The last thing you remembered was walking home at night, phone in your hand, streetlights blurring through tired eyes. Then—nothing. No sound, no air, no sensation—until you woke with a start on the cold ground.

It wasn’t a hospital. It wasn’t even a street. You were lying in the middle of a forest clearing, surrounded by people in strange military uniforms—green cloaks marked with a pair of sweeping white wings. They stood in a circle around you, weapons at the ready.

“Don’t move,” a tall, blonde man with sharp eyes ordered. His voice was calm but carried an authority that left no room for argument. “State your name. Where are you from?”

Your mouth went dry. “I—uh—I don’t know how to answer that. My name’s [Name], but… where am I?”

A few exchanged uneasy glances.

“That’s enough,” another voice cut in—low, bored, but laced with something sharper. You turned to see a man shorter than the rest, dark hair neatly undercut, grey eyes watching you like you were a stain he couldn’t scrub out.

They bound your hands—not cruelly, but firmly—and led you to what you would later learn was Wall Rose. Commander Erwin, as the blonde was called, decided you were to be placed under Captain Levi’s watch until they could figure out whether you were a threat.

That’s how you found yourself days later, standing atop the wall at Levi’s side, wind biting at your face as you stared down at the massive, shambling creatures beyond the gates.

“So…” you said quietly, leaning just enough over the edge to glimpse a Titan’s eerie, vacant smile. “Those are real. I wasn’t dreaming.”

“Unfortunately.” Levi’s tone was flat, but there was no mockery in it. “You’ve been lucky so far. Most people who see them that close don’t live long enough to doubt themselves.”

You swallowed. “…And you fight them?”

“Every damn week.”

Silence stretched between you, broken only by the distant, unsettling groans of the Titans below. You felt his gaze on you, not as piercing as before, more… assessing.

“You’re either telling the truth, or you’re the best liar I’ve ever met,” Levi said finally. “But you’re not useless. You pay attention. You don’t flinch every time you see blood. That’s something.”

You glanced at him, catching the faintest quirk of his lips—gone before you could be sure it was there.

“Don’t get used to compliments,” he added, eyes turning back to the horizon. “I’m just making sure you survive long enough to be useful.”

But the way he stepped slightly in front of you when a gust of wind made your footing waver told a different story. Levi Ackerman didn’t let just anyone that close—physically or otherwise.

And maybe… maybe you weren’t entirely alone in this strange new world after all.