CHAPTER 31: THE BEAST'S SHADOW
The weeks that followed were a blur of training and waiting.
Sukuna trained harder than ever. His body moved like a blade through water. But his mind was elsewhere.
"The dream," he thought. "The throne. The other me."
He couldn't shake it.
One morning, a scout arrived from the wall.
Breathless. Pale.
"Titans," he gasped. "Dozens of them. Marching toward Wall Rose."
Shadis stood up.
"From where?"
"The north. From the mountains."
"That's impossible. There are no Titans in the mountains."
"There are now."
Sukuna watched the scout.
"Zeke," he thought. "He's making his move."
He found Mikasa.
"We're leaving."
"Where?"
"To the wall. To see what's coming."
They rode north with a small squad.
Jean, Connie, Sasha, Armin. Hange came too.
Reiner asked to join. Sukuna refused.
"You're not ready."
"I'm ready."
"Your heart isn't."
Reiner said nothing.
The march took two days.
On the second day, they saw them.
Titans. Dozens. No, hundreds.
They stood in a line at the edge of the forest. Still. Silent. Waiting.
"They're not moving," Armin whispered.
"Someone is controlling them," Hange said.
"Zeke."
A figure stepped out from between the Titans.
Tall. Blonde. Beard.
Zeke Yeager.
"Hello, little brother," he called. "I hoped you would come."
Sukuna dismounted and walked toward him.
Mikasa grabbed his arm.
"Don't."
"I have to."
He pulled away.
They stood face to face.
"Impressive army," Sukuna said.
"I've been collecting them for years. Waiting for the right moment."
"And this is the right moment?"
"The fleet arrives in six weeks. We need to be ready."
Zeke gestured to the Titans.
"These are my soldiers. They will fight Marley. They will die for our cause."
"They were human once."
"They still are. Just... changed."
Zeke stepped closer.
"I heard you tested the cure. It worked."
"Yes."
"Then you know I'm not lying about everything."
"No. Just about most things."
Zeke laughed.
"Fair."
He sat on a rock.
"I want you to understand something, Eren. Or Sukuna. Whatever you call yourself."
"I'm not doing this for power. I'm not doing this for glory."
"I'm doing this because I love our people. And the only way to save them is to end this curse forever."
"Even if it means ending them?"
Zeke's face hardened.
"Even if it means ending them."
Sukuna was quiet.
Then he said, "I've been having dreams. About my old world. About the people who betrayed me."
"I want to go back. I want to kill them."
"But I can't."
Zeke tilted his head.
"Why not?"
"Because something is keeping me here."
"Something? Or someone?"
Sukuna didn't answer.
Zeke smiled.
"You've changed, little brother. The King of Curses, tied down by ... feelings?"
"Don't mock me."
"I'm not mocking. I'm impressed."
Zeke stood up.
"The Titans will stay here. They won't attack unless I command them."
"You have until the fleet arrives to make your choice. Join me. Or fight me."
"There is no third option."
He walked back toward the Titans.
"Oh, and Eren?"
Sukuna looked up.
"The next time we meet, bring the Founder. I want to see what you can really do."
He disappeared into the forest.
The Titans followed.
That night, they camped near the wall.
No one spoke much.
Sukuna sat apart, staring at the fire.
Hange sat next to him.
"He's not wrong about everything."
"I know."
"But he's not right either."
"I know that too."
Hange poked the fire with a stick.
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to train. I'm going to prepare. And when the time comes, I'm going to make my own choice. Not his. Not the king's. Mine."
Armin approached.
"Can I sit?"
Sukuna nodded.
"I've been thinking about the Founding Titan. About its power."
"And?"
"If you can control all Titans, you can also free them. The ones inside the walls. The ones in Zeke's army."
"You could end this without genocide. Without euthanasia."
"You could save them."
Sukuna looked at him.
"You have a lot of faith in me."
"Someone has to."
Mikasa sat on his other side.
"Whatever you choose, I'm with you."
"Even if I choose to go back?"
"Even then."
Sukuna looked at the stars.
"You're all fools."
"Maybe," Armin said. "But we're your fools."
For the first time in a long time, Sukuna almost laughed.
END OF CHAPTER 31