I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan.
1 year later
Eren walked calmly across the center of the town looking at all the new houses that had been built. He had a feeling of pride swell inside him seeing all the people go around in what is now their normal life.
When he first freed the slaves from that woman after Ymir destroyed the Eldian settlement, that had been a decision in the spur of the moment. After all, if he could free Ymir why couldn't he free the ones that stood in front of him?
And so, for a month he travelled with a destination in mind, and whenever they came across more slaves, he didn't hesitate in freeing them. He didn't care what happened to their 'Masters'. Why should he? They tried to deprive others of freedom.
The right to be free belonged to all who are born in this cruel world. It's what made them special.
He kept that up until he reached the ocean. During their travels he taught those that looked able how to hunt, so that the children and the sick wouldn't die under his watch. Ymir too helped to create shelters for the night. It also helped her train her Titan abilities.
Once they reached the ocean, it took some times building the boats for everyone to get in, but once they did it was the first time Eren transformed in a month and also the first time their group saw him do it.
Thankfully they knew better than to worship him, as he had stated when they saw Ymir, that she was neither a Goddess nor a Devil, just a child with incredible abilities.
For the last year he and Ymir had been busy helping the freed slaves from Eldia and Marley build a new home. They both used their powers to help create roads, houses, harvest.
They did all this by hardening their bodies for a stable supply of stone for said roads and houses, with their hands they would carve and terraform fields and make them capable of harvest.
Right now, he had his hood up so that the townspeople wouldn't recognize him. It got a little uncomfortable whenever they all stared in admiration and gratitude. He wasn't that used to those looks.
He walked to the outskirts of the small town where the bases for new houses were being built. Slowly but surely they were growing. Expanding.
In the distance he saw Ymir's titan help the farmers soften the earth with her giant fingers, he walked up to a tree and sat underneath it, looking at the Titan work before closing his eyes and reminiscing of his past…future?
He thought back to his last days in Paradis. His last moments before the Rumbling. The harsh words he told Armin and Mikasa, just to get them as far away from him.
He thought of the years the Island was finally free from Titans, how everyone was working so hard to catch up with a world that didn't care for them.
He thought to when Zeke's supposed plan was to have Historia become a breeding cattle, he was disgusted with all his companions. He was the only one to oppose the idea. He didn't want any of his friends to have his life cut short by the curse of the Titans.
He thought back to when Reiner, Bertolt and Annie were revealed to be shifters. It all had happened so fast. He sometimes wondered if the betrayal he felt those times had sent him on a path to destroy the outside world.
No.
He remembered his time training with the 104th training corps. When everyone was alive. Everyone was young and hopeful of the future. When he was still blinded by the lies of Karl Fritz and believed the Titans were the true enemy.
No. The reason he destroyed the world was…
Flashes of the time he saved Mikasa came to him. How he killed those human traffickers as nothing more than animals. How in his eyes they couldn't be more than that, because…because…?
…because they tried to take his freedom, for nothing more than existing.
The last thing he thought was of his mother. Her eyes. Her hair. Her smile. When she would ground him. When she would hug him. When she would chastise him. When she would worry for him. When they argued…when she died.
He felt something poke at his cheek. He opened his eyes and saw Ymir sitting on top of him with a worried frown on her face.
"Are you okay?" even after all this time, she still talked in almost a whisper, but now she was more confident when talking and she was more prone to starting conversations.
"Yeah, uhmmm, yeah…" he reassured her as he moved to let Ymir sit more comfortably.
"Then why are you crying?" Eren's eyes widened and he raised a hand to his face and felt a tear rolling down his right cheek.
"I remembered something" he quickly wiped the tear away.
Ymir's eyes widened at the mention of his past. It was something she had been pestering about a week after they met. He had told her that when she was older, he would tell her, but she always insisted.
"Was it something sad?"
He smiled at her worried tone. They were the only titan shifters and as such they had to care for each other "No, no it wasn't…I…" he hesitated unsure if he should tell her "…I thought of my mother"
Suddenly she was leaning on him with amped interest. It was the first time he referenced his family.
Timidly she decided to ask "W-What was she like?" she pushed her luck hoping he wouldn't dodge her question.
Eren hesitated, debating whether he should tell her, but seeing her transfixed gaze, so curious about himself all his doubt dissipated "She was…she was great. She was kind, but also strict when she needed to be. She always laughed at my antics however childish they were…" Ymir was soaking up all he was saying with wide shinning eyes, Eren couldn't help but chuckle at her face full of wonder "…she worried too much about me, and I used to fight her a lot due to that"
Ymir tilted her head confused; he spoke fondly of her but said he had fought her before? "Why?"
"…because I wanted to join… a group in our village that would go explore outside our walls, but it was dangerous and she would chastise me whenever I mentioned it" he still had a fond smile looking past Ymir into the sky.
A moment of silence passed between them "…what happened to her?"
The change was instant. The fond atmosphere that settled was gone, replaced by nothing, Eren's smile disappeared and his eyes set on looks of apathy she sometimes saw him get. Ymir lowered her head in shame, she knew she shouldn't have asked that "S-sorry f-for asking"
"It's all right" a hand patted her head and she looked disbelieving at Eren, who now sported a mournful look "…she…died…and the last time we talked we had fought. I always regretted that"
Ymir couldn't bear to look at him this sad, she always saw him full of confidence and power, and while she knew she too had power, she wasn't as confident as him. Seeing him like this made her feel sad too, so she did the only thing she knew.
She hugged him tightly. He tensed under her tight hug, but eventually relaxed and smiled down at her "Thanks" he mumbled.
They stayed under the tree, letting the breeze blow over them, watching the farmers start to plant seeds where Ymir had passed her fingers through. Said shifter ended up asleep with her head resting on his leg…with spit starting to form on it.
After possibly one or two hours, if he was reading the sun correctly, he turned to the girl using him as a pillow and started to shake her awake.
"Ymir…wake up" the blonde girl groggily rubbed her eyes and looked at her surroundings trying to remember where she was "Finally awake, you almost drowned my leg in saliva" he told her with a smirk.
Glancing down at his leg Ymir blushed in embarrassment while wiping the drool off her face "sorry" she mumbled.
Eren shook his head in amusement "We're heading back to the capital."
Ymir nodded calmly, they were supposed to be back at the capital hours ago, but they got distracted.
When they first arrived in the island, they had brought with them almost a hundred people, just enough to make a small encampment in the coast but not enough manpower to make a full settlement.
And so, during the next months, every two months they went back into the main continent and liberated as many slaves as they could. They mainly raided Eldian and Marleyians settlements, while freeing as many slaves as they could find.
A few days after obliterating the Eldian main settlement completely, she felt sick for what she had done. She didn't feel sorry for killing all the warriors. No. They had pillaged and killed many other peaceful communities, and then made the survivors into slaves.
But then she remembered that children, mothers, elderly, also lived in the settlement. She regretted killing them in her quest for revenge.
She promised herself to never again cause such destruction.
From then on whenever they came across another town that they recognized as Eldian or Marleyian she would only destroy their defenses to cause chaos while Eren would infiltrate and gather as many of the slaves around the outside.
In some of their expeditions to the main continent, they even came across communities like the one she once belonged to, who tried to live away from the ever-growing clans of Eldia and Marley. They would offer them the chance to join them and go to Paradis. Many accepted, but others decided to take their chances.
Eventually the Island became the new home for more than two thousand souls. Many were amazed by the ocean when they first saw it and decided to live near it.
The rest followed Eren deeper into the island. In there he planned to create the new capital of the island. They had accomplished so much in such little time.
It came to no surprise as to why the Eldian Empire rose so quickly as a world superpower, with their already existing military and access to the titans hardening abilities (that is if Ymir knew of them in her first life) as a supply to create and upgrade infrastructure the quality of life suddenly increased while also using Ymir to cultivate their fields, move around supplies or simply step on their enemies they were unstoppable.
Their travel back to the new ever-expanding capital was short, with the size of their Titans they only needed to calmly walk between the two growing cities of Paradis. While standing in Ymir's shoulder he took his time to appreciate the progress they had made.
He could see more fields with crops growing in them, alongside the stone main road made from their hardening, people walking or travelling in the road, would stop and gaze with awe at them.
Some would cheer and wave, while others would simply stare with their eyes wide.
In the distance walls were starting to take form. It was only 20 meters tall, while not as tall as Maria, Rose or Sheena, it still was bigger than any other defense from the current time.
Inside it, buildings just like the ones from his time were built, some were made from the stonelike hardening since it was the only hardening that could be somewhat easily mined. To the slave builders that came to the Island with them he expressed his ideas for making buildings three stories high to accommodate for the population.
The more center you travelled the higher the buildings became, until you could even see a building that dwarfed over the others, it wasn't a castle like the one the fake king fritz from his time resided in, Eren had no plans to rule over like a king, yet he knew a firm hand was needed to guide a society of freed slaves.
Built in a terraformed hill with a wide space separating it from the residential buildings, it occupied a huge square area, it was six stories high with four towers in each corner an in the center was a huge crystal dome, with some deformities that made it look like hands enclosing together…which it was. He had plans on using the jaws power to smooth it over in the foreseeable future.
It was built to be a government building where the decisions would take place. He remembered the assembly that took place in Marley and the representatives that attended. He planned to do something like that.
But for now, it would remain as his residence, since apparently the people believed him to be a king, and it would take some years before he could convince them otherwise and explain them his reasoning.
Ymir undid her transformation a half a mile away from the capital and they walked the rest of the way.
Around the wall smaller wooden houses were being built before the upgraded them to stone ones. People walked and went on with their daily lives, but they would stop and stare at the two of them. Some would even get on their knees and pray to them, it honestly weirded Ymir and Eren out.
At the gate of the wall some men with lances were standing guard, they saw them and bowed their heads while they went in.
The inhabitants had soon noticed that the two Shifters were never seen apart from each other, unless one of them was transformed. It had been that way since the destruction of the Eldian settlement, the people eventually thought the two of them were siblings or some form of family.
The island only had a few thousand of people but even still they had to maintain order, and he was sure in the following years they would near almost fifty thousand once he announced the existence of the island to the world, and people who wanted a new start would arrive.
That is why Eren gave those capable the task of maintaining order. He had plans to eventually transform it into the new army of Paradis.
The walk to the huge building in the center of the city was uneventful minus the stares, waves and the occasional prayer.
Inside their destination the majority of the rooms were empty, no one lived there but them, and it was still too early to be importing or making any goods.
Eren led Ymir to their chambers. A small room with an individual bed in each corner a window and a table in-between and a wardrobe near the door.
Eren sat on the edge of his bed, while Ymir just sat and watched out the window. Eren soon learned she loved seeing the activity outside.
"Ymir"
"Mm?"
"Did you have a mother?"
The question seemed to have taken her by surprise if her expression was anything to go by. However, her surprise soon turns sour and looks down at the floor. Eren almost regretted asking her, seeing how she reacted.
"I…don't know" her whisper like voice fills the room with sadness "Maybe…I did…maybe I didn't" even if she talked more than before, she still had long pauses in between some of her words.
Eren stayed quiet, he had a feeling she hadn't finished talking.
"I remember…someone taking care of me…but I never knew…if that person…was something to me…but that…doesn't matter anymore…afterall the Eldians…probably killed her."
The atmosphere soon turned awkward. Eren was hoping that maybe she could have a happy memory to share, but it seemed he judged wrong.
"Sorry…I shouldn't have asked."
"It's okay…I don't think about it…" she mumbled. She stood up and for the second time that day she hugged Eren again "…I'm even glad…the Eldians attacked…"
'What?! Why?!' Eren's eyes widened at the confession and tried to think just why she would be glad for such a thing 'Did she have a mother like Historia's.'
"…because then I…wouldn't have met…Eren" she looked up at him with a small smile and Eren could even see some small tears forming in the corner of her eyes.
In return, Eren smiled back at her and patted her head, before picking her up and putting her on her bed.
"Rest, its almost time for our next expedition."
And soon he too closed his eyes, and slumber consumed him.
Mainland Continent, Months later
A dark-haired man stood in his balcony, with his hands behind his back. He was slightly taller than average, standing at 5 ft 9 inches, he had dark brown eyes, and a well-kept beard. He wore silk blue robes, something he could afford since he was basically royalty. He gazed at the horizon, the moonlight illuminating the scene before him.
In the distance, fires spread in the outskirts of the city he ruled over. Their walls and barricades to protect them from any invader or raiders, were destroyed fire consuming them. But of course, they were destroyed, for who would've prepared them for a giantess that reached the sky.
Their walls crumbled like a house of cards, just one step from the giant and all their forces were in disarray. The fires started right after, quite possibly due to a lamp falling into a haystack or some wood. It didn't matter how it started.
He had read the reports from other vassals' settlements. The very first one he had almost sent an order to execute whoever had written the report, for who could believe such ludicrous claims. But when the following months more and more reports of the like started to arrive it wasn't a matter of speculation anymore, but a cold fact.
His advisors had tried to come to ways to counter the giant whenever she appeared, but what could they do against such power. There was nothing they could do. Sometimes they would see her, if it was even a 'her', approach from the horizon, and other times it would appear out of nowhere with a huge gust of wind.
They had hoped that the only targets would be vassals, and settlements not as big as theirs, but he knew it was a fool's errands to hope for that. And here it was now, causing chaos to what his ancestors worked so hard to build.
Why was it attacking them? Was it even intelligent? Quite possibly yes, afterall it only destroyed their defenses why not kill them all? It didn't matter, he only knew one thing was necessary.
This monster, this Devil, needed to be stopped. But how?
His thoughts were interrupted when a knock was heard on his door "Enter" he called in his heavy toned voice.
He heard the door open and heavy footsteps stand at the ready "My liege! Our forces have made a perimeter near the walls just as you ordered and salvaged as many people as we could, however we believe that at least half of the citizens that lived near the wall have perished."
The leader of this city stood quite for a moment, gazing at the walking giant step on some of the garrisons where they kept their horses. Even if the walls weren't as close to his castle he could still recognize where the monster was attacking.
The ground shook with each step the giantess took. It was something out of a faerie tale.
He finally ripped his sight off the burning walls and turned to the commander of the city's forces, he was sporting the standard longsword each of their warriors used, he sported standard gauntlets and greaves, but also an intricate breastplate with runes decorating it, identifying him as the commander.
"Good, hold the perimeter, if the giant decides to come closer to the center, we won't be able to do a thing, but we still have to maintain the illusion of order to the populace" the commander couldn't comprehend how his liege was calm in these circumstances, but his job wasn't to doubt him "Did you count the number of refugees that entered the perimeter, as I ordered?"
"Yes my liege, all non-combatants were accounted for, minus those who are dead, and were confirmed dead by eye witnesses…but...um" the commander seemed to get nervous at what he was going to say, but the Lord had no time for this.
"Speak, it is an order."
"…a great number of slaves are missing, many people report that slaves that belonged to their families disappeared before the attack began, some of the slaves were builders, while the other majority were simply heavy lifters and workers of the fields. While none of our people disappeared, this will take a toll to when we have to rebuild and might even have to use our own to rebuild faster, otherwise we stay vulnerable to our enemies."
'So, the pattern repeats' the man thought.
From the reports from the vassals, it was noticed that after the attack the survivors were counted and in all cases hundreds of slaves went missing in the attack. No bodies were recovered nor discovered; they came to the conclusion that the whole thing was a diversion.
This only proved that the giant was intelligent and was probably following orders from someone, while their enemies infiltrated in the chaos and freed their slaves, debilitating them in the process due to the lack of manpower.
At first, he thought this was a move by their main enemy. But those speculations were put to rest, when news came from the total destruction of their enemy's main capital.
They had been ready to launch a full conquest, but months later while they were preparing their main military settlement had been attacked by the giant, and it was the first instance when missing slaves were reported, but they hadn't thought too much about it.
Now…now it was obvious.
The shaking of the ground started to recede, and he turned to the open balcony to see the monster start walking away. As if it hadn't destroyed their defenses and killed hundreds of their soldiers, and citizens that lived in the outer edges of the city.
"Go gather my council" he turned around and ordered the commander "It would seem that to bring down this monster a careful decision has to be made."
"Yes, my Lord!" the commander trotted out of the room and the doors were finally closed, leaving the king to his thoughts.
He never thought he'd see the day…the day that an enemy greater than their mortal enemies, the Eldians, would appear.
And so the king of The Kingdom of Marley, Marlowe first of his name, gazed at the back of the retreating Titan with one thought in his head.
'When faced with a great enemy, old enmities must be forgotten, and only a united force will be able to pierce the heart of the Devil.'
Eldia and Marley for the first time in generations would make peace.
I think this would make a great antagonist for the time being.
I didn't update for some reasons: I wanted to read the final chapter before publishing this one. I was on the equivalent of spring break and just wanted to rest. And I kept just finding more fanfic that kept my mind occupied.
Who wants to talk about chapter 139? I honestly don't dislike it, but I don't like it, either I'm more on the lines of "huh?" and "Meh" type of opinion. And now I'll rant and I'm sure more than 1 thousand words will come from this.
So let's start with my complains:
First complaint: Eren's confession. Yes one could develop feelings for the person that always cared for you and that was also hot as fuck, but never once did he have some sort of romantic reaction or action towards Mikasa, if anything the reason the Erehisu were thought to be more likely to happen, was due to the actual actions taking by Eren and the care he showed towards Historia, just the few moments they had together showed more feelings from Eren to Historia than to Mikasa during the whole manga and Seasons.
Second complaint: The Code Geass ending and only halfassing his fighting efforts. My dude had the full power of the Founding Titan, and while yes in honor for them being his friends and whatnot he let them have their freedom, why the hell would you apply that to dead people. Hell only the attack titan can look into the future, what the fuck were the ghost of previous shifters not holders of the Attack Titan even doing there. At east when he died he should've taken the powers of the titans away, BUT leave the last remaining pure titans as a 'fuck you' to the soldier Marleyans.
Third complaint: Ymir's sudden love. What. The. Fuck. I've read some fanfics that made more sense than that, in which maybe she just wanted to be of use to someone. Or that being useful justified her existence. Or hell that she had a slave mentality so incrusted in her that she simply couldn't overcome it. But no, it had to be fucking love. I'm gonna stick with my guns here, and keep it with the slave mentality case.
Now what I liked:
First: Eren killed his mother. Many complained that 'Oh wow he killed his mother, but couldn't kill his friends, what stupid logic', but what I saw was the biggest development in overcoming his mother's death, and recognizing that the event shaped him to what he became in the future, while also securing that the future stays in track and also showing that while he had the power to do so, he wouldn't change the past for anything.
Second: Paradis is still at war with the world. Now that scene sent chills down my spine. If you fight you live. If you lose you die. If you don't fight you can't win. Fight. Fight. You think that Eren was the only thing you had to worry about. Hahaha fuck no! Paradis shall finish what he started for now they had the advantage.
Third: Historia picks up on Eren's legacy. Even if you don't see her talk or give her opinions on the rumbling, you can see (or at least this is what I interpret) that she was Eren's ally until the end, just as she was Ymir's. She will guide the Paradis population into a future, where they are free from the world's hate once and for all.
Well now that I'm done ranting.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
-The Knight in dark Flames.