Creation began on 05-08-21

Creation ended on 05-24-21

Attack on Titan

A Decline in the Warrior Unit: Reaching for the Future

Attention, all Eldians, a man's voice called out to every man, woman and child across Paradis Island and across the planet. Attention, all Eldians. My name is Roman Reiss. I repeat, my name is Roman Reiss…and I am the current ruler of Eldia.

People with Eldian blood in their veins couldn't believe they were hearing the voice of someone they had never met before, had never heard of, and were now listening to.

I am reaching out to you by means of the Founding Titan, Roman continued. For almost a hundred years now, my ancestor, Karl Fritz, turned his back on his people that he left behind outside of Paradis Island. For less than a century, he made a vow to renounce war that made the Founding Titan incapable of being used for any measure of goodness. But now, I'm here to tell you that the vow to renounce war is no more, and I will do all that I can to make amends with all Eldians who have suffered because of Karl Fritz and the people that could've done more to help the Eldian nation but chose not to. My first order in this goal is to remove the other members of the Nine Titans from whoever possesses them so that they are free from the Curse of Ymir, that kills the holders within thirteen years after first obtaining them. The second move will be to return those who have been turned into Titans by Marley to human form and ensure that they can never be turned again. Please, spread the word to all. The hatred against Eldians must end…and the power of the Titans must no longer be used to torment the world.

Then, as if to know that this was a new truth, every Eldian within the internment zones of Marley felt a sensation that was unlike what they knew beforehand; it was like a feeling of severing or being cut loose from something that they had been a part of for a long time. Across Marley, in a large home on a grand estate, a man that held possession of the War Hammer Titan felt stripped of the very Titan power his family held dominion over for almost a century. He had heard the same thing as all other Eldians had from the man that possessed the Founding Titan.

It's not possible, he thought, and took a knife to his left hand, creating a small cut; if he lost his Titan powers, the cut wouldn't regenerate, and, to his horror, the cut didn't regenerate. No!

In other parts of Marley, the men and women that held the powers of the Colossal, Armored, Female, Jaw, Cart, Beast and Attack Titans felt stripped of the powers that had either aided or hindered other nations over the years, proving that Roman Reiss was removing the power of the Titans from existence. On the grounds outside of the Walls on Paradis Island, many Titans that had been wandering around started to evaporate as they returned to human form.

"Aah!" Several of them gasped as they collapsed onto the ground. "Aah!"

Even they had been told what the current ruler had announced to the Eldians, even having been informed of the current year was, learning that a number of years and/or decades had passed since they were turned into Titans for whatever crimes or slights that were committed.

-x-

"…How can this be?!" A Marleyan military official demanded to his Eldian subordinates that used to possess the power of the Titans they used to serve in the military. "You six possessed the powers of the Armored, Colossal, Jaw, Cart, Female and Beast Titans! How can you no longer have them, anymore?!"

"The current ruler of Eldia on Paradis Island," a woman that used to possess the Female Titan explained to him, "he broadcast his intentions to make amends to the people after revealing that the Founder Titan was incapable of being used for war due to a vow made by his ancestor Karl Fritz. He took the power of the Titans to save us from the Curse of Ymir, which kills us thirteen years after inheriting the Titans. I only had four weeks left to live because of the Female Titan. He saved me. He saved us all from dying."

"He's removing the ability to be turned into Titans," another woman that possessed the power of the Jaw Titan. "He's changing our fates, making us more like the people that hate and fear us. If we can't turn or be turned into Titans, we can't cause suffering onto others."

But this made Marley's power virtually undone. They had been dependent upon the power of the seven Titans they usurped from the Eldian nation after the Great Titan War, and now, to learn that they had lost these powers had left them vulnerable to war by their enemies. It was only a matter of time before other countries that were going to wage war against Marley made their actions known to the world.

"How many Eldian people know of this?" He asked them.

"Everyone," a man that once possessed the Beast Titan answered him. "Every Eldian man, woman and child across the planet knows about the removal of the Titan powers. This Roman Reiss guy has probably locked away the power of the Titans for good."

With no Titans, this meant that the threat of Paradis' ability to bring ruin to the world if their affairs were ever interfered with by outsiders with having massive Titans flatten the lands everywhere was no longer in force. However, this also meant that with the power of the Titans no longer in existence, this meant using the Eldians as a scapegoat for all their global problems was no longer a valid excuse for any military powers of the world beyond both Paradis and Marley. With no Titans, no Rumbling, not even a small horde of Titans to threaten the people, there was no point in trying to exterminate or threaten the people of some small island…and this would put Marley in a different position.

-x-

"You're free now, Ymir," Roman had told Ymir's spirit before he left the realm they were in. "May you live a life of peace in the future."

This…was a week ago, and since then, there had been many changes to the cities and villages in that time. The Military Police had lost much of its authority, the civilians had been upset with the fact that there were other people out there in the world, that they were once victims of a generations-long feud between Eldia and the rest of the world, the Survey Corps insisting that they be given further manpower to explore and survey the grounds beyond the Walls now that the Titans were no longer an issue, with the issue now being how to deal with the people beyond their borders, and the nobility needing to admit their own secrets after the truth that Karl Fritz offered them positions of power in exchange for their silence due to not being Eldians. But this was a hand that Roman knew he'd be dealt because of his ancestors' indecisiveness due to Karl Fritz's guilty conscience over the wrongs his people did long before any of their own times. There was always a consequence to every action committed, including his own, but he was willing to accept the consequences of his actions if it meant making amends for his people.

No matter how long it takes me now, he thought, as he just signed the bill to disband the Order of the Walls, I'll do everything in my power to make amends for what Karl Fritz did.

-x-

"…It doesn't matter how many times we poke and prod at any of these Eldians," a Marleyan scientist informed the military, three months later, "they're no different from any of us now. We've injected them with Titan Serum for days, and none of them have turned them into Titans of any size. Not even the infants that were injected turned to Titans. If we continue this, we might be liable for inhumane actions against human beings."

"That's only if Eldians are viewed as being human like the rest of the world," another military officer claims. "We can still view them as less than human, right?"

"Unfortunately, sir, we can't. If they can't be turned into Titans and the Nine Titans themselves are gone, we don't have any right to continue treating them as less than human. For all intents and purposes, gentlemen, they're as human as we are and can't be viewed as inhuman."

This probably didn't appeal to any of the men in the room right now, but it was an undeniable truth they were hearing. Because the Titans were gone, Eldian Subjects of Ymir were just like regular people elsewhere. As a result, Marley couldn't continue treating their Eldian population like it was comprised of second-rate or third-rate civilians. They couldn't even keep them confined in the internment zones any further than they already have.

"Do we have contact with the Tybur family?" A naval commander questioned; since the Tyburs were the oldest family of Eldians known to Marley, they were the sole exception to the discrimination that other Eldians suffered.

"We're to meet with the immediate head of the family in three days," a Marleyan soldier explained. "Hopefully, they'll have an explanation that isn't anything like what the other Eldians have been saying."

"But what if it is?"

"Then what other alternatives do we have?"

To be continued…

A/N: The journey to redemption is a long one, but everyone that seeks to atone has to persist for the sake of a future worth committing to for everyone else that has suffered.