Gabi heard the sound of ocean waves, sometimes near, sometimes far away. It felt as though she were floating in the sea, dizzy and disoriented.
She heard the sound of boots on the ground, doors being kicked open, gunfire, and screams.
"Gabi, run!"
"AHHH!" Gabi screamed as she jolted awake, her forehead and body covered in cold sweat.
Above her was an unfamiliar ceiling. She was lying on a bed, with sunlight pouring in through the open door. Turning her head, she saw the blue sea, the ocean breeze blowing, and people standing outside chatting while leaning against the railing.
She recognized one of them as Falco, and another person's back seemed familiar. Sitting up and rubbing her throbbing head, she realized the figure overlapped with someone she had seen two years ago: Pieck, the successor of the Cart Titan.
"Really? Your parents and Gabi's parents were captured?" Pieck asked, deeply affected by what had happened to the girl.
"Yes. Thanks to your warning, my brother made some preparations."
"Many of those who escaped during the chaos that day boarded Zeke's ship. Zeke contacted his people in the Volunteer Army and sent your grandparents and some neighbors overseas. If you had left earlier, the chances of your entire family surviving would have been much greater."
Gabi believed her family belonged to Marley, and I thought that, as a Warrior candidate, she wouldn't face too many problems. I never expected the Marleyans to go to such extremes.
"I'm sorry, I had no other choice at the time," Pieck said with a pained expression.
"It's not your fault, Sister Pieck. In the end, this is the fate of the Eldians." Gabi got out of bed and opened the door with trembling hands.
She was on a ship, surrounded by the sea.
Pieck and Falco turned around, and Falco quickly stepped forward to help Gabi.
"Are you okay, Gabi? You still have a fever. Go back to bed."
"Where are we?" Gabi asked, rubbing her forehead.
"Did you forget?" Falco helped Gabi sit down on the bed. "With Mr. Zeke's help, we boarded this ship, and now we're heading to Paradis Island."
Falco unscrewed a thermos and poured Gabi some hot water.
At Falco's words, fragments flashed before Gabi's eyes. She remembered that she had collapsed from exhaustion and developed a high fever.
She had woken up several times on the ship, drinking very bitter medicine, and only today had she fully regained consciousness.
Pieck entered from outside. Gabi and Pieck looked at each other. After being separated for two years, Gabi found herself speechless and looked away.
"Gabi, don't worry. You'll be safe on this ship," Pieck said with a gentle smile.
Gabi lowered her head, clutching her pants tightly.
"Do you still hate me? Do you hate Paradis Island?" Pieck asked calmly.
Gabi suddenly raised her head and shouted, "I don't understand! Why... why? Aunt Karina, my mom, and my dad... the Marleyan army took them away."
Her voice faded, and she hugged her thin legs as tears streamed down her face.
"What... what did we do wrong to deserve this?"
"You did nothing wrong." Pieck sat beside her and placed her hands on Gabi's shoulders. "There are only bad people who are using you. Someone wants to use you for their own benefit."
"Anyone in your situation would be controlled by those people. Gabi, you're only ten years old. You have your whole life ahead of you. Don't let yourself be consumed by hatred. Go to Paradis Island and start a new life."
Gabi could not speak. She buried her head in Pieck's chest and sobbed uncontrollably.
She cried until her throat became hoarse, until her voice nearly gave out.
At heart, she was only a child whose values were still developing. She had been born in the Eldian internment zone established by the Marleyans and had been trained by them from childhood like a hunting dog.
Unlike Pieck, who had witnessed the hardships and struggles of her father and family from a young age, Gabi had only experienced the benefits of being an honorary Marleyan, while Pieck had not only recognized the benefits but had also understood the disadvantages.
That was the difference between Pieck and Gabi. Seeing Gabi's current state filled Pieck with sadness.
If Gabi had not been born in the internment zone, if the Marleyans had not imposed such ideological restrictions on the Eldians, how could she have uttered those words two years ago?
Pieck gently patted Gabi's back, comforting the ten-year-old girl who had lost her loved ones.
She felt sorrowful. Many children like Gabi had been "trained" in that manner by the Marleyans, losing their ability to think independently.
But as long as they had done nothing wrong, there was always a chance to make amends.
Several days later, Gabi and Falco stood together on the deck.
They gazed into the distance at the snow-covered land.
Many ships were docked at the harbor, some sounding their horns as they departed, while people came and went.
Their ship also stopped at the port, and Pieck and the soldiers instructed the Eldians aboard to disembark.
Gabi, Falco, Sofia, and others from their Warrior training camp of years past disembarked together.
Falco's brother, Colt, was not there. Colt had decided to stay with Zeke, helping him rescue Eldians fleeing from Marley.
It was a highly dangerous job. Paradis Island had little influence in Marley, and if the Eldians' escape routes were discovered, they would face a large-scale manhunt by the Marleyan army.
But Colt stayed. He only watched his younger siblings board the ship before turning to Zeke and saluting him.
Gabi and Falco lined up to register at the port.
Pieck said goodbye to them there. Filled with anxiety, the children boarded a bus and were transported to a small coastal town.
They were assigned housing and told to collect a minimum amount of food each day from the relief station.
They received a handbook describing the jobs they could perform, for which they would receive payment.
Every Tuesday, all the residents of the town were required to attend a designated school. The lessons were not about academic knowledge but about understanding the relationship between Marley and the Eldians and explaining how the world functioned.
Gabi did not fully understand the teacher's lessons, but she discovered something: she and her friends no longer had to live in constant fear.
As long as they worked, they could eat their fill and enjoy some recreational activities.
The people here were not as distant as the Eldians in the internment zone, nor as divided as the Eldians and Marleyans. If they encountered difficulties, such as when Gabi and Falco bought new furniture, people would proactively offer help.
In the past, Gabi might not have known what was right.
But she knew that the way of life in this town could not be wrong.
Three months passed, and she and her friends successfully completed the probationary period and obtained their residence permits.
Some newcomers arrived in the town, and they, just like those who had helped them before, helped the newcomers.
The people of Paradis Island were not devils; no human race is born demonic.
After living there for three months, Gabi, like everyone else, came to understand that.
After two years of fleeing and these three months of stable living, she realized that she had been wrong.
Then, in May of 853, news spread throughout the city: Marley had been defeated.