It was like catching the whiff of vomit. Eren sniffed carefully until he traced the stench.
Like rancid meat broth with some strange spices tossed in, turned into something grotesque.
Speaking of which—he really was hungry.
Driven by hunger, Eren slowly opened his eyes and took in the scene around him.
The light was too dim to make anything out; all he saw was red.
Why so red?
Curious, he blinked and blinked, but nothing came into focus.
Then he understood.
It wasn't his eyes—this place itself was entirely red.
Focusing again, he jolted.
Why am I in the sea?
Rippling surface. Yes—this was the sea.
But why was it red?
Was the ocean really this color?
Eren wondered.
The water was warm, giving him the feeling of a bath.
But this wasn't the time to relax; he had to find Mikasa and the others, had to regroup with them.
Otherwise, people inside the Walls would suffer disaster again.
How many would die this time?
Eren had already felt the pain of losing family; he didn't want to feel it again.
So—even if it was late—even if it was already too late—he had to get out. He had to do something for the people inside the Walls. He had to make those who brought Titans' misery to the world taste the grief of losing their own loved ones.
At that thought, Eren set his jaw.
He clenched and unclenched his fists.
He would leave this sea.
He knew none of this was real.
He hadn't actually reached the ocean.
He should be inside the Walls, fighting Titans—so why was he here?
He didn't know.
But he had to leave.
"Hey—!"
He shouted, paddling in the middle of the sea.
No reply.
The ocean didn't even stir.
Everything was dead still.
No one here; no enemies either.
The placid sea seemed to tell Eren this was where he'd come to rest.
"Am I… dead?"
He stared from the water's center toward the distance.
There was a sunset.
It was very red.
Suddenly he understood.
The sunset lit the water; that's why the sea was so red.
"So it really is the ocean!"
Joy rose in him.
His arms no longer strained with every stroke.
Contrary to his fear, he didn't sink until he drowned.
He floated; his body grew lighter.
Like a leaf, he lay back.
Drifting.
If the silence around him had been a cruel punishment, then now he was savoring a quiet that belonged to him alone.
"Maybe I lost my memory… Mikasa and the others must have already left the Walls," Eren thought, at ease. "How peaceful the sea is. Before this, it was all just a dream."
Thinking pleasant thoughts, he slowly shut his eyes and fell asleep in the middle of the sea.
So tired.
The road so far had been too hard.
He'd never really rested.
But when he closed his eyes, he suddenly heard Mikasa's voice.
Mikasa's voice—so near and so far—half-real, half-hallucination.
"Mikasa?"
He opened his eyes, wanting to see her now.
Long hair or short?
Has she gotten taller?
Compared to me?
Arms cutting the water, Eren roused himself from the ocean's center.
But he didn't see Mikasa as he wished.
He saw a boat.
An oval boat.
A flag he didn't recognize hung on it.
Beneath the flag, several people were shouting.
From far off, Eren made them out.
Mikasa.
And Armin.
"Hey—! I'm here!"
Eren waved and shouted.
He was so happy.
So it wasn't a dream; they really were on a boat, out at sea, seeing the world beyond.
But as the boat drew near, he realized they looked terribly anxious.
They seemed worried for his safety.
Was this place dangerous?
Eren glanced at the calm sea. How could it be?
It was so peaceful, so quiet—how could it be dangerous?
And yet he suddenly wanted to be back on the boat.
How did I even get here? he wondered.
He started swimming toward Armin and Mikasa's boat.
Like when they were kids and he and Mikasa dove in to save Armin after he fell into the channel, he thrashed with everything he had.
But the more he swam, the heavier it felt.
Soon he couldn't swim at all.
He lifted his head, trying to beckon them closer.
And then he noticed—
They were getting farther away.
The boat was pulling away from him—faster and faster.
"Why…"
"Don't go!"
"Don't leave me!!"
Panic seized him; he flailed, desperate.
At that moment a storm burst forth—winds screaming, waves rearing!
Towering seas rose to swallow Eren.
"Hey! Help!!"
"Mikasa!!"
"Armin!!!"
He called, faint with exhaustion, hair and face drenched by spray.
He choked on mouthfuls of seawater, fighting to keep his head above the surface.
But the boat never came.
"Why…"
Hopelessness hollowed him out.
Then it clicked.
The storm.
Because of the storm, they had to leave.
"I see." Eren felt oddly calm.
As long as they were safe—
That was enough.
Holding that thought, he stopped struggling.
His body sank, slowly dropping.
Underwater, Eren opened his eyes for one last look at the world.
Bubbles streamed from his nose and mouth, racing upward.
Suddenly, he heard a voice.
"If I have to die…"
He knew it—his own voice.
Why would he hear himself now?
He had no answer.
He only knew—
He was dying.
His body kept sinking; even the faintest buoyancy was gone.
And at the bottom, where Eren fell—
a gaping, blood-red maw appeared.
Scarlet eyes. Needle fangs. A sky-devouring mouth.
Its body burned with flames, and it let out a roar that seemed to rattle the world.
Eren heard it clearly.
It said:
LEAVE
IT
TO
ME
Then—
a thunderclap.
The colossal jaws slammed shut.
Teeth clacked together—and that world-shaking beast swallowed him whole.
"Eren!!!"
Someone's shout tore across the sky like a meteor, ripping open Eren's dream.
He opened his eyes.
The Female Titan was charging him.
"So… there is an enemy."
Eren muttered, spent—bloodshot eyes, limbs limp.
Even so, he forced himself upright.
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