Eren's breath was still ragged when the mist thickened again, swirling like a living thing. The battlefield beneath him solidified, shifting from scorched rock to cracked, frost-covered stone. The air turned frigid, and his sword felt heavier in his grip.
Then, a figure emerged from the mist.
At first, all Eren could see was the silhouette—a tall, imposing warrior, armored and battle-worn. But as the fog thinned, his heart clenched.
Jace.
The man before him was no stranger. He had fought beside him, bled with him. In another life. Another cycle.
Jace's armor was different from before—darker, its once-polished steel tainted with eerie, pulsating veins of blue energy. His face, half-hidden beneath a battle-worn helmet, was cold. Empty.
But the worst part? Jace recognized him.
"You again," Jace murmured, his voice carrying both exhaustion and something far worse—resignation. His blade, longer and heavier than Eren's, pulsed with the same strange energy. "I told you before, Eren. There's no escaping this."
Eren's grip tightened on his sword. His memories were fractured, incomplete, but this moment—he had lived this before.
He swallowed hard. "Jace… You don't have to do this."
Jace exhaled, almost like he was amused. "I told you that last time, too."
And then he attacked.
Eren barely raised his sword in time before Jace was on him. Their blades met in a burst of sparks, the impact jolting through Eren's arms. Jace was stronger. Faster. His movements were sharp, practiced—he wasn't holding back.
Eren ducked, sidestepped, but Jace was relentless. Every strike drove him backward, forcing him toward the edge of the battlefield. A deep, jagged ravine had formed behind him, ice-covered and treacherous. One misstep, and he'd fall into the abyss.
Jace didn't give him time to think. He lunged, his sword flashing. Eren twisted at the last second, the blade slicing past his ribs—too close. Too close.
Pain flared through his side, but Eren didn't stop. He forced himself forward, locking blades with Jace in a desperate clash. Their faces were inches apart now.
And for the briefest moment, Eren saw it.
A flicker in Jace's cold expression. A hint of something buried beneath the surface. Regret.
Eren's mind raced. He remembers. Not everything. Not fully. But something inside Jace knew this wasn't right.
This was his chance.
Gritting his teeth, Eren shoved Jace back and forced his voice through the chaos. "Jace—listen to me! You know this isn't real! We don't have to fight!"
Jace hesitated. A fraction of a second. But in the Crucible, that was all it took.
The ground beneath them rumbled. The arena wasn't going to allow hesitation. Cracks spread like veins through the ice. The battlefield was shifting again.
Jace's expression hardened. He clenched his jaw, shaking his head. "You still don't understand, do you?"
He lifted his sword, energy surging through it. This wasn't just a battle anymore. This was a final stand.
Eren's pulse pounded. His muscles ached, his body begged for rest. But he couldn't stop.
Because this time, he wasn't just fighting to survive. He was fighting to save Jace.