Hearing Chen Si's words, Eren muttered, "I'm weak?"
He looked down at his palms and clenched his fists. For a moment, he seemed dejected—but he quickly rallied, his eyes blazing as if flames burned within them.
"Chen Si, Mikasa—I want to be as strong as you! I'm definitely going to join the Survey Corps!"
His voice rang with determination.
"You'll need to start working out first," Chen Si replied. "Train your body properly."
As the two discussed how to join the Survey Corps, Mikasa hurriedly interrupted. "Eren, you're still not giving up on joining the Survey Corps?"
Eren lowered his head and didn't answer.
"Let's head home first," Chen Si said.
Mikasa nodded, and the three of them returned together.
"Welcome back!" came Carla's voice from inside.
Eren set down the firewood he had carried home, while Mikasa went to help at the stove.
"Oh my, Eren! That's unusual—how did you gather so much today?" Carla asked in surprise.
Eren hesitated, thinking about how to answer. Carla grabbed his ear playfully. "Was it Chen Si or Mikasa who helped you?"
She knew him too well.
Eren pouted and remained silent.
At the dinner table, Grisha was packing his things, preparing to head out. Carla washed the dishes nearby. Suddenly, Mikasa spoke up:
"Eren said he wants to join the Survey Corps. Brother seems to have the same idea."
She glanced toward Chen Si as she spoke.
That girl—trying to get Aunt Carla to stop me, Chen Si thought. Nothing gets past clever, perceptive Mikasa.
Carla visibly startled and turned sharply. Grisha's hands froze mid-motion. An eerie silence fell over the room.
Eren suddenly slammed the table and shouted at Mikasa, "Didn't I tell you not to say anything?!"
"Eren, do you know how many people go beyond the walls and never return?" Carla rushed over, placing a hand on each boy's shoulder, staring into their eyes sternly. "And you too, Chen Si. You've always been so mature and sensible—why would you suddenly think like this?"
"I know," Eren replied stubbornly. "But I'm going anyway!"
"Eren, Chen Si—why do you want to go beyond the walls?" Grisha asked gravely.
"Because I want to know what the outside world is like," Eren argued. "Like Chen Si said, I don't want to be a frog at the bottom of a well, living my whole life inside these walls without knowing anything. And if the Survey Corps has no successors, wouldn't their sacrifices be in vain?"
Chen Si spoke calmly, his tone far too composed for a nine-year-old.
"Staying inside the walls means not just losing physical freedom, but freedom of thought as well. Talking about the outside world is taboo. Humans inside the walls are like livestock kept in captivity—and livestock always risk being slaughtered. I believe the best defense is offense. It's exploration. Uncle, as a doctor, you must have realized—medicine can't save the people within the walls. A doctor can treat illness of the body, but not illness of the heart."
Grisha stared deeply at Chen Si, turmoil rising in his heart.
Medicine can't save the people inside the walls… medicine can't save Eldia…
He clenched his fists tightly, then slowly loosened them.
"I see," Grisha said at last. "Chen Si, your words have given me much to think about."
He put on his hat and walked to the door.
"Grisha, why aren't you trying to stop them?" Carla asked anxiously.
"Carla, humanity's thirst for knowledge isn't something that can be suppressed with mere persuasion. And it's precisely because children have thoughts like these that humanity has a future."
He cast another deep look at Chen Si. What kind of parents could raise such an exceptional child?
From his coat, Grisha took out a key and turned to Eren.
"Eren, when I return, I'll show you what's in the basement."
Eren's face lit up with excitement, waving enthusiastically as Grisha left. Chen Si watched him go, understanding clearly in his heart—
A human tragedy was about to unfold.
"Don't bring up that foolish idea again. I absolutely forbid it. You are not joining the Survey Corps," Carla said coldly, pouring cold water on Eren's excitement.
"Foolish? The ones willing to live like livestock are the foolish ones!" Eren shot back before storming off.
"Chen Si, Mikasa… Eren's personality draws danger to him. If anything happens, promise me you'll look after each other," Carla said worriedly.
Mikasa nodded.
Chen Si placed his hand over Carla's. "Don't worry, Auntie. I'll take care of him."
He and Mikasa followed the path Eren had taken. After turning a few corners, they saw him confronting three boys. As Chen Si and Mikasa approached, the three bullies scattered like mice before a cat.
They had lost count of how many times they had cleaned up Eren's messes.
"Armin, are you okay? Can you stand?" Chen Si extended his hand.
Armin looked up, saw it was Chen Si, and took his hand to stand. "I'm fine," he said weakly.
"Armin, why didn't you fight back? If you had, the two of us could've beaten them!" Eren protested angrily.
You really are reckless, Chen Si thought, exasperated.
"If I fought back, wouldn't I be just like them?" Armin said calmly. "They only hit me because I won the argument."
"Why did they hit you?" Eren asked.
"Because I told them that one day humanity will go beyond the walls and live in the outside world—see the ocean. They called me a heretic."
"Those bastards! What's wrong with wanting to go outside the walls?"
"There's nothing wrong with it," Chen Si said slowly. "What's wrong is wasting words on them. Summer insects cannot be told of ice."
"Summer insects cannot be told of ice?" Armin asked curiously.
Mikasa blinked in interest. Even Eren leaned in, ready to remember Chen Si's words. His insights always struck straight to the heart.
"It means you can't discuss ice with insects that live only in summer. The three who hit Armin are like bugs that have never seen winter. They don't even know winter exists—how could they believe in ice?"
"I see," Armin nodded. "You're right. But even the royal government are insects who've never seen winter. Everything beyond the walls is taboo. Only the Survey Corps knows what lies outside."
"Exactly!" Eren declared passionately. "That's why we have to join the Survey Corps and see the outside world!"
"Absolutely not," Mikasa insisted firmly. Since her parents' deaths, she cherished family above all else. She could not accept Chen Si and Eren risking their lives outside the walls.
"By the way, you were the one who exposed me to our parents today," Eren glared at her.
"She was worried about you," Chen Si sighed.
"Eren, I understand how you feel," Armin said hesitantly, "but going outside really is dangerous."
"Even you too, Armin?" Eren looked wounded.
"I just don't understand why everyone assumes the walls will always protect us," Armin continued. "They've stood for a hundred years—but who can guarantee they won't fall today?"
"Between accidents and tomorrow, you never know which will come first," Chen Si said quietly. "Maybe disaster will strike in the next second. But if it does, I only want to be with the people most important to me."
He took Mikasa's hand, already preparing in his heart for sudden danger.
Mikasa blushed, tightening her red scarf—the one Chen Si had asked Aunt Carla to knit for her, then personally placed around her neck. She wore it almost every time she went out.
Suddenly—
A blinding golden flash split the distant sky.
Then the earth shook violently, as if heaven and earth were collapsing. Birds scattered into the air.
The four turned toward the outer wall.
Smoke billowed higher than the wall itself.
Then they saw it—
A massive hand, large enough to blot out the sky, grasped the top of the wall. A colossal, skinless, crimson head emerged, steam rising from its flesh.
"It's a Titan! It's fifty meters tall!"
"Taller than the wall? That's impossible!"
The cries were filled with disbelief and terror.
Chen Si stood frozen. Reality was nothing like the anime.
"Run!" he shouted first.
Still holding Mikasa's hand, he took two steps before meeting her eyes. They nodded and released each other. Each grabbed a child and sprinted.
As Chen Si dragged him away, Eren looked back—and witnessed a scene he would never forget.
The enormous Titan kicked the massive wall as if it were nothing. The fifty-meter barrier collapsed instantly.
Stone debris flew through the air. Some pieces hurtled toward their home.
"Mom! The rocks—they're flying toward Mom!"
People screamed as they fled inward. Titans began pouring through the breach.
Fortunately, Chen Si had already been running toward Eren's house.
Armin, glancing back at the emerging Titans, trembled in fear.
"It's over… this whole district is finished."
"Mom… please be safe," Eren cried, tears streaming down his face as he ran with everything he had.
The disaster had begun.