He walked the Sands of Origo for eons as punishment for his crimes. His vision obscured by visions of his past and future. A plane of sand created solely to remind him of what he lost. To remind him of his crimes against the Cycle. Against Creation. But everything changed when he found that tree. His endless cycle of retribution and reminiscence ended. He was renewed. The Cycle started anew.

Team 53 Arc

~ Chapter 1: The Possibilities ~

The universe contains an infinite number of possibilities. And with those possibilities come actions and consequences. The world and the events that transpire within it are all run by cause and effect. The world. The world as he knew it had changed so much. And yet, he didn't know this world. He was an infant. A newborn still being held in the arms of his mother. And yet, despite his new youth, he could remember things. Remember things that shouldn't be possible to remember. He remembered walking. Talking. He remembered being alive. But as he looked up into his mother's eyes, those memories began to fade into the background. Something else took over now. Something new.

He was taken home three days later after several medical checkups from the doctors. All that time he didn't make a sound. He would refrain from making the usual sounds of a child. He would not scream. He would not cry. He would not do anything to disrupt the lives of his new parents or those around him. They already had enough disruption as it is. It wasn't for another three weeks after his birth that he was given a name. One that seemed familiar to him. Harry. Harry Potter. Born to James and Lily Potter in the city of Liberio. The city contained one of the largest internment zones in the entire Empire. And within the internment zone lie hundreds of thousands of Eldians, all of whom were persecuted by the Marleyan people every day.

It had all started two thousand years before. The Eldian and Marleyan Empires despised each other and did whatever they could to gain the upper hand in battle. It wasn't until a young girl named Ymir came into the picture that the Eldians gained the upper hand in the war. Ymir gained the Power of the Titans after coming in contact with the Source of all Living Matter. With this new power, Ymir turned into the Founding Titan, using her new powers to expand the Eldian Empire while destroying any Marleyan that crossed her path.

But she did not work for herself. She worked, instead, for King Fritz, the leader of the Eldian Empire. The King did everything he could to destroy Marley, sending Ymir into battle alongside hundreds if not thousands of massive Titans. In less than ten years, Marley fell and was left in ruins, with those who survived being imprisoned and kept as slaves for the king. This went on for centuries, with the Marleyans being subjected to immense discrimination at the hands of the Eldians running the continent. And despite many rebellions, no Marleyan could stand against Ymir's descendants, the Nine Titans.

The Founding Titan was controlled by the Kings of Eldia and was passed down from father to son or father to daughter every thirteen years. This was true for the other Nine Titans, who could not live longer than thirteen years due to the length of Ymir's own life. The other Titans were spread across the noblest families in Eldia and were used to fight in warfare and rebellions both within and outside Eldia. It wasn't until nearly two thousand years later that things began to change for the Marleyans. It all started with King Karl Fritz, the 145th member of the Fritz family to hold the title of King.

When Fritz inherited the Founding Titan along with its power, he decided that the best course of action for the entire world was to intact the Eldian Empire's downfall. He conspired with the Tybur Family — who controlled the War Hammer Titan — and fabricated a story. A fictional character named Helos was created. A man so brave and strong-willed that he could face the Devil of All Earth and win. The combined efforts of Helos and the Tybur Family drove back the Eldian Empire, pushing King Fritz and the Eldian government to the island of Paradis, where the Eldians would remain for another hundred years. The name 'Helos' went down in Marleyan history as a result.

The real story, however, was not so simple. King Fritz and several thousand Eldian royalties left the mainland for Paradis, inviting several Hizuru citizens to join them. Once in Paradis, King Fritz used the power of the Founding Titan to construct three walls — Walls Maria, Rose, and Sina — to protect the remnants of the Eldian Empire. With the Eldian government gone, Marleyan revolutionists launched a campaign to retake the continent. After a long civil war, the Marley Empire came away from the war with victory, as well as seven of the Nine Titans. The Colossal, Armored, Female, Cart, Jaw, Beast, and War Hammer Titans all fought on the side of Marley, all being commanded by trusted Eldian supporters. The remaining Titan, the Attack Titan, remained loyal to Eldia, staying out of Marley's hands for over a century.

Now, ninety years later, the Marleyan Empire was striving and expanding, using the power of the Titans to wage war against all neighboring empires, nations, and regimes. And with that expansion came great prestige and nobility. The roles of Eldians and Marleyans had switched in one hundred years, with the Eldians now being faced with severe discrimination and brutality at the hands of the Marleyan government and its citizens. As an Eldian within the nation of Marley, Harry would no doubt also face discrimination within Liberio.

But in the deep recesses of his newborn mind, Harry knew he would be alright. He had faced discrimination before. He wasn't sure where or when, but the sound of it and the feeling felt familiar to him. And so Harry would grow up in Liberio alongside his family and friends for the next six years. When he finally turned six years old, he would be paid a visit by a group of men looking for a young child of high status and intelligence.

My parents were always patient with me growing up. Even when strange and unusual things happened to me. They had these jokes between them that odd things would come out of me whenever I was angry or sad. My dad once told me that black wings came out of my back when I was crying and that I once breathed fire when agitated. I don't remember any of this happening, and I had always assumed he was joking. But now I'm not quite sure that he was.

— Excerpt from Harry Potter's first journal. Dated 2-08-840.

On his sixth birthday in the year 839, Harry Potter sat in the living room of his family's home, going over several books that had been deemed by his mother as 'too advanced for his age'. And yet he seemed to read them at a speed unmatched by people twice or even ten times his age. He was taller, faster, and more developed than most kids his age as well, resulting in Harry skipping many grades in school quite early. His intelligence didn't go unnoticed by the higher-ups of the Marley government in Liberio either. After much discussion, Harry would soon be deemed ready to enter the Warriors program.

The Warriors. The inheritors of the Six Titans currently under Marley's control. The Warriors were tasked with many objectives. The main objective was to assist the Marleyan Armed Forces in combat against the empire's enemies. But a new objective had risen in later years. The mission to regain the Founding Titan and its powers from Paradis Island. New Warriors were chosen at ages five to thirty-five years old every thirteen years. Most of the current Warriors had been given the Titan's powers in 830, and their thirteen years of life were nearly up. Within three years they would die, and their replacements would need to be selected amongst the many capable children in Liberio.

When the Potters received the news, there were mixed reactions. Harry's mother — Lily — was devastated, unwilling to see her young child be sent off to war for several years. But his father — James — seemed to be proud and joyful, seeing this as a great opportunity for their family. After all, the families of Warriors were seen as honorary Marley citizens. A Marleyan in the eyes of the government. They would receive a home outside the internment zone, and they would gain many privileges along with a new armband. They currently wore brown armbands signifying they were Eldian, but those who were family to Warriors wore red armbands, signifying their status.

Harry himself wasn't concerned like his mother or proud like his father. Instead, he was a bit annoyed. He didn't want to fight in a war. It seemed too familiar to him, the feeling of loss and pain, and he didn't want to experience that again. But the night after the men came to explain the situation, Harry received an odd dream. A bright flash of green light and the sound of his mother screaming. He woke up in a hot sweat, trying his best to stay calm as he ran to his parent's bedroom. When he entered, he found his mother and father lying peacefully in bed. Nothing had happened. Just a dream. A very bad dream.

The dream made him question things. His role in the world. His future. And by morning he had an answer. "I want to join the Warriors," he told his parents. It had been less than twelve hours since the Marley generals had been in their home, and now it appeared that Harry had decided spontaneously to join the Warriors program. And because it had been his decision, it was decided. Harry would enter the Warriors program. The men came back once more and informed Harry that he had been accepted, and would leave for boot camp in one week. In that time, Harry would be allowed to follow his family to their new home, where he could enjoy a week of relative freedom as an honorary Marleyan.

So it was on the second day of that week that Harry and his parents moved away from their home to the relatively wealthy side of the Liberio Internment Zone. The days spent after that were fantastical for Harry. With the bonus received upon entering the Warriors program, the Potter family went shopping on the third day, buying several useful items alongside many others that seemed enjoyable. On the fourth day, they visited one of the few amusement parks in the city, riding rollercoasters and enjoying ice cream as they enjoyed each other's company. And on the fifth day, Harry was sent his Warriors uniform.

It brought back the seriousness of the situation. Despite the joy Harry had been facing in the past few days, the fact that he would be sent to war in just two days made everything clear to him. On the sixth day, Harry did not leave their new home. He did not unpack his things. And he did not spend time with his parents. Instead, he ran himself through the exercises given to him by the Marleyan Generals. Harry did several hundred pushups and sit-ups that day, as well as several exercises. And when he was done with those, he went on a run around the city, which took nearly six hours to complete.

He didn't return home until midnight. When he entered his home, Harry was met with a surprise. A squad of Marley soldiers was seated in his living room, with papers in hand, as well as a fresh uniform. The General leading the squad stepped forward. "Harry Potter. You are being called into action on the border between Marley and the Middle-Eastern Alliance. You and nine hundred other Warrior cadets will be placed on the front lines of battle to determine who amongst you is capable of inheriting the powers of one of the Six Titans. Do you understand your assignment?"

"Yes sir!" exclaimed Harry.

"Good. Now throw this on and come outside where the transport is waiting. You have two minutes to say goodbye to your family,"

And with that, the squad of Marleyan soldiers disappeared from the home. Lily broke down into tears, pulling Harry into a hug that she didn't break for some time. Grabbing hold of his face, she examined him through her tearful eyes, no doubt trying to memorize his face. It turns out, that was exactly what she was doing. "I won't see you again until you're ten. Four years. Four years,"

"I'll be back as soon as I can, Mom. And as a true Warrior too," Harry replied with a smile.

Lily didn't smile. She only hugged him again before turning away. James stepped forward. He pulled Harry into a much shorter hug, pulling away to grab hold of Harry's shoulder. "Do good for Marley, son. It's the only way to redeem Eldians for their past. Redeem our family's name, and soon you'll be able to redeem all of Eldia. I believe in you, son. I believe in you,"

And that was it. Harry was led away from his parents by one of the Marleyan guards and was placed in one of the transports, which pulled away from his new home towards the motorway. Harry didn't turn back to look at his home. Nor did he look back to wave goodbye to his parents, who had followed them out of the house to yell their goodbyes. He would not think of them. He couldn't. If he did, he would no doubt find tears in his eyes. Harry would not do that, or he would be deemed weak in the eyes of the Marleyan soldiers around him.

His own life and the lives of his family were in his hands, and if he didn't do his best during training, he would either die or be sent home as a reject, bound to a life of humiliation. So it was at that moment that Harry Potter swore to himself. 'I will be the best at whatever I do'.