeanor, although without Sephiroth's other traits this makes him appear and act rather effeminate. Of the three, Kadaj resembles Sephiroth the most as he is left-handed and uses a sword, and also acts the most like him. However, all of them wear black and have silver hair, making all of them appear similar to Sephiroth to a certain degree.

In the On the Way to a Smile novella "Case of the Lifestream", it is revealed that Sephiroth tried to create an avatar of himself on the surface, but as his own memories are fragmented he cannot. Thus, Sephiroth searches the Lifestream for other memories, and uses them to craft the three remnants to search for Jenova so he may be fully reborn. The remnants are also implied to help strengthen Sephiroth's spirit within the Lifestream by finding others who know of him and reminding him who he used to be in life.

Story
It is unspecified exactly when between Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children the remnants manifested, but they immediately began looking for their "Mother", Jenova. The remnants apparently were "born" in the Northern Crater, where they ambushed the Turks and captured Tseng and Elena while Reno and Rude escaped with a box containing Jenova's cells.

The remnants traveled to the outskirts of Midgar, where they attacked Cloud Strife, and interrogated Rufus Shinra about the whereabouts of Jenova. In the city of Edge, the remnants kidnapped several children with Geostigma - a disease caused by an infection of Jenova cells - and took them to the Forgotten Capital, where Kadaj activated their latent "reunion instinct".

With the children's ability to sense Jenova's presence, they led the remnants back to Edge, and the trio attacked the city to force Rufus to reveal where he had hidden Jenova. Rufus suddenly reveals Jenova's remains under his cloak during the battle, which Kadaj takes and the trio flees. In the ensuing chain of events, Loz and Yazoo are apparently killed, and Cloud battles Kadaj alone. Desperate, Kadaj absorbs Jenova's cells, allowing Sephiroth to take control of his body and reshape it into his own image.

After Sephiroth is defeated, Kadaj was weakened and heard Aerith Gainsborough's voice, who he believed was Jenova. Aerith comforted him and called down healing rain, and Kadaj, while reaching for a hand only he could see, allowed himself to dissolve into the Lifestream. Loz and Yazoo unwillingly followed soon after, attempting a final desperate attack on Cloud before doing so. With that, all three remnants died, although it is unknown what this means for Sephiroth himself.

Purpose
Throughout the film the remnants indicate that they themselves are quite different from Sephiroth. Kadaj claims to Rufus that he doesn't even know Sephiroth, but can sense his presence and is distraught over "Mother" choosing Sephiroth as her son over him. Loz and Yazoo do not indicate one way or the other if they are aware of Sephiroth's existence. While all three remnants wish to find Jenova, they do not particularly appear aware of why they want to. Loz and Yazoo tell the Turks "she'll fix everything" and other equally-vague statements. Kadaj tells Rufus that when they find "Mother", they'll proceed to conquer the Planet. However, he appears not to know what to do with Jenova's remains when he first acquires them. Upon Cloud explaining "a remnant wouldn't really know", Kadaj does not object and bitterly asks "so what if [he's] her puppet", indicating he is partially aware of his ignorance over his own goals.

The remnants consistently refer to Jenova as "Mother", indicating that, like Sephiroth before the Nibelheim incident, they believe Jenova is their biological mother. Although they know her true name, as shown by their reactions to Reno's comment about Jenova during their battle with him and Rude, they are otherwise unaware of her state. Kadaj himself, after Rufus had shot the box containing her remains—which is little more than a few remaining cells—is horrified upon seeing what is left of Jenova and openly weeps.

What the remnants had originally planned to do with Jenova, is unknown, if they even had any plans to begin with. Through the disease Geostigma, Jenova had infected many people, mostly children, with her cells. Kadaj indicated to Rufus and the children themselves this meant they were, in essence, Sephiroth Clones, and thus were needed for their "reunion", as the Remnants themselves had no reunion instinct of their own. However, Kadaj, in desperation in his battle with Cloud, is able to absorb the remains of Jenova and transforms into Sephiroth. This may have been their purpose all along, even though they were not aware of it.

Trivia

 * The Japanese word used to describe the Remnants, shinentai (which translates roughly to "will given form"), is the same word originally used to describe the unsent of Final Fantasy X, whose properties they share. The word "shinentai" it often rendered as "avatar" in English materials.
 * Like Sephiroth, all three Remnants are left-handed.