Facing Carla's inquiry, Hannes pointed to Kiyan behind him.
"This outsider's name is Kiyan. He said he had some questions for Dr. Grisha Yeager, so I brought him here."
Hannes observed Carla's expression, then slowly shifted his body, silently positioning himself slightly in front of her. Based on his observation, it was clear Carla did not know Kiyan.
Carla looked at Kiyan, gave a slight bow, and then asked gently, "Sir, may I ask what business you have with my husband?"
Kiyan paused at her question. He hadn't really thought about how to answer. He couldn't just come out and say he wanted to ask how much longer Grisha had to live. In the world of the Titans, there was a division: Pure Titans and the Nine Titans. Pure Titans had no intelligence and only ate people instinctively, but their lifespans were almost eternal. The inheritors of the Nine Titans, however, could wield the Titan power in human form, but they were left with only 13 years to live after inheriting it. If Grisha still had enough time, perhaps his help could change the tragic future of so many. But for now, facing Carla's question, Kiyan could only be evasive.
"It's just a personal matter I'd like to ask Dr. Yeager about."
Hannes watched the increasingly suspicious Kiyan intently, but the kind-hearted Carla didn't read too much into his vague answer.
"I'm very sorry, my husband just left this morning. He has to make a house call within Wall Sina, and I'm not sure when he'll be back."
Grisha went to Wall Sina for a house call? Could it be... is today the day the Colossal Titan breaches the wall? Kiyan immediately negated the thought. Grisha often traveled to see noble patients within Wall Sina to gather intelligence. This piece of information alone wasn't enough to confirm that today was the day Wall Maria would fall.
However, as Kiyan was mulling it over, a sudden thunderbolt gave him the answer. Today was the day the Colossal Titan would breach the wall.
In the plaza, a priest was preaching to the masses, glorifying the greatness of the walls. "The walls were created by the wisdom of God! The walls are a divine symbol! No matter how many Titans attack, the walls will never be scarred!" The priest, holding a book in one hand and raising the other high, proclaimed the sanctity and greatness of the walls. Just then, outside the wall, a bolt of lightning struck from the clear sky. A tremendous crash instantly echoed throughout the entire outer district, followed by a violent tremor that shook the whole town.
People looked toward the source of the sound. They saw a massive, skinless head slowly peering over the top of the wall. The Titan from books and stories had appeared before them for the first time. This Titan's form was far larger than any ordinary Titan; it was even a full head taller than the 50-meter wall. The world seemed to fall silent, as the terror inspired by the colossal creature imprinted itself deep in everyone's hearts.
But something even more terrifying was about to happen. The Colossal Titan radiated intense steam. Its hollow eyes looked down on the outer district as it placed one massive hand on top of the wall. Using the wall for leverage, it slowly raised its right leg.
Boom!
A deafening explosion ripped through the district. The Colossal Titan had kicked a massive hole in the wall. Enormous boulders and a sky-full of dust instantly billowed into the town.
The debris rained down from the sky, carrying immense force. Nearby buildings were instantly obliterated. The entire city plunged into terror. People screamed and fled in all directions. Human order collapsed in an instant.
"Move aside! A child is trapped!" a man roared at the panicked crowd, forcing a path to the boy. The child pinned by the collapsed building was quiet, his face wounded. It seemed only his lower body was stuck. The man quickly rushed forward and pulled at the child, trying to free him. But as he pulled, he realized the child felt far too light. The next moment, terror filled his face. He was holding only the child's upper half. Hellish scenes like this were playing out all over the district.
Yet, the disaster was not over. From the hole kicked by the Colossal Titan, one Pure Titan after another began to walk through. On that day, humanity remembered the terror of being dominated by them.
The moment the Colossal Titan appeared, Kiyan had moved to pull Carla out of the house. In the original story, Carla's house was crushed by debris from the breach. Her lower body was pinned, which ultimately led to her being eaten by Grisha's first wife. This was the first step to changing that future.
But just as Kiyan moved forward, Hannes, who had been wary of him all along, immediately stepped in front of Carla and shoved him away.
Hannes was just about to question Kiyan when a massive boulder fell from the sky, landing precisely on Grisha's house. The building collapsed instantly, and a cloud of dust billowed out, obscuring Kiyan's view.
Was Carla's death unchangeable? In the world of the Titans, there was a special Titan: the Attack Titan. The Attack Titan could access the memories of all its past and future inheritors, forming an information network that transcended time. Eren, possessing the power of the Attack Titan, managed to influence the past by sending memory fragments to Grisha, attempting to alter the future from his position in the present. But seeing the future without being able to break from destiny... this was why Eren later became a slave to freedom. He was even ridiculed as "Director Eren." Kiyan stared at the dust cloud, silent.
Just then, two tense children ran toward the ruins in front of Kiyan. It was the story's protagonists, Eren and Mikasa.
"Mom! Mom!" Eren cried out, scrambling onto the rubble. He stared at the sight in disbelief, then ran toward the debris, digging frantically with his bare hands. Mikasa followed right behind him.
Watching Eren and Mikasa clearing the rubble piece by piece with their hands, Kiyan also walked forward, a stone pickaxe materializing in his grip. Under the swings of his pickaxe, the rubble slowly vanished, turning into a series of item drops.
[Unknown Item]
Kiyan had originally thought digging through the ruins would drop cobblestone or stone bricks, but he never expected to get something like an "Unknown Item." And from what he could tell, Eren and Mikasa couldn't see the drops.
From their perspective, Kiyan just tapped the rubble a few times with a stone pickaxe, and the piles of broken stone and wood simply vanished. The two kids stared at Kiyan as if he were performing magic. They were shocked, but rescuing Carla was more important.
Soon, with Kiyan's help, the figures of Carla and Hannes appeared before the three of them.