The sky was dark, as if the night had stubbornly refused to leave, even though the world claimed it was morning.
The streets of the lower district bled with mud and rainwater, remnants of last night's storm. The walls, soaked and cold, stood as silent witnesses to a chill so sharp it seemed to carve through stone itself.
In one of the shadowed alleyways, buried beneath the stench of rot and smoke, Eren lay sprawled across a pile of tattered cloth.
It wasn't unusual for him to wake up there — the streets had been his home ever since the world spat him out years ago. But last night... last night had been different.
Something had happened.
Something strange.
Something unforgettable.
He jolted awake, gasping for air, his body drenched in cold sweat as if he'd been pulled from deep waters.
His eyes searched the gray skies for even a flicker of light, but found only heavy clouds — thick and suffocating, like prison bars holding the sun captive.
With a trembling hand, he reached for his chest...
and felt it.
It wasn't a scar.
It wasn't a wound.
It was something else entirely.
Intricate lines, woven into his skin, pulsing faintly like a second heart living beneath the flesh.
Every time his fingers brushed against it, a strange warmth crept into his veins, and soft, indecipherable whispers echoed in his head — a language he didn't understand, yet somehow felt... familiar.
Forcing himself to stand, his legs barely held him upright. The freezing cold had vanished, replaced by a warmth that felt nothing like sunlight.
No — this was a warmth that belonged to hell.
A black cat crossed his path, pausing mid-step to stare at him with glowing yellow eyes.
It growled, low and sharp, before darting away into the mist, leaving behind an oppressive silence.
Eren had no way of knowing —
that moment had marked the beginning of the end.
A heavy set of footsteps broke the stillness.
Eren turned sharply, his eyes locking onto a tall shadow emerging from the end of the alley.
A stranger — bearded, dressed in a long black coat, with eyes that gleamed like sharpened blades beneath the brim of his hat.
"I've finally found you..."
The man's voice was cold, devoid of emotion.
"The mark never lies. Your blood belongs to us now."
Eren didn't understand the words, but instinct took over.
He ran. He didn't look back.
Every part of him screamed the same command: Run!
But with every turn, every alley, every street — the city seemed to close in around him, like a living creature trapping its prey.
The city he once believed to be dead...
had finally opened its eyes.
And the hunt had begun.