Inside a residential building—
"Lock, if not for you this time… Eren and Mikasa might have…"
Carla's voice trembled, unable to finish. The image of what could have happened left her breathless, eyes brimming with tears.
Eren and Mikasa stood beside her, anxious and unsure how to comfort her.
"Aunt Carla, please don't say that," Lock replied gently. "I've always thought of Eren and Mikasa as family. There's no way I'd ever let them get hurt."
He placed a reassuring hand on their heads, then shifted the topic. "By the way, when did you leave your house? I went there earlier, but you were gone."
Carla wiped her eyes, recalling the moment. "We were just about to send your Uncle Grisha inland to practice medicine when the wall broke. It happened so suddenly—stones came crashing down from the sky. If we'd left a few steps later, we wouldn't have made it out."
Her words carried lingering fear.
As a simple homemaker, she had no grand dreams—just a quiet, complete family and a peaceful life. But the breach had shattered everything she held dear.
Fortunately, Grisha and Eren were still safe. Otherwise, she wasn't sure she could go on living.
Sitting beside her, Martha squeezed Carla's trembling hand. "Don't think about what's lost," she said softly. "As long as we're together, we can start over."
Carla nodded, voice barely above a whisper. "Yes… start over."
Watching the two women, Eren's expression darkened. His small fists clenched, his jaw tight.
He hated the Titans.
If it weren't for them, his mother wouldn't be crying.
If it weren't for them, people wouldn't be suffering and running for their lives.
Because of them, countless families were gone.
Titans shouldn't exist in this world.
Lock noticed the shift in Eren's eyes and sighed inwardly.
You haven't yet seen your mother die before your eyes, he thought, but that hatred… It's already there.
His gaze slid toward Grisha, who had been silent the entire time.
According to Carla, Grisha had not gone inland yet—meaning he hadn't taken the Founding Titan's power. That revelation startled Lock, though it was good news for his plan.
Now wasn't the time to seize the Founding Titan. Neither Grisha nor Eren could properly wield their power yet. Both carried royal blood in a diluted form but lacked the means to activate the Coordinate.
Still, Lock couldn't afford to wait for the story to play out naturally.
The fall of the wall had shattered the old order. Peace was dead. It was time to move, to claim real influence—starting with the ruling Reiss family.
But only temporarily.
The Reiss family, shackled by the "Vow of Renunciation of War," lacked any ambition to defend or rebuild humanity. They clung to King Karl Fritz's pacifism, content to let millions of Eldians live and die quietly within the walls.
What they didn't know was that the world outside had already changed.
Marley's industrial revolution was underway. Steamships, guns, and cannons had rendered the Titans' power less absolute.
And with Paradis Island's vast natural resources sitting untouched, it was only a matter of time before the outside world turned its attention back here.
If Paradis didn't adapt, it would be crushed.
That was the truth Lock understood better than anyone.
The Reiss family was supposed to be humanity's leaders, yet they hid behind the walls, indulging in complacency and self-deception.
Frieda Reiss, the current holder of the Founding Titan, could have changed everything. She had the power, the authority, the position.
But she remained silent.
Their so-called "atonement" was nothing more than cowardice wrapped in righteousness.
Escape solves nothing.
To Lock, their purpose was simple—to be used.
To give him power and influence. After that, he would not need them.
As a man out of time, he saw the world differently—like a chessboard in motion, every piece an opportunity.
The outer gate of Wall Maria was already gone. The Marleyan Warrior Unit had infiltrated successfully. Soon, the next phase of their plan would unfold.
Time was running short.
Lock glanced briefly at Grisha, keeping his expression neutral. If Grisha acted now and seized the Founding Titan's power, Lock's options would vanish.
He couldn't let that happen.
He needed to leave—quickly—before things spiraled out of control.
Because he knew: once Grisha made his move, there would be no turning back.
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A/N: Advanced Chapters have been uploaded on Patreon.
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