A.O.T 2 – Chapter 1: The Boy and the Dog (Extended Version)
The wind carried the smell of smoke and bread. In the quiet border village of Harrowfield, life moved slowly, as though time itself had grown tired after the war. Houses leaned together in crooked rows, their roofs patched with wood and straw. Beyond them stretched endless fields, green and golden, until they met the far-off forest that towered like a wall of its own.
Shinizu Matsuya sat on the fence post, his legs swinging, his dog at his feet. Kuro's ears twitched as he watched the villagers go about their routines. Chickens clucked. Farmers shouted. Children carried buckets of water that sloshed and spilled with every step.
"Shinizu!" A woman's voice cut through the chatter.
The boy turned, seeing his mother waving from the bakery door. Her hands were dusted white with flour, and a frown lined her tired face.
"Come help me knead the dough before it rises too much."
Shinizu sighed, patting Kuro's head. "You hear that, boy? Slavery again."
The dog barked once, almost like laughter, before following him.
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The Restless Boy
Inside the bakery, the air was warm and heavy. Shinizu pressed his palms into the dough, but his eyes kept drifting to the window where the sky spread wide and free.
"You're distracted again," his mother scolded. "Always dreaming. Always looking outside."
Shinizu grinned sheepishly. "I was thinking… what's beyond the forest? What's after the mountains?"
His mother's hands paused. For a moment, her eyes darkened.
"You don't need to know. Beyond is only danger. Our peace is enough."
"But—"
"No buts, Shinizu. The war ended so you could live safely. Don't waste it chasing ghosts."
Shinizu bit his tongue. He wanted to argue, but the weariness in his mother's face silenced him.
Kuro growled low, ears flicking toward the forest.
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Whispers of the Old War
Later that night, Shinizu wandered outside with Kuro at his side. By the old firepit, three elders sat smoking their pipes, their voices hushed but intense.
"…they say the Titans are gone."
"…gone, yes. But their blood lingers. The curse doesn't vanish so easily."
"…you sound like a fool. Children don't need these stories anymore."
Shinizu crouched in the shadows, listening. His heart beat faster with every word.
Kuro pressed close to him, whining softly.
The elders' voices grew quieter, until only fragments reached his ears. Monsters… walls… never truly free…
A chill ran through him.
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Into the Forest
The next day, Shinizu ignored his chores and wandered toward the edge of the forest. The trees stood tall and black against the sky, their branches like claws.
"Stay close, Kuro," he whispered.
The dog padded silently beside him, alert. Birds scattered from the treetops as they entered.
Shinizu loved this place. The mystery, the silence, the feeling that something waited just beyond sight. It was dangerous, yes, but exciting.
He reached the ruins of an old watchtower. Moss crawled over stone, and vines strangled what once had been a proud structure. From here, he could see the horizon stretching endlessly.
And then he heard it.
A voice.
Not from his ears—no, deeper. Inside his bones, his blood.
"You are not free. None of you are free."
Shinizu froze. His breath hitched.
Kuro snarled, teeth bared, his body low and tense.
The forest floor trembled. Leaves shook loose.
From the shadows between the trees, something moved.
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The Monster
It stepped into the light, and Shinizu's world shattered.
Not a Titan. But something born from the same nightmare.
A towering figure, its skin stretched and broken, muscle and bone exposed. Its head was twisted, crowned with jagged spikes, and its arms dragged against the earth like blades. Its eyes glowed white, unblinking.
It looked at him. No, into him.
Shinizu's chest tightened. His body refused to move.
Kuro barked furiously, leaping in front of him, a tiny shadow before the colossus.
The beast's lips peeled back in something like a smile.
Then it roared.
The sound tore through the forest like a storm, shaking branches, rattling bones.
Shinizu fell to his knees, hands over his ears, terror flooding every part of him.
This wasn't supposed to exist. The Titans were gone. The war was over.
And yet here it was.
The age of monsters had returned.
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✨ End of Chapter 1