Everyone said Eren had changed, and Mikasa thought so too.
But perhaps they were all wrong. What if Eren hadn't changed at all? What if this was the real Eren all along?
Mikasa's thoughts drifted back to when they first arrived in Marley, how excited everyone had been to be among the first Paradis humans to set foot on the outside world.
Here, they finally learned the truth of the world. They marveled at all the new things they encountered.
Mikasa was astonished that such a wonderful thing as ice cream existed.
She offered some to Eren, who already knew about it from his father's memories. For the first time, they all felt how vast the outside world was. Yet, a hint of melancholy flickered in Eren's eyes. Perhaps Mikasa, unwilling to see it, had missed the true state of his heart.
Meanwhile, Levi had apprehended a pickpocket. A crowd immediately surrounded the boy, demanding his death, claiming he might carry demonic blood. However, a voice, identified as Shasha, argued that such an action would be excessive.
Despite this, the Marleyans insisted on making an example of him, and the boy became the target of their ire. To avoid further escalation, Levi quickly scooped up the boy and fled.
Thus, the group, having just arrived in Marley, found themselves on the run like rats. After escaping their pursuers, a character named Nanhai thanked them for their help, yet managed to pilfer Levi's wallet.
"Never mind," Levi mused, "it was just pocket money from Azumabito."
Later that night, Qingmei explained the current situation. During the Eldian Empire's peak, nations around the world considered absorbing the bloodline of Ymir's subjects a mark of nobility.
However, as Eldia declined, the Ymir bloodline became despised. This was the plight of the Eldians outside the walls.
Qingmei believed that Paradis's plan to foster goodwill would be extremely difficult to implement.
That being said, if they abandoned the path of peace, their only option would be to support Zeke's plan.
Just then, Mikasa realized Eren was missing. Everyone immediately began searching for him, and Mikasa found him in a refugee district.
"What happened?" Mikasa asked. Eren replied calmly, "Nothing. This is just a place where people displaced by war gather."
As he spoke, Eren felt a pang of empathy. He remembered his own life, how one day his ordinary existence had abruptly ended, everything taken away, all his freedom stripped.
Under the bright moon and starry sky, at a moment of deep emotion, Eren questioned Mikasa why she cared so much for him. Was it because he had saved her when they were children, or because he was her family?
"Then, what am I to you?"
Eren's barrage of pointed questions made Mikasa blush. Looking into his tender eyes, she was bewitched and confessed, "Family."
At that moment, an elder from the refugee district warmly invited the young couple in for drinks. Almi and the others, drawn by the smell, also arrived. "Respect is better than obedience," they thought, accepting the invitation.
The group thus became guests at the elder's home, quickly mingling with the residents and filling the night with laughter.
By the time Levi found them, they were all drunk and unconscious.
The next morning, everyone attended an international seminar on Eldia. However, the prevailing sentiment was that the demons on the island were the root of all evil, and the world's only enemy was that island's demons.
From that day on, Eren chose to leave them. In a later letter, he entrusted everything to Zeke, and by the time they met again, it was too late.
Perhaps it had all been decided from the very beginning.
Yet, despite this, Mikasa couldn't help but wonder if choosing differently back then would have led to a different outcome.
The setting sun cast its glow on the sailing ship as free seagulls followed it into the distance.
Where did it all begin?
Eren didn't know. Was it the moment Mikasa woke him up under the tree?
Was it the three pigs from the very start?
Or was it the moment of his birth?
No, it didn't matter. Even if everything had been decided from the beginning, it was all as Eren had wished. Everything lay ahead.
Eren's thoughts returned to a year prior. Yelena had told him that the only plan to save the world and Eldia was euthanasia, but Eren refused.
Eren confided in Floch that he would pretend to go along with Zeke's plan, and then, using the power of the Founding Titan, he would destroy this world, eradicating all enemies from existence.
Historia had tried to dissuade Eren, arguing that this was wrong, as not everyone outside the island was an enemy. Like his mother, they had no idea why they were suddenly being killed.
Eren knew this, but the only way to completely sever the chain reaction of hatred was to let this hateful history, along with civilization, vanish.
Eren stated that he would never make Historia a sacrifice, and he wouldn't be foolishly playing out a scene of parental affection.
Historia believed that if Eren did this, she could no longer hold her head high and live.
Eren, in response, said that if that were the case, he would alter Historia's memories using the Founding Titan's power, but before that, he wished for the queen to remain silent.
Eren had also asked Zeke about the cause of his headaches. Zeke replied that he had never heard of any specific illnesses plaguing the Ackerman family, nor had the Titan physician Mr. Kusawa mentioned anything.
However, according to records, when an Ackerman's survival instincts were stimulated, their strength could awaken.
But Zeke didn't believe that the Ackermans possessed a habit of protecting their hosts.
Zeke theorized that Mikasa's willingness to fight Titans for Eren was simply because she loved him.
Joking about it, Zeke teased Eren, asking if he wouldn't reciprocate Mikasa's affection.
Eren simply replied that he had at most four years left to live. Even if he died, their lives would continue.
So, Eren made his choice. He joined the Marleyan army, cut off his left leg with a knife, and then shot out his left eye with a bullet, feigning injury. All this was to protect his comrades on the island.
As the dawn broke, the Titans had reached Marley's coast, and behind them, in a vast, dense horde, were the Attack Titans.