The abyss rumbled like a starving beast, its endless void cracking with echoes of rage.
From the black nothingness, tendrils thicker than towers whipped upward, coiling around Armin's golden roots.
The great tree groaned—its branches shaking, its light dimming.
Each tendril burned like fire, sinking deep into the veins of his being, dragging him, and with him—Eren's fragile flower—back down into despair.
The air trembled with the clash of two forces: creation and destruction.
---
> 🌳 Armin (grimly, teeth clenched):
"No… not this time. You won't take him again. Not him. Not now. Not ever!"
Every word was a battle cry, and every root of his being fought back.
---
✨ Annie's Radiance
Annie's figure blazed brighter beside him, her aura turning into a curtain of white fire.
Her light wrapped around the roots, shielding them, burning away the tendrils like frost melting under morning sun.
Her voice rang out, clear and unwavering, carried through the abyss like a hymn:
> 🌸 Annie:
"You always hated being alone, didn't you, Armin?
You carried everyone's pain.
But you're not alone now. Not anymore."
Her words flowed into him like fuel, his trembling light steadying, growing stronger.
---
🖤 Eren's Inner Vow
Meanwhile, Eren's small flower swayed violently, buffeted between the pull of death and the pull of life.
But within it—a faint glow flickered, stubborn, unyielding.
A memory surfaced.
The warmth of her hand.
Her voice calling his name with trembling lips.
His heart surged.
> Eren (whispering to himself):
"Even if I was born in hell…
Even if fate hated us…
I'd still find you."
The glow burst brighter, shaking the abyss.
> Eren (louder, defiant):
"Even if I have to fight gods…
Even if I must become a demon…
I'll never let you be alone again."
The flower's glow rippled outward like a shockwave, cutting tendrils apart, forcing the abyss to recoil.
---
🌳 Armin's Final Push
Armin's roots tightened, muscles of light straining against the void.
His voice trembled—not from fear, but from the sheer weight of love and duty.
> 🌳 Armin (desperate, yet resolute):
"Almost there, Eren…
Just a little further.
You can finally rest, my best friend.
Go to her. Don't stop this time."
Golden-white light surged up his roots, blasting through the darkness.
The abyss shrieked as cracks of light tore across its endless black.
---
🌸 Annie's Last Gift
Annie clasped her hands together, her glow condensing into a single radiant spear.
> 🌸 Annie (softly, like a prayer):
"For him. For you. For all of us."
She thrust the light downward—splitting the abyss beneath them into shattering fragments of shadow.
The tendrils retreated, writhing, hissing in defeat.
Armin's roots heaved upward with one final push, dragging Eren's flower just beneath the surface of the world above.
---
🥀 Mikasa – The First Tear
Above, Mikasa stood motionless, the battlefield silent around her.
Her eyes blurred, her chest heavy.
A single tear slipped down her cheek.
She didn't know why.
But deep inside, her heart whispered to her:
> 🥀 Mikasa (softly, trembling):
"He's close.
I know it."
The breeze carried her words, and for a moment—it felt like someone below had heard her.
---
🌌 The Last Image
The chapter ends on a haunting image:
Eren's flower, glowing brighter than ever, its petals trembling just beneath the surface of the earth—so close to breaking through.
The abyss still lurks below, seething in silence.
Armin's light flickers, Annie's body weakens.
Mikasa's tear drops onto the soil above… and the glow answers.
A promise between worlds.
---