Humanity lived within three enormous walls: Wall Maria, Wall Rose, and Wall Sina. They towered high above the villages, enclosing fields, towns, and forests in a quiet, orderly world. People lived behind the walls because it had always been that way, and the walls were said to keep them safe.
Stories were told of the Titans, enormous humanoid beings that wandered far beyond the walls. Some said they were terrifying; others called them mysterious. Inside the walls, however, they were little more than distant legends, the kind of tales told to children at bedtime. People went about their lives without fear, confident that the walls kept them far away from anything that could harm them.
Children played freely in the sunlight, farmers tended their fields, and merchants sold their goods at bustling markets. Life here was steady, calm, and predictable.
In the countryside of Wall Sina, a small farm lay bathed in afternoon light. The air smelled of earth and grass, and a gentle wind stirred the leaves. Behind a broad oak at the edge of the field, a little blonde girl pressed herself into the shadow of its trunk, hiding from an unseen pursuer.
Hehehe… she thought, a sly grin tugging at her lips. Dain won't find me this time.
She giggled quietly to herself, letting the moment stretch.
Then she felt it—a soft tap on her shoulder.
Her laughter died in an instant. She spun around, and there he was: a boy, a year older than her, with messy black hair and calm, pale blue eyes that seemed to look straight through her. And that smile—gentle, teasing, entirely familiar.
[Image Here]
Dain.
"Ahhhh!" she screamed, the sound tearing through the afternoon air.
She jumped backward, but in her haste, her small foot caught on a stubborn root beneath the tree.
Down she went, landing hard against the rough bark.
Her knee scraped along the coarse surface, warm blood trickling down.
"Ahiii!" she cried out, though she tried to stifle the sound, trying to look tough.
"You can cry if you want, you know," Dain said softly, sitting beside her as though nothing about this moment was unusual.
"N-No…" she stammered, still wincing in pain. "You never cry, so why should I?"
Dain tilted his head slightly, expression calm, almost teasing.
"I don't cry because I don't get hurt like you do," he said simply. "You're just… too clumsy."
She pouted, glaring at him through watery eyes.
Dain sighed, a long, measured sound that seemed heavier than the sunlight.
"Historia…"
...
Year 845.
Fall of Wall Maria.
Wall Maria was breached. The district of Shiganshina was destroyed, and its people were forced to flee within Wall Rose. What had once seemed distant—almost unreal—had suddenly become undeniable.
The peaceful world everyone believed in… had cracked.
And yet, far from the chaos, on a secluded farm within Wall Sina, life went on.
Dain and Historia Reiss still lived together, away from the noise and fear. The other children avoided them, keeping their distance.
But neither of them cared.
They had each other.
Over time, what they shared had become something simple and unbreakable—like brother and sister.
"Hey, Historia…" Dain said one afternoon.
She looked up from the book resting on her lap. "What is it?"
"Aren't you curious?"
"About what?"
Dain glanced toward the distant horizon.
"About the world… what's outside the walls. Aside from Titans… it can't just be an endless land full of them, right?"
Historia hesitated. "I—"
The door suddenly opened.
Both of them turned.
A man stepped inside. He wore a clean suit, a hat in hand, his posture straight and composed. There was something refined about him—something that didn't belong to a place like this.
A noble.
Dain immediately moved in front of Historia.
"Who are you?! What do you want?!" he shouted.
The man removed his hat calmly.
"Greetings," he said. "I'm Rod Reiss."
Dain frowned. "Rod Reiss…? Like the owner... of these lands?"
The man's expression softened slightly.
"D-Dain…" Historia's voice trembled.
She pointed behind him.
Dain followed her gaze.
A blonde woman stood there.
His eyes widened.
"That looks like—"
"That's my mother…" Historia whispered.
Rod Reiss cleared his throat, drawing their attention back.
"Historia…"
She froze.
"Wait… how do you know my name?"
Silence filled the room.
Then—
"Because… I'm your father, Historia."
The words landed heavily.
Historia stared at him, unable to move.
"You're… my father?" she repeated, barely above a whisper.
"Yes," he said gently, reaching out to her.
Dain tensed, ready to stop him—but then he saw her face.
Hope.
For the first time, she was being acknowledged.
He lowered his hand.
Rod gently ruffled her hair.
"From now on, you'll be living with us. Alright?"
Historia glanced at her mother… then nodded slowly.
But then—
"Can Dain come with us too?"
Rod's gaze shifted to the boy.
He clicked his tongue quietly. There was hesitation… something conflicted.
"…I'm sorry, Historia. That's not possible."
"Then—"
She was cut off.
Dain placed a hand over her mouth.
"She'll gladly come," he said calmly. "Thank you, Lord Reiss."
He bowed.
Historia pulled his hand away. "What are you doing, Dain?! I'm not going anywhere without you!"
Dain lightly tapped her head.
"Historia…" he said softly.
She froze.
His eyes were gentle—warmer than she had ever seen them.
"You have to go. You can finally be with your family… you'll live like a noble. You won't have to worry about whether we'll have food or not."
He gently patted her head.
"But…" she tried to argue.
She couldn't.
Not when he looked at her like that.
"Let's go," Rod said, taking her hand.
He led her away.
Historia kept turning back, again and again.
Dain simply smiled.
"Don't worry… we'll meet again."
Then—
Everything changed.
Men in black surrounded them.
Screams filled the air.
Historia's mother panicked, trying to run, but she was quickly restrained.
Dain's body tensed.
Something's wrong.
A tall man stepped forward, dressed in black, with sharp features and a relaxed, almost amused expression.
"Quite the situation, Lord Reiss," he said casually.
"Mother!" Historia cried.
"No!" the woman screamed back. "I'm not her mother! I've never seen this girl before!"
Historia froze.
"…Is that so?" the man said.
He turned to Rod.
"No relation to either of them?"
Rod hesitated.
Then let go of Historia's hand.
"…I have no choice," he muttered.
"I have no relation to them."
Dain clenched his fists.
You bastard.
The man in black smiled faintly.
"As expected."
He forced the woman to her knees.
"You never existed," he said calmly, drawing a curved blade.
"You never worked for him. Nobody knows you."
The woman broke down.
"No! Lord! That's not what we agreed—!"
Historia stepped forward.
"Mother…"
The woman looked at her—and her expression twisted.
"If only… you were never born!"
A flash.
Blood.
Silence.
Historia's eyes widened as the body fell.
Her book slipped from her hands.
She didn't scream.
She didn't move.
She just stared.
The man turned toward her.
Blade ready.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
A stone struck his weapon, knocking it aside.
Dain.
The man chuckled.
"Well… looks like we have a little spectator."
The others moved toward him.
Dain's thoughts sharpened.
I have to save her.
That was all.
Then—
Something surged through him.
Like lightning.
His body moved.
Clear.
Precise.
Cold.
I just have to kill them.
He rushed forward.
A blade came at him—
He dodged.
Grabbed the wrist.
Twisted.
Slammed the man to the ground.
"Attack him!"
They all charged.
Dain kicked the fallen blade up, catching it mid-air, and parried the next strike.
The force pushed the attacker back.
How does a kid—
Before he could finish the thought—
Dain slit the throat of the man on the ground.
Clean.
Efficient.
Historia watched in silence.
Dain moved again.
A man reached into his coat—
Too slow.
Dain threw the blade.
It pierced his throat instantly.
More came.
One lunged—
Dain jumped over him, landing behind him.
His hands tore into the man's clothes—
And then—
He bit down.
Tore flesh from the back of his neck.
"What the hell…?!"
The men were shocked.
The man near Historia watched, amused.
"…Heh… another one with the same curse."
Dain charged again—
But in an instant—
He was stopped.
The man in black moved faster than he could see, restraining him completely.
Dain struggled wildly.
"Let me go!!"
No effect.
A precise strike—
Darkness.
"…Finally," the man sighed. "Some silence."
He reached for a blade.
"Wait."
Rod Reiss.
"Let him go."
The man raised an eyebrow. "He's an Ackerman."
"I know," Rod said. "He may be useful… against Titans."
A chuckle.
"…Understood."
Rod turned to Historia.
His voice was calm.
"Your name... is Krista Lenz."
To be continued...
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