Another year passed. Eren, now seven years old, had the skill level of an experienced surgeon in medicine. He had also managed to create many new medical mixes that had useful applications, one of which, being a digestible syrup that helped suppress motion-sickness. It had gotten lots of thanks from his father clients after they were introduced to it, so he was quite satisfied by it.

After learning all he could about the human body theoretically, Eren began to conduct experiments on living creatures, starting from rats he captured. He injected them with many medical mixes, tracked and wrote down the process and results, and overall had fun doing it. It was a shame that some hurt the lab-rats, but they were free to try to escape, not that they could manage to do so with how well he locked them up.

With the start of his experiments, Eren's perspective towards living beings changed. Whenever he saw a bird flapping its wings, his tongue salivated, his instincts begging him to study and replicate its bone structure to enable flight for humans. Whenever he saw fish, his mind searched for ways humans could breathe in the water, for example, surgically attaching artificial gills to a human's neck. He was turning into Hanji, but somehow, it wasn't a bad feeling.

With his change in thought process, the look in his eyes changed. The Eren who was only obsessed with the feeling of freedom and the outside of the walls had now completely disappeared, replaced with an Eren interested in absolutely everything around him. He spent hours contemplating the simplest of things and how to adjust them. Every day, he woke up as early as he could, grabbed his pouch, and didn't come back home until sunset. Sometimes he even went out on midnight excursions, under the careful watch of one of his parents, and observed everything about nightlife he could.

This interest in him was understandable. As a person who had eradicated many species in his past life and was left entirely alone, he was interested in living beings and how they lived. Just seeing a living being was already joyful for him, let alone this many? It was paradise (Author's note: see what I did there?) for Eren.

In another ordinary day, Carla asked for Eren to buy some chicken from the market for dinner. With how poor Shiganshina citizens were, that meant buying living chicken and killing them by themselves. Afterwards, they did bloodletting, de-feathering and cleaning, finally cooking it in the end.

Armin and his grandfather would be visiting them for dinner that night, so Eren called the blond boy a well to get the chicken. Telling the blond where he was going, they rushed to finish the chore to be free of work and do what they always did as soon as possible.

For a low price after haggling expertly, something Eren had learned from his mother, the two grabbed the chicken in a rusty cage and ran back to the brunette's house. Once they arrived, they found Carla hanging the laundry and greeted her cheerfully.

"Mother, we're back!" shouted Eren, waving the cage he carried with one hand.

Armin was a bit shyer, so he reddened while giving a small smile to Eren's mother.

"Hi, Carla-san," he said quietly with a small wave, making Carla smile softly.

"Hello, Armin-kun. Eren-chan is dragging you around as always?"

Her words made Eren pout unhappily.

"Hey, I don't drag him around!" he protested childishly, much to the amusement of his mother. "He comes willingly! Right, Armin?"

Armin scratched at his nose embarrassedly.

"You are a bit pushy..."

Eren gasped dramatically, waving an accusing finger at Armin, acting speechless. He started relaying his betrayal loudly, placing a hand on his heart and another to his forehead and behaving considerably heartbroken, breaking Armin's shy demeanour and causing him to snicker and argue back, making Carla smile proudly.

Eren was quite good at bringing timid children out of their shells, and with Armin sticking to him for hours every day, it would be a miracle if this hadn't happened to the blond already. When with Eren, Armin always behaved sincere to his real personality, and this fact had also gladdened the blond's grandfather by a large margin.

Suddenly, Eren took a glance at the chicken in his hand, and by the mischievous glint in his eyes, Carla was sure she wasn't going to like whatever he was going to say next.

"Mother," he spoke up, his eyes rounding into a pleading and innocent expression. Carla sighed, feeling a headache coming already.

"Eren, I know you want something. What is it?"

The puppy-dog eyes grew more intense, and the brunette pushed his lower lip, curling it outwards into a pout. He looked like an anticipating but shy dog, and even if his mother tried to keep her heart from clenching at the cuteness, it still did, making her gulp nervously. Eren's ultimate weapon always worked. She shut her eyes, trying to erase the image, but the boy suddenly appeared right in front of her, his cute face moving closer to hers and his pout growing larger. Carla knew right then and there that she had lost this battle of willpower and sighed dejectedly.

The boy's eyes lit up, knowing he had won already, and he threw a fist in the air, cheering excitedly. Carla tried to turn stern, but it was already too late, and her eyes had a soft look even if she tried hard to harden them.

"First, you need to tell me what you want," she insisted. She had crossed her arms, and Eren knew he couldn't avoid this one.

He sighed but shrugged, preparing himself for the upcoming rejection he was sure would come.

"I want to prepare the chicken all by myself. And maybe Armin."

"Absolutely not."

As expected, Eren thought with a small frown, feeling a bit irritated. As an adult mentally, it made him feel uncomfortable to be restricted like this.

Carla had turned aloof a millisecond after that sentence was out, and she shook her head stubbornly to the side. She looked absolutely sure of her decision, and when she was this way, changing her mind was a near-impossible feat to achieve.

"You are too young. I will not allow that."

Eren's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to protest loudly.

"Why not? If I need to know how to in the future, what's wrong with learning it now?" he shouted in disappointment. Carla did not cease her negative stance, with her eyes glinting wilfully. She really was as stubborn as a mule, but she seemed to forget that Eren was her son.

The brunette stuck his chin upwards, looking every bit of obstinate as he could be. He crossed his arms as well, and opened his eyes wide, staring intensely into his mother's eyes.

The staring contest lasted long, the aura around them intense and weighing down on poor Armin's anxiously shivering body, and, it would have lasted longer if Grisha didn't suddenly appear outside.

Seeing the mother and son duo stare at each other intensely, he raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" he asked, downright unaffected by the intense aura of stubbornness radiating from the two, and with his words, the two contesting eyes separated, shifting to him at the same time. Carla looked disgruntled, while Eren looked disappointed, and Grisha immediately understood that Carla hadn't approved of something Eren desired.

The dark-haired woman sighed, shaking her head slightly in fatigue, and answered her husband's question.

"Eren wants to prepare the chicken by himself."

She was obviously expecting Grisha to disagree as well, but the man just tilted his head to the side, looking perplexed.

"I don't see the problem."

And that was when Carla's temper finally showed itself. Both Jaeger males were scolded for an entire hour, while Armin watched from the side. He was awfully frightened by the demonic rage of the woman, so he endeavoured to make himself disappear where he stood with full effort. Thankfully, Carla had utterly disregarded him, and after she had taken out all her anger, she let out a huff and finally conceded.

"Fine! Do whatever you want. I won't be responsible for the consequences."

With that, she stomped away. With her exit, Grisha turned to the two boys sheepishly, smiling gently.

"I will talk to her, alright?" he told Eren. "Your mother is very protective of you, so she cannot see how much you have grown up. You are her sole child, and will always be the baby she gave birth to, so she doesn't want any harm to come to you."

Eren clicked his tongue, turning his head to the side. He knew that very well. If it weren't for his need to behave like a child and the slight mental age regression he'd had from time travelling, causing him to be more emotional and irrational, he would never appear this immature. He could, of course, keep his impulsive attitude under control, but two years of living like a child had loosened him in terms of suppressing emotions. It also aligned perfectly with how he should act with how young he was supposed to be, so he did not.

Those thoughts made his eyes glint coldly for a second, but in the blink of an eye, it had disappeared. While Armin had missed that, Grisha certainly hadn't, so he was left to wonder whether it had been a trick of the light or not.

Instead of pouting, Eren's facial expression morphed into a more mature one, and he scratched the back of his neck, looking somewhat bothered.

"I know that. It's just that I feel she's coddling me too much, it's a bit suffocating, to tell the truth," the boy responded in an exasperated tone, causing Grisha's smile to widen. No matter how much the strong personalities of the mother and son clashed, they still cared deeply for each other. The fact made him feel warm all over, thinking back to his life with Dina and Zeke before the unthinkable had happened.

He shook his head as soon as the two came to his mind, ridding himself forcefully of those thoughts. There was no good in reminding himself of his sorrowful past. He had a better life now, no matter how soon it would expire.

The thought that he would have to leave this world within three years made his heart clench painfully, but his mind did not waver. He had a duty, and even if he had to die completing it, he would never doubt his purpose. He was Eldia's last hope, and he would succeed in his mission no matter what.

His eyes lay on the figure of his son -he was so young yet so much hardship lay ahead of him- and he sighed sadly. He would have to ruin his son's innocence by his own hands, but he had to, for the sake of Eldia. Nothing was more important than Eldia, not even his family.

At least he knew his successor would do well. With his son's creative and cunning mind, he had no doubt that Eren would bring victory to Eldia. His only hope was that the boy chose to follow his teachings and did not defect like his other son. If that ever occurred, he knew that it was all over.

But Grisha still had faith in his son. He had raised him for his mission and sculpted him into the person he needed. He had erred with his first son, and that mistake, he had sworn to never repeat.

Tuning back to reality, he patted Eren's head affectionately and walked away with a complicated expression on his face. Eren had already gone much further than beheading and dissecting an animal, but Carla did not know that, and neither of the males had any intention of letting her know.

Grisha would have to persuade her that Eren had grown up already, and he was ready to grasp the harsh reality of the world they were living. It was correct anyway, so all he had to do was let her open her eyes to reality, and let her see that even at seven years old, their son was as mature as an adult.

Eren observed his father leaving with a pensive look, lips pressed together firmly and eyebrows narrowed. He knew what was going on in his father's mind, and he had no intention to change it. Right now, he needed more freedom, and if their parents' discussion would let him have that at the cost of his childhood, he was alright with that. From now on, just like his father, his mother would see him as an adult as well.

He was not sure what to think about that.

Shaking away his head to get rid of those thoughts, he turned to Armin with a triumphant grin plastered upon his face and made a peace sign with his two fingers excitedly.

"We got permission! Let's go!"

He grabbed Armin by the arm and dragged him to their backyard, next to a bloodied block of wood. It was where they performed the executions, so a long knife lay at the side. He grabbed it and extended it towards Armin.

"Wash it while I kill the chicken."

He did not want Armin to experience death yet; he was too young to lose his innocence. If he saw the action he would be taking, he would probably throw up and have nightmares for a week.

Still, Armin needed to know what it meant to live. To eat, one had to kill. And to survive was achieved by eating, signifying that death was a natural part of life. It was time Armin realised that life and death weren't black or white, but many shades of grey, intertwined tightly.

Seeing the blond hesitate to take action, looking from the knife to the chicken in the cage with a pale face and wide eyes, Eren sighed and practically shoved the knife in his hands.

"Go," he ordered sternly, sending chills down his friend's spine and making him obey automatically. Watching his friend leave for the well a minute's walk away, he got into action, opening the cage.

The chicken tried to escape, his sharp beak lunging forward to peck Eren and force him to retreat, but before he could do so, the boy's arm curled flexibly, his action similar to the fierce attack of a viper, and he grabbed the bird by the neck. Pulling it out, he paid no heed to its struggle and with emotionless eyes, broke its neck in one swift motion.

Within a few seconds, the chicken ceased moving and fell limp to his hands, lifeless. It was still warm despite dying, and other than the fact that his neck was broken into two pieces, the upper half dangling towards the ground sickeningly, it felt very much alive.

He stared at the chicken impassively for a few minutes, a detached look in his eyes, before loud footsteps and slight panting came from the side. Eren turned around and saw Armin running over with a flushed face, a sparkling clean knife in his hands, making the brunette nod in approval.

Taking it from his friend's hand as soon as he was presented, he let him catch his breath while shifting his body to make sure his next actions weren't visible to the other, and slashed at the chicken's neck, severing it from where it hung from cleanly. The head fell to the ground, a small amount of blood exiting it, and Eren turned to beheaded chicken in his hands upside down, letting the blood in it flow down. Before long, the ground beneath them was covered in chicken blood, turning it a muddy red. The pungent smell of blood entered the brunette's nose, but he continued staring impassively.

From behind him, he could feel the quick, shuddering breaths of Armin, and he turned around to check his state. The blond's face was an ashen colour, and his eyes held a look of horror in them. He looked ready to throw up but was obviously holding himself back from doing so. When the brunette turned around, for some reason, Armin suddenly stiffened, eyes widening even more and his limbs looking as rigid as blocks of wood.

What Eren did not realise was that the scene in front of Armin was as breathtaking as it was horrifying. The brunette was crouching on the ground, blood-covered hands gripping the chicken softly, and blood dripped down slowly from the headless corpse. Some of the blood had splattered across Eren's clothes, but most importantly, his cheek and the corner of his lip had the crimson liquid on them as well. Within the bloody scene, Eren's cold, emotionless sea-green orbs shone through vibrantly, reaching a state of harmony with the colour of life, blood mixing with the ocean, turning into a magnificent sight.

Right now, it did not matter what sin Eren had committed: he still looked as heavenly as an angel would, from what Armin had always pictured.

The serene atmosphere dissipated with Eren standing up and walking up to his horrified friend, while the blond stood paralysed, unable to move, and suddenly, a warm hand clasped upon his eyes, shielding them from the bloody scene laying in front of him.

As soon as skin met skin Armin was startled out of his frozen state. He opened his mouth to call out to his friend in a mixture of fear of confusion.

"Eren?"

He received no answer, but suddenly, warm softness brushed against his forehead, making his breath hitch. He knew for a fact that those were his friend's lips, yet this affectionate gesture was entirely foreign to him.

His parents had passed away many years ago, and his grandfather wasn't a touchy-feely person, only going as far as ruffling his hair. The typical Eren also never displayed affection this way, at most hugging him, but ordinarily just giving one-armed hugs. Even if this gesture was new, he knew what it meant immediately: familial love. He knew somehow, deep within him that Eren would never be attracted to him romantically: he felt the same way. Romantic love couldn't amount to the feelings they shared as brothers.

They would always, forever be family, but never lovers. Somehow, he felt a bit sad about that, but he got over the feeling soon.

He knew that Eren was a lonely person: even if they were so close to each other, a barrier was within them, preventing Armin from taking a step further.

He knew Eren had his secrets: secrets he never told anyone, secrets he would never tell anyone, always a weight on his shoulders that he resisted every day with every smile he gave.

He knew Eren wasn't who he portrayed to be: sometimes, those warm smiles of his disappeared, being replaced with an expression of emptiness, and his crystalline sea-green eyes lost their shine, becoming two endless voids, sucking in all the happiness around him.

Eren could try to hide it, but he was aware that the happy-go-lucky Eren he was familiar with did not exist.

But even if Eren lied and kept secrets, Armin would always trust his brother in all but blood. Even with every fake smile he was given, his instincts screamed to him that this boy standing in front of him would protect him with all his might until he ceased to breathe.

Armin also knew he felt the exact same way.

The feelings of these two children were completely revealed with the blood of a chicken.

Eren loved Armin, and Armin loved Eren.

That was all that mattered in the end.

Afterwards, as the two children presented their perfectly prepared chicken, Armin stole a glance at Eren. The brunette looked truly happy to be within them, and Armin just knew that the feeling was real. His heart warmed even more than it had with the kiss, and he gobbled up his dinner with an empty mind.

It was delicious.

Armin didn't have any nightmares that night. His dream was of an infinitely large pool of water, the exact shade of Eren's eyes.