"Um… can I ask something?" Bertholdt's voice trembled as the group waited before the massive courtroom doors. "Why did you only tie up our big brother and not us?"
Hange turned, raising a brow. "Do you want us to tie you up too?"
Bertholdt blanched. "N-No! Of course not!"
"Good." Hange's tone softened. She leaned closer, her voice dropping so only Annie, Bertholdt, and Eren could hear. "Listen carefully. I don't care whether you're humans or something else. Back in the dungeon, we made a deal with Zeke. No matter what happens today, we'll do our best to protect you."
She straightened, expression sharp again. "So don't do anything stupid."
The message was clear.
The Survey Corps could protect them—
But only if they stayed quiet.
Bertholdt and Annie exchanged uneasy glances.
Eren frowned, confused, but didn't speak.
The heavy courtroom doors opened with a slow groan.
The sight inside was overwhelming.
A sea of faces—nobles, officers, common citizens—all packed into the grand hall like spectators at an execution.
At the highest seat sat His Majesty the King, an old man with silver hair and a long white beard, his eyes sharp despite his age. Beside him was Zachary, the president overseeing the three military branches.
Below them, ministers and nobles lined the benches, whispering among themselves. On either side, soldiers from each corps stood at attention—Survey, Garrison, and Military Police Brigade—all standing tall, faces grim and proud.
The rest of the hall was filled with murmuring citizens, more eager for spectacle than justice.
In the center of it all knelt Zeke Yeager, bound to a thick iron pillar.
His hands were shackled tightly behind his back, his body limp, restrained so thoroughly he could barely stay upright. His mouth was gagged, his eyes glassy from the anesthetic.
To the untrained eye, he looked almost lifeless—humiliated, helpless.
As Eren followed his group to the witness stand, a strange déjà vu gripped him.
He had seen this scene before—himself, bound and kneeling before rows of soldiers.
But back then, he hadn't been treated this harshly. No gags, no drugs—just cold suspicion.
That was only a Corps trial, he realized.
This time, it's the king's justice.
These people knew the secret of the Titans now.
That explained everything—the iron restraints, the sedation, the fear radiating from the guards.
Zeke couldn't move, couldn't resist.
He was a caged beast awaiting judgment.
Eren's thoughts flickered.
What are you planning, brother?
You can't move, you can't transform. So what's your play?
Are you counting on Annie and Bertholdt…?
His gaze shifted to the two children standing quietly beside him.
To the world, they were harmless—just scared kids.
But in Eren's memory, they were monsters.
Traitors who had destroyed the walls.
He clenched his fists.
If they try anything, I'll strike first.
I'll eat Bertholdt first, then Annie.
His mind drifted briefly to an older, darker memory—
A colossal shadow blotting out the sky, a hand crashing through the wall, his mother's scream.
Anger simmered in his chest.
But something else gnawed at him.
This timeline—the fall of Shiganshina—it had played out differently.Not like the one he remembered.
The destruction, the casualties… they were fewer.
The tragedy smaller.
Did something change
Is this world already different?
He couldn't shake the feeling that fate had shifted course.
"Is that him? The man who turns into a Titan?"
"He looks just like us!"
"Poor guy's half-dead already."
"Hah! So the Titans can be beaten by humans after all!"
"I wanna see him transform right here!"
Eren's jaw tightened.
Only someone who had never seen the horror of a Titan would dare to speak like that.
Then—
BANG!
President Zachary slammed the table, his voice echoing across the hall.
"Silence!"
The chatter died instantly.
Zachary rose to his feet, his gaze sweeping across the courtroom. "Now, before the King, the ministers, and the people, we begin the examination of Zeke Yeager. Prisoner, do you have anything to say in your defense?"
The hall waited.
Zeke said nothing. His eyes moved faintly, but no sound escaped through the gag.
"Commander, he cannot respond," said Levi, standing to Zeke's left. "You've gagged him. He can't speak unless you take it off."
"You!" one of the Military Police Brigade barked. "Show respect when speaking to the Commander-in-Chief!"
The officer turned sharply, saluting. "Reporting to the President! We, the Military Police Brigade, deemed Zeke Yeager an extreme threat. We cannot predict how he transforms into a Titan. If he were to change form here, everyone present would die! For safety reasons, we've restrained and gagged him. We advise that the gag not be removed under any circumstance!"
A murmur rippled through the room.
Levi's calm voice cut through it.
"You've already pumped him full of anesthetic. What else can he do? I've never heard of a trial where the accused isn't allowed to speak for himself."
The crowd reacted instantly.
"He's drugged?"
"Then what's the point of this trial?"
"He should still be allowed to talk!"
"I wanna hear what a Titan sounds like!"
"Silence!" Zachary roared again, slamming the table.
His gaze turned to Levi. "And you are…?"
"Levi Ackerman," he replied curtly, chin lifted.
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried effortlessly through the hall—
Firm, unyielding, and unafraid.
Even the nobles turned their heads.
A new name had been spoken in the King's court
And the smallest soldier in the room had just changed the world's order.