"The rumbling… the rumbling is…"
Zeke drew in a breath, chest heaving, his face still flushed from the weight of what he had revealed. His golden eyes sharpened as he delivered the words like a hammer blow:
"In the future, the Marleyan government seizes the Founding Titan's power. They use it to transform every single Eldian into Titans. With that army of monsters, they launch war—not against just one nation, but the entire world. They crush everything in their path. But they lose control. The Founder's power slips away, spirals into chaos, and then… comes the Rumbling. The walls fall. Colossal after Colossal. An unstoppable tide. And in the end—everyone dies."
The silence that followed was heavy enough to choke on.
Annie, Bertolt, and Reiner sat frozen, their jaws slack, the color draining from their faces as if Zeke had ripped the very breath from their lungs.
He nodded slowly, deliberately, confirming it wasn't a bluff.
The wooden carriage creaked along the dirt path, the faint thunder of cannon fire still echoing in the distance.
But to them, it felt like the world had already collapsed.
At last, Bertolt stammered out, "The Marley government… they sent us here… to find the Founding Titan. This is what they intend to do with it?"
"Exactly." Zeke's voice was low but steady.
"They actually want us to… unleash something so monstrous?" Bertolt's pupils shrank.
Zeke dipped his head in another grave nod.
"What for?!" Bertolt nearly shouted. His body trembled like a leaf. "Why would they need a weapon like that?!"
"To turn all Eldians into Titans. To strip them of their humanity, make them mindless beasts, and ship them to the frontlines. A factory of living weapons." Zeke blinked slowly, his tone almost mocking. "I just said this, Bertolt. Try to keep up."
But Bertolt still couldn't process it. His voice cracked. "Wait—wait. What exactly is this Founding Titan's power? We've been told bits and pieces, but… what you're saying is…"
"The Founding Titan doesn't just control Titans," Zeke interrupted sharply. "It controls all Eldians. Every single one of us. You already know our kind can only become Titans after injection with spinal fluid. But the Founder doesn't need such tricks. With a single will, it can command us to transform. It can order Pure Titans like puppets. And it can strip us of freedom entirely."
The three stared at him as though he had grown fangs. Their world shook apart beneath their feet.
Finally, Bertolt swallowed hard, whispering as though afraid to be overheard
"The higher-ups… they truly expect us to seize something that terrifying? Something even they can't control?"
Annie's face was pale, but anger trembled in her eyes. "If the Founding Titan can control all Titans, why haven't the people inside the Walls used it to fight back? Why allow their own citizens to be devoured? Why let Titans roam free outside?"
"Because…" Zeke's voice softened. For a heartbeat, he wasn't mocking. He remembered Eren's furious words from his first life. The betrayal, the despair.
"Because the royal family here chose to do nothing."
He let the words hang, heavy and accusing.
The royal bloodline. Lofty, untouchable. To them, Eldians were ants.
Zeke's tone grew bitter. "They believe we are irredeemably sinful. That being eaten alive or caged inside these walls is atonement for our crimes. They sit in comfort, deciding life and death with a flick of the wrist."
Annie's hands clenched. Her voice quivered but grew sharper, slicing through the carriage's stale air.
"How can they? Even civilians have the right to live! Who gave them the right to condemn their people? If they want everyone dead, why not say it outright? Why deceive them with walls and false hope, letting them yearn for freedom—only to feed them to Titans once they step outside? If death is the plan, why make it crueler with lies?"
Her words, fierce and trembling, were almost a mirror of Eren's rage in Zeke's past life. As expected, Zeke thought, civilians, when faced with the truth, will burn with fury. It's not just death—it's humiliation.
Reiner, though, reacted differently. His grief twisted into resolve. He struggled against the pain in his ruined body, white steam rising as he tried to force a transformation. His eyes burned with desperate fury.
"Then it's simple! We kill them all! Every last so-called demon on this island! That way the Founder can never be used, the Rumbling will never come, and the world will be safe!"
His body convulsed, steaming harder. The faint glow of transformation sparked—
—but Zeke moved faster. His hand clamped onto Reiner's wound, fingers digging deep, and tore it open again. Blood sprayed. Reiner screamed, collapsing back onto the bench. The light vanished.
"You idiot," Zeke hissed, tightening his grip until Reiner writhed. "I knew you'd try this. Do you want to bring down Maria's gate yourself? Do you want to hand the Founder over faster?!"
Reiner panted, sweat pouring from his face. He could barely gasp out, "But… if we don't… the world will end!"
"No." Zeke's eyes narrowed, his voice heavy with finality.
"You didn't hear me clearly. I didn't mean just the Eldians on this island. I meant all Eldians."
The words stunned them into silence.
Reiner's lips trembled. "…All? Even… the people back home?"
Bertolt's eyes went wide. "Our families? Our friends in Liberio?"
Annie's breath caught. "My… my father, too?"
Zeke nodded once, merciless. "Yes. Every last one. When Marley holds the Founder, they won't just turn the island's people into Titans. They'll turn us. Your beloved fathers and mothers, your childhood friends, everyone you ever cared for—mindless beasts, hollow shells, weapons for Marley's wars. No 'Marleyans,' no 'Island Devils.' Just tools. Just Titans."
The three froze as if stabbed.
Reiner shook his head violently.
"No… no, that can't be. My mother, my aunt—they weren't punished because of us? Not because we failed? They were… destined to become Titans anyway?"
"Yes." Zeke's answer was like a guillotine blade.
Reiner's face crumbled, his last shred of defiance extinguished.
Annie closed her eyes, voice breaking. "Then my father, too… he'd…"
"No." Zeke cut her off, his tone suddenly softer. "Your father died resisting the government. That was his end."
Annie opened her eyes slowly, staring at him. Her voice was hollow. "…You call that comfort?"
Zeke said nothing more. He leaned back, arms folded, gaze hard.
The carriage rattled on, filled with despair. For them, the script had already been written.
And the only one with the right to interpret it—was Zeke Yeager.