Year 850 — The Day the Gates Fell
The sirens screamed.
The sky turned red with fire.
And the world broke again.
From the southern gate of Trost, Titans poured in — dozens, shambling, grinning, hungry. Civilians scattered. Soldiers scrambled. The cadets — still green, barely trained — were told to hold the line.
Cael Richter stood frozen on the wall as the gate shattered below, his eyes locked on the Colossal Titan vanishing into steam. Everything felt distant. Dull. Like sound couldn't reach him anymore.
But then came the screaming.
And Cael moved.
⚔️ The First Kill
ODM gear hissed as Cael launched into the air, flying over rooftops and smoke. The streets were a hellscape of collapsed stone and blood. A 7-meter Titan loomed ahead, tearing into a home with a woman still inside.
Cael didn't hesitate.
He shot past the Titan's hand, curved around its back, and looped upward. The sunlight caught his blades as he twisted mid-air, dragging both steel edges across the Titan's neck.
A clean slice. Too clean.
The Titan fell. Steam hissed from its nape.
Cael landed in the center of the street. Chest rising and falling. Blades dripping.
And then he saw the face.
The Titan's face had his father's eyes.
He stared. Trembled.
Didn't breathe.
Didn't move.
🩸 Collapse and Clarity
It took Armin to pull him out of it.
"Cael! Move! Another one's coming!"
He turned, slow. Disoriented. The next Titan was charging.
And then — a blur of black scarf and red steel.
Mikasa.
She soared in from above, blades out, and decapitated the Titan in one swift arc. Steam exploded around her as she landed beside him.
"You froze," she said. Not angry. Just stating the fact.
"I know," he muttered. "I saw… someone. In the Titan."
Mikasa didn't question him. She didn't call him crazy.
She just stood there, quietly, her eyes softer than usual.
"I saw my mother die in front of me," she said. "I still see her."
A beat passed.
"Does it get easier?" Cael asked.
"No," Mikasa said. "But you get faster. Or you die."
Then she offered her hand.
He took it.
💥 Cadet Chaos
They regrouped with Jean, Connie, and Sasha in a ruined alley.
Eren had gone missing. The plan was falling apart. People were dying.
"Where the hell is Jaeger?" Jean shouted.
"Gone. We saw his squad get wiped," Armin said, voice cracking.
The silence that followed said it all.
Even so — they had to move.
The gas was low. Morale even lower.
But Cael stood, reloaded his blades, and looked toward the next street over.
"There are survivors in that bell tower," he said.
Jean stared. "And? You want to play hero?"
"No," Cael replied, calm and cold. "I want to win. Saving them gives us height. Gas. Cover. Otherwise, we're just waiting to be eaten."
Mikasa stepped forward.
"He's right. Let's go."
No one argued.
Not when they saw Cael's eyes — no longer dazed.
Now focused. Like a blade finally unsheathed.
🌑 Later – Dusk
The sun dipped behind the smoke as the cadets regrouped atop a burned-out chapel.
They'd saved five civilians. Replenished gas. Held the line. Just barely.
As they rested, Mikasa sat beside Cael. Neither said anything for a while.
Then she asked: "Why do you fight?"
Cael looked out toward the broken rooftops, smoke curling into the dying light.
"To make sure it ends with me."
"What ends?"
He paused.
"The screaming."
Mikasa didn't speak. But for the first time, she looked at someone who might've understood her in a way even Eren never could.
Quiet. Resolved. Dangerous not because of power—but because of will.
End of Chapter 2