Kruger tells Grisha everything. Eren gains memories he never knew about. Kruger gains memories but doesn't know where they come from.


A Marleyan soldier screams for his life as Kruger holds him in his fist and crushes the life out of him and throws the body away. The soldiers and the ships were all crushed like squeezed and discarded fruit and thrown into the ocean. It occurred to Grisha that he had to define the word "ocean." The ocean is a vast body of saltwater that covers 70% of the world's surface. Kruger came out of his Titan form and freed Grisha. He grabbed a napkin and wiped the blood from his nose.

"Owl," Grisha said, "who are you?"

"My name is Eren Kruger," he said. "I hold the power of one of the Nine Titans within me. I am a Subject of Ymir, just like you."

"How? How did you posed as a Marleyan and infiltrated the Public Safety Office? What about the blood test?"

"I found a cooperative doctor. He too was a Subject of Ymir who falsified his own medical records to pose as a Marleyan. Doctors make good spies. They have education and position. And the know how to study Titan biology. I have to say, you did a good job. Although the outcome was exactly as Grice lamented."

"He was right. I'm completely worthless as a father, as a husband and as a man. So why am I the only one who is still a human? Dina was special. She carried the blood of the royal family. She could've brought out the true power of the Titans if you hadn't covered up her lineage! Dina was..." The smiling Titan came into his head. He grabbed Kruger by the collar. "Answer me! Why didn't you helped the others?" Blood spilled from his severed fingers.

"Stop, Grisha. You're bleeding."

"Oh, is that so? Well I appreciate your concern, but getting my fingers cut off didn't bothered you, huh? Why didn't you transformed a few minutes earlier and save everyone from becoming Titans? Why did you stand there and allow that to happen to them?"

Kruger fell and breathed heavily. "What's wrong? Why did you suddenly go pale?"

"It wasn't just them. I've cut the fingers off of thousands of Subjects of Ymir and then turned them into Titans here. Even women and children. But I believe that it was all to help Eldia. We have little time, Grisha. I'm giving you one last mission. This isn't for anyone else, just you."

Kruger grabbed another napkin and wiped the blood from his nose. "If the events of that day, the day we first met, never happened, you would have never grown to hate Marley with such a great passion."

"Is that why you chose me?"

"It's a factor. The enemy nation, your father and yourself. I could feel your rage towards all three burning as though to engulf the entire world. I felt the same rage once, too. A group of Eldians loyal to the king had formed a resistance on the continent. My father was among them. But he never accomplished anything and they burned him alive. As a child, all I could do was watch in terror from my hiding place in the closet. Since then, I've lived by my vow to get revenge on Marley and restore Eldia to power. But the reality of what I've done amounts to cutting off my people's fingers and kicking them off this wall to become Titans. By playing my role with such dedication, I was able to protect my identity up until today. But maybe I've just been stuck watching the whole world from behind a door all this time."

"Tell me something, Owl. What is this mission you want to give me?"

"You need to infiltrate the society within the walls and steal the power of the Founding Titan. You'll do it by inheriting my Titan."

"Wait, but that means you'll..."

"I'll have to be eaten by you once you're a Titan. And you must eat the holder of the Founding Titans's power too."

"Why can't you do it yourself?"

Kruger looked at Grisha. "Everyone who inherits one of the Nine Titans dies thirteen years later. And I inherited this power thirteen years ago."

"The Owl said it was the curse of Ymir," Eren said. "Ymir herself died thirteen years ago when she acquired her powers."

Tears fell from Historia's eyes. "No," she said, "that can't be true. How long do you have, now?"

"Eight years," he said. "not even that."

"No," Mikasa said, "the information is wrong. It's not true."

"If the holders of the Nine Titans dies without passing down the power," Eren said, "then the power awakens within a baby among the Subjects of Ymir. Some with Titan powers spoke about seeing some kind of paths. And sometimes, the memories and will can be transferred along those paths. All of those paths converge at a single coordinate. That coordinate...is the Founding Titan."

"All Subjects of Ymir are connected by the coordinate," Kruger said.

"Who was the founder Ymir exactly?" Grisha asked.

"Marley sees her as a pawn of the devil, but the Eldian Empire sees her as a miracle of God. Some say she touched the source of all living matter. Who's to say they're wrong?"

"Huh?"

"The only truth in this world, is that there is no truth. Anyone can become a god or a devil. All it takes is for people to believe it."

"You're the one who said that Dina had royal blood in her. Was that a truth of yours?"

"Unfortunately, Dina having royal blood was true."

"Then why abandon her?"

"Precisely, because she had royal blood. I couldn't let the enemy have her. It had to be done before Zeke told Marley everything."

"Even so..."

"Even so? Would she be better off giving birth to children for the enemy her entire life? I've done my duty, you do yours. Only someone with the power of the Titans is capable of reaching the walls."

"To be perfectly honest, I don't think I'm fit for the job."

"You will do it."

"Look at that, he was eaten alive by a Titan and you asked me if that was interesting. It wasn't interesting at all. His screams of agony were unbearable to hear." Grisha looked at his bandaged hands. "I...didn't know any better. If I had known this was the price of freedom, I wouldn't have paid it."

Kruger stood up. "Stand and fight!"

Grisha didn't listened. "For the sake of restoring freedom and dignity to Eldia...stand!"

"I...can't."

Kruger grabbed out something. "Look. I brought this from you home."

Grisha's eyes widened. "I can't look."

"You can't look, can't stand and can't fight. Have you no balls? Did Marley castrate you?"

"It's pointless to try and make me recall my hatred. All I have left are my sins."

"That's more than enough. The main reason I picked you was because you left the walls that day. That day, if you hadn't taken your little sister and gone pass the walls, you would've taken over your father's clinic. Your sister may have grown up, married and even had children. But you did go outside the walls. Ever since I kicked a patriot off this wall, ever since you took your sister outside the walls, we must push forward until the price of our actions is paid. Even in death and even after death."

Grisha looked at the picture of him, Dina and Zeke. It brought tears to his eyes. "This is the story that you started, is it not?"

He grabbed the picture and stood up. "There are names given to each of the Nine Titans. That includes the Titan you will inherit from me. No matter which era this Titan has found itself in, it has pushed forward, seeking freedom. For the sake of freedom it fights. Its name..."

"The Attack Titan," Eren said.

Later, Eren told his friends everything he has seen from his memories.

"No way! You're kidding me!" Tears fell from Carla's eyes.

"Your Dad turned you into a Titan and you ate him?" Armin asked.

"Yes," Eren said, "It's true. I saw it in my memories when Rod and Historia touched me."

"So, we are Eldians who are Subjects of Ymir," Annie said. "and the Marleyans have a deep hatred for us and they want the Eldians to be wiped out from the face of the earth, because we have the power to turn into Titans."

"This founder Ymir was the first one to become a Titan and everyone loved her," Ymir said. "no surprise why people were giving me all the attention before the Marleyans came and punished us."

"You said, everyone who inherits one of the Nine Titans dies thirteen years later," Reiner said. "how many years do you have, Eren?"

"Eight years," he said. "that's all I've got."

"But that can't be true! It can't be!" Carla said.

"Eren, it must be a mistake," Mikasa said. "you have a long life to live."

"Yes, I agree with Mikasa," Historia said. "you will live longer."

"I wish it wasn't true, but it is," he said. "I'm sorry, guys."

"No way," Sasha said. "I can't lose Reiner and Bertholdt. I can't."

"Is there a way to break this curse?" Bertholdt asked.

"That's a good question," Eren said. "but I don't know if there is a way to break it."

"Darn," Jean said, "this is a lot to take in."

"Yeah," Marco said, "It is."

"So," Connie said, "what do we do now?"

Eren sighed. "I don't know," he said.

Kruger grabbed out the syringe and filled it with Titan spinal liquid. "Start a family."

"Huh?"

"When you get inside the walls you should start a family."

"What are you saying? I already have Dina. And besides, won't I forget everything that happened just now once I turn into a Titan?"

"Not necessarily. Someone down the line could be watching this."

"Huh?"

"Whether it's a wife, a child or someone from the city. Love someone inside the walls. If you can't do that, history will only repeat itself. The same mistakes will be made over and over. If you want to save Mikasa, Armin, Historia and everyone else, you must complete your mission."

"Mikasa, Armin and Historia? Who are you talking about?"

"Hmm...I don't know. Whose memories are they from?"

The truth is out. Eren gains memories when he touches Historia. They go to see the ocean, but Eren is not satisfied.

To be continued...