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Humanity's Strongest Soldier. To be labeled with such a title, he has faced countless dangers and perils. He has fought and killed Titans. Has helped make a path in reclaiming Wall Maria. He has also seen his many comrades fall prey to those savage monsters, that have been humanity's biggest enemy. Sometimes, there was nothing he could do. When his squad got annihilated by the Female Titan, he wasn't with them; he couldn't have helped them. However, whenever there was something he could still do, he would fight. Fight and never give up.
Humanity's Strongest Soldier. Some thought that name made him invincible. He was as much human as all of them. He was skilled and lucky for most of the time. Getting his leg wounded in action has rendered him useless in combat for some time. He couldn't have wished for time to pass faster then. He was still useful to the Recon Corps, but couldn't wait for a chance to get back into the battle and fulfill the many promises he made to eliminate the Titans.
Humanity's Strongest Soldier. He was people's hope. He was a symbol. He was their ray of light in the darkness of war. He was a perfect soldier.
Humanity's Strongest. Yet it all crumbled down when reality decided to knock on his doors.
...
It was a beautiful morning outside. A warm summer wind gently stirred the air, as the sun lazily made its way on the sky. It was quiet and peaceful, since people have not yet woken up and started going around their usual business. Only birds sung their morning songs to each other and for anyone who was there to hear them.
They were actually heard by one person who stirred into consciousness. He lay in bed in a big castle chamber, that was located on the first floor. The room was simply decorated. Nothing compared to what it has seen during its golden age, way before the threat of Titans even appeared. There was probably a giant, fluffy bed with silk covers. There were fancy carpets and even fancier draperies. The curtains were heavy, making the room look and feel stuffy. The table had a porcelain tea set on it, with the finest variety of tea, imported from the far side of the world. Everything was probably more expensive and extravagant than necessary, yet nobody cared at that time. They would have cringed at the way the room was decorated right now. Or rather how it wasn't decorated. Simple bed, a wooden table with two chairs, a small set of drawers and a basin laying on top of it. In the window, a piece of half-transparent white material was hung as a curtain. It fluttered with every small gust of wind coming in from the outside.
He let out a small grunt, as his body felt stiff and drained of energy, trying to convince him to not get up, just continue laying. Despite those protests, he pushed himself into a sitting position.
It was dark. Pitch black dark.
But the birds were singing.
He reached a hand to his face, only to feel a bandage wrapped around his head. The skin underneath it was painful. He pushed the material up, until he removed it completely and tossed aside. He opened his eyes. Blinking once and again, as they stung.
It was still dark.
"Captain Levi..." He didn't register that there was another person in the room. He knew the voice, the usual annoyance setting in. Though it was actually the current tone of it, that he disliked so much. It sounded careful and dripped with worry.
"What, Eren?" He eloquently answered to the call. His voice came out a little hoarse, which was not surprising with how dry his throat felt.
"How... how do you feel, Captain?" Again, with the same tone. Though did he also sense a little bit of fear in there?
"Like shit." Irritation was starting to seep through his voice. The raised his hand to ruffle through his hair, closing his eyes. "What are you actually doing here, brat?"
The boy sucked in a breath, but didn't respond. Few moments passed creating a heavy atmosphere in the room.
"You could have at least brought a candle and not sit here creepily like that."
"Captain..." He started, but trailed off. It was infuriating.
"Spit it out, will you?" Levi barked, making the youth nearly jump in his seat.
"It's morning, sir." His voice was quiet, and he definitely could smell fear now.
Birds were singing.
He opened his eyes again. His voice was calm. Which hurt the boy even more, than if he was still furious at him.
"Why is it dark then?"
...
His whole value has been defined by his capacity to kill titans. He was worthless without it. And worthless he felt. Without his sight, he could barely walk around the castle alone. He has already tumbled down the stairs and tripped over uneven floor, both resulting in humiliating displays of how low he has fallen. As a recompensation for lost sense, his hearing has gotten even sharper than before; though he didn't need it to hear whispering of people he couldn't see, who thought they were out of his earshot.
They didn't laugh at him. They didn't throw any insults in their talk. They pitied him. That made him angry.
Everything made him angry in fact. He didn't really have anyone to direct his anger at other than himself.
He remembered the moment this has happened. Or rather everything leading to that moment.
He walked into Hanji's lab to tell her that they were both suppose to meet Erwin in the evening to strategize about the next move of Recon Corps. He found her in the middle of another weird experiment and before he could make his retreat, she grabbed his
hand and dragged him to one of the tables, so that he could help her with just one thing. It seemed like she had a hard time convincing people to entertain her during those times, as she excitedly run all over her lab. Her behaviour could leave one questioning her, but he knew that in all this seeming chaos, she had total control over what was going on. As Hanji briefly explained, he was suppose to mix certain substances for her, as she wanted to test them on the rock she acquired from the shell Annie Leonheart has build around herself.
He sighed but got to his job, wanting to leave the stuffy and actually quite dirty lab behind as soon as possible. He poured one liquid into another. He added one powder into a liquid and then repeated the same with different powder. He then proceeded to another liquid, by throwing into it a small piece of what looked like some kind of metal. The liquid started making small bubbles around the object and he bent down slightly to take closer look at the reaction. It was a heartbeat later that he realized his mistake, as the liquid seemed to start boiling inside its glass container, immediately followed by it spraying on everything in its vicinity. At that time Levi started to pull back, but for once in his life, he wasn't fast enough. He could escape any titan, but he was unable to escape the raging lab experiment.
He remember searing pain as the hot liquid hit his face. That was the last coherent sensation he had then and was only followed by more pain, screaming - both his and Hanji's. He must have passed out soon after that. The pain then was the worst feeling he has felt in his life, as if the liquid was slowly eating away at his flesh. A layer, after layer. Though it was certainly not enough to rob him of his life.
The heat and the chemical substance that has formed have both burned his eyeballs, leaving them beyond any help. Erwin, who seemed quite desperate, has even send for another doctor, a specialist renowned for treating eyes, but he only parroted the same thing. Hanji has dropped by, only to apologize over a hundred times, blaming herself tima and again for being irresponsible to leave Levi with potentially dangerous chemical substances. He told her not to blame herself, which she would still do of course.
The whole situation, despite how dramatic it actually was, only wanted to make him laugh. He didn't do it in front of anyone, but when he was laying alone, he would laugh to himself. It was so ironic, for Humanity's Strongest Soldier, to be eliminated not by a hand or mouth of a Titan, but by a fail in laboratory. He also wanted to cry, because it was so damn unfair. But he only laughed aloud at the cruelty of this world.
...
Eren, ever since he has woken up, tried to spend as much time with Levi as was possible. The older man found it annoying. Eren's company on its own wasn't more frustrating than usual, but he knew it was all just due to pity and worry. He didn't want any of those. It also constantly reminded him of what he lost and could not regain. However, Eren could. With his freakish regeneration, such an injury wouldn't be a problem. He has regrown both his arm and leg at one point.
If only he could have such an ability as well.
If only he could turn into a titan and restore his eyes.
He found himself wishing for it, despite how much such a prospect would have disgusted him prior to this. He was suppose to kill all the titans. Eren was an exception, since he shared the same goal.
There was however no possibility for this to even come true. The answers could hide in Eren's basement. To get there, they would have to reclaim Wall Maria. He had been one of the pillars of this operation. Had been. Also, it was not guaranteed the answers would be there. Or that they would be satisfactory. Maybe Eren's ability to change wasn't something that could be manufactured. Maybe not everybody could possess it. Maybe his body would still repair itself into the state it has been when he acquired the skill, leaving him still blind and even more bitter than he was now.
Over time, it was harder for Eren to find Levi. He started going into the dark parts of the castle, where rarely anyone ventured. He was purposefully isolating himself. He's current state made it hard to bear to listen to people talking even about such simple things like 3D maneuver gear conservation, while he would be unable to fire his hooks and fly ever again.
At one point, when his frustration reached a boiling point, he set out at night. He figured it was night, since nobody was walking around the castle, except for some singular cases of marauders, which were easy to avoid even in his current state. Outside seemed so calm. It would have been quiet as well if it wasn't for the orchestrated sounds of crickets. Birds chirped to announce the day has begun and crickets did the same, only for the night. He set out with what he thought was the direction towards nearest city. He had no idea what he would do once he reached his destination, but he couldn't stay with Recon Corps no longer. He was only a burden now. A ballast waiting to be thrown away. He wasn't sure if he could stand the official pity show that would be put up for the occasion, so he figured it was better to leave on his own. He left his uniform neatly folded on the table in his room. Only an emblem, the Wings of Freedom, from one sleeve was torn off. A small token. Of his past. Of his comrades. Both still alive, as well as those who died and whom he will not be able to avenge anymore.
In his hand he clutched a wooden stick that Eren fashioned for him previous day, so he could use it to feel what was ahead of him. He scowled at the gift and refused to use it, though Eren still left it in his room, even after being warned it'll be thrown out of the window. It actually did help a lot, as thanks to it Levi avoided walking into a bucket that was left carelessly in the yard. Before however, he couldn't have used it out of his pride. He would still walk around standing as tall as he could with his height and put around the same air of intimidation he did before.
"Captain Levi?" A quiet, but determined voice reached him from his right. He stopped walking and turned his head in that direction, but didn't speak. What was that brat doing out of bed at this hour? He didn't plan for this.
"Where are you going, Captain?" Eren asked after a moment of awkward silence. He could probably see that Levi was wearing his civilian cloths and the cloak around his shoulders no longer bore the winged emblem.
"Are you blind as well?" He huffed angrily. He didn't want to talk to him. He would be forced to say a goodbye now. It was also something he wanted to avoid by leaving so late. Or maybe Eren will try to stop him? Try to talk him out of it. Nothing could change
his mind now, but listening to him try would be a pain in the ass. "I'm leaving."
"I asked where?" This threw him off. Now, it seemed to Eren's turn to be irritated as he came closer and stood few feet away from Levi.
"No idea yet. I might go to the east, since that's where I'm from." He answered truthfully. Going back to the place he originally called home had its advantages, since in his early years he has seared the layout of the streets into his mind. It would be easier to
move around at least.
"What will you do there?" Eren still wasn't satisfied.
"I don't know either, damnit you brat." He snapped at the youth again.
"Sorry..." Eren quietly apologized. As Levi turned his back on him, he seemed to panic however.
"Um wait! Please." He pleaded. Levi didn't move from his spot, though he really wanted to just go and didn't want to hear anything more. Why was he standing there for then?
"I just wanted to say that I still think you're Humanity's Strongest." The conviction in Eren's voice was unmistakable. Levi straightened at the words, never realizing that he was hunched before.
"If anyone else was in your shoes right now, they would have broken down and gave up. But you didn't. You're still yourself and you're still strong. And I think that itself makes you pretty amazing."
If Levi could see and turned around, he would have seen a wide grin plastered on Eren's face. His own lips curled up a little into what would be the closest he has ever come to a smile.
"And to think, a brat like you would become Humanity's Biggest Hope." He sighed and tilted his head back, as if he was looking up. He wished he could see the starts up there. They always brought solace to his mind.
"We have to do what we can." The youth said thoughtfully, looking at the small blinking lights above as well. They were beautiful.
"Come visit when you kill all the titans. And I'll personally kill you if you let any of those fuckers breach the Wall again." He lifted his hand casually as he finally started walking away from the boy.
"Yes, Sir!" Eren saluted for the last time and watched as the figure slowly disappeared into the darkness of night.
"I will kill them all without fail."