Mona's voice trembled slightly, though she tried to steady herself, forcing a calm mask onto her features.
"Your dad, Zack, went to the meeting. But Eren… can I tell you something? You won't mind, right?"
Eren hesitated, his jaw tight, his entire body weighed down by an invisible burden. His reply came soft, almost trembling:
"Yes, Mom… say it."
Her eyes welled with unshed tears. The love of a mother burned in her gaze, yet it was laced with the raw sting of betrayal. She whispered with a broken heart:
"Eren… you are like my son. But you hurt Levi… didn't you?"
The words struck like a blade, cutting deeper than steel. Eren's chest tightened, his lips trembled, his heartbeat thundered in his ears. Tears blurred his vision.
"Mama… I'm sorry. Levi's condition… it's because of me. If I hadn't said all those things, maybe—"
He broke off, his voice crumbling into silence.
Mona reached across, gently interrupting, her voice painful yet soothing, a bittersweet mixture only a mother could wield.
"I don't need to know every detail. I only want this—don't hurt each other again. You two are not enemies… you're my soulmates."
Her words pierced his guilt. Eren bowed his head, a single tear sliding down his cheek.
"Okay, Mom…"
But before he could breathe another word, Mona's phone rang. The sharp chime shattered the fragile moment.
Her eyes flicked to the glowing screen. Master.
All color drained from her face. Her fingers trembled violently as she reached for the device. Fear carved deep lines across her features, and her voice cracked with urgency.
"Eren… go! Calm Levi down immediately. I'll… I'll be right back."
Something unfamiliar and suffocating crept into the room—an icy fear that coiled around Eren's chest. His mind spun with questions. Why did she react like that? Why does this call terrify her?
Mona pressed the phone to her ear, her hands shaking so hard she could barely hold it. Her lips quivered.
"Yes… Master…"
The voice on the other end was cold, sharp, like a dagger scraping bone.
"Keep Eren Yeager away from Tang Sun Moon at all costs. If he gets close, everything will collapse. Then neither you nor I can hide your secret for long."
Before Mona could form a reply, the line went dead.
Her hands slipped limply to her lap, the phone almost sliding from her fingers. The words echoed endlessly in her mind, suffocating her. She whispered to herself, voice brittle and terrified:
"Who… who is Tang Sun Moon?"
Snapping back to reality, she typed frantically to her manager:
Find out immediately who Tang Sun Moon really is. Where he came from. Everything.
Meanwhile, Levi's room had transformed into chaos incarnate.
Glass shattered. Furniture cracked against the walls. A clock spun wildly before slamming to the ground. Levi's fury erupted like a storm, unrestrained, merciless. He slammed his fist into the TV, shattering the screen into a spiderweb of broken pixels. Then came the mirror—a violent punch tore through it, glass shards raining across the floor.
His fists bled, crimson streaks mixing with jagged shards, staining the floor in a dark sheen.
Eren pushed the door open and froze. His breath caught at the sight—the broken room, the blood dripping freely, the man at the center of destruction.
"Levi…" he whispered, heart pounding.
Slamming the door shut, he locked it from the inside, shielding Levi from any outside interference. His voice trembled with fear.
"What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?"
Levi didn't even glance at his bloodied hands. Another punch—another crash of glass, another spurt of blood.
"Stop it, Levi!" Eren rushed forward, grabbing his wrists, his own hands trembling as blood smeared against his palms. His voice cracked with desperation.
"Please… stop! Look at your hand—you'll destroy yourself!"
Levi's eyes burned red, fury laced with something far more fragile—anguish. His body trembled, his restraint unraveling. In a violent motion, he gripped Eren's collar and slammed him against the wall.
His voice thundered, terrifying yet drenched in pain.
"Shut up! Don't say another word—or I'll do something you can't imagine!"
Eren gasped, his lips trembling.
"L-Levi… your hand… it's bleeding too much. We need to stop the blood… or you'll—"
Levi's grip faltered. His eyes flickered, rage colliding with heartbreak. With a guttural cry, he released Eren and punched the wall instead, blood splattering across broken shards.
Then his voice shattered.
"I'm going to die… Eren… please, stop me. I'm losing my mind. Take care of me…"
Eren's chest tightened painfully. He could barely breathe.
"What happened, Levi? Please… tell me."
Levi's tears overflowed, his sobs raw and unrestrained.
"Eren… don't leave me. Don't abandon me!"
His body shook violently. He grabbed Eren again, this time by the throat, pressing him hard against the wall. His voice rasped, desperate, suffocating:
"No medicine, no bandage… nothing can heal me anymore. The only cure I want… is you."
And then Levi's control broke entirely.
He pulled Eren close, their lips crashing together in a bruising, desperate kiss. Blood mingled between them, metallic and bitter. A soft bite followed, and Levi's tears streamed down his cheeks.
"Oh, Ren Yeager…" he whispered brokenly, between sobs.
"You are my Leviathan. My breath. Let me live… even if it's just this moment."
Eren's entire body stiffened in shock. Anger flared, confusion warred inside him—but slowly, his resistance melted. His heart thudded violently. He kissed Levi back, but his voice was still trembling with worry.
"Your lips are bleeding… your hand—let me treat it."
Eren pulled away, rushing to grab ointment and bandages. His hands trembled as he cleaned Levi's wounds, wrapping them gently.
Levi's eyes stayed locked on him, tears streaming. His voice came out hoarse and broken.
"This pain… it's nothing. The real pain is what you've given me."
Eren froze. His brows knitted together.
"I never hurt you. I would never…"
But Levi shook his head violently, his sobs growing louder, his body trembling.
"Didn't you think, Eren? Don't you know what you did to me?"
Eren clasped his bandaged hand softly, eyes burning with confusion.
"If I hurt you… then punish me. But please, tell me what my sin is."
Levi's chest heaved, every word choked with heartbreak.
"Why, Eren… why did you choose Tang Sun Moon? Don't you know? I can't see you with anyone else. I'd rather die. But you… you hurt me intentionally…"
The room seemed to suffocate with their words. Blood, tears, heartbreak—everything hung in the air like shards of broken glass, impossible to escape.
And in that suffocating silence, only their ragged breaths remained...