Finale: You and me
The sporadic sounds of gunfire broke the silence of the night. The sudden attack instantly alarmed the two massive war machines of Marley and the Middle East. Large numbers of Soldiers were awakened from their sleep and, under the reprimands of their officers, grabbed their weapons and rushed to the so-called battlefield in a daze.
Meanwhile, a camouflaged military vehicle sped through the woods on the outskirts of Aikent City, its tires spinning rapidly and kicking up clouds of dust. To avoid alerting the Marleyan, the vehicle didn't even turn on its headlights, heading towards the ruins of the Scarlet Base in the dark.
"We've arrived!" Ivanor shouted, and everyone in the back of the vehicle snapped out of their daze and quickly jumped off.
The once vast Scarlet Base is now in ruins. The gap left by the Colossal Titan at the former base gate is still so conspicuous, but through the gate, one can see that the interior of the Scarlet Base has been completely buried by the collapsed mountain.
Annie and the others split up and entered the gates of the Scarlet Base to check the situation. What they saw was a scene of utter chaos and devastation. Some of the wrecked weapons and equipment piled up in the corners had already grown rust. On some of the soft soil, human bones could even be seen protruding from the ground. On the boulders that buried the gates, there were clearly many black marks left by explosions. The air was filled with a strong smell of gunpowder.
It seems that after the war, the Marleyan also tried to explore the ruins of the Scarlet Base, but seeing the still tightly blocked boulders, Marleyan probably didn't gain much and eventually gave up exploring the Scarlet Base. That's why Annie and the others were able to get here so easily.
Annie picked up a piece of rubble, her thin eyebrows furrowing slightly. The Marleyan had failed to open the Scarlet Base, but now it seemed they were helpless. The Titan Power had vanished from their bodies; without the Titan Power, breaking through this passage was simply a pipe dream.
Although the military vehicle carried a lot of Thunder Spear, Annie patted the granite boulder in front of him, thinking that even if they were to use those few Thunder Spear, they probably wouldn't be very effective.
Just as Annie was struggling with her decision, Ivanor's excited voice came from behind them, "Everyone, come quick! Something's up here!"
Once everyone had arrived at Ivanor's side, they could see that there was an inconspicuous, well-disguised steel door on the side of the Scarlet Base's main gate, near the mountain wall.
The steel door was painted with camouflage paint and even covered with moss and vines, making it impossible for anyone to spot the hidden steel door without careful observation.
Ivanor reached out and wiped the spiral handle of the steel door. "This is the emergency escape route of the Scarlet Base. Apart from Ebson's closest confidants, no one knows about this well-hidden passage. The passage is built beneath the base, but if the base collapses, it shouldn't affect the escape route."
After saying that, Ivanor confidently went to pull the door, but an embarrassing thing happened. Even though Ivanor's face turned bright red, the steel door remained unmoved. "Wait! This door is probably just old and in disrepair. Wait a minute! I, I'll try a little harder! Eek! Ouch! Ah!!"
"Iva, don't waste time, move aside a bit." Aili Ivanor was determined to pry open the steel door, and not wanting to delay the rescue of Yago, Ai Li quickly stepped forward and pulled Ivanor aside.
Meanwhile, Mikasa, fully equipped with her Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, had a long, gleaming Thunder Spear already strapped to her arm. She gestured for everyone to make way, and then—whoosh! BOOM!!!
The massive fireball that suddenly exploded instantly engulfed the steel door, and the ground beneath everyone's feet seemed to tremble.
As the smoke cleared, a twisted, charred hole was seen blasted into the once-thick steel door by the Thunder Spear.
"Let's do it!" Reiner and Porco stepped forward, one on each side, and using the opening created by Mikasa's blast, they pulled together. Creak! With a sickeningly loud metallic twisting sound, the hidden escape route of the Scarlet Base was revealed to everyone.
Donning her gear and taking a deep breath, Annie took the lead and was the first to enter the dark escape tunnel. At this moment, her obsession with rescuing Yago had reached its peak.
Mikasa and Eren were at the very back. Before entering the passage, Eren looked thoughtfully in a certain direction. Along the way, Eren's behavior was somewhat unusual. He remained silent for most of the time, often staring blankly in a certain direction. It was probably only Mikasa who noticed Eren's abnormality.
Faced with Mikasa's concern, Eren simply smiled and squeezed Mikasa's hand to indicate that he was fine, but in reality, he couldn't tell Mikasa about his worries.
"Going to rescue Yago now has an uncertain success rate. In fact, according to Yago's original plan, if you seal the Titan Power, then neither the Founding Titan Hallucigenia will be able to cause any more trouble as Yago seals himself away."
Without the Titan Power, but relying on the situation the Eldians have built up and their technological means, we Eldians will most likely have a very bright future. This is Fate. The Fate that Yago has laid out for you, for Paradis Island, and for the Eldians may be the best Fate. And the price to pay for this is only Yago himself.
Even so, do you still want to save Yago? Eren, you've seen my past, you should know that the Founding Titan Power, or rather, the power of that Hallucigenia, might truly be described as godlike. No one knows what it will do after being unsealed. It might even be able to instantly alter the consciousness of all Eldians. At that time, everything now might vanish, and the Fate that Yago has paved for you might be destroyed in an instant."
Eren recalled that conversation again. The day before the Titan Power disappeared, he saw that "dejected" version of himself again in the Paths, the version of himself who claimed to be from another Fate Line. The same Eren, the same appearance, the same eyes, but a different look in his eyes.
"You are me, so you should know what choice I would make, right? Besides, if you really didn't want me to save Yago, you wouldn't have appeared in front of me, would you? I can feel your heart. Don't worry, your tragedy will not happen again. Yago's Fate is in our hands now." After saying these words, Eren saw the "himself" opposite him show a satisfied and gratified expression.
"I need your help with something else: rescuing Yago. Your strength alone isn't enough. Before the Titan Power completely disappears, we need to seize the opportunity and make all the necessary arrangements," Big Eren said truthfully.
Eren: "What do you need me to do?"
Big Eren: "Let's temporarily merge our souls into one and fool the Hallucigenia!"
Turning his gaze away, Eren (the Big Eren) gripped Mikasa's hand tightly. "Fate, no matter what, Yago, you will always be free."