CHAPTER 8: THE FIRST STEP
The sun rose over Wall Rose.
The day had come.
Sukuna stood in the courtyard with the other graduates who had chosen the Survey Corps. Their numbers were small. Less than twenty out of hundreds.
Mikasa stood on his left. Armin on his right.
Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, Jean, Connie, Sasha, Krista, Ymir, and Marco stood with them.
The rest had chosen safety. The Military Police. The Garrison.
Sukuna looked at the small group.
"These are the ones who will die," he thought. "Or the ones who will change the world."
He smiled.
"Either way, it will be entertaining."
The commander of the Survey Corps stood before them.
Commander Keith Shadis.
His face was sharp. His eyes were cold. His voice was a blade.
"You have chosen death," he said. "Do not pretend otherwise. Outside these walls, Titans wait. They are faster than you. Stronger than you. Hungrier than you."
He walked down the line, staring at each cadet.
"You will be scared. You will cry. You will beg for your mothers."
He stopped in front of Sukuna.
"And you, Yeager. The boy who never stops talking about killing Titans. Will you scream like the rest?"
Sukuna looked into Shadis's eyes.
"No," he said calmly. "I don't scream."
Shadis stared at him for a long moment.
Then he moved on.
"We shall see."
The gates opened.
The Survey Corps marched out.
Sukuna felt the wind on his face. Fresh air. Free air.
Behind him, the wall. In front of him, the world.
"Finally," he whispered.
Mikasa walked beside him. Her hand was on her sword.
"Stay close," she said.
"I can take care of myself."
"I know. But stay close anyway."
Sukuna didn't argue.
The first Titan appeared within an hour.
A four-meter class. Small. Its skin was grey. Its smile was wide and empty.
It crawled toward them on its hands and knees.
"Formation!" Shadis shouted.
The soldiers moved. Wires shot out. Bodies flew through the air.
Sukuna watched.
The Titan grabbed a soldier. The man screamed. Blood sprayed.
Then the Titan fell. Blades had sliced its nape.
The soldier was dead. The Titan was dead.
"First casualty," Sukuna thought. "Not even noon."
He looked at the others.
Jean was pale. Connie was shaking. Sasha wasn't hungry anymore.
Reiner's jaw was tight. Bertholdt's eyes were empty. Annie showed nothing.
Mikasa was already scanning for the next Titan.
And Armin? Armin was writing in a notebook. Recording everything. The Titan's size. Its movement. Its weakness.
"Smart boy," Sukuna thought.
By nightfall, they had killed twelve Titans.
Four soldiers were dead. Two more were injured.
The survivors sat around a fire. No one spoke much.
Sasha stared at her bread but didn't eat.
Connie kept looking at the darkness beyond the firelight.
Jean was sharpening his blades. Over and over.
Marco tried to comfort everyone. His voice was soft. Kind.
"We made it through the first day," Marco said. "That's something."
"Barely," Jean muttered.
Reiner stood up.
"I'll take first watch," he said.
"I'll join you," Bertholdt said quietly.
They walked to the edge of the camp.
Sukuna watched them go.
"The Armored and the Colossal," he thought. "Standing guard over the humans they came to destroy."
He almost laughed.
Mikasa sat down next to him.
"You didn't fight today," she said.
"I didn't need to."
"You could have saved that soldier. The one who died."
Sukuna looked at her.
"Maybe. But then everyone would have seen. And I'm not ready for that yet."
Mikasa was quiet.
"What are you waiting for?" she asked.
"The right moment."
"And when will that be?"
Sukuna looked at the stars.
"When the walls fall again. Or when I decide to break them myself."
Mikasa's hand found his. She held it tightly.
"Whatever you are," she whispered, "don't leave me."
Sukuna didn't answer.
He just sat there, holding the hand of the girl who loved a dead boy.
---
The second day was worse.
A fifteen-meter Titan appeared. Larger than the others. Faster.
It killed three soldiers before anyone could react.
Then Mikasa moved.
She flew through the air like a demon. Her blades flashed. The Titan's nape opened. Blood poured.
It fell.
The soldiers stared at her.
"She's not human," someone whispered.
"No," Sukuna thought. "She's not."
He looked at the dead soldiers. The blood. The broken bodies.
"This world is cruel," he thought. "But that's what makes it beautiful."
---
That night, Sukuna sat alone.
Armin approached him.
"Eren... can I ask you something?"
"You already did."
Armin sat down.
"Why did you join the Survey Corps? Really?"
Sukuna looked at him.
"Because I want to see the truth."
"What truth?"
"The truth about this world. The Titans. The walls. The people who live outside."
Armin's eyes widened.
"You think there are people outside? Beyond the walls?"
"I know there are."
"How?"
Sukuna smiled.
"Because I was one of them. In another life."
Armin stared at him.
He didn't understand. Not really.
But he remembered.
And one day, he would understand everything.
END OF CHAPTER 8