Thomas, who had missed every major war Within the Walls, had grown insecure and oversensitive. He believed he had become a burden to the 104th Cadet Corps, the least successful and least noticed of them all.
He kept himself locked in the basement of his home, cut off from the world and refusing to see anyone. He had seen how bright and successful everyone in the 104th Cadet Corps had become, and how Chen Si had always looked after each of them.
Chen Si clearly possessed the ability to heal all things, yet he had never helped restore Thomas's legs. In his insecurity, Thomas believed Chen Si and the others had long since forgotten him.
Over time, his personality had begun to grow twisted and hypersensitive.
But he would never know that while he kept himself locked in the basement, Sasha, Connie, Mina, and Jean had all come to visit him, only to be turned away without seeing him.
Nor would he ever know that after Chen Si gained the ability to transform into the Thunderbolt Titan, the very first light of healing he released had been on the street nearest Thomas.
Waves of fanatical cheering reached Chen Si's ears. Those slogans, supposedly shouted in the name of fighting for all humanity, sounded so bitterly ironic and grating now.
Chen Si walked outside and looked toward the dense crowds in the distance, cheering loudly for Historia's death, Armin's death, and the deaths of everyone who opposed the Yeagerists. A sense of unreality washed over him.
What had he done?
"They became like this under your leadership. You gave them this confidence, and you were the one who instilled this hatred in them," Philia said beside Chen Si.
"What are you talking about?" Chen Si looked down at the girl beside