CHAPTER 22: THE BASEMENT
Three days had passed since the return from Shiganshina.
Sukuna had not slept.
He spent his nights on the roof, staring at the inner wall. Thinking. Planning. Waiting.
Mikasa sat beside him. Always beside him.
"You haven't slept."
"I don't need sleep."
"Everyone needs sleep."
"I'm not everyone."
She leaned her head on his shoulder.
"What are you thinking about?"
"The basement."
"What's in it?"
"I don't know. But whatever it is, it will change everything."
The next morning, Sukuna requested a meeting with Shadis.
The commander sat behind his desk, his face hard.
"What do you want, Yeager?"
"I need permission to go to Shiganshina."
"Absolutely not."
"It's not a request."
Shadis stood up.
"You almost died out there. Fifteen soldiers came back. Thirty-five didn't. And you want to go back?"
"I need to see something. In my old house. In the basement."
"Why?"
"Because my father left something there. Something that will help us fight."
Shadis stared at him.
"What kind of something?"
"The truth."
Shadis was silent for a long time.
Then he sat back down.
"You're crazy, Yeager."
"I know."
"If I say no, you'll go anyway."
"Yes."
"Then go. But take soldiers with you. Don't go alone."
"I'll take Mikasa and Armin."
"That's not enough."
"It's enough."
Shadis waved his hand.
"Fine. Go. But if you die, I'm not writing a letter to your mother."
"My mother is dead."
Shadis's face softened for a moment.
Then he looked away.
"Just go."
The journey to Shiganshina took three days.
Sukuna, Mikasa, and Armin rode through the empty land. No Titans. No people. Just silence.
"It's too quiet," Armin said.
"They're waiting," Sukuna replied.
"For what?"
"For us."
They reached the district at dawn.
Shiganshina was still destroyed. Broken houses. Rotting wood. Dust and ash.
But something was different.
The bodies were still gone. But now there were footprints. Fresh ones.
"Someone has been here," Mikasa said.
"Recently," Sukuna replied.
They followed the footprints.
They led to the Yeager house.
The house was still standing. Barely.
Sukuna pushed open the door.
Inside, everything was covered in dust. Old furniture. Broken dishes. Memories of a life that no longer existed.
"The basement is through there," Armin said, pointing to a door.
Sukuna walked to the door.
He opened it.
Dark stairs led down into the ground.
"Stay here," he said.
"No," Mikasa replied.
"If something happens to me, someone needs to know what's down there."
"Then Armin stays up here. I'm coming with you."
Sukuna looked at her.
"You're stubborn."
"I learned from you."
They walked down the stairs.
The air was cold. Damp. The smell of old wood and forgotten time.
At the bottom, a small room.
A desk. A chair. Books. Papers.
And on the desk...
A photograph.
Sukuna picked it up.
It showed two people. A man and a woman. The man was his father. Grisha Yeager.
The woman was someone he had never seen.
"Who is that?" Mikasa asked.
"I don't know."
Behind the photograph, there was writing.
"My name is Grisha Yeager. I came from beyond the walls. I came from Marley. I came to save humanity."
Sukuna put the photograph down.
He opened the desk drawer.
Inside, three small books. Diaries.
He opened the first one.
"I was born in Marley. In the Liberio Internment Zone. My sister, Faye, was killed when I was a child. She was eaten by dogs. Because she left the zone."
"I swore revenge. I joined the restorationists. We wanted to free our people. We wanted to destroy the empire."
"We were caught. I was sent to Paradise. To become a Titan. To die."
"But I didn't die. I found the Founding Titan. I took its power. I came to these walls to save them."
"My son, Eren, will inherit my power. He will finish what I started. He will save the world."
Sukuna closed the book.
His hands were steady.
"What does it say?" Mikasa asked.
"The truth."
"What truth?"
"That the world beyond the walls isn't empty. It's full of people. People who hate us. People who want to destroy us."
"And that my father... was one of them."
Mikasa's face went pale.
Armin called from upstairs.
"Eren! Someone is coming!"
Sukuna grabbed the books.
"We need to go. Now."
He ran up the stairs.
Outside, a group of soldiers were approaching. Not Survey Corps. Not Garrison.
Interior Police.
"Eren Yeager," their leader said. "You are under arrest by order of the king."
"What's the charge?"
"Treason."
"Against who?"
"Against humanity."
Sukuna smiled.
"You can try to arrest me. But I don't think you'll succeed."
The soldiers raised their weapons.
Mikasa drew her blades.
Armin stood behind them, his hands shaking.
Then the ground shook.
A massive hand appeared from behind a building.
Then a face.
The Colossal Titan.
But something was different.
This one was smiling.
And its eyes were fixed on Sukuna.
END OF CHAPTER 22