Frieda was watching the sunset in peace.

Many things had happened during the past year. Many of those were ground-breaking and life-changing, for a whole lot of Eldians. Many of which, could be attributed to her…

Shortly after the General Plan was finished, the insurrection started. Since the rebels from internment zones were heavily armed, the security service and even the Marleyan militia, couldn't stand a chance. Centres of power had been seized quickly and new rule was created.

The Marleyan army was exhausted from the prolonging war, nonetheless, it was still an army. The order came for the soldiers, to use the areas, which weren't inhabited by Eldians, to reorganize. If the government ever managed to do that, the rebellion would surely fail.

Thankfully, help from Paradis came.

First, it was just a single landing in Liberio. The Paradisian airships weren't exactly efficient, but once the port was seized, they were able to use it as a hub to transport more men. Effectively, all of the soldiers made it onto the continent in just a few weeks.

At first, the general population wasn't exactly at ease with those forces. Even the Eldians which were taking part in the insurrection, didn't really trust them. It took months of material and military help, for them to finally accept the islanders.

The Marleyan minority, on the other hand, wasn't pleased with a foreign power taking over their country. Many agitations had to be put down, censorship flourished, and a few, specially designated MPs took the role of a new, secret police.

Soon after the insurrection started and soldiers of Paradis made it onto the continent, Historia and her government established their rule over the lands inhabited majorly by Eldians. It turned out that those lands possessed most of the Marleyan industry, which in the process, was seized by the crown.

Armin had been preparing for quite a lot, to make use of that industry, especially the branch that produced military equipment. During the preparation phase of the General Plan, the island managed to make lots of guns, yet it wasn't a number sufficient enough to defend half of a continent from an enemy invasion. All in all, he managed to repurpose the industry in several months.

By that time, the Marleyan army finished reorganizing in the regions which remained under their control. It was a huge blow for them, when it turned out that they couldn't make use of pure titans, which were by far, some of their most important weapons. Frieda predicted that the army would try something like that and effectively turned those man-eating monsters against Marleyans, each time they've decided to use them.

But the insurrectionists weren't just buying themselves time, during the pause on the front. In those few months, they managed to conscript an army that could rival their opponent.

Once their enemies were ready for the offensive, an attack started.

Million against million. That was the phrase that world would remember this battle for.

And Eldians prevailed victorious. Mostly, due to their air superiority, but also, thanks to the three titans they were able to deploy on the battlefield.

After a long battle, the enemy forces finally surrendered, and an armistice had been signed. The following peace talks concluded in almost all of the rich, northern parts of the continent being annexed by the newly proclaimed, Eldian empire. All of the Marleyans had to leave those lands and most of the specialized military equipment was seized.

The world had very different reactions to that. While some, like the countries of the former Mid-East alliance, decided to remain neutral, most of them were hostile. There was a general consensus among the nations of the world, that the annexation was unlawful and the rebellious Eldians had to be put down.

Thankfully, by then none of their people remained outside the continent and no repressions could be placed upon the Eldian minority anywhere.

Nonetheless, after a few months of instability and deportation of the local Marleyans, a formidable coalition of nations from all around the world has formed against the Paradisian government.

The tension was quite high, all throughout the rest of the year. And just when they were about to attack the new empire, the royal government threatened them with rumbling.

No matter how much they wanted to beat them, no matter how much they hated the Eldians, the rest of the world didn't want to risk the destruction of earth. And so, they finally agreed to sign a treaty recognizing the new empire.

Sun was almost touching the horizon. Here, on the farm, life ought to look a lot more beautiful than in prison. Even the memories she had from living in the palace, were nothing in comparison.

Today marked thirteen years, ever since she had taken her power from Uri Reiss. Since these were her last days, she was allowed to spend them here.

She would die, today.

Frieda had been preparing for this. She had even thought of a plan to possibly slow down the endless cycle of war and hate, which the government seemed to approve. All that was left was to put it to motion.

After a sigh, she turned around and walked into the cottage.

Everyone was there.

They watched her, as she was slowly making it to the bed. The fallen queen didn't have much strength within her, just enough to end all of this.

Annika was sitting on Eren's lap, who was sitting on the bed with her. The little girl grew quite considerably in those four years.

"Mommy…" she exclaimed sadly, watching her mother as she took a seat.

Her father had already explained to her, that Frieda was dying. It was quite the shock for their daughter, and she was extremely saddened by this, though nothing could really be done.

Historia was standing next to the bed. After all those years, they still hadn't made up. Her younger sister never forgave her for what she did. Though, the fallen queen supposed that the ruling queen still owed her a lot, for taking care of her when she was younger.

On the other side, Ymir was standing. That one miserable thief, that she had taken in, was now a beautiful, young woman. After all, Frieda didn't really have hard feelings for her, given that she had always been doing her job correctly.

Eren and Historia were safe, all thanks to her.

Near the wall, Kenny Ackerman was standing. He seemed to be looking all better than when she was the monarch. Maybe, he finally found what he truly desired or maybe he just had a lot more fun, nowadays.

Nonetheless, it was no use to wonder about such things right now.

Right now, she had one last, important thing to do.

"Annika" Frieda exclaimed weakly "mommy needs to tell you a secret…"

The little girl scooted closer to her. It was her biggest regret. To not be able to stay here, for her.

As she whispered the words into her daughter's ear, she couldn't help herself but hug the trembling girl.

"I don't want you to go…!" Annika cried as she started sobbing on her shoulder.

"What I just told her" Frieda spoke to the rest as she took hold of the crying girl "is a key to my plan."

This made everyone in the room curious, as she had just disclosed a relatively new piece of information.

"When I die, I will undo all of the titan transformation" she continued "I will also undo the shifting powers. All the shifters will live their full lives, without worrying about the curse of Ymir. However, if the need ever arises, you will do what Annika tells you."

The little girl looked up at her with wide eyes.

"Annika" the fallen queen exclaimed, trying to hold her tears back "in the future, a time may come that our enemies will want to destroy the peace we have. When it comes, you will do what I just told you. All of the hardening on the island will crumble, once I'm gone and the wall titans will be reverted back to humans. All, except for wall Maria…"

"…If you want peace, prepare for war. If we don't have the power to enforce the peace, a war will eventually come. Therefore, I leave you my last will. Thanks to the secret key, you'll be able to launch the rumbling, using only the wall titans from the last wall. It won't destroy the world, but it will destroy any forces, our enemies muster."

Then, Frieda turned towards Historia.

"I want Annika to become queen after you" she spoke "consider that key I gave her, an assurance that it will happen…"

"Mommy…"

"You have my word" Historia simply said, not wasting a single moment.

At that, Frieda exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Thank you" she said "in a way, Karl Fritz was right. No man on earth should wield the power to be able to destroy it. But if you want peace and prosperity for your people, you must become a god."

Then, Frieda laid back on the bed.

"And every false god shall pay the price…"

With that, she closed her eyes for the last time.