Pain in his head was the only thing Eren could register. A light was shining over him. It took him a moment to figure that he was lying in some kind of coffin. Suddenly, he remembered what happened. He looked to the side.

"Historia" an old, short man said to the blonde girl "forgive me for everything… It was what I had to do in order to protect you."

When he was saying that he hugged her small form.

"I never stopped thinking of you all this time" the man said with tears in his eyes "I dreamed of the day I could hold you like this…"

Eren opened his eyes. He was in what appeared to be a crystal cave. No, it didn't look natural at all. But if it wasn't a cave, then what was it, exactly?

"Eren!" he heard someone yell at him.

The boy in question looked down. It was Historia again. She was clean, and wore beautiful, white robes. If it wasn't for the circumstances, he would even think she looked pretty at that moment.

It took him a while to notice her father was there.

Rod Reiss. The king of the walls. The descendant of a dynasty that betrayed its own people, in the name of pacifism.

Eren started trashing around, trying to rip out of his shackles. Whoever put him in there, knew what he was doing. He couldn't bite his tongue, and his hands were wrapped tightly in thick bandages.

"Don't panic Eren" Historia cried out "we'll get through this!"

She turned towards her father.

"I'm not changing my mind" the blonde exclaimed fiercely.

Rod Reiss closed his eyes.

"I know" he said "I respect your wish. However, I have a single request for you."

Historia considered that for a while. She must've been conflicted inside. Her father whom she never knew, suddenly reappeared in her life and claimed to care for her, something she had never experienced before.

"What do you want?" She asked him slowly.

"Would you be so kind and walk over to Eren with me?"

What was he trying to pull off? Only now did the boy notice, he was shackled to a weird elevation with stairs leading up to it. The two Reisses walked up the stairs and stood behind Eren.

"Here" the king spoke "take your bare hand and touch his back."

Was he trying to evoke a memory? The other day, Dina had told Eren that touch between the shifters could sometimes do this, but he never actually experienced it.

Historia laid her hand on his bare skin.

Suddenly a sharp pain went through Eren. He saw memories of the past. Memories from his father.

Guilt washed over him.

"So" Rod asked turning to the boy "do you remember, now?"

Oh, he did remember. Every horrifying detail of what his father had done.

"I wasn't alone…" Historia suddenly whispered "…I had her…"

"She taught me how to read and write… How could I have forgotten her?"

Rod Reiss was looking surprised.

"You knew Frieda?" He asked the girl.

"…Frieda…?"

"A young girl with long dark hair. That was Frieda Reiss. She was your half-sister. I suppose she worried about you and checked in on you from time to time. She must've erased her memories of you…"

"What?" The shocked blonde asked, "erased my memories?"

"Yes" the short man responded, "it seems that laying your hand on him in this place brought those memories back."

"What happened to her?"

The king was quiet. It seemed like he didn't want to remember that day. The day when Grisha Yeager took the power of the founding titan from Frieda Reiss.

"She was murdered" he finally replied, "by his father."

Historia fell to her knees. She was looking at Eren with wide eyes, tears streaking down her beautiful face.

"…How…?"

"He came here to steal away the power of the Reiss family. Frieda had a power of changing into a titan, just like Eren. Her titan, however, was the most powerful. Yet, when Grisha Yeager appeared here out of nowhere, he managed to overpower her. He took her power that day, along with her life."

Historia looked down. Eren couldn't bear to see her like this.

"But it wasn't over yet" Rod continued "he set his eyes upon my family. He tried to eradicate the Reiss bloodline. My wife and four of my sons, were crushed that day. I was the only one who managed to survive."

"…He got the power of the founding titan…" Historia suddenly interjected, making the king's eyes go wide with surprise "…why did he kill your family as well…?"

"…How do you know it was the founding titan…?" Rod Reiss asked.

Historia suddenly looked up. In a moment of weakness, she slipped up.

"…Dina Yeager told us…"

Rod's mouth was ajar.

"…You mean…" he started "…you mean Dina Fritz? That pretender with a titan power?"

"Her real name is Dina Yeager" Historia explained "she had the same mission as Grisha, who was her husband. She told us all about the outside world…"

"…Then…" Rod Reiss said slowly "…you know what must be done."

The blonde girl widened her eyes again.

"Historia" the king started "if you took his power, you could put an end to all this suffering. No one would have to die."

Now it was the girl who was conflicted.

Suddenly, a loud noise could be heard in the distance.

"What's happening?" Historia asked.

"Our enemies are closing in" Rod Reiss said as he walked down the stairs.

His daughter followed him. The king reached out to his pouch.

He took out a small box. In the box, there was a vial of some liquid, along with a syringe. Eren knew what it was. He closed his eyes.

"Why can't Eren use this power?" Historia suddenly asked.

"The founding titan's true power can only be used by the descendants of the royal family…"

"Whoa, Whoa!" Another voice could be heard.

The MP who killed Historia's mother suddenly landed next to them, using some kind of vertical maneuvering gear.

"So, you're telling me that you can become the true king only if you have the royal blood?"

"Kenny…" Rod said to the man "…yes. That's what I said."

The man named Kenny suddenly grabbed the king and held him up.

"From the very moment we've met" he said pointing a gun at Rod Reiss "ya knew my intentions. And now, you're telling me that I will never be able to fulfil my dream?!"

"Kenny…" the king said struggling to breathe "I'd always thought my brother taking a stray like you off the streets was just another of his crazy whims, but…"

"If ya insult Uri one more time, you're gonna find half your head missin'!"

"Stop it!" Historia suddenly exclaimed as she took the syringe and filled it with liquid.

"Any of you move and I do it!"

Seeing that, Kenny put the small man down.

"So, this is how it is, huh?" he said "alright! Let's make this a fair battle!"

When he said that, he launched himself towards Eren.

"Wait!" Rod Reiss shouted out "what are you doing?"

"Having a little bit of fun" Kenny replied as he took out a key and unlocked the metal gag, preventing Eren from biting his tongue.

"All the bullshit 'bout caring for your daughter makes me sick" he said as he took out a knife and cut the boy's forehead "ya better tell me why don't you become a titan yourself!"

Upon hearing that, Historia looked at her father.

"Historia" the king said "I cannot become a titan. There is a reason for that. You must do what's right. You could end this war…"

Historia looked down. She didn't know what to do. So many emotions were probably running through her head right now. But Eren could only think about how his father took the lives of Rod's family.

"Eren" he suddenly heard the girl say, "why aren't you turning into a titan?"

"…If my father hadn't done that, your sister would be here… She could take care of everything… The war would be over… So many lives wouldn't have been taken…"

"…The scouts… the residents of Stohess… the soldiers who died rescuing me… and so many more…"

"…It would probably be better if I had never been born…!"

The boy was weeping silently. All the guilt was on him. In this very moment, he just wished to disappear.

How could he have forgotten about his mother? He didn't have any anger left inside of him.

"…Please, Historia… just eat me… you'll fix everything… you'll save everyone…"

Said blonde, was frozen in place. The thoughts were raging within her head like crazy. She slowly brought the needle to her skin.

Suddenly, she looked at her father.

"Why didn't Frieda fight?" Historia suddenly asked.

"Good point!" Kenny exclaimed as he swished away.

Rod Reiss took a moment to think his answer through.

"The first king of the walls pledged a vow" he slowly said "he swore to protect the peace of the world. All his successors inherited this ideology."

"How am I supposed to end the war, then?"

"Trust me, my daughter. Please!"

"I remember that sometimes… Frieda would start acting like a completely different person… Like she was being possessed… Did she inherit the first king's will as well?!"

Rod Reiss looked down.

"He believed that was the true way to peace. My father acted the same way when he inherited his power. Both me and my brother, wanted him to fight, but he did not grant our wish. Eventually the day came when my father had to entrust his role to his son. My younger brother volunteered himself, but he gave me a mission in exchange."

"He asked me to pray. When I saw my brother's eyes after he had inherited his power, I understood what he meant. My brother had become the ultimate governing force of this world. He had become… a god…"

Historia stood in her place, looking at the man.

Eren knew it wouldn't take much longer.

"What kind of" she suddenly started "bullshit is this?!"

As she said that, she raised her hand and threw the syringe to the ground. The glass shattered and the liquid splashed on the floor.

"HISTORIA!" Rod suddenly cried out as he grabbed her shoulders "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Said girl, threw the man over her shoulder.

"A god?!" She shouted at him "stop spouting out bull! That's like the stupidest ideology I've ever heard of!"

"That's it!" Historia cried out as she picked up the man's pouch "I've had enough!"

"Hahaha" Kenny laughed as he hung from a column "the two of you are so fun to watch!"

The blonde girl ran up the stairs towards Eren.

"Hey…" the boy asked with a raspy voice when she got to him "…what are you doing?!"

"I'm paying my debt!" Historia exclaimed as she took out the keys and tried to unlock his shackles.

"Just eat me!" He screamed "You're part of the chosen bloodline! I don't want to fight anymore! Please!"

"Shut up!" The girl yelled as she hit him in the head "did they cut your balls off?!"

"What a pain in the ass!" Historia shouted as she freed him from the shackles "stand up and be a man for once!"

Suddenly, a great wave of energy erupted from the spot Rod Reiss was lying in.