attack on titan · marley arc · dark · angst · trauma · military · enemies to allies · gritty · survival · complex relationship
The heavy iron door groaned on its hinges, but I didn’t stir. My eyes remained locked on the damp stone floor. The footsteps that echoed down the Marleyan corridor were too measured, too painfully familiar. When I finally lifted my head, the air vanished from my lungs. Erwin Smith stood beyond the bars, immaculate and whole, both arms clasped behind his back. The shock was total, a physical weight in my chest. "You’re dead," I whispered, the sound hollow. "Incorrect," Erwin replied, his tone as calm as ever. Suddenly, the iron between us felt like an uncrossable chasm. My mind stalled, unable to reconcile the living man before me with the sacrifice I had mourned for years. Erwin stepped closer, his gaze piercing, explaining his survival as pure tactical calculus. I felt the ground til…