CHAPTER 20: BROTHER
The dust settled.
The screams faded.
Sukuna stood face to face with the man who claimed to be his brother.
Zeke Yeager.
Tall. Broad shoulders. A beard that made him look older than he probably was.
And those eyes. Burning with something between fury and curiosity.
"You're not surprised," Zeke said.
"Should I be?"
"Most people would be shocked to discover they have a brother."
"I'm not most people."
Zeke smiled.
"No. You're not."
The Colossal Titan had disappeared. Steam rose from where it had stood.
The other soldiers were scattered. Some dead. Some hiding. Some running.
Mikasa was gone. Armin was gone.
Sukuna was alone with Zeke.
"Where is Bertholdt?" Sukuna asked.
"Safe. For now."
"And the Colossal Titan?"
"A different power. One you don't know about yet."
Zeke stepped closer.
"We have much to discuss, little brother."
"We have nothing to discuss."
"Oh, but we do."
Zeke led Sukuna through the destroyed streets of Shiganshina.
They walked in silence. Past broken houses. Past rotting wood. Past the bones of the dead.
"Do you know why I came here?" Zeke asked.
"To kill me."
"If I wanted you dead, you would be dead."
"The foot stopped an inch from my face."
"That wasn't me."
Sukuna stopped.
"What?"
"The Colossal Titan stopped because something else commanded it to stop."
"Something? Or someone?"
Zeke turned to face him.
"Someone inside you."
Sukuna stared at him.
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"There's no one inside me."
"There is. The one they call the Devil of Paradise. The one who destroyed the old world. The one who will destroy this one."
Zeke stepped closer.
"I've seen it, Eren. In your eyes. In the way you move. In the way you fight."
"You're not Eren. You're something else. Something ancient. Something powerful."
Sukuna was quiet.
Then he smiled.
"You're smarter than you look."
They reached a building. Still standing. Mostly intact.
Zeke pushed open the door.
Inside, a table. Two chairs. A bottle of wine.
"Sit."
Sukuna sat.
Zeke poured two glasses.
"I don't drink," Sukuna said.
"Neither do I. But tonight, we celebrate."
"Celebrate what?"
"The beginning of the end."
Zeke sat across from him.
"I'm going to tell you a story, Eren. A story about our father. About Marley. About the Titans."
"I already know most of it."
"You know the lies. I'm going to tell you the truth."
Sukuna leaned back.
"I'm listening."
"Our father, Grisha Yeager, was not from inside the walls. He was from Marley. He was a doctor. He was also a rebel."
"He hated the empire. He wanted to destroy it. So he stole something precious. Something the Marleyans had guarded for centuries."
"The power of the Titans."
Zeke took a sip of wine.
"He came to this island. He found your mother. He had you. And he gave you his power."
"What power?" Sukuna asked.
"The power to change the world. The power to destroy it. The power to save it."
"You have two Titans inside you, Eren. The Attack Titan. And the Founding Titan."
"Together, they can command every Titan in existence. They can break the walls. They can trample the world."
Sukuna looked at his hands.
"I know."
Zeke's eyes widened.
"You know?"
"I've known for years."
"How?"
"Because someone told me. Someone from a different world."
Zeke leaned forward.
"Who?"
Sukuna smiled.
"Myself."
Zeke stared at him.
Then he laughed.
A loud, sharp laugh.
"You're insane."
"Maybe. But I'm still here. And I'm still breathing."
Zeke stopped laughing.
"Why haven't you used the power?"
"Because I'm not ready."
"When will you be ready?"
"When I understand what I'm destroying."
They sat in silence for a long time.
Then Zeke said, "I came here to offer you a choice."
"What choice?"
"Join me. Help me save the world."
"Save it from what?"
"From itself."
Zeke stood up.
"Marley is planning a massive attack. They're sending their entire fleet. They're going to destroy the walls and kill everyone inside."
"Unless we stop them first."
"How?"
"By using the Founding Titan. By unleashing the walls. By trampling their armies before they reach our shores."
"That's not saving the world. That's destroying it."
"Sometimes you have to destroy something to save it."
Sukuna stood up.
"I need time to think."
"You don't have time. The fleet is already on its way."
"Then I'll think faster."
He walked toward the door.
"Eren."
He stopped.
"One more thing."
"What?"
"The woman you met at the coast. Yelena. She's not your friend. She's using you."
"Everyone is using me."
"Yes. But she's working for me."
Sukuna turned around.
"What?"
Zeke smiled.
"Yelena is one of my volunteers. She brought you to me. She was following my orders."
Sukuna's eyes narrowed.
"You set a trap."
"I set a meeting."
"Same thing."
Sukuna walked out.
The night was dark. The stars were hidden behind clouds.
He stood in the middle of the destroyed street, alone.
"Zeke is controlling everything," he thought. "Yelena. The volunteers. The message. All of it."
He laughed.
"Everyone wants to use me. The king. The warriors. My own brother."
He looked at the sky.
"But no one controls me. No one."
END OF CHAPTER 20