Disclaimer: I do not own SNK in any way, shape or form. All rights are reserved by their due correspondants.

Hello, and welcome. This is my first multi-chapter story, so let us hope you find this as enjoyable to read as it was for me to write. This little project was born when I came across BladeOfRain's Across Realities, but decided to do my personal spin on it.

I feel the need to state that this story will further and further deviate from the original storyline as it goes on. And this story will contain EreMika, it won't be the main focus, but it will be there, so you've been warned.

Concerto For A Rainy Day

858, somewhere in Wall Maria

The gray pallet the sky had chosen for the day was fit for what was about to occur, that was the thought running through his mind as he finished cleaning the small cabin lost in the woods. There was not much to do, as the worst part of the mess had been taken care of when he first mustered the courage to enter the abandoned home a few weeks back. The bookcases had been cleaned, the kitchen was pristine, what remained of the clothes were washed along with the dolls in the girl's room, the beds' sheets were changed. Overall, he would say he was leaving the small house immaculate. The only exceptions being the garden, which had been reclaimed by the malaise long ago. And, of course, the yet still visible stains of blood at the entrance of the home, which had with years been absorbed into the very nature of the planks.

Standing up as he ended his breakfast, Eren Yeager washed the small bowl and put it back with the others. Afterwards, he went outside and sat next to the door, he took out his revolver and started cleaning it. 'Always keep it clean' the still distinctly nasal echo lingered from when he got it as he looked inside the barrel, 'you never know when you'll need it.' Except he now knew for sure he was going to use it today, one final time.

Pushing the thought away, Eren reloaded the weapon when he finished cleaning it and went inside again. He gave one final inspection of the cabin. As usual, he finished by checking the room of the girl, the room he had chosen when he installed himself inside the structure. Sitting in the bed, he took in just the condition the place was.

He was surprised to say the least when he stumbled across the small home. He would have never guessed it would still be in good condition, especially with the years of abandonment it experienced. As he worked on cleaning the cabin, it became clear it would probably still stand for some years, maybe even a decade or two. Not that he could say he was surprised, the Ackermans never to things half-assed he thought with melancholy as his hand found its way to the scarf tightly wrapped around his neck. The irony of the gesture had never gone unnoticed, but Eren never commented or thought much of it; simply put, he was too tired to do so. Slowly he started unwrapping the scarf and started folding it. He was not going to wear it today; he didn't want to put a hole through it.

As the scarf was neatly put in the bed, next to the pillows, he shifted his gaze to the doll looking out the window. Taking hold of her he watched it slowly. It was a simply doll in the form a girl, wearing a dark blue dress, with black hair, black buttons for eyes and a smile sewed on her face. The muscles of his throat tighten. This is not how he wanted things to end.

He embraced the doll one more time as he felt his eyes tearing up. For what felt like some minutes, Eren remained still with the doll buried beneath his chin, the last years of his life playing incessantly in his mind, in how poor a notes did his friendships were before ending abruptly by his own hand, his own failure. It was a constant sting, no matter how much time had passed, it was still there, even now when it was all over.

Setting the doll on top of the scarf, he made his way out of the cabin, locking the door as he left, making a small detour to check all the windows were indeed still in good shape, he didn't want any wild animals sneaking in and ruining this landmark. He walked over to a small hill not too far from there. In spite of being surrounded by the nearby forest, the hill was empty except for one big oak standing on the top. A bitter taste filled his mouth, at times he could almost see a young girl happily run around through this part, lying in relaxation beneath the oak's shadow, this was a corner nature created for it to be filled with laughter. Instead on top of the hill, covered by the shadow, lied two rocks.

As he closed in to his final destination, the carvings he himself put on the rocks were starting to become readable. Eren felt his body feeling heavier and heavier. He then stood still next to the two stones, his gaze lost in the memories the one on the right emanated.

In Loving Memory of Armin Arlert

A Great Friend and Dreamer

835-855

The image of a young child of golden head and longing eyes sitting by the side of the river reading a book started to flood his mind. The boy growing into a smart and capable soldier, in spite of his own self-doubt, becoming a truly reliable comrade. The image then shifted to one of the same boy, now an adult, being betrayed by his childhood friend, the hurt in his eyes chasing Eren ever since. All of that for naught, as the plan failed. They lost. They were captured, locked up, broken and subsequently sacrificed for the glory and delight of Marley. Eren remembered the flame of hope that shined in Armin's eyes, a hope for things to grow for the better. Armin, always looking for the best outcome. How he tried desperately to cling to the possibility of peace between the Eldians and the rest of the world. At the time, Eren had been frustrated by that attitude from his friend, but when that hope vanished from the blond, he was unnerved. Seeing him in the corner of his cell, looking devoid of everything was devastating. And then there was the day they took him upstairs… a day Eren avoids from thinking in particular.

He knelt in front of the tombstones, his legs no longer being capable of holding his composure. Eren hadn't been the same since his plans fell apart before him that fateful day almost four years ago, he recognized that. The fight that once had been so synonymous with himself drowned in a pool of blood in Shiganshina. Slowly, his gaze shifted to the other tombstone, the one closer to the bark of the oak.

In Loving Memory of Mikasa Ackerman

A Great Friend and Soldier. Loyal until the end

835-854

"Mikasa, I've always hated you." Those were the last words Eren ever directed at her. He still had nightmares about that afternoon, of the tears leaking from her cheeks when he crushed her heart. And for good reason, having to lie to the one closest to you is already hard, and it only intensified with lying being done in such a vile way. His teeth started gritting against each other. She didn't deserve any of that, he came to realize just too late, nor did she ask for it. He remembered Mikasa once, many years ago, talking longingly about leading a life of peace. Still, she followed him. Mikasa stood by him even when she probably shouldn't have. She followed him to her death. She had no reason, the Ackerman-bond had been broken, and still she remained by his side, she fought and died for him. It was only by seeing her lifeless body in the streets that he realized just the extent of how much of an ass he had been.

The part that particularly stung, even to this day, at the tail end of his life, was that he never told her the truth about what he felt for her. Always arguing that there were more pressing matters at hand, or that the moment wasn't right, all for never getting the opportunity. His only real effort being when they first inflitrated Marley, and even then it was mostly thwarted by their inexperience. In the end, with their last talk being one of lies, deceit and heartbreak, he wondered what her last thoughts were. Were they ones of spite? Resignation perhaps? Or maybe even ones of still unyielding loyalty? Eren often sought comfort in the last option, only to find the bitter truth that it didn't matter, as Mikasa was still dead. She was on the receiving end of a lucky hit by Reiner, he was later told, combined with a stray bullet in the chest was all it took. All on top of him not being present at the time, it all was just so unjust, so merciless, so… needless to say he had never been the same since.

Wiping the tears from his eyes he stood up. Something in him lamented having chosen the tombs of his closest friends as the place it will end, in spite of how much he argued to himself that there were no bodies in the tombs. It was too late to change his plan, regardless. He occasionally felt how the curse of Ymir started pumping into his veins, he could never put it into words as to how he could be so sure, it was a matter that one simply knew when it presented itself, a simple realization that death is at your doorhe mused bitterly.

He looked down one more time to the two graves. It took him almost a fortnight in preparing the small monument. Had he had more time, he would have gladly made enough for all the others. They all deserved to be remembered, even if in the form of a grave in a barren, deserted island.

He performed the old salute he was taught all those years back. How long had it been since he had done it? When was the last time he had used a piece of ODM gear? He sadly couldn't tell. It had been so long, so much had happened. The last eight years starting to blur and crash onto one another.

The memories of the few months after his graduation became the most prominent, however. It was all so simple back then. No Eldians, no Marleyans, no curse of Ymir. It was only humanity and the titans. It was all a lie, from the very beginning yes, but it still meant that there was indeed hope for something resembling a normal life would appear for them once it was all over. The melancholy and resignation running amok as his hand slowly reached for the revolver.

Without breaking the salute, Eren took the gun and slowly turned it towards the base of his neck. That was were spine C6 and C7 were located, the ones were his titan powers resided. The bullets were hollow in the head, so it meant that they would either deform and get stuck inside the spine, making the healing impossible, or blow it outright. Either way it went, it would securely destroy the source of his ill, he was certain. Not even him having all nine shifter powers would stop him from finally falling over the precipice.

At least there was the comfort that this evil was going to end with him, right here, right now.

As he pulled the hammer of the revolver, his mind serenely tormented. His eyes shot to the sky, searching helplessly for answers one more time. Eren often wondered if there was an afterlife. He wanted to believe so, as that would mean that it was possible to see his friends once more. But he knew he had done too much damage to be deserving of such blessing. Closing to the world, the lament for the loss of his freedom, his world, but most importantly his loved ones clung desperately onto his heart. Levi, Hanji, Sasha, Connie, Jean, Armin… Mikasa…

"I'm sorry" he muttered to the winds as the tears ran across his cheeks. He didn't hear the gunshot firing, merely feeling his body falling over the abyss.

Slowly, his eyes started to open. The world around him too blurry to make out, Eren let out a groan, the soft feeling of sand running from his fingers as his hands clenched into fists. An ominous feeling washed through his body.

As his vision started fixing, Eren found himself staring into a starry night, lost in an infinity of sand, and a large beam of energy shooting into the heavens, taking the form of a massive tree standing imposingly over the entirety of his field of view. He was in the Paths.

His hands clenched into fists, he was caught after all. Not even in the end he was allowed to take his own way out. Was he supposed to live all thirteen years of this disgusting condition? Was he forced to continue sleeping every night amongst the screams of his companions? But above all, he was frustrated that he had no agency over his death, had he been a slave to his condition all along? He started screaming, his body shaking uncontrollably. Kicking and punching indiscriminately, Eren raged for long moments, tears running freely.

Finally, he collapsed onto the sand, weeping.

A light started shining on him, slowly he looked up to see what appeared to be a mass of nerves, headed by a strange orange orb, willowing towards him. He stared as the being approached to him. As it was within mere meters of him, it started moving upwards, rising into the air, the orb always shining its lights upon Eren.

"Stand, Hunter" a voice in his head rang. Cautiously Eren complied, taken aback by the strangeness of the moment. "I noticed that thou hast taken control o'er all nine of my children, and deliberately thou erased them from thy plane. Whatever is thy reason?"

Eren tried to wrap his mind around what the entity said. It referred to itself as the father of nine things he controlled. It dawned on Eren that it could only be referring to the nine shifter powers. That could only mean… "You are the Earth Devil…" he said. In spite of its lack of anatomy, the being appeared perplexed.

"I am what I am, no more, no less, as is the case of all beings under the light of XipeTotec" it said cryptically. "Nevertheless, I had thee brought to me is to pay for the murder my children" it continued. "I had them given to thy kind after sealing a deal with the female who hath contact with my being, returning me to this place from my banishment eons ago. Accorded it was that my children would return to me upon her death, something that did not happen, as she became chained to the will of some force back in thy plane. For eons hath I waited for them to return, but now thou destroyed them from ever being capable" as it talked into his mind. The being continued to elongate, twisting and turning around Eren's body, with new membranes growing out of the shaft as it kept wrapping itself around him. Completely encapsulated in it, the light went to stand, mere centimeters from his face. "Care to explain your reasoning before judgement, Hunter?"

"They have no place in the world" Eren muttered after some hesitation, remembering Annie's last words before being consumed. He looked up to the orb, staring into the infinity of its light. "They have fed the wrath of my kind, so many have fallen as they were used in the power plays of us humans, I saw it as my duty to put an end to it" he spoke. The orb remained still, its light fluctuating steadily in its own sense of rhythm.

"That thee rationale is then?" it asked.

"Yes" he answered a bit exasperated. "Now, kill me." He closed his eyes, awaiting his end. As the seconds turned into minutes, Eren opened them to see the light still boring into his being.

"That may very well hath been my intention in the beginning" it said with macabre interest, one that came with scheming. "But now I see that thou may still possess use in the return of my children."

"The wisdom XipeTotec is infinite as is the skin with which heformed the plain where we the Tezcatlipocas are to inhabit. This skin so vast it is that it hath touching points with that of other realities. Realities, all tracing back to the corpse of the once great Ometeotl, an unknowable number of realities, ever growing in number. And there exists meeting points between them. It would seem that now I hath a more valuable way to use thee."

Eren was wary of where this Tezcatlipoca was going. Nevertheless, he had really no way to resist it in any real regard, considering that, according to it, the nine shifters were indeed destroyed. So there was really nothing to resist it, in any regard. But still he should be wary, he argued. "What would you have do?" he asked.

"I shall grant thee with a power capable of returning my children back to me if thee hath their physical form consumed, and with that new ability settle you in a reality in which their Hunter suffered an, shall we say, untimely end. Thy settling in this new reality shall have Genesis consume the two children that thee hath from the beginning. Thy mission from then shall be that of finding the other seven and bring them home. And it also gives thee the possibility to atone for what thee consider to be failings. Be helping me, thy help thyself."

Eren listened, taken aback by the proposition. Being able to go back… He would be lying if he said he didn't wish to return, to do everything he could to save his friends. But now that there was the opportunity, he hesitated. Returning back. Was that really possible? But more importantly, did he even deserve it? As much as Eren wanted to save his friends, he feared that he could actually only hurt them more. A humming sound snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Thou hesitates" the being acknowledged.

"I… don't deserve a second opportunity" he looked down.

"Thou is not being given 'a second opportunity,' Hunter. Thou is being commanded to send me my children back. Anything outside of that, is no concern of mine. I care not how thee return my children back; I care only that it is done" it said impersonally. "If thou wishes death, once thy mission is complete, it would be within my reach to grant thee that. Nevertheless, that is all for after thee succeeds. Eyes on the target, Hunter, not on the horizon."

Before Eren could even process what was said, a membrane impaled itself into his left eye. As he screamed in pain, falling to the ground, the being unwrapped itself from him. Until it was the starting spinal cord and a few nerves birthing from it. "Failure is not an option, Hunter. May XipeTotec bless your path. Now go and fulfill your intent" it said.

Eren's body was still jerking all over the ground as he noticed that he was withering. His hands peeling, turning into sand. And then followed his arms. Equally so his legs. And then there was darkness.

So that was it for the prologue of this story.

I will say that english is not my first tongue, so it may be possible for a few errors to have slipped here or there (especially in regards to the way the Earth Devil speaks), other than that I'm fairly pleased with this prelude. Tomorrow Friday I'll be releasing the first proper chapter, and after that I will be uploading a chapter a week at least for the following 3 weeks, as those chapters are mostly done and just need pulishing. After that, I really cannot promise a steady schedule, but I'll try my best to publish a couple of times per month.

Now, as for my treatment of the Earth Devil. I've always been of the idea that even divine beings would have their mythology. Their own rituals and customs, but, due to their nature, they would be alien in comparison to our own. And being no secret that SNK makes a lot of references to Nordic mythology, I thought "what would be alien to the vikings?" And immediately I thought of the Aztecs. So I pulled a few elements, mostly just names, and had them being the Earth Devil's own mythology, which might or might be true, but serves them to explain their situation. So, yeah...

As always, I hope you enjoyed this and stick around for the ride. All reviews are welcomed and appreciated.