My body is finally able to move with incredible speed and maneuverability, I feel a wild whiff of headwind and adrenaline in my blood. Yes, that's the feeling! Really exciting! Yahoo!
– Hey, Pieck, don't forget that we have to kill titans!
– Yes, I know, boring!
I was distracted by the voice of the young man who was assigned to me as a couple, Eren Yeager. I would say that he is quite impulsive, but at the same time quite cold and persistent, there is no words for him to "give up". Is it worth mentioning that he looks more or less good? Well, that's probably important too, isn't it?
– Hey! Die, titan!
– Great shot!
But now is not quite the time. At the moment we have a training session with ODM equipment, which they talk about so much here. Eren was extremely glad that we finally got down to this part, and to be honest, I'm glad too, because it's fucking fun.
Of course, it's really not easy to control this thing and it's quite possible to get any injury even with the smallest maneuvers, but still it's really cool. There has never been anything like this in Marley, their ground troops mostly move on foot, which is quite slow. Of course, there are trains and cars, even prototypes of some kind of tanks, but this is nothing compared to ODM. So every soldier on this island can probably even dodge bullets!
What a thing! Haha!
– Then hurry up and catch up with me!
– I'm already far ahead! You're late, PIeck!
– You little rascal! Come on, fly here!
– You won't catch up!
But this Eren Yeager, it's a bit of an incomprehensible variable. Of course, I can understand his wild desire to exterminate the Titans and return the lost Wall, which is why even in my heart there is a slight pang of guilt, but otherwise his origin raises questions. He does look a bit like Zeke, really, just a little bit.
But still, I expected that our warchief Zeke Yeager would ignore my news that Eren might be somehow connected with him, but still everything turned out quite wrong. According to Annie, he asked to find out as much as possible about this guy. I don't even know what to think about it.
– Ten! Eleven! Twelve! Come on, Pieck, push up!
– Holy Titan, you're going to kill yourself if you don't stop being so fast.
And yet he trains fiercely and never backs down, only moves forward. This is commendable, but stupid, although still commendable. But, I must admit that Eren mastered ODM quite quickly, even faster than any of the local cadets. I'm sure it will show everyone how serious he is in his fight with the Titans.
I'm surprised at him, to be honest. Since childhood, due to the fault of circumstances, he already knows exactly who his enemy is, although I know that the answer to this question is incorrect or, rather, ambiguous. Who is Eren's enemy? Titans? The Marlians? The rest of the world? Or maybe... me?
– Huh?! Hey!
Suddenly, someone jumped right in front of me using ODM. Whoever the damn prankster is, I'll beat him up... if I catch him. Hmm, is that a Mine? Did she really decide to make fun of people in this way when she got an ODM?
– I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I haven't fully mastered it, it's so difficult..!
– Apology accepted... captain Needa.
– Huh?
We stopped for a second on a branch high up in a tree to rest. I feel like the metal of my ODM is hot because of the continuous operation of the gas delivery mechanism. Yes, you can not overdo it, otherwise everything can end badly, especially if you are at a high altitude ... and if your clothes also catch fire, then this is definitely the end…
– What was that?
– Doesn't matter...
– Well... Are you doing well, Pieck? Aren't you paired with Eren?
– Yes, this guy really behaves like a suicide-boy or something and throws himself on these huge mannequins like children on candy.
It is simply impossible to contain it. I hope he won't throw himself at the Titans like that when he meets them live. On the other hand, this girl, Mina Carolina, is quite calm and sociable. She likes to gossip, but at the same time does not cross certain boundaries, for which she can be praised.
– He must be just a big kid.
– Very likely. Hahahahah!
– Hahahah! Uh, and I'm paired with Berthold.
– Well, he's doing a good job. I think it's good that you're together.
Thanks to our military training, Reiner, Berthold and I are quite capable of coping almost perfectly with all the difficulties that can be offered to us here. Our only weakness is the technological miracle of Paradise Island, that is, ODM. This is really such a worthy step forward that with some improvement it can be used against people and boldly participate in wars.
– Oh, that's true, but it bothers me a little that he's so quiet…
– Mm?
– N-no, I don't mean that he looks bad or behaves inappropriately, just somewhat introverted. I think he would already have a girlfriend if he talked to more people.
Really. Of the three of us who joined the cadet training corps, Berthold is the only one who decided to keep his distance from the other cadets. I can understand his desire, because he probably wants to stay away from those whom he considers devils.
Well, I would have done the same if they really were monsters, as we were told, but even in this short period of time among them, I managed to understand that they are just ordinary people. Huh, they don't even know that there's something on the other side of the wall besides Titans. Most of them probably haven't even heard of the sea or other nations.
But why? This question could not leave my head, because there was no clear reason why suddenly all the local Eldians, like us, do not remember anything. Although, it probably has something to do with the king and the titan, which he keeps with him.
– I think you're definitely right, sis!
– S-sister?
– Ah, let your lovely auntie Pieck lead you into this world of boys. If you like Berthold, I could give you some advice.
– Aha, n-no, it's not that... I just…
– Shhh, don't worry, I'll take care of everything.
As the older sister that I could be, I have to take on certain responsibilities. Fortunately, I managed to find out that I am a little older than all the girls in our 104th southern training corps. It really elevates me to the status of an older sister. Ha, I've always wanted to have younger brothers and sisters, but I never thought there would be so many of them.
– But we'd better get on with it for now, wouldn't we? It won't be good if the inspectors notice that we are idling here.
– Yeah..!
However, even after a while I didn't manage to achieve too much. I had 8 mannequins on my account, although it's still not bad if you remember that most people barely cut one or two. Well, I can be proud of myself. Moreover, I have a guy in my partners who cut his way to victory by chopping down all twenty mannequins. He's really a damn dangerous kid!
– Can I help you, Pieck?
– Hm?
While I was fiddling with my gear and trying to remove the fasteners, which were so tight that they even squeezed my chest, a cute girl called out to me. She looked like an angel, so her offer of help seemed like a sign from above.
– Yes, please. If it's not difficult for you.
– Yes, of course.
She handled it pretty quickly, faster than anyone I've watched. It seemed as if she had managed to learn it so quickly. Although in any case, I will have to take into account my mistakes and next time not to fasten the fastenings of the holding mechanism so much. Uh, I feel like I'll have red marks on my chest and shoulders for the rest of the day.
– Thank you, Christa.
– It's nothing. I happy to help.
We shook hands before I realized something and felt something different. Suddenly, I felt a charge of electric current run through my palm.
– Ha... where... where am I..?
Everything around suddenly disappeared, as if it had evaporated, all the cadets, including Christa. I have only my things, clothes, and ODM equipment with me, but that's all. Sand is everywhere instead of the usual earth, and a bright sunny day with small fragile white clouds has been replaced by a dark night with lonely distant stars.
– This... WHAT is it?
In front of me, a bright curved beam of light stretched far ahead, stretching from the sand dunes to the starry night sky and twisting as if it were not just a ray of light. The whole bright picture in such a dark place resembled a lonely big tree whose branches stretch everywhere in the sky.
"One day they saw paths."
– Oh?
I heard a voice right next to my ear. It was so quiet, literally a whisper, but I still managed to hear those words perfectly. It was a slightly familiar voice, definitely belonging to a man, no, rather, even a guy…
"These paths are invisible to people's eyes."
What is he talking about..? Which paths? Why are they invisible..? What kind of place is this anyway… Where the hell am I?! And why this voice…
"The blood, muscles, bones of titans, everything is formed here and goes through the paths."
Titans? Are blood, muscles and bones formed? This is something that still cannot be explained in any way, this mystery of the millennia in which titans exist. Is there really... an answer here..? But why now? And why here..?
"Sometimes memories of the past, of former inheritors, even pass through them."
Ha..?! Really! So that's what it is. That is, thanks to those "paths", we can see the memories of our predecessors? If so... although, no, there is too little information, there are still a lot of unknown variables... First of all, what is this tree in front of me? Are these the ways? Or what is it?
"All paths sooner or later merge into a single coordinate."
The coordinate..? I've heard that before. It seems that this is what they call…
"We call it the Founding Titan."
Here it is!
– Pieck? Are you okay?
– Aaa?
Suddenly Christa reappeared before my eyes, I'm still holding her hand, as if nothing had happened. The sky turned blue as before, and there was no more sand around, like that glowing tree. Was it really all that fast? Either Christa was holding my hand the whole time, or it all happened almost instantly.
– You... your hand, you're squeezing my hand…
– Ah..? Sorry…
I released my surprisingly strong grip, then looked away. That place, I don't know what it really was, but it looks like it could really be a coordinate. If this is really the case, then I did not voluntarily witness something beautiful. Just to think that everything will turn out like this…
I was warned that members of the royal family would most likely have blue eyes and golden hair, but I did not expect that this coincidence would be so obvious and accurate. Really, our goal was so close all this time, and we didn't even notice anything, like stupid chickens whose eggs are being stolen.
Haha... wow, this really changes everything. By the will of an absurd coincidence, I have just managed to find a probable revelation. Almost everything now points to such a clear goal for our mission. True, I still have questions that, to be honest, put any guesses about everything at a dead end, but it probably doesn't matter anymore.
The most important thing is that I realized who Christa Lenz is. She is the Founding Titan we were looking for.