The sun was setting, its dying rays casting a slightly gloomy light upon the shore of Paradis island. The Marleyan ship remained by the dock, and most of the soldiers had turned in for the evening.
A few, however, were still up, and two of them were standing on top of the wall that overlooked the island's interior.
Pieck rolled her neck. "It feels weird, being out of my Titan form."
Zeke chuckled. "Well, the recon mission's over, so there's really no need for you to stay in your Titan. Besides, you look much more attractive this way."
She glanced at him with mock indignation. "Oh? And what's that supposed to mean?"
"That should be fairly obvious."
The two warriors turned around to see their commanding officer approaching.
Magath frowned. "Your Titan is useful but it's ugly as sin. Not that any Titan is aesthetically pleasing."
"Sir." Zeke and Pieck saluted.
"At ease." Magath said dismissively.
Zeke's face became serious. "You're quite right of course. The Titans are ugly in every sense of the word. This world would be a much better place if they did not exist."
His gaze returned to the interior of the island, a sigh escaping his lips.
"Of course, the Titans are inextricably linked with the Eldian race. As long as Eldians exist, Titans will exist."
Pieck raised an eyebrow. "What are you suggesting? Don't tell me you want to kill off your own race."
Zeke shook his head. "Of course not. But it is a real problem that will need to be dealt with."
Magath and Pieck looked at Zeke uneasily, unsure of what exactly he was talking about.
The sound of footsteps got their attention, and they turned around to see one of the Marleyan soldiers jogging toward them.
Magath felt his back stiffen as soon as he took in his subordinates demeanor. The normally calm man's face was pale and apprehensive.
"Koslow. What's wrong?"
"Uh...um…" Koslow stuttered.
He swallowed nervously as he regarded the two warriors and their commander.
"We...we have a bit of a problem."
Eren stood up and looked down at Mikasa, still feeling slightly shaken by her confession.
"Mikasa." He said softly. "I will always wrap your scarf around you. Always and forever."
He clenched his fist and faced the looming form of his mother's killer.
"That's a promise!"
As the smiling monster reached for him, Eren felt himself filling with a familiar rage, his utter hatred of the Titans, and was reminded of his goal to eradicate them from the earth. He might not live for much longer, but during the little time he had left he would do what he could to further this goal.
He pulled his fist back, his mind consumed with a single thought.
ALL OF YOU SHOULD JUST DIE! EVERY LAST ONE!
He swung his fist forward and punched the smiling Titan's palm.
In the paths realm, the hidden place beyond space and time that connected all Eldians together, the founder Ymir froze at the command that had just been given to her.
ALL OF YOU SHOULD JUST DIE! EVERY LAST ONE!
Upon hearing these words, Ymir broke down and began to sob in relief, her tears falling onto the sandy ground beneath her feet. After more than two thousand years of following orders, of living this prolonged, nightmarish existence somewhere between life and death, she had finally been given an out, and she was not going to waste it.
After wiping away her tears, she promptly did exactly as she was told.
As soon as Eren's fist connected with the smiling Titan's palm, the Titan froze before slowly collapsing onto its back with a heavy thud, its body already beginning to emit steam as it disintegrated.
Eren's eyes widened in shock. "What? Did...did it just die?"
A series of thuds and booms could be heard all over the battlefield, and as Eren and Mikasa looked around, they could see all of the Titans collapsing.
"The Titans…" Mikasa murmured in bewilderment. "All of them...they're all dying."
"But why?" Eren frowned.
He looked down at his hands, recalling the surge of energy he had briefly felt as he touched the smiling Titan.
Was it me? How did I do that?
He shook his head. "Let's go find the others."
After carefully picking up Mikasa and carrying her on his back, they began to make their way toward where the rest of the Scouts were. Their task was made slightly difficult by the large amount of steam from the dead Titans obstructing the visibility of the field.
Mikasa looked around with a tiny but growing sense of dread.
Strange...it's quiet...too quiet…
As they got near a cluster of trees, they spotted Jean and Armin next to a Titan's carcass, and both were collapsed on the ground.
Eren raised his voice. "Hey, are you guys okay?"
Neither responded.
Concerned about his friends, Eren gently set Mikasa down so he could check on them.
As he approached Jean, Eren felt his concern growing.
"Oh no, it looks like Jean's hurt."
As he looked at Jean more closely, his concern turned to horror.
"No...no, he's dead." Eren said in disbelief.
"What?" Mikasa exclaimed.
Eren stared at Jean for a few more seconds before turning to Armin and examining him. His face paled as he realized his best friend was also dead.
"Armin?" Eren cried. "No...no! Why?! What happened?! He doesn't look hurt! Did the Titans do this?!"
Tears began to pour down his face and Mikasa's as they looked down at their friend's body.
They didn't have time to focus on their grief, though, as they noticed two people approaching them.
As soon as he recognized Reiner and Bertolt, Eren felt himself filled with rage once more, and he hastily grabbed one of Armin's fallen swords.
"You bastards! Get the hell away from us!"
He tried cutting the back of his hand, but once again failed to transform.
God damn it, why is this still not working?!
"Eren, what did you do?"
Reiner's voice was unusually quiet, but Eren was too angry to notice or care. He pointed the sword at the blond warrior, warning him to stay back.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Eren snarled. "You've got a hell of a lot of nerve approaching us without your Titan!"
Reiner grimaced. "My Titan...it collapsed at the same time as all the other Titans."
Eren blinked. "It did?"
Eren recalled the surge of energy he'd felt when he touched the smiling Titan, and how the Titans had collapsed immediately afterwards. He didn't really understand what this power was, but he decided it would be a good time to bluff.
He boasted. "Well, I'm the one who made all the Titans collapse, so you better stay back!"
Reiner's face paled. "So...so that means you're the coordinate?"
"The what?"
"The reason we came to the walls was to retrieve the coordinate, also known as the Founding Titan." Bertolt explained quietly. "It has the power to control all other Titans."
Mikasa looked at him in shock. "Huh?"
Eren looked intrigued. "Really?"
Reiner looked at him anxiously. "Eren, when you activated this power, what did you do?"
He had no reason to listen to Reiner, but something about his tone made Eren feel compelled to answer.
Eren looked at the ground. "Well...I didn't really know I had this power. I just...I hit the Titan that was about to eat us, wishing that all of the Titans would just die...and then they did."
Reiner and Bertolt looked at each other, their faces pale and drawn.
Eren looked at them eagerly. "So...you're saying I have the power to control all Titans? And if I wished for them all to die, then that means they all died?"
Reiner slowly nodded. "Yeah."
Eren grinned. "Yes! That's...that's fantastic!"
"No it's not!" Reiner shouted. "It's terrible!"
"How could you say that?" Eren yelled, his temper returning. "Don't you know that Titans eat people? Do you think humanity being killed off by the Titans is a good thing or something you sick bastard?!"
Reiner shook his head. "You don't understand. The Titans...they used to be human...and by killing all the Titans, you also killed…"
The little color in Eren's face drained away, and as the steam from the dead Titans dissipated Eren suddenly got a clear view of the field, and could see all of the Scouts scattered throughout the field collapsed on the ground. Some of them were bloody, and had clearly been killed or maimed by the Titans, but others appeared to be fine except for the fact that they weren't moving.
Mikasa's eyes widened in horror, the eerie silence suddenly making sense.
"No...no...that's impossible." Eren said faintly.
He violently shook his head. "No, I don't believe you! You're lying! If I killed every human along with every Titan, then why are you still alive, huh?! Why is Mikasa still alive?!"
Reiner shrugged helplessly. "Mikasa is at least partly Asian. She's a member of a different race, so your power wouldn't affect her. As for us...I guess it must be because we had the power of the Titans."
He looked down at his hands. "Although, our Titan powers don't seem to be working anymore."
Eren looked down at his own hands, and noticed that not only was he still not able to transform, but his wounds were no longer healing.
"What's going on?" Eren murmured numbly. "Did...did I really...do all of this? But...but that means…"
A horrible thought occurred to him.
He looked up at Reiner desperately. "But...I mean...I just killed the Titans and people in this area, right? It...it didn't...surely it didn't...affect anything beyond that, right?"
Reiner looked away, unable to maintain eye contact with Eren as he contemplated the hopeful question and what the likely answer was.
"I...we don't know a lot about the Founding Titan's power. But...from what we were told, its power transcends space and time. So, if you really wished for all the Titans to die, then it probably killed all the Titans in the world. And...by extension…"
Eren fell to his knees, despair beginning to envelope him like a blanket.
"No." Mikasa narrowed her eyes at Reiner. "You're lying. You're just saying this to trick us."
"I wish I was."
Reiner turned around. "Eren, I don't think either of us are really in shape to fight anymore. Take one of the horses and head back for the walls. If I'm wrong, I guess we'll fight again someday. But if I'm right...either way, we'll be waiting for you in Shiganshina."
Reiner began to walk away, much to the others' confusion.
Bertolt quickly caught up with him and grabbed his arm.
"Reiner, what are you doing? Why are you letting him go? What if Eren's right? What if he only affected this area, and the rest of the Eldians and Titans in the world were left untouched?"
"Do you honestly believe that?"
Bertolt fell silent, recalling the massive surge of energy he had felt when Eren's power had awakened.
Reiner let out a long sigh. "If I'm wrong, then we can deal with that later. But...I don't think capturing the Founding Titan matters anymore."
Eren stared down at his best friend's body, numb with guilt and horror.
"No. Armin...did I really kill you? I didn't mean to...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry…"
Mikasa gently rested her hand on his shoulder. "No. It's wrong. They're wrong. It's all just…"
She trailed off, unsure of what to say.
Eren stood up, hastily wiping away his tears. "Let's...let's go. We...we should head back for the walls. We...we can give...A-Armin...a decent burial there."
Mikasa nodded. "Yeah. And once we're there we'll be able to see that there are still people there."
She tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Maybe Reiner is partly right, but there's no way your power could have done anything as drastic as killing everyone in the walls."
A short time later Eren had taken a set of ODM gear from one of the deceased Scouts and acquired their horse, securing himself, Mikasa, and Armin's body on the horse's back.
As they began to head north toward Wall Rose they passed by Ymir, who had tears streaming down her cheeks as she cradled Historia's dead body. She didn't even look up as they went by, too lost in grief to notice or care.
Eren shut his eyes, trying and failing to block out the mounting feelings of dread and horror rising within him.
What have I done?
While Eren and Mikasa headed north toward Wall Rose, Reiner, Bertolt, and Ymir headed south toward Wall Maria. Reiner and Bertolt were on one horse, while Ymir was on another horse, Historia's body behind her.
After several hours of riding hard, the three former Scouts arrived at the outskirts of Shiganshina. The journey had passed in silence, and when they arrived the silence still did not end.
After breaking into some of the abandoned houses they eventually found some old rusty shovels, which they then used to dig a grave for Historia.
Once they had gently laid the angelic blonde to rest in the shallow grave, they then buried her and did their best to mark the gravesite.
Their work finished, Ymir broke down crying again, while Reiner and Bertolt remained silent, their expressions grim and solemn.
After letting her emotions out, Ymir slowly stood up, and voiced what they were all thinking.
"Do...do you think we're among the last Eldians in the world?"
Reiner bowed his head. "We won't know for sure until we make contact with the outside world, but…"
Bertolt smiled feebly. "If those who had the power of the Titans were spared, then warchief Zeke and Pieck should be okay."
Ymir glanced at him, her eyes still bloodshot. "Warchief Zeke? Is he the monkey?"
"Yeah."
Ymir fell silent, her eyes fixed on the grave of her first love.
Reiner shook his head helplessly. "We should find some shelter. Get some rest. It's going to be a long journey tomorrow."
One by one they dispersed for the night to try to get some sleep, but all three of them knew that they wouldn't be getting any real rest that night.
When Eren and Mikasa reached the wall, Eren discovered that he had veered a little too far to the north, as the elevators that Mikasa had told him about were nowhere in sight. Without the elevator, they would need to use the ODM gear to get onto the wall.
After leaving their horse near a tree close to the wall, and gently setting Armin's body a short distance away from the tree, Eren carried Mikasa and used his ODM gear to scale up Wall Rose.
Now that they were safely on the wall, Eren gently set Mikasa down and used a first aid kit to treat her wounds as best as he could.
Mikasa winced in pain as he wrapped the bandages around her.
"Sorry." Eren mumbled.
"It's okay." Mikasa whispered.
After looking over her dressings and being satisfied with his work, Eren looked back at Mikasa, his expression becoming uncertain and lost.
"Do...do you really think…"
The unspoken question hung in the air.
Mikasa shook her head slowly. "Let's just get some rest. We'll find out tomorrow."
They settled down for the night and fell asleep holding hands, trying to take what comfort they could from each other's presence.
The next morning Eren's eyes shot open. For a moment he didn't know why he felt so terrible, then the memories came flooding back and he remembered.
He slowly sat up and turned to the person next to him.
"Mikasa. Are you okay?"
Mikasa slowly sat up as well, gingerly holding her side. "Yeah. It doesn't hurt as much."
Eren let out a sigh of relief before his expression became serious once again.
"We'd better get going."
They began to walk along the wall, Eren supporting Mikasa, and slowly made their way south.
On the right side of the wall the lost territory of Maria stretched off into the distance. As they looked, they didn't see a single Titan anywhere, the land seemingly freed from the occupation of the mindless monsters. But on the left side of the wall, where the rest of humanity had fled after the fall of wall Maria, there was no sign of human life or activity. The handful of buildings they saw appeared to be empty and abandoned. Granted this part of Wall Rose wasn't very populated, but the eerie silence and emptiness only furthered their sinking suspicion that Reiner had been telling the truth.
But they hadn't given up hope yet. They would keep moving forward, and Mikasa was sure they'd soon find plenty of other people alive and well.
After walking for about an hour, they came across the elevators that had been used to facilitate the Scouts rescue mission, and Eren and Mikasa came to a halt, their faces paling rapidly.
Around the elevator several Scouts lay collapsed on the surface of the wall, their bodies stiff and unmoving. Among them Eren recognized members of the Hange squad, including Hange herself, and the feelings of numb horror he'd tried to suppress came back in full force.
"No…"
Eren stared at the bodies of his comrades, his eyes wide and unfocused. "They're...they're dead. They're all dead. Reiner wasn't lying. I…"
Though shaken by what they were seeing, Mikasa tried to put on a strong front for his sake.
"We don't know that for sure." She said firmly.
"What the hell else can this mean?" Eren whispered despairingly. "He said that the power transcends time and space. These guys were nowhere near where we were when I used the coordinates power, and yet…"
Mikasa squeezed his hand. "It doesn't necessarily mean that they're all gone. Let's keep going. I'm sure we'll find other people who are still alive before long. Don't give up hope."
Not really believing her, but clinging to this small hope anyway, Eren slowly nodded.
"Okay."
They walked past the elevators and continued to follow the wall. The walk was silent, the feelings of dread and despair much stronger now despite Mikasa's attempts at optimism.
After another hour of walking, they finally saw a sign of life.
Mikasa pointed ahead of them with a smile. "See! What did I tell you?"
Eren looked up, and saw a horse riding toward them with a rider on it.
Eren felt his spirits rising slightly. "You're right. Looks like people are still alive. Guess Reiner was exaggerating a bit."
They began to walk faster, and before long the horse had reached them, along with a familiar face.
Eren gasped as he recognized the rider. "Captain Levi!"
Levi jumped off the horse and landed in front of them. "What the hell is going on?"
Levi looked shaken and pale, and Eren felt an icy dread creeping into his heart once again.
He swallowed nervously. "What do you mean sir? Did something happen?"
Levi gestured behind him. "Well, last night when I went to bed, I knew the Scouts were mounting a mission to rescue you from the Armored and Colossal Titans. But when I woke up this morning, everyone in the city was dead."
Eren and Mikasa froze, the little color left in their faces draining away.
"Everyone?" Eren repeated numbly.
"Everyone. Everywhere I looked, everywhere I checked, not one person was stirring or moving. I even tried shouting, hoping to get the attention of someone, anyone, but nobody came."
Eren collapsed to his knees, his eyes glued to the surface of the wall as he became numb with horror and guilt, his mind barely able to process the full scope of what he had done.
Levi looked at him in concern. "Eren?"
"Captain."
Mikasa pulled Levi aside so that they were a short distance away from Eren.
Levi lowered his voice. "So...so what happened?"
Mikasa bowed her head grimly. "Reiner and the others...it turns out the reason they came to the walls was to capture the power of the Founding Titan, a Titan that can apparently control all other Titans. During the battle to rescue Eren, things had gotten rather chaotic, and Eren and I were...about to be eaten by a Titan. But then, it turns out that Eren was the one who had the Founding Titan, and he awakened its power and tried to use it to save us by killing all of the Titans. And it worked. All the Titans are gone."
Levi's eyes widened. "Really?"
Mikasa nodded. "Yes. But...Reiner told us...apparently, the Titans were once human...and by killing all the Titans...Eren also…"
Levi's face paled even further, and he looked at Eren with new understanding, pity and sadness welling up inside him as he observed the despondent teen.
After talking for a little more Mikasa and Levi returned to Eren's side, though Eren didn't seem to react.
Mikasa knelt down next to him. "Eren. Listen to me, this is not your fault. You didn't know."
Eren said nothing, and gave no sign he had even heard her.
"Eren?" Mikasa whispered anxiously
Levi looked over the territory of Wall Rose, his mind slowly processing what had happened.
He briefly considered looking for other survivors, but deep down he knew that they wouldn't find any, and seeing more bodies would only add to Eren's pain and trauma, and theirs.
Levi frowned. As to why they were the only ones left, he figured in Eren's case it was because he had the power of a Titan, in Mikasa's case it was because she was Asian, and in his case...well, he wasn't sure. He did vaguely remember his mother once saying something about how their family was special, though he didn't know what she had meant.
There was also the possibility that Kenny was a blood relative of his, which would explain why a man like him would take in a starving orphan. If that was the case, and there was something different about their family, then Kenny could also be alive out there somewhere. But the odds of finding him were low, and a serial killer was the last thing they needed right now.
Levi looked back at Eren and Mikasa, and could see that Mikasa's attempts at comforting Eren were having little to no effect. It wasn't hard to understand why, as no words would easily assuage the guilt Eren must have been feeling after accidentally wiping out most of humanity. Under the circumstances, Levi knew that what Eren needed was some kind of distraction, something else to focus on.
He stepped toward the two young scouts. "Well, if the Titans are truly all gone, then we shouldn't have any trouble reaching that basement now. There's not much point staying here now, and hopefully your old man left behind some answers that might explain what the hell is going on."
He began walking back to his horse. "Let's go."
"Wait." Eren raised his hand in the air. "Can...c-can we bury Armin first?"
"Yes, of course." Mikasa answered at once.
After securing his horse, Levi and the two young Scouts retraced their steps back to the elevators. Mikasa sat on the horse at Levi's insistence due to her injuries, while Levi and Eren walked beside it.
When they reached the elevators Levi's face tightened as he saw the bodies of his dead comrades, but for Eren's sake said nothing.
After using the elevator to lower Levi's horse down to the ground, they made their way back to where they had left Armin's body. Since Mikasa was injured, Eren and Levi dug the grave.
Levi grimaced as he thought of all the people who wouldn't get the chance to have a proper burial, whose corpses would lie unattended in their homes and on the streets, slowly rotting away and picked apart by scavengers, until only a skeleton was left. And given enough time even these would break down and disappear, leaving behind no trace that they had ever existed.
But there was nothing they could do about that. They didn't have the time or the manpower to bury everyone, and even attempting such a massive feat would only further reinforce the horror of what had happened. Levi didn't think Eren and Mikasa would be able to handle that additional trauma. He knew he wouldn't be able to.
Burying Armin, though, that was something he could do, as he knew it would be important for Eren and Mikasa to find some kind of closure. And right now they were all he had left, so it was up to him to look after them. The dead were beyond help, but these two were still alive, and as long as he had someone to fight for he could keep going even in the face of this catastrophe.
After the grave was dug, Eren gently laid Armin down to rest. Levi then buried him, while Eren and Mikasa broke down sobbing, mourning their friend and trying to comfort each other.
After marking the grave as best as he could, Levi insisted that they get going and head for Shiganshina. He knew that having a goal, an objective, would help take their minds off what had happened at least a little, and he had to admit he was curious to learn about what Grisha Yeager had left behind for them.
They rode hard toward Shiganshina, Levi on one horse, Eren and Mikasa on the other. The journey passed mainly in silence, and as they continued the sun slowly made its way across the sky.
It was evening when they finally arrived in Shiganshina, the sun still high in the sky but slowly making its way toward the horizon. The three Scouts dismounted from their horses and made their way to the Yeager family's old house.
As they walked through the empty streets, Eren and Mikasa felt old memories of a simpler, happier time stirring within them. Memories that now felt bittersweet, knowing that the three had become two, and there was no going back from that.
They reached what was left of their old house, and after Eren and Levi moved aside several medium sized boulders, they saw the staircase leading down to the basement. The three of them descended down, the answers they sought close at hand.
At around the same time that Eren, Mikasa, and Levi reached the basement, Reiner, Bertolt, and Ymir reached the coast, where Magath, Zeke, and Pieck were waiting for them.
Zeke looked at the three riders carefully. "Reiner? Bertolt? Is that you?"
"Zeke!" Bertolt cried in relief.
Magath glanced at Zeke. "Looks like your theory was right."
As the three former scouts dismounted, Magath looked at them seriously.
"Braun, Hoover, what the hell is going on?"
Reiner looked at Magath anxiously. "Has anything happened in the outside world?"
Magath folded his arms, a grim expression on his face. "As a matter of fact it has. Last night we were informed that every Eldian living in the internment zones had mysteriously died. Later reports came in and it appears that every single Eldian in the entire world has died, the sole exception being Lara Tybur, a member of the Tybur family who was apparently the possessor of the Warhammer Titan."
Reiner shut his eyes, anguish washing over his features. "Shit."
He had been expecting this, but it was still a blow, and the horrifying reality was now truly sinking in.
Zeke looked at them, his expression calculating. "It was the Founding Titan, wasn't it?"
Reiner nodded grimly. "Yeah. The person with the Founding Titan is Eren Yeager."
Magath shook his head in bewilderment. "Why the hell would he kill all the Eldians?"
Bertolt let out a bitter laugh. "It was an accident."
"An accident?" Pieck sputtered incredulously. "How the fuck do you accidentally kill off millions of people?!"
Reiner bowed his head. "It seems that the 145th king erased the memories of the people of the walls, making them forget about the outside world and leaving them to believe that they were the last of humanity in a world overrun by Titans."
Reiner winced, a look of shame appearing on his face. "When...when we breached Wall Maria, Eren's mother was eaten by a Titan right in front of him, and ever since that day he swore he would get revenge and kill all the Titans. And when we were trying to capture him, the Founder's power activated somehow, and he wished for all of the Titans to die. He got his wish, all the Titans died. But…"
Zeke's eyes widened. "But he also inadvertently killed all the Eldians as well, with those of us possessing one of the Nine Titans being the sole survivors. And even those Titans seem to have been destroyed."
He held up his hand and waved it loosely. "Pieck's Titan powers and mine have stopped working."
Reiner nodded. "It's been the same for us."
"Who is this?" Magath asked, looking at Ymir suspiciously.
"This is Ymir." Reiner replied. "She ate Marcel, but she's been helping us."
"Hmm."
Pieck gripped the sides of her head. "This...this is a nightmare."
Zeke glanced back and forth between Reiner and Bertolt. "You said his name was Eren Yeager? Could you tell me more about him?"
Levi slowly closed the final page of the last book. He, Eren, and Mikasa were silent, their heads still reeling from what they had learned.
Everything they thought they knew had been turned on its head, and the true nature of the world was far different and more complicated than they could have ever predicted.
The good news was that humanity was not actually on the verge of extinction, far from it. But for the rest of it…
Eren slowly wandered away, looking utterly lost. Mikasa soon followed after him.
Levi shook his head. He wasn't sure what on earth to say, and he really wished Erwin were still alive. He would know what to do, and he would be able to at least pretend to be as unshaken and determined as ever.
But Erwin was gone, as were the rest of the Eldian people, and so he knew it would be up to him to figure out what they should do next.
After a moment of staring absently at the three books on the desk, Levi carefully gathered them up and exited the basement.
He found Eren and Mikasa standing a short distance away. Eren still looked lost and troubled, while Mikasa was watching him with concern.
"Hey." Levi raised his voice to get their attention. "We'll figure out what we're going to do tomorrow. For now we should make camp. Eren, go gather some firewood."
Years of ingrained military training kicked in, and Eren immediately did as he was told, silently walking away.
The fire was built and dinner was prepared in silence. Eren and Levi did most of the work, with the latter insisting that Mikasa should rest until her injuries were healed.
Throughout the entire evening Levi and Mikasa spoke only a handful of times, while Eren didn't say anything at all.
Eventually the three of them turned in for the night, with Eren silently volunteering to take the first watch.
Levi felt slightly uneasy, but figured that Eren wanted to do something useful, and that after what they had discovered in the basement, sleep would be difficult anyways.
Levi and Mikasa slowly drifted off, while Eren remained awake, continuing to look troubled and lost.
A few hours later, Levi suddenly found himself wide awake. He wasn't sure why, but he had the sense that something was terribly wrong.
He turned and saw Eren standing next to where they had stashed their ODM gear for the night, his shoulders shaking and his hands trembling.
What is he doing?
But as Eren raised his hands, Levi saw that he had picked up one of the blades, and was aiming it at his own neck.
Levi's eyes widened. "Shit!"
Levi dove, and just barely managed to stop Eren before he could inflict a fatal wound upon himself. Even so, he was too slow to stop Eren from hurting himself completely, as the young man had managed to put a shallower cut into his neck before Levi violently forced Eren's hands away from his neck.
"MIKASA, HELP!"
Mikasa shot up the moment she heard Levi's yell, and immediately turned to see what was going on.
Her eyes widened and the color drained from her face as she saw Levi restraining Eren from behind, the bloody blade still in the young man's hand.
"Eren!"
Levi forced him to drop the blade. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Eren looked at the ground in shame. "I...I…"
All at once he burst into tears.
"Everyone was counting on me! I had the greatest power in the entire world! I could have done almost anything with it, anything! But what was my first thought? Kill. That's all that I could think of, kill, and now everyone's dead because of me. Armin, Erwin, Jean, Connie, Sasha, Krista, Hange, everyone."
He shuddered and closed his eyes, tears still trailing down his face. "I accused Reiner and Bertolt of being monsters, but I'm the biggest one of all. I killed everyone in the walls and god knows how many people outside the walls, all because of one moment of rage. I'm despicable. I shouldn't exist. It would have been better if I had died."
"That's not true!"
Mikasa stepped forward and cupped Eren's face in her hands, tears trailing down her own face as well.
"That's not true. You're not a monster Eren. You were just trying to protect me. You had no way of knowing what that power would do, you had no way of knowing what the Titans really were."
She gave him a watery smile. "You didn't want to kill the Titans just for the sake of killing, you wanted to do it to protect the people you love."
She reached back and fiddled with her scarf. "I meant what I said back then, and I still believe every word."
Eren's eyes snapped to the scarf, recalling her confession for the first time since learning about the Founding Titan.
She gently stroked his cheek. "If you were given the chance to go back and do it all over again, knowing what you know now, would you have done the same thing?"
Eren blinked back a few tears before slowly shaking his head.
"No…"
Mikasa nodded. "And that makes all the difference. Reiner and Bertolt knew what they were doing when they broke down the wall. You didn't. Don't compare yourself to them. You're better than they could ever hope to be. Believe me when I say, you are the kindest, most brave person I've ever met."
She looked at him sadly, tears still pouring down her cheeks. "I've already lost everyone else in my life. Please, Eren, don't leave me too."
At this Eren broke down crying again, and Levi finally let him go. Mikasa wrapped her arms around him, and Eren returned the embrace, both of them still sobbing but doing their best to comfort each other.
Levi casually picked up the discarded blade and wiped it off with one of his handkerchiefs. "Right. Well, I'm going to hide these somewhere so you won't be tempted to do something stupid again."
He then walked away, giving the two of them some privacy.
As Levi hid the ODM gear somewhere else, he felt a palpable sense of relief, as well as the urge to smack himself in the head for not thinking. He really should have seen that coming. He'd known people who had taken their own lives because they had been unable to handle the guilt after accidentally killing just one person. The guilt that Eren must have been feeling would have been several orders of magnitude worse. Of course he would try to kill himself.
But thanks to his quick reflexes and Mikasa's words, the crisis had, for now at least, been resolved. But he'd have to keep a closer eye on them from now on.
He didn't want to lose anyone else.
Breakfast the next morning was rather tense and awkward, the bandage wrapped around Eren's neck serving as a constant reminder of the previous night's events. Eren remained silent throughout the meal, his face containing a mixture of guilt and shame.
After they had finished eating, Mikasa asked a fairly obvious but important question.
"So what do we do now?"
Levi finished his cup of tea before answering. "Well, you said that Reiner and the others would be waiting for us in Shiganshina, right? Obviously they left for the coast before we arrived, but they'll probably be back. I think our best course of action...is to wait for them to come back, and try to talk to them."
Mikasa frowned. "You want to talk to the people who tried to kill us?"
Levi let out a long frustrated sigh. "Well, I don't see the three of us restarting civilization in the walls on our own, and I don't much fancy the idea of hiding and shitting in the woods for the rest of my life. Given what's happened, we might be able to come to some sort of arrangement with them."
Levi glanced down at his blades. "And if not, well...it wouldn't be the first time I've had to kill humans."
Eren winced and looked at the ground. Mikasa silently took his hand, trying to give him what comfort she could.
For the three survivors from the Walls, most of the day passed by relatively uneventfully, and it wasn't until late in the evening that something finally happened.
Several horses rode through the ruined outer gate, and converged on the campfire that Eren and Mikasa were sitting at. On the horses were Magath, Zeke, Pieck, Reiner, Bertolt, and Ymir.
Reiner pointed at the two young scouts. "That's them, that's Eren and Mikasa."
Magath regarded the two islanders curiously. After relaying more information about them, both Reiner and Zeke had insisted that they return to the walls and retrieve the handful of survivors. He had been somewhat reluctant, but when he considered how he would feel if he had been living his normal life in Marley and then one day saw everyone around him die, he'd go mad if he had to stay there, and given the extraordinary circumstances he was willing to offer humanitarian aid even to the island devils, especially since there were so few of them left.
And as he observed Eren and Mikasa, he knew that he had made the right choice. Mikasa looked miserable enough, but Eren's eyes looked almost dead, hollow, as if he'd suffered some grievous wound and his spirit had emptied out through the opening, leaving him looking lost and unbearably sad, and Magath couldn't help but feel pity for them.
A short distance away, Pieck was having similar thoughts. Initially after hearing about Eren she had been filled with nothing but hatred and rage. Knowing that almost all of the Eldians in the world, including her father, had been wiped out in a single night deeply disturbed her. And for all of Reiner's claims, she had refused to believe that anyone could do such a thing by accident. This had been a deliberate and malicious act, she was certain of it, and she would make this person pay.
But now that she was seeing Eren with her own eyes, she could feel her anger and disgust melting away as she took in his despondent demeanor. It was a look she'd seen once before, after a member of the Panzer unit had unintentionally killed one of their fellow soldiers after the soldier had carelessly run in front of the barrel of his gun. Neither she nor any of the other Panzer squad members had blamed him for what happened, but getting him to forgive himself had taken a while.
Now she could see the same look on Eren's face, and she found herself overcome with sympathy for the poor young man in front of her. Reiner had been telling the truth. It was an accident. As terrible as she felt about the situation, Pieck knew that Eren must be feeling far worse.
As the riders approached them, Eren barely acknowledged their arrival, while Mikasa was watching them warily.
Zeke was the first to dismount from his horse. "So you're Eren. Reiner told me all about you. I'm so sorry about what you've had to go through."
He walked over to the campfire and tried to smile reassuringly. "My name is Zeke Yeager. I'm your half brother."
Eren's eyes widened, and for the first time he seemed to be paying full attention to his surroundings as he looked up at his older brother.
Zeke's smile became sad. "Believe me, Eren, I understand what you're feeling. We've both been put through hell by that despicable man."
His smile faded. "Grisha...he tried brainwashing me and using me for his shortsighted nationalistic plans, treating me like a tool instead of a son."
Much as she disliked hearing her adoptive father being talked about like that, Mikasa did remember that in his journal Grisha had said he hadn't treated Zeke very well, and regretted it greatly.
Zeke let out a weary sigh. "I suppose he must have learned something from his mistake, as he didn't try to do the same thing to you, but he overcorrected and kept you completely in the dark, even after he forced the power of the Titans on you. And this is the end result."
He frowned. "You were just trying to help your people, but you ended up destroying them instead, all because that bastard couldn't be bothered to explain anything."
Zeke held out his hand to Eren. "I know we've just met, but believe me when I say I won't use you or abandon you like he did. We're the last of the Eldian race, and we need to look out for each other. Especially now that the Titans and the power of the Titans are gone."
"So your Titan powers are gone then?"
Everyone looked up to see Levi perched on a nearby roof.
Reiner's eyes widened. "Shit."
Magath rested his hand on his pistol, ready to draw it out at a moment's notice. "Who are you?"
"I'm Levi."
Magath scanned the other rooftops warily. "How many of you are there?"
"Just the three of us."
Levi slowly brought out his blades and casually held them at his sides. "I was waiting to hear about the status of your Titan powers before I showed myself so that I could know if I had any chance of taking you guys on in a fight. If you could still turn into Titans then trying to attack all of you would be suicide. But since you can't, defeating all of you won't be any trouble."
Pieck scoffed. "Arrogant little shit."
Reiner looked at her sharply. "Don't underestimate him. That's captain Levi, and he's the strongest soldier they had. If he wanted to kill us, he probably could."
Magath glanced at Reiner before returning his gaze to the short captain. "So, are you planning to kill us?"
Levi flipped one of the blades in his hand. "Not necessarily. I'd like to know your intentions first."
"Well, given the extraordinary circumstances, we were intending to escort any survivors back home with us."
"And why should we go with you?"
Magath smiled grimly. "Because you've got nowhere else to go? Unless you'd prefer to remain on this mass graveyard of an island. Since there's only three of you I'm fairly certain I will be able to guarantee your safety."
Zeke rubbed the back of his head as he looked up at Levi. "I know we're not on the best of terms, but like I said, we're the last Eldians. We should set aside our differences and help each other through this difficult time."
Levi sighed irritably. "Fine. We'll go back with you, but under one condition."
"And what's that?" Magath asked warily.
"One of them has to die."
Levi pointed his blade at Reiner and Bertolt.
Bertolt's face rapidly paled. "Huh?"
"What?" Pieck exclaimed.
"Are you serious?" Magath asked incredulously.
Levi's face darkened. "Yes. They're the ones who broke down Wall Maria, and they're the ones who ended up pushing Eren into unintentionally doing what he did. I know that once we get to Marley you'll be calling the shots, and we'll likely have no choice but to go along with whatever you want. But for right now, I want these bastards to be held accountable for their crimes. I want blood. That's my condition for us coming quietly."
Pieck glared at him. "You can't seriously expect us to-"
"It's fine." Reiner interjected. "Take me."
Bertolt turned toward him sharply. "Reiner…"
Reiner shook his head hopelessly. "This is all my fault. On that day, after Marcel was eaten, Annie and Bertolt wanted to go back, I'm the one who forced them to keep going. Everything that's happened was because of me."
Reiner looked up at Levi, his face pale but his expression determined. "So if you want blood, take mine. Just leave Bertolt alone."
"Reiner!" Bertolt protested.
Levi crouched near the edge of the roof, his blades ready to go. "Fine by me."
He glanced at Magath.
Magath sighed. "Oh bloody hell. Fine, if you Eldians want to kill each other, I won't stop you."
"Wait!" Bertolt protested.
In the blink of an eye, Levi had swooped down and beheaded Reiner. The body and the severed head both fell to the ground with a meaty thud, blood pouring out of them.
Bertolt was standing stock still, trembling due to how close Levi had passed by him, and distressed at the sight of his friend's body. He was upset, incredibly upset, but he knew that Levi's anger was justified, and there really wasn't anything he could do, unless he wanted to push his luck and end up the same way as Reiner.
Magath looked at Levi nervously, taken aback by how fast the man had moved. "There, are you satisfied?"
Levi wiped his blades off on Reiner's clothes before returning them to their scabbards. "For now."
"Good."
Since it was late in the evening, it was decided that they would rest for the night and make the journey back to the coast early in the morning. Despite being rather tense, the discussion managed to remain civil.
As they dispersed for the night, Eren found his gaze lingering on Reiner's body. Not so long ago he would have been overjoyed by the sight of Reiner's corpse, relishing in seeing justice served for all the lives he had taken. Now, though, he didn't feel anything at all, his previous anger and disgust at Reiner's actions extinguished in the face of his own sins.
Mikasa stood near the edge of the balcony, her hands resting on the railing as she stared out at the gorgeous view of the ocean and the sandy shore just a short distance away. Under other circumstances she would have been completely in awe of the view, and the waves falling upon the shore would have been an inviting, soothing sound. Even now the sights and sounds of the sea did have a calming effect on her, but they couldn't completely wash away the sadness and uneasiness within her.
It had been about a week since they'd left Shiganshina, and a fair amount had happened during the intervening time. After riding south on horseback for about a day, they'd reached the coast, which had given Eren, Levi, and her their first sighting of the ocean. It had been just as Armin had described it, right down to the vast quantities of salt.
Mikasa dearly wished that their friend could have had the chance to see the sea with them, but she didn't mention this, knowing that Eren still blamed himself for Armin's death.
Shortly after arriving at the coast the three of them, along with the other surviving Eldians, were escorted onto the ship stationed at the docks, and the ship had brought them to Marley.
Seeing Marley had been even more of a shock then seeing the ocean. In many ways it resembled the world behind the walls they had known, but the architectural style was slightly different, and there were other things such as cars and electricity that were completely alien to them. Fortunately Zeke was more than happy to explain to them anything they didn't understand, and was very patient with their many questions.
They didn't see much of Marley though before they were escorted to a summer home that had been owned by the Tybur family and kept under house arrest while the Marleyan government figured out what to do with them. It was a large house equipped with every modern comfort and convenience, so it was a very nice prison, but a prison nonetheless.
Bertolt, Pieck, and Zeke had their personal belongings from the internment zones brought to them, and Zeke later explained the reason why they weren't staying in the internment zones: they were still clearing out the bodies of all the Eldians that had died.
Because there were so many of them, the Marleyans had no choice but to dispose of the bodies by dumping them in mass graves or burning them, and periodically they had seen smoke rising from the edge of the city, a grim reminder of all the lives that had been lost.
Whenever she saw the smoke, Mikasa did her best to keep Eren indoors so that he wouldn't see. This sadly proved to be all too easy, as Eren had been going along with whatever she wanted without putting up any fight.
Ever since the night he had tried to kill himself Mikasa had kept a close eye on him, and had even ended up sleeping in the same bed as him just in case, something they hadn't done since they were kids. Not so long ago if she'd tried to do this Eren would have complained about her being overly protective and yelled at her to stop treating him like a little kid.
But she found she would have preferred that reaction to the quiet sadness Eren was displaying now. As angry and annoying as the old Eren could get, and as much as some of his thoughtless comments had hurt, he had been so passionate and full of life. He was a person who firmly believed in protecting the ones he cared about and fighting against those who would dare to hurt them due to his ironclad sense of right and wrong. He was the one who had saved her from a terrible fate, and given her a home and a family when she had nowhere else to go. He had been her light, her fire, and she had been more than willing to follow him into hell if she needed to.
Now, though, it was like the fire had all but gone out, with only a few feeble sparks left. It pained her to see him like this, but she refused to give up, and did all she could to keep the flames alive.
Levi did his best to help, but for the most part he'd been too occupied with keeping an eye on the Marleyan soldiers guarding the house, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. He'd also been safeguarding the three books left behind by Grisha, as no one other than the three of them knew about them.
Strangely enough the person who had done the best job at raising Eren's spirits had been Zeke. Mikasa had been surprised, seeing how Zeke didn't even know Eren existed until a week ago, but he did seem to have genuine affection for his younger brother. From what she had read in Grisha's journals Mikasa knew that Zeke had not had a very good relationship with his parents, and so perhaps he had been longing for a real sense of family that he could now have with his brother.
Mikasa had to admit that Zeke's methods of cheering Eren up were highly effective. Rather than trying to encourage Eren or reassure him that he hadn't done anything wrong, instead he'd simply been telling Eren about the outside world, informing him about all kinds of things that he hadn't known about growing up in ignorance behind the walls. It gave Eren something else to focus on, and he seemed genuinely interested in the things that Zeke talked about.
Mikasa was slightly annoyed that Zeke seemed to be doing a better job at helping Eren heal than she was, but she did her best not to show her annoyance, knowing that Eren's wellbeing was more important.
As she had been busy keeping an eye on Eren and Zeke, she didn't interact with the other surviving Eldians much. Ymir stayed in her room most of the time, Pieck spent most of her time reading in the house's modestly sized library, and Mikasa did her best to avoid Bertolt.
The one time Bertolt had talked to them it had been to ask about what had really happened to Annie. Eren had quietly answered, explaining how she had been trapped inside of that crystal, and was unharmed. Bertolt had looked immensely relieved, but quickly left after seeing the look on Mikasa's face.
Levi had seemingly been satisfied with Reiner's death, but she would never forget that it was Bertolt's face she had seen looming over the wall that day.
But while her anger at Bertolt remained, she knew that, given the circumstances, there was no point in holding a grudge.
A faint knocking behind her pulled Mikasa from her thoughts. She turned away from the ocean and looked back to see Eren standing in the doorway.
"Zeke told me Magath will be here in about an hour." Eren said quietly.
"Oh. Okay."
She walked away from the railing and went back inside with Eren.
About an hour later, Eren, Mikasa, Levi, Zeke, Pieck, Bertolt, and Ymir had gathered in the living room, with Magath and two Marleyan soldiers sitting near the front of the room.
As she surveyed the other remaining Eldians, she could see that most of them still looked rather miserable, and Mikasa knew she probably did too.
The only two exceptions were Zeke, who seemed fairly calm, and Levi, who was watching the Marleyans warily.
Levi scowled. "So, are you finally going to tell us what's going on?"
The two Marleyan soldiers looked scandalized that an Eldian would dare to speak so disrespectfully to a Marleyan officer, but said nothing, Magath having given them orders to remain silent.
Magath let out a long sigh. "The past few days have been a living monument to the phrase 'Be careful what you wish for.' There are a lot of people who secretly, and in some cases not so secretly, wanted the Eldian race to die out. But now that it's actually happened the consequences have been catastrophic. Despite looking down on them Marley was dependent on its Eldian population, both as a reliable source of cheap labor and for a large chunk of our military. Now that they're all suddenly gone the economy has all but collapsed, and half a dozen other countries have already declared war on us. Our leaders are busy scrambling trying to figure out how to fix this mess."
He leaned forward. "Since there are so few of you left, and the Titan powers seem to be gone, you have completely dropped off of their list of priorities. So for the most part it's been left up to me to decide what will happen to you."
Ymir stared at him anxiously. "What are you going to do?"
Magath glanced at her. "There are several options. The only other Eldian left in the world besides you is Lara Tybur, who survived because she was the Warhammer Titan. The Tybur family died along with all the other Eldians, leaving Lara the sole holder of the Tybur family's enormous wealth. She's already sold and donated a lot of her assets to Marley, but after learning about you all she has agreed to share her wealth with her last remaining kin. If you want, you could join her and spend the rest of your days in the lap of luxury."
His gaze shifted to Mikasa. "But I have a feeling that those of you from the island would prefer to not live here, given your history with Marley. There is another option. I contacted Kiyomi Azumabito, the ambassador from Hizuru, and I told her about you."
Mikasa blinked in surprise. "Me?"
"Yes. As the last living Asian from within the walls there's a good chance that your ancestors originated from Hizuru. Kiyomi was intrigued, and has agreed to provide you with sanctuary in Hizuru. And from what I understood, if you choose this option Lara Tybur will still provide you with a fund to help secure your future."
Mikasa tilted her head as she considered this. "Well...that second option sounds rather nice."
She squeezed Eren's hand. "Doesn't it Eren?"
Eren silently nodded.
Levi folded his arms. "This is all suspiciously generous. What's the catch?"
Magath glanced at Zeke before returning his gaze to Levi, a grimace forming on his face.
"Well, regardless of which option you choose, there is one thing that my superiors said will be required. All of you will need to be sterilized."
The remaining Eldians froze in shock.
"What?" Mikasa breathed.
Magath frowned apologetically. "While eliminating the Eldian race completely was not what we originally intended, given that there are so few of you left-"
"-you want to make sure you finish the job, is that it?!" Levi yelled.
"That's not-"
Levi leaped to his feet, his face livid. "We've lost everything because of the events you set into motion, and now you want to take away our ability to have children?!"
"Were you planning to have children?" Zeke asked calmly.
Levi deflated slightly. "...well, no, but the others…"
Zeke shook his head. "I can understand how you feel, but you're still new to the outside world. While it is true that the Titan powers appear to be gone, we don't know for certain that they are gone for good. And regardless, as Eldians we'll always be looked down on and regarded with suspicion, as will any children we have. And after all the death and destruction that has happened because of the Titans, you can't really blame them when the existence of the Titans and the Eldian race are so inescapably linked."
Levi fell silent, reflecting on all of his comrades who had been killed by the Titans. Much as it galled him to be ordered around by the Marleyans who had created those Titans, he had to concede they had a point. While they had been exploiting the power of the Titans, the Marleyans were not the ones who had created this power.
As long as Eldians existed, there would always be the possibility of this power returning. And if this were to happen, the Eldians would continue to be exploited, and humanity would continue to live in fear of the Titans.
He could understand their reasoning. But that didn't mean he had to like it, and after everything they'd been through it seemed unfair to ask even more of them.
Mikasa chewed on her lip. "Eren, what do you think?"
Eren looked at Magath and shrugged hopelessly. "After all the lives I've taken, I have no right to judge anyone else. If you think this is for the best, I'll do it."
Mikasa looked at him seriously. "Eren, listen to me, you are not a monster. You didn't mean to kill all those people."
Eren looked at her sadly. "But that doesn't change the fact that I am the one who did it."
Mikasa shook her head helplessly, unsure of what to say. She had already forgiven him, but it seemed that getting him to forgive himself would take much longer.
After a few more arguments and thinly veiled threats (the most memorable one coming from Levi when he not so casually mentioned that he once killed a man just using a rusty spoon) the remaining Eldians reluctantly agreed to the sterilization. Eren, Levi, Zeke, and Bertolt were given vasoligations, while Mikasa, Pieck, and Ymir were given tubal ligations, thus ending their genetic lines and ensuring that the Eldian race would become extinct upon their deaths.
After the sterilization was completed, Magath kept his word, and the remaining Eldians went their separate ways. Bertolt, Pieck, and Ymir joined Lara Tybur, while the others elected to take up Kiyomi's offer of sanctuary in Hizuru. Eren, Mikasa, and Levi went with Kiyomi due to their disdain for Marley, while Zeke came with them so that he could stay with his brother and (so he hoped) future sister in law.
As the ship made its way out to sea, Kiyomi surveyed her four Eldian guests with a smile.
"It's wonderful to meet you all. I'm so sorry for what you've had to go through. It must have been so painful."
She nodded reassuringly at Mikasa. "But I am glad I got to meet the descendant of our lost people. Rest assured, you will be looked after."
"Thank you." Mikasa murmured quietly.
Kiyomi waved her hand casually at the lower deck. "It'll be a few days before we arrive in Hizuru, so make yourselves at home."
"Okay. Eren, why don't we go check on our room."
Eren silently nodded, and he and Mikasa went below deck. Sensing they needed some time alone, Zeke headed for the front of the ship to get a better view of the ocean.
Now that it was just the two of them, Levi eyed Kiyomi suspiciously.
"Alright, what's your angle?"
"I beg your pardon?"
Levi folded his arms. "I know you and Mikasa are distantly related, but I seriously doubt that you would do all of this purely out of the goodness of your heart for a girl you just met. What's your real motive?"
"That's rather unfair of you. I do sincerely care about Mikasa's wellbeing. After all, blood is blood no matter how thinly spread. And I will keep my promise of offering you all sanctuary."
Kiyomi glanced off to the side. "Having said that...there is something else."
Levi scowled. "What is it?"
Kiyomi carefully considered her words before she continued.
"Well, at the moment Marley is thoroughly preoccupied with their own problems, and most of the other nations are also focused on Marley. Nobody is looking at Paradis island right now, and all of its inhabitants are gone."
Levi's eyes narrowed. "So basically, the island has tons of natural resources that you want to exploit while no one else is paying attention. And you need someone who knows the lay of the land to help you."
Kiyomi inclined her head. "In essence, yes."
Levi let out a bitter laugh. "It hasn't even been a month and already we've got grave robbers. Tch. Whatever. It's not like the people of the island need the resources anymore. If you want me to help you survey the island, fine, but you leave them out of this."
He jerked his head in the direction Eren and Mikasa had gone, making it quite clear that he wouldn't tolerate them being hurt or exploited in any way.
"Of course." Kiyomi smiled shrewdly. "I look forward to doing business with you."
She then walked away to speak with the captain, leaving Levi alone with his thoughts.
Levi found himself feeling oddly relieved. While Kiyomi seemed to be shamelessly mercenary, at least her motives made sense, and he would have found it more suspicious if she was helping them without a clear and selfish reason. After all, most people didn't help others unless there was something in it for them.
He glanced at the entrance to the lower deck where Eren and Mikasa had gone, and his expression softened slightly. Most people, but not all.
Mikasa poked her head through the arch, and smiled when she saw Eren sitting on the bench near the Azumabito garden.
He looked up and a small smile lit up his face. "Morning Mikasa."
"Hey." She walked over and sat down next to him. "I thought I might find you here."
She unwrapped the scarf from her neck and carefully wrapped it around Eren. He reached out and took her hand, gently squeezing it before returning his gaze to the pleasant environment around them. A cherry blossom tree overlooked the garden, and birds could be heard singing.
Eren's face was calm and serene, and Mikasa was incredibly happy to see him doing better.
Four years had passed since they first arrived at the Azumabito estate, and while Eren was still much quieter and more solemn then he had been before, slowly but surely he'd gotten better, and as the years passed he seemed to be enjoying life again. He had some relapses where he would withdraw back into a more depressed state, but those were becoming less frequent, and Mikasa hoped that there would come a time when he could completely forgive himself.
She'd discussed Eren's wellbeing a few times privately with Zeke, and while he did his best to help his younger brother, in his opinion she had been the biggest factor in Eren's healing process.
He also believed that Eren did reciprocate her romantic feelings but was waiting at least one more year before he acted upon them. If in one year Zeke didn't die, then that would prove that the Titan powers and the curse of Ymir were truly gone. With that no longer hanging over them, Eren would then feel more comfortable building a life together for them.
Mikasa could understand Eren's reasoning, and was more than willing to wait. She would be overjoyed if their relationship became romantic in nature, but ultimately she just wanted to be by his side. Whether they remained friends or became lovers, she would always be there for him.
While the two of them had mainly stayed at the Azumabito estate for the past four years, they knew things in the world were changing, and thanks to Kiyomi they were kept fairly up to date on current events.
Shortly after they had left Marley a long and rather violent war had broken out between Marley and several other nations. Hizuru had stayed out of it, but apparently the casualties on both sides had been very high. The war had ended just a few months ago with Marley's unconditional surrender, and the once mighty superpower was now a much smaller country, having been forced to give up a lot of its territory as reparation.
Despite the war, Mikasa still occasionally got letters from Ymir, and so knew that Lara, Ymir, Pieck, and Bertolt were doing well, their lives being fairly easy thanks to the Tybur family's money and influence, though the Tybur family's name didn't carry as much weight as it once had.
The world's reaction to the death of the Eldian race had been rather mixed. Thanks to a century of Marleyan propaganda there had been many who actively rejoiced now that the descendants of devils were gone. But those with a basic sense of empathy, even those who had hated the Eldians, had been taken aback at the appallingly high death toll, and reconsidered their position in light of the extraordinary circumstances. Still others didn't really care either way, and had already moved on, completely indifferent to the wellbeing of anyone but themselves.
Some of the things she read about in the newspapers angered her greatly, but Mikasa knew that this kind of thoughtless prejudice was sadly a part of human nature. And while she resented Marley for having taken away her ability to have children, she had to admit that perhaps it was better this way, as the idea of raising a child in a world that would consider it a devil for the crime of having been born was not a pleasant one.
As for the others, Mikasa knew that Levi was helping Kiyomi with some kind of business venture, Zeke was engaged in scientific research, while she acted as one of the guards for the Kiyomi estate.
As for Eren, he did odd jobs here and there in the estate, and lately he had been tending to the garden, the act of raising and nurturing life doing a lot to raise his spirits.
As Eren sat on the bench, the scarf wrapped around him, the sounds of nature permeating the air, for the first time in many years he looked almost happy.
Mikasa smiled. She knew that the scars would remain, and things would never go back to how they used to be. But they still had each other, and despite everything life was still worth living.
Authors Note: Bonus points if you spotted the Undertale reference.
So yeah, this story was pretty dark, but it's an idea I've had for quite a while. After all, if you think about it, it's pretty lucky in canon that Eren didn't accidentally do something more extreme when he unlocked the Founding Titan's power at the end of season two, given just how powerful it is. So this story and the previous one were about exploring what might have happened if he'd unintentionally done something more. In this case he ended up accidentally killing every Eldian in the world except for the people who had been Titan shifters and the Ackerman clan. Obviously I made those exceptions because if I didn't the story would be a lot shorter, and there wouldn't be as much tension or drama.
Given this exception I made Kenny and Annie are also still alive, but I decided to leave it ambiguous about what happened to them. In Kenny's case he's definitely strong enough to survive on his own until he's eventually found by Levi or someone else, but on the other hand after seeing that everyone's dead, he might just go "well this is fucking boring" and shoot himself in the head. As for Annie, well she's still trapped in the crystal, so on the one hand she'll be perfectly safe until Bertolt or someone else eventually finds her, but on the other hand I'm not sure if getting her out of the crystal is even possible now that the Titan powers are gone.
I know that Magath helping them might seem slightly odd, but in the manga he was willing to listen to former enemies under extreme circumstances, and these were also extreme circumstances, just extreme in the other direction, and while he is prejudiced against Eldians I think he has enough empathy to not be a complete dick when only a handful of Eldians are left.
As for Zeke, while he obviously isn't happy about the sudden death of every Eldian, it was in essence a sped up version of his plan, and so he considers it an unfortunate but ultimately necessary evil. I also thought about making it look like it was actually Zeke who had secretly insisted on the sterilizations rather than the Marleyan leaders, but I decided to leave that open to interpretation.
Also, based on the conversation in chapter 130 Zeke appears to be a hardcore Eremika shipper, so I hinted at that here as well.
Anyways, be sure to leave a review and let me know what you thought. The next story will be the serumbowl one, and that one is significantly shorter so hopefully it won't take too long to finish. Now if you'll excuse me I need to rant about chapter 137, so if you aren't interested in that feel free to stop reading now.
Deploying rant in
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Fucking hell. I've been a fan of Attack on Titan since 2014, and I started reading the manga after season 2 ended. The series has had its ups and downs over the years, and I did think that the uprising arc in the manga was a bit of a slog to get through, but for the most part the story and worldbuilding of Attack on Titan has been absolutely brilliant. And one thing that has characterized Isayama's writing is the fact that there is always proper set up and foreshadowing. From humans existing beyond the walls, to Zeke's betrayal of Marley, to the Attack Titan's future sight, to Eren's true goal, there has always been proper build up and pay off. Even things like Falco's flying Titan, which was a fairly last minute addition, still had some set up ahead of time, it didn't come completely out of nowhere. Consequently Attack on Titan has never resorted to Deus Ex Machinas, with the one possible exception being the whole consciousness transfer thing that prevented Reiner from dying during RTS, which was a little questionable but ultimately not a big deal.
But the dead shifters coming back and helping the alliance, that is just a straight up Deus Ex Machina. It comes out of nowhere, and it makes no fucking sense.
It's been established that from the beginning every single Titan has been from Ymir. Every pure Titan, every Titan shifter, every Titan body, it was all made by Ymir. It's been entirely Ymir's power, no one else's. The only reason she was obeying what other people told her to do was because of her slave mentality. But after Eren freed her and gave her a choice, she broke her mental shackles and went with him. So everything that's happening now is because Ymir wills it, and she wills it because she's doing what Eren wants because she's grateful to him for freeing her.
Then it's established that the reason the alliance's powers are still working is because Eren doesn't want to take away their freedom, and wants to give them the option to fight if that's what they want. So it follows that because this is Eren's will, Ymir is the one allowing their powers to keep working, while still doing her best to help Eren.
But the dead shifters taking control of their Titans? Again, it was never their power to begin with, it was always Ymir's. So in order for them to take control of their Titans either their will is overriding Ymir's without warning or explanation, which is bad writing, or Ymir is allowing them to do this without warning or explanation, which is bad writing. Basically, this is bad writing no matter what.
If Ymir changed her mind about the rumbling, fine, but there was no hint or foreshadowing of that at all. And if that's the case, then why are the dead shifters fighting the other Titans Ymir summoned? If she truly changed her mind about the rumbling, then why don't all of the Titans just stop fighting and let the alliance kill Eren? And don't even get me started on how many ways it doesn't makes sense that killing Zeke is what stops the rumbling.
All I can think of is that Isayama wanted the alliance to win, but he dug himself into too deep of a hole to climb out of by giving the Founding Titan the power to summon all the Nine Titans of times past. But that's a hole he dug for himself that he could have easily avoided. Did he just want the final battle to be as big and epic as possible, logic be damned about how the alliance is supposed to win without resorting to contrived bullshit?
I've defended pretty much every decision Isayama has made regarding the story, but this, no, this is just stupid. I'm hoping that the last two chapters will make up for this, but I can't deny that I'm now rather worried. Still, this whole debacle has at least given me some ideas for a less dumb climax for the final arc, so once the manga is over that'll definitely be one of the What If scenarios I'll do. And if the ending as a whole sucks, well I guess I'll also try to come up with something better here. That's the beauty of fanfiction, though hopefully the last two chapters are good and that won't be necessary.