Rein was stuck in an endless loop.
Over and over, the undercurrent dragged him back to the cave, and the mad dog Titan forced him to jump off the cliff.
He couldn't live. Couldn't die.
It was maddening.
No escape—he had to face it.
On his 35th wake-up in the cave, Rein realized he was out of options. "Face it" was the only path left.
No one could help. The system stayed silent. It was just him.
After a moment's thought, he made a plan with two goals:
Learn to swim, beat the waterfall, break free. Fight the mad dog Titan to the death and win.
Normally, with his rotten luck, picking one would flop.
So this time, he'd do both. They didn't clash.
Decision made, he grabbed his only weapon—a log.
"Mad dog! I'm done with you!"
His hoarse roar echoed into the cave. Soon, the four-legged Titan emerged.
After 30+ "slaughters," it knew Rein well.
Just a weakling!
No need for full effort.
It crouched, growled like a dog, and faked a lunge—enough to scare Rein into the falls.
But this time, Rein didn't back off. He charged with the log.
Wasn't this just a pebble against a boulder?
"Roar!" The mad dog swatted the log away, pinned Rein with its jaws, and flung him into the falls.
"Ahh~"
His scream drowned in the waterfall's roar.
Rein saw it coming. He'd learned this Titan was a beast—fast and strong.
In this cramped cave, he had no chance.
The waterfall's crushing force hit again, knocking him out until he smacked the water.
Swim!
He flailed his clumsy limbs, trying to power through the vortex and end the loop.
But nature's might was insane. The white falls were unstoppable. A mere mortal—what could he do?
First try: failure. He blacked out.
Back to the start—cycle 36 began.
Rein woke, coughed up water, stretched, grabbed a log, and prepped for round two.
"Confucius said reflect daily. Failure's the mother of success. I can't die, infinite lives—scared of a dog?"
He squared up and yelled, "DOG I AM BACK!"
The mad dog came.
Another one-sided beatdown.
Thirty seconds later, Rein screamed into the falls, facing nature again.
His foes were too strong. Winning? Near zero.
This time, he tweaked his swim form. Same result—drowned, out cold.
Cycle 37 started.
Through failure after failure, Rein noticed changes.
He could hold his breath longer. His wounds healed faster. His punches got stronger.
Not enough to escape, but progress.
Progress meant a breakthrough someday. Small steps lead to big leaps.
An eternal truth.
The waterfall's force and the mad dog's power were twin hammers, pounding Rein like raw iron—smashing out impurities, tempering his core.
Each blow reshaped him.
They'd forge a weapon to stun the world!
Cycle 38, 40, 100, 1,000.
The sun rose and set. Stars shifted. Seasons turned on Paradis.
Days rolled by.
845: Colossal and Armored Titans breached Wall Maria. Grisha, spurred by his son, stole the Founding Titan, passed it to Eren with a key. Historia was brought to the royals.
846: A land-reclaim war sent the weak to die against Titans. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, fueled by rage, joined the military.
847: Eren trained as a cadet, vowing to kill all Titans. The hometown trio, failing to find the Founding Titan, went undercover in the cadets.
That year, they first saw Eren.
One night, the trio huddled over a map, whispering about him.
"Annie, is this real? Why grab Eren?" Reiner asked.
"Not sure. It wasn't the warrior chief's order. Before we left, Marley's brass pulled me aside—verbal command only."
"Why just you? Don't they trust us?" Reiner's tone sharpened.
Annie shook her head. "I don't know. Even Marcel didn't hear it. But we agreed—all moves need a three-way vote. They didn't say keep it secret, so I'm telling you."
Bertholdt frowned. "Is Eren the Founding Titan?"
"Not sure," Annie said again. "Doesn't feel right. I've checked—the Founding's likely still with the royals. Only their blood can use it."
They nodded.
"But here's something," Annie added. "Eren's from Shiganshina. His dad's a doctor!"
"No way!" Reiner blurted.
"And his last name—Yeager!"
"Yeager?! Like Zeke, the warrior chief?!" Bertholdt gasped.
"Related to Zeke maybe?" Reiner wondered.
Annie shrugged. "All unclear. Needs more digging."
Silence fell. Then Bertholdt broke it: "Grab him now? We're deep in wall territory—too risky to move."
"Vote it!" Annie raised her hand. "I say grab him!"
"No way," Reiner shot back. "Founding Titan's priority. Side quests don't matter."
"Same," Bertholdt agreed.
"Fine," Annie conceded. "Plan's on hold. But watch him. I'm a girl—can't get close. You two do it."
Meeting done.
Eren had no clue he'd just dodged a ghost gate.