15. Sole Salvation

Complete story — includes the ending

As a child, Zeke was treated harshly by his parents, as Dina Fritz and Grisha saw him as a tool in their plans to restore Eldian society and overthrow Marley. One day, Zeke encountered Tom Xaver, the current holder of the Beast Titan, and over the years, they developed a close bond. Xaver eventually revealed to Zeke that he had managed to conceal his Eldian heritage when he was young and created a family for himself. However, when he revealed to his wife that he was an Eldian, she killed their son before committing suicide. When Zeke learned that his parents were Restorationists, he turned them over to the police at the urging of Xaver and to save himself from being turned into a Pure Titan. Zeke also realized that this was the best way for him to get into the Marleyan Military. Xaver told Zeke that his research revealed that the Founding Titan is able to manipulate the body of Eldians. They resolved to "save" the Eldian people from further persecution through sterilizing them using the Founding Titan. Later, Xaver also revealed how to get around King Fritz's vow renouncing war. Eventually, Zeke inherited the Beast Titan and promised to find a suitable person for their plan. After reuniting with Reiner and Bertholdt on Paradis, he learned that Eren Jaeger possessed the Founder. He deduced that Grisha Jaeger had managed to escape his punishment and vowed to rescue Eren from Grisha's brainwashing. In Liberio, Eren agreed to cooperate with Zeke's euthanization plan. As Zeke finishes reflecting on his past, his mumbling is heard by Levi. Zeke suddenly ignites the Thunder Spear impaled in his body, detonating it and catching himself and Levi in the explosion.