TEN

To free him, you take Eren's burden.

When you emerged from the Titan's nape on that day in Trost, steam emitting from your body and red strings laced to your flesh, the first thing Eren did was clamber up your Titan body and embrace you. Tears welled in his eyes, sobs spilling out. He had thought you were dead, like the rest of his cadet corps squad. He couldn't bear the mere thought of you not being alive in his life.

Red lines ran down your face, much like claw marks. Eren traced them, unconsciously doing what you did to him in past lives that he secretly liked so much. He listened to your heartbeat and pressed a thumb against your pulse. You were not dead. You were alive.

You wrapped your arms around his back, squeezing. Weak, but alive. You were a Titan.

You had repeated some events from Loop Six and taken the Attack Titan once more. This time, it would be different. You knew how to wield a Titan now. You would go further than the previous death, adamant in living out the story till the very end.

You would fully take Eren's place in the original timeline. That way, he would be free at last.

You repeated a life. Again. It was your second time with the Attack Titan, your third time being a Titan, your ninth time being in the military, and your tenth time being alive. Taking Eren's place, you didn't resist after the Battle of Trost and let the Survey Corps imprison you. Commander Erwin and Captain Levi were strangely less lenient with you than they had been in Loop Five, most likely because you now had the same bloodthirsty and insane look in your eye that Eren had the first time.

You had to play dumb as you were chained to that pole in the courtroom and pretend not to know anything about your powers. You didn't want to get carted off to Mitras in the Military Police or become a foot soldier in the Garrisons. In the courtroom, you saw Eren to the side, his expression contorted with fury and fear as Premier Zackly and the MPs began to list reasons why to dissect you. With you being a teen girl, it felt even more uncomfortable. Mikasa had to hold him back from sprinting onto the podium and rescuing you.

"[Name] can save us!" he shouted. "She's my—she's humanity's hope!"

"Save your breath," the MP captain sneered. "Your girlfriend is a Titan who took the form of a child and infiltrated the Walls. Should we dissect you too? You look just as insane as she does!"

Now, you had to step in. You knew you should control your temper, but you couldn't help it. You were protective and obsessed after nine lives of imminent death, and any death threat towards Eren made your claws come out. It didn't help that you were a teenager in this body, easily angered and sensitive.

"He has nothing to do with this," you said. "Leave him alone—I'm the Titan, not Eren!"

The chain clattered against your wrists, bruising them. The Military Police drew their guns, pointing them at you, before a hard rubber boot made contact with your cheek. For a few moments, you didn't even have the time to think before another blow struck across your other cheek, and finally, your stomach, causing your mouth to wallow up with the salty taste of blood. You resisted the urge to spit it out.

"This is just my opinion, but cadets who are dutifully silent until injustice occurs have... reasonably respectable qualities," deadpanned Captain Levi.

He glanced down at you, ignoring the terrified silence, and instead focusing on the way your eyes fastened on him without any anger or hatred. Like you weren't afraid. Unlike Eren, you never lashed out with insubordination.

"This kid demonstrated fairly good discipline even when creeps like you spoke of stripping her and taking apart her body, and only spoke up when you offended her friend. It makes me wonder... what'll happen when you make her mad?"

The courtroom was so silent, you could hear a pin drop. In your peripheral vision, you saw Eren trembling with rage, Mikasa holding his arms back and Armin covering his mouth before he could do or say anything else to make things worse.

You were not Eren. You did not scream and yell impulsively. Neither did you resist orders. No. Perhaps if you had the Attack Titan from the start, you would have screamed and yelled as he did. But you always knew what would happen next. It was no surprise when Premier Zackly handed you to the Survey Corps.

As Hange did a check-up on you in the infirmary, Levi spoke to you.

"You're lucky and smart," he said. "If you had been as stupid and insubordinate as your boyfriend in yelling out, I would have had to beat you harder. Do you hate me for it?"

"No, sir," you said coolly. Your wrists, which had been bruised, already healed. You ignored how he called Eren your boyfriend. Why did he always have to make that assumption? "I understand that it was a necessary performance."

Levi regarded you in contempt, crossing his arms. To them, you were an odd one. Most teens your age probably would have shit their pants or cried for their mothers after discovering they had freak monster powers and were threatened to get mangled by adults in the military. Instead, you were collected and calm around the Survey Corps, like you were already a seasoned Scout. Behind him, Commander Erwin smiled. Good. You were not difficult.

"We like recruits who follow command orders easily and don't complain," he said. "It's a blessing you know how to anticipate the consequences of a wrong move. Welcome to the Survey Corps."

You had to pretend like you did not know how to use the Attack Titan. During training in their base, where Eren couldn't grasp a goal, it came to you easily. You had the same goal, repetitive and unchanging.

When you saw Eren again, arriving at the base on horseback with your other friends, he dismounted his horse the moment he caught your eye and ran to embrace you, practically lifting you off the ground.

"I was so worried, [Name]," he said with you still in his arms. "I missed you so much. Did they hurt you in any way?"

"M'fine," you mumbled, cheeks heating in embarrassment when your friends whistled in your direction, and the other members of Levi's Squad observed you in a boy's embrace from the window. "I missed you too. Was the journey okay?"

"It was long," he said. He brightened, the boy he was. "But it's better now that you're here!"

On the side, you heard Connie say to Sasha, putting on a drawling, worried tone: "I missed you so much, my lovey-dovey cutie [Name]. Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"

You rolled your eyes at them and detached yourself from Eren. Some things never changed.

As you entered the base with Eren, he spoke.

"I am glad though," he said. His eyes flitted to you, worried. "But you do know what you're getting yourself into, right?"

You gazed into his eyes. Somewhere deep down, he had memories of your past lives. He just had no idea that they were real. You weren't even sure if he had those memories, since he didn't have the Attack Titan. This was the same Eren from Loop One. The same Eren had transcended lives with you, and he had no idea. You would do anything for him to just remember. You couldn't even tell him without your mouth zipping shut.

Eren, this innocent boy before you, was not the broken, war-torn man you knew. He had a chance.

"Back in the courtroom," you said, looking down. "Did you mean to say that I was your hope?"

A warm flush crept down his neck. "I said humanity's hope, but... well, I mean it can't hurt to call you my hope too, can it?"

It can, you wanted to say. It did.

Instead, you smiled at him.

"Then I'll be your hope," you said. "I'll do everything for you."

-

"I'll be your hope, Eren," you repeated, as you stood over Eren as the Titans closed in. Reiner and Bertholdt had betrayed you, and they were shocked when you did not react. "I'll do it all for you again, forever and always."

You touched the Titan of Dina Fritz and let the Founder's power flow through you.

-

"Where are you off to?" Mikasa asked groggily when she noticed that you were still awake at night, fixing your hair at the edge of the bed you shared. "Oh, never mind, why do I even bother asking... you're going out with Eren again."

"Please don't tell Captain," you begged.

On the bed opposite yours, where Sasha and Historia slept, both girls blinked open, magically awake. Mikasa filled them in—that Eren was waiting for you downstairs on the porch of Historia's orphanage, and that you two would sneak out.

"Are you going to kiss him?" Historia asked quizzically. "Is it a date?"

"No," you said. She seemed oddly interested, as were the other girls.

"You should," said Sasha. "It's not like he won't kiss you back."

"Eren's just my..." you trailed off, but Sasha booed and chucked a pillow at your face, muffling you.

"Everyone can see it, [Name]," she said. "Every time we conduct experiments with you in Titan form, he's always the first one to slice you out of the nape 'cause he's oh-so concerned. Remember that one time he accidentally cut your hand off? He wouldn't stop apologizing."

"It grows back," you said. "Like a lizard's tail."

"You fucking reptile, that's not the point," she said. "What I'm trying to say is after that, he started to always hold your hand whenever he had the chance. And you let him. Just friends don't do that. More than friends do."

You wanted to laugh in her face. Sasha had no idea how many times you'd been more than friends with him. You launched the pillow back at her, hitting her chest.

"Eren just feels guilty. He wants to hold my hand to remind himself that I'm fine and my hand is still here. He hates hurting me, even more so slicing me."

"Let's hope he never has to do it again," Mikasa said grimly. "He's not cut out to slice your flesh. It would destroy him."

"I think Sasha's right, [Name]," Historia piped up. Her eyes were washed with a strange melancholy. "Eren seems pretty smitten with you. You shouldn't waste it before it's too late."

"We'll see," you said, just to humor them. You made them promise not to tell, and to cover for you if you had to. You'd gone out with Eren to stargaze in the first loop and knew you wouldn't get caught.

Still, it was thrilling as you crept downstairs and out the window, where Eren was waiting for you. He took your hand in his and the two of you ran off to the hills, muffling your laughter to not wake the orphanage. It was a good reminder that the two of you were only kids.

You took off your shoes and stretched out on the grass, Eren following suit. Neither of you knew why you hadn't invited Mikasa and Armin when they were your friends too. You guessed that since the start, you had just wanted this one moment of repose with Eren.

Back then, Eren had been contemplative about his worth as a fighter after he found out that his father had given him the power and you had wanted to cheer him up. Now, you wanted to allow yourself a small selfishness.

"Why did my dad give the power to you?" he asked, lost in thought as he gazed at the sky. "He... put you into this hell."

"Maybe he just didn't want his son to suffer," you suggested, and Eren's brows furrowed.

"That's not fair to you," he said. "As his son, it should have been my burden to bear. Now he's given it to you without considering what would happen to you. It's all my fault... maybe Dad thought I wasn't strong enough."

Even now, in this universe where Eren did not have Titan powers, he still hated himself and thought he was worthless for being too weak to carry heavy burdens. You sighed, telling him that you'd rather be a Titan than see him suffer.

You glanced at the sky, where Eren was staring. Stars littered, and you counted a constellation with thirteen faint stars. You'd forgotten what it was.

"Aren't you scared?"

You and Eren had snuck out of Historia's orphanage and went off to stargaze in a field. You had done that in a previous loop, so long ago. The weight of all your years together wrapped you in something deliciously warm as the tension between you simmered in the air. The stars twinkled above you, the grass soft on your bare feet.

"Why would you ask that?" you asked.

Eren's tan skin glinted in the moonlight. You had every urge to kiss him and make love to him right there.

You knew that if you kissed, he would kiss back, and he wouldn't stop you.

"You never seem scared about anything," Eren said. "You always seem... calm."

"Being afraid won't do me any good."

Eren grabbed your arm. "You don't have to pretend like the weight of the world isn't on your shoulders. If you can't carry it, let me help you bear it. Please. I can't stand to watch you suffer."

You gave him a rueful smile, pressing your head on his shoulder. "It's exactly that you want to carry it why I have to do it alone."

Before he could press you, you directed his attention upwards. There were so many stars, much like the Paths realm and its infinite expansion. All your different lives. You had been busy gazing at the sky, but Eren was only looking at you, unsatisfied with your previous answer.

"Promise me one thing..." he began.

"Let me guess," you said. "To see the sea."

Eren's eyes widened in surprise, then amusement. "How did you know I was gonna say that?"

"Look at that star," you said. You thought of all the times you pored over them in the books Armin read to you, or in the past life in Marley when you had access to a library. "That constellation is the Hydra monster. In the old stories... it was, what, a villain?"

"It got killed," Eren lamented. He remembered the fairy tales from Armin too. "A hero slew it by chopping off the head a few times."

You grimaced. That was not something you wanted to talk about with Eren, of all people.

"Heroes don't often get happy endings."

"She did," you said. You paused, thinking. "You will."

"And so will you," said Eren. You shook your head, but he was insistent. He grabbed your hands again. "To me, you are. I mean, look at that star."

He pointed at another constellation. Andromeda.

"The imprisoned princess," you said doubtfully. "She was sacrificed to the sea. It's a fairy tale, Eren, it's not real."

"Her fiancé saved her. Look, what I'm trying to say is that you're not a sad story," he said. "I don't think you are. Everyone says the sea is a fairy tale, but it's not, right?"

"Right," you echoed.

"So you see," he said earnestly, "it can exist."

You no longer saw Eren the way you did in the first loop. Now, you could see just how romantic the air between you had always been. Perhaps deep within, since Eren was connected to past lives, he could feel just how many years you'd spent loving each other too.

-

As you released your vertical maneuvering equipment and latched your hooks onto the top of Wall Maria, you leaped off the horse with your green hood over your head, swung, and launched yourself to the top of Wall Maria. You landed with Eren and Mikasa in tow, and with the Captain, you ran the perimeter to plug the Wall.

You could see the area where your house was. Your garden, the failed plants. The secrets of the world lay under Eren's basement—ones that you memorized to a tee. You did everything as Eren did, from transforming into a Titan and pretending to fail when you fought the Armored Titan.

Armin told Eren that he'd entrust everything to you. When Armin was burnt, you and Eren both cried and pleaded to the Captain not to let him die, still yelling even when Mikasa was subdued. It was the only time Levi finally showed some contempt for you, thinking that Eren had influenced you.

Yet, when you knelt before Historia in the courtroom and kissed her hand, it did not stop the shock and all-encompassing terror that besieged you as memories of the future poured in. They seized you, wrapped around you against your will, and squeezed you until you couldn't breathe like it was a deathly assault.

You saw it all.

The war.

The lives you took.

The world was a sea of flames, crushed to dust under the Titans you commanded. Your grotesque destruction was strangely artful, like you modeled it after the stars you gazed at with the person you loved the most. You painted the world in blood, drawing a pretty red heart beating for him, sustaining his life.

You saw innocent souls decapitated, their soft brains bursting blood from their skulls as they were trampled under Titans. Men, women, and children were massacred. Every building they created smashed to rubble. And when it all subsided, they would decay like spoiled food, rotting until their stench was repulsive.

You killed them. Slaughtered them.

You mercilessly sacrificed them like they were pigs, furious that the world had driven Eren into doing monstrosities. You thought you didn't care. You had wanted to save him.

But you didn't have Eren's rage. It wasn't something you could handle as well as he could.

In his defense, he had never handled it well either.

You weren't Eren. You shared his sin of genocide, but you weren't the one who wanted the Rumbling. You had to force yourself to believe that this was it, this was the way, this was what you wanted.

If you took Eren's sin, he would be saved.

You affirmed this to yourself. Eren would live a long, happy life. Just not with you.

Gaunt, you froze midair, still holding onto Historia's hand while you were still kneeling. Your cool had finally evaporated. At least, you were reminded of the sin you carried. Genocide was unforgivable. Your reasons were selfish. You were crushing so many lives, dreams, and people who loved and lived as you did, for Eren.

It felt as though you were going to break down in front of everyone.

"[Name]?" Eren whispered from the side, also kneeling. "Are you alright?"

Seeing him broke you from the spell of horror. It's okay. As long as it wasn't Eren who suffered, it was fine.

You couldn't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders.

-

Waves splashed against your knees—the most vibrant azure you'd ever seen. The sunlight was so intense, it glistened in the water. It smelled like salt, tangible in your mouth. A whispering lullaby, calling your name. The ocean.

You gazed at the horizon, forlorn.

"We did it, 'Ren," you said. "We're here. The sea."

You heard a gentle splash beside you. You knew who it was. Eren was bursting with excitement at seeing the ocean at long last, practically kicking the waves like he was a little kid again. His hair reached his neck, windswept.

"My whole life, I thought seeing the ocean and freedom were the most important things ever," he said. "It was my greatest dream. Now that I'm here... it's... I'm just happier that you're here with me. Aren't—aren't you happy?"

You couldn't answer him. You recognized your old self in him, the one who was ecstatic but questioning why he was not. He had become you, and you had become him.

"The ocean... she's so beautiful," you murmured.

"She is," said Eren.

"It's wonderful."

When you turned, you realized that he had been looking at you the entire time.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

You exhaled. The air was salty. You stretched a finger to the horizon, voice shaking.

"If I kill all your enemies," you said, "will you finally be free?"

-

The first enemy you sought to kill was the War Hammer Titan.

You retraced Eren's old steps, running away from the Survey Corps again to the front lines of Marley's war. You disguised yourself as a half-blind male and cut off your leg. Being so pitifully injured, no one bothered to notice that you were a foreign woman. You went back to Liberio and met Falco, where you orchestrated the raid through letters he delivered.

Eren's journey had been a depressing one. Although you had run away in the previous loop, it wasn't easy to be alone. You always had friends around you, sharing beds and meals, and now you were going through exactly what Eren had put himself through — total self-isolation, cutting them off so they wouldn't be on your side.

You took all of Eren's burdens. Every last one. You didn't want him to suffer. You were sacrificing yourself all for him. You virtually exchanged places with him in the timeline.

You bit your hand and transformed into the Attack Titan in Liberio, destroying the stage and killing everyone as Eren did. Heaven knew you'd memorized the battle plan by now.

Your body formed like your skin was expanding. Yellow lightning flashed everywhere, electrifying you, and your spine pulsed with fervor as its Eldian nature felt its full power. In the Titan, your face was connected to your innards with red flesh. You swung at the War Hammer Titan even though you knew it wouldn't work. She pierced you and held you up till you were forced to exit the nape.

"Usurper, [Name] [Surname]," the War Hammer Titan said as it held your Titan up in its grip. "Any last words?"

The Scouts were hiding somewhere. Your stoic face, unsmiling, spoke without fear.

"Now or never."

The Scouts entered. First, it was Mikasa who came in to injure and fight the War Hammer. Then, Eren came to rescue you, hopping onto the nape and slicing whatever red string of flesh still connected you to the Titan.

The black Survey Corps uniform fit his muscular form, snugly on his biceps and chest. On his silver chestplate glinted the Wings of Freedom, right over his heart. The modern ODM gear fastened around his hips like a belt. His long brown hair was tied back in a man-bun, complimenting his grimacing eyes. In his grip was a small black pistol.

Neither of you were children anymore. You were grown.

For a moment, you both looked at each other and drank in the scene. Titan marks ran down your face as you gave him a watery look, and his expression twisted from confusion to sadness.

"[Name]," he said as he knelt beside you. "What have you done?"

"I did what I had to."

"The [Name] I know would have never rashly killed innocent and unarmed people," he whispered. "I understand why, but... it's not like you, [Name]. There's no going back from this."

You loathed seeing him disappointed in you. Watching him think that he didn't know you anymore. You were detached from the world as he used to be, pushing all your emotions away because the pain was too great to face.

"When the battle is over," you said, "you can go home."

"You have to go home," Eren said. His voice was pleading. "Come home to us, [Name]. To me."

You refused to let your emotions show, locked behind your Titan marks. You glanced back at the battlefield, where the War Hammer Titan was regenerating and Mikasa stood by for defense. You didn't know how to feel. It was your fault, but you were only doing what Eren had done. You didn't know what you should feel guilty for — killing the innocents or sadness that this was Eren's original sin?

"It's not over yet," you said.

-

Your sliced palm bled scarlet onto the table as Eren, Mikasa, and Armin looked at you with horror. The little girl, Gabi, was mute with terror.

"I am free," you said, eyes darkened. "Whatever I do, whatever I choose, I do it out of my free will."

"That's not true," interrupted Eren. His fist balled and began to tremble. "You're... a kind person."

Your eyes bore into his. "Am I?"

"You would never kill innocent civilians and children even if they were from an enemy state," he said, voice strained. "You've cared for us and thought about us more than anyone... haven't you? You—you're the best person, [Name]. The best I'll ever have."

You controlled your expression. Eren had said this exactly in previous loops. The memories were within him.

"I said," you spoke coldly, "keep your hands on the table."

Eren shut up, not believing what he was hearing. You had to lie to protect him.

"I learned many things from Marley. Apparently, Eren, we're all connected by the way of a Path. In most Paths, you're made to care for me. It converges until it becomes fate. You only feel affection for me because you have to."

"That's not true, [Name]!" Eren's voice rose to a yell. "You think I care only because some higher being told me to? What kind of bullshit is that?"

"You see memories that aren't really yours, don't you?" you said. You triumphed when the blood drained from his features. "That's the Paths. It creates fake scenes in your mind to make you think you lived through them, but you didn't."

"Why... why are you doing this?"

"I'm telling you because you're weak," you said. "You yearn for love until it kills you."

"That's enough, [Name]," said Armin, upon noticing the pained look on Eren's face.

You had been in Eren's position before. The first loop, when he told you that he hated you. You remembered crying in front of him. He had been harsh on Mikasa and Armin as well. That was so long ago, almost forgotten. This time, you were doing the same thing as him.

"In other words, you're just a prisoner to destiny," you said, unrelenting. "Do you know what I hate the most in this world? Anyone who thinks that love will solve anything."

His palm curled over the tablecloth, balling it as his eyes tried to process what you were trying to say. Finally, you decided to just flat-out lie.

"Eren, I never loved you."

His eyes widened with shock, then hurt.

"You can't—you don't—" he trailed.

"I can't?" you sneered. "Then how come in every memory you have, I never loved you back?"

"You're wrong," he said. "You... you cared about me."

"Did I?"

You saw Eren fighting with himself, trying to comprehend the complicated things in his head that only you could understand. He didn't know that his memories of past lives were real, and you couldn't tell him. You could only manipulate the truth.

It would be fine, you would tell yourself. If he hated you, it would be easier for him to go against you. You were being delusional and foolish, you knew. He could never hate you just as you could never hate him.

Eren stood, resisting your orders.

Your lip curled down. "Want me to hit you again?"

"You never hit me," Eren said. Realization dawned on him. "That only happened in one of my 'fake' memories."

Your eyes flickered for the briefest split second. "You can't even tell real from fake. Pathetic."

The others didn't notice, but Eren did. He always noticed.

You stood, your entire hand doused in blood. It dripped from your fingers onto the floor like red tears. You regarded Eren, resolved to meet his eyes with firmness, but he was in disbelief. He was trembling with all the rage he never let out, all the love you killed inside him. Mikasa and Armin couldn't even seem to do anything, either, frozen in the restaurant.

God, you couldn't bear to see the nineteen-year-old version of him without the depression that had ruined him. You had absorbed every last bit of darkness until it consumed you instead. He saw you the same way you once saw him—tortured and trapped.

At that moment, all you wished for was to be a kid again and play with them in the street. But you had to keep moving forward.

You left them in the restaurant.

When you were alone, you finally allowed yourself to cry.

-

"Hear me, all Subjects of Ymir."

Your voice echoed throughout the Paths, deep and menacing. You couldn't physically see everything, but you didn't have to. You were the Founding Titan, omnipresent and conscious in every Eldian alive. In the real world, your Titan had expanded into a horrifying monster, like a white centipede marching with the hundreds of Colossal Titans.

Your Titan's head was hanging from the neck, lost in steam, but you couldn't feel it. You couldn't sense the Colossal Titans trampling everything. You simply forced yourself to ignore the soul-crushing guilt. As long as you couldn't see it, it didn't exist.

You didn't bother to watch the Alliance, which now included Eren, run after you. You locked yourself in a dream world, showing yourself what you wanted to see.

Instead, in your head, you were a child again. You had done everything right, and now he was saved. You were watching child Eren spread his arms over the sky, ecstatic. Freedom.

You had to talk to him. You had to tell him not to kill you, because if he did, the loop would reset.

So, when the airship had taken to the sky, you conjured him to you via Paths.

"Eren," you called, and when you opened your eyes, you found yourself strangely on the hill again where you stargazed. He was on the ground, waking up. "I know you're close to the Founding Titan."

Eren scrambled from the ground. He ran up to you and embraced you without giving you the time to react. "Stop the Rumbling, [Name], please. It's not too late. You can call it all off now, eliminate the Titan powers, and come home to me."

"To eliminate the Titan powers, you'd have to sentence me to the Paths in exchange."

"I won't!" he said furiously.

"I hope not," you said. You released a breath. "I'm sorry, Eren. I wanted to shoulder your sins. Just... do it for me. Tell the Alliance to say that you all killed me. Then, I'll enter the Paths and take away every last power from the Eldians."

"And you can't come back?" he asked shakily. "That's it? You'll be gone from my life, forever?"

"It's the only way," you said. You touched his hair, brushing it back like you always did since the first time. "Forget about me, Eren. Be free."

"I'm not free!" he shouted. "I'll never be free without you!"

The Titan marks suddenly appeared on your face, reminding you of the world outside this fake pocket you had created.

"Please, 'Ren, don't let me jump into the next universe," you whispered as you hugged him back. "I want you to live a long and happy life. Explore the world, marry someone and start a family, turn old..."

"I can't do that with anyone else but you," he said. Tears had started running down his face. "Don't do this to me. Don't make me kill you to save you and start over."

"Then don't do it, 'Ren," you said, thumbing away his tears. "Let me sacrifice myself for you. It's the only way."

"It's never the only way!" he said, and you secretly hoped he was right, too. "I can't live with myself if you're not there."

"But this is the easiest way to get what you want, isn't it? You'll be free!" Your eyes welled with tears as his arms wrapped around you, pressing into your back. "Please, 'Ren—"

"Find me next time," he said. "I'll wait for you."

If you love me, you'll die, you wanted to scream.

But there was no world where one of you could live without the other. Eren sobbed into your neck, holding you close as if it would save you from his fate. You were beginning to realize that perhaps there was simply nothing you could do to alter the universe from this.

-

Eren entered the mouth.

He didn't listen to you or your pleas to let himself live without you. He was stubborn.

He unsheathed his swords.

You opened your eyes, feeling no body, nothing except your head and your neck attached to the Titan. You saw him, and he was staring at you with such love that you couldn't believe you ever thought he would let you sacrifice yourself.

So be it.

You'd never take Eren's place ever again. Even if you did, it wouldn't stop him from interfering with fate. He would rewrite history just to keep you within the fabric.

The blade was quick and painless, slicing through your neck. It strangely didn't hurt, only like a pinch.

It reminded you of being younger, when Eren was bad at it. You realized that he must have practiced how to not hurt you. You couldn't feel a body, only pure energy and consciousness as you allowed yourself to feel loved.

Eren's lips met yours. Like two stars colliding. Your past, present, and future destinies intertwining. Convergence.

For the briefest, last sliver of this life, you let his warmth ensnare you in a kiss.

-

"You have dirt on your face," Eren said for the eleventh time.