Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: Does Aerith Die?

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's biggest question has finally been answered with the release of the new game. When Square Enix announced that their trilogy remake of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth would expand on the story of the original Final Fantasy VII game and even deviate from it in some way, most fans had the same question – would Aerith die in the remakes like she did in the original games? Obviously, Aerith's death was a formative moment for many Final Fantasy fans. It had huge implications on the rest of Final Fantasy VII storyline, and it served to solidify Sephiroth's place as one of the top video game villains of all times. But even after spoilers started to leak about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Aerith's ultimate fate remained unclear....until today. [Obviously, spoilers follow for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth]

To answer the question quickly, Aerith does seemingly die at the end of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, with most of the game's cast mourning her death at the hands of Sephiroth. However, there's more at play than her simple death and it involves the multiversal shenanigans at the heart of the game's plot. 

Throughout the first two games, Cloud and other characters have seen "whispers," entities seemingly pushing characters to follow the narrative of the original game. In the new games, Sephiroth also revealed that there are multiple realities at play, which is why characters like Zack Fair are still alive despite their death in the original timeline. When Sephiroth goes to strike down Aerith in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Cloud initially breaks free of the Whispers surrounding him and stops the killing blow. However, despite Sephiroth not hitting Aerith, she still falls into Cloud's arms and Cloud begins to see multiple scenes converge in front of him, some where Aerith lives and others where Aerith dies. 

After a lengthy boss fight, Aerith reappears besides Cloud to fight Sephiroth one final time. When the fight is over, Cloud sees his friends and allies mourning Aerith, but he then tells Aerith to wake up and she does....although it appears that only Cloud can see her. At the end of the game, Cloud leaves with the rest of the party, while Aerith stays behind.

As best we can tell, it appears that Cloud is perceiving multiple timelines or realities at once. Aerith is certainly dead in the timeline of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but Cloud is simultaneously experiencing a reality in which she's alive as well. This almost certainly will be resolved in the final installment of the game series, although it explains how the game will continue its third act without Aerith, while still keeping her as a major part of the story beyond just being a fallen comrade. Hopefully, we get some additional explanations about whether the Aerith Cloud sees is the Aerith from his timeline, if she's an Aerith from a parallel universe, or if she's just an echo that only he can see.