A Future Unwritten

The airship hummed with a quiet tension as it soared over the burning remains of Liberio. Smoke curled into the sky, painting the world in hues of destruction. Below us, thousands lay dead—Marley's forces shattered, their proud warriors nothing more than corpses littered across the city streets. The Survey Corps had won, but victory tasted strange.

Eren sat near the edge, his expression unreadable, the distant city lights reflecting in his eyes. He had done what he set out to do, but something felt... off. This was the first time in years that the future wasn't aligning exactly with what he had foreseen.

I leaned back against the cold metal wall, feeling the familiar sensation of the system churning in the background.

[System Notification: You have altered the fate of this world irreversibly.] [New Threat Unlocked: The Unknown Path.]

A quiet warning. A shift in the story. But what did it mean?

Levi was watching me from the other side of the cabin. He had been silent since we boarded, his sharp eyes dissecting every detail of my movements. Finally, he spoke.

"You knew how this would play out."

I met his gaze. "I had a plan."

"Tch." He crossed his arms, looking unimpressed. "You planned for Zeke to surrender?"

I smiled slightly. "I planned to make him believe surrendering was his best option."

Levi exhaled through his nose, leaning back. He understood. Even if he hated Zeke, he knew having him alive was more useful than dead. For now.

Across the airship, Pieck sat with her arms wrapped around her knees. She hadn't spoken since we left Liberio. The woman who had always been so composed, so effortlessly intelligent, now looked fragile. Vulnerable.

I moved toward her, crouching beside her seat.

"Regretting your choice?"

Her dark eyes flickered to me. "No."

"Then what's wrong?"

She hesitated. "…I spent my life believing Marley was the only future for Eldians. That they would protect us if we proved our loyalty." She looked down at her hands. "But they never planned to protect us, did they?"

I didn't answer immediately. She already knew the truth.

"No," I said finally. "They only needed weapons. And you were one."

She let out a small laugh—bitter, tired. "Then what does that make me now?"

I studied her, gauging the shift in her emotions. Pieck Finger was too smart to wallow in despair for long. She was adapting, reassessing her future. That was what made her valuable.

"You're free," I told her. "You can decide what to do with that freedom."

Her fingers clenched, then slowly relaxed. She didn't say anything, but I saw it—the first cracks in her old loyalty.

[System Notification: Character Affection Increased – Pieck Finger (+20)]

One more piece shifting into place.

Return to Paradis

The airship landed in Shiganshina, where the aftermath of our mission was already unfolding. People cheered when they saw us—celebrating the fall of Marley's warriors, the death of their oppressors. But they had no idea what was coming.

Historia was waiting at the docks, her golden hair catching the dim torchlight. She greeted me first, her expression softer than before.

"You're safe," she said quietly.

"Of course." I smirked. "Did you think I wouldn't be?"

She didn't answer immediately, but there was something new in her eyes—something that hadn't been there before.

[System Notification: Character Affection Increased – Historia Reiss (+15)]

Eren pushed past, his gaze fixed ahead. He had no time for reunions. He had a war to prepare for.

But there was hesitation in his movements.

Levi noticed too. "He's thinking too much."

I watched as Eren walked away. He wasn't breaking down, wasn't losing hope—he was questioning something. The certainty he once had was shaken. He was seeing things unfold differently than he remembered, and it was making him cautious.

A Storm Brewing

Days passed. The world was shifting.

Reports flooded in—Marley wasn't recovering. Their military was shattered, their leadership scrambling. The War Hammer Titan's absence had left a power vacuum, and factions were already rising to seize control. But one report stood out.

An unknown deviation in Eren's future memories.

Eren sat across from me in an empty hall, fingers laced together, expression serious.

"Akira," he said slowly, voice thoughtful rather than accusatory. "You… You weren't supposed to be this important."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"I've seen everything," he murmured, leaning back. "Or, I thought I had. But ever since you showed up… I keep seeing things I wasn't meant to."

[System Notification: Major Narrative Divergence Detected.]

I stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.

"I saw the future, Akira," he admitted. "A path where I knew every step. But now… It's changing." His gaze met mine. "You're changing it."

I tilted my head. "Is that a bad thing?"

He exhaled. "I don't know yet."

For the first time, Eren Yeager wasn't moving forward with absolute certainty. He was adapting. Reassessing. And that meant I had just gained another advantage.

The game had changed again.

And I was ready.