The morning air hangs heavy with smoke and exhaustion. The walls of Trost District stand battered but unbroken, streaked with soot and blood, the silence only occasionally shattered by the groan of stone or the faraway echo of cannon fire. Soldiers, engineers, and scouts move in measured chaos along the parapets, their faces pale beneath layers of grime.
Eren walks among them.
From the top of Wall Rose, he watches the aftermath of humanity's struggle. Thousands of citizens have already been evacuated behind the inner walls, leaving behind a city that smells of smoke and wet stone. Below, soldiers shovel rubble and patch barricades while officers bark out orders.
For the first time in years, humanity has survived a Titan breach without total annihilation. But the price is written everywhere—in the empty streets, in the corpses that no one dares count aloud.
Eren exhales quietly, hands resting on the rough stone of the wall.
So this is how it feels… watching a world on the edge of collapse and knowing you're the only one who can steer it back.
He glances toward the group of scouts gathered near the edge of the wall. Commander Erwin stands at the center, posture immaculate, eyes sharp as a blade. To his right, Captain Levi leans against the railing, arms folded, the ever-present impatience clear in his expression.
They're talking strategy—how to seal the wall, how to rebuild, how to survive. Eren listens only halfway. He already knows their plans. Crude, desperate, human.
You'll try to patch the wall with stone and cement. Brave, but useless in the long run.
A faint smile crosses his lips. I'll have to intervene soon.
"Eren!"
He turns to see Krista—no, Historia—running toward him, a streak of sunlight in a place of ash and dust. She's carrying a bundle of rations in her arms, her face slightly flushed from the climb.
"You haven't eaten," she says, voice soft but firm. "You should take a break before the next deployment."
Eren raises a brow, amused. "You always take care of everyone, don't you?"
"I just… don't want anyone collapsing again," she replies, averting her gaze. "You were reckless yesterday."
He takes the bread from her hands, his tone light. "You worry too much, Krista. If you keep that up, people will start thinking you like me."
Her cheeks turn pink, and before she can respond, Ymir's voice cuts in sharply from behind. "And what's that supposed to mean, Jaeger?"
Eren smirks without looking back. "Only what you think it means."
Mikasa, standing a few feet away, folds her arms. "You shouldn't tease people like that."
Eren meets her gaze for a second—her quiet irritation almost comforting in its familiarity. At least some things never change.
By noon, preparations for the wall-sealing operation begin. The scouts' plan is straightforward: use stone and cement to seal the breach and keep Titans from pouring in again. Crude, inefficient… but it will buy them time.
"Everyone ready?!" one of the officers shouts. "Once we start, there's no turning back!"
Eren stands beside Armin and Mikasa, overlooking the southern gate. The gaping wound in Wall Rose looms like a mouth waiting to swallow them whole.
"Do you think this will work?" Armin asks quietly, voice trembling despite his best efforts.
"It doesn't matter if it works," Eren says, his expression unreadable. "It just has to look like it does."
Mikasa frowns. "What do you mean by that?"
Eren doesn't answer. His eyes are fixed on the horizon. Dark specks move in the distance—Titans drawn by the sound and motion of soldiers.
Perfect timing.
The operation begins.
Dozens of soldiers haul stones and barrels toward the breach, their movements frantic but coordinated. Steam rises from the sun-baked rubble, mixing with the smell of sweat and fear. The world seems to hold its breath as the line between success and slaughter blurs with every passing second.
Then the ground trembles.
"Titans!" someone screams from the lookout.
Eren's head snaps up. Over the rooftops, the shadows of several Titans loom, their grotesque shapes blotting out the sunlight.
Panic spreads instantly.
"Fall back!" "Protect the workers!" "Get the cannons ready!"
Amid the chaos, Eren's gaze sharpens. So it begins.
He grabs Armin by the shoulder. "We'll hold them off. Go help the others!"
"What? Eren—!"
"Just go!"
Armin hesitates, then nods and runs toward the rear line. Mikasa moves to follow, but Eren stops her with a single look. "Stay with him. Make sure he doesn't get himself killed."
"But—"
"That's an order."
You aren't even my superior. She grumbles in her mind.
Reluctantly, she obeys,retreating with Armin and Ymir to help the others regroup.
Eren turns back toward the approaching Titans, jaw tight, a strange calm settling over him.
If I play this right, they'll all believe I died here. That's the only way forward.
The first Titan crashes through the outer barricade, scattering debris like leaves in a storm. Its vacant eyes fix on the nearest human—Krista, who's stumbled in the chaos.
Ymir who was beside her also doesn't notice.
This is a perfect opportunity .
Eren's body moves before thought can catch up. His ODM gear fires with a sharp hiss, and he hurtles forward through the smoke.
"Krista!!!"
He slams into his friend, knocking her out of the Titan's reach. The ground quakes as the massive hand crashes down inches away.
"Eren!" Krista's voice cracks.
"Run!"
Krista stares at him, frozen in terror.
"RUN, DAMMIT!"
Eren's scream finally breaks through, and Krista scrambles back, eyes wide with horror.
The Titan's shadow falls over them both.
Eren looks up, and for a moment—just a fleeting second—his mind is perfectly still.
This is it.
The Titan's jaws close around him.
The world goes silent.
Mikasa's scream tears through the air. "EREN!"
Levi's expression darkens, the faintest flicker of shock crossing his features. Erwin's composure wavers for the first time as shouts of panic ripple through the ranks.
"He's… he's gone," someone whispers.
Krista/Historia falls to her knees, trembling. His hands shake as he stares at the blood splattered across his uniform. "No… Eren… why…"
The Titan stands still for a heartbeat, its jaws dripping crimson. Then, slowly, it begins to turn away—
—and something moves.
A faint crack echoes through the air, like thunder muffled by stone. The Titan's body jerks violently.
Steam bursts from its mouth.
Then, with a sound that freezes every soul in Trost, a massive hand tears through the Titan's flesh from the inside.
The soldiers can only stare as fingers the size of tree trunks claw their way outward, ripping open the Titan's neck in a shower of steam and blood.
"What… what the hell is that?" one gasps.
Mikasa takes a step forward, her breath catching in her throat. "Eren?"
A dark, armored silhouette looms behind the dissolving Titan carcass, steam curling around it like smoke from a dying fire. The air vibrates with raw power, and the ground trembles beneath the weight of something colossal awakening.
The soldiers watch in stunned silence as the new Titan lifts its head and lets out a roar that shakes the very sky.
The Hero of Trost has risen.
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End of Chapter 34: The Hero of Trost