Abstract
On the 4th of October 851, a study was carried out on the Colossal Titan (Titanis colossus) shifter to study the maximum duration of a titan transformation and the effects of prolonged titan transformation on the human body. The test subject transformed in an open field and the duration and effects of his transformation were measured. The Colossal Titan collapsed after 28 minutes and 45 seconds, after which its shifter was retrieved. Subject was unconscious and suffered fullbody burns that led to the loss of both arms and legs below the elbows and knees. He made a full recovery within n hours of retrieval.
Materials and Methods
The experiment was carried out on the male Eldian holder of the Colossal Titan, 17 years of age. For the experiment, he was transported to an open field. On location and prior to the test, he regenerated his missing legs to allow for transformation. Present researchers cleared the area on horseback and surrounded him in a circular formation with a radius of n metres. A signal flare was used to communicate the start of the test, upon which the test subject transformed without detonation. Test subject was observed with binoculars and a pocket watch was used to measure the duration of transformation. Test subject was asked to remain stationary and remain so until his titan collapsed. Test subject was extracted from the Colossal Titan by the Attack Titan and medically examined. All wounds were healed through accelerated titan shifter healing.
Results
The Colossal Titan's transformation took place without detonation. It stood still on two legs for 28 minutes and 45 seconds before it sank through its knees and collapsed forward, landing on its knees and sternum with its head turned to the left side. The Attack Titan was deployed to retrieve the test subject from its nape. Subject's arms and legs were fused with the Colossal Titan's flesh and force needed to be applied to pull him out.
Subject arrived unconscious and was given a medical examination. Clothing the subject wore at the start of the test was missing. Lower arms and legs were both missing below the elbow and knee. Bones and flesh around the elbow and knee were blackened and showed signs of fractures and pressure severance. Upper arms, shoulders, upper legs, pelvic region, and back sustained third degree burns. Torso and abdomen sustained second degree burns. Face sustained third degree burns and the skin, eyes, and nose were missing, showing similar signs of severance to the lower arms and legs.
Subject was offered rest and regained consciousness after two hours, by the time his face had regrown to be intact and the burns of his torso and abdomen had mostly healed. Subject reported experiencing intense pain and made a full recovery after n hours of retrieval.
After recovery, subject reported pain from steam and contact burns during the test and revealed that he grew increasingly fatigued over the course of his transformation. He did not remember collapsing or losing consciousness and attributed either to the overwhelming levels of pain as his fatigue prevented him from consistently redirecting the Colossal Titan's residual nape heat away from his body.
Discussion
The results suggest that half an hour is the upper bound of a Colossal Titan transformation. However, several factors need to be taken into account.
Firstly, prior to the experiment, the test subject lost a lot of weight and had not carried out any titan transformations for thirteen months. While he was well-fed before the experiment, the long term effect of hunger may have had an influence on his performance. Further testing may research what the effect of sustenance, body mass, and feeding history on titan shifting might be.
Secondly, the test subject does not remember what caused him to pass out and offered merely his own speculation. It seems likely that his exhaustion and the subsequent pain are responsible for his bodily injuries, but this shouldn't preemptively be assumed as fact. A focus on what he feels during transformation, sedation during the experiment, and the effect of training can all pose a meaningful answer to these unknowns.
(Why don't you try to finish this conclusion? There are multiple things left to talk about: the severity, shape, and location of his injuries, his recovery, the redirection of steam, future research that ties into this one, etc.)