The Guardian Angel of Humanity Chapter 9: In Memorium, an attack on titan/進撃の巨人 fanfic

My name...is Angel Blase. And I am a Guardian Angel.

"Guardian Angel."

I was born in Shiganshina. Raised there too. The Blase family used to be far larger than we were, far more important. But my father turned his back to his duty, like his father did before him. And without our duty, we were nothing.

"We were nothing."

Why they did so, I do not know for sure. My memories are faint, scarce, and fleeting. I cannot catch even one, I cannot hold the thought for longer than a moment. But I am starting to understand. I am beginning to learn what it used to mean to be Blase, and I will not skirt my task like those who came before. We are born to serve, born to protect. We are the armour, and we guard. We protect. We defend.

"We defend."

"We defend.

Their voices ring out in my head. Those who served before we abandoned the path. I can feel their call, their purpose ringing through my head, urging me to embrace their fate. Yet my own father warns me of doing so. And his father echos his feelings and likewise, all the way down until we reach the memories of the first who broke tradition. She is silent. She is ashamed.

"She is ashamed."

Within my thoughts I ask her. I ask her why she feels such shame, and the memories come forth. They are different from the rest. Within my father's thoughts there was no doubt about his decision, and there was no doubt in any memories that we were doing the correct thing, until she gave me her story. I see her. See her contemplate if she can continue to serve, and watch her as she makes her decision. Even as she turns her back on her whole life, she is uncertain. The path she is taking is new. It is wrong, all her ancestors scream at her, and yet she does not listen to them. Their purpose runs through her blood, their duty was granted to her, and she has failed them. She makes promises to herself. She says that those who come after her will understand, like she does. But she is uncertain.

"She is uncertain."

I wish to understand her emotions, her thoughts when she stepped away, but there is too much. I cannot comprehend it all, and so much of I just see flash before my eyes, before it is gone and I am none the wiser. But the words which haunted her remain in my head. Duty. Honour. Purpose. They are not hollow still. She can feel the call to embrace them all once again, but she does not. She has chosen her path, and now she walks it alone.

"Walks it alone."

And suddenly, I am there. I am there with her. All the others are gone, and she is pointing at something ahead of us. I look, and I see that there is no road. There is nothing. All that lies ahead of me is blankness, a clean slate. No, there is something there. It is hidden in the shadows but faintly I can make out the road ahead of me. It splits in two. She places her hand on my shoulder, and says not a word. Within her memories and thoughts, I feel what she is saying. She has given this choice to all who came after her, and now it is my turn.

But as I watch, the road distorts. The crossroads begins to blur, and I cannot make out any paths anymore. They are gone once more, hidden beneath the shadows. I turn to her, but there is no explanation, and then she is gone. And the road is gone, and the others are back, watching me. They are all gathered around me. I can feel their curiosity. I can feel their wish to know what I will choose to do. And there is something else. There is something new. The murmur began on one side of the room and quickly cascaded across the entire area, with each person joining the chorus. And then the first to step away came forth again, striding out of the crowd, and all fell silent.

She stood, tall and proud, all the eyes of the crowd upon her. And then she spoke.

"The time has come."

"For years, our lineage as passed down. For years, we protected. For years, we served. Our legacy has travelled down from man to man, woman to woman until finally it has ended in your hands. Once, we were something else. The power that of our family was used for a true purpose. For a clear duty. I changed that. I bought our old ways into the light, kicking and screaming, and forged us a new path. Now, you have awakened our legacy. You have brought to the light what has belonged to the Blase for generations. It is up to you to choose how you will use it. Our memories will guide you in learning what it means to be what you are. In finding out what it truly means to bear the name Blase."

And then the entire group vanished, but their echoes remained.

"Bear the name."

And although I could see nothing, her voice returned. She was smooth of tongue, and eloquent.

"I was the last to walk that path you see before you." In front of me, a road appeared. The sign at it's entrance said 'Service', "And I was the first to walk the other path you see." A second road appeared, heading the opposite direction of the first. The sign read 'Treachery', "It was not an easy road. But do not let the name distract you. The meanings of these paths are hard to explain in one word. Once, the Blase served and protected the Sword. We were, and are, the Armour. From me onwards, the Blase betrayed their ancient duty to protect the Sword, and instead left. To walk the path of Service is not to make you subject to another's rule, do not mistake. It is a devotion to a cause, a purpose, a duty. A very specific one. To serve is to protect the Sword, at all costs. It is to devote your life, and be willing to die, to protect."

"And to betray this path is not to be a villain either. I abandoned our path because he who I was sworn to serve betrayed me. But there is honour within the path of Treachery too. There is the freedom to choose your own path. There is the honour of standing on your own, with a warrior spirit. But Angel, we have chosen Treachery so we could wait till the need to walk down Service was required once more."

"But there is one more thing, a path which I feel you may understand more truly than any other has preceded you. The middle path. Although a devotion to protect the Sword is important, it doesn't have you to mean you submit yourself to someone who rules you. Most of us have walked this path through the years, even without knowing it. If the Sword called for us, we would answer, but we did not stay around it. And as you go on, you will discover your own meanings for these paths."

"Only in developing your understanding of your possibilities will you know what to choose."

And then she was gone. And I was alone. The rush of memories had stopped. There were a million things I didn't understand, but deep down I felt it. I felt the duty they had talked of. It was calling to me. Rising up from somewhere deep within me. It burned with a fierce passion, a strong resolve spreading throughout my body, touching each and every corner as if it wished to consume me, and render me as a pile of ash. There were words burning within his head.

Angelic Type-Titan.