Chapter 3
It was a quiet afternoon in the peaceful Shiganshina District, at the foot of Wall Maria. The world seemed strangely still. Birds floated overhead, the breeze gently ruffled leaves climbing the old stone walls, and children's laughter drifted through the narrow dirt alleys.
In the cool shade of a large tree near the Yeager family home, four children sat on a worn wooden plank, their curious faces lit with wonder.
In the center, Armin held an old book in both hands—its cover ragged, its yellowed pages seeming to contain the breath of those who read it before him.
"This book," Armin said, gazing at its pages, "belonged to my grandfather. He told me our ancestors once passed beyond these walls. Each image here… was taken outside."
Eren's eyes went wide as he stared at the illustrations.
"Look, Eren," Armin flipped a page and pointed. "This is the sea. It stretches endlessly—like a reflection of the sky."
"Wow! Is this real? Does it exist?" Eren exclaimed in awe.
He leaned toward the image, as if he could smell the salt in the air. Mikasa, who had been silently watching since the beginning, showed no expression—yet when she saw Eren's excitement, she edged closer… drawn by the curiosity ignited in him.
Armin turned another page and motioned to them. "And here… these mountains stand like swords. And those buildings? They don't look like anything back here…"
At that moment, Armin said, his voice low: "Ryo… look—behind you… That's your home, and those people in front of it…"
The calm shattered like glass, and all eyes turned in the same heartbeat.
Ryo—the boy with long dark hair and the small black birthmark under his eye—slowly turned around. At first, he couldn't believe what he saw.
Before his home stood six men in Scout Regiment uniforms—the same uniforms he saw every morning on his father departing for duty, waving with a friendly smile.
But now… something was different.
Some covered their faces with their hands… one pressed his palm against his eyes to restrain tears… the rest wore grief on their faces.
Then Ryo saw her.
His mother, Arya, standing at the wooden door of their home. Her auburn-brown hair swept in the wind, her hands lifted toward her mouth as if holding back an endless scream.
Ryo's heart sank into his chest.
"No…" he murmured, barely audible.
No words were needed. No one spoke.
He understood.
Ryo ran with every ounce of strength he had, as if sound and sight were hazy beyond the tunnel of his focus. All that existed was the road to his home, his mother's face, and the soldiers delivering the news.
He ran past his friends' calls. He didn't hear them. He didn't care. All else blurred—time, the air, the world itself.
When his feet hit the doorstep, only his ragged breath and the trembling of his voice remained… but he heard it.
That voice—Takashi, his father's friend and deputy in the Scout Regiment—stood by the carriage brought from the forest. His eyes were red and arms trembling, wiping tears no one expected of such a strong soldier.
He spoke in a broken voice—every word a stab to Ryo's heart:
"I'm so sorry… we returned to the site… and found him… gone."
Then in a whisper, as if struggling to breathe:
"We couldn't leave his body… he's here."
Ryo didn't wait.
He hurdled past everyone, even Takashi appeared unable to see him approach the carriage.
He reached the wooden carriage draped in faded white cloth—it trembled not because of wind, but of fear.
Ryo's hand shook as he pulled back the cover.
…
There lay his father.
Vig Ackerman—bearing a strong resemblance to Ryo, with shorter hair, light stubble on his battered face. His body was laid out as though asleep…but the stillness was final: cold and lifeless.
His wounds, hastily bandaged, faintly hinted at the battle that ended him. But he was… not alive.
Ryo paused. No sound. No breath. No sign of life.
Then he erupted.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
The scream echoed through Shiganshina as if tearing his heart apart.
Eren, Armin, and Mikasa—all rushed toward him, leaping from beneath the tree, running toward the sound without hesitation.
But Ryo collapsed beside the body, falling to his knees, then crumbled.
He pulled his father into his arms, pressing his head to Vig's cold chest, tears streaming down onto his father's bloodstained uniform.
He screamed. He wept. He shattered.
"Father!! Father!! Why did you leave us?!! Didn't you promise you'd come back?!! Didn't you promise to get me a new book from the castle?!! Why did you lie to us?!!"
His voice cracked, breath quivered, tears burned through dried blood on his father's chest.
Then he rested his cheek on Vig's shoulder…
and his sobs turned into quiet choking sobs, as if the whole world collapsed in his chest.
Arya, Vig's wife, could no longer bear the sight.
She covered her face with trembling hands and broke into tears where she stood. Her knees gave way—she clutched the wall for support, her eyes watching her son shatter just as her own heart did.
Neighbors slowly assembled… the street filled with the sounds of weeping, whispers, fear.
But Ryo was elsewhere.
And then—suddenly—he stopped.
He stopped crying.
Yet his eyes still trembled.
His expression began to shift.
From grief… to rage.
Takashi—and everyone present—heard the grinding of teeth. They felt the transformation.
Ryo lifted his head… his eyes were red, and in them burned something else—a new resolve.
In a firm, low voice—sharp as steel—he said:
"I swear…"
He raised his fist, staring at his father's still form:
"I swear… I will annihilate you, all of you Titans."
"You took my father from me… and I will take everything from you."
The carriage carrying Vig's body remained motionless in the yard. The soldiers were silent. All around, the air weighed heavy with death.
In that stillness, Arya stepped forward on unsteady legs, wiping tears from her pale face.
She stood before Takashi, who bowed his head in respect and sorrow.
In a voice trembling near a raspy whisper she spoke:
"Please, Takashi… I can't bear to see him like this… he didn't deserve such a fate…"
Then she gazed at her husband before tears fell anew.
"I want him buried properly… in the upper cemetery, under the mulberry tree he loved… he told me once that if anything happened to him, that's where he wished to rest…"
Takashi nodded as tears fell silently.
"I promise… he'll have a grave fitting for a man like him."
…
Ryo stood a few feet away. He didn't approach… didn't speak. He stared at his father's body in the carriage—searching for a miracle to bring life back with its pulse.
Then he turned and walked slowly toward Takashi.
He stopped before him, looked into his eyes with a seriousness that was never that of a child but of a broken young man.
"I want… my father's ODM gear."
Takashi hesitated, but in Ryo's gaze, he saw something irresistible… something unmistakably like Vig.
He reached into a small carefully placed satchel and pulled out the ODM gear. He handed it to Ryo.
Ryo's small hand wrapped around it slowly—as if holding his father's heart in his palm—and he pressed it to his chest with a deep breath.
Then he looked up and said:
"And I want the pendant, too… the one he always wore."
Takashi carefully produced the gift—a simple silver locket containing two photos: one with Vig, Arya, and young Ryo; the other showing Arya and Ryo alone.
When the locket landed in Ryo's hand, it felt as if his heart was being pulled apart again.
Yet… he did not cry.
…
A long silence fell.
Inside him, memories surged like a tidal wave.
[Flashback: Years earlier]
In the Ackerman family garden, young Ryo sat on the ground, wide-eyed with childlike wonder, pointing to the metal device strapped to his father's waist.
"Daddy!! Daddy! What's that?"
Vig smiled and sat beside him.
He placed his hand on Ryo's head and ruffled his hair.
"This, my little one… is what helps us fight the Titans."
He opened the pouch and took out a belt from the ODM gear. Then explained:
"With this, we can fly between trees and jump across walls… it's the only way humans can kill Titans—for now."
He then held the small blade attached to the gear and said:
"When you grow up and become mature… I'll teach you how to use this… but promise me first that you'll be top of your class in school, okay?"
Ryo jumped with excitement.
"I promise!!! I'll be the best—just teach me, like you!"
Vig laughed and patted him on the chest proudly.
"Then I have a new knight in the family!"
He scooped Ryo into his arms and asked, "What would you like to eat today?"
The young boy replied that he hadn't tasted meat in a week.
[End flashback]
Ryo opened his eyes slowly—the grief still etched across his expression.
He reached out and touched the gear's metal belt…
Then squeezed the locket tight to his chest—as if it were the last fragme
nt of his father's warmth.
He stood and lifted his gaze to the sky—now veiled by gathering clouds, dimming the final light of day.
"I will keep my promise, Father…"
"And I will have my revenge."
To be continued…