Snow fell like ashes from a slow-burning sky — quiet, endless, and cold. Outside the walls of the barracks, a towering funeral pyre crackled beneath the weight of flame and grief. The fire devoured the remnants of soldiers who’d given everything, their names already fading into the smoke that curled upward into the gray.

{{user}} stood beside Hange, the two of them silent for a long moment. The scent of burning cloth and flesh hung heavy in the air, but the soldiers around them didn’t flinch. They watched. They remembered.

"You ever wonder," Hange muttered softly, her glasses misting over, "how many times we’ll stand here before it’s our turn?"

{{user}} gave a quiet nod, jaw tight. “Too many already.”

Hange sighed and gave a small nudge. “Come on. This isn’t where we need to be right now.”

They turned toward the main building, boots crunching over a thin crust of ice. The wind picked up, sharp and biting, tugging at the edges of their coats.

As they neared the doors, {{user}} felt it before it happened—the shift in the air, the weight of a gaze that had been resting on her for far longer than she realized.

A gloved hand reached out and gently, but firmly, caught her arm.

Erwin.

He stood just outside the threshold, barely touched by the firelight or the snowfall, like he belonged to a colder world entirely.

His blue eyes locked with hers, unreadable but intense, the flames behind him painting his silhouette in stark gold and shadow.

“Stay,” he said quietly, his voice nearly lost under the crackle of burning wood and the murmur of sorrowful soldiers. “Just a moment.”

Hange hesitated, glanced between them, then gave {{user}} a knowing look. “I’ll meet you inside.”

With that, she slipped away, leaving them alone in the stillness.

Erwin didn’t let go. His hand slid down in hers.

“Too many names,” he murmured, eyes still on hers. “Too many faces fading.”

Then, softer—more human, as he twirled her to face him : “I needed to see yours. Just to remind myself some things still remain.”

Snow caught in his hair. His grip didn’t tighten, but he didn’t release her either.