.

Chapter 11

More than ten minutes had passed since the ground had trembled beneath the royal chapel.

The sky was covered with dark, oppressive clouds—as if mourning alongside the air itself.

Outside, steam billowed from the ruins of the stone entrance that had collapsed, sealing the crystal cavern forever.

But from within that smoke… from the fallen body of the massive Titan… one man emerged.

Grisha Yeager.

His burned body was drenched in thick vapor, his breath ragged, hands trembling.

Yet in his right hand, he clutched something precious—a small glass vial containing a syringe filled with shimmering spinal fluid glowing faintly silver.

This… was all that remained of that cursed encounter.

He managed only a few steps past the rubble before collapsing to his knees, tears streaming down his scorched face as he cried out from the depths of his soul:

"Ahh!! Ahhh!! Nooo!!"

"I killed them!!!"

He pounded the earth with both fists, slowly crumbling—as if every cell in his body begged for forgiveness.

"Even the children… even the ones who trembled behind their siblings… I crushed them!!! With these hands!!!"

His eyes were bloodshot, lips trembling. He screamed, lifting his face toward the sky:

"Ereeeenn!!!"

"I killed the Reiss family!… Everyone except the father… Are you happy now?! Is this what you wanted?!"

He paused for a moment, then his voice cracked with despair:

"Is this… really what I had to do?! Was this… truly the only way… to save Eldia?!"

His body collapsed again, as though gravity itself was choking him.

He buried his face in his palms, sobbing uncontrollably—tears mingling with dirt and ash.

"Why didn't you show me everything?!"

"Why didn't you show me the walls… being destroyed?! What about Carla… will she be safe?! Was… was this sacrifice enough?!"

No one answered.

But the steam continued to rise from his body—the traces of the Titan had not yet vanished.

His voice gradually quieted, his screams fading into murmurs. Then he slowly lifted his head and whispered:

"You're there… aren't you?"

He spoke to someone unseen, unheard… but deeply felt.

That mysterious presence… the one who had been with him since the beginning of this moment. Whispering to him through the walls… through the veils of time.

"Rio…"

He spoke the name as if it were a sacred word—the secret the heavens had waited centuries to hear.

"Rio… You're the only one who can end this disaster… who can stop it at its root!!"

Grisha stood up, swaying with difficulty, his body aching with every motion—but he stood.

He stared into the emptiness before him, as if someone stood there. No one was there.

And yet, he raised his hand, as though addressing a being the eye could not perceive:

"Listen to me, Rio…"

"If only… if only you could convince Ymir not to obey anymore… not to kneel again…"

"If you do that… everything will break. The chains… the curse… the blood… it will all end."

He fell silent for a moment, then lifted his hand to the heavens, tears flowing down his cheek:

"Please… Rio… stop this endless cycle… of pain and blood."

Grisha backed away, slumping onto a collapsed rock, staring at the small vial in his hand.

"This… is all that's left…"

At last, he felt the emptiness. The silence. The heavy stillness after the storm.

And within him… a faint hope that what he had done—despite everything—might not have been in vain.

---

Fifteen minutes earlier…

Eren, Mikasa, and Armin sat beneath the shade of a great tree on the outskirts of the town. The wind blew gently through the interwoven branches above.

The sun was tilting westward, painting the sky in hues of red and orange, casting a warm, tranquil glow over the moment.

Armin, holding an old, restored book, said:

"I told them… humanity needs to go beyond these walls someday… and in return, they beat me. They called me a heretic and a traitor… As if merely dreaming had become a crime."

Eren clenched his fists, frowning deeply:

"Bastards! How can we be scorned just for wanting freedom?! Sure… maybe life's been peaceful for the past hundred years, but that doesn't give anyone the right to stop us from dreaming. They're just afraid of change… afraid a single mistake could bring back the past. That's why they keep everyone inside."

Armin sighed, voice heavy:

"The royal government declared any interest in the outside world forbidden… They imprison minds before they imprison bodies."

Eren, his voice rising with anger, replied:

"The king is afraid… that's all it is. He's afraid of losing power, of having the lies they built for a century come crumbling down."

But Armin seemed hesitant, replying with uncertainty:

"Maybe… but is that really the only reason? Sometimes I feel like there's something deeper—some greater secret they're hiding behind those walls."

Mikasa cut in quietly, her eyes scanning the surroundings:

"I don't think this conversation will help right now. Let's forget it."

Suddenly, as if the sky itself had decided to answer them—an earth-shaking roar erupted from the direction of the wall. It sounded like a bolt of lightning tearing the heavens apart.

The ground trembled violently beneath them. The three of them fell to the dirt. Eren shouted:

"W-What?!"

Armin grabbed at the soil, trying to stabilize himself:

"Is… is this an earthquake?!"

But Eren lifted his head, voice shaky:

"No… That sound… it's something else!"

Screams echoed from the town. People were running in every direction. Others stood frozen, eyes raised, fingers pointing skyward—as if they were witnessing a nightmare materialize before them.

Eren, Mikasa, and Armin looked up.

And froze.

Their eyes widened. Their breath stopped.

There—atop the wall—a Titan was slowly climbing. Steam hissed from its limbs. Its face was cloaked in the shadow of horror itself. It was enormous—unlike anything they had seen or imagined.

Armin's voice trembled:

"That… that can't be… That's not a normal Titan…"

Eren said nothing—but something inside him broke. Not fear… something more complex: awareness, fury, confusion. A sensation that he had seen this before—perhaps in a nightmare… or in something deeper than dreams.

Mikasa instinctively reached for her blade, her combat instincts igniting.

But none of them moved.

They were just three children—facing an event that would change the fate of the world.

The air remained charged with that strange tremor. Only moments had passed since the ground had shaken beneath them… but what followed was far worse.

When Armin tried to speak again, he couldn't finish.

Because something even more terrifying than myths appeared.

A Titan's face—red, bald, skinless. Its muscles exposed and burning, exhaling smoke like a body set ablaze. Its eyes glowed coldly—inhuman and mechanical.

Everyone froze—as though existence itself had halted. A heavy silence fell, even among those watching from the streets.

And then…

BOOOM!!!

The Colossal Titan kicked the gate with a mighty blow. The wall's gate exploded—like a bomb had struck it. Stones and rubble scattered in all directions. The blast wasn't just sound—it was an earthquake.

The air filled with dust and debris. Massive rocks flew toward houses, crushing buildings, shattering streets, spreading chaos.

Eren screamed, holding his head, struggling to stand amidst the smoke:

"Th-the wall… he made a hole in the wall?!"

The townspeople shrieked in unison. It was now unmistakable. Wall Maria—the stronghold that had protected them for a hundred years—had been ripped open like paper by one Titan's foot.

It wasn't long before more Titans began to appear through the dust.

In their entire lives, the townspeople hadn't seen a single Titan…

Now? They were coming by the dozens.

Armin rasped as he ran:

"Run! You two—hurry! The Titans will start pouring in one after another!"

But as Mikasa began to pull Eren along, he suddenly ran in the opposite direction. He didn't follow the crowd—he ran toward the explosion!

Mikasa cried out, horror on her face:

"Eren?! Where are you going?!"

Armin stopped mid-run, not knowing whether to flee or shout:

"Eren?! Come back!!"

But Eren didn't respond. His eyes were locked on the hole in the wall, where steam still hissed from the Titan's kick. Something inside him had ignited—a fire that could not be extinguished.

Meanwhile, the screams of the Titans echoed across the horizon. The cries of people, the wailing of children, the frantic calls of mothers—merged into a chorus of terror.

A house was crushed completely. Another building collapsed onto its residents.

Armin looked around, tears gathering in his eyes:

"It's… it's all over… This town is finished!! The Titans will devour everything!!"

Mikasa grabbed his arm, her voice firm despite the chaos:

"We still have time… Ere

n won't go alone! We're not leaving him there!!"

But Armin knew… this day was no ordinary day.

It had started like any other.

And now?

It had become the beginning of the end of their world.

To be continued…