As evening drew closer, a vast desert stretched out before them. Bai Yu slowly walked forward, crouched down, and scooped up a handful of sand.
Then he slowly opened his hands, letting the grains trickle through his fingers.
Eren, Armin, and the others beside him were rather excited.
"Is this the land made of yellow sand that the books talked about? It looks so lifeless, though."
Bai Yu casually shook the remaining sand off his hands.
"What else would you expect? It's a world with hardly any life."
Levi turned to Erwin beside him.
"Are we resting here?"
Erwin, however, narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked into the distance ahead.
"No, keep moving. That raised platform they mentioned should be just a little farther ahead."
Bai Yu agreed wholeheartedly. There wasn't even any cover here. Although there weren't many Titans, they might as well make it all the way to the edge in one push and rest afterward.
The desert seemed a little cold at night, though not excessively so.
After they continued for less than an hour, a dark line slowly began to emerge in the distance. In the moonlight, they could faintly make out a raised platform against the darkness.
Everyone's spirits lifted, and they charged ahead. The Scout Squad rushed up first to check for enemies.
Bai Yu climbed onto the platform and looked out at the rippling sea before him. Then, as though something had come to mind, he lowered his head and sat down at the edge.
All the Survey Corps members came up. Seeing the pier and the platform built from unfamiliar materials, they finally set aside their last doubts. The sea at night wasn't particularly beautiful. Instead, it felt as though it might swallow everything.
"So this is the sea?"
Eren gazed