Although Eren couldn't understand how Byakuya managed to pull it off…
What he could understand was that his entire plan had just been completely shattered.
"Brother, let's go back..."
Eren spoke in a calm, detached tone to Zeke, as if nothing earth-shattering had just occurred.
"Wait! Don't you want to figure out what the hell that guy is?!"
Zeke was already losing it, visibly shaken and emotionally unstable.
"You've lost your composure. We can't even communicate with him. How exactly do you plan to get answers?"
Eren remained perfectly composed.
"..."
Zeke's mouth hung open, too stunned to reply. His expression was still locked in disbelief.
Only after Eren's words sank in did he realize how unhinged he'd gotten.
"There's no point watching the rest of these memories. Let's just head back."
Eren reminded him again, his tone even and final.
"Alright..."
Zeke reluctantly agreed. Eren had a point.
In the next instant, the two returned to the Paths — the timeless, otherworldly space between reality and memory. Behind them stood the silent figure of Ymir, the Founder, holding her wooden pail of sand.
At the far end of the Paths, the massive pillar of light that connected heaven and earth — the Coordinate — shimmered as usual.
But before either Eren or Zeke could react, something strange happened.
The Paths disappeared.
Just like that — gone.
The Founding, the Coordinate, all of it vanished without a trace.
And then, they were back—intact, unharmed, but standing once again within the walls of Paradis Island.
Only, things were different now.
Everything around them had changed from the world they once knew.
Eren could feel it immediately — his Titan powers had completely vanished.
…
Byakuya, unaware that future Eren and Zeke had already left, said nothing more. He had already said all he needed to. If Eren and Zeke had heard those final words, that was enough.
Meanwhile, Eto had taken care of both the Attack Titan and the Founding Titan.
Regeneration or not, a Titan's healing didn't matter when their heads were sliced clean off. Their hosts were pulled out directly from the napes, and the rest of the Titan flesh began to evaporate into steam.
Grisha had never expected a new, unknown Titan to appear — and one so overwhelmingly strong that he didn't even have a chance to fight back.
Now, both he and Frieda were held tightly in the grasp of Eto. Just as they feared they'd be eaten next, they were instead gently set on the ground.
A moment later, Eto emerged — bandaged from head to toe — as her kakuja transformation unraveled. She crawled out from the Owl's mouth, landing gracefully on one foot.
Seeing her emerge from the head of a Titan didn't faze Grisha or Frieda all that much; intelligent Titans, after all, housed their hosts in the back of the neck.
Byakuya stepped forward, addressing Grisha.
"Dr. Yeager, you received quite a few memories from future Eren, didn't you? But there's one more he didn't show you yet.
Wanna guess which one?"
"You… what are you talking about? How do you know all this...?"
Grisha's reaction was nearly identical to Zeke's—disbelief and confusion.
Byakuya didn't answer. He simply waited, giving Grisha time to piece it together.
A while later, Grisha seemed to calm down enough to respond.
"That memory you mentioned… is it about Carla? And Mikasa?"
Grisha guessed.
He longed more than anything to know whether Carla and Mikasa were safe. But for some reason, Eren had refused to show him that.
Even if Byakuya hadn't interfered, future Eren never intended to show that memory here, in the underground chapel.
He was saving that memory for later—after Grisha had already murdered Frieda and the Reiss children. After the guilt sank in.
That was when future Eren planned to show Grisha the moment Carla was devoured—by none other than Dina.
That moment would break Grisha. His rage and hatred for the world beyond the walls would consume him.
And he would finally agree with Eren's plan for genocide.
But now, because Byakuya and Eto had intervened, that moment had been completely erased from the timeline.
That memory never reached Grisha.
Byakuya had spared the "Warrior Trio" on purpose — Reiner, Annie, and Bertolt — because he didn't want to change too much and risk alerting Eren too early.
Imagine if Byakuya had killed all of them, stopped Reiner from breaking through Wall Maria, and wiped out every Titan on Paradis.
Future Eren would've likely given up right then and there.
Because to future Eren, everything had to happen as it was meant to — even if it meant manipulating memories and events to guarantee it.
Like how he used the Founding Titan to control Dina's Titan and force her to ignore Bertolt…
That's why, in Byakuya's eyes, this moment — Grisha's confrontation with the Reiss family—was essential.
If Eren hadn't manipulated the past, Grisha would never have stolen the Founding Titan. He would've never defied the royal bloodline.
There would've been no war, no true rebellion.
"Yes, you're right. It's about Carla. In Eren's original memories, on the day Wall Maria fell, Carla was eaten—by Dina."
Byakuya said it casually, like it was just another line in a report.
"Dina?!"
Grisha's eyes bulged, blood vessels visible as he froze in place.
He couldn't believe what he'd just heard.
"Yes. Your first wife. After turning into a Pure Titan, she ate Carla that day."
Byakuya's voice was ice cold.
Eto, standing nearby, couldn't help but glance at him with disapproval.He really didn't need to crush the poor guy like that…
"This… this—!!"
Grisha's expression collapsed into despair. He clutched his head, overwhelmed with pain and grief.
"AAAAAAHHH! AAAAAHHHHH—!!"
He screamed, unable to even imagine the horror — the image of Carla being eaten alive by Dina.
And then he remembered Dina's final words:
"No matter where you go, I'll find you."
Beside him, Frieda didn't fully understand what Byakuya and Grisha were talking about.
But she did understand one thing: Grisha's wife had been eaten… by his previous wife, after turning into a Titan.
And even though this man had just tried to devour her, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for him.