Major spoilers below, continue with caution.
"Listen well, for this is the most important story you will ever hear."
I stood there silently, frozen in place as the enemy of all mankind spoke to me.
"Just over a century ago, the world was ruled by an empire of devils that lasted for almost two thousand years. The First Titan, Ymir, made a deal with a demon. She was gifted a power beyond any that was ever seen before, and one that has yet to be surpassed since. In exchange for this she gave the demon decades of her life."
"With this power Ymir founded the Eldian Empire, and the Eldian's quickly stormed across the world, slaughtering and subjugating all in their path."
"Eventually though they ran out of enemies, and so the Eldians turned on each other. Seven of the eight great families of Eldia grew more greedy than any before them, and sensing the weakness of the current King they made a grab for the throne. Thus began the Great Titan War, a literal hell on earth in which titans fought each other daily."
"These eight families were the holders of great power, the Power of the Titans. This ability allows a person to transform into one of the Nine titans, and with this power they rampaged and slaughtered men in droves as they fought each other for dominance, stepping on untold millions of innocents as they greedily grabbed at the throne of Eldia."
"We the Tybur's were one of these families, and our ancestors wielded the greatest of all the titans."
The titan in front of me, my Grandfather as I had now figured out, raised its arms to the sky. And within his grasp appeared a weapon bigger than I had ever seen before, a hammer.
"The Warhammer Titan."
The titan brought the hammer down on the altar behind me, the shaft of the weapon barely missing me as it swung down.
*GONG*
As the weapon impacted the altar it did not break, neither the altar nor the hammer. Instead a loud sound rang out around me as the blue crystal began to glow blindingly bright. The sound was deafening, and my body was shaken to its core with the vibrations as I fell to my knees.
It took a few moments before I could focus once again on Grandfathers' words.
"Using this power the first true Tybur fought to bring order to the other families, and then alongside the hero Helos the Warhammer drove the King of Eldia into exile."
I saw it. Everything he said I had seen when I climbed the Ziggurat, but with the haze around me I couldn't properly work it out until he told me. But now I could see it clearly.
I watched as the first wielder of the Warhammer defeated the other seven titans, I saw how he fought and how he won. I saw how he battled the Founder beside Helos... that's what I saw right?
"Years after he exiled King Fritz, the first Tybur came here. This is where he passed on the Warhammer to his successor, Helos himself. This act bound the families of the two heroes together forever, and Helos married the daughter of the first Tybur."
"After receiving the Warhammer, Helos erected this Ziggurat as a memorial, and using their shared memories he carved the life of the first Tybur into the stone."
"This tradition has been passed down since. The successor immortalises their predecessor here in the stone, and then they pass it on to the next generation. One day I will gain the final memories and immortalise my ancestor, and eventually you will do this for me."
I was enraptured as he spoke to me, tales of heroes and warriors will always grip the heart of the youth. And yet...
"The top of this Ziggurat is where the right of succession is performed, it is a ceremony that our family has dutifully followed for nine generations."
"Every 13 years a new successor must be chosen to wield the Warhammer and this time is special, as you will be the youngest wielder in history. Starting now you will begin your training for your role as the next head of the Tybur family."
"I have spent the better part of the last ten years of my life preparing for this. The day my father decided that I would be the next to inherit the Warhammer, this plan was born. I knew that I could not hope to challenge the Founder myself, and so instead I immediately set out to pave the road for my successor."
"Soon however I realised that my children, your mother and her siblings, would not be capable of fulfilling my dream. And so I cast their generation aside and instead looked toward their children."
"Thanks to some properly arranged marriages, the children of my children are incredible, however there is one within your generation that clearly stands head and shoulders above the rest. You, Alexander, are to be my chosen."
I was shocked by this revelation. Not only had Grandfather purposely skipped over my own mother, but out of several dozen candidates I was the one he chose.
"My hopes are that with the training I will provide and with the resources I have gathered, you will become the most powerful Warhammer in history. One day you will grow strong enough to steal away the founder and safeguard the world from the Eldian devils."
"That is my only wish, and that is to be your destiny."
Destiny is a powerful thing, and it seemed that mine was born of my Grandfather's ideals, his obsession with this Founder.
"Once you have mastered the Warhammer you must travel to Paradis. It an island of devils to the north-east of Marley. This is the island that the last king of Eldia, King Fritz fled to after his defeat. This is where his people, his descendants still remain, cowering even to this day behind his walls."
"But beware my boy, the kingdom in the walls stands as the last bastion of the Eldian Empire, and that even beaten as he was, King Fritz's successors still stand as the greatest threat to the world."
"His tall walls may act as a shield for now, but should his monstrous spawn once again turn their eyes on the world, these walls can be turned into a spear whenever they see fit. This century of peace is false, and until the founder is taken from the royal family of Eldia none of us will be safe, the threat of the Rumbling will forever remain."
Throughout all of this I stood there silently, listening, memorising, contemplating.
The shocking truth that I learnt that night still sits in my mind. Yet, this was not the first time I had heard this story. I had heard all of this before, many times in fact, only the version I heard was very different to this one.
I didn't want to believe it, but it became clear to me that day that this world was irredeemable.
Truly disgusting.
"Alexander. Are you ready to begin?"
"I-I…" It took me a moment to compose myself but eventually I could speak. "I am, Grandfather."
*GONG*
A second loud sound reverberated from the Altar, and the world around me began to glow a bright white.
Eventually white turned to darkness as I fell to the ground unconscious.
I don't remember how long I stood at that altar, nor do I remember how I got home that night. But the rest of it I remember vividly.
A/N: Any of you who know about Ymir and the founder will know that Grandfather James' story has some inconsistencies with canon, this has been done on purpose so no need to point out wrong information.