Prologue

The war was over, and so was the Eldian Empire.

Ymir watched as Karl Fritz, the latest Eldian king possessing the Founding Titan, made its way to a small island after scheming a war—alongside the Tybur family, who carry the War Hammer Titan—to end the bloody reign of the Eldians his ancestors had created—as though that would erase everything they had done to the world for the sake of expansion.

The young slave could only observe as the ones left behind were imprisoned and hated, treated like a plague. Even the young ones, who had done nothing but merely share the same blood as her.

She watched as seven of the nine titans were now in Marley's control. The Founding was with the current king and the Attack Titan had disappeared moments before the war had erupted. She watched how Karl Fritz commanded her to create a great quantity of Colossal Titans for something that had to be done for his plans. Ymir couldn't refuse, she was still a slave to her family.

And so, what was a few seconds to the King, were years for Ymir, who had continued to do her assigned task without complaining, without raising the slightest reservation, for she had no reason to deny the request of her family. Being told what to do was easier than doing it on your own, and Ymir had been doing as told for as long as she could remember.

Once the titans had been completed, Karl Fritz made them harden and create three-round walls, one smaller than the other, to create an impenetrable fortress that would serve as a defense from enemy attacks. One without context could assume that he had done it to bide his time, to prepare for a greater war to reclaim what is his. But for someone who had seen his plan, felt it, and being commanded to do something from it, Ymir knew what was going to happen next.

Karl Fritz was going to create a "Paradise" and bide his time, for the Eldians to pay for their crimes when the time comes.

Ymir felt something bubble inside of her. The thought of people being slaved for a thing outside of their control—her people, of anyone else—made her look anywhere else that wasn't what was happening. Not even her husband had been that bad, as he at least fought for his people, while Karl wasn't trying to make amends by doing something.

He was trying to make amends by giving up.

She watched as the man held his newborn close to his face, and the echo of thunder reached the First Titan Shifter's ears. Ymir raised an eyebrow, confused, but continued to watch nonetheless. Then, she heard the words he was whispering.

". . .When the time comes, we will accept retribution for our crimes, for everything the Eldians had done to the world, when Marley comes to destroy us, we will accept it. That. . . is my vow. . ."

Ymir felt her eyes widen and saw how her hand was moving against her will. Karl Fritz was truly bent on making the Eldian suffer. While Ymir could understand regretting the actions done by one's country when you are in charge of it, one has to keep moving forward to make amends. The Founder Ymir used every single last of her will to try and stop herself from completing the vow, the one that will doom her people for sure, but her obligation to family was stronger than a weak will.

She was about to snap her finger, the Paths where everything connects behind her ready to obey when a single thought crossed her mind. Resolving herself, she snapped her fingers, and the Paths burst into more branches, each one of them spreading across the unlimited sky above her. It was such a beautiful thing, though she would have liked to simply be free from that place, and finally rest in peace.

"Very well."

A voice echoed within the endless realm of the Founding Titan, and Ymir felt her eyes widen in shock. Suddenly, the weights she didn't have she had been carrying lifted from her shoulder, and the girl fell to the ground. The voice had been alluring, soothing, and even compassionate, as though it had seen everything she had experienced and all the things that had been happening.

For a few seconds, nothing happened, then. . .

"Hmn?" Ymir looked at her hands, questioning, as she felt buzzing from them. They slowly began to turn into sand, and panic spread through her body. Her consciousness began to vanish, but she heard the voice once again.

"From this day onwards, you are free."

Ymir soon after began to close her eyes as her face felt the soft sand. A knowingly smile crossed her lips, small but grateful as she finally understood what the voice was doing with her, she even recognized the voice from a King before Karl Fritz.

"Help Eldia overcome this crisis."

For the first time, Ymir felt truly free to oblige with the request.

She, Ymir Fritz, disappeared from the realm of the Founding Titan.

A/N: This is a free concept that anyone can use if they want. But keep in mind that Ymir has to be alive for when Eren gets the Attack Titan.