The Lost Path

CHAPTER 1: THE BASEMENT IN LIBERIO

The muffled roar of the festival on the streets of the Liberio Internment Zone echoed softly down into the damp, stone walls of the underground basement. Falco Grice pushed open the heavy wooden door, gesturing for Reiner Braun to step inside."Reiner look, he's right here," Falco said with a warm smile, pointing toward the dimly lit corner of the room.

Sitting on a rustic wooden chair in the shadows was a wounded soldier. His long, unkempt dark hair hung over his face, a makeshift bandage covered his left eye, and his left leg was severed at the knee. But the moment the soldier lifted his head, his piercing, unmistakable green eyes locked onto Reiner.

Reiner froze. The air left his lungs. His knees trembled violently as a wave of absolute terror ran down his spine. The boy whose mother he had indirectly murdered five years ago—the boy he believed to be a vengeful devil—was sitting directly beneath the Marleyan military headquarters."Sit down, Reiner," the soldier said, his voice flat, cold, and hauntingly familiar."E-Eren...?" Reiner choked out, his voice a pathetic whisper.

"Falco, you can stay and listen," Eren said calmly. He rested his hands on his lap. On his palm, a fresh, bleeding cut was already emitting faint whisps of hot Titan steam. He was a microsecond away from transforming and blowing the entire building to pieces.

Reiner collapsed onto a chair opposite Eren, his body instantly drenched in a cold sweat. "Why... why are you here? What are you planning to do?"Directly above them, on the grand outdoor stage, Willy Tybur's voice boomed through the loudspeakers, shouting to the global audience: "Inside the walls of Paradis Island lives the ultimate threat to humanity! His name is Eren Yeager! He holds the power of the Founding Titan, and he intends to flatten the world!"

Eren listened to the shouting from above. In the original timeline, this was the exact moment his boiling rage took over. In the original timeline, he sliced his own hand, morphed into a giant monster, ate Willy Tybur alive, and slaughtered thousands of innocent civilians—permanently sealing Paradis Island's fate as the enemy of the world.

But in this timeline, Eren closed his eyes. In the dark of his mind, the horrific screams of innocent children from his future memories echoed loud and clear. He felt the sheer weight of the genocide he was about to commit. He took a deep, steady breath, and chose to defy his own destructive destiny.

Eren lowered his hand. The bleeding cut on his palm slowly ceased to steam. The Titan flesh inside his blood went dormant. He chose not to transform.

"I didn't come here to cause a massacre, Reiner," Eren said, his voice dropping its cold edge, replaced instead by a profound, heavy sorrow. "I came to ask you a question. When you, Bertholdt, and Annie broke our walls... did you truly believe we were devils?"Reiner bowed his head, hot tears spilling over his tightly shut eyes. "We were taught that from birth, Eren! We believed that if we wiped you out, the world would be saved and our families would be granted citizenship. But when I lived with you for three years... I realized there were no devils. There were just normal people. I... I am a mass murderer, Eren! Just kill me! Please, just end it!" Reiner sobbed, slipping off his chair onto his knees, completely broken.

Eren stood up, balancing on his single leg, and walked over to Reiner. He reached down, gripped Reiner's shoulder with firm, steady hands, and pulled him back up to his feet.

"Stand up, Reiner," Eren said, forcing the older soldier to look him dead in the eye. "We are the same. We were both brainwashed kids used as tools by generals who sit safely inside comfortable offices. If I transform tonight and slaughter the people above us, I will prove Willy Tybur right. The entire world will unite to wipe our island off the map. I am not making that mistake."Eren turned his head, looking out of the small basement window toward the massive radio and broadcast towers lining the Liberio plaza."Up there, Willy Tybur is spinning a narrative of hatred," Eren said, his tone shifting into that of a calculating mastermind. "But we have the truth. We have my father Grisha's journals. We have Armin, who has already successfully infiltrated the city behind me. We aren't going to launch a mindless attack, Reiner. We are going to hijack Marley's broadcast system. We are going to reveal to the global press that King Fritz was a pacifist, and that Marley has been using the 'Paradis threat' as a fake excuse to colonize and bully other nations."Eren extended his hand toward Reiner. "Work with me, Reiner. Let's eliminate the military elite who forced us to fight each other. Let's get the children out of this dark forest."Reiner stared at Eren's extended, blood-stained hand. The five years of crippling guilt, the suicidal thoughts, and the agonizing trauma vanished in an instant. For the first time in his life, a real path to redemption was laying right in front of him. He firmly gripped Eren's hand, his voice dropping into a solid, unwavering tone: "I'm with you, Eren."Right at that moment, a quiet voice emerged from the dark, far corner of the basement: "Count me in on this plan as well."

Eren and Reiner spun around. Stepping out of the shadows was Pieck Finger (The Cart Titan). She had secretly tracked Falco and Reiner to the basement. Her dual pistols were drawn, but they were pointed safely at the floor.

"Marley views us Eldians as nothing more than disposable weapons," Pieck said, walking forward with a sharp, determined smile. "If Paradis possesses the truth to shatter Marley's global empire, then the Cart Titan stands with you."Above them on the stage, Willy Tybur screamed his final line: "I hereby declare war on the forces of Paradis Island!"But this time, the ground did not shake. No buildings exploded, and no monsters burst from the shadows. Inside the quiet, dark basement, the most powerful Titan Shifters of the enemy nations had just joined forces, and the history of the entire world was about to change forever.