Kruger explained the attack and fall of Lago to the shadow. He explained the story of the titans rising out of the sea and trampling the city into dust, and how the survivors wandered aimlessly, only to be devoured by titans. Kruger noticed that the shadow grimaced at the depiction of the event, staring directly at the drawing.
"The event…could have been wrong," Kruger insisted, "This could've been another set of Marleyan propaganda, created in order to justify some of the actions against the Eldians-,"
"…hHaApPEenNed," the shadow spoke.
Kruger blinked in response. "What do you mean by that?"
The shadow merely pointed to the drawing.
"So…Marley is correct," Kruger said, feeling a sense of dread coming up in him.
The shadow nodded its head.
Kruger grimaced in response before a realization hit him. "How do you know that? How do you know about an event that happened over 1200 years ago?"
Before the shadow could respond, its hands began to disappear, followed by the rest of it. Kruger reached out, but the shadow faded from its sights.
"The shadow left at a frequent rate. It was very random. One minute it was there, and the next it was gone. I have no idea where it goes, and when it does return, not once does it discuss where it goes. I do notice, that it looks more and more miserable every time. It looked despondent and helpless."
Kruger looked out towards the ocean and the setting sun, sitting in the sand and smoking a cigarette. He took a deep breath, letting the smoke linger in his body before exhaling. He saw the smoke evaporate in the air before noticing the shadow out of the corner of his eye. He saw it looking out at the sea with a look of awe in its eyes. The shadow looked down at Kruger, causing the man to raise an eyebrow. Kruger merely gestured to the ocean with his cigarette. The shadow looked back at the ocean before walking towards it.
The shadow raised its leg and seemed to hesitate before placing its leg in the water. Kruger saw the shadow shiver, most likely due to the cold, and quickly removed its leg. It shook off the water before looking back down at it. The shadow eased its leg into the water, letting the sensation of sand and water take over. It placed its other leg in the water with a little more confidence. The shadow swayed back and forth a little, looking down at the water rising and falling. The shadow turned to Kruger, and the Eldian in hiding could see a bright expression in its eyes, beckoning him to come to the water. Kruger couldn't exactly make vocal opposition; there were others in the area. Kruger sighed to himself and flicked the cigarette away before standing up and walking over to the shadow. He took off his shoes and rolled up his pant legs before stepping in the water. It was cold, initially, but the feeling faded and he was able to relax at the sensation of the waves.
"Figured that you'd like it," Kruger commented, "Since you tend to appear wherever I'm located."
"…BbeAuTtiFul…THanK You," the shadow said.
"Sure," Kruger merely responded. The shadow did seem happy.
"…CcAlLeEd…OoCceEaN," the shadow commented.
"Yes, it is," Kruger said, "You really don't know anything about humanity do you."
The shadow merely shook its head.
"So then…what are you?" Kruger decided to press.
The shadow stared at Kruger before looking back at the ocean, choosing not to respond.
"You don't want to tell me?" Kruger assumed, "It would be good to know so I can trust you."
"…Complicated," the shadow responded in a clear, deep voice.
"'Complicated' how?" Kruger pressed.
"…Complicated," the shadow repeated.
Kruger sighed in response. It looked like he wasn't going to get a more detailed response. "Can you at least tell me why you're here?"
Kruger saw the shadow staring out towards the horizon. There was this look of concern and sorrow, but also this sense of…determination. The shadow clenched its fists and narrowed its eyes.
"I…heard…a…cry…I…need to…save…," the shadow spoke in clear words.
"That was all I was going to get out of it. It never discussed where it was from or what exactly it was, but it was here with purpose. I wasn't exactly sure why. What cry could this being possibly be hearing? The only thing that I was certain about was that it knew certain events of our history. I don't know how or why it did, but every time it looked at an event that I was trying to explain, it looked at it with such bitterness and sorrow."
"I did get confused about one scenario: the Colossal Titans on Paradis. When I brought it up the first time, it seemed terrified, fearful. Every time it was brought up again, either by a lesson or by someone in the streets, it would do everything to ignore it. It would shut the book using my hand. It would covered the sides of its head and drown out the noise until we passed the person on the street. It would stop the entire history lesson. I didn't understand. Why was it looking at something that hadn't happened at all?"
Kruger could only watch as a guard as the speaker was announcing new plans to protect refugees that were mixed Eldians, much to the dismay of other speakers and Marleyan government officials.
"They are Eldians!" someone shouted, "It doesn't matter where they came from! They would still destroy the world if they wanted to!"
"They are victims of the devils on Paradis island!" another shouted.
"So we should provide them asylum?!" another shouted, "What if that is the Eldian's plan?! They'll kill us all!"
Chaos reigned as everyone kept on arguing. Kruger could see Gross in another corner of the room, mouthing something along the lines of 'a complete waste of time'. Kruger then turned his attention to the shadow on his left, grimacing at the argument.
"This is the way the world is," Kruger told it, "Talking and negotiation with never change the minds of the people in power."
"…they… do not deserve this…," the shadow spoke, "…they deserve…better…,"
"I can't give you a better response," Kruger whispered, "Even if the world somehow managed to ignore the history, the Eldians can still turn into titans. Unless that can somehow be taken away, the Eldians will always be persecuted. Everyone will want them dead."
"…they deserve…better," the shadow spoke.
"Even if they release the titans within the wall?" Kruger questioned.
The shadow tensed at the thought. It clenched its fists before releasing them in defeat. "I…suppose not…,"
Kruger didn't respond before he quietly muffled a cough with his hand. When he finished, he looked down to see that there were small droplets of blood. He was starting to run out of time.
"The Curse of Ymir was starting to take effect, and the Marleyans were getting wise about the Eldian Restorationists. It seems like everything that I've been working for is going to go to waste, but I still pressed on. Hoping to find an opportunity, and a solution. I remembered Grisha Jaeger, and how he wanted to burn the world to ash when he was a young child, when Gross fed his sister to the dogs. I saw a vision of me talking with Grisha one last time; handing him a picture of his family. I wasn't sure where that would lead, but I knew that it would be some form of importance later on."
Kruger watched Zeke and Dina walking down the street, back to the internment zone with their son in tow. They were getting verbally abused by the Marleyans. They shouted slurs and insults as they passed by. Grisha gritted his teeth in anger while Dina and Zeke were crying. Kruger heard a gasp and saw the shadow was watching the family with a mix of shock and horror. He didn't know where its gaze was directed at, but it did confirm that his suspicions were correct. The family was going to be important.
A few months later
Kruger began to review the history of Ymir specifically. How she got the powers of the titan, how she used the powers of the powers to destroy Marley and build Eldia. The shadow pointed to Ymir before gesturing to another page of the world map. It pointed to Eldia specifically before pointing to Marley.
"In Eldia, she's seen as a god send," Kruger explained, "She gave Eldia power. She protected them and gave them a stronghold. Because of her, the Eldian Empire stood for nearly two thousand years. In the eyes of Marley, she's a devil, a demon. She was sent to destroy them all and rule the land with an iron fist, only until Eldia remained. To them, she is the reason the world is destroyed and broken."
The shadow then pointed to Ymir before pointing to him. Kruger blinked in surprise.
"What do I think?" Kruger asked.
The shadow nodded its head.
"I think…she was just a normal girl," Kruger answered, "There was no devil. There was no deal. She was just someone who came into contact with the power of the titans. The only reason she's depicted the way that she is, is because of who is responsible for writing the history. Someone benefitting from her is going to exalt her and praise her name, but someone that has been hurt by her will no doubt cast her out."
The shadow seemed upset at the thought, but before Kruger could say anything else, he began to cough violently. The shadow sat up with concern as Kruger covered his mouth. When Kruger saw his hand, there was more blood this time. The shadow grabbed Kruger's hand and stared at it before looking to Kruger; its pleading eyes wanting an explanation.
"…I'm dying," Kruger explained, "Suppose that I had this coming."
Kruger saw that the shadow was confused.
"I'm an Eldian," Kruger explained, "And…I inherited the powers of the titans. These powers do come at a cost. Ymir died thirteen years after she got her powers, and no one else could succeed that time limit. I'll be dead soon enough."
"N-no!" the shadow stuttered.
"That is the way it is," Kruger smiled bitterly, "I chose this path, and I deserve it for what I've done."
The shadow didn't know how to respond. Before it could, the shadow began to disappear from his sights. The shadow reached out for Kruger, but it disappeared before he could touch him.
"I was running out of time, and the Eldian Restorationists were closing in. I wasn't sure what would come up next, or how much time that I had in order to secure Eldia's future. I had no idea what the goal of the shadow was. I still had no idea what the cry was, or where or how it was trying to find it. The shadow could touch me, and show me memories, but it couldn't interact with anyone else. I assumed that it was because I was a holder of the power of the titans, but it didn't help my case. So why was I even bothering to write this? How would this being even be detrimental to the survival of the Eldian race?"
Kruger sighed as he viewed his home one last time. He was going to be heading off to Paradis to turn the Restorationists into titans in a few days, and give Grisha Jaeger the power of the titans. This would be the last time that he would be here. He was due to die in a couple of weeks.
"….Kruger…," a voice spoke.
Kruger turned to see the shadow staring at him. "You're back."
"…it will be the last time," the shadow declared, "I found what I came here for, and I wanted to come by one last time before I complete my objective."
Kruger let out a huff in response. "How fitting. I'm set to die in a couple of weeks. The Curse of Ymir has been taking its toll on me. I'm going to pass my power to Grisha Jaeger, and hopefully he can complete the objective I've been setting out to do."
The shadow didn't respond to that. "Why didn't you tell me that you were a titan shifter?"
"…I'm an Eldian in hiding in a world that wants me dead," Kruger retorted, "What was I supposed to do? Who could I trust?"
"I…I couldn't find a way to stop the curse for you," the shadow proclaimed, looking rather despondent.
Kruger raised an eyebrow at that. "There's nothing you could've done. The power of the titans is essentially god-like. You'd have to be a god to at least try to counteract it. Besides, I deserve to die anyway. I killed my own. I've done terrible things. I deserve to let the Curse of Ymir kill me."
"…No. You don't," the shadow proclaimed.
Kruger chuckled at that. "You called me a murderer. You saw my actions as heinous. I can still here the screams of my victims at night."
"If you were given the choice, you would've never done that," the shadow retorted.
Kruger shrugged. "It's too late now. I have to pay the debt that I owe."
"I am in debt to you, Kruger," the shadow declared, "You allowed me to stay here. You taught me your world's history. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have succeeded in my mission."
"What is your mission?" Kruger asked.
"…When I leave you, the power of the titans will be no more," the shadow declared, "That is my mission."
Kruger eyed the shadow with speculation. "What…do you mean by that?"
"In time you will know," the shadow responded.
"I have no time!" Kruger exclaimed, "Who…are you? That is the one question that you have been avoiding every time that I ask. Who are you? Why are you here?"
The shadow looked down at its hand before extending it to Kruger. "Do you trust me?"
Kruger was still cautious, not wanting to touch the hand of the shadow. "Why can't you just tell me?"
"You won't understand if I tell you," the shadow declared, "It is better if I show you. The only thing I'm asking for, is your trust."
Kruger merely stared at the hand.
"Please," the shadow said.
"…okay," Kruger allowed, his thirst for the knowledge more prominent than his fear.
Kruger grew fearful when the shadow reached out past his head. He could feel the hand on the back of his head. Kruger felt his head pulled forward, and his forehead touched the shadow's own. And then…
"A flood of memories came into my mind. It was so hard to comprehend them all at once. I saw warriors fighting against a massive beast. I saw the creation of other beings, other titans. I felt loneliness, followed by a sense of duty. I saw humanity and titans working together against a common threat. But the one thing I saw that stayed in my mind was the ground shaking, and millions of beautiful stars erupting from the ground and flying towards the sky."
Kruger gasped as he found himself back in his reality. He blinked to adjust his vision, and saw that the shadow…was no longer a shadow. It…he…was human. He could see…his face. He had a face! Kruger gasped as he took a step back, and the shadow gave a warm, kind smile. His eyes shone brightly, a sense of kindness and fondness very present in them. Kruger could feel tears running down his cheeks as the shadow began to disappear.
"Thank you, Eren Kruger," the shadow said, "And goodbye."
Kruger snapped out of his state of shock as he reached out for the being. "No! Wait! Don't go!"
Kruger fell to his knees as the shadow disappeared. Kruger began laughing at the absurdity of it all before he began crying about it. Kruger looked down at his hands before standing up and bolting towards his notebook. He needed to write it down, before he forgot.
"If you see him, do not interfere with his plan. His work is important. He will bring about the end of the titans forever, and free Eldia." Optimus finished reading.
"…that's it?" Levi demanded, "No battle strategies? Just some sad tale about his life?"
"At least we didn't have to send people to die over this useless information," Hanji reassured.
"At least Jaeger's information was useful!" Levi hissed.
"No…," Eren trailed off, "No! No! That can't be it!"
"Eren, there is nothing else," Optimus told him as he flipped through the worn out pages. It was blank after the last sentence, and some of the pages after the blank ones had fallen out. Most likely due to the old age.
"But none of it makes any sense," Armin retorted, "Stars coming out of the ground? Seeing memories of victims?"
"Eren, have you seen any shadow?" Hanji asked.
"Don't you think I would've said something?!" Eren exclaimed as he stood up.
"Eren!" Mikasa scolded.
Eren let the room in anger and a feeling of hopelessness, ignoring the cries from Armin and Mikasa. He thought that there'd be a way to avoid the rumbling. The information was useless. There was no way! And now everyone! Armin! Mikasa! Optimus! Eren stopped and wiped his tears as the memory of Optimus' death played in his mind. It really was hopeless.
"Um…," a voice trailed off.
Eren shot his head up to see Floch staring at him in confusion.
"You…okay?" Floch asked with hesitation.
----------------
Optimus felt exhausted all over again as he entered the neutral ship. They decided to keep the information about the fourth notebook hidden within the military. There wasn't much the public could be provided with any way. He thought that the information would prove to be useful, and maybe they would have more information about Marley, but there was nothing useful for the survival of Paradis. There wasn't even a name for the shadow.
Optimus entered a room and saw Megatron trying to fix the tracker. Megatron glanced at the Prime before returning to his work.
"I figured I could try to fix this," Megatron remarked, "My digits would be able to clip the smaller wiring."
Megatron noticed the tired expression in the Prime's optics as he left the room, causing Megatron to raise an eyebrow. He figured that Optimus would be happy with the gift the Survey Corps got him. He didn't understand why he was upset.
Megatron tapped a metal digit on the table before forcing himself to stand up and confront the Prime. He ventured down the hall when he saw the light to the main deck on. Megatron entered to see a holographic map of space, and Optimus searching the cosmos using the control panel.
"You can't work yourself into the ground," Megatron said, "The last thing I want is to be left alone with these humans."
"I had my break," Optimus responded.
"…Something happened," Megatron guessed.
Optimus sighed as he stopped scanning the hologram. "There was another notebook discovered."
"...what?" Megatron hissed, "So that idiot human thought it would be a good idea to write another notebook?! He has nothing of true value to offer anymore!"
"It was given by his predecessor, Eren Kruger," Optimus explained, "But even then, there was no useful information."
"How did you even find this notebook?" Megatron demanded.
"Eren had a memory of the notebook," Optimus explained, "We went to the former residential area, but it wasn't there. Someone under the name of Keith Shadis had the information."
"Who?" Megatron asked.
"Do you remember the human that briefly came to the Queen's wedding?" Optimus asked him.
Megatron thought it over before remembering the human that gave Optimus the letter. "Yes…I do."
Megatron sighed. "This is too much information to process. Contact me if you need anything."
Megatron left Optimus to his own devices. He needed to confirm this human's location.
--------------
Later
"Another notebook?" Erwin asked Nile in his home.
"Something like that," Nile answered, "But it doesn't really have any vital information that can help Paradis in the long run."
"Nothing in regards to information in Marley?" Erwin asked.
"Just his life story," Nile answered, "They've decided to keep this information from the public though. It's not even something that would be important anyway."
"If it wasn't considered important, why would Kruger even bother to write it down?" Erwin asked rhetorically.
The two jolted as Megatron kicked open the door in his holoform and barged into his home.
"Where is Keith Shadis?" Megatron demanded.
-----------
Keith was finishing up his tea before signing off on his last piece of paperwork, when he heard a loud banging on his door. Keith nearly growled at the insistence of it, wondering who the hell could be here. When Keith opened the door, the man grabbed him by the throat before pushing him inside and shutting the door behind him. Keith was pinned to the wall as the man looked at him with his red eyes.
"What else are you hiding?" the man demanded.
Keith recognized the voice and the red eyes from Historia and Ymir's wedding. "The Flying Titan."
"You will address me as Megatron, and you will tell me what else you are hiding," Megatron threatened in an ominous tone.
"I already gave the notebook to the Survey Corps," Keith told him.
"You seem to be a dumping ground of hidden information," Megatron began, "Information that you chose to withheld while you were a Commander of the Survey Corps yourself. A notebook containing information about life outside of the walls, a letter for Prime's stupid pet, and it just gets more irritating every time. So you will tell me any and all information that you have withheld or I will snap you neck."
Keith merely blinked in response before pointing Megatron to his drawer at his desk.
"There's a key and a false bottom," Keith explained, causing Megatron to drop him. Keith watched Megatron grab the key from the table before opening the drawer.
"You're not going to like what you find," Keith declared as Megatron removed the false bottom to reveal a folded piece of paper.
"I'll be the judge of that," Megatron responded as he opened the sheet of paper. Keith saw the titan freeze in shock at the folded paper. He could see the hand holding the paper, trembling at the sight. Keith could also see, that his eyes were one of terror and horror.
"I told you," Keith said, "There's a reason I tore that page out of the notebook."
----------------
Kruger and Grisha climbed down the wall when all the titans left. Kruger injected Grisha with the syringe filled with the titan serum before taking a few steps back. Grisha felt something course through him and he screamed. A streak of lightning consumed Grisha, and Kruger watched from the sidelines, willing himself to not run away.
"Kruger, you do not have to do this," the shadow spoke from behind him.
Kruger didn't bother to turn around. "I must. If I don't, everything I've worked for will be for nothing."
"…I can give you a less painful death," the shadow proclaimed as Grisha began to transform.
"No, I deserve this," Kruger declared, "It's only fair to be consumed by the monsters I've created."
"I'm…sorry," the shadow apologized, "But I cannot accept that for you."
Grisha's titan form finished manifesting before training its attention on Kruger. Kruger gasped as the shadow hugged him from behind and covered his eyes with one of his hands.
"Wait…," Kruger pleaded.
"I forgive you, Kruger," the shadow told him.
Kruger gritted his teeth and let the tears fall as Grisha reached for him.
"May your next life be one of peace and the freedom you desire," the shadow declared.