After a brief conversation with Erwin, Gale returned to the military base where he would inspect the Navy's weaponry for the operation.
And during his train journey, Gale had a long dream…
…
In a small room filled with countless books, two figures sat observing a painting hanging on the wall.
Gale, meanwhile, was lost in thought as he looked at the man wearing the silver mask.
A doubt had begun to bloom in his heart as time passed within this dream.
"I know my mask may seem strange from where you come from, but you could pretend to ignore it during our little meetings."
"I wasn't paying attention to your mask. I've simply had many questions, and as time passes, there are even more of them." Gale knew he had reached a crucial moment in his life.
"I know. I've seen that look in your eyes so many times that you don't need to say much." The man in the silver mask was Baldwin IV, a man Gale was somewhat familiar with.
The fact that this man had appeared meant that Gale was going through a difficult decision.
Or rather, for Gale, it was a gamble.
But he had made the decision a long time ago, and the only thing he hoped for was not to be wrong.
"You are just like me…" Baldwin IV said in a low voice while holding the old books in his hands. "I learned your story. Everything is written here, within these pages that you yourself described."
"I don't know if you know this, but just like you, I achieved a great victory at the age of sixteen. At that moment, I believed I would live a hundred years… But later I understood that I would not even reach thirty."
Baldwin fell silent for a moment, as though the weight of his own memories pressed against his chest. "None of us truly chooses our ending."
"A king may move a man; a father may claim a son. But remember this: when those who move you are kings or men of power, you must protect your soul. Because when you stand before the gates of death and face God, you will not be able to say, 'Others ordered me to do it,' or 'Virtue was not convenient at the time.' That will not be enough."
Gale smiled and spoke in a freer tone. "I have changed the future so much that I now see myself as responsible for protecting the lives of those I struggled to keep alive."
"I do not consider myself a hero. I only know that someone placed me on the path of all the people who now matter to me." Gale took a deep breath and whispered, "I possess the mind to create terrifying things, the knowledge necessary to give the entire world another chance."
Baldwin looked at Gale for a few seconds before asking, "Do you understand the meaning of justice?"
"I once heard a man answer that question, and his answer left me with deep thoughts." Gale smiled slightly and said in a calm tone, "What is justice if not the finest chain forged by the powerful to bind the naive?"
"Men comfort themselves with noble words while devouring one another over what they call love, loyalty, or god."
Gale paused and pointed out, "That man is a true knower of life. He found answers that perhaps many people fail to understand even in their entire lives."
"That man said he had seen kingdoms fall and sects disappear, but he had never witnessed a single human being who understood the truth: we are born alone, we suffer alone, and we die alone. Everything else is a beautiful lie that prevents us from accepting the cruel reality."
Baldwin remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "No. That is not true… Or at least not the whole truth."
"You speak of a man who stared into the abyss for too long and ended up believing the abyss was all that existed. Yes, the powerful use justice as a weapon; kings lie, priests manipulate, and men kill in the name of God with terrifying ease."
"I know this better than most. I have seen courts filled with serpents and entire armies march toward death convinced they were virtuous."
"But even so, he is wrong."
"Because if everything were a lie… then suffering would have no meaning. And yet I have seen men give their lives for others without expecting glory. I have seen mothers die protecting their children. I have seen knights stand firm in lost battles only to give another man the chance to live one more day."
"None of them were chained by justice, fear, or ambition. They did it because even in this miserable world, there exists something stronger than selfishness."
"The truth he accepts so proudly is not wisdom; it is despair dressed in philosophy."
"Yes, we are born alone… and yes, we die alone. No king, no friend, and no lover can cross that final threshold with us. But what we do between those two moments is what defines whether we were men… or merely beasts that learned how to speak."
"A kingdom may fall. A faith may become corrupted. Even justice may be used as a chain. But as long as there exists even one man willing to suffer for another, the world will not be completely lost."
"And perhaps that is the part he fears accepting the most."
Gale smiled and said, "I do it because no one else possesses the ability to create the tool of peace. I hope it will be worth it."
To inherit the power of the War Hammer Titan, Gale was gambling on the future and on whether he could create the same impact on Ymir that Mikasa and Eren once did, in order to eliminate all Titans from the world.
However, to achieve that, he first had to leave the island with weaponry and technology independent of the Titans, something they truly did not possess yet.
But in ten years, Gale was certain they would no longer depend on Titans.
If he managed everything as he had until now, he might be able to overcome any adversity standing in his path.
And as he knew well, in times of war, he could die at any moment.
That was why Gale truly did not care about having the power of the Titans within his body.