Day Three – On the Edge of Despair
Satoru staggered, his eyes sunken with dark circles, his entire body drenched as he sat on the shore of the lake, staring at the waterfall before him with the urge to bash his head against the rocks and end it all.
Three days without food.
Three days of constantly falling into the water.
Three days of living like an exhausted mutt.
He had never felt his body this drained before. Normally, he could swing his sword and cleave a giant tree in half, but now, even standing up felt like carrying a mountain on his back. Every cell in his body screamed in agony, wrung dry like a sponge.
Doubt crept into his mind.
Was Jiraiya just messing with him?
Meditating on water was already difficult, but sitting under a waterfall hammering down with relentless force?
Was this even humanly possible?
Or was it pure madness?
He looked up at the roaring white cascade, crashing down like a silver dragon hellbent on smashing everything beneath it.
He gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, stepped onto the water—
**BOOM!**
Within three seconds, he was blown away, flailing like a lifeless fish as he drifted along the current.
Jiraiya sat on the shore, casually sipping sake, watching with clear amusement.
Satoru clenched his fists, glaring at the perverted sage with murderous intent.
At least he still had the strength to curse inwardly.
Eren, on the other hand…
---
**Eren – Facing the Past**
Eren remained buried.
The ants no longer bothered him. The bugs crawling on his skin didn't faze him. Even the small birds pecking at his hair in search of worms had lost their novelty.
He was starving.
Tired.
Drained.
His body felt like an empty husk, his consciousness flickering like a candle in the wind.
Then… he heard it.
Not voices. Not the distant screams of Titans. Not the echoes of war.
A sound so soft yet vast beyond measure.
The heartbeat of the land.
Not the pulse of man.
Not the thunderous footsteps of Titans.
But the rhythm of nature itself.
For the first time…
He wasn't listening to himself.
For the first time, he wasn't drowning in his own thoughts, in his own suffering.
He heard the wind.
The whisper of the trees.
The murmur of flowing rivers.
The rustle of leaves, the chirping of birds, the crawling of insects.
The grand symphony of the world.
He didn't exist alone.
He was part of something greater.
For the first time, he felt small.
Yet at peace.
He no longer heard the screams in his head.
No longer saw Mikasa's face in her final moments.
No longer saw Armin's tears, Historia's smile, or the countless lives drowned in the blood he had spilled.
For the first time…
He let go.
---
**A Voice from Afar**
*"Be happy, Mikasa."*
*"Live well, Historia."*
*"You too, Armin."*
His voice drifted into the wind, light as a feather, carrying no weight of regret.
At that moment… he felt a shift.
Something warm and soft brushed against his soul.
Like a gentle breeze caressing his face.
Like a warm current flowing through his weary spirit.
He inhaled deeply, a genuine breath of relief, and looked up at the endless blue sky.
And then…
For the first time in years…
He smiled.
---
**Jiraiya – The Words of a Sage**
The rhythmic footsteps of wooden sandals approached, their soft *clop clop* breaking the silence.
Jiraiya crouched down beside him, arms crossed, sighing deeply.
"Eren," he murmured, "I can hear you."
Eren frowned slightly.
Jiraiya looked at him, his sharp eyes reflecting years of wisdom and battle-hardened experience.
"Ever since I grasped Satoru's Sensory Haki, I've been able to hear so many things."
Eren remained silent.
Jiraiya continued.
"I hear the voices of people's hearts."
"I hear their joys, their sorrows, the pain they bury deep within."
His voice softened, yet carried weight.
"I hear the screams of millions inside you."
Eren's fingers twitched.
Jiraiya did not look away.
"Eren, the world was never meant to be tainted by hatred. People are born innocent. But pain, suffering, and despair… they turn men into monsters."
Eren clenched his fists, his nails digging into the dirt.
Jiraiya placed a firm yet gentle hand on his head.
"I don't know what you've been through. But I do know this—"
"You're too young to carry the weight of the world alone."
"Forgive yourself, Eren."
"And let's start over."
Jiraiya reached into his pocket, pulled out an ice cream bar, and snapped it in half.
He shoved one half into Eren's mouth.
"Here. Your first reward."
---
**Tears of a Wanderer**
Eren's eyes widened.
Ice cream.
Cold.
Sweet.
He didn't even remember the last time he tasted something so simple… and pure.
He bit down, his lips trembling, and then…
Tears fell.
Silent, yet endless.
Tears streamed down his face, dripping onto the soil that had held him captive.
But at that moment… the earth didn't feel like a prison anymore.
At that moment… he felt like a child in the arms of a mother.
At that moment… nature had accepted him.
The tree roots around him gently curled closer, as if embracing him.
---
Eren closed his eyes.
And from somewhere far, far away…
A voice whispered.
*"Eren… I love you."*
*"Goodbye, Eren."*
*"Itterassai, Eren."*
Mikasa's voice.
From a place beyond time.
---
**Eren was free.**
**Nature had accepted him.**
**Mother Earth had forgiven him.**