Chapter 1: Lazarus’s Beginning

War. Racism. Hate. Fear. Injustice. Every world has at least some of those aspects to it. And this world is no different.

Long, long ago. Approximately two thousand years ago, there was a great and powerful nation known as Marley. Among the other nations of humanity that were formed over time, Marley was more advanced and populated. This allowed them to expand their empire and gain more land for themselves, and gain new resources to help them grow even stronger.

There was only one nation that posed a real threat to them. The Eldian Empire. Eldia began as a small tribe that pillaged villages of its resources and captured its villagers to become slaves of the villainous king, Karl Fritz.

Despite the many kilometres of land the Eldian tribe was able to obtain, they never had the numbers, or the weapons to defeat Marley.

But all of that changed when a young slave girl named Ymir came into contact with an unknown anomaly, transforming her into a gigantic humanoid man eating monster known as a Titan.

With the power of the Titans, the now Eldian Empire was able to defeat Marley and force them to retreat back to their motherland.

But one day, Ymir was killed by a Marleyan assassin, resulting in the power of the Titans to be split into many paths that descended throughout the ages, turning the Eldians into the new subspecies of humans that came to be known as “The Subjects of Ymir”.

Since that day, the war between the Eldians and the Marleyans raged on. About 1,200 years ago, the large Marleyan city of Lago was destroyed by Titans of the Eldian Empire over the course of a single day. The Titans would continue their advance and went to commit “the Devastation of Monte” and “the Ravaging of Valle” which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Marleyans.

It's because of these tragic events that Eldians worldwide are hated by the rest of humanity throughout the ages. Though there are very few who don’t blame them for the actions of their ancestors, the majority of the world view them as nothing more than filthy, evil devils.

During the Great Titan War, Marley was able to rise up against the Eldians with the aid of a hero named Helos. He was able to manipulate the Eldian higher ups against one another, which allowed Marley to claim victory in the war and seize control over seven of the nine great Titan powers, with one of these Titan powers falling to the Eldian family that sided with Marley during the war.

With the power of the Titans now in their control, Marley was finally able to expand their great nation and conquer the other countries after being severely weakened from the war. While the remnants of the Eldian Empire fled to a faraway island known as “the Island of Paradis”. There the current King would use the strongest of the nine Titans, “The Founding Titan” to build three enormous walls to protect his kingdom from the outside world, threatening that if his peace was disrupted, the millions of Titans within the walls would awaken and trample their world flat.

This history – as well as the power of the Titans – were passed down through generations of Marleyan citizens, as well as the Eldians living within their motherland.

The Eldians of Marley were required to wear armbands to mark them as Subjects of Ymir. Their only reason for existence is to inherit and control the seven Titan powers and become Warriors that would fight on their behalf.

Many young Eldian children would train their hardest to prove themselves worthy of inheriting one of the nine Titans. Doing so would make them, and their families, honorary Marleyans. Giving them better lives in the cruel world they live in.

With only seven of the nine Titans captured, the people of Marley would never truly be free unless they were to recover the other two, most importantly the Founding Titan.

After the majority of the world has signed a peace treaty to live under Marley’s rule, they turned their attention to starting their most important mission yet. The mission to invade Paradis Island and take back the Founding Titan.

To do this, the military has gathered their finest Eldian cadets to train them to be candidates for the next generation of Marleyan Warriors, and inherit the power of the Titans.

One of these young Warrior candidates was sleeping soundly in his dorm bedroom. It was a relatively small room with only a bunkbed, a side table, and a wooden wardrobe with two door knobs at its centre. The wood was old and splintered, implying that it had been there for a very long time.

The rooms only source of light was its single small high window covered with bars, making it look more like a prison cell than a dorm room. The side of the bed had a pair of brown laced leather shoes.

The bottom bunk was empty. The sheets had been pulled back, implying that whoever slept in it had already gotten up. While the top bunk was occupied by a young boy. His face was covered by a big black fedora hat, probably placed there purposely to keep the morning sunlight out of his eyes.

The boy was mumbling and muttering in his sleep, his words were indecipherable to make out what he was saying. He was having a nightmare.

Dreams are not uncommon among human beings. Even some animals are capable of dreaming from time to time. Some say that dreams are windows to other worlds, other times. Others say that dreams are just stories that your mind fabricates to ensure it keeps functioning even when its host sleeps.

But for this boy, these dreams have been nothing but never ending torture. In his dreams, he would see various, horrific events, as well things he’d never seen before. Whether they were from the past, future, or from someone else’s perspective, he did not know.

The dream consisted of various images. The most notable of them being the constant transitioning between a flock of birds soaring above the clouds, a forest of trees that stretched high into the sky going up in flames, and a crowd of people running away in terror from giant, humanoid monsters with bodies that looked like they’ve been skinned alive, only showing muscle.

Behind the giant monsters was an even bigger monster that was five times their size. It’s body was shrouded in steam making it hard for him to visualise.

The last image he sees were two large glowing green eyes opening and looking towards him. These eyes were not human. They belonged to that of a devil, one that had a look of wanting to kill anything and everything it sees.

It was that final image that caused the young boy to suddenly open his eyes and let out a terrified scream, raising his arms high as if to shield himself from the monster staring at him. His hat flew off of his face in response and somehow managed to land perfectly atop his head.

With the hat no longer hiding his face, the boy’s true appearance became known to the world around him again. He had long white hair that stretched down to his shoulders, which was currently messy due to how he slept. His eyes were a crimson red, which occasionally might bring some disturbance to anyone who would look into them directly. His eyebrows were also white to match his hair.

Underneath his left eye was a small scar, one that looked like he got cut by a small blade, or was the result of some kind of accident. He was wearing plain grey pyjama’s. They were slightly torn in certain places, most notably the sleeves. The pockets were absent as shown by the remaining threads to prevent him from smuggling anything into them under the military’s nose.

Being an Eldian, he – like all Subjects of Ymir – are hated among the general populace. Despite this, he didn’t have the look of someone who’s spirit had been broken by the discrimination. Instead, he had a look of hope and determination in his eyes. He wanted to make a change to the world he was born in. A change where Eldians are treated as equals and not as devils.

This was all the drive he needed to train hard to be accepted into the Warrior Program. He wants to use his strength to fight for Marley and become a hero to the world, just like Helos.

Suddenly, the boy was startled by the sound of the door to his room opening. He quickly reaches for his head, nervously touching his hat, making sure it was secure on his head. He lets out a sigh of relief upon seeing who it was that had entered his room.

“Oh, it’s just you, Zeke. For a moment there I thought it was the Commander.” The boy spoke out to the one who had entered.

The person he was addressing was another Eldian boy slightly older and taller than him. He had short blond hair and bluish grey eyes. He was fully dressed in his cadet uniform which consisted of a white buttoned shirt with short sleeves and two front pockets, a pair of dark green shorts, and brown laced shoes. The same pair as his, but larger in size. Attached to his left arm was a yellow armband with white trimmings on the edges and a white star in the middle.

“I heard you scream from down the hall. I only popped out for a moment to get us some breakfast, only to come back fearing for you. You had me worried there, Lazarus.” Zeke replied worriedly to his roommate.

He then tosses over to Lazarus – still sat up in his bed – a wrapped up sandwich. Lazarus looks over the contents of his sandwich and was happy to see that Zeke remembered his favourite. Chicken and cheese sliced with a light spread of mayonnaise. He takes a big bite out of the first half, slowly enjoying the taste and texture of his food.

“Mmm, you know me all too well, Zeke. Thank you”.

“What are brothers for?” Zeke responded with the rising of his arms to his sides. “After that victory you achieved during combat training yesterday. That and for being chosen to be one of the candidates. I’d say you’ve earned it.”

As Lazarus continued to enjoy his meal, he thought back on that day Zeke mentioned, comparing it to the time he first met him and the other Warrior candidates, long before they were selected out of the hundreds of cadets. In the beginning he struggled to fit in due him being “different”. The only reason he grew so much was thanks to Zeke helping him come out of his shell, as well as the guidance he’d received from his mentor.

Ever since that day, he and Zeke have grown close like brothers, and he was able to make it through the hard years of training the military put him through. And yesterday yielded the results of that training. Now he – as well as a few others – have been handpicked to be the next Warrior Candidates. He couldn’t have been more proud of the life he had. His only regret being that other Eldians worldwide aren’t receiving the same treatment.

“The only reason I won was because of the tips Annie showed me. She’s a gifted fighter. It’s no surprise that she’d been one of the few chosen candidates to inherit one of the nine.” Lazarus says as he finished off his first half of the sandwich. “Though I don’t understand why she’d give me, her opponent, any tips on how to beat her if it meant she’d lose to me.”

“Maybe it’s because of the fact that Annie was holding back because of how she feels about you.” Zeke theorised as he scratches his left ear.

This response almost caused Lazarus to choke on the current bite he was chewing in shock. He quickly swallows it and addresses Zeke’s statement. His cheeks blushing red in response.

“Huh?! I don’t know what you’re talking about-

“Please Lazarus.” Zeke interrupted him. “It’s obvious how you two feel about each other. Annie acts cold and uncaring towards the rest of us, but she’s always had a soft spot for you. And if she is chosen to inherit one of the nine, she’ll only have thirteen years to live. So you better tell her how you feel before then, or you’ll lose your chance of having a relationship.”

Lazarus was struggling to form words to respond to this accusation with. While he wanted to deny it to ease his embarrassment, he knew that deep down he was right. Upon first meeting Annie Leonhart after his enlisting into military training, he had developed a liking to her. Though he is unsure if she shares the same feelings. He mentally makes a note to himself to find the right time to be open about his feelings when they’re not burdened with training.

“Hey Zeke. What time is it?”

“I was wondering when you’d mention that. I came to tell you that we have class in an hour. So you better get changed fast if we’re to make it on time.”

“What?!” Panicked, Lazarus scurries out of bed and quickly swings the wardrobes doors open. He quickly pulls out his cadet uniform and places it on the bed.

“Do you mind?” He casually turns to Zeke.

Zeke chuckles to himself and steps out of the room, giving Lazarus the privacy he needed to change out of his pj’s and into his uniform. His hat still clung to his head the whole time as he buttoned up his shirt, tucked it into his shorts and tied the laces of his shoes. He then ties the straps of his hat together to ensure that it doesn’t blow off of his head in the wind.

As he was about to head out the door, he stopped upon remembering the most important detail of his uniform. His armband. He reaches into one of his shirt pockets and pulls it out, wasting no time placing it around his left arm.

His armband was different compared to Zeke’s. His was a black armband with white trimmings like all others. It made him stand out among not only the other cadets, but all Eldian citizens. Nobody but the military and Lazarus himself know the reasoning behind this, as they believe that the world’s not ready to learn the truth about him yet.

After checking himself in the side tables small mirror, Lazarus is satisfied with his appearance. He soon exits the room and joins Zeke as the two of them begin their walk down the halls of the barracks.

On the way to the Marleyan military HQ, Lazarus and Zeke were taking in the sights of the great city of Liberio, the home town for all Eldian citizens. All of them were wearing grey armbands, marking them as Subjects of Ymir in the eyes of the general public.

Learning about armbands was one of the many things Lazarus was taught growing up in Marley. Grey represented Eldian citizens, Yellow like Zeke’s marked those as Warrior Candidates, letting the public know that they’re next in line to inherit one of the nine Titans. Red armbands are used to identify already existing Warriors who currently possess one of the nine. And finally, there’s his black armband. As far as he knows, he is the only Eldian in Marley who has one.

It's because of this armband that every Marleyan and even Eldian citizen would look at him with a different expression. The usual expression for Eldians that came from proud Marleyans were filled with hate and anger. This acted as a constant reminder of the evils their ancestors carried out during the Great Titan War, viewing them as descendants of devils.

Lazarus however was receiving the looks of fear from the Marleyans. Almost all of them were too afraid to say anything incriminating in his presence out of fear of him doing something horrible to them. The same kind of fear he had when he saw the eyes of that monster in his dreams.

Zeke couldn’t understand it at all, but Lazarus knew exactly why they feared him. But he was forced by the military to not breath a word of it to the other candidates until after they’ve inherited their Titans.

Zeke places his hand on his shoulder, looking down at his younger brother in arms. “Don’t let their glares get the better of you. Every one of us Eldians get treated like this. But we have nothing to fear, not as long as we keep showing our loyalty to Marley.”

“I still can’t believe you turned your parents into the authorities.” Lazarus spoke up. Zeke was surprised by this change in conversation to the point where he pulled his arm away. “I get why you did it though. If you hadn’t, you and your grandparents would be sent to Paradis and be forced to live out the rest of your lives as mindless pure Titans.”

Zeke says nothing in response. Part of him regretted the time he got too comfortable around Lazarus to the point of him opening up about how he got his parents and the Eldian Restorationists group sent to Paradis.

His whole childhood he’s been treated by his parents – mostly his father – as nothing but a tool for them to use in their cause to overthrow the military and take over Marley. In order to save himself and prove his worthiness to be a Warrior, he had to follow his mentor, Tom Ksaver’s, advice.

He hadn’t told anyone about this, until Lazarus showed up. If Tom was the closest thing he could have to a real father, then Lazarus was the brother he always wished he’d had growing up. Someone who has an understanding of what he went through.

“My parents were monsters! They robbed me of my childhood just to use me as their one way ticket to overthrowing Marley. All I ever wanted was to live like a normal kid, playing games of catch with my father, making friends with other kids my age, and just being happy. My monster of a father stole that from me, and I can never forgive him for it.”

“At least you had parents.”

Zeke perked up in surprise and looked down at Lazarus. He noticed that he had a look of sadness in his eyes. He knew that look all too well. It was the same look he had from all the failed attempts of trying to earn his father’s approval.

“I never met nor knew my father. He died before I was even born. And my mother, I remember very little of the times I’ve had with her… I think I’ve told you this before, but both of my parents were Warriors from what I’ve heard. My mother was the inheritor of the Female Titan. And my father, the Beast Titan.”

“Yes, I remember.” Zeke reassured him. “I heard their generation of Warriors were among the strongest to ever exist. It’s because of them that Marley was able to conquer the nation of Britannia, a country we’ve been at war with for over twenty years. It was really something.”

“Mr Ksaver is the reason you became one of the chosen candidates right? Does that mean you’ll inherit his Beast Titan?” Lazarus asked.

“I hope so.” Zeke replied hopefully. “I want to do it not for Marley’s sake, but for the sake of the world.” He turns to Lazarus. “What about you? Why do you want to become a Warrior? What is your goal?”

Lazarus thought hard about how to answer that question. He has multiple reasons for joining the Warrior Unit. But he never thought of what his end goal should be.

As he thought about it, a sudden flash of electricity flowed through his brain, causing him to come to a sudden stop. Just like in his dream, another still image popped into his mind. This one was more blurred out compared to his dream, so he couldn’t properly make out what he saw.

The image consisted of what he assumed to be himself from his own perspective reaching out to someone in front of him. It looked like a boy around the age of 7. The first image was of him approaching the mysterious figure and grabbing his arm. This was soon followed up with an image of the figure touching his hand and then disappearing.

All of this was overwhelming the young Eldians mind so much that Zeke was forced to grab him by the shoulders and shake him mercilessly until he snapped out of it.

“Hey! Lazarus, can you hear me?!” He called out.

Lazarus soon snaps back into reality and looks up at his tall roommate. “Sorry about that Zeke.”

“You just froze! Did you have another one of your blackouts?” he asked worriedly.

“Yeah… I think I did. Miss Muller assured me that they’d go away with age. But I feel like they’re getting worse. They become even more active in my dreams. Every night it’s just the same dream over and over again, and I still don’t know what they mean.”

Lazarus took a moment to regain his composure before he could properly answer Zeke’s question.

“Sorry about that. To answer your question though. I want to become a Warrior so I could unite the world and become the hero that will put an end to all Titans, which will lead to the creation of a new world. A world of peace and kindness, that includes Eldians like us too.”

Zeke was slightly moved by Lazarus’s goal. In some manner, his and Lazarus’s goals are different, but have a similar outcome. Every other candidate probably has their own reasonings for wanting to become Warriors, but Lazarus’s was among the most noble. Though he pitied him for following a dream he knows will never happen. There’s too much hatred in this world for there to be peace and kindness. As a eight year old kid, it was in Lazarus’s nature to dream up fairy-tales like that.

But he didn’t want to rob him of his child innocence the same way his father Grisha Yaeger did to him. He’ll let the military do that instead.

“I see.” Was all he could say in response to that. “Come on, we’re gonna be late if we don’t hurry up.”

Zeke and Lazarus then quickly pick up the pace as they practically sprinted over to the school building.

Within the school building outside the gates of Liberio, many young Eldian cadets were in separate classrooms learning from their teachers about how the world works. As well as the many nations with and against Marley, and of course, Subjects of Ymir and their place in the world.

This particular classroom that the Warrior Candidates are sitting down in was much bigger than the average classroom for regular cadets, both Marleyan and Eldian.

Most Eldian children within Liberio were home-schooled by their parents, forced to learn about the tragic history of the Titans and the Great Titan War. Only Eldians training to become either soldiers or warriors for Marley were accepted into proper schools.

There were only eight students in this classroom, all of them being Warrior Candidates. This included Lazarus, Zeke, and five others. Lazarus had grown up with all of them and knows each of them like the back of his hand. He had to, as he would be fighting alongside them throughout the next thirteen years in the name of Marley.

He looks over each of them individually. The first one his eyes landed on was a young girl, one of two in the whole class. She had blonde hair that was tied back in a bun. Her eyes were silver and kind of alluring. (to him at least) She was resting her head on her left fist whilst casually looking down at her notebook and using her free hand to fiddle with her pencil.

He then turns his attention to a young boy with blond hair, much shorter than Zeke’s, almost clean shaven. He was sitting up straight in his chair and actually paying attention to the teachers lecture.

Next to him was a tall slim looking boy with short black hair. His head was hanging down, staring at his desk rather than the teacher. He acted more shy than anyone else in the room. Someone else that reminded Lazarus of himself when he first came here.

Sitting behind the tall shy boy was the other only girl in the class. She was more friendly looking compared to Annie. She had long black hair that was tied back in a ponytail. She was resting both hands in her palms and stared in awe at the boy sitting in front of him, a warm smile forming on her face. She notices Lazarus staring at her and gives him a friendly wave to which he responds in kind.

The last two candidates sitting at the back of the class were two boys who appeared to be identical twins. One of them had short brown hair, while the other had more slicked back dark blond hair. The brown haired twin was making notes of everything the teacher was discussing, while his brother was paying more attention to outside the window, not giving a damn about the lecture.

Lazarus then looks over at Zeke who is sitting next to him at the front of the class. Though he only met the other candidates a few weeks after entering the Warrior program, he didn’t properly get to know them until they were given their yellow armbands. Zeke however was someone who Lazarus knew from the very start of training. Being his roommate, the two of them had gotten very close to the point they were able to share their past with each other.

He looks up at the teacher who was in the middle of drawing pictures of the nine titans on a chalkboard. He was a really tall skinny man with red hair and green eyes, which were hiding underneath a pair of square glasses. He had a red armband around his left arm, implying that he is one of the current Warriors for Marley. But with no enemies to fight, he was assigned to teaching the next generation of candidates everything they need to know on how to be successful Warriors.

“And that concludes the history of the Great Titan War and how my predecessors were able to conquer the great nation of Britannia.” Leonardo Waldenburg closes the history book he was reading and turns back to his class. 

“Now that you are all caught up with the past, it’s time we start prepping you kids for the future.” He points his ruler to the chalkboard where six of the nine Titans were drawn. “Get your notebooks ready because I’m only going to be explaining this once. In order for you all to master your Titan powers, you must first learn to understand their abilities as well as how and when to use them. Not just your own, but the Titans of your allies as well. What made the Alpha Warrior Unit so strong was how they coordinated their Titan powers and worked together as a team. If you wish to surpass them, you must learn to do the same.”

The entire class paid attention to Leonardo as he explains each Titan to the class. The first one he pointed to was a Titan with a feminine figure and a body of muscle.

“The Female Titan. It’s greatest strength is its versatility. Each of the nine Titans has a unique trait that makes them stand out from the hundreds of Pure Titans that swarm the island of Paradis. Not only does this Titan boast a combination of high mobility and endurance, but it also has the ability to harden parts of its body, giving its punches and kicks an incredibly destructive boost. It’s also able to summon pure Titans, though it’s range is limited.”

He pauses to allow the class to write all this down before continuing on. Once all students had put down their pencils, he continued on.

The next Titan was more wide and muscular than the first. It’s body was covered in what appeared to be armour plates, including its face, making it look more like it was wearing a mask or helmet.

“The Armoured Titan naturally specialises in defence. It’s armoured plates make it invulnerable to bullets and cannon fire, making it physically tougher than most Titans. If this Titan charges at full speed with enough force, it could break through impenetrable gates and walls alike. Hence why it is nicknamed “Marley’s Shield”, because it can always stand tall where the fighting is thickest.”

They once again picked up their pencils and jotted it all down just as Leonardo explains the next Titan. This one was easily the smallest of them all. It was on all fours and had razor sharp claws on its hands and feet, as well as an armoured mask with long sharp teeth.

“The Jaw Titan is an assault weapon. It’s as speedy as it is small, with powerful claws and teeth that can crush almost anything, including the strongest of hardened crystal. It’s claws can also be used for climbing tall structures and can leap long distances. It is impossible for anyone or anything to out run it.”

The next Titan he points to was drawn much differently than the others. Though the body looked more human, it had three separate heads hovering over it. The left head looking like a bird, the middle an elephant, and the right looking more reptilian. This causes some confusion for some of the candidates, which did not surprise Leonardo whatsoever.

“The Beast Titan is the most unique among the nine. It’s appearance and abilities change depending on the wielder. Each one becoming a completely different animal. For example, my comrade Tom Ksaver’s Beast Titan is a Ram. It’s thick, curved horned head allows him to deliver deadly charge attacks, but it is useless when it comes to hand to hand combat. The strongest Beast Titan Marley’s ever had was the Werewolf Titan, and it’s user, Dante Averbach. There hasn’t been a Beast like his since.”

Lazarus was shocked upon hearing that name. Averbach. That was HIS last name. He never met his father, but he did know he was a past Beast Titan wielder. He had no idea that his Beast was considered the strongest one ever by Marley. He really wanted to learn more about his parents time as Warriors and what accomplishments they’ve achieved throughout their thirteen year lives.

The next Titan to be explained was another quadruped. This one looked more human compared to the ones before it. The way it was drawn, it actually looked like a person on all fours. Porco was slightly uncomfortable with how it looked, even if it was only a drawing.

“The Cart Titan is the only one among the nine that isn’t built for combat. That being said, what makes it unique is its outstanding endurance. It has the ability to hold its form for days on end, as well as transform more times than any other Titan. In recent years, Marley’s been enhancing the Cart Titan with specialised equipment, such as armour plating and back mounted guns, courtesy of my talented sister and current Female Titan, Lucia Muller, and her amazing craftmanship.”

Lazarus smiles slightly over hearing the name of the woman who gave him his new life as a Warrior. She was someone who everyone within the military respected, even proud Marleyans. That was all because of her gift in blacksmithing and engineering. Her inventions led to the discovery of more advanced weapons that Marley used for their wars.

She had been a caring mother figure to all the Warrior candidates, most of all Lazarus, whom she’d gone to great lengths to ensure he had a chance of having a future.

“Lucia… I should visit her once class is over. I still got a lot to learn from her before her terms over.” And just like that, Lazarus’s mood went down upon realising that as one of the inheritors of the nine, Lucia’s thirteen year life will soon come to an end, alongside Leonardo Waldenburg, Tom Ksaver, and the rest of their Warrior unit… “I’m truly gonna miss her when she’s gone.”

Back to the lecture, Leonardo now explains the last Titan to the class. The largest one drawn compared to the other five. This one looked identical to the many giant Titans Lazarus saw in his dream.

“And finally, there’s the Colossal Titan. The largest and most powerful Titan among the seven we have, second only to the Founding Titan. It’s large size allows it to crush everything in its path, as well as make it almost impossible to take down. It has the ability to generate and concentrate large amounts of steam that acts as a defensive shield, blasting anything that gets too close. However, it’s greatest power lies in its transformation. By transforming alone, it can generate a gigantic explosion that can wipe out an entire city, turning it into a pile of dust and ashes. It is truly a god of destruction. I’d advise that you be careful when choosing to unleash it. Of course, the user can control the amount of power in the transformation, minimising it to having the Titan appear from thin air in an instant, launching a surprise attack on our enemies.”

The class as usual wrote down all this knowledge in their notebooks. Suddenly, one of the young candidates, Bertolt Hoover, raises his hand, showing the teacher that he had a question for him.

“Yes Bertolt?”

“Um, the Colossal is the one you possess right?” He asked shyly.

Leonardo smiled and calmly addressed his favourite student. “Yes indeed. I have had my fair share of using the Colossal Titans power. Though I’m only permitted to using it as a last resort when my unit and I were in battle. Was that your question?”

Bertolt shakes his head nervously. “Not just that sir. I- I wanted to know if we need to learn about the other three Titans as well.”

Leonardo nods in agreement as he clears the board of the Titan drawings and instead replaces it with a drawing of the island of Paradis and the three walls located in the centre of it.

“Unfortunately, the other three Titans are beyond our control, so I feel it isn’t necessary about giving you a full debriefing on them.”

Bertolt lowers his hand again, slightly disappointed that he won’t be learning about the other three Titan powers. Leonardo notices this and takes pity on him. Among all the Warrior Candidates, he’s always had a soft spot for Bertolt. He reminded him of himself when he was growing up in Odiha with his stepsister, Lucia. If he was going to choose anyone to inherit his Titan, it would probably be him.

“However, I will give you all some brief details about them… The Warhammer Titan is in the hands of the Tybur family, so we do not know much about it. Other than it’s the most skilled in hardening. It is capable of constructing any weapon it desires from its hardened skin. The Attack Titan is a bit of a mystery, so we won’t be able to learn it’s unique trait unless we capture it. And the most powerful of them all. The Founding Titan. It is the god of all Subjects of Ymir. All the more reason you must train hard to master your Titans, in order to invade Paradis and take it back… These nine Titans are what makes us what we are. If we want the world to be free of the devils that live on that island, we must obtain them all.”

Lazarus listened carefully to the explanation, making sure not to miss a single detail about the nine Titans and-

Lazarus suddenly rose out of his chair and stood silently in the class, gathering the attention of all the students and the teacher.

“Lazarus? Is there something wrong?” Leonardo asked.

Lazarus didn’t respond. His whole body was frozen on the spot, not even reacting to the voice of the teacher. The other kids were worried for him, apart from Porco and Zeke. Porco was just laughing behind his back – literally – while Zeke knew exactly what’s going on.

“I think he’s having another one of his blackouts, sir.” Zeke pointed out to his superior. “It happens from time to time. He’ll snap out of it eventually.”

Nobody knew what was going through Lazarus’s head right now to make him act this way, but they knew it was probably not good. Some of them knew about this condition of his, while others – mainly Porco – thought he was just doing this to attract attention. Annie and Reiner however were concerned for their friend.

Nobody knew what the cause of this strange mental affliction was, nor did anyone have any medical knowledge on how to fix it. Even Tom Ksaver was clueless on the topic, and he’s one of the most intelligent researchers of Titan biology Marley’s ever had.

“There’s… ten.” Lazarus quietly muttered to himself.

It was at that moment that Lazarus snapped out of his daze and realised that all eyes were currently on him. He felt embarrassed over creating a scene like that during class. Why now of all times did he have to experience another blackout?

“I beg your pardon?” Leonardo asked confused by what he just heard.

“The research is wrong, sir. There are TEN Titans, not nine.” Lazarus responded.

The other candidates whispered among themselves, trying to figure out what he was talking about.

“Really? And what makes you think that, Mister Averbach?” Leonardo asked curiously.

“Miss Muller once told me a story about a Titan that had the power to construct almost anything out of pure crystal. Like the Warhammer Titan, only its constructs are not bound to only weapons. It could build castles, roads, bridges, even machines out of crystal.” Lazarus attempted to explain to the class.

Leonardo soon realised what this was all about. It would seem his mischievous step sister has been filling his mind with stories again. He always knew she’d been too soft on the boy, and feared that this day would come. The time has come for him to set things straight once and for all.

“Ah, you speak of the legend behind the Crystal Titan.” Lazarus responds with a light nod, giving him the all clear to continue. “Yes, I’ve heard this story many times when I was your age. The story about a Titan that was born the same time as the founder Ymir’s Founding Titan. It tells of a Titan who’s body is completely covered in shining crystals, which it can use to build anything. And it can grant that power to other Titans, giving them the power to harden. A Titan that acted as the knight of Ymir Fritz, as well as the holy grail for the power of hardening as a whole.”

The other candidates were all surprised to only now be hearing of such a powerful Titan. Marley has never mentioned a Titan that fits that description. The closest they can think of was the Warhammer Titan, and even that is limited when it comes to constructing things out of hardened crystal.

Lazarus doesn’t know what’s going through the other kids heads upon hearing this. Do they think he’s gone mad? That he’s so gullible to believe in such a story? Or do they think it’s real like he does? He’ll have to ask them about it during break time.

“As fascinating and useful such a power would be for Marley, the Crystal Titan does not exist. It is an urban legend created by the devils of Paradis to scare us into not invading their island, alongside the Rumbling. The Founding Titan is the reason the power of hardening exists. Nothing more and nothing less. Do not believe everything you hear, Lazarus. Take that as an extra lesson you have learned here today… Now then, let us get back to the explanation of Paradis and how the mission will unfold once you inherit your Titans.

Lazarus sits back in his chair and pays attention to the remainder of the lecture. Some of the other candidates give the occasional look every now and then for his interruption. Most of them being Zeke, Reiner, Bertolt and Annie. They were concerned for their friend, but also curious to hear the rest of this story he’d been told.

Class was finally over. All the students were finally free to go out and have their lunch break. All the Eldian children who weren’t chosen to be Warrior Candidates were all forced to eat in a mess hall under the watch of several Marleyan soldiers, while Marleyan kids had more freedom.

Lazarus, Zeke, and the rest of the candidates were all hanging out behind the school building. Zeke is sitting atop a couple of stacked boxes eating an apple with Lazarus leaning against the wall next to him, readjusting his hat.

They were all talking about what they’d just learned during class. All except Annie, who was hanging out by the tree way in the back, paying more attention to the chirping cicada at her feet rather than the groups conversation.

She would occasionally direct a few glances at Lazarus who appeared to be doing the same thing, while also paying attention to the group.

After the explanation they received on how the nine Titans worked, – or ten as Lazarus claimed – the group received a long debriefing about the mission they’ll be taking part in once they inherit their Titans within the next two years.

This mission has been in the works for many years now. Lazarus remembers a past conversation he had with Lucia about how the mission was originally meant to be carried out by the Warrior Unit his parents were part of. But due to the long lasting war they’ve had with Britannia, the Paradis operation was delayed.

Though the current Warrior unit had some talented individuals, not all of them were built for fighting. Tom Ksaver and Leonardo Waldenburg being the prime examples. So rather than have them carry it out, they’ll let the newer, stronger generation take their place.

Lazarus has been taught a lot about the Eldians that lived on the island. And that all of them are a bunch of devils that built themselves a paradise using the founders power, all the while Eldians worldwide were suffering.

The very thought of it angers Lazarus. If it hadn’t been for the 145th King Fritz’s cowardly acts, Eldians could’ve been treated as equals. But rather than atone for his ancestors sins, he chose to flee and use the founders power to wipe their memories of the outside world, making them believe they’re the last of humanity.

“Did you guys hear?”

Lazarus ceased all the thoughts he had of the devils of Paradis in order to properly listen to what Zeke was saying to the others. He was somewhat relieved to hear his rant end.

“In just a few years we’ll be sent to attack Paradis Island.” Among the other candidates, Reiner appeared to be the most excited to hear this news. “It’s almost time for us to inherit our Titans.”

After taking one last bite of the apple, Zeke tosses it over to Marcel who wasted no time sinking his teeth into the tasty fruit, its juices sliding down the side of his mouth.

“Out of us eight, only six of us will be made Warriors at once.”

“Yeah.” Lazarus speaks up. “I have faith in all of us. As long as we all remember what we’ve learned and work together, we can pull it off.”

The other kids – apart from Porco – gave a light smile in response. Lazarus always had a way of motivating people into doing their dandiest, bringing out the best in themselves. That’s something they’re all gonna need if they are to go to the island, steal the founder, and come back alive.

“You’re right!” Reiner responded excitedly. “I can’t wait to finally become an honorary Marleyan.”

“What are you so excited for? If anyone’s getting left behind it’s you.”

Everyone turns their attention to Porco who had just grabbed the apple from his brother and finished swallowing his bite.

Lazarus rolls his eyes. He’s not surprised that Porco would end up turning his attention from him to Reiner. He’s not the kind of person who would hate someone for being who they are. But he did not appreciate the arrogance and spite coming from the slick haired twins mouth. If he and Reiner end up becoming Titan Shifters, then they have to learn to put their differences aside so they can work together as a unit.

“What did you say?!” Reiner asks with a hate filled glare.

“What do you have that the rest of us don’t? Are you real strong? Real smart? A crack shot? Good in a fight maybe? No! You only made it this far by constantly going one about your love for Marley.”

To add insult to injury, Porco decides to make a weak attempt at impersonating Reiner, making him sound weak and pathetic. Lazarus would not stand for this. If he didn’t say something soon, then a fight is sure to follow up.

Reiner however beat him to it, as he grabs Porco by his shirt collar and pulls him close, baring his teeth at the bully.

“Are you seriously insulting our mission?! How dare you! You almost sound like a stray restorationist!” Porco tries to pull away, but Reiner wasn’t finished with him yet. “You traitor! I’ll report you to the commander for this!”

“Report this you little shit!”

Porco pulls his right arm back and thrusts it forward, punching Reiner right in the face. The force was strong enough to send him to the floor.

As Porco was about to kick him while he’s down, Lazarus steps in and stands in front of him.

“Get out of my way!”

“That’s enough Porco. Leave him alone.”

“What? You think because you’ve got some special armband your better than the rest of us?” Porco attempted to change the subject, causing some of the others to look over at Lazarus’s black armband. “I don’t know why the brass would give someone like you a new armband. But that alone doesn’t make you a worthy Warrior! Tell us, Lazarus. What makes YOU so special?”

“I’m under orders from Commander Magath not to say until we inherit our Titans. You all know that. Or did you not pay attention in class, Pock!” Lazarus throws the insults right back at him.

Porco was furious with the name he was just called by Lazarus. He always hated being called that. And it hurts even more when it came out of the mouth of someone he disliked.

“Don’t you dare call me that!”

As Porco was about to throw a punch his way, his brother Marcel gets in front of him and pushes him back.

“That’s enough Porco, calm down!” He says in an authoritative tone.

“Whatever!” he shrugs and backs off, away from Lazarus and the still downed Reiner. “Anyone can whine about how much they hate the island. That’s why you’ll be doing it here for the next thirteen years.” He then turns back to Lazarus. “And as for you. Call me Pock again, and I’ll shove this apple core right up your ass!”

With that vulgar sentence said, Porco takes his leave. Marcel follows after him. Zeke and Pieck then decide to take their leave as well, not wanting to get any more involved in this.

“We’ll catch up with you later. Come one Pieck, let’s go.”

With most of the group gone, Lazarus turned his attention to Reiner and offers him a hand up. Reiner smiles and gratefully accepts it. Bertolt walks over to Reiner’s side to and wipes any dirt off of his clothes.

“Are you ok, Reiner?” Bertolt asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine… Thanks Lazarus.”

“Like I said. We must stick together no matter what. Even is some of us don’t get along.”

“That was impressive, Lazarus. How’d you find the confidence to stand up to him like that?” Bertolt asked curiously.

“I don’t know. Guess it’s just something that came to me at an early stage. Have faith, Bertolt, it’ll come to you too someday.” Lazarus reassured him. He then turns to Annie who had been completely oblivious to the entire argument. Focusing instead on repeatedly stepping on the cicada she found earlier. “You ok Annie?”

Annie snaps out of her little daze and focuses her attention on the one boy she likes more than the other two standing beside him.

“Sorry, I was distracted.”

“Yes I can see that.” Lazarus looks down at the completely smashed cicada, (what’s left of it) “Did you have to go overboard with that? It was already dead the first time you stepped on it.”

“It landed on my sandwich. This was payback.” She bluntly replied, not giving a single care for the deceased insect.

Lazarus couldn’t help but chuckle in response to Annie’s bluntness, causing the young girl to blush slightly.

She then decided to run off in the direction of the others, leaving Lazarus, Reiner and Bertolt alone. Though Lazarus attempted to lighten the mood, Reiner was still upset.

“Reiner… Don’t listen to Porco, he’s just being a jerk. He-

“I have to become a Marleyan.” Reiner interrupted. “So I can live with my Mom and Dad. I can’t wait thirteen years! But… It’s like he said. I’m weak.” Tears start to form in his eyes as he says this.

“It isn’t gonna be Porco’s decision to make.” Bertolt reassured him. “And well, loyalty is more important than you might think.” He turns to Lazarus. “Right Lazarus?”

Lazarus nods. He places both his hands on Reiner’s shoulders and looks the young boy straight in the eyes. Unlike most people, Reiner never looked away in fear when it came to Lazarus. He was among the Eldians who knew nothing of the sins he’s committed, so he had no reason to fear when looking into his crimson eyes.

“Listen to me Reiner. I know you have what it takes to become a Warrior, and an honorary Marleyan. You may not be as strong as Zeke, or as smart as me, or as good at hand to hand combat like Annie. But those things alone isn’t what makes you a Warrior.”

Reiner was about to protest about hearing him says he isn’t strong, smart or good at fighting. But he held back upon hearing the last part. For someone who was roughly the same age as he is, Lazarus was a lot wiser than the rest of them. He honestly wouldn’t mind following his lead if he were made the next War Chief of their Warrior unit.

“Remember, the strength of a weapon, any weapon, Titans included- He places his hand on Reiner’s chest. “Comes from the heart.” He then moves his hand up to his head and pokes the side of his skull. “But only when tempered by this. By the discipline, the self-control of the one who wields it. That is where the true strength of a warrior lies. You must never forget that, if your dead set on becoming a Marleyan.”

Both Reiner and Bertolt were taken aback by the level of wisdom Lazarus has displayed.

“Who told you that?” Reiner asked.

“Miss Muller did.” Lazarus admitted proudly. “She’s taught me so much ever since I first joined the Warrior unit. She’s the reason I was able to fit in with you guys.”

The three young warrior candidates begin walking as they talk, sharing each other’s goals for the future.

Reiner and Bertolt remember the day they first met Lazarus all too well. They remember how he acted like Annie. Always keeping his distance and refusing to open up to anyone. Though his were for completely different reasons than Annie. He kept his distance out of fear rather than resentment.

He’s changed a lot since then. As he said, Lucia Muller was mostly responsible for that. Since then he’s been more open with the other candidates, and doesn’t let the hurtful slurs of the Marleyans get to him. He would also stand up to the people he cares about whenever any of them were in trouble, always putting them before himself.

He had all the makings to be a great Warrior already. As such, Bertolt was curious as to which of the Nine Titans he’d inherit.

“Hey Lazarus. Which of the nine would you want to inherit?”

Lazarus thought hard about that question. Each of the nine is unique in their own way. The Colossal Titans big and powerful. The Jaw Titan is small but nimble. The Armoured Titan has impenetrable armour, and the list goes on.

“Well it’s not like we’ll be given the Titans we choose.” Reiner speaks up before he could answer the question. “Whichever one we inherit will depend on our skillset, and which one is more fitting of us.”

“But if you could choose. What would it be?” Bertolt repeated himself. “Me personally, I think the Colossal Titan might be more fitting for someone like me.”

“Why? Because your Mister Waldenburg’s favourite student?” Lazarus teased.

“No!” He quickly denied. “It- It’s because I’m not very skilled at fighting compared to the others. The Colossal would be a fitting choice for me because I can just use my massive size to flatten our enemies.”

Lazarus would agree that the Colossal Titan would be a good choice for him. Leonardo can defiantly make that happen if he ended up choosing him. After all, the decision on which candidate gets which Titan is down to their current hosts.

“If we’re talking about Titans more suited for us. Then I’d say the perfect one for me would be the Armoured Titan.” Reiner suggested. “Because I can use its armour to shield Marley from the evils of the world.”

Yet another good decision that Lazarus agreed with. The Armoured Titan would suit Reiner’s tenacious spirit well.

The two cadets then turn to their fedora wearing friend expecting his answer. Lazarus doesn’t really think about this kind of stuff, nor does he have a need to. But he wouldn’t leave his friends hanging like that. With an answer in mind, he shared his thoughts with them.

“If I had to pick one. Then I guess I’d have to go with probably, uh… The Beast Titan?” He pauses a bit expecting one of them to ask why, but none of them said anything, so he continued. “Because what animal form it takes on depends on its host. Mister Ksaver’s was a Ram, and my father’s before him was a wolf. I’m mostly curious as to what mine would look like if I inherited it next… Who knows, maybe my Beast Titan will have wings and I’ll gain the ability to fly.”

Reiner and Bertolt laugh in response. A flying Titan? If the Crystal Titan was considered a urban legend, then a flying Titan would be a children’s fairy-tale.

The young candidates spent the next couple minutes walking in silence, thinking over the possibilities of what’s to come for them. They still have two more years until the current Titan Shifters reach the end of their thirteen year curse. Giving them plenty of time to train harder and improve their chances of becoming a Warrior.

“Hey Reiner.”

The silence was soon broken by Bertolt, who had another question to ask his two comrades. Curiosity seems to always get the better of him. Not that there was anything wrong with that.

“This goal of yours. Is it really what you want?”

Reiner and Lazarus turn to their right as they started running across the wall of the school.

“You get thirteen years to live, and that’s it.”

Reiner can see where he was coming from. Inheriting one of the nine would shorten his life. But he’s already made up his mind. He will become a Warrior, not only to be with his father, but to be a hero to the world. By wiping out the devils of Paradis.

“I may only live for thirteen years. But I’ll be a hero for every one of them. If I can defeat the devils of Paradis, I’ll have saved the whole world. And after that… My parents would be proud to call me son.” Reiner says with pride.

Lazarus smiled in response to Reiner’s dedication and drive. He was pleased to know that his words of wisdom actually left an impact on him the same way they did for him when Lucia said it. He was proud to call him his ally. And even prouder to call him his friend.

“You’re just like me.” He muttered to himself.

Both Reiner and Bertolt stop running to properly address Lazarus again.

“You and I have the same goals, Reiner. To save the world and become heroes.” He pauses so that he could look up at the blue sky full of clouds above him. “One thing I do remember my Mom telling me before her death, was that if there’s one thing that’s greater than achieving your dreams… It’s sharing that dream with the people you care about.”

Lazarus places his arms around the two boys and pulls them in for a group hug.

“I want to be a hero and save the world. But I don’t want to do it alone. I want my friends to fight and live beside me, as we annihilate the island devils that gave all of us Eldians a bad name… Stick with me, and I will help you get the lives you’ve always dreamed of. That I swear my life on… Until we inherit our Titans and reach that island, we keep moving forward. Right?”

Reiner and Bertolt embrace the hug and all agree to form that promise to each other.

No matter what happens, they will keep pushing forward until they gain the strength they need to accomplish their dreams of saving the world and make life better for their families. They will invade Paradis Island. They will take back the Founding Titan. And they WILL save the world, no matter what.

To Be Continued