An alternative ending of Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin)

by leeazzy

I created an alternate ending for the Attack on Titan / Shingeki no Kyojin manga, divided into 3 chapters. My ending part of the middle of chapter 136, when Falco appears with Gabi and Annie to save the group that had gone to the Founding Titan of Eren. I detailed and contextualized the exact moment when my ending begins with a note, before the first chapter begins.

3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3-

Armin opens his eyes and begins to rise.

- What happened? Did I get caught by a Titan? Did I see Ymir? - Armin stands up and sees that shape on the horizon, it seems to be a huge tree with several branches, he recognizes that he is in the coordinate. He apparently stands alone in that vast wilderness, as he does not see anyone around. In his head he thinks:

- Eren must have captured me to keep me from transforming, but why bring me here? He could have just knocked me out the whole time.

- I want to show you something. - A voice comes from behind Armin.

Armin turns and of course Eren is there. Eren is apparently the same as the last time they saw each other, just like the moment they fought and he said those words to Mikasa, but there's something different about the look on his face. Armin can't identify whether it's relief or exhaustion.

- Come on Armin, I'll tell you the story of Founder Ymir and show you what happened to her.

- Why do you want to talk now? When you brought us here earlier, did you make it very clear that you weren't willing to talk and why am I the only one here?

- I've changed my mind, I know that nothing that you talk about will change my conviction, but I want to show you and tell you why I made this decision, you must remember everything we've been through, you must understand that what I'm doing, My freedom is the freedom of the Eldian people. I called only you because there is no need to bring everyone here, but soon she will join us, for now it will just be you and me, you should know about Ymir. - Eren reaches out to Armin, who in his head thinks:

- Wait for who to arrive? Will Ymir show up here? He says he won't change his convictions, but he's changed, before he didn't want to talk, but now he does. There must be a way to make him stop all this. - Armin feels an ounce of hope.

Armin goes towards Eren and holds his hand. In the blink of an eye they are transported to 2000 years ago. Armin is a bit bewildered and when he looks around, he sees a village-like place, people don't notice them and just in front of them is a girl walking alone.

- This is Ymir. - Eren points out. - She has been a slave since she was a child , her village was plundered and her parents killed, and soon was deprived of speaking, they cut out her tongue. At the moment she's going to a corral, do you know why Armin? Because she wanted to help other people who were starving and the only way would be to steal a pig. - Eren and Armin follow her until Ymir steals a pig and drives him to a completely homeless house, where there was a couple with 3 children. She walks into that house and gives the pig to them, those people have nothing to give her in return, even words, what they have left are simple smiles, which for her is enough. She turns and walks out the door, Eren and Armin follow her and when they pass through the door of that house, they are already taken to another memory.

They're in an open place where there's a lot of people in front of the throne of the King of that tribe and he questions about the disappearance of a pig, all pointing to Ymir. The King then asks her and she kneels in front of him, admitting guilt. The sentence the King gives is that she be free, free to run as far as she can from the hunters who will go after her. Eren leans against Armin's arm and is transferred to the moment that girl is running from the hunters in the jungle, they slowly go to give her hope, but always aim arrows at her to remind her that they are right there. Armin and Eren are a little ahead of Ymir, they are next to an immense tree with several branches. Armin then says:

- I don't need to see that. I don't understand why you are showing me this, we all know how much Ymir suffered. - He speaks this with a certain pain in his voice, avoiding looking at that poor child being hunted.

- It's almost over, she'll show up soon. But what I want to show you Armin are two things. The first is that Ymir was a slave since she was a child, but for a moment she left that prison behind and decided to do something she thought was right, she decided to save some people, even if it might have consequences for herself, Ymir had to do it, and you know why? - Eren then looks directly at Armin and increases the tone of his voice. - Because she couldn't bear to see any more suffering, all the misery she was living in, the death of her parents, the loss of her hometown, she just wanted to somehow try to help her people. She's a slave, she doesn't know what freedom is, she lives by orders, but for a moment she was able to do something of her own free will, she knew that if she was caught, she would suffer consequences, but she didn't want people to go through what she went through, what she goes through. - Armin tapes Eren with a face half distressed. Ymir soon passes through them and enters the cavity of that huge tree, Eren follows her and Armin comes right behind.

Inside that tree it's almost like they're in a cave and Ymir sits in the corner, she hugs her knees and starts crying nonstop. Eren approaches her, he lowers himself so that he is almost the same height as her, he looks at Armin and says:

- Tell me Armin, if you could in any way, would you help Ymir? Would you give her a chance to put an end to this suffering? Would you save the life of an Eldian child?

- But what are you talking about? Of course I would help her, no one deserves to go through it.

- Thank you, Armin, that's what I needed to hear. - Eren turns to Ymir and touches his shoulder. The memory ends and they're back at the coordinate.

- What happened? - Armin questions Eren.

- You've seen enough.

- But what happened to her? How did she get out of there?

- I don't know, I can't access that specific memory, but she got out alive, probably she somehow got the power of the Titans inside that tree, but it doesn't matter, what happened after she got the power is the second thing I wanted to tell you. When Ymir gained her powers she did the same as she already had done, she went to help her people. He cultivated land, built bridges between mountains, amassed riches for his kingdom, and mostly defeated Marley's armies. But all this at the behest of that king who had condemned her. She obtained the power of a God and still bowed to the one who mistreated her. This was unfortunately Ymir's mistake, there is no way to know why she never rebelled, perhaps it was the simple fact that she did not have courage, how could a child simply annihilate everything? It could be the fact that she was a slave her whole life, she knew nothing but orders. It may be that she loved the king or that because of all her accomplishments, she was satisfied with the plight of her people. We'll never know the truth, but it's a fact that she cared about her people.

- You forgot to mention that she sacrificed herself to save the king. She really wanted to help even him. - Armin says that by looking right into Eren's eyes.

- And look what it triggered in the world. Do you want this to happen again Armin? Do you want to save those who mistreat us? Who seeks the death of all of us? That deprives us of living?

- It wasn't Ymir's fault, Eren. How can you say that saving a life is wrong?

- I am not blaming Ymir, but saying that we cannot save everyone in the end and that it is not even a question of saying that saving a life is wrong, but that simply some lives do not deserve to be saved.

- Every life can be saved. - They end up facing each other.

- Ymir's freedom is tied to the freedom of his people, always has been. It is not about the freedom of Ymir herself, but about ridding the Eldians of all evil. She wants the Eldians to be saved.

- She wants you to decimate the world? Please, Eren, listen to what you're talking about.

- The difference between me and Ymir. - Eren points to his chest. - Is that I'm not going to make the mistake she made, I'm not going to save people who shouldn't be saved, who mistreated our people. - Armin only lowers his head and swings sideways as a sign of disapproval.

- The difference between you and Ymir is that she was a good person, Eren. Like you said, she just wanted to help and not do all the damage you're doing. She didn't have this hatred you carry, this thirst for revenge. Ymir had her parents and her land taken from her, the same as you, but she knew that whatever she did, it wouldn't bring anything back. She did not make a mistake in trying to save the King, she only did what she thought was right. - Eren gets angry and puts his forehead to Armin's forehead.

- Are you telling me that I should sit while my mother's killers are right in front of me? Am I supposed to stand still knowing if I don't move they're gonna kill me? It's not about bringing anything back, Armin, it's about keeping what I already have. - Eren puts his hands on Armin's shoulders and says to him with a saddened tone:

- I'm sorry I hit you at that time, but it was the only way, it had to be like this, that's what I had seen. Armin, I just want to be with you, Mikasa and the others, but for that, I have to end this war once and for all - Armin looks at Eren with a doubtful look, in his head comes the question:

- Can Eren be right? Aren't some lives worth saving? - He then closes his eyes almost without control, starts getting dizzy and falls to the ground. - What, where am I? Wasn't I talking to Eren at the coordinate? Am I inside a Titan? Is that Annie's Titan in front of me? Why does it have two hands around her neck? - Armin sees Annie's head ripping off and as that body falls, Eren's Attack Titan reveals itself right behind. When the mouth of that Titan who had captured him closes, he wakes up again at the coordinate with Eren at his side.

- What did you do? - Armin, who had fallen, then gets up and sits down, looks to the side where Eren is and pushes his hands on that sand to get out of his reach, but keeps a look of dread on him.

- Can not be, tell me that what I saw is a lie. - He says that keeping his eyes on Eren. Then shouts:

- Did you kill her? Did you kill Annie? - Tears begin to flow from his eyes, passes a "flash" in his head, all those 4 years going to visit her and talking to her, finally when she comes out of the crystal, the only thing left is to just watch her again and not be able to do anything. Armin feels a heartbreak, it was the last time he saw Annie.

- Armin... - Eren was about to say something, but Armin gets up from where he is and violently goes to Eren. He jumps in Eren's chest, taking them both to the ground, Armin no longer cares about anything but ending up with Eren right there. As he punches Eren in the face, he goes:

- You idiot! Genocide! Why did you have to kill her? Did you kill the rest of the group? What did you do with Mikasa? - It passes in Armin's head all who went to the Founding Titan. - Didn't you say you want to save us? - Armin doesn't stop for a minute, he keeps punching Eren and he doesn't react. - That's what you wanted, isn't it? Now I have a chance against you, you bastard?

- Stop, don't do it again, please. - A sad voice comes up from behind the two, Mikasa is at the coordinate.

Armin stops for a moment and looks at the damage he caused to Eren's face. He's full of open wounds, a swollen eye and his nose out of place. Armin has his fists covered in blood, trembling and all bruised. He rises slowly, still looking at Eren, but turns and looks at Mikasa. He goes to her and gives her a hug. She takes him in and Armin only cries. He cries because she is still alive, because he loses Annie, because he does what he did to Eren, but he needs to pull himself together.

- Mikasa, tell me, who else died? - Mikasa makes a look of amazement and in her head she thinks:

- What does he mean by that? Did Eren kill someone? - She actually doesn't even remember what happened. - Wasn't that a dream? Did Eren's Titan really eat me?

- Only our enemies are dead. - Eren goes on speaking as he gets up, his face exhales a good amount of steam.

- What do you mean by that, Eren? - Mikasa looks at him for the first time since he said he hated her.

- Finally you arrived Mikasa, we were waiting for you. - Armin comes out of Mikasa's arms and soon turns to speak:

- So you killed Pieck, Reiner and Annie. - Armin's tears stop falling and he says it without believing. Eren has totally healed his face and responds:

- Yes, I killed those traitors. The rest of the staff are fine, I know they will be fine. - He says that with a very strange certainty.

- How do you know? You say as if you know everything, you...

- I will explain to you when the time is right, but first, I want you to take a walk with me, I want you to remember everything, to understand, you have to understand.

- Understand what? - Says Mikasa.

- Do I have a choice, Eren? - Questions Armin. - What makes you think that after all, I still go to your side? Why should I go? - Mikasa looks at Armin with a look of desperation, is he really giving up on Eren?

- I won't force you into anything, but I'd like you to come, I need you to come. You wanted to talk, right? This is your one chance to talk to me and convince me to stop the rumbling. - Armin doesn't know what to think, so much has happened in the meantime, he's rather confused. He looks at Mikasa and she looks back, for a moment she puts one of her hands in her pocket and just says the words:

- Let's bring Eren back. - Armin feels firmness in his words, but a question arises in his head.

- But what if while we're talking you're done with everything?

- Time is different here at the coordinate, there is no trick Armin, I just need you to come.

Armin and Mikasa go towards the Eren who extends his hands, one for each, they touch it simultaneously and in a blink of an eye are transported to the year 845, Shiganshina District.

Eren, Armin and Mikasa are seeing their child versions in front of them. Those three kids are sitting on a staircase facing a river, just talking. Armin(from the present) looks at those three and feels a strong nostalgia, but he knows that that place is where it all began. Mikasa is half lost, are they really reviewing that memory?

- At any moment Bertolt will appear and destroy the wall, and the Titans will invade our city. - Eren(from the present) says this with a heavy voice, maybe even he doesn't want to see it again. What happened after the Colossus Titan broke the wall, left Eren marked forever.

- Of course I remember well what happened that day Eren, I could see and feel in the... - Armin(from the present) speaks looking at Eren, but is interrupted when it appears that huge shadow of the face of the Colossus Titan that draws the attention of all. As he prepares and finally kicks the underside of the wall, he already creates destruction in the city and the Titans are approaching to invade. Eren (child) leaves towards his home, where his mother was, Mikasa (child) goes after him and Armin (child) is paralyzed seeing them run away.

- I should have tried to help, I... I didn't know what to do at that moment, maybe if I had gone, we could have saved your mother, Eren. - Armin(from the present) talks down.

- It could not have helped. - Mikasa(from the present) comes to him and consoles him.

- It's not your fault Armin, you know that very well. We will not accompany me as a child by going to my mother, I don't need to see that again. - Eren says this with great sadness. - That day Armin, shaped us 3, we lost our innocence there, we felt the real feeling of fear and despair. In the year of enlistment, we had in mind to end the Titans and take back our home. The Titans were our enemies, for it was they who caused all that disgrace in our city that killed several people, who killed my mother. Then came the day when we discovered the truth behind that attack. Tell me, at what point did they cease to be our enemies? How can I forgive someone who did this?

- I saw that day in Bertolt's memoirs. He showed regret. I felt conflict within him and seemed to be reconsidering. What I mean is that today we know that he had no choice, Marley... - Eren interrupts him:

- Yes, Marley is to blame and that is why it has to be extinguished. - Eren shouts.

- You are not only killing Marleyans, you have killed many Eldians and many people who have nothing to do with this war. - Mikasa retorts.

- And what should I do?

- You must stop, you have shown the world what you are capable of, no one will lay a finger on Paradis for the next 50 years.

- Come. - Eren reaches out to them again. - You have forgotten who we are. - Again, in a blink, they appear in the middle of another memory. This time is the moment after Eren has transformed for the first time. He wakes up unconscious and is on the ground in front of the Wall, with Armin and Mikasa. They're trapped because a battalion of Eldian soldiers have surrounded them and are pointing guns at them. The transformation of Eren was discovered and they began to question him. It was the moment when Eren heard: "are you a human or a Titan".

- This is how the world looks at us. - Eren (from the present) is with Armin (from the present) and Mikasa (from the present) in the middle of that scene, all the weapons are in their direction. - That phrase stayed with me for years, "are you a human or a Titan", it is not enough for me to answer that I am man, because for other eyes, we will always be Titans. We are and always will be a threat to the world. The worst thing I can do is stop the rumbling right now, you think the world's gonna let this go? The Marleyans still hold grudges of thousand years ago. Do you want me to make time for the Eldians to prepare for a new war? I cannot allow this, our people have suffered too much, it is more than time to end all wars.

- Not everyone thinks we are monsters, that family in Liberio welcomed us. - Mikasa speaks with a low voice.

- They did not know who we were. - Eren refutes.

- I think that even if they knew, nothing different would happen. They have seen who we really are, if the world could see the same... - Armin is interrupted by Eren.

- Just like that assembly in Liberio? We will always be demons Armin, if not for today, it will be for the past, the world condemns us through it. You can't forget the past and they want us to pay for it.

- I think it's not a question of the need to pay for the crimes of the past, but just a way to try to ease the pain, which is exactly what you're doing. At the end of the day, you cannot eliminate evil from the world. Things will not be happy after this is over, at some point people will still create reasons to kill each other. At this very moment, Eldians must already be fighting over whether to agree or disagree with your choice. The problem is not the Eldians or what they have done in the past, the human being will always do bad things.

- I... - Eren hesitates for a moment. - I had to do something Armin, I had seen... With my power I had to make a decision, I don't know if it was the right decision, but I have to believe it was.

- You can't believe that killing that many people is right. - Mikasa says that looking into Eren's eyes.

- We have to accept that this world is cruel, Eren, but it will not solve anything end with it, we have to find a way to change it, not destroy it.

- But what about the deaths we saw? Someone has to pay for them. - Eren touches on Armin and Mikasa. They appear in a forest. It was the site of Eren's Attack Titan fight against Annie's Female Titan. The fight had already taken place, they stood before the trail of bodies of their companions who were killed in that fight, many are visible around.

- Is that why you beat me that hour Armin? It was because of this that you cried? Did you mourn her death? Did you really forget that day or did you choose to ignore it? - Eren looks firmly at Armin, who is apparently in shock. He doesn't say anything at first.

- What is it Armin? What will be your excuse now? - Eren shouts.

- She... She doesn't... - Armin lowers his head.

- She had no choice, but of course. Marley gave her no choice, just as they gave me no choice! Look around Armin. - Eren turns and walks towards the body of one of his companions. - Come see for yourself what your Annie did.

- Eren! - Mikasa screams. - You don't need to show him that, what are you trying to prove?

- I want to prove that she was an enemy, a traitor and that you teamed up with a traitor instead of your best friend. I know you agree with me, Armin, you just don't want to open your eyes.

- What would you do? - Armin raises his head and tears fall from his eyes. - What would you do in her place?! - He cries.

- It doesn't matter what I would do, what matters is what she did.

- She was just protecting who she loved, she just wanted to get back to her father. If only your mother were alive, Eren, would you do what you're doing? What would she think of that? - Armin raises his voice.

- Shut up! - Eren closes his fists and goes towards Armin, Mikasa stands between the two.

- What Armin means, Eren, is that if you are doing this for those who you care about, why don't you listen to us? Why can't you see that we don't want what you want? - Mikasa says with a weak and sad voice.

- Mikasa, the fact that I'm doing it for you leaves me no choice but to ignore your choices, because I know you would never agree with me at first. That's why I said what I said and did what I did. By the way - Eren comes very close to Mikasa and looks directly into his eyes and says:

- I'm sorry for what I said at that time in our last meeting. - Eren speaks with a very sorry tone.

- So you don't hate me? But what about what you have said about the Ackerman?

- It was all a lie, I needed you not to interfere.

- Didn't interfere? Why didn't you tell me what you intended to do? You know I would do anything for you. - Mikasa speaks with a look and tone of disappointment.

- Then I ask you to agree with me.

- I don't know if I can Eren, I... I really don't see how you can think this is right, all this you're showing we already know, we went through this, just like you, but we still don't feel the need to discount everything in the world. - She says that with her head hanging down without looking at Eren, it's almost like she's afraid of her reaction.

- Mikasa, I... I... - Before speaking, Eren is interrupted by Armin.

- I know, didn't Marley give you a choice? Or is it because you're doing this for us? - Armin speaks from behind and goes towards both. - So far you are only showing how much without freedom you are. You are just showing situations to justify your actions, which at the end of the day is just a reflection of this world. But things don't have to be like this, it's like Mikasa said, we've been through all of this and we still don't believe that killing everyone is going to solve things. If you're doing this for us, why didn't you ask us if this is what we wanted? What I see is that you're just shredding everything, acting like them and not like you really are. When Bertolt and Reiner turned out to be Titans, it was a huge feeling of betrayal, but it was the same feeling that I felt when you said you hated Mikasa and fought with me. - For a moment Eren is haunted by a doubt. - Armin finishes talking. - At the end of the day Marleyans and Eldians are all...

- No. - Says Eren firmly and recomposing yourself. - Do not compare me with those animals, it is time to see how an Eldian is treated in Marley. - Eren touches his shoulders and will stop on a Wall facing a vast desert. They are in Marley and before them are some members of Grisha Yeager's group, tied and kneeling on the edge of this Wall. That place is called the penal colony for Eldian traitors. Those Eldians are about to be turned into Titans and thrown onto the mainland.

- These Eldians were part of a group led by my father. It was a group that had the ideal of restoring the Eldian empire, for they simply could not accept their living conditions in Marley. They were always treated like demons, the source of all sins in the world. My father. - Eren points to a man who was more in the middle. - He had lost his sister as a child. They left town without permission, only wanted to look at the airship, but were discovered and one of the guards gave his sister for the dogs to eat. - Armin and Mikasa are concerned about these last words.

- They are here because they have been discovered and accused of conspiracy. It was Zeke who had denounced them, he was able to condemn his parents to death. - Armin hears that name and thinks:

- Zeke? And where would he be? I didn't see him at the coordinate, he might be the only one who could end it.

- In addition to killing the Eldians in this way, they still sent them to our island. - While Eren goes on speaking, most Eldians receive an injection with spinal fluid and are kicked from the Wall, which are soon transformed into Titans.

- Tell me Armin and Mikasa, do you want to save these people? Will you choose them over me? - Eren speaks with a low voice.

- I can't defend what they're doing, but I can't defend what you're doing either. You're...

- I'm taking care of us Armin, damn it, look at this, they want to see our people suffer, they'll never accept who we are.

- Maybe if you...

- We have tried to be peaceful in Liberio, but the only language they understand is violence. I am not proud of what I am doing, how can I? I know I'm killing everyone. That day in Liberio, that boy, I knew I would kill him in the future, that the whole place around me would turn to dust, but they're a sacrifice for the greater good. - Eren says this with a distressed tone and some tears dripping from his eyes.

- Did you see that he would die in the future? What do you mean, Eren? - Mikasa questions Eren and Armin realizes that it is no longer the first time that Eren gives a sign of having seen what would happen.

While talking, Grisha Yeager's wife had been placed next to him and was soon kicked, being transformed into Titan in front of everyone. Eren says:

- That's Dina Fritz, my father's ex-wife. - Mikasa feels despair, she recognizes that Titan. - My father saw his companions and the woman who loves being killed in front of him. If I let this war continue, I could witness the same thing. - Eren takes a look at Mikasa and then at Armin. - What they did to the Eldians is inhumane, I cannot allow this to happen again or simply forgive what has already happened. Let's go back, I've shown and told you everything I need to. - Armin and Mikasa, who appear to be undecided, get close to Eren, who touches them and takes them back to the coordinate.

- After everything I've said, everything we've been through, won't you be on my side? - Eren's voice is getting more and more tired and sad.

- Eren, I just want to ask you something first. You said you saw that boy from Liberio die in the future, what did you mean by that? - Mikasa questions Eren.

- I forgot to tell you something. I saw everything that was going to happen 4 years ago when I touched the hand of Historia on the day of its coronation. I didn't see exactly everything, just fragments.

- So you knew everything that was going to happen and you didn't want to do anything different? Didn't you want to try to change things? - That look of doubt turns into indignation. - Were you in the house of that family and knew you would kill them all?

- Look Armin, I...

- You knew how everything would end, you saw the future and it made it possible to generate a power of decision in you, but you still chose to massacre everyone. So that's why you brought us here. In this future that you saw, we didn't agree with you, so you wanted to convince me and Mikasa.

- Not only that, I want to understand what's going on in your heads, because I don't understand. How can you don't feel hatred for them after all, how can you think of saving them? I just want a happy ending for us. - Eren falls to his knees on the ground in front of them with tears all over his face. - You have to understand me. You have to. I need you guys.

- I swear I'm trying Eren. - Armin says that by looking at him at his feet. - But the only thing I understand is that you got lost many years ago, got lost so that you are unrecognizable now.

- Armin, I had to do this, I needed to try to fix things somehow, I couldn't make the same mistake as Ymir. I cannot allow our enemies to live - Armin lowers himself and stands in front of him.

- You can't fix the world Eren. No one can. The problem was not the decision of Ymir or the existence of the Titans, the problem is and will always be humanity. - Armin arises. - You're only reducing humanity by trying to ease your pain. I'm sorry Eren, but I can't look at you and pretend none of this happened, I can't forgive you. Everything you've shown me has only served to confirm what hatred does to people, how much despair and fear are capable of breaking a soul. That's why the world is the way it is, people don't try to do different things, they keep fighting evil using evil. Just like you told about the Marleyans mull over the past, what was all this stroll through the memories, if not a reminder of everything that happened? What is it that you're doing, if not the same as the Marleyans? You're not breaking the cycle, Eren, you're just slowing it down. - Armin turns with a completely discredited look and turns his back on Eren on the ground. - You already know how this ends, so just get me out of here. - Mikasa stands there staring at Eren.

- Mikasa, you understand me, don't you? Imagine that. You and me in a house far away from everything, it might be a house near the mountains, you don't have to follow Armin. I know that's what you want, just stay with me. - Eren with her face full of tears says it looking at her. - She goes where he is and kneels in front of him.

- I... I don't... - Tears begin to flow from Mikasa's eyes. - I must think for myself this time Eren, not for you, I don't want to live in this world that you created, not like this. I've always believed in you, I've always been by your side... - Mikasa takes the scarf out of her pocket. - But you're not the same boy who saved me when we were kids, you're not the same one who wrapped that scarf around me. You're not my Eren, it can't be, I feel I've lost you. - She shows a tone of strong sadness in her words. - I don't know how to say this, but I can't Eren, I can't, I'm sorry. - Mikasa forces herself to stand up and turns towards Armin, she leaves the scarf in front of Eren, who continues to cry. He says to himself:

- Damn it! What did I do wrong? It can't end like this. You guys can't leave. Even Mikasa? You... This story has always been about us. All I've been through, all my fighting. Was that what it was for? - Eren takes the scarf and remembers, he saw it at that time, everything is happening as he had seen. - I can not accept this. - Eren screams and gets up in anger with the scarf in his hand. - I can't let you just walk away, throw it all away, I will use the power of the Founding and manipulate your memories, I will make you forget all this and we will continue to live as it is to be.

- Look at you Eren, that's pathetic. - Armin looks at him with a disappointed look and says it in a low tone. - How far do you want to go to build an ideal world? If you want a perfect world it's better to manipulate everyone at once, take away everyone's freedom. Or you can just finish the job, kill every human being on the planet, so there won't be any evil. You must have already eliminated the humanity outside the walls, please just get us out of here. - Armin takes one last look at Eren. - Maybe it is true what you said at the beginning, some lives do not deserve to be saved.

Eren is for a moment silent, all that indignation is taken by a feeling of emptiness, he turns his back on them, then says:

- The Titans who captured you are already leaving, you will be left near the island. Then I will send all the Titans to the bottom of the ocean. Everyone must die deep down without contact with the light. I don't know yet what I can do with the power of the Original Titans, so Armin, try to enjoy the rest of your years, somehow at least try to be happy, go to the ocean, be free. And Mikasa... well, you look so beautiful with that scarf. - Eren looks at the scarf in his hand and puts it around his neck. - I said I would wrap this scarf around you as many times as you want, but I never thought I would wrap it around me again. - Mikasa, who was on her back with tears in her eyes, hesitates for a second and starts to turn around to say something to her:

- Eren...

She and Armin awaken. Their Titans had left them somewhere near the sea. Mikasa gets up and in front of her she sees Eren's Attack Titan who had captured her. She stands there for a while looking at him, until he vanishes into the ocean. In her head comes a thought:

- If I had said something different to Eren that day in Liberio, could things have been different? - That moment at the coordinate was the last time those three were together.

Still at the coordinate, Eren begins to walk through that sandy desert to the place where Zeke was chained. He showed himself with a fallen and incredulous look, his hair and beard were big, he seemed to be an eternity there. He looks at Eren and says:

- If you are here it is because your plan worked, but by your appearance, things didn't go very well. As far as I know your friends, they would never let that happen, so I'm gonna assume you had to do something about them.

- Shut up Zeke, I don't feel like talking.

- But I am brother, I was stuck here for all this time and I have nothing left. In fact, this scarf doesn't look so good on you. - Eren approaches Zeke and punches him in the face with a lot of violence, over and over again, he is unloading everything there.

- Cof, cof. - Zeke coughs and spits blood. - Feeling better brother? What would be another life in your hands, right?

- If you don't shut up... - Eren says that in a threatening tone.

- What will you do brother? Will you kill your only family? - Zeke says calmly. - By the way it looks like your friends abandoned you, how could they accept a monster like you? There was no one left but me. Just imagine, the two of us living happily, together forever, well, until we die from the curse of the Titans, which apparently you did nothing to, will still exist in this world.

- Someone told me that the problem is not the Titans but the humans. I think I'll leave it at that, but I'll see if Ymir can lift the curse.

- You murdering bastard! Stop and think about what you did, you killed everyone, you're just a genocidal! My plan was what was supposed to happen. - Zeke gets out of control for a moment and somehow begins to be swallowed by the sands of the coordinate.

- So are you really going to do this, brother? Are you going to keep me trapped here forever?

- I'm not the one doing this, only Ymir has control in the coordinate. - Ymir appears next to Eren holding his hand. - She must have finally understood that some lives are not worth saving.

- Damn it Ymir, I order you to stop this, I have royal blood, you owe me obedience. - He is swallowed up in front of Eren and Ymir, who do not make a single move until Zeke disappears completely.

Eren looks at Ymir and ducks down to her height, he gives her a hug and she reciprocates. Then he says:

- I did what had to be done to save our people. I just carried on what you started years ago, it was all for the Eldians. The freedom of the Eldians is tied to their survival and they could only survive if the rest of the world died. You understand me, don't you, Ymir? - She nods with a sign of approval. - Eren releases her from his embrace and asks:

- Is there no way to erase the power of the Original Titans from the world? - Ymir just shakes his head sideways and his face looks scared? Eren can't really tell.

- I'm sorry I don't know how to get you out of here, I'm sorry I put you in here. But who can tell me it's wrong to save a life? - Ymir is running towards that huge bright tree full of branches, on the horizon of the coordinate. Eren touches his scarf and stands there for a moment watching that child running freely up to the tree, for a moment he even imagines seeing two more children beside her.

It is at the coordinate that all paths meet, but it was the place where their paths dispersed.

Epilogue-

It has been three years since the rumbling ended humanity outside the walls and the Eldian Empire was divided into two kingdoms. He was divided into those who believed that Eren did right, that he freed Eldia from the rest of the world. And there were those who disagreed with what Eren did, who blamed him for all the misery that happened on the island, including losing homes and families when the walls were broken down. The royal palace was seized during this time by the Yeager Faction, and Historia lost authority in that kingdom. She decided that there should be no resistance, because she did not want them to start a new war, so she had to move and create this new region in order to rule. Both reigns became independent and there was no conflict between them, not yet. This division promoted a new nomenclature among the Eldians. Those who were in favor of what Eren did, began calling themselves Yeagerist Eldians and those who moved to the new region, were called Exiles Eldians.

During this time the two new regions were rebuilt. The Yeageristas Eldians ended up building a statue in front of the royal palace, the image of Eldia's savior, Eren Yeager. He was eventually presumed dead, because no one heard of him after using the Founding Titan, legends are said of what really happened to him. Both reigns redefined the military system, ending the Survey Corps and the Garrison of the Walls, maintaining the Military Police Brigade. On the side of the Exiles Eldians, a specific division was created for the protection of the Queen Historia. Some of the Exiles Eldians of the military division had as a pillar the ideal of taking revenge on the Yeagerists for what they had done during the war, had as reference the last words that the chief instructor Keith Shadis had said, of waiting for the right moment to rebel.

The O.D.M Gear were guarded, no matter how far all the Titans had gone to the sea, no one knew exactly what happened to the bearers of the Original Titans or if any child had ever been born with the power of one of them. Armin was later discovered by the Eldian Yeagerists that he was on the side of the Exiles Eldians and that Reiner, Annie, and Pieck had died, leaving the question as to who has the power of these Titans.

Kiyomi Azumabito went to the side of the Exiles Eldians at first, but soon asked for permission for Queen Historia to go to a new region, starting from scratch with what little is left of her people. She and her people were released, but they had to swear allegiance to her reign and share the technological knowledge they had. Azumabito kept the secret of the Titan that Falco possessed.

Yelena, who had been captured and was in the hands of Azumabito, after Falco transformed and went to the Founding Titan, escaped. She was never seen again, but is still regarded as an enemy by the Yeagerist Eldians, as she conspired against Eren.

Onyankopon, who managed to make an emergency landing while flying over the Founding Titan to let the crew fight Eren, was caught by the rumbling. He was later buried by Armin.

Gabi and Falco went to live with the Exiles Eldians. They were welcomed as Eldian orphans at first, but soon met with Sasha's parents and decided to stay with them. Falco kept the fact that he was a bearer of one of the Original Titans a secret.

Connie had gone to her old village, Villa Ragako, shortly after they returned from the attack on the Founding Titan. He no longer had any hopes of a quiet life, he just wanted to spend his days taking care of his mother who was still a Titan. Armin then told Connie about Eren's plan to take all the Titans to the ocean. Eren would even deprive Connie of staying with her mother? When he got to where his mother was supposed to be, he just saw a huge trail across the floor. Even though she could not walk, it seemed that somehow she was dragging herself into an endless direction. There was nothing left for Connie, and he settled in and remained alone in that village.

Jean has sided with the Exiles Eldians. Even with all the traumas, all the deaths that occurred in front of him, he decided to stay in the military division. He became the leader of that small group in formation, which sought revenge against former soldiers of the Yeager Faction. At heart Jean was tired of everything, tired of the deaths, but the torment that Eren left on him, moved Jean to want to end any trace of the ideology that Eren had created.

Levi ended up having to amputate from the knee down on one of his legs and lost his sight in one of his eyes. He just cut himself off from the rest of the world, no one knows his location, he didn't talk to anyone where he was going, nobody understood what was going on in Levi's head, maybe not even himself.

Armin went to live with the Exiles Eldians. Historia called him to be the leader of the military forces or to serve as the Queen's chief adviser. Armin refused everything, he no longer cared about fighting or government ideals, he just wanted to be alone for a long time. He ended up burying, even without the bodies, each of those who had died in the direct attack on the Founding Titan, those who went with him. Armin made a point of always leaving roses on Annie's tombstone. When asked what happened to Eren, he said he had died, died a long time ago.

Mikasa had lost Eren and Armin wanted to be alone. Kiyomi Azumabito eventually reached out to Mikasa, who wanted to welcome her to her real family. Mikasa then decides to resume her origins and leaves with the Azumabitos for the new region they were building, to try to start a new life. She never forgot that day at the coordinate, it was the last moment she saw Eren. She still feels a void in her heart, but does not regret her decision, that was not the Eren she knew. Mikasa has a certain weight on her conscience, because Eren saved her life, but in the end, she couldn't save him.

During those 3 years, Eren had moved into a house in front of some mountains, it was a wooden house and was completely isolated from the whole world. Her conquest was also a loss, she did not intend to return to Paradis and be boasted of for her action, she just wanted to rest and spend the rest of her days alone. On a certain day, the sky was all clear, completely clear of the clouds. He decided to sit on a chair outside his house, wanted to admire that sky, which ended up filling his head with some thoughts:

- Freedom, so that's it. All my struggle, all my decisions for it. The Eldian people are finally free, I am free. - Eren spots a bird flying high over the horizon, he closes one of his eyes and points one of his hands in his direction, as if in some way one tries to catch him, but the bird continues on its way.

- I did what I had to do, but was there any other way? You know I did it for you, don't you, Mom? I had to avenge you, you would understand me, wouldn't you? - Tears start pouring out of your eyes. - I know you would understand me father, you wanted the freedom of the Eldians and they are finally free. - Eren gives a slight smile. - But why don't I feel good? Because I am alone? I am free! - Eren gets up from the chair and screams, his scarf tumbles towards his chest and he notices. Eren takes him and looks for a moment, then wraps it around his neck. - But free for what exactly?

"You can't hope for a horror story with a happy ending."