They say your life flashes before your eyes when you die... a tired cliché, I know.

  But in this moment, I can confirm it's only partially true..

  When your wounds begin to burn, it isn’t joy that rises. It's grief.

  It's your sins... every last one, no matter how small - playing back in excruciating detail.

  But as pain numbs the edges of your body, the visions shift. They soften into happy memories.

  That one, beautiful face you need to see before you finally close your eyes and rest...

  I remember... the scent of sandalwood clinging to her after training hard.

  It mixed with the metallic tang of sweat, of discipline, of something divine.

  ...for me, it’s always Maithlee.

  This isn't the beginning of my story, nor is it the end... at least, I pray this isn't.

  There is too much left to do. I have to survive.

  I must live, if not for anything, then just for my revenge.

  ***Splash***

  The impact hits like a final verdict - the waterfall’s cold embrace closing in fast.

  The current wraps around me, pulling my broken body into its relentless flow, dragging me under.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Through the roar of the water, a different sound echoed... "her laugh." It was serene, almost magical to feel the warmth.

  "Ashva, you know... you are the biggest idiot i have ever seen!" Maithlee's voice, bright and mocking, cut through the chaos.

  "Look at you… hahaha… you are the first to prepare a dough with your face!"

  [ God, I miss that smile. I always will. ]

  She wasn't my mother. We shared no blood. She was just… there, since i was five...

  A constant force who defied every social norm for me, no sorry for us. She taught and trained until we reached our limits...

  She was a storm contained in human form - fiercely strong, yet impossibly gentle. Atleast, that's how i envision her...

  [ahh... my arms...please god few more minutes]

  I can still feel the sting of her punishments when i slacked off, and the soft weight of her hand on my forehead when I pretended to be asleep.

  "We were destined to meet, Ashva," she once told me. "You were just five when I found you in an abandoned temple."

  She was just three years older than me, but in every way that mattered, she was ages wiser.

  She was more than just family. She has always been my inspiration.

  And now, she is my reason to fight this current and claw my way back to the living.

  But I can’t move, even my finger betrays me. Darkness swallowed me completely. "Why....Why is it so dark? I can't see."

  I can't feel a thing. My chest convulses, half-air, half-water.

  I even tried to scream, but the river steals the sound.

  Maybe... this really is the end of me. "At least...I get to feel her smile again, Thank You"

  Although, Ashva's body is being swept away by the river, I am still here to narrate the rest of his story. "Not to worry a bit, folks"

  So now you must be wondering just who am I. "Well, my sixth sense never lies. You definitely thought of this as an Isekai, Am i right?"

  "TA-DA! I am Neira. I was born of the water, of the eternal snow."

  And don't you dare call me Ashva's pet. I am not. Maybe Ashva is my pet, i do take care of him alot but for now I am his family.

  The one who bound us together was Maithlee. *Chills* She wove our souls into one.

  They both are my entire world. And no one dares to harm my world.

  “Well, if i think hard, I wasn’t always his family. Nope, not always...Once, I was just a cub, trembling beneath the weight of my mother’s still body…”