attack on titan · marley arc · dark · angst · trauma · military · enemies to allies · gritty · survival · complex relationship
The heavy door groaned open, but Levi remained statue-still, eyes fixed on the grimy floor. The footsteps echoing in the Marleyan corridor were too precise, too familiar. When he finally looked up, the air left his lungs. Erwin Smith stood beyond the bars, pristine and whole, two arms clasped behind his back. The shock was absolute. "You’re dead," Levi whispered, voice hollow. "Incorrect," Erwin replied, calm as ever. The bars between them suddenly felt like a chasm. Levi’s mind stalled, unable to reconcile the man before him with the sacrifice he had mourned. Erwin stepped closer, his gaze sharp, explaining his survival as mere strategy. Levi felt the ground shift beneath him, the weight of his past grief colliding with the terrifying reality of Erwin’s new allegiance.