The waterfall roared like thunder, slamming Rein around.
Falling from that height, water felt like concrete.
If the cascading torrent hadn't churned the lake and dragged him under, he'd be dead.
Somehow, he survived.
Calming down, he held his breath, desperate to swim up—his lungs were about to burst.
With the wood's buoyancy and his "stellar" swimming skills, reaching the surface should've been easy.
"Huh?"
But after a few strokes, he couldn't move.
The massive waterfall whipped the water into a vortex—spinning up and down endlessly.
Rein's body got caught, bobbing and sinking, trapped in the swirl.
"Damn it! I messed up!"
Panicking, he kicked hard to break free.
But the current didn't care. Even with his "life preserver," he couldn't surface.
After a few cycles, exhaustion hit. His lungs screamed, gulping water.
"Save me…" His last thought before his mind blurred.
Drowning twice in one day—worse than any mental torture.
As consciousness faded, he felt… relieved.
Endless sleep.
A long, hazy dream.
When Rein opened his eyes, he didn't know how much time had passed.
Everything was still gray and dim.
Cough, cough. He hacked, unsure if he was dead.
The terror of drowning lingered in his mind.
Standing, he took deep breaths—then froze.
A loud rush—whoosh, rumble—hit his ears.
Ignoring everything else, he jogged toward it.
A water curtain!
A giant waterfall crashed from the top to the depths, cutting him off from life and death.
Sunlight filtered through, revealing a cave behind it.
Near the entrance, a pile of wood. Nearby, one piece—wet, clearly fished from the water.
Rein checked himself—still damp.
It all clicked: he'd looped back.
A full circle.
"What the hell?!" he thought.
But he hadn't drowned—lucky break.
He stared at the waterfall, unsure what to do.
Jump again? Or wait to die?
Nature's power was insane—tons of water, unstoppable by human strength.
"Maybe…" His throat bobbed. "One more try?"
He grabbed the stray wood, legs trembling.
Drowning and passing out was pure terror. His brain begged him not to relive it.
But he couldn't just wait to die!
Decision made: "Jump farther this time!"
He backed up, steeled himself, ran, and leaped.
Then—
The waterfall smashed him down again.
When he came to, he was spitting out water.
Back again.
Now he was sure—he couldn't escape.
The waterfall, undercurrents, and cave formed a closed loop. His strength couldn't beat nature's might. He was stuck in this cycling prison.
"I'm trapped in this damn place!" he groaned.
Known facts:
Pure Titans don't need food or water. They don't age or die naturally. Without light, they sleep forever.
Alone, these weren't scary. Together, in this dead-end trap? Worse than any ghost story!
He'd either wait five years for the task to fail and die—or dive into the cave's dark and sleep eternally.
Both were dead ends.
"Am I cursed or what? Ugh…"
Luck this bad was unreal.
Year 845, a cave on Paradis. A defeated Rein turned to the gray cave.
No options left, he had to trust God would crack open a window to live.
The cave was pitch-black, bottomless. Dimmer than the entrance, but not blind-dark yet.
Rein wasn't afraid of darkness—just of it creeping up, boiling-frog style, until he couldn't escape, sinking into chaos forever.
But he had no choice.
Dead either way, he'd gamble.
Dragging his tired body, he stepped in.
The cave stretched on. After a while, no end, no breeze—just a dead path.
The faint light made his head spin.
He wanted to sleep but fought it.
Ten minutes in—dizzy, weak—the cave opened up.
A round chamber, big enough for a 10-meter Pure Titan with room to spare.
Left side: a wood pile. Right: weird wooden objects—round, square—rotted, mossy, mushroom-covered.
Ages old.
Across the room, another tunnel led deeper.
"So much wood… Did people live here?" A wild idea hit him.
Secluded, hidden behind a waterfall—Pure Titans couldn't reach it. A perfect hideout.
But people? From where?
Outsiders didn't make sense—every criminal got spinal fluid, turned Titan.
Wall-dwellers, then.
"An Eldian offshoot?"
Per the story, the 145th king, guilt-ridden, led Eldians to Paradis, building three walls with Titan power.
Maybe some stayed outside, hiding from Pure Titans in this cave.
Solid logic—Rein nodded.
But the wood was decayed, untouched for years. Any survivors here likely died out.
A pity.