eleamaya
Pro Adventurer
I know what you meant and it's clear to me, but it's not. Because Zack's death would be more like Marcellus case, not Clay. And if he already met her like Marcellus case, it makes sense that in CC ending he accept his fate and not searching her, trusting Cloud to take care of her. And TOTP gives us that idea.
This is clear that Remake gives him a very different fate from CC because if he's dead, he would be pretty aware. No way he is unaware of his death when the original makes him accept his fate and dissolve into lifestream consciously. Lingering attachments to life have traditionally been associated with ghost stories, and in Final Fantasy, they're always things to overcome. It would be OOC and ruin his character if he became not resting spirit in the Lifestream like Sephiroth, lingering to the livings (Aerith). Zack is Nojima's baby. The idea I could accept is he picking Aerith away to the sky when she died just like Angeal did to him, just at that time... not because he keeps searching for her in death. Heck, even Clay is aware that he's dead but he just wanna see Elmyra for the last time before disappearing, too bad, she can't see him, only Aerith. But here, after the victory, Zack walks, and then arrives at the church, opening a physical door. He looks for her because he's alive!
The possibility is just the point one you mention. I'm not convinced that Aerith is dead on his timeline, but it's possible.
My headcanon is the whispers are the ones who "help" the troops by bugging Zack. We see they're capable to touch people when they threw Cloud & Aerith to the other room of the church and when they threw Wedge from Shinra building. Although their concept is new and created for Remake, think that they always exist in Compilation universe and we just didn't see them visibly on CC ending. I think they always helped Zack dodging the Turks and the troops on the run, helped Cloud by bugging them when they're trying to take him away from where Zack was in distance to fight, for example (I mean we see him dropping Cloud at the wood in Last Order when the troops chase him). Why did they help Zack & Cloud? Because it's Cloud's fate to survive and they need to ensure Zack survive to wasteland because it's his fate to die there. And that's the time when they finally turn side. But Aerith and co. mess with Singularity. Whispers are gone and Zack has no restriction to fight the troops, thus he wins.
I dont think it's The Whisper's need to save Zack as a sort of Planet 'secret weapon' against Sephiroth or something balance. The concept is them being defeated so destiny changes... and it means, Zack isn't dead where he should be. I think it's a simple and clear narrative the devs want to convey, like it or not. @Eerie Zack's arrival in the church just as a spirit in Lifestream realm doesn't fit that narrative. Dead is dead, no difference, no help. There's no secret hidden between Remake ending and Intermission ending that he died in between. And what we're supposed to looking forward to in the next part is the consequence of that change. The unknown one.
Is it worse than Original?
Or is it better?
But I believe freedom has a price. If Zack & Aerith was alive and gained the freedom taken away from them in Original, there would be a price and it's steep. And it's scary to think what it is like. Both Zack & Aerith already told you that.
I also think he would show up either at Nibelheim or at Temple of Ancient, depend on the ending of part 2 would take place. But I'm sure Zack will show up at ending. One of two Clouds would probably become a full of Sephiroth Copy and Zack would take Black Materia to keep it safe from them, who knows.
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) to Aerith right before killing her and cruelly taking her away. Of course, this will also happen in Remake; but it won't have the same impact as it did the first time around. I remember that before Remake was released, I chatted with 
