Secret area of the Survey Corps factory.
The next day, all the workers gathered. Everyone was confused by the vague explanations given by the soldiers about the events of the previous day, so they expected answers—otherwise, they would begin to doubt.
Many were speculating: had the Titans brought down another wall?
Why did the Survey Corps soldiers seem more tense?
Hange, prepared with the script Gale had written for her, delivered a speech.
"Hello everyone. Many of you know me, others don't, and for those who don't, my name is Hange Zoe, Squad Leader of the Survey Corps. I've gathered you here today because there are things that must be said."
"All of you, like me, are refugees from Wall Maria. We had to abandon our homes, our lands… our lives. Some of you even lost your families in that disaster."
"It has been months since the wall was destroyed. And I understand… many of you might say to me: 'Captain Hange, I just need work, I just need to eat.'
And you're right. Life is important."
"But there is something in this world that is even more important than life itself… dignity… and freedom!"
"The Titans destroyed our homes. They trampled our lives. They devoured our loved ones and forced us to take refuge behind these walls.
But tell me… what have the government and the nobles done for us?"
"Have they ever cared about us? About the Survey Corps? About ordinary people?"
"No."
"They have trampled our dignity and our freedom to protect their own interests. Their homes. Their power."
"They lock us in settlements under the excuse of rebuilding new cities… but how many of you have received real help?"
"To them, we are nothing more than numbers. Disposable people."
"Wall Maria fell… and with it, humanity lost a third of its territory. And even so, the nobles have no idea whether the rest will be enough to sustain us all."
"The autumn harvest is still a month away… and hunger is already consuming us."
"All of you are here because you need to survive."
"And that is why… I must tell you the truth."
"The Survey Corps has received a decree: if the situation does not improve… refugees over the age of thirty will be sent to 'reclaim Wall Maria.'"
"Yes… you heard that right."
"They want to send civilians… without training… to fight Titans."
"They are not trying to solve the problem."
"They want to get rid of it."
"They want to send you to die… as if your lives, your dignity, and your freedom meant nothing."
"Tell me… why?"
"Because they were born nobles?"
"No!"
"We are all born equal! We all come into this world naked, without titles or privileges!"
"They have no right to decide over our lives!"
"If anyone tries to take our freedom away… then we must rise and fight!"
"We are not cattle!
We are not tools!
We are human beings!"
"And they… are nothing more than that as well."
"Some of you fear the soldiers… their weapons…
but listen carefully: now… we also have power."
"This factory… is not just a foundry. It is a weapons factory!"
"We do not fight for slavery.
We fight for freedom! We fight for a new world!
For justice!
For work!
To bring down those who oppress us!
To drive out the Titans!
To reclaim our home!"
"I present to you the new weapon of humanity, Eren Jaeger, who has volunteered as an experimental subject to obtain the power of the Titans. His power is stable; he possesses the ability to remain fully conscious when he transforms into a Titan, and he is the only opportunity we have to reclaim Wall Maria."
"He is the weapon we will use against both the government and the Titans. We will change our destiny."
Silence took over the place.
The workers, gathered before the stage, remained still as Hange's words echoed in their minds.
They had lost everything.
They had been forced to survive in unknown lands.
Ignored by the government.
Treated like criminals by soldiers.
And now… condemned to die.
In each of them, the same question arose:
Why?
Why can they live safely… while we suffer?
Why can they decide over our lives?
Why… don't we resist?
Then Hange raised the rifle.
And in that instant… something changed.
A roar erupted among the crowd.
Arms rose. Voices joined together.
Years of pain, rage, and helplessness finally found release.
One shouted… then another… and then all of them.
The emotions suppressed since the fall of Wall Maria…
everything they had held back for months… exploded all at once.
They needed a spark.
And Hange… gave it to them.
The result exceeded all of Gale's expectations.
The workers' morale changed.
Acceptance of Eren grew.
Everything was falling into place.
Because this country… had been on the verge of collapse for far too long.
…
The factory then entered a phase of frantic construction.
In an open field, Eren attempted to transform.
He cut his hand… driven by a single thought:
Exterminate all Titans.
A golden lightning bolt descended.
And once again… the fifteen-meter giant appeared.
This time, however, there was control.
Eren was fully conscious. Adapted to his new body.
Under Ian's orders, the Titan began to work: transporting ore, assembling structures, raising the blast furnace.
At first, the workers feared him.
But as the days passed… they came to understand something.
Eren was not like the other Titans.
He was one of them.
An ally.
Thanks to his endurance, he could remain transformed for hours. He was like a living machine: a crane… an excavator… but better.
His hands were more precise than any industrial tool.
His efficiency exceeded even Ian's and Hange's calculations.
The power of the Titans… was overwhelming.
And thinking about it… it made sense.
Marley ruled the world with an incomplete power of the Nine Titans.
Eldia… conquered everything thanks to them.
But Gale was different.
They used Titans to destroy.
He… would use them to build.
Bridges, railways, factories.
A new world.
Infinite labor… that requires no food… only sunlight.
How much could they create? How much land could they work? How much wealth could they generate?
That vision… was already beginning to take shape in his mind.
And then he knew it.
It was possible.
Definitely possible.
"I… will be the one who saves the Eldians… and the entire world," Gale murmured from the shadows.