Chapter 5 : Dreams of Peace and Friendships
He didn't know where he was.
But what Eren did know was that he was deep asleep, trapped in a dream.
He found himself sitting beneath a tree, the very one where he, Mikasa, and Armin would always play whenever they had the chance in Shiganshina. What he saw there was something he had glimpsed in his vision of the future.
His grave.
It was a grim reminder that, even though he was alive, his friends and family believed he was dead. The thought saddened him, knowing they would always be haunted by his absence—a burden they would regret.
Yet he couldn't blame them; in the end, it was all part of the plan, a plan that had been set in motion long ago, one that had been woven for over two thousand years.
But that wasn't what he was focused on.
He shifted his attention from the grave to the landscape that was once Shiganshina. Instead of the familiar stone buildings and wooden rooftops, he was surrounded by towering skyscrapers of glass and steel. The streets buzzed with sophisticated vehicles, far beyond anything he had ever seen, while planes zipped through the sky, faster than any he had known. People of all races—Marleyan, Eldian, Middle Eastern, Hizuru—filled the thoroughfares, a vibrant tapestry of diversity.
The city pulsed with advanced technology, wonders and gadgets in the hands of ordinary people.
Eren didn't question how he had arrived in this bustling metropolis; he simply wandered, curiosity guiding his steps. He knew this was the future he had built after his death—a future he had seen, one he entrusted to Armin to make a reality: a world at peace.
A part of him wanted to cry out in joy that this was what Paradis had become: a prosperous paradise filled with peace and freedom for all people.
But he knew this peace wouldn't last.
BANG!
What had once been the vibrant sound of a bustling city turned into chaos—gunfire, explosions, and the cries of the wounded shattered the serenity. Eren's heart raced as the dream shifted, the bright colors of the city now tainted with the grim shadows of war. The ground trembled beneath him, and the sky darkened as plumes of smoke billowed upward, choking the life from the air.
As the former soldier wandered through the lively streets, still alive with the echoes of life despite the conflict, a strange object in a shop window caught his eye. It was a large, flat pane of glass, glowing with an otherworldly light. Drawn closer, he felt a mixture of curiosity and unease wash over him.
The screen, framed in sleek metal, hummed with an energy he hadn't felt since the war. Peering in, he watched in bewilderment as images began to shift, revealing a vivid tapestry of modern warfare. Soldiers marched in disciplined formation, their faces set with determination, yet above them soared strange, mechanical birds—drones—gliding effortlessly across desolate landscapes.
His brow furrowed in confusion. These flying machines were unlike anything he had known. In his day, the sky was filled with the whir of propellers and the roar of planes, but this... this was something alien. Reports of wars flickered on the screen, detailing declarations and tensions among nations—flags waving, leaders at podiums, their solemn faces proclaiming bold intentions.
Suddenly, the display shifted to chaos: explosions erupted, smoke billowed, and civilians fled in despair. The voices of reporters narrated the turmoil with a clarity that felt familiar. Each frame resonated deeply within him, evoking memories of his own sacrifices and the comrades he had lost.
Eren felt both connected and distant, grappling with the weight as history reapet itself unfolding before his eyes. The images served as a haunting reminder of the fragility of peace, the relentless evolution of warfare and Human Nature. He recalled the trenches, the mud, the camaraderie forged in the fires of conflict, and now, this new form of battle felt both distant and eerily familiar. And even after The horror of the Rumbling, Humanity will always fight among it self and true peace is nothing more than a distant dream.
Eren stood in the midst of the ruined city, the once-bustling streets now littered with the debris of war. Smoke billowed into the sky, the air thick with ash and gunpowder. The distant sounds of explosions echoed through the desolate landscape, but amidst the destruction, a melody began to form in his mind—a song. A song that he had heard many times before during , one filled with hope, innocence, and a dream of peace.
And though he didn't realize it he himself began to sing.
"ᚨᚲᛁᚱᚲᛚᛖᛟᚠᛊᚢᚾᛁᚾᚦᛖᛊᚲᛁᚲᚾ
ᛚᛟᛟᚲᛊᚨᛏᚦᛖᛈᛁᚲᛏᚢᚱᛖᛟᚠᚦᛖᛒᛟᛁ,
ᛏᚺᛖᚱᛖᛊᚨᚹᛖᛚᛚ-ᚲᚾᛟᚹᚾᛊᛟᛜᚢᚾᛞᛖᚱᚾᛖᚦ,
ᚠᛟᚱᚨᛚᛚᛟᚠᚢᛊᛏᛟᛊᛖᛖ."
As Eren sang, the battlefield seemed to expand around him. Soldiers moved in disciplined formation, their weapons raised, ready to fire. Tanks rolled across the shattered streets, their cannons aimed toward distant targets. The sky, once blue, was now filled with smoke and the buzzing of drones, mechanical birds of war soaring above.
"ᛏᚺᛖᛊᚢᚾᛊᚺᛟᚢᛚᛞᚨᛚᚹᚨᛁᛊᛊᚺᛁᚾᛖ,
ᛏᚺᛖᛊᚲᛁᛊᚺᛟᚢᛚᛞᚨᛚᚹᚨᛁᛊᛊᚺᛁᚾᛖ,
ᛗᛟᛗᛊᚺᛟᚢᛚᛞᚨᛚᚹᚨᛁᛊᛊᛏᚨᛁ,
ᛁᚨᛚᚹᚨᛁᛊᚹᚨᚾᛏᛏᛟᛒᛖᚦᛖᚱᛖᛏᛟᛟ."
The song's innocent words clashed with the reality around him. Children, huddled in the ruins, clung to their mothers as the roar of artillery echoed through the streets. Eren's eyes lingered on a young boy, no older than he had been when the Titans first attacked Shiganshina. The boy was drawing in the dirt, trying to hold onto a fragment of normalcy in a world falling apart.
"Circulum solis, caelum circum,
Hoc est extractio pueri,
chartam notavit,
et signavi in angulo."
The Ancient Marlean lyrics flowed from Eren's lips as the scene before him darkened. Planes roared overhead, dropping bombs that exploded in the distance. The ground shook as missiles launched, streaking across the sky like fiery arrows. Buildings crumbled under the weight of the blasts, and civilians fled in terror, their faces etched with fear.
The war was escalating.
"Sit semper esse soles,
Sit semper caelum,
Sit semper mater,
Sit mihi semper."
As the chorus rang out, the battlefield erupted into chaos. Gunfire filled the air, and soldiers charged into the fray, their faces hardened by years of conflict. Explosions tore through the streets, sending debris flying in all directions. The song's plea for peace seemed hopeless against the relentless tide of destruction.
"Sit semper esse soles,
Sit semper caelum,
Sit semper mater,
Sit mihi semper."
Tears welled in Eren's eyes as he continued to sing, his voice faltering against the backdrop of war. He looked to the sky, where the sun struggled to pierce through the dark clouds of smoke. The ground beneath his feet trembled as tanks fired their cannons, and jets streaked across the sky, dropping payloads that obliterated entire city blocks.
"Soldier take heed, soldier I plead,
Shelling strike fear in the masses.
Millions of eyes look up to the skies,
Stifling the brave public cries."
The lyrics shifted to modern Eldian, but the meaning was the same—a desperate cry for peace in a world consumed by war. But the soldiers did not heed the call. They fought with renewed intensity, their weapons blazing as the conflict escalated beyond control. Eren's heart sank as he realized that peace was slipping further from their grasp.
"May there always be sunlight,
May there always be clear skies,
May there always be mother,
May there always be me."
The song's hopeful refrain echoed through the battlefield, but the violence only intensified. Missiles shot across the sky, their vapor trails cutting through the smoke-filled air. Explosions rocked the earth, leaving craters where cities once stood. The world was tearing itself apart, and Eren could do nothing to stop it.
"Contra molestiam, contra bellum,
Stemus pueris nostris,
Sol in aeternum, felicitas in aeternum,
Hoc est quod præcepit vir."
As the final verse in Marlean left his lips, the sky darkened further. In the distance, Eren saw something that made his blood run cold. Large, cylindrical rockets—nuclear missiles—began to rise from their silos, their ominous shapes breaking through the clouds. The ground shook as the missiles launched one by one, streaking into the sky, leaving trails of fire behind them.
"Sit semper esse sole,
Sit semper caelum,
Sit semper mater,
Sit mihi semper."
The chorus repeated, but now it seemed like a funeral dirge. Eren watched in horror as the missiles arced through the sky, their deadly payloads aimed at cities across the world. One by one, the countries of the earth unleashed their nuclear arsenals, each missile a harbinger of death.
"Sit semper esse soles,
Sit semper caelum,
Sit semper mater,
Sit mihi semper."
The world was dying.
Explosions of unimaginable magnitude lit up the horizon as the nuclear missiles found their targets. Entire cities were vaporized in an instant, their populations wiped out in a blinding flash of light. Mushroom clouds rose high into the atmosphere, their deadly plumes choking the sky and blotting out the sun.
Scenes of destruction played out across the globe. In one country, a city was reduced to rubble as a nuclear blast leveled everything in its path. In another, people fled in terror as sirens wailed, warning them of the impending doom. But there was no escape. The missiles rained down with relentless precision, each one adding to the apocalyptic devastation.
The song had ended, but the destruction continued. Eren could only watch as the world he had fought so hard to save was consumed by fire. The nuclear detonations spread like a plague, one explosion after another, as country after country was wiped off the map.
Finally, the scene shifted.
From space, the Earth appeared as a fragile blue orb, but it was now marred by the scars of war. One by one, bright flashes dotted the surface of the planet as the nuclear missiles detonated. The once-vibrant cities were now glowing craters, and the atmosphere was thick with smoke and radiation.
The Earth, once teeming with life, was slowly being destroyed.
The final image was haunting. From the cold expanse of space, the Earth was barely recognizable. Its surface was scorched, its oceans blackened, and its atmosphere filled with the toxic remnants of humanity's final war. The last nuclear missile detonated, a bright flash of light, and then... silence.
The world was gone.
And yet, Eren's voice lingered, a faint echo in the void.
"May there always be sunshine,
May there always be blue skies,
May there always be mother,
May there always be me."
But there would be no sunshine, no blue skies, no mothers or children.
Only silence.
Eren jolted awake, gasping for breath, his heart pounding in his chest. His body was drenched in sweat, and his mind swam with the vivid remnants of the dream. No, not just a dream—a haunting, twisted reflection of his worst memories, his deepest regrets. The endless cycles of war, pain, and suffering. The faces of his fallen comrades, his friends, Armin, Mikasa, Jean, Sasha… All of them blurred together, their voices echoing in his mind, accusing him, questioning him.
"Was it worth it, Eren?"_
He sat up slowly, his hands trembling as they gripped the thin blanket covering his small frame. The barn was dimly lit by the faint light of dawn creeping through the cracks in the wooden walls. The other children were still asleep, their soft snores the only sound in the quiet space. But Eren felt suffocated, trapped within the confines of his own thoughts.
"Was it worth it?"_
That question, that single, damning question, gnawed at him like a festering wound. He had told himself countless times that he did what he had to do. That everything he had done, the sacrifices, the betrayals, the destruction—it was all in the name of freedom. But now, in this quiet moment, far from the battlefield, far from the chaos that had consumed his life, he wasn't sure anymore.
Eren swung his legs off the makeshift bed and stood up, his body heavy with exhaustion and the weight of his thoughts. He needed to get away, to be alone. The suffocating silence of the barn, the presence of the other children—it all felt too much. Without a word, he slipped out of the small structure, careful not to wake anyone.
The early morning air was cool, a welcome contrast to the stifling atmosphere inside. Eren wandered aimlessly through the farm, his mind replaying the events of his dream—the memories of his past life, the choices he had made, and the consequences of those choices. He found himself near the edge of the farm, where the fence separated the fields from the woods beyond. He sat down on a large rock, the same one where he and Cinder had first shared their quiet conversations.
But now, the silence wasn't comforting. It was oppressive. His mind was a storm of self-doubt, guilt, and confusion. He had tried so hard to justify his actions, to convince himself that the ends justified the means. But in the end, what had he really accomplished? The world beyond the walls of Paradis was no paradise. It was filled with the same hatred, the same cruelty, the same endless cycle of conflict.
And now, here he was, in another world entirely. A world that, at first glance, seemed simpler, less burdened by the horrors of his past. But the more he learned, the more he realized that this world had its own struggles, its own deep-rooted conflicts. Grimm, Faunus, Dust, and the looming threat of powerful forces he barely understood. And yet, despite it all, this world was not so different from the one he had left behind. The same patterns of division, the same suffering, just in a different form.
"Was it worth it?"_
The question echoed in his mind again, louder this time, more insistent. He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. He had given up everything—his friends, his family, his humanity—for what? For freedom? For a future that, in the end, felt no different from the past?
He buried his face in his hands, feeling the sting of tears welling up in his eyes. He didn't want to cry. He didn't deserve to cry. Not after everything he had done.
He wasn't sure how long he sat there, lost in the swirling vortex of his thoughts, but he didn't notice Cinder approaching until she was standing right beside him, her small voice breaking the heavy silence.
"Eren?"
He stiffened but didn't look up. He didn't want her to see him like this—weak, broken. He had always tried to present himself as strong, as someone who knew what he was doing, who had a plan. But right now, he felt like a fraud. Like a child pretending to be something he wasn't.
Cinder, sensing his reluctance to respond, sat down next to him on the rock, her hands folded neatly in her lap. She didn't say anything for a moment, just sitting there, her presence a quiet comfort in the overwhelming storm that raged inside him.
"I noticed you weren't at breakfast," she said softly, her voice gentle, free of judgment. "I… I was worried about you."
Eren didn't respond immediately. His throat felt tight, and he wasn't sure he could trust his voice not to break. But Cinder just waited, patient and understanding, her small frame barely taking up any space beside him, yet her presence felt grounding.
After a long moment, Eren finally spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "I… I don't know what I'm doing anymore."
Cinder looked at him, her eyes filled with concern. "What do you mean?"
He swallowed hard, his hands still clenched into fists on his lap. "Everything I've done… everything I thought I was fighting for… It all feels… meaningless now." His voice cracked slightly, but he pressed on. "I thought I knew what I wanted. I thought… if I could just keep moving forward, everything would make sense. That I could change things. But… I don't know anymore."
Cinder frowned, her brow furrowed in confusion. "But Eren… you've done so much. You've helped me, you've been a friend to me. You don't have to carry everything on your own."
Eren squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over. "I'm not a good person, Cinder. I've… I've done terrible things. I've hurt people. I've used people. Even you…"
Cinder blinked, taken aback by his words. "What are you talking about?"
"I…" Eren's voice faltered, the weight of his confession pressing down on him. "I've been using you… for information. To understand the world, how it works. I… I didn't befriend you just because I wanted to. I had a reason, an ulterior motive."
Cinder was silent for a moment, processing his words. Then, to his surprise, she smiled softly. "I know."
Eren's eyes snapped open, staring at her in shock. "You… you know?"
She nodded, her expression calm, understanding. "I'm not stupid, Eren. I could tell you were trying to learn more about this world. But… that doesn't mean you weren't being a friend to me, too."
He stared at her, completely taken aback by her response. How could she be so understanding? So… forgiving?
Cinder continued, her voice quiet but firm. "You've helped me, Eren. More than you know. Before you came, my life was… empty. I didn't have anyone. I didn't have a friend. But then you showed up, and everything… changed. You made me feel like I wasn't alone anymore. Like I mattered."
Eren's heart ached at her words, the guilt twisting inside him even more. "But I—"
"Eren," she interrupted gently, placing a small hand on his arm, "I don't care why you came into my life. All I know is that because of you, things have gotten better for me. And… if you need help, if you need someone to lean on, I'm here. You don't have to do everything on your own."
Eren looked at her, truly looked at her, and for the first time in a long time, he felt something shift inside him. The walls he had built around himself, the barriers he had erected to keep people at a distance, began to crack. Cinder's words, her kindness, her understanding—she didn't judge him. She didn't hate him. Despite everything, she still saw him as a friend.
A tear slipped down his cheek, and he quickly wiped it away, feeling ashamed. But Cinder just smiled softly, her own eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"I don't know what you've been through, Eren," she said quietly. "But I do know that you're not alone anymore. You have me. And… maybe that's enough."
Eren's heart clenched, the guilt and regret swirling inside him. He had used her, manipulated her, and yet here she was, offering him her friendship, her trust. How could he ever repay that?
In that moment, Eren made a decision. He would stop using her. He would stop hiding behind lies and manipulation. Cinder deserved better than that. She deserved a real friend, someone who would stand by her, not just for his own gain, but because he genuinely cared.
He took a deep breath, his voice steady as he spoke. "I'm sorry, Cinder. For everything. I promise… I'll be a real friend to you from now on. No more lies. No more using you."
Cinder's smile widened, a genuine warmth radiating from her. "I'm glad to hear that."
They sat there together for a while longer, the silence between them no longer heavy or oppressive. There was a sense of peace, of understanding. For the first time in a long time, Eren didn't feel so alone. He had a friend. A real friend.
And as they watched the sun slowly rise over the horizon, casting a golden light over the fields, Eren made another silent promise to himself. He would protect this friendship. He would do everything in his power to keep Cinder safe, to be the kind of friend she deserved.
No more manipulation. No more lies.
For once in his life, Eren would keep moving forward—not for a grand cause, not for some abstract ideal of freedom—but for the people who mattered.
For Cinder.
For his friend.
And maybe, just maybe, that was enough
For A New Path.
And there you have it folks the final chapter for The New World man let me tell you how long it has been for this moment and I finally made it
If your wondering what the song Eren was singing well its called "May There Always be Sunshine" have no idea who is the original creator called because it so confusing to look for it but I do know its was made during in Russia during the Soviet Era, and to be honest the first sequence was heavily inspired by The Live Action Cinematic Trailer of Warpath using Modern Warfare and I used that version of the song and orignialy it was suppose to be filled with German and Russian but I change the language from Germany to Norse since that what The Eldian language is mostly based on and using A New Path canon source and Russian for Latin since Marley was based on The Roman Empire so I used latin as its based language.
The Whole Dream was also meant to depict on what happend during the Ending of AOT on how Paradis and presumably The World on how no matter the reason War is something humanity can never get rid of.
Anyway it was a fun ride and this is my first complete story as for Life On Remnant might become hiatus for now since I'm now focusing of college but also since I made a new Story called Remnant y called Remnant : Disassembly a crossover story between RWBY and Murder Drones and if you don't know what's Murder Drones you should watch it's on Youtube by Glitch it's a good show definitely worth the watch. And once you done that check out my story.
All in all hope you enjoy and I hope you all have a wonderful day! Take Care! Thank you all and stay healthy!