There was a silence as they stood. Eren and Reiner looked at each other, Eren with a passive expression, and Reiner in shock and fear. Falco looked between the two of them, not realizing the severity of the situation.
"U-um, what's wrong? I thought you said you two were old friends!" Falco said, trying to fill the awkward silence. Eren looked at him.
"Thank you, Falco. It's been a long while since we've seen each other, so it's hard to know where to start." Eren said. He looked over at Reiner. "Come on, Reiner. Have a seat."
Reiner was hesitant, so Eren figured he'd need more of a push. "It's a good seat. You'll be able to hear everything from the stage. We're currently under an apartment building, and there's a lot of residents hanging out their windows to watch. Right above our heads."
Reiner went paper-white. He sat down slowly, and exhaled a heavy breath. Falco looked at them, a bit lost, but he smiled anyway.
"Well, I guess I'll be going, then. See you around, Mister Kruger!"
"No Falco. You're going to stay here, and listen to my story." Eren said. Falco stopped, looking at Eren, confused.
"U-uh... okay?"
Timeskip brought to you by the Rumbling
"Um... I think it's starting." Falco said.
"It is." Eren looked at Reiner. "Try to make yourself comfortable."
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Willy Tybur's POV:
"Once upon a time, about a hundred years ago, the Eldian Empire used the power of Curses and Jujutsu to take over the world." Behind the curtain, drums beat in suspense, and there were shadows used to illustrate the events behind me. I continued.
"From the time their ancestor, Ymir, appeared to today, who knows how many lives have been claimed by Curses? The latest researchers have claimed that humanity today could go extinct three times, and the number still wouldn't be high enough. The Curses took away an unbelievable amount of history and culture from us."
I swallowed and continued, anticipation in the air. "These slaughters belong to every races history. They belong to humanity's history. They are the path the Eldian Empire chose to take. And once the Eldian Empire ran out of enemies, they turned against each other. That was the beginning of the greatest war in history; the three big Jujutsu Families shed each other's blood in an endless cycle of hatred and betrayal. And during the chaos, one Marleyan hero saw a way to prevail. The great Helos."
I paused, and took a breath. "He manipulates the Eldians so they killed their own, over and over. He joined with the Tybur family, and together, they forced the once unbeatable King Fritz to retreat to an island."
At that, the audience clapped. I continued. "But even in defeat, he continued to reign. Tens of millions of Curses are on that island, ready to curse the entire world."
There were gasps of horror throughout the crowd. I continued. "At the moment, our world still exists by pure chance. When our motherland sent four Warriors to the island, they were beaten back, only Reiner Braun returned. A total of thirty-two ships have set sail to that island, and they've all vanished. What I'm saying is..."
I breathe in and out. "The darkest blot on human history, the Eldian Empire, is alive and well."
I walked offstage, and got a drink. I heard people muttering. I sighed and walked back out. "Now, everyone knows that story. But the truth is different. I'm referring to the memories that the Tybur family have passed down, generation to generation, along with our Cursed Technique. Today, that truth will be revealed to the public for the first time in history. The truth concerning the great war... who ended it? Was it Helos, or was it the Tybur family?"
I looked out before continuing. "It was neither. The man who saved the world, was King Fritz. Specifically, the 145th king, Karl Fritz. He'd grown weary of the bloodshed. He conspired with the Tybur family, and offered himself as a way to bring the brutal history of the Eldian Empire to an end. He moved as many Eldian people to the island as he could, and enclosed them inside the Walls. As he did, he said that anyone who threatened his peace would be met with countless Curses as retribution. But he didn't mean this."
I cleared my throat. "He swore a vow, renouncing all war. His successors were affected by this vow via the Cursed Technique passed down in the family. This is why the Curses on the island have yet to ravage the world."
"Yes, peace was his goal. And the liberation of Marley, from many years of persecution. If Marley grows strong enough and decides to take the lives of everyone behind the Walls, I will accept it. If Marley decides to eliminate all Eldians from the Earth, I'll accept it. That's how grace the crimes of the Eldians were. There is no way to atone for them. Eldians, Curses, they never should've existed in the first place. And I shall accept responsibility of righting this wrong."
People in the audience talked amongst themselves. They were confused, of course they were. Everything they knew up till now about their history was wrong.
"But." I said, everyone quieting down. "In recent years, a rebellion has occurred within Paradis, suppressing King Fritz's peaceful ideology. Someone has stolen the royal family's Cursed Technique. The world once more is in danger. A man has appeared, one who opposes King Fritz's peaceful world. He is a rebel against peace. And his name is Eren Jaeger."
Eren's 3rd POV:
Eren unwrapped his leg, and used a Reversed Cursed Technique to heal. Falco stood by in horror.
"You... you tricked me." He whispered. "You encouraged me, and... and I looked up to you... but it was all a lie?"
"Sorry, Falco." Eren said, barely glancing at him. "But you saved me."
"Wha-? Ah! That letter! Where did it go?! You said it was going to your family!" Falco shouted. Reiner looked up.
"Yeah, about that." Eren scratched his cheek, finishing healing himself. "I lied. It never got to my family, but thankfully, my friends got it."
"F-friends?" Reiner said, as Falco slid to the floor. On the stage, Willy Tybur was still showing, declaring Eren the enemy of the world.
"The time to act is now!" Willy Tybur yelled. Eren noticed Falco getting ready to do something, he could see it in his eyes.
"Willy Tybur is right." Eren said. "I'm the bad guy. I might just destroy the world. But you guys looked like bad guys too. Reiner. Tell me, why did it have to happen? Why did so many people have to be Cursed? Why did my mother have to be Cursed?"
Reiner looked at him, shaking. "B-because... it was our mission. We were trying... to save the world..."
"Oh... well, if you were trying to save the world, I guess there can't be anything done about that." Eren said, his voice level. Reiner sighed.
"I remember what you told us that day, how you'd make it your mission to see us die the most excruciating deaths possible. That's why you're here, isn't it, Eren?"
Eren sat there, a bit surprised. "Oh. Did I say that? Mm, just forget about that, shall we?"
"What?" Reiner whispered, confused.
"It's true that I saw everything on the other side of the ocean as my enemies. That is, until I came over here, slept under my enemies roofs, and ate their food." He looked over at Falco. "There were good people here, as well as bad ones."
Eren looked at Reiner. "Reiner, I'm the same as you. Inside the Walls, or out on the mainland, we're all the same. But you, you had this whole idea that the people in the Walls were your enemies. Devils, even. You were just ignorant children, having false and biased information beat into you by ignorant adults. You were just a product of your environment."
"NO!" Reiner yelled, dropping to the floor. "YOU'RE WRONG, EREN! Back on the island, when Marcel was killed, Annie and Berthold wanted to turn back, by... but I convinced them to go through with the plan! Your mother died because of me! She died... because I wanted to be... a hero!"
Up on stage, Willy Tybur yelled out. "For those of you who do not wish to die, I ask you to stand with me, and fight the menace on Paradis!" The crowd cheered for his words. Eren closed his eyes. It finally happened, the world wishes for the extermination of Paradis.
I will not let that happen!
"Stand up, Reiner." He held out his hand. "I was right. We're the same."
Eren helped Reiner up, and they stood there, as Willy Tybur continued to make his declaration.
"Reiner, I'll keep moving forward." Eren's body became engulfed in Cursed Energy, as the room began to darken. Reiner's eyes widened.
"Until all my enemies are destroyed."
Reiner lunged towards Falco to protect him, as from the darkness, an enormous Cursed Spirit emerged from behind Eren. It grew in size, destroying the ceiling and the apartment above.
"To the enemy forces on Paradis! THIS IS A DECLARATION OF WAR!" Yelled out Willy Tybur, as the Cursed Spirit destroyed the apartment behind him and grabbed him, tossing his crushed body in the air. He fell, and the Curse caught him in its mouth, devouring him.
And all hell broke loose.
A/n: This was a hard chapter to write.