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contains: alternate reality, kinda snk theory-ish, reincarnation, slight rivaere, some grammar mistakes?
a/n1: enjoy reading.
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There were sayings; the world had died once, and the new era had begun anew after the first world was destroyed. The one we're living in right now was the second era. Nobody knew how this theory came up or who came up with it. So far, no proof had ever been found to support the theory, yet a lot of people actually believed in it.
Then, a group of people who wished to know the truth, built up an organisation. They joined as one, despite different nationalities. They called themselves the 'Recon Corps'.
They searched all over the world for any remnants of the previous world, but their hard work never bore fruit; they never found anything. Generations after generations, they made marks on part of the world they had already explored, leaving the next generation to continue on their search. Just when they were about to give up, they finally found a glint of light.
Under a hidden basement of a certain west country, far from civilisation.
A diary.
And a boy trapped inside a crystal.
To you, 2000 years from now
Shingeki no Kyojin © Isayama Hajime
It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen; not in the form of a landscape, not in a form of a woman, nor in a piece of art. But in a form of a boy inside a crystal.
His arms were crossed over his chest, slender and long fingers. Bite marks on the boy's left hand, which were still visible even though he was looking at him from another side of the crystal. It made him wonder, what kind of life the boy had led to leave such heavy marks on his hand. His short strands of hair were in the prettiest shades of brown, fringe in middle-parted style, framing his face. His complexion was a bit tanned, giving off impression he had been the type to be active under sunlight. His lips parted a little, leaving off a small gap, while eyes closed, tightly.
What kind of beautiful shade would his eyes radiate?
The boy had medium built; all toned muscles, he's sure. And for the boy's height, he must admit, the boy seemed taller than himself.
He put his hand over the crystal, brushing it as if he had been touching the boy himself. Eyes gazed in silence, scanning every inch of the boy. What was that feeling? Was it longing? Nostalgic?
"Levi, look here."
It's as if he had been woken up from a sleep, he's back on his consciousness and jerked a bit. He turned over to the person who just called him while that person seemed to be taking out a book with brown cover from the desk drawer in the corner of the room. Taking his small steps, he asked, "What is it, stupid glasses?"
The one nicknamed 'stupid glasses'―Hange Zoe―responded by lifting the book. "A diary."
Levi snatched it away and scanned the book. It was covered in dust, which made him clicked his tongue in disgust. When he opened the book, there was dried up blood all over the pages. With clumsy handwriting and in old ink, the information would be unreadable if they had discovered it in decades later. He scanned the first page, reading it word by word silently.
And then, he closed the book.
"Tell Erwin I'll take care of the diary," he stated.
"Eeehh!? But this is the first discovery ever found in history! I want to take a look at it!"
"After I finished, that is."
Hello.
Uhm, I don't know where to start.
Well, I'll introduce myself first. I'm Eren Yeager, the one who's in the crystal not far from you. Yes, that boy! I'm from Shiganshina district―wait, that's not really important.
So uh, I want ... to tell you a story. About a kind of world we lived in. About our misery. About our tears and pain of losing loved ones. About our struggles for hundreds of years, fighting for glory of the humanity―for the wings of freedom. About our victory.
About a lost era.
"Eren Yeager, huh?" Odd enough, he found the name to be familiar even when he's 100% sure he had never heard of it. He put away the book under the drawer and left it there. He stepped out of his room and walked down the hallway.
It appeared, there was another person on the hallway other than himself. He called out, "You there. Jean Kirschtein. Did you see Erwin?"
"Ah, good morning, sir." He bowed his head. "Sir Erwin is in the room with the crystallised boy."
Not even bothering to answer, Levi took his steps towards that room. When he opened the door, he was greeted by his comrades; Erwin, Hange, Mike and Nanaba. They were busy discussing over stuff he couldn't hear well from there. Then, he approached them, "So, discover anything of the boy?"
Mike shook his head, "No. Nothing."
Erwin sighed. "The crystal was too hard, it's impossible to break." He added. He lifted the hammer from the desk, swinging it over the crystal, hard. But not even the smallest fragment was created, it didn't even leave a dent on the crystal surface.
"What about the diary?"
"... I haven't read more than the first few pages. This brat talked about the outline of the world he's living in... titans and walls."
Nanaba furrowed the eyebrows, "Titans? And what walls?"
"Titans are man-eating giants. While walls ... are there to protect them from titans invading the city. He's a soldier, fighting the titans along with his comrades."
The four of them nodded, starting to understand the situation bit by bit.
Levi raised his head, staring straight at the boy―replaying the words he had read over and over again. Eren Yeager ... this boy's face. His story about the world of titans. Everything were so nostalgic that it left pain just by trying to remember.
'Eren, was it? What exactly happened on your time?'
Everything started when I was 8. I often had dreams which I couldn't remember after waking up. But I knew they were sad and painful dreams, because sometimes I woke up in tears. I realised what I had dreamt of all these times after I reached 16, though.
They were visions of the future.
I do not know how this happens, but it just does.
At first, they were just glimpse of the near future; seconds to come, minutes to come. I remember, when I was 9, I saw a girl and I killed off three adult men. But I forgot it right away after I woke up. I was reminded of the dream again when I saw her parent's dead bodies, though. But only enough for me to remember the place she was kidnapped to, not the number of the kidnappers. When I was 10, it was a vision of my mother being killed―I mean ... eaten. And when I'm 17 ... it's 2000 years to come.
I know this sounds unbelievable. But it's the truth.
I know this diary will be found in 2000 years after my time. I know you guys are here to search for proofs of the previous era―my era.
When I was 19, I started seeing visions of a foreign world―a world without walls nor titans. I had been seeing familiar faces in that unknown world; my friends, families, teammates, superiors. They were living in that world as if it's the normal thing to do. I racked my brains for the meaning behind this.
Then, I came to realise; it is reincarnation.
He lowered the book. Everything written in that book was just too insane. Nothing made sense. Future visions? Reincarnation? Even those man-eating titans story was so unbelievable. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ease the headache he had been having lately.
Suddenly, there were three knocks from the door, and a voice.
"Sir Levi? I'm here to bring a cup of coffee."
Oh, what a nice timing. "Come in."
The door opened, revealing a boy with short blond hair and blue ocean eyes. Coffee on his hand when he entered the room. He put the cup slowly on the table, trying not to leave any sound of it bumping against the wood. He bowed his head a little before stepping out.
Just when he was about to close the door, he was halted by Levi's voice.
"Armin. I have a question for you."
Armin turned around, with a questioned look, he asked, "Yes, sir?"
"... Do you believe in reincarnation?"
It was an unexpected question coming from Levi. He was the last person Armin would ever thought of asking this kind of question. He thought Levi was the type to believe in anything logical, not unanswerable things like reincarnation.
Armin looked down, there was a pause. He couldn't answer it right away. From the books he read, some said reincarnation exists, with many reasons supporting it. Then, some also said reincarnations does not exist. He still couldn't find any proof of regarding the topic. But if he were to asked, he would answer, "No, sir. I do not believe in it."
"I see. You can go back now." He took his coffee with his unique way of holding a cup, bringing it up to his lips and sipped it little by little. Armin bowed his head once more before leaving Levi in his room alone. Accompanied by the dim light and a storybook.
We won.
Humanity won.
We won against the titans.
Everyone overjoyed, to be finally released from the cage. Some people who had wanted to enjoy the world outside quickly moved out. Some of them stayed, saying they're still afraid of the outside, saying that maybe some titans hid, and when we go out, they'll be having a feast.
My friends and I decided to see the outside world. We want to see the vast salt water, land of ice, and a lot more.
But we are soldiers, so we need to help the inmates first.
When we were finished with our jobs, we were no longer a soldier. And just when we were about to set out for the outside world, there were rumours of disease spreading. They died suddenly, whether they were inside or outside walls. Nobody knew the reason, and just within half a year, I became the last one living in this world.
Nobody could tell me the reason, as I was the last one standing.
But I figured; it's because I am a titan.
I became the last titan alive after we exterminate all others. And probably, titans are immune to this disease. I don't know.
And there's something that has been bothering me. If the world now is destroyed, how I could be seeing visions of the far future? Everything is left unexplained, but I decided to believe in these dreams of mine. I believe the world would be reborn and you would come ... to this basement.
I decided to write this letter, to you, 2000 years from now.
I don't want our pain, fight, struggle, and victory to disappear just like this. We are finally released from the cage. Yes, everyone died, but we won the war! We're free, we're victorious! I don't want this story to disappear, so I will crystallise myself, instead of committing suicide. That way, my body will remain. People wouldn't read this letter as a fictional story, because there's also a proof that I―who tells this story―really exists. So that people would believe in this unbelievable story.
Was it for real?
They had been searching for this kind of evidence for years, yet when they finally found it, he couldn't believe in it. He closed the book and fixed his eyes on it for quite a while. He was replaying what he had read in his mind once again. Was it really something that had happened on the previous world? This seemed too irrational.
He got up from the chair and exited his room. Walking down the quiet hallway, under the rays of the moonlight, he found himself staring at the moon the whole time. When he reached the basement, he took a lit torch from the wall for the light. After he reached his destination, he turned the doorknob quietly, still leaving small creaking sound from the old door. He closed the door, and darkness found him. He put the torch on the place on the wall again after lighting up the oil lamp, filling the room with dim fire light.
Levi put the book on the desk and turned over to his left―to the crystallised boy.
He gazed at the boy's figure. He never noticed, but there was a faint smile across his face. Was he happy crystallising himself?
"Or was it a smile because humanity won?" Levi asked, never expecting an answer.
"Say, Eren. You're actually still alive inside the crystal, right?" He put his hand over the crystal. He understood now―the reason for his nostalgia when he saw Eren. The memory of the previous world couldn't just disappear completely. It still remained in the deepest part of his heart. He couldn't remember his previous life even after reading Eren's story. But he knew, it was a painful life, with every precious second to be cherished, as they can end in any second.
But despite the pain of losing their loved ones, it was still a beautiful life.
"If we ever find a way to break this crystal shit, that means you'll be able to continue your life in this era, eh?"
Lastly, I want to thank you, for reading this story and for believing in it. And also for telling humanity about our fight and victory.
Thank you so much, Captain Levi.
"Have you read that book?"
"You mean the one that was just released the other day? I sure have! People said that story is real, they found the body of the writer crystallised in the western land."
"Indeed. I'd like to look at it at least once in my life."
"Who would have guessed, such a shocking story actually happened in the past."
Thousands copies of a book called Attack on Titan, written by Eren Yeager, were displayed in various bookstores, on the best seller shelves―
(―while the original one is being kept tidily inside a drawer in Levi's room.)
End.
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a/n2: this plot idea came to me when i saw a fanart of crystallised eren and levi in modern clothes. IT JUST LED ME TO THIS HAHAH
a/n3: writing in english after such a while sure is hard. i lost my touch.
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