THIRTEEN • Eren Jaeger

CHAPTER 4: Loop Two, II

A guilty feeling took over you. In this universe, you had prevented Eren from growing and understanding more about the world. Historia never revealed herself to Ymir. Levi didn't even know that his last name was Ackerman.

At least Erwin got to keep his arm.

You tried to convince yourself that this was for the better. They'd already been through so much pain once, it would be cruel to make them go through it again. But then you remembered how Marco's death had led Jean to become who he was and the pit of dread in your stomach deepened.

Something was wrong. You could feel it.

But it was too late to turn back now.

Keep moving forward.

Shiganshina District was eerily quiet. There was no Armored Titan, no Colossal Titan, nothing. You were consoled by the fact that the Beast Titan, if Zeke Jaeger was anywhere near, knew nothing of the Scouts' current whereabouts. There was no Battle of Shiganshina. No serum, because you'd never stormed the Reiss chapel. No fight over whether Armin or Erwin should live.

Unfortunately, the hole in Wall Maria was never plugged. Since Annie had never fought, she had never crystallized herself. That meant that Eren never figured out how to harden his Titan either. A few Scouts stayed behind the wall to kill any Titan that came near as the main group entered the basement.

"There it is," Eren called to the superiors. "That's my house."

You, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin were called away. You glanced over your shoulder as the rest of your friends were sent to defend the breach in the Wall from incoming Titans. You had to hurry before they would be overwhelmed.

No matter how much you tried, you hated seeing Shiganshina District in ruins. It reminded you of your past life, when you and Armin died in each other's embrace. It also reminded you that even though you had done your part to save the world and fix your home, there was no stopping future cataclysmic events.

With Levi, Hange, and Erwin, you entered the basement.

You watched the commander through the corner of your vision as you wandered around the basement. He looked fascinated by everything. Of course he was. The fruit of his life's labor was right at the tips of his fingers.

When Levi found the journals left by Grisha Jaeger, you sank into the background as they discussed the discoveries. You pretended to be shocked.

You were all a race called Eldians, and the people who sent Titans to their land were from a land called Marley. A cooling relief settled on your shoulders as their eyes widened at the words they read.

That was one less secret you had to keep.

The Survey Corps, especially Erwin, was thrilled. At long last, they had found real, useful information about what lay beyond the walls. That humanity lives. While they spread the news among the ranks, you glanced at Eren's ruined house. It looked just as bad as the day the Rumbling survivors bombed it down, like it had never been fixed.

Your eyes slid to the house beside it, where a rickety old fence still stood. Your house. Where your parents had been crushed to death under the same boulder that led to Carla Jaeger's death.

You couldn't help it. Tears welled in your eyes. It was hard enough to go through the death of your loving parents the first time. But the second time you had the chance to let them live and you didn't for the sake of those you loved. When you ran back with Eren and Mikasa to your homes, while they were trying to save Carla, you were frozen in time as you stared at the bloody splatters of a hand sticking out from under a boulder that crushed your mother.