A Devoted Heart (Attack on Titan // LeviHan) - Part 2

Epilogue - The Other Side of the Walls

8 months later - in the year 851

They were frozen and mute, staring in awe at the scenery before them.

The glittering blue vastness was breathtakingly beautiful. Also humbling, mysterious, and overwhelming. Majestic white birds drifted in the breeze, occasionally dropping from the air to pluck something from the surface of the shimmering water. Zoë tasted salt on her lips, the air was damp and heavy with scents she had no name for. The unrelenting wind nudged the great mass of water towards the curving patch of sand to their right, smashed it against the rocky cliff they were on, whipped it into the berths in front of the large man-made stone wall to their left, a playful and never ending game of advance and retreat, advance and retreat, filling the entire world with its thunderous sound.

"This is the ocean," Armin pressed out, his voice quivering with emotions. "It's just as I always told you, Eren! A body of water so big that merchants could spend their whole lives and still not get all the salt out. That's what I said we'd find and now it looks like I was right!"

"Yeah... The sea. It's so damn big...," Eren said gloomily.

"So it's true," Zoë murmured. "Levi, it's all true."

But Levi just stared at the vista before them, such an unguarded expression of wonder on his face she felt compelled to look away to give him some privacy.

I wish you guys could be here to see this. The memory of their fallen comrades whose sacrifices had helped get them here was accompanied by the piercing grief she always carried with her. Erwin, you didn't waver despite the horrors we saw, thank you for pushing on and not giving up. Mike, would you go crazy about the smell here? I think you'd have a huge smile on your face right now. Moblit, would you be worried I'd do something dangerous? I'm going to touch it, taste it and bathe in it, just you wait!

They rode down from the cliff to get closer to the water, the horses sliding a little on the unstable ground. At the bottom, they turned to the left, away from the wall where, according to Eren, Eldian prisoners were transformed into Titans by injecting them with Titan serum. They tethered the animals loosley to the few trees and sturdy scrubs, leaving them to nibble off the leathery leaves at their leisure or try their luck on the tough-looking plants that grew close to the sandy ground in patches.

Armin's face was glowing with relief and pride that the things he had advertised as an anchor for humanity's hope were not just mere stories in a book and he was the first to take off his boots and ODM gear, bundle up his green coat and jacket, and roll up his trousers and shirt. He waded into the blue vastness with hardly any hesitation, his big blue eyes riveted on the gently rolling waves.

Eager to feel the water lap at her own feet, Zoë ripped off her own boots and jacket as fast as she could. The bright sand was hot against the soles of her feet, making her skid towards the line of water in an awkward dance. The swell came up to meet her and the difference in temperatures was so pronounced, she gasped in delight. Before it could escape, she bent down to scoop a bit of water up to taste it - it was very, very salty.

"Woohoo! Wow, is this thing seriously all salt water?!" she yelled excitedly. Unbelievable! Where did all that salt even come from?!

The kids started splashing around near her, showering themselves with water. Which, she noticed, wasn't blue at all. That was so weird. The water was transparent, but its surface acted like a mirror, reflecting the color of the sky above them. Would it turn grey during a storm?

"Ouuuuuu, my eyes, my eyes!" Sascha screamed, rubbing them furiously. Connie was laughing like a lunatic, preparing his next attack before she had a chance to retaliate.