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The day titans disappeared from Humanity’s existence, you remember white chrysanthemums blooming across endless fields of green.
It was an odd sight, you thought, following the fight that had ensued. Here you were in Fort Salta, surrounded by charred corpses, hellish landscapes, and dry, barren land. How could such a bright oasis manifest itself among all this chaos, when so much sadness had happened?
But despite this, as the white steam clung upwards in spirals of lavender haze and the faces of the Survey Corps materialized before you, the change was there. There stood the faces of your comrades—shimmering white in the steam—and fields of flowers behind them.
And you remember thinking that maybe, maybe, the flowers had appeared to symbolize all those who perished. Not just the Survey Corps, but all those people who had died needlessly everywhere. Entire civilizations… gone in the wisp of a day.
And so you stared. You stared at the faces of the soldiers who had stood next to you through everything.
The Survey Corps—your family.
It is your first Commander who breaks the silence.
“The both of you, thank you. Thank you for dedicating your hearts to the Survey Corps.” Erwin’s voice is as you last remember—a deep baritone that reminds you of forests, freedom, and dreams. It seeps into your skin like rain fills the soil.
He turns towards the rest, the outline of his skull shimmering.
And the rest of the Scout Regiment comes into view.
With a ragged breath, you slump down next to Levi, inhaling the dry air of gunpowder.
Your eyes burn as you watch all the faces of the soldiers you never quite had enough time to grieve, never knew how to make proud:
Erwin and his knowing expression, eyes warm with pride and gratitude.
Hange and their contagious smile, a sight you had not seen since they became a Commander—you didn’t realize how much you’d missed it until now.
Miche, Nanaba, Moblit—the people you considered to be like brothers and sisters.
Levi’s squad, both old and new.
Furlan and Isabel.
All of them, blurring into view before you, blending between clouds of smoke and destruction.
You want to say something to them, but words fail you.
I’m sorry you all died so soon. I wish I could have saved you. I wish it were all of you, not me, who stood alive now.
But what good will those words do now? They are dead and you are not.
“Thank you for everything,” you say instead.
And you aren't alone to feel the weight of their presence.
“Hey guys…” Levi croaks. "See all of this? This is what you dedicated your hearts to."
Levi’s voice is chokehold with emotions. It may be the single most earth-shattering sound you’ve ever heard.
You turn towards him, watching the way the bandages on his face are soaked in dirt and blood, the way tendrils of black hair cling to his damp forehead. There's fresh scabs that shine like pearls.
It makes your stomach coil, seeing the extent of Levi's suffering.
No, you think, this isn't the full scope of Levi's pain, only the physical proof of it. Levi's suffering started long before today; his life has been marked with grief and pain.
But he’s alive. He’s here with you.
“You’re alright,” you tell him. “You’ll be all right.”
You and Levi are now the last veterans still alive, the last survivor of the friendships forged when all that mattered was reclaiming the Walls for those living inside.
Your shoulders brushes against his, and you want to burst into tears—realizing that him being undoubtedly here means that he isn’t just a specter like everyone else you have loved. That he is here, which means that he is alive, which means you two have each other still.
Levi, I am glad to be with you. Here at the end of all things, you think to yourself, lips trembling.
As if feeling that unwavering bond, Levi’s eye flit towards you—shallows of sapphire and silver gleaming like water. You realize his stare is red rimmed like yours. He slowly raises his uninjured hand towards you, patting your hair tenderly in the way he always did.
Then, he raises a fist over his heart and looks ahead towards the Survey Corps.
You turn back towards them.
Dedicate your hearts.
How many times had you heard Erwin repeat this sentence, how many times had you whispered those words like a gospel, hoping to find some truth at the end of this journey?
“We’re proud of you. So proud of you both,” Erwin says with a wistful smile.
“What will we do now?” you ask, a sob crackling out of you.
Hange shoots you a knowing look. “Continue to explore the world like a Scout, of course!”
“Live your life the way you always dreamed to,” Moblit adds.
“Treat yourself to some goddamn rest,” Miche says.
"And take care of him for us, will you?" Furlan asks, nodding towards Levi. Isabel grins.
“Shit,” you mutter, screwing your eyes shut.
And then, you mirror Levi’s gesture, smacking your bruised fist over your heart.
This is the last time, you think, feeling thick tears glide down your cheeks, blurring your vision. This is goodbye.
And indeed, the ghosts of your friends now bow their heads as they place their salutes over their hearts, thanking you for all that you have done. You study each of them, trying to burn every detail of them in your memory.
We’ll see you again, you think through labored breaths.
Next to you, Levi dips his head down, a ghost of smile on his lips.
And as the steam dissipates and the valleys of Fort Salta come peering through, reality settles in.
For the first time in your life, you don’t know what tomorrow will look like.
Where do you go from here?
You don't think the life of a soldier is what awaits either of you. There’s Levi, who’s wounded all over. He was Humanity’s Strongest all this time, but now, he can no longer be that man. It would be unfair to expect him to remain that.
So maybe after all of that, what Levi really deserves is peace. For someone to look after him the way he looked after Humanity for so long.
“Tell me,” you say, a sort of childish wonder settling across your face as you look up to the sky, fixing the clouds over the horizon where sandy valleys and endless blue meet together, “what do you suppose we do now?”
Levi doesn’t say anything. You glance at him, scared that maybe he sustained an injury after all, and that he’s slowly dying next to you.
But you find that Levi is still there, staring at you with a silvery eye that makes you feel seen.
“I don’t know,” Levi’s answer is rough and tangled with uncertainty, an expression marred with dark shadows. There’s a line of clean skin where a tear paved its way across his dusty cheek. You want to cradle his face between your palms, to cleanse him of the remains of this battle.
Instead, you gently take Levi’s hand between your own, not knowing if after all the injuries he sustained, if he can even feel the pressure of your heated touch. But Levi squeezes your fingers, and you hold back a choke. Alive, he's alive.
“I think… I think now, we must explore this new world,” you murmur. “Now, we must learn to live.”
"Learn to live, huh?" he says softly.
You smile.
The two of you hold on to each other like that for a long time. It is Onyankopon who later finds you watching the scenery, gazing at where the Survey Corps last stood in a field of white flowers and endless green.
Now, pink and violet sunlight overshadow everything else, the start of a new dawn breathing life into this valley of the dead.
And perhaps, just perhaps, it is enough for now.