CHAPTER 7: THE NIGHT BEFORE THE END
Three years had passed since the fall of Wall Maria.
Three years of training. Three years of blood, sweat, and tears. Three years of watching, waiting, and learning.
Sukuna had grown.
His body was no longer a child's. He was tall now. Broad shoulders. Strong arms. His green eyes—Eren's green eyes—had become something else entirely. They were no longer the eyes of a boy who dreamed of freedom.
They were the eyes of a predator.
Tonight was the graduation ceremony. Tomorrow, the cadets would choose their paths. The Military Police. The Garrison. The Survey Corps.
Sukuna already knew his choice.
The barracks were quiet. Most of the cadets were asleep, dreaming of their futures.
Sukuna sat on the roof, looking at the stars.
Footsteps behind him.
"Can't sleep?"
Reiner. Of course.
Sukuna didn't turn around. "I don't sleep much."
Reiner sat down next to him. The big man was quiet for a long moment.
Then he said, "Tomorrow is the day."
"Yes."
"Have you decided? Which corps?"
Sukuna looked at him. "You already know the answer."
Reiner nodded slowly. "The Survey Corps."
"Yes."
Silence.
"Why?" Reiner asked. His voice was different tonight. Softer. More honest.
"Because I want to see what's out there," Sukuna said. "The ocean. The desert. The ice. Everything they told us doesn't exist."
"And if it doesn't exist?"
"Then I'll burn the whole world until I find it."
Reiner stared at him.
"You're crazy, Eren."
"Maybe."
They sat in silence for a while.
Then Reiner said, "I'm going to the Survey Corps too."
Sukuna already knew. But he pretended to be surprised. "Really? I thought you wanted to go back to your village."
Reiner's jaw tightened. "Things changed."
"What things?"
Reiner didn't answer.
Sukuna smiled in the darkness.
"Well," Sukuna said, "I'm glad you'll be there, Reiner. Someone needs to carry me when I get eaten."
Reiner laughed. But it was a hollow laugh.
"Yeah," he said. "Someone needs to."
The graduation ceremony was held in the large courtyard.
Hundreds of cadets stood in neat rows. Families watched from the sides. Officers stood on the platform.
Sukuna stood between Mikasa and Armin.
Mikasa was silent. Her eyes were fixed forward. But her hand was close to his. Always close.
Armin was nervous. His hands were shaking.
"Relax," Sukuna whispered. "You're the smartest one here."
"That doesn't mean I'm not scared," Armin whispered back.
"Being scared is fine. Letting it stop you is not."
Armin looked at him. "Since when are you so wise?"
"Since always."
Armin almost smiled.
The commander stepped forward.
"Cadets! You have completed three years of training. You have bled. You have suffered. You have grown."
"Tomorrow, you will choose your path. Some of you will join the Military Police and live safely behind the inner walls. Some will join the Garrison and protect our borders. And some..."
He paused.
"Some will join the Survey Corps. You will go outside the walls. You will face the Titans. And most of you will die."
Silence.
"But you will die fighting for humanity."
The cadets stood still.
Sukuna felt Mikasa's hand brush against his.
"I'm not dying," he whispered to her.
"I know," she whispered back.
After the ceremony, the cadets celebrated.
There was food. There was drink. There was laughter.
Sasha ate enough for five people.
Connie told terrible jokes.
Jean argued with everyone.
Marco tried to make peace.
Krista smiled her perfect smile.
Ymir stayed close to Krista, as always.
Bertholdt stood in the corner, watching.
Annie sat alone, eating an apple.
And Reiner moved through the crowd, playing his role. The big brother. The hero. The liar.
Sukuna stood apart, watching them all.
Armin approached him.
"Eren... can we talk?"
Sukuna nodded.
They walked to a quiet corner.
Armin looked at the ground. His hands were in his pockets.
"I've been thinking," Armin said. "About the outside world. About the ocean."
"Yes?"
"Do you really think it's out there? Or is it just a dream?"
Sukuna looked at the sky.
"It's out there, Armin."
"How do you know?"
"Because I've seen other worlds. If one exists, others do too."
Armin stared at him. "What do you mean... other worlds?"
Sukuna smiled. "Someday, I'll tell you. But not tonight."
Armin wanted to ask more. But something in Sukuna's eyes stopped him.
"Okay," Armin said. "Someday."
He walked away.
Later that night, Sukuna found Mikasa sitting alone by the river.
The same river where they had sat three years ago. Before the wall fell. Before everything changed.
He sat down next to her.
"Do you remember that day?" she asked.
"Yes."
"You asked me what I would do if the walls fell."
"I remember."
"I didn't answer then."
Sukuna looked at her. "What's your answer now?"
Mikasa turned to him. Her dark eyes were wet.
"I would fight," she said. "I would fight until my last breath. To protect the people I love."
"Even if those people are monsters?"
Mikasa didn't blink.
"Especially then."
Sukuna was quiet.
For the first time since waking up in this world, he felt something strange.
Not hunger. Not bloodlust.
Respect.
"You're stronger than you know, Mikasa," he said.
"I know," she replied.
He almost laughed.
The moon was high.
The cadets were asleep.
Sukuna stood alone on the roof of the barracks.
Tomorrow, they would go outside the walls.
Tomorrow, he would see Titans again.
Tomorrow, the game would truly begin.
He looked at his hands. His twenty fingers. His power, still sleeping inside this human body.
"Not yet," he whispered. "But soon."
He looked at the wall. The massive, impossible wall that had stood for a hundred years.
"I'm going to break you," he said. "Not like the Colossal Titan. Not like Reiner."
He smiled.
"I'm going to break you with my bare hands."
The wind blew.
And Sukuna laughed.
END OF CHAPTER 7