The world shakes with a sound that splits heaven and stone.
A deafening crack—like the earth itself is screaming—bursts through the ruins of Trost. Soldiers stumble, cannons rattle on their mounts, and from the steaming corpse of a Titan, something moves.
A hand—red, sinewy, and impossibly large—bursts free from the creature's chest. Flesh rips apart like paper as the massive fingers claw through. The air turns thick with steam, and every soldier freezes in place, unable to comprehend what they're seeing.
From within the dying Titan, a new monster emerges.
It drags itself out, muscles glowing faintly beneath a lattice of red sinew, steam rolling off its body in violent waves. Its eyes burn with molten fury, and with a guttural growl, it slams its clawed fist into the ground, crushing the remains of the Titan that had swallowed it.
For a heartbeat, there's only silence.
Then—
"Wh-What… the hell is that!?" one soldier cries.
Mikasa stares, her heart pounding, her breath caught in her throat. "Eren…" The name escapes her lips like a whisper, a fragile thing barely carried by the wind.
Ymir's eyes narrow. "No way…"
Krista—her face streaked with dirt and tears—takes a small, trembling step forward. "Eren…? Is that really you?"
On the far end of the wall, Erwin Smith stands frozen in rare disbelief. His gloved hands rest against the parapet as his mind churns. "It came from inside the Titan," he murmurs. "Then… that means—"
Levi cuts in sharply, eyes narrowing as he watches the massive figure below. "That Titan's not attacking the others… it's killing them."
The beast moves.
The ground quakes as it launches forward, moving with terrifying speed. In a blur of red and steam, its fist collides with another Titan's skull, splattering blood and bone across the ruins. Without hesitation, it whirls, grabs another by the neck, and slams it against a building until the creature's nape bursts.
Every motion is purposeful, furious—and eerily human.
Hange Zoë grips the railing, eyes wide with childlike awe. "Incredible! It's… it's fighting for us!"
Levi's gaze doesn't waver. "Or it's fighting everything in its way. Don't be stupid."
Far below, Reiner and Annie watch the carnage unfold from behind the cover of a collapsed roof. The red Titan's roar vibrates through the air, shaking the dust loose from the broken stones around them.
Annie's usually impassive eyes flick toward Reiner. "You see it too, don't you?"
Reiner nods slowly, his face grim. "That movement… that structure… there's no mistake."
"The Attack Titan."
Annie exhales quietly, her jaw tightening. "So he has it."
Reiner's gaze darkens. Eren Jaeger… You were supposed to be nothing but a pawn in this world. Yet somehow, you've become the center of it.
He clenches his fists. "If that's true, then the Founding Titan must still be out there. And he might be the key to finding it."
On the ground, chaos becomes coordination.
The Scouts rally under Erwin's command as he regains his composure, his mind already moving three steps ahead. "All soldiers, maintain positions! Continue the wall-sealing preparations!"
"Commander, what about that Titan?" a squad leader shouts, eyes flicking toward the raging creature.
Erwin's expression hardens. "We don't know its intent yet. Captain Levi, take a team and monitor it from a distance. If it shows hostility—take it down."
Levi adjusts his ODM gear, his voice as flat as ever. "Understood."
But as the strange Titan continues to fight, tearing through the enemy with a precision and purpose no pure Titan should possess, the soldiers hesitate.
"It's protecting us," one mutters.
"No Titan does that," another whispers, disbelief lacing his voice. "They don't save people."
Yet there it is—a Titan shielding a squad from an oncoming attack, its massive arm blocking the path of another Titan before crushing it beneath its heel.
Mikasa can't look away. Her heart beats wildly in her chest, a flicker of hope—and dread—taking hold.
Eren… is that really you in there?
The creature's movements are too familiar—reckless, powerful, but deliberate. It fights like a human, like him.
As the sun dips behind the smoke-filled sky, the Titan continues to slaughter everything in its path until the ground is littered with steaming corpses.
And then—suddenly—it stops.
The battlefield grows silent.
The red Titan stands amidst a field of corpses, its chest heaving, steam pouring from its flesh. Then, slowly, it sinks to one knee. The light in its eyes fades, and its body begins to slump forward, like a puppet whose strings have been cut.
Levi raises a hand to signal his squad. "Hold positions."
The creature lets out one final exhale of steam before collapsing completely, its head coming to rest against the shattered stones of Trost.
Krista grips the wall's edge, her knuckles white. "It… it's not moving."
Mikasa's voice is almost a whisper. "Eren…"
Ymir looks at her sideways. "You think he's still alive in there?"
"I have to believe he is."
Below, Erwin steps forward, watching as the massive corpse begins to disintegrate. Steam billows upward, thick and white, obscuring everything from view.
"Commander," a soldier says nervously, "should we… approach it?"
Erwin nods once. "Form an elite unit. We'll investigate the source. If it's hostile, eliminate it."
Levi gives a curt nod and leaps off the wall with a few others, his grappling lines hissing through the air. Mikasa, Ymir, and Krista follow without hesitation, ignoring the startled shouts of the other soldiers.
"Mikasa!" Hange yells after her, but it's too late.
Erwin's sharp gaze follows them as they descend. "Let them go," he says finally. "They're among the strongest of the new recruits. If it's him, they'll recognize him first."
The air grows hotter the closer they get. Steam wraps around them in thick, suffocating waves, blurring their vision and making it hard to breathe.
Levi lands first, blades drawn, his movements controlled and deliberate. "Stay behind me," he orders.
But Mikasa ignores him, sprinting ahead. Her boots splash through the puddles of condensed steam, her heart pounding in her chest. "Eren!" she shouts. "Eren, can you hear me!?"
No response.
The red flesh of the Titan's neck has begun to dissolve, peeling away like molten wax. And within that cavity—something stirs.
Krista gasps, clutching Ymir's arm. "There's… someone inside."
Levi moves closer, squinting through the haze. The steam clears just enough for him to see the outline—a human figure curled within the nape of the Titan's neck, chest rising and falling weakly.
For the first time in a long while, Levi hesitates. "…No way."
Mikasa's heart stops.
The Titan's final veil of flesh evaporates, revealing a boy—his body slick with blood and steam, his expression eerily peaceful.
"Eren…" she whispers.
Krista covers her mouth, tears welling in her eyes. "He's… alive."
Ymir lets out a low whistle, part disbelief, part awe. "Guess your suicidal idiot isn't so easy to kill."
He is jus like me!
Levi kneels beside the unconscious boy, his sharp eyes scanning the scene. "So he was inside that thing…"
Hange lands behind them, her voice trembling with excitement. "Incredible. A human emerging from a Titan's nape… This could change everything we know about them."
Erwin descends last, his usual composure masking the storm of thoughts beneath. He looks down at the boy who had just defied death itself, then at the steaming remains of the Titan that had fought to protect them.
"So this… is Jaeger," he murmurs.
Levi rises, glancing sideways at him. "What do we do with him?"
Erwin's eyes never leave Eren's face. "We take him back. Carefully. The answers we need might be lying right there."
As they prepare to move him, Mikasa kneels beside Eren and brushes a strand of hair from his forehead. His breathing is shallow, but steady.
You idiot… you scared me half to death.
Ymir's gaze lingers on him, sharp and thoughtful. "If he really controls that Titan… the world's about to get a lot more complicated."
Erwin looks up at the fading sun, his voice low. "Yes. And humanity just found its most dangerous weapon."
The steam rises higher, carrying the scent of blood and ash into the dying light.
And at the center of it all lies Eren Jaeger—human, monster, and something far greater than either.
End of Chapter 35: The Titan Within