The face before Zeke was one he could never forget.
Even if she had become a mindless Titan, twisted and enormous, he would recognize her in an instant.
"Mother…"
His vision blurred with tears. The chaos of collapsing homes, the screams, the smoke of Shiganshina—all of it vanished. For that single heartbeat, the world shrank to the blonde giantess holding Carla Yeager in her massive hand.
Zeke's mind reeled. How could this be? Didn't I come here a week earlier? I changed the timing—so why is everything still the same as before?
The Wall had been breached, the Colossal Titan loomed outside, countless Titans poured inward, and now the blonde Titan—his mother—was about to crush Carla, just as he remembered.
The same scene. The same despair.
Zeke's heart broke. Why… why is it still repeating?
As Dina's Titan hand began to twist, Zeke lifted the rifle. His tears blurred the sight, but his finger pulled the trigger anyway.
BOOM.
The giant hand was blasted apart in a spray of steam.
"Ah!" Carla screamed as she fell from above.
Zeke threw the gun over his shoulder, body protesting, and sprinted. He caught Carla in his arms just before she struck the ground.
Her face was pale, her breath trembling. She clung to him like a drowning woman clinging to driftwood. Zeke tightened his hold, turned, and ran with everything he had.
Because how could he possibly kill his own mother?
…
"Boom… boom… boom…"
The footsteps followed like thunder. Each impact rattled the streets of Shiganshina, closer and closer.
"Mom!" Ahead, Eren and Mikasa appeared with Hannes, who had a child in each arm. Their eyes widened at the sight of Zeke carrying Carla.
But Hannes shouted through tears, "Don't come closer! Keep running!" He turned, clutching the children tighter, and sprinted away.
Zeke blinked. "...?"
Behind him, Carla found her voice at last. "She's still chasing us!" She sobbed, trembling in his arms.
"Zeke—put me down! Carrying me, you'll never get far!"
Zeke risked a glance back. The sight struck him like a spear to the chest.
The Titan was chasing not the fleeing masses, not other humans—only them. Only Carla.
Even maimed, Dina's Titan still dragged itself after them.
Zeke's jaw tightened.
There are dozens of Titans in the city. Why her? Why us? His gut churned. This can't be random. This is Ai's doing. Big Ai, you cruel bastard.
…
Carla struggled against him.
"Put me down! You can't run like this. My foot is injured—I'll only slow you down. If I stay, you might live!"
Zeke grit his teeth.
"You said 'don't leave me,'he snapped, voice raw. "And now you want me to drop you? Make up your mind!"
Carla sobbed, clutching his shirt. "I mean it! If you take me, neither of us will survive. Please, Zeke—please…"
Zeke's chest heaved. The weight of her words cut him open.
Finally, he shouted at the sky, his voice cracking: "Enough, Eren! This is your mother! Even you can't be this cruel!"
"Huh?" Little Eren, running ahead like a sandbag slung under Hannes' arm, blinked in confusion.
"Are… are you yelling at me?"
"I'm not talking to you!" Zeke snapped back, rage and sorrow colliding. "I'm talking to the nineteen-year-old Eren! Big Ai—I know you're watching! Stop it, you idiot!"
"I'm ten years old!" Little Eren protested, his face red with tears.
"I TOLD YOU I'M NOT TALKING TO YOU!" Zeke roared.
Carla gasped at his sudden outburst, but Zeke didn't stop. His words poured like fire.
"Why her? Out of all the humans, why does she have to be the one my mother hunts? This isn't chance! This is your hand, Eren! You think just because no one scolds you, no one knows what you've done? You bastard!"
Hannes, still running, shouted back between gasps, "Who cares who you're scolding—just keep moving!"
Zeke ignored him. His throat burned as he kept yelling into the empty air. "Don't you see? I'm already here! You don't need to force this tragedy again! Stop it! Don't let it repeat!"
His voice cracked into a plea. "I'll stop everything. No matter what it takes—I'll stop the tragedy, stop the Rumbling, stop all of it! So stop, Eren! Please!"
Little Eren's eyes welled with tears. "I… I don't understand! Why are you scolding me when I don't even know what you're talking about?"
"Children shouldn't understand this!" Zeke snapped.
"Then why do you keep yelling at me?" Eren shouted back, his voice breaking with frustration.
"I—!!" Zeke's words collapsed into a growl of despair.
…
They reached a dead end.
The towering Wall loomed in front, cold and unyielding. No alleys, no paths left.
Behind them, Dina's Titan thundered closer, her ruined hands already knitting back together.
Hannes stumbled to a stop.
Zeke halted beside him, Carla still clutched in his arms. The children stared in wide-eyed horror.
The sound of colossal footsteps shook the air. Dust fell from the ruined houses around them.
There was nowhere left to run.
The tragedy was repeating.
Zeke clenched his jaw, heart pounding. "Will the future really be the same again…?"
...
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