"Trainees, keep your equipment at hand and stand by!" shouted an officer.

  The cadets gathered around the table. Connie explained to Krista and Ymir what had happened. Usually, Vivienne felt a strange, uneasy sensation in the presence of the nice girl. But this time, her mind was elsewhere. She was staring at her hands.

  Normal.

  Not unnaturally large.

  Vivienne was so caught up in her own world that she hadn't noticed Sasha touching her shoulder, hadn't seen Jean’s anxious look, nor Connie’s confused expression.

  Normal...

  Nothing in her world was normal. And it never would be again.

  A carriage carrying wounded cadets thundered down the road. One boy broke down, saying he could no longer fight—not after seeing his friends devoured before his very eyes. He wasn’t even sad or angry. Just relieved. Relieved that it wasn’t him. That he wasn’t the one being eaten. Others desperately tried to stop him from taking his own life.

  Because he had realised they would never wake up from this hell.

  Punishment.

  They could only live in hell. Even Vivienne couldn’t make sense of it any other way.

  Although Sasha sat beside a pile of stacked bread rolls, she neither looked at them nor paid them any attention.

  Vivienne couldn’t stop staring at her hands.

  "Vivienne."

  A voice slowly snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Jean staring at her, his gaze focused and uneasy. As if he were waiting for her to say something. As if he hoped she might find the words for what they had witnessed.

  But she had none. Vivienne was still waiting to wake up from this nightmare. Her hands clenched into fists, and she began to tremble slightly. What if... What if she only woke up in another nightmare? Just like the last one?

  An explosion rang out, and everyone’s heads snapped to the side. It came from inside the wall. Was it Titan steam?

  Reiner shot up, horror etched across his face, and sprinted across the rooftops. Annie and Bertholdt followed soon after. Jean wasted no time in chasing after them. Vivienne swore under her breath, shook her head, and activated her ODM gear. She followed the group.

  She wished she hadn’t.

  She watched, frozen, as Armin tried to save Eren. Mikasa stood in front of Eren like a knight guarding her king. Even now, amid the chaos, Vivienne still couldn’t understand her unwavering loyalty to him. But that didn’t matter. Not now.

  To her horror, Armin suggested that they use Eren’s Titan power to lead humanity to victory—to take back the walls.

  She wanted to scream. To fight back. To ask if he had lost his mind.

  The fresh memories of being trapped in the body of an unfamiliar Titan played on loop in her mind, like a broken music box.

  But when she opened her mouth, not a single word came out. Just like the others beside her. She was speechless.

  She was weak.

  Just as the situation threatened to spiral further, Commander Pixis stepped in.

  It wasn’t the first time Vivienne had met him. Ironically, their first meeting had been right here, in Trost—where Sasha and Connie had lost a cooking competition to Jean. Something she still found hard to believe had actually happened.

  The five cadets hurried back to the others.

  The atmosphere grew increasingly sombre, thick with despair. Daz still wanted to end his life. Some wanted to flee. Others were losing their minds. Vivienne couldn’t blame them. But what she could resent was the cold, bitter truth.

  She had grown up as a noble girl in the capital. Everything she felt now—everything the people around her felt—had been foreign to her until recently. Because she had grown up safe. Because she had never had to worry.

  Vivienne’s fingers dug tightly into her palm. Shame crept down her spine as she grasped the weight of it.

  All those who had died today—just wasted tax money to the rich in the capital.

  Why was the world like this?

  The names they would never use again were more than just numbers taken from their own ranks.

  Daz threatened to take his own life once more, while an officer bellowed at him that he’d kill him himself if he didn’t stop.

  "Attention!"

  Pixis’s voice cut through the chaos, and the room fell into uneasy silence.

  "I shall now explain the plan to retake Trost."

  He went on to outline their objective: to seal the hole where the gate had been destroyed and stop any more Titans from entering.

  "Let me introduce the one who will seal the hole for us…"

  Eren stepped forward, and Vivienne’s expression hardened.

  Watch him.

  She wasn’t the only one taken aback. The looks on Connie, Jean, and the others’ faces said it all.

  "He is the result of a top-secret project to turn humans into Titans."

  Top-secret project…?

  If it really existed, it was no wonder none of them had ever heard of it. But… something about it didn’t sit right with Vivienne. If anyone would have known, it would have been Mikasa and Armin—Eren’s closest friends. Judging by their reactions, and by how they had acted when they first thought Eren was dead, Vivienne highly doubted they had known a thing.

  Her emerald eyes flicked sideways.

  Was this it?

  The body she had been trapped in?

  Was this person, too, nothing more than an experiment?

  A human who could turn into a Titan?

  Pixis then explained that Eren would transform and carry a boulder through the broken gate to seal the hole.

  "Your job will be to protect him from the Titans while he moves the boulder!"

  Was this some kind of sick joke?

  They were fighting for their lives. They were fighting Titans.

  Yet no one had protected her.

  And still, she couldn’t look away from Eren.

  Why?

  Why couldn’t she turn away?

  It didn’t take long for people to question whether Eren was truly capable of transforming into a Titan. Vivienne couldn’t blame them. Had she not seen it herself, she wouldn’t have believed it either. Daz, already on the edge of insanity, accused Pixis of lying.

  The atmosphere grew ever more tense as murmurs of doubt spread among the soldiers.

  "Here is my decision!" Pixis declared. "I will pardon anyone who deserts now. Once you succumb to fear of the Titans, you can never fight them again. Those who have learned that fear should leave. And those who would rather see their parents, siblings, and loved ones suffer that fear should leave as well!"

  Vivienne’s eyes widened, and her hand clenched into a fist.

  Had he been afraid? Had Uncle étienne been afraid? Had he regretted his decision?

  Her grip tightened.

  No. He had wanted peace. A peaceful life for everyone. For her.

  "Because so few escaped from Wall Maria, there was never any open rebellion. But what about now? If Wall Rose falls, the sacrifice will be greater than twenty percent. The land within Wall Sina won’t support even half of the remaining population."

  Wall Sina.

  Her home.

  Vivienne knew exactly what he was implying, and he was right. If they lost Wall Rose, it would all be over. Before the Titans could even finish what was left of humanity, humans would have already turned on each other. It would end before it had even begun.

  Humanity could not be allowed to fail.

  "I beg you to die here!"

  She closed her eyes, understanding the weight of his words.

  He knew. He knew that by the end of this mission, half—if not more—of those standing before him would be dead.

  And this would not be the last time someone asked them to lay down their lives for the greater good.

  And so, they marched to their deaths.

  The cadets stood atop the wall. Vivienne’s gaze drifted to the ruined city below. The day wasn’t even over, and they had already lost so much. She stared down at her hands.

  Was leaving this task to Eren really the right decision?

  A sharp hiss caught her attention. She glanced sideways just as Jean landed a few metres from her.

  "I think luring the Titans to the edge of town is pointless," Connie muttered.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  "Any battle against Titans is a war of attrition. At this stage, they want to avoid the needless loss of troops," Jean added.

  "I never thought I’d say this, but Jean’s right," Vivienne sighed, crossing her arms. Even if the plan wasn’t perfect, she’d favour any strategy that kept casualties to a minimum. They had already lost too much.

  Connie turned his back on them, taking a few slow steps forward.

  "Then… anyone who doesn’t make it now will have died for nothing?"

  Vivienne’s breath hitched. Her eyes dropped to the ground.

  Now she understood.

  "Eventually, it will become an all-out war. But until then, we must preserve our forces. It’s obvious that we should minimize casualties The brass made right call" Jean reasoned.

  "Is that so, huh?" Connie asked flatly.

  "It is!" Jean snapped.

  Connie turned around with a nervous smile. "Anyways... Let’s both ensure that we don’t end up as casualties"

  Then, the next order came.

  "All you have to do is keep the Titans in the corner of the city. Focus on that and lure them there. Understood? You don’t have to fight. Trainees, form groups of three and move along the ground. When you reach the wall, get up it. Don’t get killed. If a Titan breaks loose, we’ll deal with it."

  Vivienne glanced at the officer, nerves tightening in her chest.

  This mission already sounded far worse than facing Titans head-on.

  Especially when she considered just how many of them were out there.

  Vivienne was grouped with Sasha and another cadet.

  The potato girl sprinted ahead, a Titan hot on her heels. Looking over her shoulder, she hadn’t yet realised her mistake. The Titan hurled itself forward, crashing towards the ground. Sasha screamed, but an ODM cable shot past her, stopping the Titan’s hand just in time.

  "Get up against the wall! I’m right behind you!" Vivienne shouted, gripping her ODM gear controllers tightly.

  Sasha hesitated for a moment before nodding and pulling herself up with her gear.

  No time.

  Right now, she didn’t have time to be afraid.

  Vivienne launched herself forward, her ODM gear propelling her upwards. Her shoulders eased—if only slightly—when she spotted Connie. But no relief came, and no smile reached her lips.

  "Where’s Jean?" she asked.

  Then she saw Annie and Connie staring down at the city. She followed their gaze—her breath caught.

  Jean was running through the streets.

  He wasn’t using his ODM gear.

  That could only mean one thing.

  It was broken.

  Panic gripped her as she watched him desperately try to unfasten the ODM from the corps of a cadet.

  Jean cursed under his breath, his hands fumbling with the buckles. "Where the hell is Vivienne when you need her?" He gritted his teeth, trying to push the ODM on. "What’s wrong with this thing?! Damn it!"

  Loud footsteps pounded through the street. A Titan was closing in.

  Just as it reached for him, Sasha made her presence known, leading it away.

  A hiss sounded beside him.

  "Let me," Vivienne said, landing in a crouch and pushing him aside.

  Jean had never been happier to see her. Together, they wrestled the ODM gear free from the cadet’s lifeless body. But just as Jean reached for it, Vivienne hesitated.

  Instead of handing it over, she dug into her inside pocket, pulling out a small tool and fiddling with the trigger.

  Jean felt like his brain was short-circuiting. "What the hell are you doing?! We don’t have time for this!" He shot a frantic glance at the street. Another Titan was coming straight for them.

  Vivienne grabbed his hand and pressed it against the trigger.

  It was stiff—barely functional.

  Realisation hit him. He never would have been able to pull it.

  "Then buy me time," Vivienne muttered, her fingers moving with urgency. Sweat trickled down her forehead. She wasn’t even sure if she knew what she was doing.

  But she did know one thing—she wasn’t leaving Jean behind.

  Another Titan lunged for them.

  Before it could reach them, Connie swooped in, drawing its attention.

  "What the hell are you two doing?! Get out of there!" he yelled, sprinting across the rooftops.

  Vivienne exhaled sharply and shoved the controller back into Jean’s hand.

  They locked eyes for a split second.

  Then, without another word, they nodded and ran.

  They swung over the rooftops with their ODM gear, landing on the wall with exhausted exhales. Vivienne was still clutching her swords.

  "You're crazy!" Jean shouted.

  Connie shot him an unimpressed look. "You're the crazy one! I can't believe I survived that…"

  Almost—but only almost—a smile formed on Vivienne’s lips.

  Annie suddenly stiffened and glanced sideways, her eyes widening. "Look at that."

  The others followed her gaze, their expressions mirroring her shock.

  Eren, in his Titan form, was carrying the boulder towards the broken gate.

  "Don't let them interfere! Protect Eren!" Jean yelled.

  A horde of Titans was already closing in, determined to make their lives even more difficult.

  Vivienne gritted her teeth. She didn’t want to do this. It felt wrong.

  But at the same time… she wanted to.

  A twisted game played out in her mind.

  Then, without thinking, she leapt from the roof with the others to help Eren.

  Alongside Connie, she managed to take down a Titan. The fight felt endless, a relentless game of cat and mouse. They darted across the rooftops, their breath ragged, their muscles screaming for rest.

  Then—

  BOOM.

  The deafening sound made them all freeze.

  Their eyes snapped towards the Gate of Trost.

  A giant boulder now sealed the entrance.

  Vivienne's grip on her swords loosened slightly.

  He had done it.

  He had really done it.

  A column of green smoke curled into the sky—a signal of victory.

  They had saved the city.

  Trost was not lost.

  The operation had been a success.

  Now, all that remained was eliminating the Titans still within the city.

  And then—at last—they arrived.

  The Survey Corps.

  Their help had come far too late, but now, with their expertise, Wall Rose had been secured once more. It took an entire day to clear out the remaining Titans trapped within Trost.

  But it was over.

  And they had even managed to capture two Titans alive.

  Vivienne walked slowly through the ruined streets, the lower half of her face hidden beneath a shawl. The work was far from over, even if they had won. Even if she had survived.

  Her eyelids drooped slightly as her gaze drifted over the wreckage.

  The soot from the cannons fell to the ground like snow.

  It had been two days since the Colossal Titan appeared in Trost and shattered their lives.

  Could this really be called a victory? None of them were celebrating. Instead, they were scouring the town, searching for the bodies of those whose names were still fresh in their minds. If they left them here to rot, ignored the work, they’d only create more problems. An epidemic could break out, and then their worst enemy wouldn’t be the Titans—it would be disease.

  Vivienne ran ahead with a Garrison officer. Her hands trembled as her eyes fell on a side alley.

  She knew it.

  She recognised those pale, lifeless eyes.

  It was one of her comrades. Heinz.

  He always sat at the back. He talked a lot.

  "Looks like we’ve found another one," the officer said.

  Vivienne stood frozen.

  He had hated running. He liked cake—though he rarely had any. His parents had wanted him to make something of himself.

  All those small, insignificant bits of information, those overheard conversations, ran through her mind.

  "D’Aubigne."

  Her heart clenched, her breath caught in her throat.

  "D’Aubigne, there’s no time to stand around. I need your help to lift the body."

  Her breath came out shaky as she took slow, reluctant steps towards Heinz’s body.

  "Just grab his clothes. Don’t touch him directly."

  Her hands tightened around the fabric of his uniform. Together, she and the officer lifted him. Vivienne kept her eyes on the ground. She couldn’t look at him. She couldn’t face the reality that his fate was to never be touched by anyone again. To never feel warmth.

  They laid him onto the wooden cart.

  He wasn’t the only one there. And he wouldn’t be the last.

  She stepped away.

  Even if the soot wasn’t snow, it felt just as cold.

  More bodies. More weight. More silence.

  They stacked them up, piling the dead together. And then they burned them.

  It wasn’t the funeral they deserved, but it was all they could do—to protect the land, to protect the living.

  Smoke coiled into the sky. The fire flickered, casting light.

  But they still didn’t feel warm.

  Connie knelt on the ground, hands gripping his head, tears streaming down his face. In all their time together at the Academy, Vivienne had never seen him cry.

  The silence was suffocating.

  Jean broke it.

  "Hey, guys…" His voice was hollow. "Have you decided which one you're joining?"

  The usually confident Kirschstein was gone.

  Uncertainty clouded his face.

  "I have."

  His hands clenched into fists. His whole body shook.

  "I am joining the Survey Corps."

  Vivienne exhaled sharply, her eyes wide.

  How…?

  How cruel was the world they lived in, that even Jean had chosen to fight? A lump formed in her throat, heat spreading through her body.

  Jean was alive. Because she had checked his ODM gear. Her stomach twisted. What if she had checked the others? Would Heinz have lived? Would Marco?

  Her hands flew to her mouth, stifling the scream rising in her throat.

  Marco.

  If she had been faster, if she had been as good as Mikasa or Annie, could she have saved him?

  Guilt began to devour her.

  She slowly pulled her hands away from her face, staring down at them. The dark memories surged forward—the Titan crushing the little girl without hesitation. The way she had trembled beside her mother’s lifeless body.

  And all she could do was watch.

  Watch.

  She had no control. It was as if the devil in the crevice was laughing at her, showing her the truth of the world.

  And she didn’t know which was worse—the fear of death, death itself, or witnessing it all.

  The hell they lived in.

  Where they were punished.

  Where humans could turn into Titans.

  Was this a curse? Or a blessing?

  Was someone still human when they had the power to wipe out an entire village with a single step

  Her hand trembled as she reached into her pocket. The Survey Corps crest felt heavier than ever.

  "Uncle étienne…" she whispered, her voice hoarse, no longer strong enough to hold back her tears.

  Had he been afraid?

  Had he screamed when it happened?

  Had he thought about her?

  Had he suffered?

  Had he hoped, like all the other cadets, that someone would come to save him?

  Had the pain been unbearable?

  Vivienne collapsed to her knees.

  Tears streamed down her face.

  She couldn’t forget.

  The fear in her teammates’ eyes.

  The little girl’s fear.

  Her own fear.

  She was still scared.

  She was afraid. Afraid her friends wouldn’t make it. Afraid she wouldn’t. Afraid she had made the wrong decision.

  She was afraid she would lose herself.

  Vivienne let out a choked cry, squeezing her eyes shut. The tears wouldn’t stop. The pain wouldn’t stop. Her chest ached.

  Make it stop.

  She just wanted it to stop.

  Her emerald-green eyes landed on the stitched crest of the Survey Corps. The memory of her uncle’s smile hit her like a slap in the face.

  And as she blinked through her tears, looking at her friends, she knew.

  Her determination was still there.

  She was going to join the Survey Corps.