"Child… fate… come back…"
An unknown call kept echoing in Yago's ears, yet Yago's heart was filled with fear.
"I'm clearly inside Ymir's memories—why is there a voice calling me?" Yago realized that something was definitely wrong.
Fortunately, the surrounding scene quickly shattered, breaking into countless points of light.
...
A brand-new power surged into Yago's body. The sensation was familiar—Yago immediately knew the source of this power.
"Jaw Titan?"
His tightly shut eyes opened. The first thing that entered Yago's sight was Annie's face, her eyes closed, looking slightly tired.
His body felt somewhat sore, but he could clearly sense his strength slowly returning.
Yago realized he was lying on a bed and struggled a bit as he propped himself up.
Annie was sitting by the head of the bed, one hand supporting her forehead as she slept lightly. He didn't know how long he had been unconscious, but Annie seemed to have stayed by his side the whole time. That girl really made one's heart ache—Yago sighed inwardly.
Perhaps Yago's movement was too big, or perhaps Annie slept too lightly. In any case, under Yago's gaze—
Annie's eyelids trembled slightly, her eyelashes fluttered, and then she slowly opened her eyes, revealing a pair of pale blue eyes still a little dazed.
Just-awakened Annie was somewhat groggy, but once her focus sharpened, she saw Yago smiling as he stared at her.
"Yago, you're finally awake!" Annie exclaimed in delight. Then, for some reason, she suddenly threw herself at Yago.
Yago was startled. He had never imagined Annie would be this proactive one day, but he still caught her steadily, the two of them holding each other tightly.
"I'm sorry, Annie, for making you worry," Yago said gently.
"Don't be so impulsive again in the future. Promise me."
Holding Annie close, the girl's faint fragrance drifted into his nose, making Yago feel a little lightheaded.
Unfortunately, the good moment didn't last long before it was shattered.
With a loud crack, the door was shoved open rather roughly.
Yago swore that he had never hated a one-meter-six Levi Squad Leader as much as he did at this very moment.
When Levi's expressionless face appeared from behind the door, Yago truly wanted to transform into a Titan on the spot and give the Squad Leader a solid slap.
A slight struggle still couldn't stop Annie from leaving his embrace. After all, Annie couldn't bring herself to hug Yago so intimately in front of so many people.
Yes—so many people. Behind Levi were the new recruits.
Levi ignored Yago's resentful glare and said flatly,
"We heard a shout from the room and came in. Didn't expect you'd already recovered."
Yago replied irritably, "How thoughtful of you, Squad Leader. How long was I unconscious?"
"A little over eight hours."
"So long already…" Yago pondered briefly.
"Can you still move? We're basically fugitives now. The entire Trost District is hunting us down—of course, that includes you," Levi gave a brief rundown of the situation.
Yago said, "Is that so? Looks like we're in pretty bad shape. By the way, where's Ymir?"
"She overexerted herself and passed out. It's really strange—she's a Titan too, so why is her recovery ability so poor?" Levi couldn't help but complain for once.
"Not everyone can control Titan power. Ymir is no exception," Yago answered honestly.
Levi neither confirmed nor denied it. He said nothing. Behind him, the new recruits were looking at Yago, all of them seeming hesitant, as if they wanted to speak but stopped themselves.
It seemed his companions had many questions.
After exchanging a few more words with Levi, Levi took the new recruits and left. After all, Yago had just awakened.
Yago picked up the clothes and jacket by the bed and put them on unhurriedly.
The Titan power inside his body was constantly repairing his injuries. The main damage was from taking those artillery shells head-on.
Most importantly, Yago had gained an enhancement from the Jaw Titan's power.
That's right—just like last time, Yago once again received a boost from a sentient Titan's power. Last time, it was Annie's Female Titan power; this time, it was Ymir's Jaw Titan power.
Yago quickly linked these two events together.
Raising his hand, Yago looked at his palm, as if he could see the Titan power within his body through it.
Yago had seen Annie's and Ymir's memories, so he naturally knew that inheriting a sentient Titan's power required the next inheritor to turn into a Pure Titan and then devour the previous holder.
But what kind of situation was he in?
Yago was very clear that he had definitely obtained the Female Titan power and the Jaw Titan power.
Before receiving the Female Titan enhancement, the Fate Titan was absolutely no match for the enhanced version.
What was strange was that although Yago had gained the Female Titan power, Annie hadn't lost anything—she could still transform into the Female Titan.
For now, it was unclear what kind of enhancement the Jaw Titan would bring to the Fate Titan, but Yago felt certain it wouldn't be weak.
And Ymir probably hadn't lost the Jaw Titan power either.
"How miraculous. Looks like there are still many secrets behind the Fate Titan," Yago murmured.
Thinking back on the past, Yago realized that if he really wanted to trace where these two powers came from—
He recalled what he had done before gaining them.
Saving Annie from the mouth of a five-meter-class Titan, and saving Ymir from fixed artillery fire.
At the time, both Annie and Ymir had suffered heavy injuries—Annie lost an arm, and Ymir was covered in blood.
So Yago's gaze sharpened. Blood?
Gaining a sentient Titan's power from the blood of a sentient Titan holder?
At present, Yago felt this was the most likely possibility.
At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder: right now he had obtained the Female Titan power and the Jaw Titan power—what would happen if he obtained the powers of other sentient Titans?
Yago swallowed. Better not think about such unrealistic things for now. Even this idea was just a hypothesis.
There were far more pressing matters that needed his attention.
As Levi had just said, their situation wasn't good at all.
No matter what, Yago still resolved to help the Squad Leader and the others, because the current royal government was visibly useless.
Didn't they know that beyond the island there were Marley and other countries watching, eager for the Eldians' extinction?
Yago didn't know. But on this island, there were still many people and things worth protecting.
With that thought, Yago's gaze grew firmer as he pushed open the door.
There would be plenty of trouble ahead. Besides the royal government, there were also several troublesome opponents outside the walls.
"Zeke, will you come join the fun?" Yago looked toward the distant, faint outline of Wall Rose.