We Walk Among Gods

Graduation

"From the beginning of time, titans have roamed these lands. Destroying anything they do not see fit and draining this world of life with every action they take. We wilt and starve, but we survive. Humanity has been separated after the great collapse and turned against each other. Factions have started to form and it seems we have forgotten who our true enemy is. The Hero of our world has vanished and we lay awake at night, scared that we will be the next to fall victim to these great monstrosities. With no one to protect us we try to form teams of people and equip them to fight off these titans. These people are called Hunters and they are our last line of defense against our inevitable fate. These people are the best of the best, with years of training. Yet... one of them stands out from the others. A young man named Kiba, graduating with his corp to become a Hunter. This my friends, is my story..."

Graduation day falls upon the city of Juno and people gather from all to see the new graduates. Kiba stands behind the stage holding his hand to his chest, feeling his heart race and breath stagger. Other graduates walk past him, they are all considerable taller and appear stronger then Kiba. Kiba tries to take some deep breaths to calm himself down but it is no use. The day had finally come to become a Hunter, the most respected and dangerous job a person could have. Kiba looks to his colleagues but is only met with confused looks and some avoiding eye contact all together. He felt like he was gonna cry but he snapped himself out of it and stood up. People had gotten seated and situated outside the stage. Thousands of conversations can be heard through the walls by the graduates and Kiba aside, others were also feeling the stress of this burden but they stood strong. "ATTENTION!" A booming voice came from the front stage, the announcer had begun. "Welcome everyone to the graduation ceremony! These individuals are the best of the best and are our new protectors from the evil of this world! I present you, your new Hunters!" The graduates lined up and started to walk out onto the stage in front of a sea of people. Kiba jumped in the line and followed whatever the person in front of him did. Each graduate walked across the stage and was handed a very special blade made from the souls of fallen titans. These blades are said to contain the power of whatever soul was infused with it. The first sword that was picked up had a brown glow to it. The Hunter raised it in the air and with a hefty force, stabbed the blade into the dirt sending a ripple through the crowd turning it all into mud and people started to sink a little in it before he pulled it out and all the mud converted back to dirt. People erupted it excitement and applause. These powers were only to be seen in combat but the public may bear witness to the power these swords hold during the graduation ceremony. Each Hunter picked up their weapon and showed it off. Kiba was curious how each Hunter knew how to use their sword already but he assumed they will tell him when he got his sword. The line got shorter and shorter, eventually it was Kibas turn. He walked up and was presented his sword. He took it in his hands and stared out into the crowd. His heart beating through his chest but he went for it, dying with curiosity with his new titan power. He raised his sword up in the air with force and closed his eyes.  ...  He looked up and nothing had happened, he lowered it and looked out to the thousands watching him. His heart sank and he started to panic. He drove his sword into the dirt with force but still nothing. Whispers echoed though the crowd. "What's happening...?" "Is he even a Hunter...?" "Who is this guy...?". Kibas hands started to tremble, he tried to lift his sword from the ground yet he felt his arms getting weak from the thousands of onlookers. The crowed started to get louder and laugher could be heard from a few people. Soon the laughter spread and doubt had risen about what was happening in front of them. Kibas hands fell from the handle of his sword, he fell to his knees and tears started to form in his eyes. He was no Hunter in the eyes of his people, his colleagues, his home. He stood up and ran from the ceremony trying not to show his tears to the public. He made it to his house and broke down crying as soon as the door closed behind him. He fell to the floor sobbing and wishing he had never done this in the first place. He ran into his bedroom and it had figurines and books on the great hero of the land. He began to knock them off the shelves and throw the books at the wall. He quickly lost all energy and once again fell to the floor. Down on his knees he pressed his head against the floor. Through sniffles and gasps of air "I- I just wanted to be a Hero! I wanna be like you!" He screamed at his book. He looked at the picture with the old hero on it. "Where did you go... you ruined us by leaving, now they have people like me expecting me to fight titans like you..." "HOW FUCKED UP IS THAT" He screams throwing the book at the wall as hard as he could. His breath was heavy and tired. Suddenly he heard a lot of yelling outside. He assumed it was the graduation getting out which made him hide even more in his room but the yelling continued and turned more into panic. Kiba quickly got up and ran to his window. He opened his window and was met with a frightening realization. "TITAN!" Yelled people in the streets. Kiba looked out his window more and saw a hulking creature walking towards his city. The creature was made of jagged stone, it was as if a mountain was attacking them. Kiba closed his window and hid in his room. Hoping the other Hunters will take care of it. The screams continued and echoed throughout his head but he couldn't bring himself to stand up. Hunters were already fighting the titan with little success. The swords could not penetrate the thick layer of rock that coded the titans outsides and even with these special powers, the titans armor could not be broken. An evacuation notice was sent through the city of Juno. This titan was not being effected by anything the Hunters threw at it. The titans slaughtered anyone who got to close and treated the Hunters no better then a common house fly. Kiba with his ears plugged and eyes closed could still hear the screams in his head. He opened his eyes and saw the book he threw against the wall. The book was open to the final page of the book where it read. "He may be gone but his spirit is in all of us, if we carry out his legacy, a hero never truly dies..." Kiba stared at the text for a few moments before reluctantly standing up and running outside his house.

He stood outside and saw people running, he helped escort people to the evacuation sight to get them all to safety. The monster got closer to the city but was still seen to be fighting the Hunters. Kiba ran towards the direction of the monster for his sword that was left at the stage. The monster roared a fearsome cry which shook the ground as of an earthquake was happening. People lost balance and buildings fell. Kiba kept running as fast as he could to the strange but when he got there his sword was nowhere to be seen. The monster approached the stage and Hunters can be seen doing their best attacking the legs of the creature. Kiba searched desperately for his sword through the rubble of the stage and the seating area. The titan dropped its foot next to Kiba sending him flying off and landing on the rubble of the very stage he stood earlier that day. The monster looked down to meet eyes with Kiba. They stared into each others eyes for only but a moment before the titan lifted his foot to finish him off. Darkness enveloped Kiba, the sun had been blocked out from the massive size of this creature over him. He was afraid of death but for some reason here... he was ok. His heart didn't race, tears didn't form in his eyes. He was ok. With wide eyes he looked onto his inevitable fate. The foot began to drop on top of him...

"STOP THAT!" A voice yelled from about 50 feet away. The foot stopped over Kiba sending a massive wave of air into Kiba blowing him and the rubble all around. Kiba was able to get his balance and stand up to look at that voice. The titan looked towards a young child. Brandishing a sword, Kibas sword... Once again the stress of the world had been put on Kiba. The titan recognize the child as a Hunter due to the sword in his hand. Kiba looked at the titan turn it's gaze towards the kid. "No... stop... don't..." Kiba begged with no breath. Kiba stumbled into a run towards the child. "STOP PLEASE! RUN!!!" The titan lifted his foot over the child only for the child to hold the sword close to him and look up as the light disappeared. Kiba ran as fast as he could, his legs felt light and he couldn't focus on anything else "RUN!" He yelled once more as the foot started to descend on the child. The kid looked to Kiba. Kiba dived under the foot and tackled the kid down. Without even thinking, he took the sword from him and screamed as if he had never screamed before in his life. He closed his eyes and swung his sword at the monsters foot. The sword and the titans foot made contact, sending a shockwave through the titans entire leg, shattering the stone layer on the entire leg and the sound of bones snapping could be heard with a booming presence. The titan was forced back and made it lift his leg. Kiba opened his eyes to witness this unbelievable sight. A titan in pain like this is something that is not commonly seen. Kiba holds onto the kid with one arm and snaps back to reality. He leads the kid away from the stage and to safely with a small group of people who were hiding from the monster.  The people took the kid and Kiba started to run back to the battle. The kid looked on with amazement and the people led him back to the evacuation zone.

Kiba ran back to the battle where the other Hunters were already taking advantage of the shattered armor. They were finally able to get to the skin of this creature, while still hard, their weapons could do some serious damage. The beast roared once more but it didn't feel as bad, the beast was out of breath and clearly in a lot of pain. Kiba looked up to it as it was losing balance having only 3 legs to really work with. The titan looked towards Kiba once more just to be met with fear. The titan turned around the best it could, limping out of the city to try and get away alive. A group of Hunters followed to try and finish it off but as far as they knew, the battle was over and they had won. People cheered in the streets and started to praise the Hunters. Kiba had people run by him to congratulate the other Hunters. He stood there with a blank face and held his sword in his hand. He stared at it for a moment before putting it away. No one seemed to know what he did but one person did. He laid on the floor, just to pass out from exhaustion and fall asleep on the pathway. His heart could use a break.