Fontaine people are unlike those from other nations.
They are originally Oceanids, not true humans.
For people from other nations, the withering of their human bodies signifies true death. But for the people of Fontaine, this is not the case. Even when their life as a human ends, they revert to their Oceanid form and are not truly gone.
To draw a comparison, the human body to a Fontaine person is akin to a garment.
The Oceanids don a "human form" as clothing. When this garment becomes too worn to be worn further, the spirits shed it, revealing their true pure water form beneath.
Afterward, they return to the flowing waters and reincarnate, becoming Fontaine people once more—essentially donning a new set of clothes.
Thus, the death of their human form is not true death for a Fontaine person.
Their true essence lies in their Oceanid state.
"In your Oceanid form, should your strength be exhausted or should you be slain, you will truly perish."
"Your consciousness will dissipate entirely, just like a true human's passing, leaving nothing behind. Even I cannot bring you back from such a fate."
"Therefore, always strive to train hard, accumulate strength, and cherish your life."
These were the words that Felina imparted to every one of her Oceanid familiars at the time of their birth.
Compared to ordinary Fontaine citizens, they were given a path to greater strength and an almost limitless lifespan. However, they also had one less chance to avoid death compared to ordinary Fontaine people.
—Once a Oceanid's strength is depleted, they will dissipate entirely, their souls scattered and gone forever!
This is the rule every Oceanid familiar keeps firmly in mind.
At this moment, after an intense battle, Aishi had reverted to her Oceanid form.
She was acutely aware of what this meant—her strength had been severely drained, leaving her unable to maintain her human form.
Looking back at the noisy Aaru Village, where the villagers had yet to finish evacuating and Lady Furina had not yet arrived, she knew she had to keep fighting!
Spreading her water fins, she gathered water elements to summon a water tornado, sending it spiraling toward the Harbinger.
But even at her peak strength, she had not been a match for La Signora, much less now, when her power was significantly depleted.
Facing the oncoming water tornado, La Signora didn't even bother to dodge, allowing it to come straight at her.
When the tornado reached her, La Signora's palm exuded a chilling frost as she casually slapped it.
The powerful ice elemental energy froze the water tornado instantly, shattering it into icy fragments with a single blow.
"Hmph, such feeble attacks!"
Her face was filled with condescension as her icy energy surged. With a wave of her hand, shards of ice began to rain down like hail, bombarding the area around Aishi.
As the ice shards struck the ground, they did not shatter immediately. Instead, they blossomed into countless icy flowers. With a flick of La Signora's wrist, these ice blossoms erupted like freezing grenades, triggering a chain of explosions!
In an instant, the frosty chill engulfed Aishi, plunging the surrounding temperature to freezing point.
The icy storm passed quickly, leaving behind frost-covered sands and a solitary white shield encased in frost at the scene of the explosion.
Evidently, Aishi had summoned a water-element shield to protect herself from the icy blasts, but the elemental reaction had caused the shield to freeze over.
Crack!
The shield fractured. As Aishi emerged from its remnants, La Signora was already preparing her next deadly move.
A massive ice spear, emanating a menacing chill, had appeared above Aishi's head without her realizing it. Its razor-sharp tip pointed directly at her, locking her in place.
Having been delayed by this frail Oceanid for over twenty minutes, La Signora's frustration had reached its peak.
Without hesitation, she pressed her hand downward, and the ice spear hurtled toward Aishi like a falling comet, dragging a trail of icy air.
The moonlight illuminated the desert sands as the ice spear pierced through the Oceanid, pinning her to the ground.
Moments later, the ice spear's compressed elemental energy detonated, unleashing a massive explosion of freezing power.
The icy surge tore apart Aishi's body, scattering it into droplets of water that rained down onto the desert sands, dampening the ground.
The Oceanid that had stood in her way was gone.
"Hmph, useless resistance!"
La Signora glanced at the damp sand with disdain. Defeating Aishi brought her no joy, for being delayed by such a weakling for over twenty minutes was a humiliation of the highest order.
It was like being held up by an insignificant bug—killing it didn't bring satisfaction, only lingering disgust and frustration.
She turned her gaze toward Aaru Village, her anger still burning.
Having been obstructed for over twenty minutes, her rage now demanded an outlet in bloodshed.
But just as she stepped toward the village, the scattered water droplets in the sand began to converge once more.
Aishi re-formed before her, though her body was now much smaller—two or three sizes diminished from her previous form.
Clearly, the previous attack had dealt her a grievous blow, and her strength was nearly depleted. If this continued, she would not survive.
Yet, the moment she regained her form, she once again spread her water fins, resolutely positioning herself in La Signora's path.
Such tenacious defiance infuriated La Signora further!
"Time and again!"
"What can you possibly hope to achieve in your current state?!"
"If you had simply remained dispersed, I wouldn't even have realized you were still alive!"
"You could have hidden in the sands and re-formed after this was all over!"
"You've already given everything you had—no one would blame you for retreating! You could have survived if you just stayed out of sight."
"Why do you appear again? Why do you keep standing in my way? Aren't you afraid of death?!"
In La Signora's eyes, Aishi was like a fly—weak and insignificant, yet persistently buzzing around her, seemingly impervious to death.
Even someone as powerful as Saitama might lose composure when unable to swat a mosquito. For La Signora, the endless nuisance was enough to push her patience to its limits.
She could not understand. If it was to prove herself, Aishi had already done so by holding her off for more than twenty minutes, despite being weaker and disadvantaged by elemental affinity.
If it was out of duty, Aishi had fought valiantly and sustained grievous injuries. When she was reduced to droplets of water moments ago, it was clear La Signora hadn't realized she was still alive.
Aishi could have remained hidden, preserving her life.
Even if the villagers were slaughtered and Felina's plans failed, no one would blame her. She had already done her best.
She could have chosen to retreat and save herself. So why was she now re-forming and once again shielding Aaru Village?
To La Signora's demands for an explanation, Aishi simply smiled faintly.
Indeed, everything La Signora said was true.
She had already bought more than twenty minutes of time and had suffered significant injuries.
When she was reduced to water droplets, she could have easily stayed hidden and survived.
Every living being has an instinct to survive. With her strength nearly depleted, re-forming her body would only result in being struck down again, likely granting only a few more seconds.
What was the point of it all?
She had already held La Signora off for over twenty minutes. Why sacrifice her life for mere seconds?
If she stayed hidden, La Signora would not discover her survival.
She could live.
She could live.
Even if the villagers were killed and the plan failed, no one would fault her.
Yet, despite the logic, here she stood once again, resolutely guarding Aaru Village.
She smiled at the absurdity of it all.
Why did she dare face death?
It wasn't just faith. It was because she refused to retreat any longer.
"Retreat."
That word was a scar carved deeply into Aishi's soul.
In her short life of just over twenty years, there were only three times she had chosen to retreat.
The first was when her younger sister fell gravely ill. The Fatui had offered aid, and to secure enough funds for medical treatment, she retreated.
The second was when her family was destitute, lacking food and clothing. When the Fatui demanded information on Lady Furina's itinerary, she retreated for the sake of giving her sister a better life.
The third was when the Fatui ordered her to serve as a spy, monitoring Lady Furina and leaking information. They threatened to expose her and imprison her, leaving her sister without care. Under duress, she retreated.
These three retreats led her to plunge into an abyss of despair.
When the gods saved her from destitution, even discovering her role as a spy, they chose forgiveness. They staged her death and helped her escape.
The gods' grace left her awash in shame, and their kindness overwhelmed her with guilt.
Since then, she had lived in the shadow of her sins, longing for a chance to atone but unable to find one.
Finally, one day, she drank from the Primordial Sea, wagering her very life to earn the gods' second acknowledgment.
The gods granted her rebirth and made her a familiar.
From then on, she devoted herself to training and serving the gods with unwavering loyalty.
But she knew, deep down, that it wasn't enough.
Why? Because she had once been a traitor.
It was like someone in a marriage who had been unfaithful. Even after forgiveness, even after reconciliation, the cracks left by betrayal could never truly heal.
Felina may have forgiven her and accepted her as a familiar, but the mark of a traitor was indelible.
She had betrayed the gods.
She had failed the gods' trust.
This identity as a traitor was a brand she could never erase.
Though forgiven, the guilt continued to weigh heavily upon her, a burden she could never release.
And so, today, she stood in La Signora's path.
The three retreats of her life had led to her downfall, leaving her to survive in shame and regret.
From then on, the word "retreat" became a forbidden term in her heart.
Once, her retreats had led her to betray the gods. Today, she would never retreat again, even if it meant her death.
From the moment she became a familiar, she resolved to stand firm, never retreating again.
With unyielding determination, she pledged her loyalty to the gods and declared her resolve to never betray them again.
"For Lady Furina, I will die before I retreat!"
"Even if I can only buy a few more seconds, even if my sacrifice ultimately proves meaningless, I will not retreat!"
Her gaze bore into La Signora as she charged forward without hesitation!
The moon illuminated the desert sands, casting a pale glow.
A Oceanid, now diminished to the size of a basketball, charged at a tall, imposing Fatui Harbinger. The disparity was glaring.
Yet she surged forward, determined to buy just a few seconds more.
But in the end, she never reached La Signora.
A single icicle pierced her, pinning her to the sand.
On the empty desert sands, Aishi hung there, skewered.
There was no pain on her face, only serenity and pride.
The brand of a traitor is the hardest to erase—a mark seared into one's being, forcing a lifetime of guilt and struggle.
For her, this brand was a source of eternal shame.
She had yearned to cleanse herself of this disgrace, but it had eluded her grasp, leaving her to struggle endlessly with her guilt.
Now, finally, her chance had come.
With unyielding resolve, she offered her loyalty to Lady Furina.
Through her death, she cleansed the stain of her betrayal.
She could sense that Lady Furina was close.
The villagers had evacuated. Even if the Fatui sought them, it would take time, enough for Felina to arrive.
She had succeeded in protecting Felina's plan and redeemed herself.
At the final moment of her life, she could proudly acknowledge herself as Lady Furina's familiar.
For the first time, she felt she was worthy of apologizing for her past betrayal.
"This time, Aishi did not retreat. I did not let you down, Lady Furina."
"I am sorry… Lady Furina…"
With her final strength, she used the special communication link to leave her final words to Felina.
Then, the small Oceanid pinned to the sand burst apart like a bubble, scattering into a clear puddle.
Oceanid Familiar Aishi—Fallen in battle.
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