Awakened

After Eren fell asleep again, Ryker was confused but Doc James assured him that he was not going to die.

Ryker didn't want to worry too much and got occupied with training the students who were already awake.

"But what could that mean?" Ryker asked, confusion etched on his face.

"What is that, Ryker?" One of his colleague asked as they sat down on a chair inside an office.

"That kid I mean," Ryker replied. "The way all those students returned to normal the moment he opened his eyes. And he was able to make them return to normal."

The man let out an audible sigh. He has never seen anything like it before.

"Pete, is he some kind of special monster?" Ryker asked.

"Honestly, I don't know," Pete said. "We can only get to know what he is after he wakes up again."

"But he's been asleep for two days now," Ryker complained.

"We should probably wait until he wakes up," Pete said and Ryker sighed deeply.

As they were talking, one of their workers walked inside the office.

"Is there any problem?" Ryker sighting him asked.

"Eren is awake but he is not in his room," the man replied and Ryker sprang to his feet.

"What? Where is he then?" He asked the man whose brows furrowed. "Answer me!"

"He... He disappeared," the man replied and Ryker became shocked.

"Disappeared? No way!" He said and pushed the man as he ran out of the room along with Pete.

He was still unsure about Eren's identity, he could be a deadly monster and if that is the case, the lives of the ordinary masses are in danger. He could not let the boy out of his sight, not until he knows what he really is.

He ran all the way to the room especially made for Eren and when he got there, the door was wide open.

"Where are the people I kept in charge of this place?" He asked the man who was panting from all the run.

"He— They tried to stop him but he injured them and escaped," the man replied. "They are at the infirmary right now.

"Damn it!" Ryker grunted and stepped into the room. The whole place was a huge mess. The bed was turned upside down, the drawing in the wall was thrown to the floor and broken, and the chair was broken as well. 'What in the world happened here?' He thought with a deep frown on his face. Not only was he upset, he was scared that Eren might end up hurting people or could also end up being hurt by other powerful monsters.

"Have someone take care of this mess, I'll be right back," he said to the man and turned to leave but Pete stopped him.

"Where are you going!" He asked Ryker.

"To look for him," Ryker replied. "I can't leave him outside like this."

"It is dangerous, man," Pete said. "You know you can not leave the Academy for too long because..."

"I understand," Ryker said. He didn't want Pete to go any further with what he was saying. "I know my body more than anyone else and if there is any changes within me, I'll come back immediately."

"But—" Pete wanted to persuade him to stay back but Ryker's mind was already made up. He left even without waiting for Pete to say anything. He didn't know where to find him and how to do that but he was certain that Eren hadn't gone far.

------

Meanwhile, deep inside a place surrounded with tall trees that stretched as far as into the sky, short trees that covered the nakedness of those talls ones and grasses that covered the ground, a young boy with white hair was sitting on the grass. His eyes would occasionally glow and low groans escaped his throat every now and then.

Shortly after, a girl appeared by his side.

"Eren," the girl called softly and when the boy looked up to meet her gaze, the girl was taken aback.

Dark veins covered half of face.

" The girl bent down to touch him but Eren moved away immediately."

"Don't come close to me!" He said, his words sounding in groans.

"Eren, it's me, Lilith," she said, her voice barely above one's hearing.

'He has awakened his demonic powers but why is he still like this?' Lilith frowned deeply as he thought about Eren's case. 'Is this because he was birthed before the actual date?'

"B...blood," Eren groaned.

Lilith didn't hear what he said and moved closer but the moment she did, Eren grabbed her and bit into her skin. But just as he tasted her blood, he pushed her away.

Lilith froze for a bit, she didn't know what to do and how to react. Why would Eren suddenly demand for blood? His mother never demanded for blood because they were a special kind of demons that didn't require blood for power or growth.

Why was Eren different?

As she was still pondering, Eren's eyes returned to normal and as if his senses also returned as well. Seeing Lilith holding her neck, he frowned, he knew he did that to her.

"Hey, you should stop looking out for me. I can take care of myself so I need you to leave, stay away from me," he said to her.

"But why, Eren?" Lilith asked, her voice sounding broken. "I only want to be by your side and protect you just as I have always done. I promised your mother to keep you safe."

"That is all in the past," Eren said, his voice sounding distant. Lilith's shoulders dropped but Eren didn't care. "I want you to forget me, forget my existence, forget the promise you made to my mother, forget the things you told me the first time you appeared to me, forget everything that concerns me, and move on. I don't want to have anything to do with you demons."

"No," Lilith cried. "You can't do this, you can't, Eren!"

Eren sighed and stood up, he glanced at her briefly and said. "I have made up my mind and I won't go back on my word. Instead of wasting your time waiting for me, go do something meaningful with your life." After saying this, he turned to leave. "If you really want to stay beside me, then you must be strong enough to defeat me, right now, you are as weak as an average human. Get stronger, enough to defeat me and then come back. Whenever you are able to achieve that, I'll accept you back... That is if I am able to remember you by then," he said, whispering the last few words as he walked away.

Tears streamed down from Lilith's eyes like a waterfall, she knew crying wouldn't solve the problem but she just wanted to cry. She hadn't cried for a long time and she had almost forgotten what it felt like. After crying her eyes out, she stood up and wiped her face. She gazed at the route Eren had taken and clenched her fists.

"I swear it, I am going to become strong and I will come back and make you eat your words!"