#im mostly stuck on Mhin's comment ab not forcing ppl to drink the Springs water

[pinkpruneclodwolf]

Rippling Spring—Ais

The one thing I find the most riveting about Ais, is the monster that lives within his skull: Ocudeus

With the prefix obviously being pulled from "octopus", however the suffix is what I'm truly curious about.

Which could possibly be derived from "Asmodeus" whose earliest etymology has connections to "wrath" and "demon". Heralded as a Prince of Hell, he was assigned the Sin of Lust, though he also has traits of wrath, jealousy, anger and revenge.

[Photo taken from NekoChang, Touchstarved Demo Part Two, Seaspring Tentacles]

In the Testament of Solomon he was forced to build a temple—Among that Ais does indeed have a temple of sorts—Asmodeus also states that he hates water and birds because they remind him of God.

And while Mhin might not necessarily be a bird, it's hard to miss the Weeping Crow and their dislike of each other— Though Ais only seems to be reciprocating the feelings as far as the demo's shown.

Another piece that might not amount to much is the fact that Ais dislikes seafood. Which might not share the same weight as Asmodeus disliking water but its a tidbit I find interesting...

Judging by the heavy influence from Japanese folklore, I found myself conflicted on the prefix of Ocudeus just being "octopus" and not a double entendre for "Akkorokamui" whose body is said to reach 120 meters in length.

How this relates to Ais or even Ocudeus?

Akkorokamui enjoys the sea and so the offerings that it receives—crabs, mollusks, fish—are often gifted to him. Which are also staples in seafood dishes as well.

By giving it back what it gave, this homage is often done for ailments of skin and limbs with heavy emphasis on mental and spiritual purification [The SeaSpring; MC relations mayhap?]

Depicted as benevolent with powers that heal and bestow knowledge, Akkorokamui does have instances where it is fickle, and its nature as an octopus means it's persistent and near impossible to escape without permission... [Ais and his pact?]

Which leads to my lukewarm theory that if Leander is connected to Fogfall in some way, could Ais, or more specifically, Ocudeus be connected to the Soulless just like Kuras is?

Those that drink the Spring water are purified in some way, as seen by the Crimson-Eyed Woman, however in exchange they become a group mind, and Ais is the host. [or is it Ocudeus?]

Because the most notable part about Soulless are the tentacles that hang from their mouths and the eyes covering their bodies—referring to Akkorokamui and how offerings are given to heal the body and cleanse the mind, could this possibly be a twist on the folklore? Especially the part where they give back what has been given?

Does one slowly transform into a Soulless after drinking the Spring water and if so, could that be why he's only a leader in a figurative sense?