Cloud Strife is no stranger to death. He lost his father to unknown causes when he was a child, he saw his hometown and remaining family massacred, he witnessed two of his best friends' murders, and all without being able to lift a finger in their aid. Not only is he in mourning, but he finds himself guilty by association; the fact that he witnesses -- and thus survives -- such tragedies pains him. He feels as if he should have done something to prevent these horrible events. Of course, the outsider can see that all of these losses were completely out of his control -- there is nothing he could have done to stop them -- but it hardly relieves Cloud of any of the guilt.
Having said that, Cloud is not the type to dwell on the "could have"s and "should have"s while he wastes away to nothing. It takes a terminal illness to finally knock him down, and even then, after some heartfelt discussion, a well-meant earful, and a six-year-old's temper tantrum, he's back on his feet and ready to save the day. As Aeris smartly observes, it is not so much a desire to be forgiven by those whose lives have been lost than it is a need to know that he has done his best. He is the only one that holds himself to any responsibilities, and it is up to him to decide what's most important.
As this suggests, it is not as if Cloud welcomes his own death. He wants forgiveness so he can move on with his life, not so he can die contented. Even when resigned to his fate after being diagnosed with Geostigma, it is something he accepts with a heavy heart. After fighting uphill his entire life -- and looking like he was coming out okay -- he has contracted a terminal illness; that's enough to break any man's spirit.
In retrospect, the idea of death throughout The Compilation of FFVII is highly abstract; Cait Sith is crushed in the collapse of the Temple of the Ancients only to be replaced by a newer model within minutes. Aeris is murdered, but she still watches over the Planet's people, perfectly capable of dropping in on Cloud to give him a boost. Even Shinra's Tseng and Rufus escape their apparent demise to return for a sequel, and there is the omnipresent threat of Jenova, Sephiroth, and even Hojo that just won't, well, die. All and all, death seems like a silly thing for a hero to fear.
After two colossal battles to save the Planet and a private battle of his own against Geostigma, it is a sudden, cowardly shot in the back that finally takes Cloud down, prompting him to collapse into a shaky crouch before focusing his remaining strength in a final attack against his enemies: Yazoo and Loz. Of course, as the hero -- and part of the FFVII universe -- he is sent into a state of limbo with Aeris and Zack, who promptly return him to the world of the living.
Although I certainly would never wish ill on Cloud after all he's been through -- if he doesn't deserve a long life of happiness, who does? -- I do wish that someone would stay dead in this franchise. It would put a bit more weight and urgency on the situation, to say the least; if we know they're just going to come back for the sequel (or, as the case may be, the next scene), then what's the rush?
