At a corner near the inner wall gate of Shiganshina District
Evan Cross leaned weakly against a stone wall.
His consciousness was fading little by little.
His limbs were heavy
like he hadn't slept for days.
If not for sheer survival instinct, he would've collapsed already.
"System… I already turned back into human form…
So why… why do I still feel this weak…?"
System:
"Transforming into the Giant of Light consumes a significant amount of stamina.
Based on the host's current physical attributes, a 10-hour weakness period is required for recovery."
Evan blinked.
"Is there… no way to reduce it?"
System:
"The stronger the host's physical attributes, the shorter the weakness period."
So that's how it worked.
His physical stat was already 15
double that of an ordinary adult
And STILL it required 10 hours of weakness?
Evan sighed.
He had far too many things to process.
Firstly
Tiga was nowhere near as strong as he imagined.
The "1% power" wasn't just physical power.
It also included:
Height
Skills
Ultra techniques
Form changes
Flight
Beam attacks
Only by raising his Synchronization percentage would these unlock.
Secondly
Evan realized his Tiga transformation worked similarly to Eren's Titan form.
The basic combat technique the system rewarded him with…
It applied to both his human body and his Tiga form.
Whatever skill Evan mastered as a human
Tiga would also use.
Because Evan is Tiga's body.
And Tiga's body is Evan.
Just as he was thinking
"Hey! Kid! What are you doing here!?
Get inside the gate, Now!"
A frantic voice came from above.
Evan looked up to see a blond-haired soldier standing on a rooftop, scanning the area nervously.
"Finally… someone alive…"
Evan felt his mental defenses collapse.
His vision blurred
and he fell unconscious to the ground.
"Hey! Kid! Hey!!"
Meanwhile
On the river within the inner wall
Eren, Carla, Armin, and Mikasa sat silently in the large wooden boat.
Everyone was pale.
After witnessing hell itself, no one could speak.
No one dared to breathe loudly.
No matter how desperately the civilians on shore screamed to board the boat the passengers ignored them.
Surviving was miracle enough.
BOOM!!!
A thunderous blast erupted from the gate behind them.
Dust and white smoke shot into the sky.
Splinters and rocks rained outward.
Everyone froze.
This scene
they'd seen it before.
When the Colossal Titan broke Wall Maria.
Eren instinctively stepped forward, eyes wide.
The entire boat stared at the cloud of smoke.
Sure enough
Within seconds, the mist cleared.
A towering Titan over ten meters tall stood at the gate.
Its body was covered in strange armor plates.
Muscular.
Cold.
Unnatural.
Even its head was encased in armor.
And then
Before anyone could react
Steam erupted from its entire body
and it vanished.
"W-what kind of monster… is that…?"
Armin clutched the railing, trembling.
Eren was pale.
This was different from the original timeline.
Back then, seeing his mother eaten drowned out fear with hatred.
But this time
Carla lived.
There was no festering rage.
Just fear.
He was only ten, after all.
Carla trembled, grabbing Eren's shoulder.
"The inner gate… it's been broken again…?
What else… what else is out there in that world outside…"
Mikasa said nothing.
Her head buried between her knees.
Her emotions hidden from sight.
Just when everyone was staring at the broken gate
THUMP!
A dark figure landed on the boat deck.
On its shoulder
was a child.