CHAPTER 3: THE DAY THE SKY FELL
The morning passed slowly.
Sukuna sat by the river, watching the water flow. Mikasa sat beside him in silence. Armin talked about a book he had read—about the outside world, about oceans of salt water and lands of fire.
Normally, Eren would have been shouting with excitement.
But Sukuna just listened. Cold. Quiet. Smiling.
"Don't you want to see it, Eren?" Armin asked. "The ocean?"
Sukuna turned his green eyes toward the blond boy.
"I've seen enough oceans," he said.
It was true. In his old world, he had seen everything. Oceans of blood. Mountains of corpses. He didn't need to dream of water.
Armin looked confused but said nothing.
Mikasa kept staring at Sukuna. She hadn't stopped since he sat down.
"You're not Eren," she whispered, so quiet that only Sukuna could hear.
He looked at her. Really looked at her.
"And yet... I am," he replied.
Mikasa's hand moved to her scarf. Her eyes narrowed.
She knew. She didn't understand how, but she knew.
Something had replaced her Eren.
Suddenly, the ground shook.
Mikasa stood up instantly. Armin froze.
Sukuna... smiled.
"Finally," he whispered.
A sound. Like thunder. Like the world cracking open.
Then light.
A blinding flash from above the wall. So bright that everyone covered their eyes.
When the light faded...
A hand. A massive, impossible hand. gripping the top of Wall Maria.
Fingers larger than houses. Skin red and steaming.
Then a face. No lips. No nose. Only eyes and bones and steam rising into the sky.
The Colossal Titan.
Screams erupted across Shiganshina.
People ran. Children cried. Soldiers shouted orders that no one followed.
Mikasa grabbed Sukuna's arm. "We have to go! NOW!"
Armin was shaking. "E-Eren... run..."
But Sukuna didn't move.
He stood there, staring up at the giant creature that had just appeared.
"So this is a Titan," he said.
The Colossal Titan looked down. Its eyeless face seemed to stare directly at him.
Sukuna laughed.
Not a scared laugh. Not a nervous laugh.
A hungry laugh.
"You're big," he said to the Titan. "But size means nothing."
The Titan raised its leg. A foot the size of a city block.
And kicked.
The sound was deafening.
Wall Maria exploded. Rocks the size of houses flew through the air. Dust and debris swallowed the sky.
Behind the wall... more Titans. Dozens. Hundreds.
They poured through the hole like hungry wolves.
Mikasa pulled Sukuna with all her strength. "EREN! MOVE!"
Sukuna let her drag him. Not because he was scared. But because he wanted to see.
He wanted to see how this world broke.
As they ran, he looked back at the Colossal Titan.
The giant creature was already disappearing. Steam rose from its body as it faded away.
But its job was done.
The wall was broken.
And the game had begun.
They ran through the chaos. People crushed under falling rocks. Children separated from their parents. Soldiers dying before they could raise their swords.
Mikasa didn't stop. She pulled Sukuna through the crowd, toward their home.
Toward Carla.
"Mom is still there!" Mikasa shouted.
Sukuna said nothing.
He knew what was coming. From Eren's memories, he had already seen it.
The house. The rubble. The woman trapped beneath a beam.
And the smiling Titan.
When they arrived, the house was destroyed.
Half of it had collapsed. Wood and stone everywhere.
And under a fallen beam...
Carla Yeager.
Her legs were crushed. She couldn't move. But her eyes were still alive.
Still warm.
"Eren... Mikasa..." she whispered. "Run. Both of you. RUN."
Mikasa tried to lift the beam. She couldn't. She tried again. Nothing.
Tears streamed down her face.
"I can't... I CAN'T!"
Sukuna stood behind her. Watching.
A man appeared. Hannes. A soldier. Drunk most days, but kind.
"I'll save her!" he shouted, running toward the beam.
Then he saw it.
Behind Carla. Coming down the street.
A Titan. Seven meters tall. A wide, frozen smile on its face. Its eyes were empty. Hungry.
Hannes froze. His hands shook.
"I... I can't..." he whispered. "I'm sorry... I CAN'T!"
He grabbed Mikasa and Sukuna and ran.
Mikasa screamed. "NO! MY MOM IS STILL THERE!"
Sukuna looked back.
Carla was looking at him. Her eyes were not afraid. They were... peaceful.
"Thank you for being born," she mouthed.
Then the smiling Titan reached down.
And Sukuna turned away.
They ran to the boats. Thousands of people crowded the docks, trying to escape to the inner wall.
Mikasa was crying. Armin was shaking.
Sukuna was silent.
He climbed onto a boat. Sat down. Looked at the destruction.
"So this is your story, Eren," he whispered to the boy who no longer existed.
"Pain. Loss. Rage."
He looked at his small hands.
"But I am not you."
The boat pushed away from the dock. Shiganshina burned behind them.
And inside Sukuna's chest... something stirred.
Not grief. Not sadness.
Hunger.
He wanted to fight. He wanted to kill. He wanted to show these Titans what true fear meant.
But not yet.
First, he needed to grow.
First, he needed to understand this world.
Then... he would destroy it all.
END OF CHAPTER 3