Another base of the Survey Corps.
Last night, Erwin and the others had retreated here under cover of darkness.
Everyone was battered and broken — their faces pale, their bodies bruised, and their spirits on the verge of collapse. As soon as they arrived, not a single word was spoken; they simply dropped their gear and rested where they stood.
By dawn, the sun had risen high above the horizon, its glare harsh against the smoldering sky. The heat pressed down like a weight, as if the world itself refused to give them peace.
Outside, the few who could still stand took shifts on patrol. Among them were Commander Pixis and those who had come to assist the night before.
"Commander, the morale of the Survey Corps seems dangerously low," a weary voice reported.
"Oh, it's Rico."
Pixis stood by the cracked window, flask in hand. When he turned and saw her, he gave only a brief nod before looking back toward the wasteland beyond the walls.
"Commander," Rico continued softly after a pause, "do we really… have no hope left?"
The silence between them stretched.
The Titans that had swarmed Wall Rose and Wall Sina the previous day were finally eradicated. Yet no one could explain how those humans had turned into Mindless Titans in the first place. That mystery — that horror — still lingered, unseen and unresolved.
And because no one knew the cause, no one could promise it wouldn't happen again.
"I don't know," Pixis admitted at last, his voice barely above a whisper.
Even he was shaken.
Last night, he had seen something he never thought possible — Erwin Smith, the unshakable commander, wearing a look of pure despair.
That wasn't the Erwin he knew.
"Rumble…"
"Commander, do you hear that?" Rico asked sharply.
The sound grew louder — a deep, rolling thunder that made the walls tremble.
Pixis froze, his expression twisting in sudden dread. "No…"
He remembered Armin's trembling voice from the night before — his description of how Lucien had attacked them.
"Quickly! Evacuate everyone!" Pixis roared, rushing out of the office.
But it was already too late.
As he burst into the courtyard, he looked up — and saw it.
The colossal corpse of a Titan, falling from the sky like divine punishment.
"Dear God…"
The base erupted in panic.
"Boom!"
The Colossal Titan's body struck the earth like a missile, obliterating everything in an instant. A violent wave of hot air surged outward, flattening buildings and crushing soldiers before they could even scream.
But it wasn't over.
"Crack… boom!"
Golden lightning split the clouds, and another Colossal Titan fell, shaking the ground like a meteor.
Five minutes later, a third corpse crashed down.
Ten minutes later, a fourth.
When the thunder ceased, the base no longer existed.
Where it once stood was only a sea of fire and steam, molten earth rising to form jagged hills. Cracks spread like a spiderweb, glowing faintly with heat.
Lucien descended slowly from the sky, cheeks streaked with blood from his Titanization. His breathing was ragged, his body trembling with fatigue.
In both hands, he gripped the twin blades as he surveyed the blazing wasteland. The steam from four Colossal Titans blanketed the area, obscuring his vision.
Every sense was alert. Every muscle tense.
Lucien moved carefully through the haze, eyes scanning the scorched remains.
Bodies lay everywhere — some torn apart by the shockwave, others crushed to pulp. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air. Severed limbs and shattered weapons were scattered across the ground like discarded toys.
Lucien's expression didn't change. His gaze fell upon Pixis, or what was left of him — only half a face remained, the rest gone to ash.
He exhaled quietly, neither angry nor satisfied.
After a long search, Lucien frowned.
No sign of Erwin. No Armin. No Eren. Not even Zhou Wei.
"Not here?" he muttered.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, a faint shimmer — the telltale glint of Titan Hardening.
Lucien narrowed his eyes.
"Found you."
He pricked his thumb with his nail. Golden lightning surged, and in the next heartbeat, his massive form materialized — the Armored Titan.
Hardening covered his nape as he marched toward the ruins, each step making the earth quake.
He had learned his lesson. There would be no carelessness this time.
When he reached the debris, he tore through what was left of the walls.
There, buried beneath the rubble, was a large crystal cocoon formed by Hardening — unmistakably Eren's doing. Inside, it had to be protecting Armin, Zhou Wei, and the others.
Inside the cocoon, fear consumed them all.
"What do we do?" Sasha whimpered, tears spilling from her eyes. "That demon is out there…"
Eren's Hardening could protect them for a while, but not forever. Everyone understood that grim truth.
Zhou Wei sat quietly in the corner, his body wrapped in bloodstained bandages, eyes heavy with despair.
Before him floated a translucent screen visible only to him — a system interface filled with his personal data.
His exchange points were gone. [Exchange Points: 0]
He couldn't purchase a single item.
Reincarnators like him traveled across different worlds to complete missions from the Main God, earning points for rewards. Zhou Wei was only a Level 4 Reincarnator — barely above a novice. He had survived the worlds of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, and The Legend of the Condor Heroes, but those had been easy compared to this nightmare.
His number, 1678, meant there were over sixteen hundred others before him — many likely tackling higher-tier worlds. Perhaps some were even exploring realms of fantasy or Xianxia now, far beyond his reach.
Every point he had earned was spent mastering the Nine Yang Divine Skill, Lingbo Micro Step, and Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. The rest went into buying Blood Burst Pills and identity potions.
He had never heard of someone called "Darkness" in any of those worlds — until now.
That meant Lucien might be a transmigrator. Maybe even a Reincarnator like him. If so, this was more than a mission — it was competition.
And in this deadly market of Reincarnation Spaces, survival was business. Rival systems would do anything to outperform one another — even pit their agents against each other.
Zhou Wei clenched his fists weakly. "So that's what you are, huh…"
Lucien was cunning, ruthless, and far too dangerous.
In his previous life, Zhou Wei had been nothing more than a shut-in — a quiet man who never faced the cruelty of reality. His missions before had been smooth, predictable, plot-driven. He'd relied on story knowledge, not skill.
But here, in this world… there was no safety net.
If a Reincarnator died here, they truly died. The Main God Space might allow revival — but only at a price he could never afford.
"Lucien's target is me," Zhou Wei said, forcing himself to stand. "I'll go out."
Eren's head snapped up. "Zhou Wei, no!"
But Zhou Wei's voice was calm — almost peaceful. "If I stay, he'll kill you all anyway."
The Hardening above them began to crack — heavy blows echoing from outside. Each impact shook the chamber.
"Bang! Bang!"
Dust rained from the ceiling.
"Lucien!" Eren shouted through the Hardening. "Let Armin and the others go. Do whatever you want with me!"
His voice trembled, not from fear — but exhaustion. He had used every ounce of strength to block the Titan corpses' impacts. He could no longer transform.
"Eren…"
Outside, Lucien stopped his attack. His voice carried softly through the smoke.
"If possible, I don't want to kill you. But for freedom — for survival — I have no choice."
Eren's eyes widened. "You… you seek freedom too?"
Lucien nodded once. "Then you understand."
Cracks spread through the Hardening cocoon. Steam hissed.
And then, with a final shatter, Eren emerged — steaming, battered, but defiant. Erwin, Armin, and the others stumbled out behind him.
"Eren!" Armin cried, tears streaming down his face. He couldn't contain it any longer.
Sasha and Connie were the same, trembling, helpless.
"This is the only way," Eren said quietly. "Armin… live."
Lucien reached out, his massive hand closing around Eren. The young man didn't resist.
With a faint smile, Eren whispered one last time, "Armin… live well."
And then Lucien swallowed him whole.
"Eren!"
Armin fell to his knees, his voice breaking as he screamed. His fists struck the ground until they bled.
He hated it — hated his weakness, his powerlessness, his inability to do anything but watch.
The forest around the shattered base was silent except for the distant hissing of steam and the faint crackle of remaining fires. The air smelled of ash and iron, heavy with the weight of hopelessness.
Above, golden lightning still lingered in the clouds, a constant reminder that Lucien's presence dominated every corner of their world.
Armin pressed his face to the scorched earth, trembling as he sobbed, feeling the crushing reality settle in: their fight had ended before it had even truly begun.
The wind carried whispers of distant cries and falling debris, echoing the inevitability that survival would demand sacrifices beyond comprehension — and none of them were ready to face what came next.
___
Milestone
100 Powerstones = 1 Bonus chapter.
I've been getting little to no Powerstones, don't be greedy with them 😪