Hannes kept running, his arms tight around us, like we were the last thing holding him to this world. Eren's breath came out in ragged, furious gasps, each one more enraged than the last, but I barely felt it. My body was numb, hollow, like I was no longer a part of the chaos around me.
"You son of a bitch! We could've saved her!" Eren's scream pierced the air, filled with the kind of pain that could tear a person apart. "We almost had her! Why did you come?! Why?!"
His voice was a desperate wail, trying to hold on to something already lost, fighting against the truth he refused to face. Hannes, choking on his own guilt, finally snapped, and with a pained grunt, he threw Eren to the ground. Eren hit the earth hard, and Mikasa was on him in an instant, her eyes wide with helplessness.
But me? Hannes let me go, and I didn't even feel myself fall. I just sat there, in the dirt, staring at nothing. It was like the world had drained away, leaving me with nothing but emptiness. Carla's blood, Eren's screams, the smell of death in the air-it all blended into a distant hum, as if none of it could touch me anymore.
Nothing mattered. Nothing.
My mind barely registered Hannes, his voice broken as he begged Eren for forgiveness, calling himself a coward for not saving Carla. His words, his pain-they were distant, muted, as I sat there on the dirty ground, unmoving.
I would've stayed there forever if Mikasa hadn't taken my hand, gently pulling me to my feet. She didn't say anything, but she held onto me, her grip firm as we followed Hannes. He led us toward safety, guiding us like we were lost children.
When we reached the ferry, Hannes knelt down, giving each of us a soft pat on the head, as if trying to offer some semblance of comfort. Then, with a nudge, he urged us to step aboard.
We sat together in silence, the weight of everything pressing down on us. Eren held my hand, gripping it like his life depended on it. But I couldn't return the gesture. I couldn't give him the comfort he needed. Not now. Not after everything. Still, he didn't seem to mind. He just needed to know I was there, beside him, that he hadn't lost me too.
As the ferry moved, chaos erupted all around us-people scrambling to get aboard, soldiers shouting orders, Titans wreaking havoc on the helpless. It was the same, over and over again-innocent lives crushed under the weight of terror.
Then, I heard it. Footsteps. Heavy, deliberate. Different from the others. My eyes locked on a new figure in the distance, a Titan unlike any I had seen before. He wasn't as massive as the skinless one, but there was something about him-his body covered in thick, impenetrable armor.
