— The Unkillable Nadia —
They had barely stepped out of the choking black fog when Eren froze.
A figure was walking toward them from the crowd.
That face—exquisite, coldly beautiful, long lashes, the teardrop mole beneath her right eye, the flawless, seductive makeup...
It was identical.
It was Nadia.
The same Nadia who had just died inside the fog.
Eren's heart lurched violently.
A chilling suspicion sliced through him.
"What kind of monster are you," he snarled, voice sharp as a blade, "to dare wear Nadia's face? Show your true form!"
Before the others could react, silken threads whipped from his sleeves, coiling around the woman's slender throat.
"A pathetic trick," Eren hissed, yanking hard.
"Eren, WAIT—!" Cael's warning came too late.
A soft, sickening snick—
Nadia's head slid cleanly off.
Eren started to smirk—then his expression shattered.
The headless body didn't fall.
A hand calmly lifted the severed head and pressed it back into place.
Flesh fused, skin smoothed—perfect, seamless—within seconds.
"You... You..." Eren staggered back, numb with terror. Reason broke apart in his mind. Not even everything he'd seen lately prepared him for this.
"C-Cael!" he choked. "Now! Kill it! It's a monster!"
He moved to strike again—but Cael seized his arm.
"Calm down, you idiot! That IS Commander Nadia!"
"What?" Eren whipped around, panic twisting his face. He kicked Cael away instinctively. "Then YOU'RE fake too! When were you replaced?"
He backed off, breath ragged. Sweat drenched his spine.
"Damn it, we grew up sharing the same diapers!" Cael snapped, scrambling upright. "Need proof? Remember Miss Isabella? How we peeked at her bathing? And how you'd always—"
"SHUT UP!" Eren lunged to slap a hand over Cael's mouth, face blazing red. "I believe you! You're the real Cael!"
The group stared at him—wide-eyed, extremely entertained.
"T-That was all Cael!" Eren sputtered. "Nothing to do with me!"
Cael rolled his eyes. "Please. You were worse than me."
Eren coughed violently to change the subject, trembling finger pointing at Nadia. "But she—her head came off—"
"Pfft—" Rowan snorted, unable to hold it in.
Cael pinched the bridge of his nose. "You seriously didn't notice? Both times Nadia 'died,' there wasn't a single drop of blood."
The realization hit Eren like a hammer.
He hadn't noticed.
Nadia finally spoke, her tone calm and cool.
"There is no need for panic. This is merely my Gift."
"Your... Gift?" Eren murmured. Returning from decapitation?
That wasn't a Gift—that was a divine cheat.
Just what kind of monster organization was the Vigil-Wyrm Order?
"Commander Nadia, I—I apologize, I didn't mean to—"
"It is of no consequence," she said. "Vigilance is a virtue."
Then, without missing a beat:
"Eren, since you can absorb Shadow-taint, Carlos will be your responsibility now."
— Dragged Back from the Abyss —
Eren nodded and pressed his palm to Carlos's belly, channeling his internal energy.
The Lumin & Umbra sigil in his mind spun; black tendrils wound out of Carlos like smoke being pulled from a wound. The inky stain receded from his eyelids and lips; the crimson in his hair bled back to jet black.
Eren withdrew his hand. Carlos still looked pale and weak, but the oppressive aura was gone.
A flare of golden light lit Cael's eyes. "His life-flame's back! You dragged him through, Eren!"
Eren shot him a flat look. "'Dragged him through'? Try a less dramatic phrase."
Carlos groaned, reached for the sock shoved in his mouth and spat. "Who stuffed a stinking sock in me?" He pushed himself up, rubbing his jaw and glaring around.
"Nadia," she said, voice leveling, "report what you experienced in the Black Fog." Her tone was businesslike—calm, precise.
Carlos blinked, dazed. Fear, manic joy, then shame flashed across his face before resignation settled in.
"Commander Nadia, I deserve death!" He dropped to one knee. "I raised my blade against comrades—judge me."
"The Shadow-taint twisted your will," Nadia answered, steady. "Do not drown in false guilt. But remember: the Vigil-Wyrm practices mercy within law. Err again, and mercy ends."
"Understood. Thank you, Commander." Carlos's voice trembled with relief and gratitude.
Eren watched, approving inwardly. An order that tempered firmness with compassion—one he could believe in.
— Survivor of the Black Fog —
"Now," Nadia said, "tell us everything you saw and heard inside the fog."
Carlos inhaled deeply, the last tremor of terror in his eyes. "We entered as a three-man squad. First came puppets—easy to handle. A second wave hit harder, but still manageable. Then... something changed. After clearing those puppets, we turned on each other."
He closed his eyes, pain folding his features. "Just as we were about to finish each other, Captain Olga snapped back and pulled us apart. The fog split us. I wandered, and bit by bit I lost myself."
His fists curled white. "The more shadow energy I absorbed, the stronger I grew—while bloodlust and madness gnawed at my mind. I saw townspeople consumed, walking empty. I saw fallen Vigil-wyrms—many far stronger than I. I was among the weakest."
His voice shook. "The beasts were worse—pigs, dogs, cattle, sheep—savage beyond reason. That was only the outer ring. Deeper in, the puppets grow stronger, crueler. To purge the fog... I fear—"
He left the sentence unfinished; the look on his face said the rest.
Nadia's voice sharpened. "Our fallen—are they still alive?"
Carlos thought hard. "I can't be certain. But from what I sensed, survival is likely."
"That is enough," she said, easing. "If they live, they can be retrieved."
Eren seized the moment. "Do you know the fog's source?"
The question landed like a hammer. All eyes fixed on Carlos.
He shook his head. "I don't know the exact location. But it's deeper at the center—the Yin-shadow purer, denser toward the core."
Eren's brow tightened. "Then what about an aerial insertion? A helicopter drop into the center—faster than slogging through the edges. The fog spans hundreds of kilometers; we need speed."
"Impossible." Nadia's veto was immediate. "Probes show the airspace above the fog is a dead zone. Birds, insects—anything passing through the sky perishes. Magnetic fields scramble; a helicopter would crash long before the core. That plan won't work."
Eren exhaled, a tight sound. "Then we have no choice but to push in—step by step—into the depths."