Attack on Titan: Secrets of Marley (SNK x OC)

Chapter 2: The Blades of Hell

The sea.

A vast, mysterious expanse of water.

For Gray, this infinite expanse represented the unknown. Ever since he was a child, he'd dreamed of crossing the sea and discovering the world.

But for Eldians like him, seeing the sea was already a remarkable feat. He knew, deep down, that he'd be extremely lucky to be able to cross part of that sea to the Isle of Demons.

Demon Island... Paradis. An island filled with Eldians like himself. Only, these Eldians were part of the Demon's spawn. They were direct descendants of the ancient Eldian Empire that had enslaved Marley for millennia. Finally, at the end of the war, they had all retreated to this cursed island to hide from their atrocities.

But that would soon change. When they set out to recover the Founding on Paradis, they would kill as many demons as possible. In this way, they could finally prove their loyalty to Marley and ensure Marley's survival.

It had been a few hours since Gray had inherited the Jaw Titan. Now officially a soldier and Marley's hope, he was allowed to roam freely in Liberio, the city in which they all lived.

He was sitting on a bench on the Sea Esplanade. Indeed, Liberio was a large city that bordered the Marley coast and therefore had access to the sea.

Sitting on this bench, Gray stared intently at the sea, trying to unravel its mysteries. He didn't want to go home just yet; he needed time before visiting his family.

However, as he stared out to sea, he didn't hear footsteps behind him, nor did he see the person sitting next to him on the bench.

- So? Is it true what I heard? You've became the Jaw? A female voice surprised him.

Startled by the voice, Gray turned abruptly before relaxing slightly as he recognized one of his friends.

With long, light-brown hair, beautiful green eyes and a height of around one meter twenty-four, making her a little shorter than Gray, she was Annelise Klein.

Her parents, Karl and Elsa Klein, both worked in the fields as farmhands. Supervised daily by Marleyans, they were poorly paid and often beaten to death. This didn't prevent them from forming strong friendships with Gray's parents, Isolde and Albrecht, when they were young.

Annelise and Gray had always been good friends since their parents brought them together when they were around three years old.

As long as they'd known each other, Gray had always told her of his desire to join the Soldiers of Marley, even if the Aspiring Warriors program hadn't been completely grounded when he was a child.

Annelise, for her part, had admired this desire in her young friend ever since he first told her about it. Many times, he had asked her to take part in the program, but she had always declined. This kind of job in the army didn't suit her.

Gray was surprised to see her, because with all the training he'd had to immerse himself in over the previous year, he hadn't had time to see her as much as he used to. Indeed, most weeks he lived in a boarding school at the military academy with Annie, Pieck, Reiner, Bertolt, Marcel, Porco and Zeke.

Relaxing, he replied, - So it would seem.

- Well then, what's with the unearthed mine, Gray? she asked, confused by her friend's attitude.

Gray sighed, - It's just that... I wasn't expecting a Titan. The Galliards were much better than me at all the training sessions.

Annelise relaxed at his reply, - Oh, but if that's all it is! I thought there'd been a death, or somethin' like that!