The City Falls

Yago arrived at the market and headed straight for Aunt Mary's egg stall. "Aunt Mary! Ten eggs, please!"

Aunt Mary, who wore a headscarf, smiled when she saw him. "Oh, little Yago! Buying eggs again?" In just over ten days, Yago had gotten to know most of the stallholders in this little market. He had a sweet tongue and could make himself at home with anyone. To use an expression from his memories, he was a socializing beast.

Everyone at the market enjoyed having such a lively little fellow around. Yago was always eager to help, too, often doing small favors like tallying accounts or moving things. And sure enough, he was quick and accurate with numbers, and much stronger than other children his age.

After packing his eggs, Aunt Mary slipped in an extra one. Yago promptly buttered her up, telling her how much younger she looked, and had her chuckling happily.

Back home, the eleven eggs soon became delicious sponge cakes in Aunt Lucia's deft hands.

Lucia packed plenty of cakes into a wicker basket and asked Yago to share them with the neighbors. Dr. Grisha's family lived very close by, and there were two children in his household who were Yago's age: Eren and Mikasa.

As luck would have it, those were the two children Yago had seen that day when the Survey Corps returned.

Eren was a hot-blooded boy who dreamed of joining the Survey Corps and exploring the world beyond the walls. Mikasa was a little girl who had eyes only for Eren and never wanted him to suffer the slightest harm.

Their shared interest in the Survey Corps soon made Eren and Yago friends. Before long, Mikasa and their friend Armin joined them, and the four grew close as they played together.

After delivering cakes to several neighbors, Yago soon reached Dr. Grisha's house. The doctor seemed to be heading out to see patients, and Eren's mother, Carla, was outside with Eren and Mikasa to see him off.

Dr. Grisha spotted Yago as well and asked with a smile, "Yago? Have you come to play with Eren and Mikasa?"

Yago lifted the basket. "Aunt Lucia asked me to bring everyone some sponge cakes to try."

"Thank you so much."

After saying goodbye to Dr. Grisha, Yago walked toward Eren's house. Eren seemed to be arguing with his mother about something. Then he spotted Yago and hurried over, urgency written all over his face. "Yago! You're just in time! Tell me, isn't spending your whole life inside the walls like livestock the stupidest thing of all?"

"Huh? Eren, what are you talking about? Isn't it pretty safe inside the walls?" Yago looked utterly confused. Eren's face said, I thought you understood me, but you betrayed me. He left Yago behind and charged into an alley with his head down.

Yago approached Aunt Carla, who was asking Mikasa to look after Eren. When she saw him, she said, "Oh, Yago. I'm so sorry you had to see Eren acting like that."

"It's all right, Aunt Carla. Aunt Lucia made these sponge cakes." After handing the basket to Carla, Yago went with Mikasa to find Eren.

They finally found Eren at the entrance to a small alley. He was facing off against several children who looked a few years older than him. Beside him stood a blond boy who looked as though he had been bullied-their friend, Armin.

At first, the bullies looked smug when they saw Eren alone. Wasn't he just asking for a beating? But when they spotted Mikasa and Yago behind him, their confidence vanished. "It's Mikasa! And that freakishly strong brat! Run!"

The boys fled in fright. They had already experienced Mikasa's terrifying fighting ability firsthand. As for Yago, a few days earlier, they had thought he would be easy to pick on. Instead, the kid had turned out to be astonishingly strong, knocking them down with one punch apiece. He also knew some strange moves that hurt like hell.

As the boys ran for their lives, Eren thought he had scared them off himself. Excited, he told Mikasa, "They ran as soon as they saw me."

Armin, still on the ground, promptly burst his bubble. "Mikasa and Yago scared them off, didn't they?"

Yago helped Armin to his feet. "Are you all right, Armin?"

"I'm fine."

After chatting for a while, Yago said goodbye. He was going to church with Aunt Lucia that afternoon.

Time flew, and evening soon arrived. The setting sun painted all of Shiganshina District red, and Yago and Lucia were nearly home.

Yago carried the grocery basket as he walked beside Lucia.

"Strange. Why do I keep feeling so uneasy?" Yago pressed a hand to his chest, his heart filled with an inexplicable dread.

Lucia seemed to notice something was wrong and asked with concern, "What is it, Yago? Are you feeling unwell? Give me the basket."

"It's nothing, Aunt Lucia. I'm fine. Just a little hungry." Yago scratched his head.

"All right. I'll make you something nice when we get home," Lucia said with a smile.

Crack! A tremendous crash rang out, and the earth shook. Lucia and Yago lost their footing and fell to the ground.

Yago looked up. Their street was very close to the wall. His eyes widened, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably. Above the fifty-meter wall, an enormous head had appeared-a Titan's head that looked as though its skin had been peeled away.

"A Titan?!"

Elsewhere, Eren and his two friends stared at the Titan's head in shock. A fragment of memory suddenly flashed through Eren's mind. He looked up and said anxiously, "That Titan... is it going to destroy the wall?"

At that moment, outside Shiganshina District, the Colossal Titan, towering over sixty meters tall, lifted his foot and viciously kicked the district's gate.

The normally impregnable gate was as flimsy as paper before the Titan. In the blink of an eye, his kick tore a massive breach through it!

Countless rocks rained down into the district. At the same time, innumerable Titans poured through the breach the Colossal Titan had opened. Humanity's nightmare had arrived!

Huge clouds of steam rose around the Colossal Titan, and in an instant, he vanished without a trace.

On that day, humanity remembered the terror of being ruled by Titans.

"Oh no! That's where my house is! Mom's still home!" Eren desperately shoved through the panicked crowd and ran toward where the rocks had fallen. Mikasa immediately chased after him.

"Eren!" Armin cried anxiously, but countless civilians fleeing for their lives swept him along, leaving him unable to break free.

Everyone fled in panic. A priest in clerical robes stood on a raised platform, shouting that this was God's punishment upon humanity. Unfortunately for him, a Titan snatched him up a moment later. Needless to say, blood splattered everywhere.

"Aunt Lucia! Watch out!" Yago's eyes nearly burst from their sockets. He threw himself forward and shoved the stunned Lucia aside as a rock the size of a millstone hurtled toward them.

Lucia was pushed clear, but the massive rock struck Yago. Its momentum drove him deep into the wall of a house. Yago coughed up a great mouthful of blood. He could no longer feel anything below his waist.

Lucia snapped out of her shock with a scream and threw herself down beside Yago. She frantically clawed at the rock with her hands, trying to free him. Tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes. "Yago! Don't be scared! Mommy's here! I'll get you out, I promise!"

In her desperation, Lucia blurted out what was in her heart. She had long since come to think of Yago as her own child.

"Mommy? Cough, cough... Do I have a mommy now, too?" Yago said with difficulty. Though he could feel his life slipping away, his heart was filled with joy.

"ROAR!!!"