//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Graduation, Dreams, Promises and Lightning from the blue! // Story: Attack on Titan: Friendship is Freedom // by Gidano90 //------------------------------// It was a beautiful day in the district of Trost, the sun was beating hard on the city inside the Wall Rose and the citizens quietly enjoyed the peace and calm that, five years earlier, had been lost due to the invasion of the Titans in the Wall Maria . Meanwhile the citizens were busy in their daily activities, above the walls of the Wall Rose a group of boys and girls was preparing to face the day that would mark their lives forever; "Those boys were the cadets of the 104th Corps Recruits, they would soon receive the diploma for completing their military training and, later, they would choose which body to serve." Above those walls, among the various cadets who were present, two young men were discussing this matter, they were Elias Schützen and Eren Yeager. Eren is a boy six feet tall, he has a fairly long, rounded face and sizable, expressive green eyes. His hair is short and brown, and his bangs fall in a natural middle-parted curtain-type style. Temperamentally is hardheaded, strong-willed, passionate and impulsive. Elias is a boy with the same height as Eren, but with the difference that his eyes are a lighter green, his hair is shorter and is white. On his face there is a scar on his left cheek and a severed eyebrow due to an accident that occurred during the training in the academy. Temperamentally is optimistic, calm, rational, strong-willed and passionate. During the training years they were defined two sides of the same coin because, despite having opposing personalities, the two guys find themselves sharing similar ideas and hopes, and this led to the emergence of a strong bond between Elias and Eren. "Hey Eren, finally the big day has arrived, eh?" Elias said, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Yeah! Finally, graduation day has come in. After such a long time I can enter the Survey Corps and exterminate all the Titans!" Eren answered with a determined voice. "So you're determined to enter the scouts in spite of the dangers you'll face outside the walls?" I know it's dangerous, but I'm tired of living in terror, I'm tired of seeing innocent people die because of those monsters and I will not rest until all the Titans who infest our world die! " Eren answered even more decisively than before. "But you Elias?" "Hmm?" The boy was roused by his thoughts "Do you, on the other hand, always remain convinced of joining the Body of Garrison to follow in your mother's footsteps?" Eren inquired, curious as to what Elias's decision would be. "I do not think I'll go into the Garrison," Elias replied, causing Eren to amaze. He was not among the first ten graduates, if he had not chosen the body of Garrison, the choice fell only on that of ... "What?" He asked, after Elias answered. "So it means you want to come in ..." "In the Survey Corps? Yes, I decided to become a scout." He answered. In his eyes, Eren could see how hard that decision had been for his friend, but that he would never come back. He was sure of it. But he remained curious to know what were the reasons that had driven him to change his previous idea. "But why? What made you change your mind? I remember you were very determined to enter the Garrison to be more like your mother, what prompted you to make this decision?" "The reason why I decided to join the Survey Corps? You, Eren." "Me?" Eren asked, confused. He did not understand, initially. "Exactly, You. You see Eren, I, like you, come from Shiganshina district, and I lost my family because of the invasion of the Titans, but the determination to face the monsters that had ripped you away was born in you. I was overwhelmed by despair. When I arrived in Wall Rose I was transferred to a shelter for orphans, but ... I can say that I felt dead more than alive, emotionally speaking, so I did not socialize with anyone, I did not play with nobody, I was practically an empty shell. " Elias looked at the horizon, his words were full of sadness. Eren was incredulous to hear it, he would never have imagined an Elias so, therefore, just thinking, he felt compassion for that boy who, like him, had torn away everything in one day. "Really?" "Is it so difficult to believe it?" Bringing his gaze back to Eren. "In the end I already told you that piece of my life." "Well ... a little ... And yes, I still remember when you told me this. But, You know in the days of the academy I've always seen you so happy, sunny and optimistic, I really find it hard to imagine you in the opposite way." "Well, believe me, my friend, once I was like that, but let's say that "events" have led me to the path that has made me what I am." "And these " events" was the adoption and your special meeting, right?" "Exactly, but we're going off topic." Resuming the subject of my choice, you played an important part in my decision: all those talk about wanting to exterminate the Titans, your discussion with Jean about wanting to free humanity from the yoke of the Titans And above all, your dream. " "My dream? You mean ..." "Wanting to explore the outside world, you know, when I heard you talking to Armin and Mikasa about how you wanted to get out of the walls and search the sea, explore the wonders that lie outside the walls, have made something grow in me, something that I did not know how to explain myself, and afterwards I understood what it was. " "What?" Eren asked, more and more intrigued by the words of Elias. "The desire for freedom, a desire that for centuries has been denied us by the Titans, but now I am tired, I am tired of living in terror, I am tired of living like a caged animal, tired of living like a prisoner It is our world, because this Eren is our world and as such we have the right to be free! So I will fight the Titans to get humanity to regain its freedom and its glory! " With these words, Eren's admiration for Elias could only grow. "I agree with you, Elias, I'm sick of living like captive animals, and that's why I decided to go into scouts so I could make my dreams come true." "Listen, Eren." "Hm?" "Let's make a promise" "What promise?" "The promise that we will fight this war together, that together we will win it and that together we will explore the world outside the walls." "So are you with me?" Elias asked The strength of mind that came out of those two boys was impressive, if someone had looked at them at that moment, surely would have said that in their eyes burned the most alive of the fires. The two friends felt they had to make the promise they had made real. Elias held out his arm to Eren who did not hesitate to shake his hand. The veins of both pulsed with the trepidation of the moment and nothing, at the moment, could affect their intentions. "Or so they believed. In that instant lightning swooped a few meters away from the two young cadets. And from the explosion of that lightning appeared the creature that had brought chaos and destruction to Shiganshina five years earlier. "The Colossal Titan ...!" it was the only thing Elias could say.