In the year 784, on a hot night, a solitary miner attempted to dig a tunnel beneath Wall Sina to get into the inner district. A few days prior, an idea suddenly sparked when he was swinging his small shovel in the coal mine: a comfortable life might be waiting for him inside Wall Sina. He then spent many days searching for a suitable location until he found a dense forest growing alongside the wall. No one passed by there, and the lush bushes would easily shield his conspiracy from the eyes of the patrolling soldiers on the Wall.
With these thoughts, the miner decided to act the next night. He dug deep into the earth with his familiar shovel. The work progressed smoothly. Before long, the pit was taller than his head. To move the soil and rocks, he poured them into small bags, climbed a ladder, and tossed them outside. Without pausing, he immersed himself in the digging, occasionally stopping for a drink of water. He had been a tunnel digger for 20 years, so he was extremely confident in this attempt. He knew how to dig deeper, faster, and more efficiently than anyone else.
Tunnels that others couldn't dig posed no difficulty for him. But on that day, something felt strange. Many hours passed, yet the tunnel was getting nowhere. He examined the tunnel ceiling but found no clue. The foundation of the Wall went even deeper. But the miner did not give up. The reason was no longer his desperate desire for a better life inside Wall Sina, but his ambition to surpass the Wall.
"With 20 years of tunnel-digging, I swear I will conquer this Wall."
Wiping away endless sweat, he declared forcefully. But after digging deeper than four times his own height, the shovel hit a layer of hard rock.
"Bedrock?"
The miner suddenly thought. It seemed to be made of the same material as the foundation of the Wall. The miner dug with all his strength, but couldn't even scratch it, and his shovel was chipped into pieces. Finally, the miner let out a sigh heavier and deeper than any tunnel he had ever dug in his entire life before.
"The Wall?"
His friend asked with a confused expression.
"Strange, isn't it?"
The miner replied, taking a gulp of wine.
"Who would have thought the Wall went so deep underground..."
The two were sitting opposite each other behind a tavern located on the outskirts of the town. After every workday, the miner would often drink with his only friend. On that day, after the fateful digging session, they met again at the tavern. As usual, they came spontaneously without invitation. The miner recounted what had happened the previous night. He trusted that his friend would not tell anyone.
"It seems the Walls enclose us both above and below ground," the miner continued. "But right from the start, those Walls..."
His friend cleared his throat, stopping the story, then glanced around the tavern. The other patrons seemed busy flirting with the serving girls and drinking, chatting animatedly with each other. Even so, the miner said nothing more about the Walls. If anyone heard and reported it, even a whisper could cause the Military Police to appear instantly.
"What about it? The Walls..."
His friend regained his composure and asked.
"Nothing has changed. I'll continue digging, because that's the only thing suitable for me, right?"
However, the next day, the miner did not show up for work, and neither did he in the following days. His friend visited his house many times but didn't find anyone. The miner had no family, wife, children, or anyone close, so no one knew where he might be. The friend didn't know what to do, so he finally reported everything to the Garrison Regiment, including his friend's conspiracy to breach the Wall.
The very next day, the Military Police and the Garrison Regiment organized a large-scale search. Although the miner was considered a criminal for attempting to breach the Wall, the search for this single man seemed more extensive than necessary. The miner's friend couldn't understand why they were so desperate. And then, neither the miner nor the hole he dug were ever found. Not long after, the miner's friend also disappeared, leaving a mystery that persists to this day.
Frieda awoke, her face blank as if she had just woken from a long dream, but after only a blink of an eye, her expression returned to calm; all emotions were concealed.
Nearly five months had passed since the upheaval caused by the three individuals with Titan power infiltrating from outside. Two of them had been captured, yielding almost all information about the enemy nation Marley, and were currently detained in the research facility.
"Marley..."
Frieda narrowed her eyes, pondering the name for a moment. Then she relaxed, prepared her clothes, and walked out of her private room.
After several months of continuous upgrading and remodeling, the "research facility" that Asahi had initially established to study Titans finally looked like a proper research institute. Built on a large, relatively flat piece of land, the facility had four main areas: the area housing the Titan "samples," the largest area for the living quarters and rest of the research staff, the area for studying the properties and capabilities of Titans with several smaller sub-sections, and finally, the central area, which was Asahi's residence. The three areas, excluding the sample area, were arranged in a large U-shape.
Frieda had become a member of the research staff since the incident.
Before, Frieda might not have been an outgoing, bright girl, but at least she had something to strive for, a touch of innocent purity. Now, her eyes held only bleakness, as if the entire world had lost its color.
Asahi had tried to counsel her psychologically many times regarding this. Each time, Frieda would reply, "I'm fine," but anyone with a little attention could see she was just giving a perfunctory answer. He could only shake his head and sigh.
The death right before her eyes, for Frieda herself, might have held some even more special significance.
Although Asahi was reluctant to see the young girl in this state, he was currently very busy. First and foremost, he needed to immediately save Grisha from the fate of being dragged to death by the Titan power.
Frieda sat at a table, casually allowing the staff next to her to take her blood for testing, her eyes directed towards the central area.
Today was a very special day.
In the central area, Asahi stood solemnly before a medical table where Grisha lay. Tubes were inserted all around him, and he wore a mask supplying oxygen, looking exceedingly unusual.
His complexion was sallow and extremely weak; long lines marked his cheeks and under his eyes—all signs of a person with Titan power after a prolonged period of use.
Grisha's time was running out; the power of the Attack Titan was about to claim his life.
Today was the last chance.