CHAPTER 35: THE PRISONER
Zeke sat in chains.
The dungeon beneath the old castle was cold and dark. Perfect for a man who had tried to end his own race.
Hange stood outside the cell, taking notes.
"Fascinating," she muttered. "The cure worked instantly. His Titan powers are gone. He's completely human."
"For now," Sukuna said, walking up behind her.
"What do you mean?"
"The cure isn't permanent. If he injects himself with Titan spinal fluid again, he'll transform back."
Hange's eyes widened.
"Then we need to keep him away from any fluid."
"Or we could just kill him."
Hange looked at him.
"You won't."
"Why not?"
"Because if you wanted him dead, he'd already be dead."
Sukuna entered the cell.
Zeke looked up. His eyes were tired. Broken.
"Come to gloat?"
"Come to talk."
"We have nothing to talk about."
"We have everything to talk about."
Sukuna sat on the floor across from him.
"You wanted to save our people. So did I. Once."
"In another world. Another life."
Zeke tilted his head.
"Another life?"
"I wasn't always Eren. I was someone else. Something else."
"A king. A curse. A monster."
"And now?" Zeke asked.
"Now I'm stuck in this body. This world. This war."
"And you hate it."
"Sometimes."
Zeke laughed. A hollow, broken laugh.
"The great King of Curses, miserable in paradise."
"This isn't paradise. It's a cage."
"All cages are prisons. Some are just prettier than others."
Sukuna was quiet.
Then he said, "I saw Eren. In my dreams."
Zeke's face changed.
"Our brother?"
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
"He asked me to finish what he started. But differently."
"He wanted the Rumbling. The destruction of the world."
"He changed his mind."
Zeke stared at him.
"People don't change."
"I did."
Zeke leaned back against the wall.
"What do you want from me, Sukuna?"
"I want you to help me."
"Help you do what?"
"Help me end the curse. For real. Not with death. Not with sterilization. With freedom."
"That's impossible."
"Nothing is impossible."
Zeke was quiet for a long time.
Then he said, "You're insane."
"Maybe. But I'm not wrong."
Hange entered the cell.
"We have a problem. Marley is sending messengers. They want to negotiate."
"Negotiate what?" Sukuna asked.
"Surrender."
"Our surrender?"
"Theirs."
Sukuna stood up.
"Let them come."
Three days later, the Marleyan delegates arrived.
They were escorted to the old castle. Blindfolded. Silent.
Sukuna sat at the head of the long table.
Mikasa stood behind him. Armin on his right. Hange on his left.
The delegates sat across from them.
"You are Eren Yeager?" the lead delegate asked.
"I am."
"We come to discuss terms."
"There are no terms. You attacked us. You lost. Now you leave."
"It's not that simple," the delegate said.
"It is that simple."
The delegate leaned forward.
"Marley has more soldiers. More Titans. More ships. We can destroy you."
"You can try."
Sukuna stood up.
"I have thousands of Titans inside these walls. I can wake them anytime. I can send them across the ocean. I can crush every city. Kill every soldier. End every life."
"But I won't."
"Because I'm not a monster."
"Not anymore."
The delegates were silent.
"What do you want?" the lead delegate asked.
"Peace. Real peace. Not the kind where one side surrenders. The kind where both sides stop fighting."
"That's impossible. The hatred is too deep."
"Then let the next generation end it. And the one after that. And the one after that."
"Eventually, the hatred will fade. Eventually, the children will forget."
"That's the only cure."
The delegates left.
No agreement. No surrender.
Just silence.
Mikasa stood beside Sukuna.
"They won't accept."
"I know."
"Then why did you try?"
"Because someone has to."
She took his hand.
"You've changed, Sukuna."
"I know."
"Is that bad?"
He looked at her.
"I don't know yet."
That night, Sukuna sat on the roof.
Zeke's words echoed in his mind.
"All cages are prisons. Some are just prettier than others."
He looked at the walls.
"Maybe it's time to let everyone out."
END OF CHAPTER 35