Humanity was suddenly reminded that day... of the terror of being at their mercy... of the humiliation of being trapped inside a cage...
The gate slowly opened from the entrance. The heavy tons of Shaganshina's gate was pulled to a more than enough height to allow everyone from the outside gain an entrance.
The group entered, gloomy and less than the original count. Some were strolled into the caravan either losing limbs or eyes, obviously chipped out of body parts that disabled them to further ride horses.
Around them gathered civilians. Not to welcome the brave ones but to criticize further.
"They're the only ones who made it back?"
"Everyone else must've gotten eaten."
"This is what they get for going outside the walls."
The murmurs drowned from numerous sounds in the air, but nonetheless, it was still distinct. Soldiers who heard it lowered their heads more.
"Moses! Moses!" And old lady cried into the crowd, disrupting the parade.
"Excuse me... I don't see my son Moses anywhere... Do you know where he is?"
"This is Moses' mother."
"Go get it." The commander said with a calm yet enigmatic facade. The soldier who got what he was asking for, returned and handed him an item covered in cloth. "It's all we could retrieve." He said, opening the package to reveal the severed arm.
The lady almost immediately recognized it, filling her eyes with tears. And then a look of grieving expectation lingered to her eyes. "But... my son... He was helpful, yes? Even if he didn't achieve direct greatness... surely my son's death helped humanity fight back, yes?!"
"Of course...!" The tone of hesitation immediately lowered down to the point where it was too obvious.
"No..." She can already tell.
"On this latest scouting mission, we..."
"No..."
"Just like all the other missions... we achieved nothing at all! My incompetence has done nothing but needlessly send soldiers to their deaths! We haven't found out anything about them!"
Silence. Even a pin drop could be heard by such silence almost as if the soldiers themselves wanted to be swallowed by the ground right now.
But the truth must be told.
This place is hopeless. This job, this profession... It's all worthless.
.
.
.
Y/n was looking at a familiar ceiling. The ugly ceiling that she once criticized for being moldy.
Not that she's confined, but her healing injuries need the final checking after the previous weeks' expedition. It wasn't that much of a problem. All there is to it was an approval from a doctor and she's ready to go. And right now, she got it before the doors abruptly open, carrying multiple injured soldiers.
The hospital became even more cramp after the soldiers lead by the Commander of the scouts arrived. It was quite a ruckus. Nurses and doctors were running around in a hurry, then shouts of agony followed with a few commands.
There were weeping and arguments. The energy dropped negatively in an instant.
The earlier quiet hospital became a strange room of chaos. After getting her final treatment, she immediately got out of that place and enjoyed her day off.
Nothing much to do. Levi was in his office, finishing up report so she had no company at the moment.
The hot day calls for an ice cream that sadly, she couldn't have right now in such crowd.
To make things worse, the dense air compressed inside the walls filled with a country worth body heat and odor made it even more unbearable. She's been living like this for years after being reborn, but getting used to it doesn't mean it didn't affect her distaste.
To be honest, it's always been triggered. It didn't even compare to Levi's annoyance with simple dirt. She, who saw good things in life before rebirth, could not even tolerate it. She couldn't even express her anger to destroy the world herself. She would have called Ultron 2.0 to do her bidding and let him take over this entire planet if he wants to.
She'd even give him a big welcome sashed in the entire sphere for him.
That's how much she missed his boba tea function. Good thing she didn't remove that useful installment.
.
.
.
The next day wasn't any better than yesterday.
The hot atmosphere and lack of air made her sleep uncomfortable. If this is the boiling pot of this world, then she wouldn't even ask. They're literally boiling.
Waking up to a sudden shaking of the ground that quickly fading too. The girl who was sleeping on her hammock fell off with a thud.
The screaming from a mile away shook her core as soul stone began to feel the numbers of death just on the other side of the wall. The amber colored gem lit up like honey and tears began to escape out of her emotionless eyes.
Oh, it's begun.
Y/n had seen it before. When she had a slight flashback check with time stone and manipulated the old man's memory with mind stone. She saw it before rebirth and now shit's about to go down.
Wars. Soul stone hated wars as much as they hated coffee. It was bitter and dark. Just like when they isolated themselves in Vormir a dead, lifeless planet at the center of existence, between the realm of life and the realm of the dead.
At least a hard to find planet but in the end, here it is, listening to what it hates most. Death that were not meant to die yet in an endangered population cooped in the arms of it's mother walls.
Now, even soul stone was pissed with Ymir. That careless god!
Y/n listened to the soul stone's complains in her heart. The pity for the despairing that had long been forgotten was back. The other stones could only show disappointment too through their connection. If they had bodies, they're probably crossing their arms and shaking their head by now.
The girl made her way to the stables and grab her horse and sped through the sunny afternoon.
She reached the edge of Trost after putting her horse at a nearby stable and saw the chaos. The gate was opened but due to the number of people trying to get in, the ever so wide gate that usually let many people in looked smaller than she remembered.
The girl frowned. The noises drowning all rational shouts to make the flow of entrance better. Wall Maria's population is no joke. And it, being breached, is one of humanity's first step to downfall.
She watched the curdled screaming, the desperation, the fear, and the faith.
Y/n watched, not helping. Her eyes witnessed the horrible fate once more. Not even an ounce of pity in her starry pools like an emotionless doll.
The unending crowd keeps pouring inside the small district finally reaching her like an avalanche. People were running in, ignoring the small child that didn't move, bumping into her as she went farther from the gate site.
"What are you doing?!" She was grabbed abruptly by Shadis who looked frightened out of his wits geared in uniform. "Return back to the base and inform them what's going on."
Y/n looked at him as she was pulled away. When Shadis turned to look at the child, his eyes immediately darted elsewhere. But there's a glimpse of guilt pasted in his eyes.
"You... You're running away." She said. Although the shouting drowned her words, Shadis still heard her.
"I am not! We need to gather!" He shouted back.
Y/n blinked and the frowned as the grip on her arm tightened. "You saw what destroyed it, right? Are you afraid? So you ran like before?"
His face ashen and his face became pale. His grip on her arm loosened and before she could even say another word, the man pulling her let go and disappeared in the crowd.
Now she was left to ride the tide aimlessly again. Getting further and farther away from the open gate. And in just a matter of seconds, soon, after her eyes glowed the brightest blue, she vanished within the commotion and panic making everyone unable to notice anyone else aside from their own lives...