"Like my father, I've always been observant," Gale said in a low voice, lowering his gaze for a few seconds. "I've asked myself questions that others ignore out of habit, out of ignorance… or out of fear. But I also understand that not everyone can see beyond that, so I don't blame them."
"Be more specific," Levi said, beginning to grow impatient. "Get to the point."
"Have you ever wondered how Wall Maria, Wall Rose, and Wall Sina were built?" Gale's pupils reflected the candlelight as he raised his gaze and asked, "Have you calculated the manpower, the resources, and the time it would take to raise something like that? Do you really believe that humans alone could have done it?"
"Isn't that… a dangerous question?" Hange murmured, aware of the consequences if this ever leaked out.
"It's fine, Hange. There are only the four of us here," Erwin said as he looked at Gale and nodded. "Answer."
"The history books don't explain how the walls were built. They only say that about a hundred years ago, humanity took refuge within them after the sudden appearance of the Titans, and that all humans outside were exterminated. Nothing more. There is no real record of their construction."
"Kid, are you implying that you know how they were made?" Levi leaned back in his chair.
"Yes." Gale nodded and said, "There are Titans inside the walls."
"What?!" Hange's glasses nearly fell off as she asked, "Titans… inside the wall?"
"That's right." Gale knew this would change everything, but he continued anyway. "The walls are made of Colossal Titans lined up side by side. They possess the ability to harden their skin. They were placed next to one another and solidified their bodies, forming the walls."
The silence grew heavy.
"They don't receive sunlight, so they remain inactive. That's why the government protects any crack. If a Titan inside were to see the sun… it would awaken."
"Assuming that's true…" Erwin interlaced his fingers and asked, "Who controlled them to place them like that?"
"That leads us to the secrets of the Titans and the Reiss family," Gale replied slowly. "Before that, Captain Hange… what do you know about the nature of Titans?"
"They're absurd creatures," Hange answered confidently. "Their weight doesn't match their size, they regenerate as long as the nape isn't damaged, they have no real organs, they only react to humans, and after dying, they evaporate. They're active during the day and sluggish at night. They seem… unnatural."
"Correct," Gale nodded. "But they don't come from another world… originally, they were humans."
"Humans?" Hange stepped too close to Gale and asked coldly, "What are you basing that on?"
"I don't know the exact mechanism," Gale answered honestly, arranging his thoughts in his mind. "But I do know that in every generation of the Reiss family, there is someone capable of transforming into a Titan. That person is the true King of the Walls."
Erwin did not look away.
"After inheriting that power, they retain their reason. That Titan is different—superior. He can control other Titans and even alter human memories. The walls were created by that power a hundred years ago."
"It sounds like a myth…" Hange whispered in disbelief. "Though Titans themselves already are."
"Setting that aside," Erwin interjected. "If a King of the Walls exists, why did Wall Maria fall?"
"Because something failed," Gale replied, drawing on what he truly knew. "When Maria was destroyed, the holder of that power was killed and his strength stolen. That's why he couldn't stop the invasion."
"The Colossal Titan… and the Armored Titan…" Erwin murmured, thinking it over. "Their appearance was always strange."
"The reports say they appeared and disappeared," Hange added, shaken. "If they were transformed humans… it all fits."
"Exactly." Gale seemed to grow animated. "Besides the King, there are more people capable of turning into Titans."
"Then…" Hange swallowed and asked, full of emotion, "How do you know all of this?"
"Because I was in Reiss territory," Gale answered sincerely. "I told you—I was enslaved there. I observed things I shouldn't have. I heard secrets. They thought I was just an ignorant child."
"To silence the fact that they no longer had control over the Titans… they burned the place down," Erwin said, thinking that perhaps Gale was telling the truth.
"Yes." Gale lowered his gaze. "Before the Military Police acted, I escaped and hid among the refugees."
"And now you expose yourself again?" Erwin tapped the table lightly and asked, "Aren't you afraid of dying?"
"I have a dream." Gale held his gaze steady and looked Erwin in the eyes. "That children can eat, learn, live without fear of Titans… and that humanity will stop running."
"What an ambitious brat," Levi said, crossing his legs.
"You can verify it by investigating the Reiss family and the walls," Gale said, certain they would support him. "Besides the water wheel, I also know smelting techniques and better steel alloys."
"The Colossal and the Armored have caused thousands of deaths. I can't face this alone. I need allies who understand my inventions."
"Are you really only ten years old?" Hange murmured. "You don't speak like one."
"He's an anomaly," Levi said as he stood up. "Don't treat him like a child, Erwin."
"I know," Erwin nodded. "Gale, you may go. I can't accept all of this yet, but we won't reveal anything. I'll seek you out soon."
Gale inclined his head, showing that he understood.
The enemy was still lurking. Time was short for humanity.
As he left the tent, he thought about what he had just said. He had spent a long time watching from afar. And only then, when he saw the soldiers walking away, did he leave as well, casting one last look as the Wings of Freedom faded into the distance.
The future could no longer be predicted at this point; he had lost the control he paid so much attention to.
What would become of him in the future?
What would become of the island?
There were no clear answers in his mind—and that was fine. He had lived his entire new life thinking about the future, clinging to knowledge he already possessed. But now he realized that wasn't living—it was clinging to his fear of failure.
All he could do was hold on to his beliefs and move forward, step by step, to survive.