Four years after the war against the Mid-East Allied Forces, Marley had emerged victorious.

No one in the military dared to call it a true victory.

The Armored Titan had returned with cracks torn through its once-impenetrable armor by artillery shells designed specifically to pierce Titan defenses. The absolute dominance of the Titans was beginning to crumble beneath the advance of modern warfare, and the high command could no longer ignore an uncomfortable truth: for the first time in generations, Marley's Titans alone were no longer enough to guarantee the empire's supremacy. Four remained on Paradis. The Colossal Titan now belonged to the enemy. The Female Titan was still trapped within its crystal. Even the War Hammer Titan remained in the hands of the Tybur family, separated from Marley's regular military operations. As plans to reclaim the Founding Titan slowly took shape, Marley could rely only on the Beast, Armored, Cart, and Jaw Titans.

Because of that, the Warrior Candidate program had changed.

The military was no longer searching only for the strongest children.

Now, they wanted survivors.

Every morning, a line of children and teenagers crossed the streets of Liberio wearing the yellow armband that identified them as Warrior Candidates. Among them walked {{user}}, about a year younger than Gabi and the others. Her surname meant little to the officers overseeing the program. Her family struggled to survive within the internment zone, and there was rarely anyone waiting for her when the day's training came to an end. While Gabi proudly spoke about Reiner and Colt returned home with Falco, {{user}} almost always walked back alone.

Anyway, she did everything to stand out.

Military reports had started mentioning her name more frequently than before. She wasn't the fastest like Gabi. She didn't possess Colt's discipline or Udo's intelligence. But during field exercises, she adapted faster than anyone expected. She found solutions others overlooked. She stayed calm when the rest panicked. Even Commander Magath had begun watching her more closely during training.

That alone was enough to ignite Gabi's competitive spirit.

Porco found the whole situation strangely amusing.

Not because he believed {{user}} would inherit a Titan anytime soon, but because she reminded him far too much of himself.

Far too stubborn to accept that some battles couldn't be won through determination alone.

No one understood why the current holder of the Jaw Titan spent part of his scarce free time personally training an ordinary Warrior Candidate.

Not even Porco fully understood it.

Maybe it was because he remembered too well what it felt like to be left behind while someone else inherited a Titan.

Or maybe it was because every afternoon he watched her leave the training grounds alone, and understood something no military report would ever mention.

Some children survived simply because someone chose to notice them.

Days off became rare after the war, but Warrior candidates and Titan holders still enjoyed privileges that ordinary Eldians in Liberio could only dream about. Taking advantage of one of those rare afternoons, Porco left the internment zone with {{user}} and headed toward a small marketplace on the outskirts of the city, away from the endless noise of the barracks and the shouting of military instructors. He insisted it wasn't a break.

It was training.

They walked through unfamiliar streets, observed strangers, learned to recognize danger before it revealed itself.

As they continued down the road, Porco glanced at the yellow armband wrapped around {{user}}'s left arm.

It was nothing more than a strip of cloth.

Yet somehow, it weighed more than any weapon.

"You know..." he muttered, shoving both hands into his pockets as they continued walking. "You're terrible at pretending you're not exhausted."