Attack on Titan: A New Path

by The Court of Talons

Ozma and Salem have been at war for centuries. The fight has taken many lives and taken many centuries. The champion of the Brother of Light has failed countless times to complete his task. Now, more than ever, Remnant needs a new protector. It needs a man who knows the cruelty of life. A man who doesn't falter in doing the unthinkable. A dark guardian. Remnant needs...Eren Yeager.

35. Chapter 35

"Fight for your dreams, and your dreams will fight for you."

Paulo Coelho

Chapter 35: The Prince of Darkness

Silence.

"..."

All she could hear was silence.

"..."

Where she had once heard explosions, the splashing of water, and wild screaming, all that could be heard now was a deafening silence.

"..."

Cinder had been kneeling on the floor and crying ever since she had been left behind by the person she cared about the most. Minutes ago, Eren had taken her away from Salem's Titan so she could heal the excessive wounds she had received from the witch. After that, Eren used his Titan to create a wall of impenetrable crystal between himself and Cinder so he could face Salem alone.

The minutes that had passed felt like an eternity for Cinder, and they felt even longer when the sounds on the other side were replaced by silence.

Cinder had given up on breaking the crystal wall, given that she had nearly broken her fists and swords when she tried. Instead, all she could do was kneel in front of it and lament on her failure. Before they returned to the Land of Darkness, Cinder promised Eren that he wouldn't be fighting Salem alone. Not because she believed Eren couldn't handle himself, that he would die the second he faced her. But instead, Cinder didn't want Eren to carry his burden alone; she didn't want him to be alone like he was when he gained his freedom on Paradis.

But because Eren saved her life, Cinder had failed to keep that promise.

Cinder was almost killed by Salem, that was true. She was close to being added to the long list of Salem's victims, close to being killed by the greatest evil the world had ever known. If Salem had aimed just a little lower, if she destroyed the Incinerator Titan's neck instead of its head, Cinder would have been as good as dead.

But because Eren did what he did best, because he saved her life, Cinder was left to bear the shame of her failure and the uncertainty of the silence behind her.

She couldn't see past the crystal like she could when the Founding Titan faced her before it left. Cinder couldn't see what had become of Eren or Salem, she couldn't see who had won the fight. Was Salem trapped in a crystal shell like Annie Leonhart, or was she healing from Eren's attack? Was Eren resting after fighting for so long... or was he gone?

Cinder stopped looking at the crystal when she first asked these questions, because she was too scared to know the answer. And nothing that she could see or hear would change the fact that she couldn't keep her promise.

"Eren..." Cinder sadly said to herself as she dried her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"Eren!"

"Cinder!"

The sound of her name gave Cinder a temporary reprieve from lamenting on her failure. She stood up fast and looked towards the original entrance to the cave, where she saw all of her friends walking inside and looking around.

"Whoa!" Nora said as she marveled at the sights of the cave. "Check it out!"

"This is new," Ren noted as he became aware of his surroundings. "We must be beneath the ground level."

"I've never seen this place before," said Midori. "I don't know if anybody has."

Mercury was fixated on the dark lighting and the sharp rocks overhead. "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here," he said with a chuckle.

"Dammit, Merc," Emerald said after she shoved him. "Will you just focus for two damn seconds?"

"Oh, I don't know," said Vernal. "That's a good way to sum up this place." She walked close to Mercury as she examined the area with him.

"No, Emerald's right," said Winter. "Watts said Salem would be down here, so Eren and Cinder can't be far behind."

"Unless this is a trap," said Ren. "Be ready for-"

"Guys, look!" Nora screamed. "Is that Cinder?!"

Ren quickly forgot about being cautious as he followed Nora's eyes. "What, where? Where are you looking?"

"Up there!"

Nora pointed up towards a large flight of stairs. And sure enough, Cinder was standing at the top of the stairs.

"Cinder!" Emerald yelled as she began to run up the stairs. "We're here!"

"Stay where you are!" Ren yelled as he followed Emerald. He became cautious once again and didn't want to become lost in this dark place. He was followed by everyone else in the group and they soon found themselves at the top of the stairs.

"Are you okay?" Midori asked. "Do you need Healing Wish?"

"We came as fast as we could!" Ren insisted.

"My Titan can help against Salem!" said Emerald.

"Where's the fight at?" Mercury asked.

"And where's Eren?" Nora asked after she looked around the immediate area.

"..."

Cinder's relief to see her friends and allies once again was immediately replaced with the thought of Eren. Her face had no change from its neutral glare, but she couldn't help but sadly look down at the ground.

Winter was surprisingly the first to see the signs of distress with Cinder. "Back up," she ordered everyone as she moved closer. "Give her some room." Winter moved her hand back and forth in a gesture to move everyone back.

"What are you thinking?" Ymir asked from within Winter's head.

"Shell shock," Winter answered the voice. "Fairly common with inexperienced soldiers." Winter was no therapist or psychiatrist, but Cinder's body language was very alarming. She didn't know where to start or how to help, but Winter tried her best. "Cinder, can you hear me?" Winter asked slowly and clearly.

Fortunately, Cinder wasn't too lost to be unaware of her surroundings.

"...Yeah," Cinder replied. She looked away from Winter and back towards her friends to get her attention. Once she had it, Cinder pointed at the wall of crystal. "Eren's in there. I... I don't know if he's okay."

"..."

As Winter realized that Cinder's condition was depression instead of shell shock, everyone else quickly shared Cinder's uncertainty and concern for their friend. They all ran to the crystal wall and attempted to get through.

"Stand back!" Nora ordered as she took out Magnhild in its hammer form. She swung the hammer as hard as she could, but the crystal didn't break. Nora tried again, but this time she allowed one of her grenades to explode on contact.

*BOOM*

Pink smoke engulfed Nora and the wall, but it quickly disappeared and revealed the unbroken crystal structure.

"I tried everything," Cinder confessed. "I couldn't get through." She slumped to the ground again as she grabbed her head in frustration. "I couldn't help him."

Ren quickly kneeled down to her level. "It'll be okay, Cinder," he promised. "We'll find a way."

"Yeah, come on!" Mercury said in encouragement. "Let's all give it a try!" He joined Nora at the crystal and began to kick the crystal himself. Seeing the promise in working together, everyone tried to break the crystal with their own weapons. Cinder was still past the point of hope, so she simply watched as everyone hit the crystal with everything they had.

But it still refused to fall.

"Dammit!" Mercury said as he stopped kicking. The crystal was beginning to hurt his feet. "It's fucking solid!"

"I already tried that," Cinder said as she continued to sit. "I've tried everything."

"It was worth a try," said Ren. "We just have to be smarter about this, that's all."

"Hey, maybe we can look through," Nora suggested. She pressed her face agains the crystal as close as she could. "Uh, I see purple... red... more purple..."

"Nora, that's the crystal," Midori pointed out.

Nora moved her face away from the structure. "Um... I knew that!" Nobody believed her.

Midori tried to look through the crystal as well. "I can't see anything," she said.

"Me neither," said Vernal. "It's too fuzzy."

While the three girls were looking through the crystal, everyone else was trying to see what other options they had. There was nothing around them to break the crystal, and there didn't seem to be another way around the structure.

Emerald was about to suggest the use of Titans, since the room was large enough to house at least one. But when her eyes landed on Ren, Emerald had a different idea.

"Wait a minute, Ren," she said. "Nobody can see through there, but do you think you can see with your Semblance?"

Cinder immediately felt a new hope emerge when she knew what Emerald was talking about. "That's right!" she said as she shot off the ground. "You did it with Rod Reiss in the woods, you can do it again!"

Everyone turned to Ren and silently agreed with the idea. Ren had indeed used his Semblance before in this manner, to see things and people through a different perspective. He knew he couldn't see through the hardened structure, but his Semblance would give him a clue about what was going on in the next room.

"I can do that!" he said as he moved towards the wall. "Guys, I just need a little room." Everyone that was close to the crystal moved back so Ren could see for himself. After he cupped his hands and rested them on the hardened material, Ren placed his forehead on his hands to see what was on the other side.

Just as Nora had said earlier, all he could see purple and red. But as soon as he activated his Semblance, Ren was able to see a multitude of petals falling to the ground.

"It's working," he told his friends. "I'm seeing a lot of people, actually. They look so... angry." Ren looked closer at the multiple red petals. "They're all... really angry."

Cinder was able to describe what Ren was seeing. "Ren, those must be Grimm," she said. "Salem made a lot of them to fight us."

Ren couldn't see the owner of these petals, but what Cinder described made a lot of sense. "You're right," he corrected himself. "All I see is anger."

"Well, that's the Grimm for you," Mercury said. Emerald slapped his arm, but remained silent.

"Can you see anything else?" Winter asked.

"Try looking for other emotions," Cinder suggested. "Can you do that?"

"Let me look," Ren calmly ordered as he scanned the area. He looked from left to right, but all he could see was a multitude of red petals. "I can't see anything else." He looked back to Cinder. "Are you sure they're still in there?"

"A hundred percent," Cinder assured Ren. "This was the only way someone could get in. Or out."

Ren looked back at the crystal when he received this confirmation. He wanted to find Eren just as much as Cinder did, and the best thing he could do now was try again. Everyone could think of something else while he was looking, but he knew that he had to take this chance.

And when he looked to the left once more, Ren discovered that fortune favored the bold.

"Wait!" he yelled. "I see something!"

Everyone huddled around Ren in a vain attempt to see what he was looking at. When she didn't see anything, Cinder asked the question on everyone's minds.

"What is it?" she asked anxiously. "Is it Eren?"

"Is he okay?" Nora asked.

"I can't tell who or what it is," Ren reminded them. "But I don't think it's another Grimm."

"How can you be sure?" Winter asked skeptically.

"I can see more anger, but there's something else." Ren looked closer. "It looks like... sadness?"

"..."

Everyone immediately realized that this was the last thing they expected to hear. Even Ren didn't expect to see such an emotion behind the hardened crystal. But the blue petals were as clear as day, just like the position they were in.

"That's odd," Ren said as he tilted his head. "It looks like the petals I normally see are... at an angle."

"What does that mean?" Mercury asked as he looked away.

"I'm not sure. I usually see people when they're standing up, so maybe it's the position they're in?"

Mercury looked back to the crystal. "What, like they're sitting?"

"Laying down sounds more like it."

Mercury concentrated on the crystal as hard as he could, but he couldn't see anything besides purple and red. "Can you see anything else?" he asked.

"Just more anger," Ren said. "That's it."

Cinder was the first to back away from the wall. "It might be Eren," she said. "We have to get inside."

"Okay, stand back," Emerald ordered as she moved away from the crystal. "I got this one."

Everyone moved from the crystal, but nobody moved away from Emerald. "Wait, what are you doing?" Winter asked.

"Turning into my Titan," Emerald replied. "This place looks big enough for one, right?"

Ren looked up at the cave ceiling. "Yes, but your Titan's one of the larger ones," he said. "Mercury and I are the smallest Titans, perhaps one of us should turn."

"No, I'm with Emerald," said Mercury. "The whole reason we came down here was to use Emerald's Titan against Salem."

"Right!" Emerald said as she removed one of her guns. When she ejected one of the blades, Emerald cut her hand on the metal and watched blood begin to fall. "So get back!" Everyone immediately moved away from Emerald; they even walked down a few steps as Emerald faced the crystal wall. "Here I... go!"

"..."

Everyone looked at Emerald raising her fist in the air, but nothing was happening. The young girl turned around with a noticeable redness on her cheeks, as if she was embarrassed by something.

"Um... how do I transform again?" she awkwardly asked.

Everyone slightly relaxed when they could see that no transformation was about to commence, and Ren began to walk Emerald through the steps. "It's really simple," he insisted. "Once you focus on the cut, you-"

*THOOM*

*CRASH*

A large vibration shook the area and caused everyone to lose their balance. They all fell since they were unprepared for the ground to shake, and Cinder became fearful when a few stalactites fell behind them. But her worries subsided when no more rocks fell from above and the shaking disappeared as quickly as it arrived.

"Wh-What was that?" Nora asked as she got off the ground.

"Felt like some kinda earthquake," Vernal observed as she dusted herself off.

"Is everyone okay?" Midori asked.

"I think so," said Cinder. She looked above once more to make sure no rocks would fall on top of everyone, but they seemed to be safe.

Emerald picked herself up off the ground and looked back towards the crystal. "Did, uh, anyone else hear something fall?" she asked. "Behind the wall?"

"Hear anything?" Mercury sarcastically asked. "I couldn't hear shit five seconds ago!"

*CRASH*

"...Heard that, though."

Everyone heard the noise as well; it sounded like more rocks were falling from the ceiling. Except rather than the stones falling from above, they seemed to be falling from the other side of the hardened crystal Eren had made.

"Were there more stalactites in there?" Winter asked Cinder as she looked at the wall.

"Yeah," Cinder answered. "But they all fell during our fight."

After she thought about it some more, Winter moved her hands back again towards her allies. "Cinder, your fight with Salem may have done more damage than you thought," she said calmly as she began to back away.

Cinder remembered what the room was like during the fight, how the rocks and pillars holding the ceiling up were all falling. "Is it a cave-in?" she asked as she found herself agreeing with Winter.

"It might be." Winter continued to back away. "It's not safe to be here."

"But we can't leave without Eren!"

"We won't be able to help him if we're buried in pounds of rock!" Winter looked back to the wall. "And we tried everything to break through! The wall's not going to just magically disappear!"

*RUMBLE*

Another vibration caught everyone's attention, but this one wasn't as strong as the one before. Everyone prepared to run towards the exit of the room, since they didn't want to take any chances of an aftershock.

But they all saw that there was nothing to fear when the crystal wall began to move deeper and deeper into the ground.

"The hell?" Mercury and Vernal asked at the same time.

"How did it-?" Winter found herself at a loss of words for the miracle she was witnessing, as did the majority of the group.

Cinder, however, was optimistic.

"It must be Eren!" she yelled as she scrambled towards the open entrance.

"Cinder, wait!" Ren called out. "We don't know if-!"

"Only Eren could undo that kind of Hardening!" Cinder continued to run towards the entrance, which was now free of crystal. "Come on! Hurry!"

Ren still wanted to approach the room with caution, as did Winter. However, Nora was the first to follow Cinder, where she was then followed by Mercury, Emerald, Midori, and Vernal. Seeing no other choice, Ren and Winter entered the area as well.

Just as Ren saw earlier, there were a few Grimm roaming the area where Eren and Cinder once fought Salem. Everyone made short work of the creatures, especially Cinder. She couldn't recall a time where she had swung her swords faster than the present moment, and she desperately looked for Eren when the smoke finally disappeared.

While she didn't see her best friend in the large room, there was something by the pool that caught her eye. It wasn't Eren, but it certainly stood out like a sore thumb.

"Hey, guys!" she called. "Check this out!"

Everyone had taken care of the small number of Grimm, so they were able to join Cinder by the side of the large Grimm pool. Upon closer inspection, everyone could see that it was a large crystal. It looked just like the purple Dust crystals in the Land of Darkness, and it bore many similarities to the crystal they were all trying to look through.

But there was one noticeable difference.

"Hey," Nora said as she pointed at the center of the crystal. "There's something inside." Everyone looked where Nora was looking and saw that there was indeed something inside. The center was mostly black, save for a white complexion and something blonde near the top, but nobody could accurately describe what they were seeing.

Cinder, however, had an idea.

"Oh, my Gods," she said as she rushed over to the other side. A smile slowly but surely formed on Cinder's face as she looked at the other side. She even covered her mouth in awe.

Everyone began to have the same idea as Cinder, and they all had a similar reaction.

"No fucking way," said Mercury.

"Wait... you don't mean..." Midori uttered as she was also taken by surprise.

Ren grew hopeful by the possibility. "Is it?" he asked. "Is it?"

Cinder quickly kneeled down and pushed on the crystal in order to turn it. Nora helped her when she saw Cinder struggling, and the combined strength caused the crystal to roll on the other side.

When it did, the face of a woman frozen and isolated within the crystal revealed itself.

The woman looked like she was screaming out of rage and desperation, and her hands were sticking out as if she had tried and failed to free herself. The woman's blonde hair, fair complexion, and aqua eyes almost deceived everyone into thinking she was a complete stranger, but the black dress she was wearing and the unique pattern of her hair gave away her identity.

Everyone knew who this woman was.

"It sure is!" Nora yelled as she jumped in the air. "It's Salem!" She jumped again and again as she looked at the status of her great enemy, and realized what had happened. "Eren did it! He froze her just like he said he would!"

"Holy crap!" said Emerald. She couldn't mistake Salem for anybody else as she looked at the crystal. And judging by the fact that she was frozen, Salem was preserved and petrified within the structure.

Something only an idiot would try to break open.

"That's really her," said Vernal.

"Then... that means..." Winter began as she looked up at the rest of her allies.

"We did it!" Cinder yelled. "We won!"

And for a moment, everything that was wrong in the world disappeared for Cinder and her friends. Pride and joy spread across the room like fire, and everyone was happy. Salem was perhaps the greatest evil the world had ever known, as she was capable of making the Grimm attack remote places like Kuroryuri and had already caused the deaths of thousands.

Now that she was gone, the world would be at a greater peace that seemed almost foreign. And not only did Cinder and her friends feel accomplished and proud of themselves; they all felt free.

As everyone cheered and swelled with joy, the group of warriors forgot whatever acquaintance they may have felt for each other and basked in the warmth of camaraderie and friendship. Hugs and smiles were shared with everyone; even Cinder found herself hugging Winter for all that she had done. Winter returned the embrace and felt incredibly grateful for doing something as good as this.

Ren and Nora also shared a hug, which led to them sharing the same gut feeling they had when they were trapped in the Dust mine in Atlas. In that time, Ren thought he was never going to see anyone again, let alone Nora. And when he was proven wrong, when Nora risked her life to save his own, Ren knew that there was only one person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Nora felt the same way ever since she met Ren, and her feelings only intensified when she saw that the possibility for a good and happy life came in the form of Salem being unable to hurt anyone ever again. And even more proof came when she and Ren found themselves sharing a joyful kiss. Mercury and Vernal shared one as well when the infectious rush of accomplishment found its way to them.

Everyone was so happy that the Grimm who emerged from the pools found themselves moving as far away from the humans as possible. It was almost as if their positivity was toxic to the monsters.

After Cinder shared a hug with Emerald and Midori at the same time, her mind immediately returned to the present. "Guys," she called out. When nobody heard her, Cinder was forced to shout a little louder. "Guys, wait a minute!"

"..."

Silence fell upon everyone as they looked at Cinder. She wasn't smiling anymore, but nobody could think of a reason why she would be unhappy.

"...Where's Eren?"

"..."

Cinder's realization and concern was spread across the group in an instant, which caused them to look around quickly and try to find their lost friend. They felt bad that the rush of winning made them almost forget about Eren, but they chose to make amends by searching for him.

"Eren?!" Nora called out. "Eren!"

Ren tried to use his Semblance again to find Eren via his emotions, but he couldn't see anything besides the emotions of his friends. "I don't see him," he sadly reported.

"Come on!" said Midori, who began to walk away and look around. "He's gotta be here somewhere!"

Everyone moved around and looked in silence as they tried to find Eren. The silence, however, was broken when Emerald saw something sticking out in the black water below her. With a gasp, she quickly moved backwards. "Oh, my God," she said before she turned back to everyone. "Guys! Guys, come quick!"

"Huh?" Cinder asked before she joined Emerald. Her confusion was cast aside when Emerald told her to look in the pool, where she and everyone else could see a portion of a large black hand sticking out from the water.

A Titan's hand.

Cinder couldn't help but scream out of fear and shock, which were the feelings shared by everyone else in the room. Fortunately, this fear and shock wasn't enough to make one person stay inactive.

"I'll get him!" Mercury said as he bit into his hand. When he tasted his own blood and felt it flow on his hand, Mercury took two steps back before he started running.

His plan was to turn into a Titan and jump into the black water below him. He knew Eren's Titan was much bigger than his own, but he could at least pull Eren's head out so he could escape the nape. Mercury was confident in his own strength, now he just needed the speed to help him save his friend before it was too late.

So Mercury jumped off the side once he ran to it and felt himself falling down. He eyed the black water and Eren's hand so he could land as close to Eren's head as he could. Once he saw how close to the water he was, Mercury looked at the wound on his hand and concentrated on the power of the Flashstep Titan. He envisioned himself being surrounded in warm flesh and being much larger than he actually was.

But nothing happened.

"Huh?"

*SPLASH*

Mercury fell into the water as a simple human instead of the Flashstep Titan. He was beneath the surface and away from the air, with darkness being his only company. Despite the fact that Mercury wanted to find Eren, he found himself focusing on his inability to turn into a Titan. He had done it before, the concept wasn't foreign to him like it was to Emerald.

But this was the first time his Titan refused to take form.

"What the hell?" Mercury asked himself as he swam. "Why didn't-?"

*BAM*

*BAM*

*BAM*

Mercury felt intense pain and strikes from all sides as he swam in the water. He couldn't see anything hitting him, it was as if the water itself was hurting him. The substance had a mind of its own, and that mind was telling Mercury that he didn't belong here.

"Mercury!" Vernal yelled down. She could see that her boyfriend had come back to the surface of the water, but he was having trouble swimming.

"Oh, my gosh!" Nora said with a gasp. "I think he's drowning!"

"I'll get him!" Cinder yelled as she jumped down. She didn't bite her hand like Mercury did, since her plan wasn't to turn into a Titan. Instead, the hooks of Dancing Midnight latched themselves to the side of the hole. Cinder quickly grabbed Mercury's flailing hands and used Dancing Midnight once again to reach her friends.

When Mercury touched the ground, he found himself laying down and coughing violently. Some of the Grimm water came out of his mouth as he did so, which caused great concern for everyone.

Midroi kneeled down to Mercury and immediately used Healing Wish to save her friend. "Hold still!" she ordered as she watched a green light surround Mercury. "I got you!"

Cinder, Nora, and Vernal all kneeled down to look at Mercury and ask him questions.

"Mercury, are you okay?" Cinder asked. Mercury was regaining some of his strength, so he was able to nod.

"What happened?" Nora asked. "It looked like you were drowning!"

Vernal gently moved Mercury to make him sit up rather than lay down on the cold ground. Healing Wish had healed most of his bruises and cuts, so Mercury was able to talk now.

"I... I was attacked," he said. "Something... in the water?"

Cinder and Nora looked down at the pool to see that the only thing moving was a big bubble that had popped and returned to the rest of the water.

"Did you see Eren?" Cinder asked.

"No... sorry," Mercury grunted as he moved his neck. It was easy to understand that Mercury needed to focus on staying alive when he was attacked, so nobody questioned his inability to see Eren.

But Vernal was able to question something.

"Babe, what was that?" she asked. "Why didn't you turn into a Titan?"

"Yeah!" said Nora. "You bit your hand, how come you didn't change?"

Mercury was able to talk normally after the pain he felt around his neck disappeared. So he was able to give a simple, yet strange, answer to Vernal and Nora.

"I... couldn't."

"..."

Nora and Vernal couldn't help but share a glance of confusion at each other when they heard this. Ren, Emerald, and Winter were also confused by what he meant by this.

"You couldn't?" Cinder asked in surprise. "What do you mean you couldn't?"

As the reality of his problem sank in, Mercury found himself talking slowly as he tried to make sense of it all. "I... I don't know," he said. "I bit my hand, but... it just... didn't happen."

Ren was the first to try and find a logical explanation. "That water definitely did a number on you," he said. "Here, let me try." Ren took a few steps backwards and cut his hand on one of StormFlower's blades. As soon as he felt the pain, Ren concentrated on transforming into a Titan.

But nothing happened.

"What?" Ren asked as he looked at his bleeding hand. "This... This makes no sense."

Nora tried to transform as well, and she bit hard into her hand when she realized that she couldn't transform either. She growled in frustration and confusion as she bit harder and harder into her hand, but nothing happened.

Cinder also cut herself and watched blood seep out from her wound, but she also couldn't transform. Not only that, but her blood was a dark red instead of black. Ren noticed this as well, since he remembered what color his blood should have been to begin with. But when he recognized that his blood had returned to its original red color, he and Cinder realized something was terribly wrong.

Their powers were gone.

"It's gone," Cinder whispered. "It's... It's all gone!"

"Even our blood changed," said Ren. "It's red again!"

"What does this mean?!" Mercury asked. "Are we human again or something?! Like everyone else?!"

"Wait, what?" Emerald asked. "Why would this happen?"

Winter looked back to the pool of Grimm after she took note of everyone's shared condition. When she looked down, she saw that the arm of the Founding Titan was starting to sink into the dark water.

And Eren wasn't coming up.

"Eren gave you this power," Winter said to everyone. When she saw that she had their attention, she continued to talk. "I saw him give it to Emerald. I don't know everything about it... but if it's gone now..." Winter looked back to the pool. "It... might be because... Eren-"

"No!"

Everyone turned to Cinder when they heard her yell. "Don't you dare say that! He's not dead, you hear me?!" Cinder jabbed a finger at Winter when she gave this order. "Eren is not dead!"

"..."

Cinder looked around at her friends when she heard silence. They weren't afraid or confused like before, even after she had made her declaration. Instead, everyone looked at Cinder with sadness and sympathy after they heard Winter's theory.

Nobody came to Cinder's defense.

"No... guys, come on!" Cinder implored as she stared at everyone.

"Cinder..." Nora sadly pleaded.

"No!" Cinder backed away. "No, he's not dead! He's not dead!"

"..."

The deafening silence and saddened expressions from her friends caused Cinder to let tears escape from her eyes and fall to the ground. "No..." she whispered. "No, no, no, no."

Ren and Nora were the first to walk over to Cinder and kneel down to her. They too were starting to cry as they accepted the reality of the situation. They both wrapped their arms around Cinder to comfort her, but they too required consolation for the loss of their friend.

One by one, everyone joined Cinder as they mourned Eren. What started as a joyous occasion had ended in heartbreak and misery, something that everyone was saddened by. Even Vernal and Winter felt pain when they realized what had happened, and they too wished to comfort Cinder. Vernal didn't know Eren too well and Winter had spent most of the time thinking Eren was either crazy or untrustworthy, but they still found themselves trying to comfort everyone.

But all anyone could feel was the sting of their hearts breaking.

Cinder opened her eyes to take one last look at the pool of Grimm, to see if there was anything left of Eren that looked remotely human. But when she saw nothing, Cinder continued to cry. Her reminder of the promise she failed to keep and her indecision about her own feelings towards Eren came back tenfold, which Cinder to fall deeper into a depression.

But the worst part was... Cinder didn't even get to say goodbye.

So many years of friendship, happiness, and love had amounted to a tragic ending for Eren. He gave everything he had to Cinder and the rest of his friends, and this was his reward; being drowned in a black pool of Grimm.

"It's not fair," Cinder told herself as she looked at the pool. "It's not fair."

While she was thinking about herself not being able to see Eren again, Cinder was mainly talking about how Eren had lost a new life that offered freedom and happiness compared to the horrors of Paradis. After all his hard work, after all of his hopes and dreams were put into his actions, he had a right to enjoy the spoils of his work.

He didn't deserve to be left in a pool of Grimm. He didn't deserve to be left with nothing. In Cinder's mind, Eren deserved to have left more in the world than a Titan sinking in the water, a few pieces of Hardened crystal on the ground, and certainly more than some black footprints leading away from the pool.

"Wait." Cinder moved her head closer to the pool when she saw something else. "Footprints?"

Cinder quickly stood up and broke the physical connection with her friends. She then moved closer to the dark water, where she indeed saw a series of footprints leading away from the water.

"Cinder?" Emerald called out as she dried her eyes. "Wh-What are you doing?"

"..."

Emerald stood up and joined Cinder, where she asked the same question again. But when she saw what Cinder was looking at, she got her answer.

One by one, everyone saw what Cinder was doing and joined her by the side of the pool. The last to do so was Mercury, where he was met by a question with Cinder.

"Did you walk over here?"

Mercury stopped moving and looked at Cinder. "What?" he asked.

Cinder moved aside so she could point to the trail of black footprints. "Did you walk over here?" she asked as she pointed downwards.

"..."

Mercury looked down at the footprints and looked backwards. There was a large puddle about ten feet behind him, where he had emerged from the pool when Cinder saved him. He hadn't touched the spot Cinder was pointing at.

"No," he said.

"Mercury, are you sure?" Cinder asked. "Please tell me you're sure."

"What? Cinder, look." Mercury pointed to the puddle again. "That's where you got me, remember? Look, I didn't make those footprints, was it-?" Mercury fell silent when he realized what this meant.

"Hey, look!" Ren said as he pointed overhead. He noticed a few pieces of stone on the ground where the footprints ended, which caused him to look overhead and see a large hole in the ceiling.

Everything was making sense now. Someone had escaped the pool of Grimm, left behind a trail of black footprints, and escaped through a hole in the ceiling. Given that they were human footprints and that Salem was encased in stone, everyone knew that a person had escaped the pool.

And not just any person.

"Eren..." Cinder whispered with tears of joy. "You're alive."

---

"Eren!"

"Eren?!"

"Eren!"

It wasn't hard to find the floor in which the hole had been created. Cinder and her friends practically trampled up the stairs and stopped at the first floor of the castle that was directly above the pool. But sadly, Eren wasn't anywhere near the hole or anywhere to be seen. In order to find him, Cinder moved past the hole and began to call out Eren's name. Ren and Nora were the first to join her, since it seemed to be the logical choice and they too weren't planning to leave without Eren.

"Eren!" Cinder called out as she walked through the hall. "Eren!" Ren and Nora were right behind her and calling out as well.

Mercury and Vernal began to search the rooms they passed by, but they couldn't see anything.

"Eren?!" Vernal called out.

"Eren!" Mercury called out louder. "Come on, bro! Where are you?!" Between seeing Eren's Titan in the large pool and not being able to turn into his own, Mercury was growing incredibly worried about Eren.

There was no telling what happened to him.

Emerald and Midori, who were behind everyone, were talking about this uncertainty while they were helping.

"What do you think happened to Eren?" Midori asked. "Do you think he's okay?"

"I really hope so," Emerald replied honestly. "Seeing his Titan in that water gave me a really bad feeling."

"Me too." Midori looked in another room, which appeared to be another cell that Salem most likely used for prisoners. "Where do you think he could be?"

"I have no idea." Emerald looked in another small room before she continued talking. "Our best bet is on this floor, though."

"Yeah, that's true." When Midori looked in another room, an idea came to her mind. "You don't think he was trying to find us, do you? Maybe he tried looking for help after he escaped."

Emerald stopped walking as she considered the idea. "That's... That's a good point," she said as she started to run up to Cinder. "Come on!"

Midori joined Emerald and shared her idea once again. Cinder immediately saw that this was a possibility, and it made the most sense. Given what had happened to Mercury, Eren would definitely need help. But based on the results of their search, Eren didn't seem to find any help on this floor.

So Cinder quickly decided what to do next.

"Guys, listen," she said. "Eren's probably looking for us too. We don't know where he is, and we don't know how hurt he is. So... I think we should split up."

Mercury was the first to object to this idea. "Uh, no offense, Cinder, but isn't that the first step of everything going wrong in every horror movie known to man?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm with Mercury," said Nora. "This isn't really the best place to split up."

"But Salem's stuck in that rock we saw," Emerald pointed out. "The most danger we'll see is probably a big Grimm."

"And we can handle Grimm," Midori pointed out. She ejected Scalpel once again to show that she was ready to fight.

"It does sound efficient," said Ren. "And Eren needs help now more than ever."

Winter also shared the sentiments that Mercury and Nora were having, but she couldn't deny that splitting up would cover more ground faster. And she decided to make the idea better.

"If we're going to split up, it would be best to do it in pairs," she said. "This isn't the best place to split up, that's true. But having at least one person to rely on would make this plan safer."

"I'll go with Nora," said Ren, which earned a smile and a conjoined hand from his new partner.

"Dibs on Merc," said Vernal.

"I guess I'll go with Winter," said Emerald. "If that's alright with you." Winter gave a simple nod.

"And I'm with you," Midori said to Cinder.

"Perfect," said Cinder. "I know we don't really know our way around this place, but let's try to meet back at the Dark Wing. If any of us find Eren, we'll take him back there. Sound good?"

The next thing Cinder heard was a unanimous agreement. With that, she wished everyone good luck and took Midori up the stairs. She moved flight after flight with the young medic in tow, who became confused as to why they were going up so far.

"I don't think Eren would be in shape to go up all these stairs," she said to Cinder. "Are you sure we'll find him up here?"

"Not really," Cinder confessed. "But there's one thing I want to take care of before we can start looking."

---

Everyone had split up across the castle after they also climbed the staircase they originally used to find Cinder. Ren and Nora found themselves searching one floor that they had been in before. This was the floor where Watts' terminal had been found, and where the Hound attacked them.

They didn't encounter any Grimm, but they didn't find Eren either.

"He's not in any of these rooms," Ren said after he looked in the rooms he could see. He had just searched Watts' lab and the room where Vernal had fought the Hound.

"Not here, either," Nora sadly called out. She had looked at the hole in the wall where Cinder had entered from, the one that Eren had made when he punched the Hound.

Nora found herself staring at the skeleton of the Hound. More specifically, the skeleton of the Faunus that was the Hound. When she first saw him, Nora felt immense pity for the man who had been stuffed inside a suit of Grimm and had been driven to the point of insanity. She still felt this pity, but one look at the skeleton and the memory of Mercury being attacked in the water made Nora think about what Eren was going through.

Did Eren look anything like the skeleton right now? If he didn't have his Titan powers to heal himself? Could she find him before it was too late?

"Nora," Ren called out. Nora had to shake her head to snap herself back to reality. "Let's keep looking."

"..."

Nora rejoined Ren and started walking throughout the hall again. Her hand was joined with his as they searched, but they didn't search in silence.

"Is that skeleton still there?" Ren asked calmly. "I thought it would have turned to ash like the Grimm."

"No, it's still there," Nora replied. "I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon."

Ren briefly felt himself become unwell with the thought. "Maybe we should change that. When we find Eren, we'll take that Faunus and bury him properly." Ren also felt pity for the Faunus that Salem had used for her own purposes, and he felt the best thing to do was to respect the dead. Especially someone who had been made into a slave.

*SNIFF*

*SNIFF*

Ren stopped walking when he heard Nora sniffle a couple of times. When he turned around, he saw that Nora was softly crying and drying her eyes.

"Nora," Ren said as he put a hand to her cheek. "It's going to be okay. We'll find him."

"I... I really hope so," Nora said as she continued to dry her eyes. "I just realized... there's so much I wanna tell him."

Ren nodded in understanding. "Me too." He began to walk again, but at a slower pace so Nora could hold his hand and let out her feelings. "But I think there's nothing we can say that Eren doesn't already know. He knows how much he means to us all."

"Ren... are you sure about that?"

Ren stopped walking again and looked back to Nora. "What? Of course I am. You... you don't think so?"

Nora slowly shook her head. "The first day we met him, I thought he was a monster," she began. "Then when he needed my help with the Schnee Dust Company, I said 'No.' And then when he said all those nice things about us on our way here, I didn't say anything back." Nora spread her arms to the rest of the hall. "We were here together, and I had every chance to say something back. But I didn't." Nora began to cry again. "I didn't!"

"Nora, it's okay," Ren insisted. "You know Eren doesn't hold any of that against you. And like you said, he said all of those things about you when we came here. Just like he said all those things to everyone."

"..."

Ren gently caressed Nora's cheek in an attempt to calm her. "Eren knows you care, Nora. You might not feel like you said anything, but you put everything you have into what you do. Eren knows it, I know it, we all know it."

"..."

Nora smiled as she began to relax again. She remembered what Ren had said about how she put all of her heart and soul into what she did, and she knew that Ren was right. Nora hoped that Eren knew this as well, but she had to admit that what Ren just said made a lot of sense.

"Yeah... you're right," she said. "I'm sorry, I'm just really worried about him."

"I am too," Ren confessed. "As soon as we find him, we'll let him know how much we care." Ren took Nora's hand again. "Together."

Nora smiled again. "I'd really like that." She then looked ahead of Ren to see the empty hallway. Since it didn't appear her mild breakdown had attracted any Grimm, Nora knew she and Ren were safe to keep searching. "Where should we look next?"

Ren looked in the direction Nora was looking as he tried to think of another idea. "Maybe we should-"

*BOOM*

*CRASH*

Ren and Nora jumped and turned at the sound of something loud. But when they turned around, they saw nothing.

"What was that?" Nora asked.

"Sounded like something falling," Ren replied. The crash he heard indeed sounded like something falling and hitting solid stone. But there didn't appear to be anything unordinary behind them.

"Did it come from outside?" Nora asked.

"I think so," Ren replied with a nod. "Come on. That hole in the wall isn't far."

---

Mercury and Vernal were on a different floor of the castle, but they had to pass by one room that was familiar to them. It was the room where everyone saw cocoon-like pods hanging on the walls and ceilings, which disturbed everyone greatly.

And when they saw that one pod had burst open a long time ago, Mercury and Vernal quickly took off and moved to the floor they were now on.

"Yeah, sure, splitting up was an awesome idea," said Mercury, who finally broke the silence. "If we see another special Grimm come out of those things, it'll be too soon."

"No arguments there," said Vernal. "But come on, Merc." She bumped Mercury's arm. "The bad guys are down and out, we won. We got nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, I guess so." Mercury suddenly became disheartened. "I mean, we still got Eren to worry about. Hope he's okay."

Vernal shrugged. "Eh, I'm not too worried."

Mercury couldn't help but look at Vernal with doubt. "Not too worried? Babe, didn't you see what that water did to me?" Mercury's Aura and Healing Wish had healed his wounds, but some of his clothes were ripped. "Eren was in there, he could be really hurt."

"Well, he got himself out of it," Vernal pointed out. "Maybe he's not as hurt as we thought."

"Point taken." Mercury looked ahead again with a sigh. "But that water and Salem must've done a number on him. He needs help."

Vernal easily noticed Mercury's concern for his friend, and she wasn't used to seeing him in such a state. If it meant making him feel like himself again, Vernal was willing to help Mercury find Eren. On the other hand, she liked Eren as well. And she wished she had gotten to know him a little better before the battle started.

Fortunately, she found a chance to know him better through her boyfriend.

"Seriously, I wouldn't be too worried," Vernal began. "I saw some of the stuff that bitch was doing. What was it, Magic? Or some shit like that?"

Mercury chuckled at the idea. "Yeah, it was Magic," he said. "You weren't tripping, don't worry."

Vernal laughed at the idea. "You also said she couldn't be killed. And look what Eren did to her!" Vernal briefly stopped walking when she thought of something. "He must be one strong son of a bitch."

"You have no idea," Mercury confirmed. He gestured for Vernal to follow him as he talked. "Yeah, I've seen him in action dozens of times. Even when I was recovering from what my dad did, he showed and told me what kind of fighting he could do. You know, he's really good at hand-to-hand."

"Oh, yeah? I usually saw him with those swords and gear, though."

"Yeah, but he usually does hand-to-hand when he's a Titan. It's pretty solid, not gonna lie." Mercury smiled. "And Eren's wicked tough, too. I mean, he'd have to be. If he could take down my dad and all."

"And Salem."

"Right, Salem too." Mercury began to relax. "You know what? You're probably right. Eren's been to Hell and back, even after he left his home. He's gotta be okay."

"Damn straight." Vernal suddenly grew curious about Eren's home. "Huh. You know, I just remembered that Eren's from a whole other world."

"Oh... right." Mercury had told this to Vernal, but only briefly. He was sure that she had questions, but he doubted his ability to answer them all. Nevertheless, he prepared to do his best. "So, uh... what do you think about that?"

"Well, obviously, it's pretty far out," Vernal replied. "Almost hard to believe."

"Almost?"

"Hey, seeing my boyfriend turns into a giant right in front of me makes me willing to believe anything." Vernal and Mercury shared a laugh at the memory. "But still. Did you see this world for yourself or something?"

"Me?" Mercury shook his head. "Uh, no. No, I didn't. You might be able to get an answer from Cinder, though."

Vernal laughed again. "Yeah, that's true. We both know how badly she wants it from him."

Mercury could tell that Vernal was being playful, but he didn't find it very funny. This was because he once thought the same thing, but it wasn't until Cinder helped him see a new perspective that he changed his mind.

"Come on," he said. "You know it's not just that. Eren's her best friend. They've been through everything together. Hell, they even went through Salem together!"

"I know, I know," Vernal replied. "I'm just screwing with you. But yeah, never knew Cinder was that tough too."

"Well, not as tough as Eren, but Cinder's pretty solid." Mercury let out a chuckle. "You know, sometimes, I don't think she's that much of a girl."

Vernal quickly believed that this was a strange thing to say. "Uh... why?"

Mercury chuckled again. "She's got brass balls." This time, he managed to make Vernal laugh out loud. Because of this, Mercury decided to share a funny story about how strong and fearless Cinder was. "Like this one time, there was this guy who thought-"

*BOOM*

*CRASH*

Mercury and Vernal felt their hearts nearly jump out of their chests when they heard something loud behind them.

"The fuck was that?!" Vernal yelled when the sound disappeared.

"Scared the shit outta me!" said Mercury. "Sounded like it came from outside."

"Eren?"

"I don't know." Mercury began to walk back the way he came from. "Come on, we can take the stairs back the way we came."

---

Emerald and Winter were also looking in a different part of the castle. They were in a more civilized part of the building, where they saw padded furniture and what appeared to be paintings on the walls. Winter took note that it seemed like Salem preferred to live comfortably in a place like this.

Then again, it was easy to forget that she used to be human.

Winter and Emerald walked and searched in silence, given that neither of them felt like they had anything to say to each other. Ymir, on the other hand, had plenty she wanted to say to Winter.

"So, it's over?" the Eldian asked the Atlesian.

"It seems that way," Winter replied. She didn't feel like breaking the silence she and Emerald were sharing, so Winter decided on speaking mentally. "Salem's gone, and we have two of her underlings about to be detained. Well, three if you count Raven."

Ymir chuckled. "Serves her right. But if I were you, I'd just finish what Eren's friend started."

Winter rolled her eyes. "You make it sound easy."

"That's because it is."

"Really? Last time I checked, you never killed anyone."

"I've killed Titans before. They were people. And don't forget I was the one who helped you kill that guy that almost killed your mom."

"Right, right. I remember." This was never one of Winter's favorite memories, so she never liked bringing it up. However, the examples Ymir provided were able to help her prove another point. "But those times were different. There was a threat to your safety. It was either you or the Titans, right?"

"You got it," said Ymir.

"Well, Raven's not a threat anymore. We can lock her away. Do it the right way."

Ymir knew that Winter had a point about Raven not being a threat, but she wasn't satisfied with this answer. "You're pathetic. You really think arresting Salem's washed up cronies is gonna get you back where you started? Get you back on your General's good side? And here I thought you were finally gonna take charge of your life again."

Winter once again found herself in annoyance with the voice in her head. "I'm not siding with anyone," she insisted. "I'm doing what I feel is right, and that doesn't include murdering people on a whim."

"Whatever you say." Ymir suddenly had an idea. "You know I can do it myself, right? Just snap my fingers, and blam! Raven's out of our hair for good."

Winter let out an exhausted grunt, but she didn't back down. "And why would I let you do that?" she asked.

"Hey, you're the one who said you had some thinking to do!" Ymir recalled. "So, come on! Start thinking! Didn't you say that you were starting to like Eren? I mean, I think he's kind of weird, but he's been getting shit done."

Winter decided to put this argument to rest, and talking about Eren sounded like the best way to do it. "I never said I liked him," she insisted. "Not after everything I had to endure because of him."

"No arguments there."

"But... you're not wrong about him getting results. He's incredibly unorthodox, just like the rest of his friends. But the things he accomplished today... it's extraordinary. And commendable."

"..."

Winter leaned against a wall as she thought some more. "I always thought the system worked. That by keeping order, we would achieve the results that we... that I wanted for the world. But it's like I said. I was only keeping laws, not changing anything. If I was really making a difference, Father wouldn't be where he is right now. Eren and Cinder think they can change that. Eren will never stop fighting, and Cinder's out to actually make change."

Ymir found herself respecting Winter's opinion, since it sounded just like what she always told Historia; to stop living her life for others and live proudly. Winter seemed to realize that she wasn't proud of keeping the law anymore, and that it was time for a change.

But there was something else Ymir felt.

"But you don't think she can do it, do you?" she boldly asked.

Winter mentally sighed out of exhaustion again. "I've seen enough of Father's work to know that the world can't change easily," she confessed. "Cinder may have a Councilwoman's favor, but it's not enough. But... it's a start." Winter got off the wall and began to walk again. "Besides, she's a lot like Eren. Knowing him, she won't be backing down easily." Winter tightened her fists. "I shouldn't either."

"There you go," Ymir said proudly. "That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

"Shut up." Winter formed a small grin as she realized that she was proud of what she said, which resulted in Ymir laughing.

"She laughs!" Ymir laughed again while Winter rolled her eyes at the voice in her head. Eventually, the laughter died down and Ymir became serious. "Okay, okay. Now that your head's outta your ass, what now? I mean, I'm not going to let us get arrested, you know."

"I'm sure you wouldn't," Winter noted. "We'll think of something. Maybe we could-"

*BOOM*

*CRASH*

Winter lost her train of thought when she heard something that startled her. Ymir was also speechless, and she let Winter decide what to do next.

When Winter saw that Emerald wasn't with her, she ran across the rooms to see if the noise was a result of Emerald getting into trouble. "Emerald?!" she called out. "Emerald?!"

"Here, here!" Emerald called out from another room.

Winter rushed inside to see that it appeared to be a bedroom of sorts, and Emerald was standing close to the doorway. "Are you alright?" Winter asked. "What was that sound?"

"I don't know, I heard it too!" Emerald replied. "But it sounded like it came from outside!" Emerald pointed to a window that the bedroom had.

Winter marched over to the window and looked outside. She couldn't see anything, but she could smell traces of smoke in the air around her. "That's not good," she said. "Come on, we should get out there!"

"Is it Eren?" Emerald asked hopefully.

"Only one way to find out. Let's go!"

Emerald and Winter ran out of the room, and neglected to notice a large painting of a woman with four young girls by her side.

---

"I got him. You ready?"

"Ready."

After what felt like an eternity of climbing up the stairs, Cinder and Midori found themselves on a familiar floor. This was where Salem's throne room used to be, where she unleashed the King Taijitu to kill Eren and his friends. Eren and Cinder spent a few minutes in the hall recovering and readying their weapons before they descended downstairs. But before they did, Eren and a Cinder found someone in the rubble: Arthur Watts.

Watts had been left injured after the throne room exploded and Salem briefly interrogated him. Cinder was angry that Watts had shared vital information with Salem, and she was ready to make him pay for everything he did. But when Eren made her see reason, when he reminded her not to repeat the same mistakes he made, Cinder calmed down and let him go.

Now, Cinder was going to take her mercy up a notch. Instead of hurting or killing Watts when she found him once again, Cinder asked Midori to use Healing Wish on his wounds. She took her swords in hand just in case the doctor tried anything, but Watts didn't seem to have anything up his sleeve.

Instead, he slowly got off the floor and looked at how his wounds had been healed in no time.

"Watts... are you okay?" Cinder asked calmly.

"I... Yes," said Watts, who looked at the spots on his body where bruises and cuts once resided. His clothes were ripped and in tatters, but he was feeling much better than earlier. "Um... thank you."

Cinder nodded. "You're welcome."

Midori had stopped using her Semblance at this point. When she did, she followed another instruction that Cinder had given her before she got to work.

*SHING*

Midori quickly ejected her blades and pointed one of them at Watts' neck. "But you're still going to prison," she reminded him.

"Oh, bloody Hell," Watts cursed as his moment of comfort passed. But when reality kicked in, Watts remembered what had happened to him minutes ago. Salem had left him like this, and Cinder left with Eren to confront her.

And here she was now, alive and well.

"How... How are you here?" Watts asked as he minded the blade close to his face. "I thought you were going-"

"You thought right," Cinder finished. "He did it, Watts. Eren beat Salem."

"..."

In that moment, Watts wished there were words that could describe the state of awe and disbelief he was in. He had seen Salem regenerate from the worst injuries known to man, and had seen her come back in more ways than one. So to hear that she had been beaten, by mere teenagers no less, was something that Watts had never expected to hear.

"But... that's impossible," the doctor said. "She'll come back. She always comes back."

Cinder slowly shook her head. "Not when she's encased in something unbreakable," she countered.

Watts remembered that this was Eren's plan, yet he still didn't believe that he had succeeded. But Cinder was alive and well, and Watts knew that Salem would have killed her the first chance she had.

On one hand, Watts found himself to be disappointed and disheartened with this victory. Salem had promised him much in return for his assistance, mainly with watching Atlas and Ironwood pay for casting him aside. Now that she was gone, his plans and ambitions were ruined.

But on the other hand, Watts also felt relieved. Salem had made it clear that she no longer considered him an ally, that she would finish him the moment she finished Eren Yeager. But because she was stopped, his life had been spared.

No, not spared.

Saved.

Watts hated to admit it, but Eren and his friends had saved his life. They would still be taking him to prison, but Watts felt truly grateful to still be alive. And if he wanted to stay that way, Watts had little choice but to go along with Eren's plan for him.

Except... this didn't seem to be Eren's plan at all.

"Where is he?" Watts asked. "Where's Eren?"

"..."

Midori glanced to the side when she heard this question. She didn't have the heart to say anything about Eren at the moment. Given what she had seen with his Titan and what happened to Mercury, Midori wasn't quite sure how to describe Eren's situation without breaking her own heart.

Cinder shared these sentiments, but she pushed through the pain.

"...We don't know," she said. Cinder fought back against tears as she explained the situation further. "We found his Titan, but... but he was gone. We think he's really hurt." Cinder looked Watts in the eye as she asked her next question. "Have you seen him?"

Watts had enough experiences with Eren and his friends to know that telling the truth was pivotal to his survival. And so, he told the truth once again. "...No," he confessed. "You were the first people I've seen in a while."

"..."

Cinder nodded as she fought back against the tears once again. She knew it was a long shot, but it still hurt knowing that nobody knew where Eren was. However, this didn't shake her resolve in looking for him.

"We'll be leaving soon," Cinder said to Watts. "As soon as we find Eren. I don't care what you think about it, but that's the plan." She then gestured towards Midori. "Until we find him, Midori's going to keep an eye on you at the car."

"Wait, what?" Midori asked. "Cinder, that wasn't the plan."

"The plan's changed." Cinder pointed at Watts. "Salem was our top priority, but Councilwoman Redwood trusted us with Watts. We still have a job to do, Midori."

"Oh, that's why you helped me," Watts groaned. "And here I thought you were one of the good guys."

Cinder looked at the doctor. "Big talk for a guy who sent Titans out to kill people. And I got a hunch that says you did more for Salem. Right?"

"..."

Cinder was content with the silence, so she turned back to her friend. "I'd just feel a lot better knowing that he's not in harm's way," she said. "The sooner we can leave, the better."

"But don't you need my help with Eren?" Midori asked. "That's why we split up."

"I do, you're right." Cinder gestured around the immediate area. "I'm gonna search around here a little more. And you can look around as you make your way back to the Dark Wing."

"Oh, okay."

Midori looked back down the hall and remembered the way she and everyone else came from. And given her time in the castle, she had a good feeling where the Dark Wing was. Walking back and looking for Eren along the way sounded simple enough.

"There might still be Grimm, though," she said to Cinder. "You still think it's a good idea to split up even more?"

"The Grimm shouldn't be much of a problem now that Salem doesn't have control over them," Cinder replied. "If we keep our emotions in check, we shouldn't have much of a problem with them." She quickly looked back to Watts. "And don't even think about starting trouble with the Grimm."

"Very well," Watts said as he rolled his eyes. "Take me away, officer."

Midori grabbed both of Watts hands, since she didn't have any handcuffs, and led him down the hall. "Be careful, Cinder," she said as she looked back. "And good luck."

"Thanks," Cinder said as she waved. "You be careful too, okay?" Midori nodded at Cinder with a smile before she disappeared from view.

Cinder was left alone to look for Eren.

The first place she looked was the destroyed throne room, where there was a large hole in the wall and stone scattered across the floor. Cinder looked outside where she once fought the King Taijitu with Eren. It had all turned to ash now, and Cinder remembered how she and Eren left their friends to deal with Hazel.

They seemed to have done the job well, given that Hazel wasn't here.

"Good riddance," Cinder said to herself as she moved back into the castle. "Come on, Eren. Where are you?"

"..."

Cinder grew more melancholy by the second as she saw no sign of Eren. It was her goal to see him returned to safety, to see him go home and enjoy the rest of his life on Remnant. For Cinder knew, in her heart, that the person who deserved this new life the most was her best friend in the world.

Who was also the first love of her life.

"Dammit, stop!" Cinder told herself angrily. "That's not helping!"

Once again, Cinder was left conflicted with her own emotions towards Eren. It was true that she loved him with all of her heart, but she hated herself for this. Eren worked so hard on Paradis and Remnant alike to gain the freedom he desired. Cinder had achieved her freedom long ago, when she left Atlas with him. But for Eren, freedom meant ridding the world of all his enemies, the people who would stop at nothing to make his life either end or be a living Hell.

Eren gained his freedom on Paradis, and now he had just gained it on Remnant when he stopped Salem. Now more than ever, Eren needed that in his life. He needed to be gone from this place, he needed to go home to Kuroyuri, and he needed to live his life with the friendships he had made.

He didn't need Cinder's love. Not when he already loved somebody else.

Fortunately, Cinder was prepared to help Eren live his new life with friendship. It was why she was searching high and low for him throughout this castle, why she wasn't going to leave without him. She would spend the rest of her life here if she had to, but Cinder wasn't going to leave without Eren. She knew he was still alive, just as she knew that he needed help now more than ever.

Cinder failed him in the cave, but she wasn't going to fail him now.

And yet, as time passed for the young girl, Cinder began to lose hope. Salem's castle was large, and this only made it harder for Cinder to search. Eren could be anywhere, and Cinder had no idea where she should be looking. All she knew was that he wasn't in the pool with his Titan. But that just narrowed it down to one building in the last place anybody would want to go.

Cinder found herself hoping for a break in this mystery. Not just hoping, but also praying as well. Cinder prayed for a sign, a miracle, anything that would make finding Eren easier. She would get on her knees and pray out loud if she had to, if it truly meant that she would find Eren.

All she needed was a sign. All she needed was hope.

*BOOM*

*CRASH*

"Gah!" Cinder screamed in surprise. She turned around fast when she heard the sound of an explosion right behind her. It was in the direction of the throne room, but Cinder was sure that it came from outside. "What the hell was that?"

*CRASH*

*CRASH*

*CRASH*

Cinder could distinguish the sound as something falling outside. It sounded like whatever was falling was crashing against the side of the castle, and it was coming closer and closer to the hole that the King Taijitu made a while ago.

Cinder rushed to the hole to see what it was, and arrived just in time to see a large object continue to fall.

*CRASH*

*CRASH*

*CRASH*

The sound of the object hitting the rough exterior of the castle was deafening, but Cinder moved outside to see what it was. As she did, Cinder looked close to see that the object was metal, and it was a large piece of it as well.

But her surprise turned to horror when she recognized the object as the Dark Wing itself.

"Oh, my Gods," Cinder whispered as she watched the car continue to fall. She had sent Midori and Watts there just minutes ago, and they could be inside right this second.

They could be dead because of her.

But rather than chase the falling car, which was plummeting towards the ground at a tremendous speed, Cinder chose to use Dancing Midnight to ascend up the tower. Hope caused her to believe that maybe Midori and Watts weren't in the car, that they had somehow managed to miss it right before it fell. And so, Cinder planned to meet them at the landing pad with the help of Dancing Midnight.

The trip was thankfully a short one, but Cinder didn't see any sign of her friend when she reached the landing pad.

"Midori?!" Cinder desperately cried. "Midori!"

"..."

Silence was Cinder's only response, which made her lose hope even more than she had already.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Cinder screamed as she looked around the area. "Midori, where are you?!" She searched the immediate area and even swung the wooden doors to the castle open as she searched. Cinder called for Midori again and again as she looked, but the young medic and the aging doctor were nowhere to be found.

When her search yielded no results, Cinder rushed over to the platform once again and looked down. The Dark Wing was hard to see, but Cinder could make out the sight of something burning at the ground below her. The young warrior covered her mouth in shock and despair as she realized that the Dark Wing had been destroyed.

Was this her own fault? Did Cinder truly cause the death of one more friend?

Was there any hope left to salvage this mission?

"Cinder. I'm right here."

A voice and a hand touching her shoulder caught Cinder by surprise and fear, which caused her to gasp and almost scream as she turned around.

But this fear disappeared when she made contact with a pair of aqua eyes.

"Eren?"

"..."

As she moved her eyes up and down, Cinder saw every detail of the person standing in front of her. It was a boy just as tall as her, who had a head of black hair, aqua eyes, a black jacket over a plain shirt, and a metal harness on his waist. Everything she saw was both expected and unbelievable for Cinder, because she was able to match it all with one person.

She rubbed her eyes to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating or seeing something that wasn't there. But when the appearance of Eren facing her didn't go away, Cinder knew it was him.

"EREN!" Cinder yelled with joy as she wrapped her arms around her best friend. She held him tight to the point of squeezing and gently moved from left to right as she embraced the feeling of holding Eren again. Just a mere sight and touch after what felt like an eternity was enough to make Cinder happy. And she was more than willing to show Eren how happy she was.

"Thank God you're here!" Cinder yelled as she held him even tighter. She couldn't help but kiss his cheek once again, given how much she had missed him. But when she finally let go, Cinder looked at Eren's body again to see some of his clothes were torn. "Are you okay?! Are you hurt?! We've been trying to find you, we thought you needed help! But we didn't know where-!"

"I'm fine," Eren replied calmly. "I got out before my Titan sank." Instead of looking at Cinder, Eren looked down towards the ledge. "I saw the explosion. Is the car gone?"

Cinder quickly remembered why she was up here to begin with. She looked down again to see more smoke rising and could just barely see a small fire at the bottom of the castle. "...Yeah," she sadly said. "It's gone." She quickly turned around to Eren. "Wait, you saw it blow up? What happened?"

"Raven happened." Eren pointed up to an empty sky. "She came from up there and nearly killed us."

"Us?"

"Midori and Watts too. They're here."

Cinder sighed in relief and put a hand to her chest. "Oh, that's music. I thought they were in the car when it fell, I heard it crashing against the wall."

"It was that loud?"

Cinder briefly laughed. "I think it was loud enough to wake the dead."

Eren looked down again to see the burning vehicle. "Then everyone else heard it too."

"Oh, I'm sure." Cinder looked down again. "Merc's not gonna be happy about that."

"..."

Cinder looked around again to see a barren landing pad. "Um... where did you say Midori and Watts were?" she asked. "And what about Raven?"

Eren began to walk away after he turned around. "Why don't you find Raven while I look for Midori?" he suggested as he moved further away. "She got scared from the explosion."

"Good idea." Cinder began to look in the opposite direction Eren was looking. "Everyone's pretty tired right now. Last thing we need is Raven trying to kill us again."

"..."

As Cinder began her search with Eren moving farther away, she began to feel that Raven wouldn't be much of a problem anymore. Now that Salem was forever trapped in a crystal prison, the whole world was safe from just about any supernatural threat Cinder could think of.

"Hey, Eren?" Cinder called out. She turned around to see that Eren was searching as well, but he was closer to the shadows rather than the light. "We all saw what you did to Salem back there. I just wanted to say thanks." Cinder smiled at him, even though he wasn't looking at her. "What you did back there was amazing. You saved the whole world, you know that?" She let out a chuckle. "And you saved my life too. Thank you for that."

"..."

Cinder stopped smiling when she heard silence as her response. "Okay..." she slowly thought as she turned around again. "He must be tired too."

As soon as Cinder's back was turned, she heard her friend's voice. "Have you found Raven yet?" Eren asked.

"I'm on it," Cinder insisted. "I mean, it'd be easier if I had my Titan." She turned around again. "Hey, can you turn into a Titan? None of us can use ours for some reason. We all tried in that cave, but nothing happened."

"..."

Cinder was met with silence once again, and Eren seemed to refuse to look at her. She was confused once again, and even more so as to why Eren seemed to be retreating into the shadows. But when she saw that Eren wasn't turning into a Titan either, Cinder believed he was having the same problem.

"Yeah, I don't know what happened," Cinder continued as she walked towards Eren. "One minute, I'm healing from what Salem did to me. And the next, nothing."

"..."

"Here, look."

Cinder bit into her hand once again until she tasted blood. Once she did, Cinder tried her hardest to turn into a Titan. But despite her efforts, she was still human.

"See?" Cinder asked as she continued to walk towards Eren. She was still far away from him, but Cinder was sure Eren could hear her. "Nothing. Are you having the same-?"

Cinder stopped talking when she felt something tug at her left hand and pants. The grip was strong enough to pull her away from Eren and towards a pile of rocks. When she looked down in confusion, Cinder prepared herself to see Raven trying to ambush her from a clever hiding place.

But it wasn't Raven.

"Midori?" Cinder asked as she recognized her friend.

"Shh!" Midori begged as she began to whisper. "Don't let him hear you!"

Cinder didn't believe what she had just heard. "Wha... What's wrong?"

"Cinder."

An ominous and unexpected voice from behind caught Cinder's attention. As soon as she heard it, Cinder could feel a cold chill grow up her spine. She wasn't scared that the sound of her name came from behind her, but rather than it sounded familiar.

Familiar... but also wrong.

"Did you say that you couldn't use your Titan?"

Cinder turned only her head around so she could see who it was behind her. The sound of footsteps and the sight of someone moving closer and closer towards her had revealed the identity of the person talking to her, but Cinder immediately found it to be impossible.

She could see Eren was walking towards her... but why was his voice different?

"So... the power of the Founder is working," Eren said as he moved closer. "Good."

As she stared at the sight of Eren moving towards her and Midori, Cinder felt the cold movement down her spine again as she noticed something else was wrong. She could barely see through the darkness, but Cinder could make out a faint yet noticeable glow coming from Eren's eyes.

A purple glow.

*SHICK*

*SHICK*

The shadows still made it too hard for Cinder to see clear details, but she could see that Eren's forehead had just sprouted what appeared to be horns. This, combined with the purple glow, was enough to make Cinder cover her mouth in horror.

"Cinder?"

The sound of her name once again caught Cinder's attention, but it came from Nora this time. She looked back in the direction of the castle entrance, and heard more voices as well.

"I think she's this way!" said Emerald.

"Cinder?!" Ren called out.

"Eren!" Mercury joined in.

"Guys?!" Vernal called out. "Where are you?!"

Cinder's fears and worries intensified when she realized her friends were coming right this way, most likely because of the explosion. She knew something was seriously wrong with Eren, and Cinder didn't want to put her friends in any more danger until she got to the bottom of it.

And as soon as Cinder turned around, the sight of a smiling Eren with purple eyes and purple horns both scared her and gave her a sinister clue about his condition.

"I heard you," the voice said from Eren's mouth. It continued to give Cinder the most terrifying and insidious smile that she had ever seen. "Your powers are all gone."

As cold sweat ran down her forehead, Cinder let out a gasp as she realized that this wasn't Eren. It might have looked like Eren and felt like Eren, but Cinder knew there was no way this imposter was her Eren.

Not when it spoke with the voice of God.

"You!" Cinder said with fear. She looked back towards Midori once again to see blood and bruises covering most of her body, as well as fear on her face. When she saw this and Eren's new appearance, Cinder was able to put two and two together. "You did this!"

The God of Darkness continued to show his sinister smile to Cinder as he finally spoke the truth. "I did," he happily admitted. "Without that usurper pretending to be my heir, I am free to do as I wish." Eren's hands, which were apparently being moved by Darkness, rose up to his chest very slowly. "Thank you for all of your generous assistance, Cinder." The smile on Eren's face faded away, and it only made Darkness look even more terrifying. "But I'm afraid... I don't need you anymore."

*ZAP*

Darkness moved his right hand quickly and created a beam of purple energy that moved straight at Cinder. The girl screamed in fear as she moved out of the way, and the beam just missed her. It burnt some of her shirt, but she was mostly unharmed.

*BOOM*

The rock exploded when Darkness' Magic made contact with it, which left Midori with nowhere to go. When she was exposed, Darkness looked at the bleeding girl and the unconscious man by her side.

"Ah," he said with another smile. "There you are." He raised his hand again and prepared to fire another bolt at her face.

"Midori!" Cinder yelled as she tackled Darkness. Eren's body fell with her, which gave Midori a chance to run away.

Darkness found himself lying on the ground with his hands in Cinder's grasp. She was still afraid and surprised by what had just happened, and Cinder was even doubting what she was seeing. It was the worst thing imaginable, and it seemed totally impossible, but the truth seemed to be evident.

Somehow, for some reason, Darkness had taken hold of Eren's body. He was possessing it.

"No!" Cinder sadly yelled. "No, what did you do?!" She began to shake Eren's hands, which were under Darkness' control. "Bring him back!"

Darkness didn't respond with words. Instead, he smiled once again as he quickly sent a kick to Cinder's stomach.

*WHACK*

The girl couldn't help but let Darkness go as the pain travelled across her stomach. The wind had been knocked out of her so hard that it became incredibly hard for her to breathe.

"I think not," Darkness said as he got up. "Do you have any idea how long I have waited for this day?" He gestured towards the rest of the land in front of him. "To finally be back where it all started? To reclaim my throne? My world?"

"..."

Cinder couldn't speak after Darkness' attack. All she could do was listen and cough as she laid on the cold ground.

"Too long, Cinder," Darkness said as he grabbed the girl's hair. "My methods may be unorthodox..." Darkness looked at Eren's hands before he smiled again. "But they work. Oh, how they work."

Cinder tried to fight the grip on her hair, but it was too painful.

"For too long, Salem has stood in my way to glory. But I can assure you; today, nobody will stand in my way!" Darkness picked up Cinder by her hair and threw her back towards the castle. He had inadvertently ripped some of her hair off her head, but Darkness didn't mind.

Today's pleasures were his and his alone. And they were just beginning.

---

"Uh..."

Slowly but surely, a pair of aqua eyes was beginning to open. Their owner didn't remember falling asleep, but he still felt incredibly tired. However, the young man continued to slowly wake up.

And once he did, Eren Yeager was able to think clearly.

"Uh... what... happened?" Eren asked as he opened his eyes. His head was looking down at the moment, so all he could see was the ground. But instead of the green grass or the brown dirt, Eren saw that the ground was comprised entirely of red rocks.

"What?"

Eren looked up slowly to see that the rest of the land he was in was made of red rocks. The only thing that stood out was a large white tree that was yards from where he was resting. Most people would have been startled by such a sight, but Eren felt a sense of familiarity as he stared at the tree.

"The Coordinate?" Eren asked as he stared at the tree. "How did I get here?"

His vision became clearer by the second, just as his memories did. The last thing Eren remembered was sinking in a pool of living death, after he had used his Titan against Salem one last time. Blackness was all that he could see, but things had apparently changed.

But what was odd was that Eren didn't bring himself to the Coordinate.

"Oh... wait," Eren said as he began to have an idea. The circumstances were very familiar to him. Being at the Coordinate after giving in to fate was something that had happened to Eren before.

Eren came to believe that he had died once again.

"So that's it," Eren said as he began to stand up. As he did, Eren couldn't help but let out a sad sigh. "It's okay. I'm okay with this."

"..."

Eren had gotten on one knee now, which he was using to push himself up. "Goodbye, everyone. I'll... I'll never forget-"

*CLINK*

Eren stopped moving when he heard a noise and felt a strong tug at his hands. He quickly turned to his left and saw that his hand was bound by a chain. A metal rod that rested a few feet away from him was the spot where the other end of the chain was located.

"Huh?" Eren asked. He leaned towards the pole and reached out with his right hand, but he felt a familiar tug at it. Eren turned around fast once again to see that his right hand was also bound by a chain. "Wh-What the hell?!"

Eren pulled at both of his chains tight, but they refused to move. He tried to move towards the Coordinate, but the chains held him back again. Not only that, but Eren felt another chain pull on his neck. Eren tried to grab the third chain, but the shackles on his hands made this impossible.

"Hey!" Eren yelled. "Hey!"

"..."

"Hey, what's going on?!"

"..."

Eren found no answer to his question and no freedom from the amount of pulling he did on his chains. And so, he stopped moving and tried to think of a way out of this. He remembered how he tore his own thumbs off to free himself from Zeke's chains and gain the power of the Founding Titan, and Eren knew he could do that again. However, the chain around his neck would be a problem.

"I turned into a Titan when I first came here," Eren recalled. "Maybe I can do it-"

"Eren?"

The sound of his name caused Eren to turn around once again. However, he didn't see anyone behind. Quickly thinking that it was just his imagination, Eren pulled on the chains again and prepared to break his thumbs.

"Is that Eren?"

"Wait! Something's wrong!"

"What's he doing?!"

Eren knew he wasn't imagining things now. All around him, he could hear the voices of his friends. But everywhere he looked, Eren saw nothing. It was like they were everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

"Guys?!" Eren called out as he pulled on the chains. "Guys, where are you?! What's going on?!"

"Ah, Eren."

The man wrapped in chains looked towards a new voice that he heard. It was the voice of someone who was right in front of him, someone who had apparently joined him in the Coordinate.

And someone who Eren knew had the answers to his predicament.

"Darkness!" Eren said as he stared at the purple figure in front of him. He lunged towards the god with all of his might, but all three chains held him back. And even worse, there seemed to be more chains wrapping around him.

"I thought you would be asleep longer, given all that you had done," Darkness said as he waved his hand over and over again. As he did, more chains wrapped around Eren's body and made escape all the more difficult. "It seems we'll be doing this together. Excellent."

Eren took note of how Darkness didn't seem to be bothered by seeing him in chains, and that the new chains were being created as well. It seemed obvious that all of this was Darkness' doing, but Eren didn't understand the point of all this.

"What are you doing?!" Eren screamed as he tried to move forward again. "What is all this?!"

"The coup de grâce, as you humans might say," Darkness happily explained. "The final piece to the puzzle. The last step to my plans."

Eren became even more confused, given that he had done what Darkness had quested him to do. He never fully trusted the god, and a part of him believed that this mission wouldn't be as simple as Darkness made it out to be.

But since it was all over now, none of this made any sense. All of this seemed to be typical of Darkness, but what was he getting out of it?

"Salem's gone!" Eren declared. "I did it myself, just like I said I would! You don't need anything else from me!"

"Yes," Darkness agreed. "Yes, Salem is gone. I saw what you did to her." The god moved closer and caressed Eren's face, which caused the young man much discomfort and anger. "And you did it yourself, just as I believed you would." His purple head gently shifted to the left. "I knew you would be the perfect choice, my son. Like I said... I am proud of you."

Eren angrily moved his head away from Darkness' hand, which caused his neck to slightly hurt. But Eren didn't care about a pain as small as that. "Then why am I still here?!" he asked.

"Because you're wrong," Darkness said as he raised both of his hands. "There is still something I need from you. Allow me to demonstrate."

Rather than wave his hand or snap his fingers, Darkness grabbed Eren's head and tapped his forehead to Eren's. A spark formed from the connection, and Eren found his mind to be somewhere else rather than the Coordinate. It was similar to the time him and Zeke arrived in the Coordinate together, when Zeke attempted to undo any brainwashing he believed Eren to have.

This time, however, Darkness didn't seem to care about helping Eren. If anything, he seemed to be the one who was doing the brainwashing.

When Eren opened his eyes, he still found himself in chains. However, he was kneeling in a dark place instead of the Coordinate. Stars were above and below him, but the sky was entirely black. It was almost like Eren was in space.

And based on what Darkness said next, Eren believed that he was right.

"When my brother and I created mankind..." the god began as he stood next to Eren. "We created them in our own image. Creation, Destruction, Choice, and Knowledge were the ideals mankind was based on. The world of Remnant, however, was based on something else entirely."

Two bright lights began to shine within the deep space, right in front of Eren and the god in his company. One was a bright gold and the other was a deep violet. The lights soon took form, which revealed two people standing on seemingly nothing at all. One was tall and muscular, with a pair of antlers on his head and a yellow light around his body. The other was slightly shorter and thinner, with a pair of horns on his head and a purple light around his body.

The second person was the exact image of the God of Darkness, and Eren saw that the God of Light was the person he was standing with. He was in Darkness' memories.

"The both of us had grand plans and ambitions for what we were about to do," Darkness said as he watched the memory continue. "However, we shared the same goal; the creation of a world."

The brothers looked at each other and slowly nodded. Once they did, they shifted their gaze towards a specific spot in the deep space. Each of them lifted their hands and watched pure energy escape their grasp. The energy met together and stayed in the same spot before it started to grow larger and larger. Soon, the energy became not a swirling mass, but a large beam that shot upwards and downwards at the same time. The beam flowed brighter and brighter by the second as it began to spin.

As it did, some of the energy began to escape from the beam and shoot outwards. The new beams took a more circular form when they united, and now the whole thing appeared to be a spinning globe of pure energy. The brothers once again looked at each other with a nod, which led to them going their separate ways. The globe then took on new colors and features, such as the blue oceans and the green lands.

The Gods had just created Remnant in an instant.

"The very heart and soul of the world rests on a single spot," said Darkness, who was referring to the beam he and his brother had created. "A Nexus. A spot of pure power. Power that feeds the world itself. Power that only my brother and I know how to use. Power that I will use once again." Darkness looked back to Eren. "With your help."

"..."

While Darkness was talking and describing the creation of Remnant, Eren had been mesmerized by what he had seen. He knew the Gods had created the world together, but he never knew how until today. Seeing the spire, seeing the globe spin into creation, and seeing everything he once dreamed of seeing with Armin was all breathtaking. Just like the day Armin showed him that book about the outside world, Eren was amazed by what he had seen.

But Eren found himself focusing on what Darkness had said about wanting to control the power of this "Nexus," and how he was supposedly meant to help the god.

"Me?" Eren asked. "What are you-?"

"This power isn't like my own or my brother's, Eren," Darkness continued, ignoring his question. "We discovered it here ourselves. Awakened it, to be precise. Once we did, we were able to use its power to create Remnant. I suppose you could say the Nexus is Remnant's own source of all life. And once upon a time, we shared the power. But now, it will be mine."

"..."

Darkness finally looked back to Eren. "You were wondering how you fit in with all this, weren't you?"

"I-"

"It's very simple."

Darkness looked back at Remnant, where a new memory had started to play before him. A bright purple light encompassed the world, a light that destroyed all of humanity with it. Darkness took pride in himself as he watched all of humanity cease to exist, and he did so once more when he destroyed the moon as well.

"When my brother and I left Remnant behind, conflict ensued," he continued. He and Eren then saw two dragons, one of which was Darkness, begin to fight with fire and claws at their feet. "We both wanted to use the Nexus to start over again, to continue our work. However, we failed to reach an agreement on how best to use it."

"..."

After what seemed like an eternity, the brothers finally stopped fighting.

"And so, reluctantly, we reached a compromise. Rather than waste our time bickering, we decided that neither of us would use its power again." Eren and Darkness watched a sort of shield cover the world of Remnant, and the Nexus as well. The shield soon became invisible once the brothers left.

Eren saw another spark before him, which temporarily blinded his vision. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the Coordinate, and back with Darkness right in front of him.

"But all of that changes now, Eren," Darkness declared. "After all these years, the power of the Nexus is where it truly belongs." He gently pressed his hand against his chest. "With me." He then moved that hand towards Eren. "Though, more specifically... with you."

"What?" Eren asked. "But that's... that's..."

"..."

Darkness stood in front of Eren in silence as he waited for a response. But first, Eren needed time to take in everything he had just seen. He now understand how Remnant came into being, and what had happened after Darkness destroyed humanity.

But more importantly... Eren saw how truly hungry Darkness was for power.

"No!" Eren yelled in defiance. "That was never part of the plan! You said you wanted to stop Salem! You just wanted to show your brother that you chose better!"

"I did," Darkness confirmed. "That's true. Salem was a thorn in my side for generations, especially after she took control of my creations. And you are living proof of my wisdom in finding a chosen one, that is also true."

"..."

"But like I said, this is the last step to finish the plan. With Salem gone and my brother far away from Remnant, I have everything I need to take it all back. Soon, mankind will receive a grim reminder. They will remember who their God truly is."

"..."

Eren couldn't believe what he was hearing.

All this time, after everything he did, Eren and his friends had been revealed to simply be pawns in a larger scheme. To tap into a new source of all life, just as Ymir once did. Darkness understood the power that a source of life could give him, that it could give to just about everyone. Salem once learned that the Gods weren't completely omnipotent, that they didn't control or foresee everything.

But with something like this Nexus... Darkness could gain this omnipotence. He would use it just like King Fritz used Ymir. He would create and destroy everything and anything he wished, and he needed Eren to do this.

Eren didn't need to ask why Darkness needed help to reach this Nexus. Just as he saw through the memory, Remnant had been closed off to the brothers and anything else besides air and sunlight. But Eren and his friends were on Remnant. They could do what the brothers couldn't.

And once again, Darkness had chosen Eren to be his agent.

"No," Eren finally said. "No!" He lunged forward at the deity again, despite the fact that the chains were holding him back. "I won't do it!"

"..."

Eren didn't read into Darkness' silence as he continued to defy the god. "I stopped Salem to save my friends, to save Remnant! I'm not going to throw all of that away just so you can take over for her!" This was the basis of all of Eren's actions; to never repeat the mistakes of the past. He didn't care what Darkness did to him now.

Eren died once to protect the people he cared about. And if he needed to do it again... he would.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

"..."

Eren was expecting torture or punishment for defying Darkness, but what he got instead was laughter. "You do not understand," the deity said confidently. "Your assistance in my quest is not required to be voluntary. I have already taken everything I need from you."

"...Huh?"

"Eren, I know you better than you know yourself." Darkness leaned closer. "I know that you are a rebel. A freedom fighter. Someone who does not care about ruling the world, but focuses on liberation. These were the principles the Attack Titan was created on, were they not?"

"..."

Darkness didn't wait for a response this time. "I know you have no intention of ruling this world. But I also know that you are the Founding Titan. The one with the most control over my Grimm compared to the other Titans."

"So what?" Eren asked as he tried to understand his plan. "You're going to kill me? Let someone eat me while I'm chained here so you can watch them conquer the world?" The idea began to scare Eren, given that he was in the perfect spot and position to be eaten by another Titan.

"Kill you?" Darkness asked with another laugh. "I have no wish to kill you, Eren!" He once again gestured towards Eren. "You... are my masterpiece. Not humanity, not the Titans... you." Darkness titled his head again, almost like a parent would to their child. "You and the Grimm are my greatest creations, Eren. I will not allow someone else to destroy them, let alone control them."

"..."

Given what had happened to Salem, Eren believed Darkness was telling the truth in this matter. It seemed like something somebody as egotistical as him would say.

"No, I will not kill you, Eren," Darkness declared. "Instead, you will be my vessel. Your body will be a host for my essence. You will be mine, Eren. Forever."

"..."

If Eren wasn't scared before, he was scared now.

Now he understood why Darkness favored him so much. The power of the Founding Titan stood out from the other Titans Eren made, given that it controlled Grimm and created Grimm with no trouble at all. And with someone like Eren commanding it, he had proven himself to be a force to be reckoned with. Someone who could overthrow a ruler like Salem had great will and power to win.

And that's exactly what Darkness sought after.

Eren had indeed become something that Darkness would use to further his agenda. At first, he was angry and defiant at the idea of becoming a slave to this god. But when Darkness revealed that his plans included making Eren something less than a slave, simply be a vessel for the god, Eren began to truly fear for himself.

"You... You want to possess me?" Eren asked. "Make me... your puppet?"

"Yes, Eren," Darkness confirmed. He could sense the fear within his champion, a fear that did nothing but please him. "That is the final step. That is the plan."

Eren didn't know how such a thing would be possible, but he was prepared to fight against it. He was scared out of his mind, but Eren planned to use this fear to shut Darkness out. To let him know that he wouldn't be welcome within his body, just like Rod Reiss wasn't. Eren would fight tooth and nail to preserve his freedom, just like he did with Reiss.

He just had to know what to do.

"How?" Eren asked. "How were you planning to do this?"

"How?" Darkness repeated. "You disappoint me, Eren. Did you really think I would be having this conversation with you if I wasn't sure I could achieve everything I had planned? Did you really think I would waste time with talk when it could be used for action?"

"..."

Eren was starting to see what Darkness was getting at, but he still asked his next question.

"...What are you saying?" he asked.

Darkness leaned even closer to Eren as he revealed a terrible truth. "I did it ten minutes ago."

---

Darkness indeed accomplished his task ten minutes ago.

After Eren defeated Salem, he was left incredibly weak from the duel. Not only did he lack the strength to safely exit his Titan, but Eren couldn't even stop himself from falling into a pool of Grimm as he lost consciousness. It was this state of unconsciousness that had left Eren susceptible to manipulation from Darkness. When he fell asleep, Darkness transported Eren to the Coordinate to be chained up like a wild animal.

The Coordinate had a strange way of working with humans, as Darkness observed. At times, he saw that the Coordinate that linked all Eldians together could transport their minds to Ymir. And at other times, it could even transport human bodies. Darkness saw this when Ymir healed Zeke Yeager's body after he was nearly killed by a Thunder Spear.

While this was both confusing and intriguing at times, Darkness had seen that the Coordinate, and even his own Coordinate, was capable of summoning human souls to him. That was how he had met Eren Yeager, after he died at the hands of Mikasa.

Because of this, Darkness knew that he could send Eren's soul into the Coordinate, which made his body on Remnant an empty vessel. And as soon as that vessel became empty, Darkness seized his chance and took Eren's body for himself.

It was strange at first, given that this was the first time Darkness had ever inhabited a human body. But he got used to the feeling quickly, which led him to shoot out of the Grimm pool like a bullet from a gun. After he adjusted to feeling of being on Remnant once again, Darkness was immediately greeted by the Grimm Eren and Salem created in their duel.

And instead of attacking him, each Creature of Grimm bowed before the possessed body of Eren Yeager. They recognized that true darkness would soon be cast upon the world; their lord had returned.

Darkness welcomed this act of loyalty and recognition with pride and glee. He had missed the Grimm, given that he refused to create more after he left Remnant. Once he found out that he could control them just as he did ages ago, Darkness remembered that he now possessed the Founding Titan. With it, he first decided to make himself the only Titan on Remnant. The power of the Founder allowed him to strip the abilities Eren bestowed on his friends, in order for Darkness to have no rivals.

The god soon left the cave to survey his land once again, which looked exactly as he left it. He was content to know that Salem hadn't perverted his home like she perverted the Creatures of Grimm. With his plan now in motion, Darkness decided that now was the best time to rid himself of potential rivals he had.

His first step in accomplishing this task was destroying the Dark Wing, to prevent any escape. Now his next step was killing Cinder and the humans who remained in his kingdom.

Darkness found out that he could multitask while he was possessing Eren's body. While he was explaining his plan to his chosen one, Darkness took it upon himself to continue his fight with Cinder.

Needless to say, everyone was confused by both Eren's actions and appearance.

"Guys!" Cinder said as she scrambled to her feet. "Guys, get out of here! That's not Eren, that's not-!"

*ZAP*

*BOOM*

Darkness unleashed more of his natural Magic at some of the stone above Cinder and her friends. When they saw the rocks falling at a great speed, everyone screamed as they narrowly avoided certain death.

*CRASH*

Nora was the first to look up at Eren, which led to her feeling true fear as she looked at his purple eyes and purple horns. "No, no!" she screamed in horror. "What's going on?!"

Cinder had gotten off the ground and yelled as loud as she could. "It's Darkness!" she screamed. "He's taken control of Eren!"

Ren looked up just in time to see Darkness preparing to fire more energy from Eren's hands. "Run!" he yelled. "Get to cover!"

*ZAP*

*BOOM*

Everyone took Ren's advice when the next beam of Magic hit the ground in front of them. Some of them were able to avoid the blast, but others like Winter and Vernal were caught in the explosion. Winter managed to use a Glyph to shield herself, but the Glyph merely softened the impact of the explosion.

Darkness chuckled at the act of destruction he had caused. It had been so long since he created an act like this on Remnant, and so long since he did anything on Remnant.

Now it was finally time for him to change that.

*ZAP*

"Aaugh!"

*BOOM*

"I'd forgotten what an endless source of entertainment this world is," Darkness said as he watched Emerald and Mercury fall back after they were hit by more Magic.

Ren and Nora soon joined them, after they failed to ambush Darkness from behind.

*ZAP*

*BOOM*

"What memories this brings back," the god continued as he walked towards the group of humans. "The fear, the destruction, the agony!" He then threw his fists in the air as thunder roared overhead. "I feel... truly inspired!"

Everyone had used their Auras to shield themselves from Darkness' powerful Magic, but it was hard to recover from the attacks. None of them had ever felt anything as strong as what Darkness was using, and such a thing was incredibly intimidating.

But one by one, each of the young humans rose off the ground and began to fight.

Cinder was the first to feel brave enough to try and stop Darkness head on. She used her Volant to fly upwards and shoot two arrows at him, both of which missed him. Darkness then lifted his hand upwards, but didn't fire any more Magic. Instead, a purple glow surrounded Cinder's body and trapped her in the air.

Darkness then moved his hand down, which led to Cinder painfully crashing on the hard ground.

*BAM*

"Ha!" Darkness laughed in victory.

Mercury was the next to try and fight, and he ran forward as he hid his fear under a false grin and cocky attitude. "Hey, Darkness!" he said as he leapt in the air. "Remember me?"

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

Bullets shot out of Mercury's feet and incredibly close to Darkness' body. Instead, he let the bullets his body and let Mercury kick him in the face.

*CRACK*

Mercury could hear what sounded like bones cracking in Darkness' face, but Eren's body was still standing upright. Despite this, Mercury was ready to kick Darkness as many times as he needed to in order to take him down.

But Darkness stopped any further attempts by grabbing Mercury's leg and twisting it as he pushed it higher and higher.

As Mercury grimaced in the pain, Darkness looked at the bullet holes on his body and felt blood moving down his face. He knew that this wasn't his body, that he was inside Eren's body and controlling every aspect of it.

But the blows Mercury had landed still hurt.

"It's been so long since I felt real pain," Darkness said as he watched his wounds disappear in a puff of steam. Once again, the power of the Founding Titan was working. "I've missed it."

*CRACK*

"Aaaugh!"

Mercury couldn't help but scream as he felt Darkness tighten his grip and twist even harder. Mercury's ankle began to bleed from pain caused by something that felt like talons sinking into his flesh.

"But not as much as inflicting it on others."

In an ironic twist, Darkness lifted his own leg and kicked Mercury hard in his back. Mercury felt his Aura flicker and his spine crack in multiple places as he slid on the cold ground. He had landed in front of Winter, who took pity on the young boy who was laying on the ground in pain.

It was at that moment Winter chose to avenge Mercury and Cinder.

She had finally gotten up off the ground and lunged forward with Omen in her hands. She moved to stab Darkness, but the deity caught the blade and threw it away with Winter in tow. Darkness' reflexes were fast, and they didn't seem to be hampered by being in a human body.

"Ah, Winter Schnee," Darkness addressed the Atlesian. "I was hoping you would be here. And I trust Ymir is here as well?"

Winter got off the ground and took Omen in her hand again. "Why don't you let me out so he can see for himself?" Ymir asked angrily. She didn't really care about Eren's well-being, but being shot at and thrown like a rag-doll had made her mad.

Winter noticed that Darkness had decided to fight with swords as well. He took Eren's handles in his own handles, but he didn't activate the new blades like Eren did. Instead, Darkness let his own Magic create two blades of a purple color.

"No," Winter said to Ymir. "He's mine." With a yell, Winter charged at Darkness again and felt Omen crash into his swords.

*CLASH*

Darkness had never fought with blades before, but he had witnessed humans fighting like this countless times. And given how much effort he put into his plans, the god made sure to prepare himself for all kinds of combat. That was how he was able to easily block Winter's strikes and push back with his own swords.

Winter easily recovered from the push, and she was quick enough to duck and weave past two of Darkness' strikes. When she was forced to block the third strike, Winter pushed agains the blades of energy while Darkness spoke again.

"I remember when we first met, Winter," he said as he held his new blades firmly over his head. "You were proud that day. Proud of your army, your Huntsmen, and your glorious city in the clouds."

Winter broke the lock she made with her sword and struck at Darkness again. She made contact with thin air, given that Darkness had seemingly moved faster than lightning. A strike to her back, which was protected with Aura, told her that Darkness was right behind her. After she recovered from the strike, Winter locked Omen with Darkness's blades again.

"Your pride was exceeded only by your belief that you had triumphed over my creations," Darkness continued. "I thought your battle with Salem and the Grimm would teach you otherwise, but I was wrong." Darkness kicked Winter in her gut, which sent her backwards again. "You understand nothing!"

*CLASH*

Winter didn't have time to get off the ground, but she had enough time to block Darkness' blades once again.

"But don't worry," Darkness said with a sinister smile. "I would be glad to teach you."

Winter remained silent as she pushed against Darkness' blades. It had become clear that she couldn't win through combat like this. She hypothesized that Darkness had inherited Eren's skill with a blade, and she remembered her first duel with Eren days ago.

However, Winter still had one trick up her sleeve: her Semblance.

Winter shifted herself off the ledge she was kneeling on to get away from Darkness. Once she did, Winter created two Glyphs to scale up the wall and strike back. Darkness' face was hit by Omen's blade, but the wound was nothing that he couldn't heal. In fact, he didn't even seem to be using Eren's Aura to help himself.

When Winter was in the air, she created multiple Glyphs around Darkness to make it look like he was in a cage. She then leapt on each one at an incredible speed while she continuously struck at Darkness. When she had jumped off the last one, all the Glyphs disappeared and left Darkness covered in blood.

But once again, the wounds disappeared.

"Pathetic," Darkness said as he brushed dust off his shoulder. The attack was an interesting one, but it was powerless against him.

Winter grew frustrated when she saw that her attack had been rendered void. She turned around fast to see that everyone was still recovering from the initial attack and that they would need some time before they could fight again. However, Winter knew that she couldn't win this fight alone.

And so, Winter stabbed her sword into the ground to create three more Glyphs. Unlike the previous ones that she had made, Winter used these Glyphs to summon multiple Creatures of Grimm that she had killed long ago. The first Glyph summoned a group of small Nevermores, the second summoned a common Beowolf, and the third summoned a large Manticore.

All of the Grimm rallied behind Winter, who led the charge against the God of Darkness. Once again, Darkness made no attempt to defend himself against the human or the white Grimm. He simply waited and watched as the small army drew closer and closer to him.

And just when Winter was in arm's reach of Darkness, she was attacked on all sides.

The Nevermores quickly surrounded Winter latched their talons into her flesh. The ones around her head scratched at her face and soon pecked at her eyes and ears. The Beowolf stoped running as well and quickly bit the hand that Winter was carrying Omen with. It was then joined by the Manticore, who bit Winter's torso and swooped upwards.

Winter screamed in agony as she tried to defend herself. She thrashed her left hand around and tried to free her other hand from the Beowolf's jaw. It was a betrayal that she didn't see coming, and it only got worse when she heard a voice from below.

"Now you will learn, Winter Schnee."

When her Aura finally broke, Winter was covered in blood from the wounds that she couldn't heal while she was trying to protect herself. Parts of her flesh were now hanging off her limbs and torso, which revealed the muscle and bone in her body. Her face was riddled with cuts and her right hand felt like it was about to fall off.

And worse of all, without an Aura to power her Semblance, the Grimm that had betrayed her after she summoned them vanished without a trace.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Winter fell from the sky with a loud yell, and she felt her body hit rock after rock as she experienced more pain. And soon enough, her screams fell into silence.

"..."

When Winter fell, everyone watched in horror as her own Grimm turned against her. When they saw blood being shed and flesh being torn off her body, each and every one of them soon realized how much danger they were truly in. They weren't dealing with wild Grimm, bandits, and they certainly weren't dealing with a witch who was still human.

They were dealing with a bloodthirsty god who was in control of one of Remnant's strongest warriors.

"Winter summoned those Grimm, but they belong to me," Darkness explained as he broke the silence. "And with the Founding Titan in my possession, there's no other force on Remnant that can control them like I do."

"..."

Just as Darkness said this, he was joined by multiple Grimm. Beowolves had been climbing the castle ever since they sensed their master's presence, as did the Nevermores and Manticores overhead. And nobody could see it, but the ground below was teaming with Ursai, Creeps, Sabyrs, Goliaths, and every Grimm known to man.

Through the power of the Coordinate and his own symbiotic link to the Grimm, something that had been rekindled the moment he returned to Remnant, Darkness had managed to remind these humans why the Grimm had been feared for years. He was able to remind them why the Grimm were just as feared as the Titans themselves.

Soon, all of mankind would be reminded why the Grimm should be feared. Soon the influence of his dark empire would spread far and wide across Remnant itself. But first, Darkness would teach the humans before him a vital lesson.

Never suffer rivals.

---

"No! You... You monster!"

Eren was still trapped in the Coordinate, but now he could see what was happening. After Darkness had revealed that he was currently possessing his body with the intention of ruling Remnant's source of all life, Darkness decided that it would be best to let Eren observe his handiwork.

And so, a branch of the Coordinate lowered itself onto the ground to act as a window rather than a door. Through this window, Eren could see his friends and allies in the Land of Darkness fighting for their lives. Winter had just fought valiantly against him, but Darkness' control over Magic and the Grimm allowed him to triumph over the Atlesian.

"Are you only figuring that out now?" Darkness sarcastically asked Eren with a laugh. "Then again, you were never humanity's wisest soldier, Eren."

Eren turned to his left to see the God of Darkness standing at his side. But when he looked through the window again, he could see all of his friends fighting Darkness within his body. It was hard for him to understand how Darkness was able to seemingly be in two places at once, but Eren didn't waste his time with thinking.

For while it was true that Eren wasn't the smartest among his friends, he knew that he couldn't allow anything to hold him back. Especially the chains around him.

Darkness looked at Eren's hands, which were both in shackles. They were twisting and pulling against the metal, just like they were before he stopped Ymir the Founder from reaching the Coordinate.

"Ah," Darkness said as he made the window disappear. Once he did, he stepped forward in front of Eren. "You plan to free yourself, yes?"

Eren grunted and pulled harder as he locked his eyes with Darkness, who was now standing with his arms spread out.

"Break them, Eren," Darkness ordered. "I am unarmed. Break them, and unleash your horrible vengeance upon me."

"Hrrrr!"

Eren pulled harder and harder on the shackles around his wrists. He knew how strong they were, just like the ones Zeke had put on his hands once before. Just like that day, Eren knew he couldn't break the strong metal.

But he could give up a part of himself to be free.

As he pulled harder and harder, Eren could feel the metal cutting into his flesh. Warm blood poured down both of his hands as he pulled the chains. The pain was strong, and he didn't have a plan to stop Darkness, but Eren didn't care.

If these chains and this god were standing in his way to freedom, Eren was going to do whatever he had to do to be rid of them.

"Yes, my son," Darkness said as he watched more blood fall down his hands. "Yes..."

The pain had reached the point where Eren couldn't withstand it anymore. He screamed in agony as the metal broke his skin and reached the muscles in his hands, but he continued to pull.

He didn't notice it, but Darkness was looking at the other chains around Eren's body. Darkness was sure Eren knew that the shackles on his hands weren't the only chains holding him back, but Eren didn't seem to care. He seemed to believe that what he was doing now was the only way out.

But Darkness had a point he wanted to prove with these chains, as well as his wish to see Eren break free. And so, he waved his hand once again and let all of the other chains around his body disappear. And when he looked at the shackles once again, Darkness knew he was going to prove his point very soon.

*SNAP*

*SNAP*

"HHHHRRRRAAAUUUGH!"

Eren couldn't help but scream as he felt his thumbs leave his hands. Just as he did when Zeke trapped him in the Coordinate, Eren broke his thumbs with the chains around his wrists to gain his freedom. Now that he had done it again, Eren screamed as he lunged towards the God of Darkness. He still didn't have an exact plan of attack, but he had a plan.

Attack.

Darkness gladly watched Eren race towards him as fast as he could and with broken fists at his sides. He was even more glad to see Eren lift one of those fists and bring it closer and closer to the spot where his face should have been. Darkness had anticipated that Eren would attack him the moment he was free; he had planned on it from the very beginning.

And now that he was free, it was time to teach Eren a lesson he would never forget.

*BAM*

*FWOOSH*

When Eren made contact with the front of Darkness' head, something unexpected happened. Not only did Darkness not seem to feel any pain, but Eren felt even more pain in his hand than he did before. That, and being blown back by an invisible force, were enough to make Eren's attempt to hurt Darkness completely obsolete. His right hand hurt more than it did earlier, but he began to get back up and try again. He would do this as many times as he needed to in order to stop his once powerful ally.

But any further attempts were put to a halt when purple lightning struck Eren and knocked him down again.

*ZAP*

"AAAAUUGH!"

Darkness was unleashing electricity from his fingertips at Eren now, without mercy or any kind of restraint. As he did, Darkness watched at Eren's chains returns to him and made him a prisoner once again. The boy's body was convulsing as the electricity painfully traveled within him, but the chains made movement very restricted.

Which was more than pleasing to Darkness.

It wasn't the deity's goal to kill Eren, since he still had use for his living body. But rather, Darkness wanted to teach Eren that escape and freedom were impossible. He wanted to show Eren that the Coordinate was his new home now.

But more than that, Darkness wanted Eren to break. Not just his spiritual body, but his will and desire for freedom. Both of these aspects were the very things that made Eren move forward with anything he put his mind to, something that other Eldians and Marleyans failed to understand. It was this failure in understanding that led to arrogance and the belief that Eren could be beaten like any other man.

But they were the reasons why Darkness chose Eren in the first place. Not just because of his mastery over such enormous power, but also because Eren was someone who kept moving forward in the worst of times.

Especially when he himself created the worst of times.

But now, Darkness knew it was time to break this iron will, to make this rebel submit to what was soon to be a new world order. Others had tried and failed to make him see this, but Darkness took pride that he himself was going to be the first one to teach Eren this.

And if pain and unlimited Magic refused to be his teachers, the God of Darkness would simply settle on making Eren watch as his new friends suffered and died.

---

*BAM*

*BOOM*

*BANG*

*BANG*

*SWISH*

Back on Remnant, Darkness was being attacked on all sides as he took control of Eren's body like a puppet. Despite failing, being nearly ripped to shreds, and falling down the cliff, Winter served as an example for Cinder and the rest of her friends. They learned that fighting Darkness one-on-one was an unwise strategy, that the only way they stood a chance was if they attacked together.

They had killed the Grimm Darkness summoned after he defeated Winter, and now all of the humans were ready to face the god. Ren and Nora stuck to each other like glue, as did Mercury, Emerald, and Vernal. Midori stayed close to Cinder, since she had saved her from Darkness earlier. Each of them offered a unique attack against the god; bullets fired all around him and blades continuously moved for his torso and limbs. Everyone was giving everything they had to defend themselves, as well as stop Darkness from doing any more harm.

But if he wasn't healing the wounds with the power of Eren's Titan, Darkness was using all kinds of Magic to defend himself and do away with his foes.

Purple beams shot out of Darkness' palms naturally, which proved incredibly harmful to anyone who had been caught in their path. Their Auras protected them, but the burning sensation lingered wherever they were hit.

And to make matters worse, Darkness decided to be more creative with his Magic and regained control over the Grimm.

On occasion, Darkness sent waves of fire and bursts of electricity from his fingers as he fought against Ren and Nora. To challenge himself, Darkness allowed Nora to use her Semblance when she was struck with electricity to see how much her strength would increase. This new strength and the sight of Ren burning were enough to make Nora angry enough to swing her hammer furiously. And fortunately, one swing was strong enough to knock Darkness over the cliff.

"I... I got him!" Nora cried as she stopped using her Semblance. She turned to Ren as her strength began to fade. "Midori, we need to help-!"

*WHOOSH*

*BOOM*

A purple ball of fire fell from the sky and made direct contact with Nora. She couldn't help but scream as she flew back towards Ren and stumbled on the ground. Everyone who had lowered their guard quickly turned back to see that Darkness had sprouted something else on Eren's body.

A pair of wings was now on Eren's back, and Darkness was flying in the air.

"You gotta be kidding me," Mercury groaned as he looked at Darkness' handiwork.

*SCREECH*

Darkness was joined by two large Nevermores, who shot multiple sharp feathers from their bodies towards the humans down below. Everyone who was in the path of the projectiles quickly moved for cover again, but Nora was too late to move.

*SHICK*

"AUUGH!"

The end of a feather stabbed into her left hand and pinned her to the ground. Midori quickly left Cinder's side to aid her friend, which was done by cutting the feather with Scalpel and using what she had left of Healing Wish.

Not only did this leave Cinder alone, but this also left her in Darkness' sights.

"Alone at last," the god said as he lowered himself to the ground. "Excellent."

"..."

Cinder knew that it was still Darkness before her, but the sight of her best friend becoming an enemy had grown more depressing by the second. She was taken aback by Eren smiling over Winter's apparent demise, and hearing Nora scream in pain and everyone trying to fight the new Grimm that had been summoned was making this battle all the more harder her.

It had gotten to the point where Cinder was unsure if she could keep fighting. She wasn't physically exhausted or hurt, but the thought of having to hurt Eren to make this chaos stop was heartbreaking.

Was this how Mikasa, Armin, and the rest of their friends and allies felt when they decided to stop the Rumbling? Was Cinder sharing the same weight of the burden that had been thrust upon their shoulders?

But most of all... was it also this hard to keep fighting?

"Rah!" Darkness growled as he lunged towards Cinder with his purple swords. Cinder dodged the blades with a small yelp as she tried to regain her focus, but all she could do was block the strikes that came her way.

And when she tried to return them, all Cinder could do was make slow and predictable movements.

Darkness began to laugh as he watched Cinder stand still. "You're not even trying right now," he said. "You're scared of hurting him, aren't you?"

"..."

Cold and nervous sweat ran down Cinder's forehead, which confirmed Darkness' theory. She was scared of a great many things right now, and hurting Eren was definitely one of them.

But from within the Coordinate, Eren was just as scared as Cinder. Darkness had once again provided him with a window to see through, even though he was on the ground. But despite being unable to fight, he was able to think of the best course of action.

"Cinder!" Eren yelled at the moving image of his friend. "Cinder, kill me! Just do it! Kill me!"

"..."

Darkness heard the voice of his champion as he continued to attack Cinder, but he showed no fear. Not only was the god the only one who could hear Eren, but the man's desperation to die was just as satisfying as Cinder's fear.

And Darkness had the perfect idea how to make things worse for the both of them.

After he caught Cinder's blade and pushed back on it, Darkness watched Cinder stumble as she fell backwards. "See, this is why you've been so useful, Cinder," he said as he walked forwards. "I knew my champion would need friends to aid him in battle... but I never expected someone like you would fall in love with him."

Cinder looked up at Darkness in surprise when he said this. Hearing this from him while she looked at Eren made her sad and angry at the same time. She was angry that he was mocking her like this, and she was sad that she couldn't deny the truth of what he said.

Cinder would have been mortified, however, if she knew that Eren could see and hear everything that was happening; and he heard everything Darkness just said.

"...What?" he asked.

Cinder's voice quivered as she talked back to Darkness. "I just wanted to help him," she sadly replied. "I just wanted to do something good!"

"You did do something good," Darkness replied with a sinister smile. "I thought I would have to wait longer to be rid of Salem. And I thought it would even take longer to gain control over Eren." Darkness looked down at Eren's hands as he recalled how easy it was to possess Eren's body, as well as how his wait for Salem to be imprisoned was rather short when compared to Ozma's attempts to stop her.

And from a certain point of view, it was all thanks to Cinder.

"All these years, you stood by him," Darkness continued as he walked closer. Cinder backed away in fear as she listened to the god. "You stood up for him, believed in him when nobody else would. Not even the Ackerman girl truly believed what Eren could do. But you pushed him forward, Cinder. You even made me believe in my plan!" Darkness jabbed a finger at Cinder, which he used to let a small amount of Magic make her fall to the ground. "Because of you, I can continue my work as the God of Remnant... starting with them!"

*ZAP*

When she saw Darkness creating more Magic in the palm of his hand, Cinder was expecting either herself or her friends to be the target. However, the new beam of energy instead found its way in the opposite direction. Darkness had turned around fast after he made his declaration, but Cinder didn't know what he was firing at.

Until she saw what he had made contact with.

*BOOM*

"Ugh!"

*BOOM*

"Ah!"

When the light died down and Cinder stood back up, she saw Darkness walking towards an abnormally large man and a woman with dark hair like her own. And when the god took to the skies once again, Cinder saw that Hazel Rainart and Raven Branwen were in Darkness' grasp.

The two allies of Salem managed to regroup after their defeat at the hands of Eren's friends. When Raven regained consciousness after being shot out of the sky, she used her Maiden powers to travel back to the castle and find Eren. Instead, she found an unconscious Hazel and multiple decaying Grimm.

Once she awakened the large man, Raven planned to strategize with Hazel about their next attack. Given that Hazel didn't know where they were, Raven's first idea was to search the entire castle until she found either Salem or Eren.

But things changed when Raven and Hazel were drawn to the sound of the Dark Wing's destruction, just like Cinder and everyone else were.

The duo were the last ones to reach the landing pad where the vehicle once was, and they found a brutal conflict waiting for them. Hazel was the first to notice how Eren had changed, how he had grown horns and was talking in a different voice. Raven also noticed the difference, as well as the fact that he was fighting his own friends with powers she hadn't seen him use before. And so, she decided to plan an ambush for Eren while he was distracted by fighting his friends.

Unfortunately for them, Darkness detected their presence when a large Nevermore overhead screeched at its master. It was able to see the new enemies and speak to its master, which was how Darkness was able to grab both Raven and Hazel as he lifted himself into the sky.

"Ah, Raven," Darkness said as he examined his new prisoner. "Finally we meet. I've been told much about you from Eren." The tyrannical deity studied the woman's eyes, mainly the fire emitting from them as she readied to use her Magic again. But Darkness let some of his own Magic move on her neck, which made it incredibly hard to breathe. "I've been told that you are a wielder of Magic. That you are a vagabond with no home to go to. That you... are a fool." Darkness tightened his grip. "And soon to be a dead fool."

Raven was growing weaker by the second, but she was able to utter a few words. "Who... are... you?" she desperately asked.

"I. Am. Darkness." The god moved Raven closer to his face. "I. Am. Power." He gripped her throat even tighter. "And because you delayed my passage... I am your worst nightmare."

As Raven felt herself losing strength, Hazel found himself thirsting for more. He may have been high above the ground, but he still had plenty of Dust in his pockets. He reached for one quickly, and pulled out an Ice Dust crystal. Rather than injecting it into his own arm, Hazel stabbed it into Darkness' neck to attack him.

But Darkness simply use Eren's Aura and his own Magic to heal the wound and make the Dust disappear.

"That was unwise, human," Darkness said as he looked at Hazel Rainart. As he let his Magic course around Hazel's neck as well, Darkness kicked the bag of Dust off the man's belt. "You won't be needing that. I've got something else for you."

As Darkness had said before, he was currently in control of the Founding Titan. It was true that he wasn't sure of all of its power and true potential at first, when he inspired Salem to make it through dreams and manipulation. He had given her ideas on what to include, mainly Hardening and controlling Grimm with a mere touch, but Darkness discovered its other powers while he watched Eren train and fight.

But now, as he felt the power of the Founding Titan course through his new body, Darkness saw within himself the true nature of his creation. He saw every power, every ounce of strength, and everything he needed to know to use the Titan as it was originally meant to be used.

Though it was created by Salem of all people, Darkness couldn't deny the creativity behind it. Now all he had to do was apply the power onto Remnant itself.

The first thing he did, which was a unique idea of his own, was to change Eren's mouth this time. As he opened it, a pair of fangs formed from Eren's teeth and grew at an intimidating size. When he was satisfied with the length, Darkness quickly pulled Hazel closer and bit into his neck. Hazel screamed in pain, as he found out that his Aura had been completely depleted. But these screams turned from pain into fear as Darkness dropped the human down towards the landing pad. The fear was obvious, since Hazel was moving faster and faster to the ground. Death seemed inevitable at this point.

But if he knew what was actually going to happen, Hazel would have preferred death.

*BOOM*

Cinder and her friends looked to the sky when they saw Hazel disappear in a red explosion, one with fire and lightning all around it. When the two elements vanished, something new was in Hazel's place.

*CRASH*

All eyes watched in horror as a large behemoth rose from the landing pad. A large figure covered in Grimm-like flesh towered above all the humans, one that roared like an animal as it struck its own chest with its fists.

The Titan's face was somewhat different, but there was no denying that Hazel Rainart had just become a Pure Titan.

Every human that laid eyes on Hazel began to panic as they watched him give in to the instincts of a wild and mindless animal. Raven was among those who panicked, since she saw that Darkness was ready to do it all again.

Ever since Raven became the leader of the Branwen Tribe, she enforced her view of the law of nature upon her people. She believed the strong, like herself, would always survive while the weak perished. Every day of her life, Raven justified her decisions by declaring how strong she was when she looked death in the face over and over again.

But today, Raven finally had to admit that she had no strength to deal with Darkness. Fear was all that she could feel as she understood his power.

"Please..." she begged. "Show me mercy."

This was the first human who found themselves to be begging before the God of Darkness. And if she was on the ground, Darkness was sure that Raven would be kneeling and groveling at his feet. It would have been a sight to behold, and Darkness would have honestly considered showing this woman mercy.

If she hadn't allied herself with Salem and stood in Eren's way.

"I have none to give," Darkness said calmly. "Goodbye, Raven."

"No, no!"

*CRUNCH*

"AAAAHHH!"

Darkness let go of the woman he had just bitten and listened to her screams with pride, until nothing more... could be heard.

*BOOM*

Once again, Cinder and her friends saw another human turn into a Titan. It possessed a head of black hair and red eyes, but the most terrifying feature on its head was the wide smile of abnormal teeth it had. The Titan also possessed a wide, noticeable ribcage, which did nothing but make Raven Branwen appear even more monstrous.

And when Darkness landed back on the ground, he was more than eager to show everyone that he could control the Titans as well as create them.

"Run!"

Nobody knew who shouted, but they all knew it was the best option at this point. Their Titans would have made this fight easier, but they were outnumbered as well as depleted of any resources. Cinder and her friends spread out as they tried to escape the Titans and the new Grimm that had joined Darkness.

Ren and Nora, who had used the last of their Aura to recover from their wounds, sought higher ground to escape the Titans' reach. Hazel and a few Grimm saw them and rushed towards them in an attempt to kill them.

Emerald led Vernal and Mercury to a more secluded place so she could use the last ounces of her Semblance to hide everyone. Grimm scoured the area and sniffed the air, as they sensed the fear each human was giving off.

Cinder and Midori didn't know where to go at first, but a voice called out to them and showed them a way to relative safety.

"In here! Quickly!"

Cinder and Midori turned to the wooden doors that served as the entrance of Salem's castle. There stood Arthur Watts, who gestured for the two young women to join him. Cinder and Midori quickly ran to the door, but Raven moved in their way and lunged towards them with open hands and an open mouth.

Midori froze in shock as she watched the large monstrosity swoop towards her, but Cinder was able to grab her and use her Volant to fly over Raven. When she landed on the ground, Cinder refused to let go of her friend until the wooden doors closed behind her.

*SLAM*

Raven got back to her feet very slowly and walked over to the doors. Her Titan looked down at the wood as a group of Beowolves began to scratch at the doors as they growled. Despite her now savage mind and limited intelligence, Raven saw that she could break the doors with a simple push of her finger.

"No."

Raven and the Grimm turned to see Darkness standing behind them with his arms around his back.

"Let them cower," he ordered calmly. "And when they regain their strength, we will show them just how weak they truly are."

"..."

The Grimm and the Titan couldn't answer their master, but they complied without question or hesitance. The area became extremely quiet now, without the fighting or the explosions in the air. This new tranquility gave Darkness a chance to reflect on all that he had done and all that he planned to do in the future.

As he looked across the landscape of his kingdom, Darkness felt right at home. He was glad to see that not everything had changed while he was gone, since the second generation of mankind had never come here to begin with.

However, the world was still different from the one Darkness once knew. Dust substituting for Magic, flying machines in the air, and new settlements that drastically changed to serve people best.

But Darkness wouldn't change himself to suit this new Remnant. Soon, it would change to suit him instead.

---

"Nora, come on! We have to get higher!"

"Hurry, they're coming!"

In the mass confusion and panic, Ren and Nora found a rock they could climb up to get away from the landing pad. They ran up as fast as they could, which was easy for Ren since he could stab StormFlower's blades into the stone to ascend. Nora followed close behind him, but so did all the Grimm that had joined Darkness.

And Hazel also had the humans in his sights.

Nora looked down just in time to avoid a large hand that clawed at her. She moved her legs up with a frightened yelp as she avoided the hand, and then she climbed again.

*GROWL*

The Grimm that followed them were Beowolves and Ursai, and they were coming much closer. They soon came too close for Ren and Nora to ignore, so they stopped climbing when they reached a small ledge and fired upon the Grimm.

*BANG*

*BOOM*

Bullets and grenades moved down the mountainside and turned all the Grimm into ash. But because there were so many, and because they just kept coming, Ren and Nora were forced to exhaust all of the their remaining ammunition.

*CLICK*

*CLICK*

*CLICK*

Ren looked towards his waist to see if he had any more bullets, but he was completely empty.

"Nora, I'm out!" he said to warn his friend.

Nora couldn't help but look up to Ren with fear in her eyes. She knew she didn't have any more ammo, so Ren was her last hope. But when she heard this, Nora believed all hope was lost.

"No..." she whispered with tears in her eyes.

*CRUNCH*

"AAAAAAHHHH!"

Nora's hopelessness unfortunately caused her to forget what was chasing her. The distraction gave all of the Grimm a window of opportunity to attack and destroy, both of which they did best. However, it wasn't any of the common creatures that had bit Nora's leg.

It was Hazel.

The Pure Titan that Darkness had created shared the same desire for consuming humans as the Pure Titans on Paradis. So when it saw a vulnerable Nora in its sights, the Titan trampled and killed multiple Grimm before it bit Nora's ankle and swallowed her foot.

"NORA!" Ren yelled as he lowered himself. He was able to catch Nora before she fell into the Titan's open mouth, and he pulled as hard as he could to make Nora climb on his back. Before he climbed once again, Ren angrily removed his father's knife and threw it at Hazel's eye with a yell.

*ROAR*

The Titan grabbed its eye in pain as it screamed in pain, which gave Ren the chance to climb higher until he reached the top of the rock that he was scaling.

The peak had more room than the small ledge that Ren was previously on, so he was able to lay Nora down and look at her wound. Unfortunately, her right foot had been completely bitten off and she was losing a lot of blood. Ren knew that all he could do was wait until her Aura recharged, but there wasn't any time to wait.

Ren was panicking and moving quickly at the same time as he ripped a piece of his shirt off and tied it around Nora's wound. Without the power of the Titans, the shirt was the best thing he had to stop the bleeding. He needed to retie it a few times due to him panicking, but he was able to put it on.

But Nora wasn't moving or talking.

"No, no, no!" Ren yelled as he checked Nora's pulse. It was slow and weak, but it told Ren that his friend was still alive. It seemed the bite had put her into shock rather than death.

Unfortunately, Ren wasn't feeling any better.

Sweat and heavy breathing all came from Lie Ren as he desperately searched for a way out. But all he could see was empty space and all he could hear was ascending Grimm. He hadn't felt this scared and alone since he was a child, since the town of Kuroyuri was almost destroyed by Grimm. He was saved by Eren and Cinder that night, but the only thing coming now was a deranged Titan with Grimm by its side.

Ren knew that he was going to have to face facts; he was going to die.

"Sometimes the worst action to take... is taking no action at all."

The wisdom his father once shared with him lingered in Ren's mind as he tried to find some hope in this situation. It was a lesson he lived by every day of his life, but Ren wasn't sure if he could do it again today. Every instinct within him told him that he was going to die, that any action he would take right now would simply delay the inevitable. And sadly, Nora would be joining him as soon as he left this world.

But despite it all... Ren knew that he couldn't simply lay down and let the Grimm kill him. He would be doing the same thing he did when he tried to hang himself, and the consequences of that were severe.

Even if he was going to die, Ren knew it would be fighting the Grimm that had just joined him on the peak.

"This is it," Ren told himself as he looked down at Nora. "Here we go."

With a loud and determined yell, Ren moved forward.

---

"That's it. I'm all out."

"Shh! Quiet!"

While Ren and Nora ascended to escape their doom, Emerald found herself hiding with Mercury and Vernal in tow. Her Semblance was able to hide everyone from Darkness and the Grimm, even though the Grimm could smell the fear in the air. But when Emerald's Aura finally shattered, everyone knew they needed a plan B.

"Come on!" Mercury whispered to his friends. "This way!"

The platform of Salem's castle was right above a short and narrow path that led to a noticeable crack in the structure. That crack was large enough to fit all three of them, but nobody knew where it led. Nevertheless, Mercury knew that the best chance of survival was hiding and waiting for the right time to escape.

And so, he led Emerald and Vernal towards the small path while he kept his eye on Darkness. The god was waiting by the door that led into Salem's castle, along with numerous Grimm and Raven's Pure Titan. The god turned Eren's head in the direction of the trio for a brief moment, but Mercury slipped under the platform just in time. However, he put a finger to his mouth to keep Emerald and Vernal quiet before he pointed at the crack.

As they carefully shuffled along the path, everyone took time to reflect on the events that had just transpired. Vernal was completely confused as to why this happened, since she wasn't aware of Darkness and had no idea that he was capable of all these things. Emerald was saddened to be split apart from her friends and completely afraid of Darkness at the moment. His powers were already legendary, and now he had the perfect chance to bring these powers to Remnant.

Surely nothing good was going to follow.

Mercury was also afraid, but he was angry too. When he saw Salem trapped and defeated, the young mechanic believed that his troubles were over. He believed that things would return to normal and every week wouldn't involve some crazy adventure with a manic and he wouldn't be almost killed for the umpteenth time. But all of that changed when Darkness took hold of Eren, when he took the strongest and toughest person Mercury ever knew and made him a puppet.

His troubles weren't over. They'd only just begun.

On a lighter note, Mercury was able to reach the crack in the wall. He saw that it was large enough for him and his friends to fit in to, so it was the best place to hide. Emerald was the first one to go in, and Mercury was second so he could lead Vernal.

"Hrrr!" Vernal groaned as she stopped moving on the path. As she groaned, she took a large step back from Mercury. "Merc, you gotta go!"

"What?" Mercury asked. "Vernal, come on! Get inside!"

Vernal quickly shook her head. "I can't!" She pulled on her collar to show black skin as well as a patch of black fur. "I'm... I'm changing again! It's stronger this time!"

Mercury was well aware that Vernal couldn't control her transformations, but he wasn't willing to leave her alone with the rest of the Grimm. "Don't worry, I'll carry you!" he protested.

"..."

During her time as a member of Spider, Vernal was never a selfless person. She wouldn't even call herself an upstanding citizen, after everything she had done. But her flaws weren't strong enough to prevent her from caring about the people closest to her, and she was more than willing to protect them as well.

And so, Vernal pushed on Mercury with a paw that took the place of her hand before she moved back further.

"Just... go!" she screamed as her face began to painfully transform. "Now!"

"..."

The order was clear and audible, but Mercury found himself unable to move his legs. Fortunately, Emerald grabbed his arm and pulled him deeper into the crevice. "Mercury, come on!" she whispered.

Mercury took a few steps deeper into the darkness, but he began to resist against Emerald's grasp. "Wait, stop!" he said. "We can't just leave her!"

"We'll go back!" Emerald promised. "But we can't do this alone! We need a plan!"

"Here's a plan! Don't leave our friends to-!"

*GROWL*

Mercury and Emerald looked back just in time to see an Ursa charge towards them. They jumped back as they moved deeper into the crevice, which proved to be a wise action since the Grimm was too large to move deeper through the narrow path.

"Shit!" Mercury yelled. "Em, that might be Vernal! We gotta do something!"

"We can't!" Emerald argued. "We gotta get inside!"

*GROWL*

*ROAR*

Mercury looked back to the Grimm behind him, but now he saw that more Ursai had joined him and Emerald. Now that they did, all of them packed together to block the exit. And because Mercury had lost focus, he wasn't able to remember which of the Grimm was Vernal.

"Shit!" Mercury whispered. "Wh-Which one was Vernal?!"

Emerald tried to find any distinguishing features amongst the Grimm, but it was a vain attempt. "I don't know!" she said. "They all look the same!"

Sound logic had finally reached Mercury at this point, and he knew that he had to follow Emerald into the crack. He felt dirty for leaving Vernal to such a fate, to possibly become an unwitting servant of Darkness. But if he was going to help her, he was going to have to survive.

"We'll go back for her," Mercury firmly reminded Emerald as he followed her deeper in the formation.

Emerald had turned on her Scroll to light the way, and she was able to see Mercury behind her. "We'll go back for all of them," she said. "When our Auras are recharged, we'll go back outside."

Mercury gestured towards the path in front of him. "You think this leads back into the castle?"

"It might. I think I saw Cinder and Midori run inside."

"Then that's where we go."

Emerald and Mercury moved deeper and deeper into the crevice, which seemed to go farther than either of them had expected. They didn't know how long they had been walking so far, but they felt relatively safe when they didn't hear the sounds of Grimm echoing throughout the cave.

Emerald even felt safe enough to talk.

"Merc... I'm sorry about Vernal," she said. "I wanna help her, but-"

"Nah, I was being stupid," Merc insisted. "There's a time and a place for everything." He let out a chuckle. "Never thought this was a good time for spelunking, though."

Emerald turned around as she continued to walk. "Spelunking? Seriously?"

"It means exploring though caves."

"I know what it means!" Emerald was annoyed at the joke at first, but she smirked when she saw that she was indeed exploring a cave with Mercury. "Okay, I guess I gotta give you that one."

Mercury chuckled again. "That's a first."

"First time for everything I guess." Emerald looked forward with a smile on her face. "Good to know you still have your shitty sense of humor, Merc."

"Hey. Something's gotta keep us going, right?"

"..."

Emerald stopped walking and turned back to Mercury. She was grateful for the moment of reprieve, but she knew that one of them would have to address the Goliath in the room. She didn't want to do it with Mercury invading her personal space, but Emerald knew that it had to be now.

"So, uh... got any ideas for a plan?" she asked hopefully.

Mercury awkwardly rubbed the back of his head for a moment. "Ah... no," he said. "This is... This is just too fucked up for me."

"No kidding." Emerald looked past Mercury at the way she originally came. "I have no idea how to fix this. I don't even know what this even is."

"What do you mean?" Mercury pointed backwards. "That purple bastard possessed Eren. We saw it."

"Yeah, but... how do we even know if Eren's still alive?" Emerald looked down and clenched her fists. "We hatched a crazy plan to save the world, and it cost us the one person who might be able to stop all of this."

Mercury sighed as he listened to Emerald. He knew that she was right, that Eren was probably the only one who could stop Darkness. "Look, Em-"

"Eren could be dead! Darkness could be controlling a dead body, he could use it to conquer the world, and there's nothing we can do about it!" Emerald punched the wall in frustration. "Why did we have to be so damn useless?!"

Mercury quickly grabbed Emerald and shook her hardly. "Em, shut up!" he said. "We're not useless! We can't afford to be useless right now! You got it?!"

"..."

It was Mercury's goal to make Emerald see reason, to not give up when they had to keep moving forward to survive. But one look on her face told Mercury that she was still afraid. Emerald was afraid of the Grimm, Darkness, and she was still scared for Eren and her friends.

And given that such a reaction was rare from Mercury, she was starting to become afraid of him at the moment.

"Oh, shit," he said as he let her go. "I'm sorry, I..."

"..."

Mercury sighed again as he grabbed his eyes. The memory of his promise to Cinder, to be a better friend, came back to him as he tried to think of a way to reach Emerald.

"Em... I know things are bad," he began. "But if we can just hold out a little longer, I promise we'll-"

*BAM*

"AAAAHHH!"

Mercury and Emerald screamed as a loud noise and a strong vibration surrounded them. Some of the rocks overhead began to fall on top of them, which caused them to cover themselves with their arms since they couldn't use their Auras. However, there was something else that was blocking the rest of the rocks. It was large, black, and it seemed to stretch far enough to reach the rest of the path that Emerald and Mercury didn't traverse.

The object revealed itself to be a large hand when it grasped the two humans very tightly. Four fingers and a thumb healed them very tightly as the hand moved out of the crevice, which caused more rocks to fall down. One rock hit Emerald's head and made her bleed heavily.

Mercury tried to reach for anything to grab, to make himself stop moving with the hand. But all he could grab were loose rocks that moved with him whenever he grabbed them. As he desperately tried to take hold of something, Mercury asked himself what could possibly cause a large hand to grab him and Emerald, what could have found him in an unlikely hiding place.

The answer revealed itself in a loud and booming voice when he and Emerald found themselves outside once again.

"There you are."

"..."

Emerald was still bleeding at the back of her head, but she was able to look up with Mercury to see a terrible sight.

The two of them were in the grasp of a Titan, but it wasn't a Pure Titan like Raven or Hazel. Instead, this Titan was intelligent and completely terrifying. It possessed talons on its hands, a pair of dragon wings on its back, and the head of an animal that lacked eyes and skin. The head was a complete skeleton with horns on its head, which made it look demonic of sorts.

Neither of them had seen this before, but Mercury and Emerald were able to see what this was; it was the Founding Titan, which had changed to suit the God of Darkness.

"Poor, poor children," Darkness mocked through the Founding Titan. "And to think you once proudly stood against Salem. Pathetic."

*CRUNCH*

Mercury and Emerald couldn't even scream as they felt Darkness crush their bodies with his hand. They could feel bones break and blood seep from places they didn't even know could bleed. And all the while, the god laughed with pride as he reveled in the power he possessed.

"Fools! Only now... in the end... do you truly understand!"

*SLAM*

Rather than let them die by being crushed, Darkness threw the defenseless humans on the platform beneath him. And without their Auras or Titans, Mercury and Emerald experienced more life-threatening injuries. Where Emerald had trouble breathing through a punctured lung, Mercury had broken both of his arms and one of his legs. The pain was excruciating for the both of them, and it had reached the point where they were crying like children.

Darkness looked at his handiwork in pride. He made sure that Eren could see these actions through the suffering and torture he was experiencing, and he was certain his champion was close to the point of breaking.

He was willing to finish the humans here and now, but Darkness knew that death was more frightening when it came slowly.

And so, rather than grant Mercury and Emerald a quick death, Darkness reeled his head back and unleashed a blast of purple fire at the wooden doors that led to Salem's castle.

*BOOM*

Suddenly, the black flesh that comprised of the Founding Titan began to fall to the ground and become large pools of Grimm. More dark creatures emerged from this water and charge straight into the castle where their master followed close behind them.

"See you soon," Darkness said to the broken and bleeding humans before he left.

"..."

As Mercury and Emerald laid on the ground in terrible pain, they began to understand what Darkness meant by his remark. There was nobody coming to their rescue, and there was nothing that could be done to heal their wounds and go after the god who was possessing their friend.

They were going to die. And Darkness was most likely going to send them to whatever Hell waited for them when they reached the afterlife.

"This... This is it, isn't it?" Emerald asked as she gasped for breath that didn't come.

Mercury groaned as another jolt of pain occurred within him. "Y... Yeah," he grunted. "It... It is."

As Emerald laid on the ground and realized that she was about to die, she couldn't help but start to cry. "Oh, my God," she sobbed. "Merc... I'm scared."

"Y... Yeah. Me too."

Emerald was losing her breath quickly, but she enough strength to look at Mercury. It hurt to move her head, but she didn't think she could live with herself if she didn't say something else to him.

"I'm sorry," Emerald said after she spit out blood. "I'm sorry, Merc. I... I could have... done more."

Mercury looked back to Emerald and saw the tears in her eyes. Whether it was the pain or the look on her face, Mercury also let tears fall down his face. He wasn't lying when he said he was scared. The pain and fear he felt both reminded him of his days with his father, something he hoped that he wouldn't feel again. When this happened, Mercury would always ask for a way out or death itself. He believed that dying was the only way he could free himself from Marcus, that the cruel assassin wouldn't be able to hurt him anymore.

But now that he was about to die, Mercury was more scared than he ever had been in his life.

Emerald continued to cry as well, and she could see that Mercury was just as scared as her; maybe he was even more scared. But through the fear, Emerald found a way that she could help. Even if it was a small gesture, Emerald didn't want to die knowing that she didn't do everything within her power.

And so, even though it hurt more than anything else, Emerald moved her arm and gently placed it her hand on one of Mercury's. It was the hand on his broken arm, and it seemed unlikely that he could feel the gentle embrace. But Emerald wanted to make sure that he would be comforted in his final moments. And because of this, she felt comfortable too.

Emerald knew that she wasn't going to die alone. And now, so did Mercury.

---

When Darkness entered the castle, all he could see was his loyal creatures running amok and destroying everything. There were multiple rooms, candles, and a few banisters that he could see throughout this portion of his kingdom.

The one thing all of these things had in common was that they reeked of Salem. And Darkness knew the sooner this excuse for a home was destroyed, the better. He would erase all traces of Salem in this place, save for her crystal prison.

That, he planned to mount on a wall with pride.

And so, Darkness walked through the halls of Salem's former abode and watched the Grimm do what they did best. Beowolves were tearing down the doors and banisters, Ursai were destroying the tables, and the Creeps ran down the halls to continue the work of their brethren.

A few Boarbatusks didn't join in the destruction, however. They followed Darkness inside the castle, and they stood right by their master's side and awaited instruction.

"Find Cinder and whoever is with her," the deity ordered. "They cannot be far. Do not allow them to escape."

The Grimm obeyed and charged down the halls. They had to push past a few other creatures to move, but they paid no heed to this.

As he patiently waited for his creations to return, Darkness found himself to be returning to his roots. He had witnessed pain and destruction today, and he was finally the cause of it all. His creatures had done his work for generations, but there was something special about doing it himself. Being barred from Remnant, a truly unique place in all of the universe, was dampening, to say the least. Darkness had truly missed being here and being the true ruler of the world as well as the Grimm.

And with the pathetic usurper out of the way, Darkness knew the Creatures of Grimm had also returned to their roots. Their purpose to destroy was made to spite his brother's creation, not serve a lowly human of all people. Every day, Salem perverted his creations and perverted the very land itself. Everywhere she went, a sickening and infectious stench would follow.

She was truly the most despicable human Darkness had ever met.

But that was all in the past now. As Darkness watched his creatures continue his work the way they were meant to, he remembered that he had all the time in the world to focus on the future. Soon, his new, dark empire would cover the rest of the world. And he would be free to do anything he pleased with the power of the Nexus. Perhaps he would even create something new with it.

And it was all thanks to Eren Yeager, who had fallen silent since his torture began.

"Silence, my son?" Darkness asked himself. "No words of defiance? No promises to make me suffer the worst death possible? You disappoint me."

"..."

As Darkness heard silence from the Coordinate, he thought of two possibilities. The first was that Eren had fallen unconscious from being blasted by Magic and being unable to escape. He wasn't dead, since it was impossible to destroy a human soul. But Darkness knew that every man had his limit for pain.

The second possibility, however, was that Eren had truly broken under Darkness' grasp. And this idea was most pleasing.

During his time watching Eren, Darkness saw his champion break down and nearly give up. The first was when he failed to summon his Titan and watch someone he cared about be eaten by Dina Fritz's Titan, which made him believe that he was worthless. The second time Darkness saw this was Eren begging for death when he knew Historia Reiss could retake the Founding Titan and save Paradis.

But during those times, Eren was always able to get back up and fight time and time again. However pathetic he was being in those times, Eren refused to give up entirely and simply kept moving forward.

It was Darkness' goal to make sure that wouldn't happen again, that he would break Eren permanently so he could control this body alone. Eren would still be watching, but he would know his place and simply give in.

Many had tried to truly break Eren. But Darkness knew he would be the first to succeed.

"DARKNESS!"

The god couldn't help but feel startled at the sound of his name. He had been lost in thought long enough to momentarily forget where he was and what he was doing, but he remembered now. Darkness turned around fast to see that his Boarbatusk scouts had returned with a prisoner.

A prisoner that Darkness wasn't expecting to see surrender so fast.

"Ah, Cinder," Darkness asked. He was mildly surprised that she wasn't hiding, and he was surprised even more that she appeared to be surrendering. "This is unexpected."

"Yeah... no kidding," Cinder said as she moved forward. She had her hands up by her head, and she didn't appear to be holding any weapons.

*GROWL*

Two Beowolves moved ahead of their master as they watched Cinder move closer. Darkness moved in front of them calmly and looked upon Cinder. "Your move, child," he said as he ignited his dark blades again.

"No!" Cinder firmly said as stopped walking. "No moves, no fighting."

"..."

Cinder quickly moved her hands down and loosened Dancing Midnight from her body. Soon enough, the swords and arrows fell along with the rest of the equipment. Darkness became surprised once again, especially when Cinder broke the silence.

"I thought we could talk this out," she said. "Like people."

"..."

Darkness looked down at Cinder's gear once again before he looked back to her. When he saw that she was being serious, the god couldn't help but laugh.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" he chuckled. "You're gravely mistaken, Cinder." His mind changed, however, when he saw what this could mean. "Unless you've abandoned all hope at victory."

"Not exactly," Cinder said with a shrug. "Hope is actually why I'm here. I'm hoping... I can make you an offer."

"Oh." Darkness moved ahead of his creations. "Is that so?"

"Yeah." Cinder moved forward again. "Yeah, that's right. I want to give you something."

"To save your friends?"

"At least one of them."

Rather than continue to move at a slow and steady pace, Darkness moved at an inhuman speed until he was in front of Cinder. The movement was surprising, but the young girl didn't falter.

"You seem to be laboring under the delusion that there is something you have that I want," he said. "Look at me, Cinder." Darkness gestured to himself, to Eren's body. "I am complete. There's nothing you can give me that I want."

"I guess," Cinder said. She still didn't understand why Darkness would want to control Eren, but she didn't care why. "But I have something you need."

"And that would be?"

"A host. A willing host."

"..."

It was crazy, to say the least. But this was indeed Cinder's plan. Midori and Watts were gone, but Cinder didn't join them. Instead, she stayed behind to buy the both of them time and maybe save everyone else. She knew that she couldn't stop Darkness, but Cinder knew she could buy everyone time.

And maybe, just maybe, she could free Eren.

Cinder could tell that she had Darkness' attention. His surprise from the offer was about to pass, but Cinder was ready to make sure that she had his full attention.

"Take me," Cinder said as she gestured to herself. "Me for Eren. I don't know why you chose Eren or what you're planning, but I don't care." To make her point even stronger, Cinder got on her knees to prove her sincerity. "Take my body. Let Eren go, and take me. I won't fight you."

"..."

Before Darkness took the time to consider the sincerity of this request, he scanned the immediate area before him. There were numerous Grimm in the hall and in each room before him. Given that there was no place for anyone else to hide, they were either trying to escape or hiding somewhere else. And with a lack of Titans and no apparent weapons here, Darkness sensed no hidden plan or deception with this act.

Whatever this was... it appeared to be genuine.

"A charitable request," Darkness finally said. "But whereas Eren is concerned, this wouldn't be a rare thing from you, Cinder."

"Maybe," Cinder said. "But that's why I'm doing this. I know Eren. And I know he's still in there, fighting you again and again. Because that's what he does to people like you. To people like Reiss and Marley."

"People like me?"

"Someone who thinks they can take his freedom on a whim." Cinder looked Darkness in the eye, where she once stared at a soothing aqua instead of a bright purple. "Eren does whatever it takes to get it back, for however long it takes. And if he's fighting you..." Cinder looked at Eren's body from head to toe. "Controlling him isn't easy, is it?"

Darkness was sure that Cinder was buying time for everyone, but he couldn't resist playing along. "It wouldn't be easy," he confessed. "If Eren chose to keep fighting me. You assume too much, Cinder."

"No, I'm not," Cinder said as she quickly got back up. The Grimm around her growled and prepared to attack, but Darkness sensed no danger. "You can spin it however you want, but I know Eren's fighting you. And I know you can't keep it up forever." Cinder spread her arms out. "You can do whatever you want with me. And I won't fight you."

"...Whatever I want?"

Cinder slowly nodded. Her body was tense and she was starting to sweat on her forehead, but she didn't falter. "Whatever you want."

"..."

Darkness sensed the truth in Cinder's words, that she was ready to be a vessel. That she was ready to give up her freedom and any future she had on Remnant, all just to be a puppet. It was a rare sight, given everything Cinder had said and done about pursuing freedom. And given what she planned to do when she returned to Mistral, the offer sounded even more insane for Cinder to do.

Through it all, Darkness saw why Cinder would make an offer like this. But now, he wanted to show her why he wouldn't accept it.

"You truly believe Eren is fighting me," he said as he slowly raised his hand. "Would you like to see for yourself?"

"..."

As Cinder looked at the hand Darkness was offering, she knew that his offer was nothing more than a trap. That this was the first step to breaking her and maybe killing her as well. But the chance to see Eren and possibly help him was too tempting for Cinder to ignore.

And so, even if it was the worst risk she had ever taken, Cinder took the hand that once belonged to Eren.

*WHOOSH*

Within the blink of an eye, Cinder found herself someplace new with someone new. Where she was once standing in a dark hallway with Eren's body, the young girl was now standing in the open field with a purple figure directly in front of her. Cinder couldn't help but jump back in surprise and let go of Darkness' hand, and doing so allowed her to see a large white tree behind the deity. They were at the Coordinate.

Cinder looked to the left and right, but she didn't see any sign of her best friend. "Eren?" she asked in desperation. Darkness remained silent, but he pointed behind Cinder to guide her where she wanted to go.

Cinder turned around fast and saw a set of chains wrapped around a person laying on the ground. The person was badly burnt and bleeding, and he also appeared to be unconscious. Cinder stepped forward to take a closer look, but she knew who was trapped on the ground.

"Eren?" Cinder called out as she suddenly rushed forward. "Eren!" She kneeled down as soon as she reached her best friend and thought of multiple ways to help him. First, she pulled on every chain that she could see in a vain attempt to break them and free Eren. Next, she tried to wake him up by shouting his name over and over again, but he continued to sleep.

But just to make sure, Cinder put two fingers on Eren's neck to check his pulse.

"I can assure you, he's still alive," said Darkness, who walked over to Cinder. "Do you really think I would kill him after everything I've done to be where I am?"

Cinder quickly looked back at Darkness. "This doesn't mean you've won," she spat. "He's gotten out of worse places before!"

"With the right help, yes." Darkness looked around the area to mock Cinder before he looked down at her again. "I see nobody coming to help."

"..."

"As for this meaning I haven't won..." Darkness leaned down. "Perhaps you should take a closer look."

Cinder was confused by what Darkness was saying, but she complied and took a closer look at Eren. He was still bound in unbreakable chains and he was still wounded, but Cinder was able to notice something else about him too. For some strange reason, Eren's face looked... younger.

Cinder looked at Eren from head to toe and noticed that his stature had changed as well. He didn't appear to be the warrior that fought by her countless times, but he appeared to be shorter and scrawnier. It was impossible to believe but Eren looked like... a child.

Like he did on the first day they met.

"Wh... What?" Cinder asked as she looked at her friend. "I... I don't-"

"He is weak," said Darkness, who seemed to be unaffected by Eren's physical changes. "Broken. I understand how you may see him. A true warrior who spits in the face of oppression and tyranny." The god leaned closer. "But at heart... Eren will always be the child who could never obtain what he truly desired." The god titled his head. "Like you."

"..."

Darkness chuckled as he moved backwards. "You really are the same as him, Cinder. You can take comfort in knowing that he fought me tooth and nail when he found himself here. It was no easy task to break him."

"No," Cinder said as she turned around. She was still kneeling by Eren, but she faced Darkness with a scowl. "He's never been weak. Or broken. And neither am I."

"You think so?" Darkness asked. "I always wondered why you and Eren were so bold in my presence." The god looked down at his body, specifically his hands. "Perhaps it is because I currently appear as a Faunus."

*SNAP*

*CRACK*

Suddenly, Darkness' horns grew larger as he sprouted wings on his back. A purple dome encompassed him as he grew larger and larger. The dome soon disappeared as an eyeless dragon towered over Cinder and Eren and spoke in the same deep voice Eren's body spoke in.

"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of words," he said as he referred to the time he wiped out the people of Remnant in this form. "Do you still believe you can win, human? Against the likes of me?!"

"..."

No.

Cinder knew that the answer to that question was a direct "No." Even if she had her Titan, Cinder knew that she didn't stand a chance against someone who was a literal god. And if she knew Eren, he gave everything he had to stop Darkness and free himself. And if he failed, there was nothing else Cinder could do.

Except try one last thing.

Before she talked to Darkness again, Cinder looked back to Eren. He was still unconscious and still a child, but Cinder knew that this was still Eren. And one way or another, it wasn't very likely that she was going to see him again.

"Whatever happens next, Eren... I'm sorry we won't be together," she whispered as she lowered her head to his. "Goodbye."

*SMECK*

After she said her goodbyes to her best friend, Cinder stood up and prepared herself for what would happen next. She wasn't going to give up fighting, but she knew there was only one hope she had for saving the people she loved.

Especially Eren.

"Take me," she said. "Eren's weak right now, huh? Broken?" Cinder spread her arms out. "Well, take a look at me! I'm strong! I'm still standing here! Let my friends go and you can have me!"

"..."

Darkness moved his skeletal head closer to Cinder. "I possess the Founding Titan," he said. "And the only one who could stand against the likes of Salem without fleeing or dying. Eren Yeager is my chosen one. Even without a Titan, he is a natural born killer. He is perfect."

"Oh, yeah?!" Cinder yelled as she spread her arms again. "Well, that makes two of us! He and I are the same, remember?! I've killed people too! And I..." Cinder momentarily stumbled on her words, since the idea she wanted to share wasn't something she expected to say. "I... I liked it! Hell, I loved it!"

"..."

"I loved choking that woman who made me her slave! I loved stabbing her daughters over and over again!" Tears began to move down Cinder's eyes as she continued to say such horrible things. "I want to see Atlas burn! I want to see Huntsmen and Huntresses, the people who defend our Kingdoms, pay for everything they did to us! I want all of it because I'm a selfish bitch who hates not getting what she wants!" She pointed at Eren, who was still unconscious despite Cinder's tirade. "Eren might be your chosen one, but I'm... I'm the worst girl in the world!" She spread her arms out even wider. "So go ahead! Take me! Do your fucking worst!"

"..."

Cinder closed her eyes as more tears flowed down them. "I know I did."

"..."

"..."

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

Cinder opened her eyes to see that Darkness not only reverted back into the form of a man, but he was slowly clapping as he moved closer to her. "Bravo," he said as he clapped slowly. "Encore."

"...Huh?" Cinder asked as she looked at the god in confusion.

"Isn't that what you humans say when a performance is over? When the actors all take a bow?"

"What?" Cinder didn't believe what she was hearing. "Wait, you think-?"

"You make a remarkable actress, Cinder. I almost believed every lie that you said."

"Lie?" Cinder stood up. "I'm not lying to you!"

"Yes, you are." Darkness let an amused chuckle escape his throat. "You really think I would believe that you of all people would let mankind die because you're 'the worst girl in the world?'" He chuckled again before he became calm. "You're a good liar, Cinder. And you hide your feelings well. But I can see that which is hidden. Especially lies."

"No, I'm-!"

"Do you know why my name is 'Darkness,' Cinder?" Darkness asked. "Why out of all the evildoers in the world, I am the one who carries the title?"

"..."

"My Magic is mostly to thank, but not in the way you might imagine." Darkness created a small ball of Magic in his hand for a moment. "And the Grimm carry out my wishes for destruction, that is true. But again, it's not what you may think. Of course, most believe my name derives from my ability to spread physical darkness, or that I can breed a little rage here and there. But it's much more than that."

"..."

Darkness quickly moved in front of Cinder again, which made her fall over. "My Magic lets me see the darkness inside everyone. All the nasty little things they hide in the shadows of their spirit." Darkness titled his head as he stared at the young girl before him. "I see you, Cinder Fritz. You may be a killer, you may be the same as Eren... but I can see the guilt and shame you carry. I can see the dishonesty from your words just now."

Cinder managed to find her voice, even though she didn't know what to say. "I-"

"But you know what does make you the worst girl in the world, Cinder?" Darkness asked. "I can see how much you hate. How much you loathe Atlas, the Huntsmen, and everything in the world that makes you unhappy. You don't want to make things better. You just hate things the way they are."

"..."

"Let me tell you something else." Darkness leaned closer to Cinder's ear, and she didn't do anything to stop him. "Mikasa Ackerman never hated anyone or anything. That's why Eren will always love her. That's why he will never love you."

"..."

Darkness wasn't being entirely truthful when he said that Mikasa never hated certain things in her life. But Cinder believed every word he had just said. She wanted to scream her head off and tell Darkness what kind of monster he was, how he was much worse than she could ever be.

But her heart was too broken to do anything else but cry and feel sorry for herself. She knew how much she hated Atlas and the Huntsmen, but hearing it out loud made Cinder see that she really was the worst girl in the world. She was faking it earlier, but Cinder didn't have the heart to call herself a good person after this. She didn't even deserve anything good at this point. Not her freedom, not her friends, and especially the gift of having Eren in her life.

It didn't really matter what she did or didn't deserve, however. For Cinder wouldn't be alive much longer to enjoy them.

*SMACK*

The God of Darkness sent a backhanded strike against Cinder's cheek, which caused her to move with the force of the strike. She didn't fall, she flew backwards and found herself at an incredible distance from Eren and no Aura to heal her.

Her enemy recognized this and sent a storm of lightning towards her without hesitation.

*ZAP*

"AAAAAHHH!"

Darkness took pleasure in watching such a woman suffer this much pain. Her death would please him even more, since he knew that such a thing would be the perfect thing to begin his reign. With the rest of the Titans currently dying, Darkness knew Cinder was the last rival he would have to suffer. And out of all the friends Eren had made, Darkness suffered from Cinder the most.

He wasn't lying when he said that his greatest power was the ability to see the darkness inside everyone. He saw much hatred within her, but there was something else Darkness saw in Cinder. It was rather obvious, since he didn't need to use Magic to see it.

Through it all, the lies and the shouting, Darkness knew that Cinder possessed love as well as hatred. It was even possible that this love trumped over her hatred. And so, Darkness found great resolve in killing Cinder. Nothing was going to stop him from accomplishing this goal.

Not even the small force grabbing at his foot.

Darkness looked down to see what was holding his leg, and he was somewhat surprised to see the answer. A child's hand was holding on as hard as it could, even though it was bleeding and burnt after being tortured for so long. When Darkness followed the hand, he saw none other than Eren Yeager staring back at him with a familiar glare in his eyes.

"Leave... her alone..." Eren gasped through the pain. "You... bastard."

Darkness shook Eren's hand off his foot. "Ah, still looking for a fight?" he sarcastically asked. "Still mocking your superiors, Eren. I suppose I should have expected it." Darkness looked back towards Cinder, who was laying motionlessly on the ground. "Especially for a friend."

Eren hadn't noticed that he had taken the form of a child again as he coughed up blood. The chains were still around his body, but he could still move his hands. And so, he formed two fists as he laid on the ground and stared up at Darkness.

"I'll fight for her," Eren promised. "Again and again. Forever."

Darkness laughed at the promise. "How sweet," he said. "You know, Eren, they say the hardest thing about making a promise... is keeping it." He lifted his foot above Eren's fist, which the young boy had lifted off the ground again. "Let's see how well you keep this one."

As Darkness sent his foot down to the ground, Eren sent his fist upwards with a yell. Both of them knew that contact would be made, that one unstoppable force would be superior to another. Both of them had the same outcome in mind, yet neither of them stopped their limbs from moving. Darkness and Eren couldn't resist the chance to finish this fight once and for all.

But when they made contact with each other... the deity and the warrior saw that this fight was far from over.

*ZAP*

*BOOM*

A bright light and a deafening explosion came out of nowhere. Eren was still chained to the ground, but he could feel the tremendous force of the explosion. Cinder felt it too, and she was blown back by it since she wasn't chained like Eren.

Darkness wasn't physically affected by the explosion, but he stood incredibly still and stared at the direction of the explosion in shock.

"What?" he quickly asked. He wasn't the source of the explosion, and he could sense something new in the Coordinate. "Brother? No, that's... that's impossible!"

"..."

Eren was able to see that the fading light was yellow, the same color the God of Light glowed everywhere he went. He was still hurt and still recovering from the explosion, but he could feel something that was almost completely abandoned.

Hope.

"Impossible!" Darkness yelled as he looked at the light. "I took every precaution! How did he find out?!" It was a rare sight to see Darkness lose his calm and collected behavior, to see him fear for his safety.

But it was a welcome one.

"Heh, heh, heh," Eren chuckled as he looked at the light. "Ha, ha, ha! What's the matter, Darkness? Things didn't go the way you planned?"

"Silence!" Darkness ordered as he saw the fading light. "It can't be my brother! I was careful, even when I took control of you!" The light had finally died down and Darkness could begin to see that someone was indeed approaching closer. "No! It's impossible! It's impossi-!"

"..."

Eren quickly noted how Darkness had stopped panicking, which came as yet another surprise. Eren could only partially move his head off the ground, but he was able to see what was going on. The light had completely disappeared, and there was someone standing in front of the both of them.

But it wasn't the God of Light.

Standing in front of Eren and Darkness was a girl no older than how old Eren appeared to be right now. She was dressed in a raggedy dress and sandals, an outfit that looked like it came from another century in human history. She had straight cut bangs with shoulder-length hair and a headband that looked just as dirty as her clothes. Her defining feature, however, was the calm yet determined look on her face as she stared at Eren and Darkness.

Darkness began to relax as he believed that he was in no real danger. Eren, however, was still surprised to see who had just joined him and Cinder. Not only because her arrival was a miracle, but because he knew the girl.

"...Ymir," he whispered with a dropped jaw.

Darkness was able to hear Eren's whisper and he realized what he said was true. The girl standing before him was Ymir the Founder.

Ymir, the original Founding Titan.

Ymir, the progenitor of the Nine Titans.

Ymir... the slave.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Darkness laughed as he relaxed and let the truth sink in. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Darkness looked down at Eren. "This is what destiny sends the great Eren Yeager?! A mute slave?!"

"..."

Neither Eren or Ymir said a word, given that this was the truth about Ymir. Eren, however, was angry when Darkness called Ymir a slave. He helped free her, after all. On that day, Ymir ceased to be a slave.

Unfortunately, as Eren once said, Ymir wasn't a god either.

"You trespass, Founder," the God of Darkness said as he pointed to the endless space behind Ymir. "Go crawl back in the grave where you belong."

"..."

Ymir remained silent, but she proved herself as a free woman by standing completely still. Eren didn't know what she was doing here, but he knew that Ymir wasn't going to be obeying any orders anymore.

"Do you think yourself powerful, girl?" Darkness asked as he stepped closer. "I do not know how you came to be here, but I know you have no connection to the Founding Titan."

"..."

Ymir didn't confirm or deny this; she simply remained still and unafraid of Darkness. The god, however, became very angry with this defiance and silence. He became so angry that he transformed into a mighty dragon once again and towered over the girl.

"Leave at once!" the monster demanded.

"..."

Darkness decided that he had given the Eldian enough time and chances to leave. And if she refused to move, Darkness made it clear that he was going to make her.

*FWOOSH*

Purple fire escaped the dragon's mouth and engulfed Ymir, which caused much distress to Eren. While he didn't know how or why Ymir came here, he knew that she was outclassed by the God of Darkness. He hated Darkness for causing even more distress to someone who had suffered for over two thousand years, but he hated himself even more.

If Ymir truly came here to help, then Eren had allowed another friend to be killed by Darkness.

When the fire died down, Darkness watched ashes rise off the ground. His fire was hot enough to scorch the earth and turn flesh and bones into nothing but dust.

And yet, Ymir was still standing before him.

Eren and Darkness were equally confused by Ymir's survival of the blast. Darkness, however, refused to accept this defeat and fired at Ymir once again.

*FWOOSH*

The fire disappeared quickly this time, and Ymir remained where she was.

*FWOOSH*

*FWOOSH*

*FWOOSH*

Three more attempts left Ymir unchanged and left Darkness infuriated. Ymir wasn't a god, but it seemed her soul remained unaffected by his Magic. Perhaps she was stronger than he had initially believed.

This meant that Ymir would be an interference to his plans.

Darkness was angry, but this anger didn't destroy his rational thought. It was clear that Magic wouldn't be able to hurt or remove Ymir from this place, but Darkness believed that maybe she wasn't immune to physical contact. And so, with a mighty roar, the god struck at Ymir with his large front foot.

*BAM*

This time, Ymir was susceptible to bodily harm. She flew back from the strike and slid on the ground, which caused red dust to move with her.

"No!" Eren yelled as he watched Ymir lay on the ground.

"Yes," said Darkness, who walked towards Ymir while slamming all of his feet on the ground. "Yes! If you refuse to move..." Darkness stopped in front of Ymir, who was trying to stand back up. "Then I'll just have to force you!"

*BAM*

Darkness struck Ymir once again, and the result was the same. She slid on the ground, but then moved up once again. Darkness almost respected her ability to get up each time, but he was more invested in causing pain and anguish for his intruder.

*BAM*

*BAM*

*BAM*

*BAM*

With each strike and repeated motions Darkness and Ymir committed, there seemed to be very little change or impact in the situation. It could hardly be called a duel, since Ymir was on the receiving end of a cruel beating from someone who defied nature itself.

The one thing that did change, however, was that Darkness and Ymir found themselves to be rather close to the Coordinate itself.

Darkness stopped striking Ymir when he saw the light. He initially mistook it for the sign of another intruder, but he quickly saw that it was just the light radiating off the Coordinate. The light and the sight of Ymir before him were enough to make Darkness calm down and realize that he got overexcited. After all, overpowering his chosen one and the first Founding Titan was a rare thing for anyone to do.

Ymir looked up at Darkness again when he stopped beating her. She was covered in dust and blood, but she refused to give in to the god. That was why she got up once again and waited for Darkness to strike her.

But instead of another strike, Ymir watched Darkness transform into the shape of a man once again. Once he stood on two feet once again, Darkness violently grabbed Ymir by the neck and raised her off the ground.

"Perhaps I should let you stay after all," he said as he admired his handiwork and made a new plan. "You did make a fine slave, Ymir!"

"..."

As he reveled in his victory, Darkness began to think of how he could use both Eren and Ymir for himself. He would still retain control over Eren and rule the world, but Ymir could make a new army for him. Just as she made the Nine Titans and the Titans of the Walls, Darkness planned to let Ymir stay and build a new force of Titans. With them, he would conquer the world much faster than if he had just controlled the Grimm. Since the Coordinate had no concept of time, Darkness could expect his Titans in one single minute while Ymir worked for a millennia.

The plan was sound, and Darkness couldn't wait to begin. Ymir, on the other hand, had no wishes to be a part of this conquest. She didn't speak or fight against Darkness' grasp, but she was able to show Darkness something that nobody had seen in over two thousand years.

Ymir flashed Darkness a smile on her face. Not just any smile, but a sly smirk. A smirk that one would use to let an enemy know that something else was going on. Namely, that Ymir had a plan of her own.

And Darkness was right where she wanted him to be.

*WHOOSH*

Darkness was momentarily blinded by a light that resonated from the Coordinate, something that moved at a fast speed and moved very close to him. When he regained his vision, Darkness saw that something was wrapped around the arm he was holding Ymir with.

*HISS*

A burning sensation began to travel across Darkness' arm, right where the piece of light was holding him. He was forced to let go of Ymir to grab his arm, but the light around it refused to move.

"What?!" Darkness yelled as he stared at his bound arm. "What is happening?!"

Ymir stood behind Darkness and looked at the Coordinate before her. She then raised her right hand and moved all of her fingers to her palm, almost like she was beckoning something to come.

*WHOOSH*

*WHOOSH*

*WHOOSH*

More light travelled from the center of the Coordinate and found its way towards Darkness. The light almost looked and felt like arms as they wrapped around him. The burning sensation grew by the second, which caused Darkness to panic as he grew angrier.

"What is this?!" Darkness yelled as he desperately tried to pull the lights off him. Unfortunately for him, the Coordinate had taken a mind of its own; and that mind was making it extend towards the God of Darkness.

Darkness wasn't able to figure out what was happening, but Ymir knew everything. She wasn't a god like people believed, but she was someone who could control the Coordinate. She had spent two thousand years at her own Coordinate doing nothing but use it to create Titan after Titan and obey anyone who controlled the Eldian Founding Titan. In that time, she learned every secret the Coordinate had to offer, every hidden ability it possessed.

The first thing she learned, however, was what her Coordinate was. It was the focal point for all Eldians, all of the descendants she had over the years, but it was something else too. The Coordinate was a place she lived in by herself, a place that cut her off from the rest of the world and the people who lived in it.

In other words... the Coordinate was a prison.

And since the Coordinate of Remnant was no different from the Eldian Coordinate, Ymir knew right from the start that could also be a prison. Because she knew how to manipulate it, use it however she was previously ordered to, Ymir knew that she could make this Coordinate a prison for the God of Darkness.

And as he drew closer and closer to the center of the Coordinate, Darkness realized the fate that Ymir was sentencing him to.

"No!" Darkness yelled as he lunged forward. He stopped just short of Ymir before the light pulled on him tighter. "You cannot stop me!" Despite the tension on his arm, Darkness was able to lift his hand and unleash a beam of Magic at Ymir.

*ZAP*

But rather than simply take more physical pain, Ymir stepped aside and let the Magic dissipate into nothingness. And before Darkness could try again, Ymir stepped forward and pushed on Darkness' chest.

"No!" Darkness cried as he tried to resist. "Release me!"

"..."

He turned around towards the white tree and yelled again. "Release me! I made you! I am your master!"

"..."

*SNAP*

*CRACK*

Darkness tried to turn into a dragon again, but Ymir simply let more light escape the Coordinate and ensure her prey. Instead of a complete change, the god had become malformed and ugly. It was almost like he was a mixture of both a man and a dragon. The Coordinate wasn't necessarily removing his powers, but it was containing them. Just as Ymir knew, the tree was becoming a brand new prison.

Perhaps for the first time in his life, Darkness was afraid. He was afraid not because his plans for the future were becoming undone, but because his own creation had turned against him. And despite his best efforts, he could not control what he had made.

He had failed.

"This... This is not over!" Darkness yelled in fury. "I cannot be destroyed! I will live on! I will!"

"..."

Ymir didn't seem to be bothered by this promise. After all, anything Darkness said or did could be compared to a child throwing a tantrum.

"This prison is... is meaningless! I will be free!"

"..."

Darkness moved closer and closer to the light. "I-I created this! I can destroy it! Break it just as easily!"

"..."

"H-How?! How did you do this?! Tell me!"

"..."

"TELL ME!"

"..."

At long last, Darkness' body had reached the center of the Coordinate. He felt immense pain as his body was being pulled in, pain that he hadn't felt since the last time he fought his brother. The god couldn't help but scream as he was being humbled, but he kept talking as the last bits of his purple glow disappeared.

"You will pay! All of you!" Darkness looked back to Eren, even though he couldn't quite see him. "You will suffer more pain than any world has to offer! You will be damned! Damned, do you hear me?! DAAAAAAAMMMMMMNEEED..."

"..."

And just like that... the God of Darkness was gone.

When silence fell upon the Coordinate, Ymir turned around and began to walk. As she did, the girl felt something within her. Something that had been forgotten for so many years. Something that King Fritz took away from her many years ago. Something that she felt the day she saw Mikasa do what she should have done once.

Pride.

Ymir felt pride in what she had done; how she used her freedom in a way that she had never used it before, how she used it to topple the strongest of beings.

And also, Ymir had used her freedom to travel places she never thought of before. Today was the first day that she learned that there were not just places, but that there were worlds beyond the one she once lived on. She was definitely taken aback by the discovery, and a part of her wanted to know more about the world she had discovered.

But first, Ymir settled on doing the one thing she came here to do; help Eren Yeager the way he once helped her.

When she stopped walking, Ymir found herself standing above Eren. He was still burnt and bleeding from the attacks Darkness inflicted upon him, but he wore a smile on his face. He heard all of Darkness' screams as he was pulled into the Coordinate, and he heard how they all fell into silence. Eren knew that Darkness was gone, and that this was the best thing he could have asked for.

He was free.

"Ymir..." Eren whispered as he reached up to her. He was still bound by chains, but he was able to slightly move his hand up off the ground. Fortunately, Ymir put a end to this imprisonment by grabbing Eren's chains and pulling on them. As she did, the metal turned into sand and Eren finally lifted himself off the ground. "Ymir."

The Founder looked at Eren and returned the smile he was giving her before she helped him off the ground. Bones cracked and Eren groaned as he stood up, but standing was a blessing at the present moment.

And so was Ymir.

"I... I don't understand," Eren confessed. "What are you doing here?"

"..."

Ymir didn't answer Eren with words, she simply stared at him calmly. She thought her actions spoke for themselves, but Eren didn't seem to understand why she did all of this. She was free, she was free since the day Mikasa helped her. It was still a strange thing to think about, but Eren knew Mikasa helped Ymir just as much as he did.

And ultimately, that idea was what led Eren to a logical conclusion.

"You... You wanted to help me?" Eren asked. "Is that why you're here?"

Ymir moved her head down until her chin reached her chest. She then lifted it back up, which Eren took as a simple nod. This understanding was what led Eren to hugging Ymir, to show her how relieved he was that this nightmare was over.

"...Thank you," he said.

"..."

Tears fell from both Eren's eyes as well as Ymir's. Whereas Eren was happy to know that Darkness wouldn't hold him anymore, Ymir was simply happy to see that someone she cared about was grateful for what she had done.

However, this brief moment of joy passed when Eren realized what his freedom meant.

"Cinder," he said as he turned around. She was still laying in the ground before her, but she was far away from him. Eren tried to run over to help her, but his wounds resulted in him kneeling down in pain. Ymir was about to help him stand, but Eren quickly moved his hand out to stop her.

"I... I have to go back," he said. "My friends... they need my help."

"..."

Ymir nodded once again to show that she understood. But Eren promised himself that he would be quick, because he wasn't quite finished with Ymir just yet.

A few minutes ago, Eren discovered that Darkness had imprisoned him in more ways than one. Along with keeping him chained in the Coordinate, Darkness made sure that Eren couldn't summon himself back to Remnant. Of course, given that Eren's body was occupied by Darkness himself, Eren was just a soul with no place to go. But now, Eren easily left the Coordinate and found himself in his old body once again.

Many Grimm surrounded him, but none of them attacked him. Eren didn't know if they knew that Darkness was gone, but he didn't stop to find out. Instead, Eren quickly sent a thought to all of his friends, everyone who had been robbed of their Titans.

"Fight."

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

He couldn't see for himself, but Eren could hear the sounds of his friends turning back into Titans. Their wounds were the perfect ways to trigger the much needed transformations, and now they could all save themselves by fighting.

Just as Eren's nightmare was over, their's too had passed.

Though Eren also gave Cinder the power to turn into a Titan, he didn't tell her to transform. Instead, he sent a different thought right before he returned to the Coordinate. There, he found himself back as a child once again, covered from head to toe in wounds. Ymir caught him before he fell over, an act that was greatly appreciated by Eren.

He was even more grateful to see that Cinder was no longer in the Coordinate.

"She's gone..." Eren said as he sighed in relief. "She's back home. Good."

"..."

A gentle nudge from Ymir caught Eren's attention. She was still holding him, and now she was the one who didn't understand something. She saw that Eren had transported his friend back to Remnant, but she was confused as to why he was still here.

Ymir had one idea, however. She sat Eren down and looked at his wounds, which were all very serious. She wasn't sure, but she believed that she could use the elements around her to heal Eren just like she could heal the Eldians.

"No."

Ymir looked back to Eren, who was shaking his head very slowly. "No, Ymir," he said calmly. "You don't have to help me anymore."

"..."

Eren could tell that she she was confused, so he decided to explain things more. "They're all safe," he said calmly. "Ren, Nora, Mercury, Emerald... Cinder. They can use their Titans to fight the Grimm. Then they can go back home." Eren sat upright as he said one more thing. "That's all I can ask for right now."

"..."

Ymir gently pressed her finger against Eren's chest before she pointed back to the Coordinate. Eren understood what she was doing, which was why he shook his head again.

"No, Ymir," he said. "I can't go back. I won't."

"..."

Eren let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sure you saw everything Darkness did while I was here. He used me to hurt my friends. He beat them. Tortured them. He came this close to killing them all. And it's my fault."

"..."

Ymir shook her head at Eren before she pointed to the Coordinate again. After he realized that this was the first time anyone had a conversation like this with Ymir, something more than just giving a simple command, Eren talked some more.

"It may just as well have been me," he said. "It was my body. That's what he used to hurt them." Eren sighed again. "Just like how I killed those people back home."

"..."

"It's like... the one thing I'm good at. I know how to hurt people. How to fight and break them. Everywhere I go, bad things follow." Eren softly gasped as he turned around. "Dark things follow."

"..."

Eren closed his eyes as he turned away from the Coordinate. "That's why he chose me," he said. "He knew I'd do the same thing to Salem, to anyone who tried to hurt me." After a brief period of silence, Eren restated his decision. "I can't keep doing this. I can't be what Darkness wants me to be. So... I'm not going back."

"..."

Eren pitied himself as he made up his mind. He didn't want to stay here, he didn't want to give up on the place he could call home. And most of all, he didn't want to give up on the only people who accepted him as he was.

But for the sake of letting them live their lives... Eren had to stay.

It was a hard point to prove, that Eren always knew how to hurt the people around him. But when Ymir pressed her hand against his heart and looked at him with a somber expression, Eren proved his point as he lost his temper.

"Of course I care about them!" he yelled. "Don't you get it?! That's why I have to stay!" He quickly pointed back to the Coordinate. "If Darkness gets free, he'll want me dead! If I go back to Remnant, he'll do whatever it takes to hurt them just to get back at me! And look at you!" Ymir jumped back as Eren pointed at her. "Everything you did just put a target on your back! If you stay here, you're going to end up dead too!"

"..."

Eren began to calm down when he remembered that Ymir was already dead. When he realized that he may have hurt her as well, Eren turned away in shame. "I don't belong here, Ymir," he said. "I don't belong anywhere."

"..."

"I'm not a good friend. I'm not a hero." Eren began to cry. "I'm the Devil of All Earth."

"..."

"Just... Just go away. While you still can."

"..."

The sound of footsteps behind him, which were moving away from him, made Eren feel more alone than ever. But this was what he wanted, after all. He was tired of fighting, he was tired of being beaten, he was tired of being a destructive force like Darkness.

Eren was just... tired.

So tired that he began to drift into a sound sleep. Whether it was sleep or unconsciousness from his wounds, Eren felt himself drifting off and everything growing dark. He didn't know what he would do when he woke up, but he knew he would be right where he believed he should be.

Here.

Alone.

And yet, he wasn't entirely alone. Ymir had walked away from him, but she didn't leave. Instead, she stopped at the white Coordinate in front of her and looked at the multiple branches resonating off it. While it served as Darkness' prison, Ymir sensed that there was another purpose behind this Coordinate. Mainly, how it connected to the world of Remnant.

And so, Ymir made another choice of her own free will. She touched the Coordinate and let all of its power move within her. Just as Darkness once described to Winter and his brother, the Coordinate was capable of telling stories. It mainly connected to the people of Remnant, but Ymir was able to see a multitude of things.

Ymir saw the past, the present, and the future of hundred and hundreds of people. Most of the futures she saw were only possible futures, but they were still futures nonetheless. Ymir saw the entire history of Remnant before her, how the Gods created it from a small source that grew into something wonderful.

Ymir smiled at the Coordinate for two reasons. The first was because she was awestruck at the sights she witnessed. Remnant wasn't a perfect world, but it was beautiful. It was one of a kind, and it offered many things that Ymir never had on the world she once shared with Eren.

And the second reason Ymir smiled was because some of the memories she saw served as an inspiration. Namely, how she could help Eren one last time. She would need some help, or rather, she would be helping someone else who held Eren close to their heart. But the plan she had was perfect, something that she was confident would help.

All she had to do was wake Eren up.

---

"..."

"-en!"

"..."

"Eren!"

"..."

"EREN!"

*THOOM*

The sound of his name and a loud thunderclap awoke Eren instantly. As he awoke, Eren was welcomed once again by a red sky that was painted with white branches. And sure enough, Eren saw the Coordinate resting miles away from him when he propped his head off the ground.

But once again, Eren found himself in chains.

"Not again," Eren thought to himself. He tried to pull the chains off him, but they were just as secure as last time. And even worse, Eren was wrapped and locked in more than two chains. His entire body was in shackles, and they weren't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Eren!" a familiar voice called out. "Over here!"

The young man turned to see that he wasn't alone in the Coordinate. Across a certain distance was another set of chains, just like the chains Eren was bound in. The only difference, however, was that a young girl was its prisoner. She was wearing a tan shirt and jeans and had a head of black hair.

It took no time at all for Eren to recognize her.

"Cinder?" Eren asked himself. When he realized that she was with him, Eren began hysterical. "Cinder!" He stood up off the floor and tried to break his chains. Nothing worked, so Eren decided to talk to his friend again. "Cinder, are you okay?!"

"I think so!" Cinder replied as she took a minute to think about her situation. Despite the fact that she wasn't hurt, she was unsure what was going on or why she was in shackles. "What are we doing here?!"

"I don't know! I just woke up here!"

"Me too!"

The first thing Cinder remembered was feeling much better. The wounds she received from Darkness, at Salem's castle and the Coordinate, were all healing with the power of the Titans. She welcomed the feeling with joy as she got off the ground and felt every wound she received heal at an incredible rate.

But when she remembered Eren, joy turned to fear as she quickly ran over to him. She was at the castle, where she was once in the company of Darkness. But now, Eren's body was unconscious and free of any features that resembled the God of Darkness. The last thing Cinder did was hug Eren as she prayed that he would wake up alive and well.

Then she found herself in the Coordinate, chained and at a long distance from Eren.

Cinder leaned forward so she could get a better look at Eren. "Are you okay?" she asked. "What happened to you?" When she was able to capture all of her friend's features perfectly, Cinder had another question. "And... why are you a kid again?"

Eren tried to think of an explanation to the conundrum, but he had no idea what it was about the Coordinate that made him look like a child again. "I... I don't know," Eren called back. "But, uh... you kind of changed too."

"I did?"

"..."

Cinder took a minute to realize that Eren was right. The sound of her voice was the first hint at this, given that it sounded like it did before she grew up. And when she looked at her shorter legs and stature, Cinder embraced the truth with shock and awe.

"Oh, my Gods, I did!" Cinder screamed. "Wh-Why is this happening?!"

"It's okay!" Eren reassured his friend. "I'm sure we're still the same back home! And Darkness is gone! We just gotta get out of here!"

Cinder began to calm down when she saw that going home was still a possibility. "Okay, yeah!" she agreed. "Can you get us back?"

Eren concentrated on getting back home and leaving the Coordinate. It was a simple feat he could do at any time, but he found himself unable to get back this time. No matter how much he thought of home, he still found himself in the Coordinate.

"It's not working!" Eren said as he gave up. "I can't get us back!"

Cinder began to grow afraid again. "What's wrong?" she called over. "Is it Darkness? Is he still controlling you?"

"No, no, I'm okay!" Eren couldn't think of a way to prove to Cinder that he had been freed from Darkness' control; he wasn't even sure if she would believe him about Ymir. So he decided to think of another thing to do. "Let's try to get these chains off! Maybe that'll help!"

"Good idea!" Cinder eagerly agreed. Thinking that turning into a Titan would break the shackles, Cinder bit her hand and watched her blood fall to the ground. However, she was still human. "Dammit! I still can't turn into a Titan!"

Eren had tried to same thing, but to no avail. He wasn't sure what was blocking his powers, but he was sure that they were being blocked nonetheless. But that didn't stop him from looking for a way out. "Try pulling!" he suggested.

Cinder moved and pulled her chains as hard as she could, but they refused to break. And the poles on each side were just beyond her reach. "I can't break them!" she said. "And each time I reach for the poles, the other chain keeps me back!"

"Mine too!" Eren groaned in frustration as the two obvious ways of getting down were of no use.

"Okay, don't worry! We just gotta think of something else!"

"..."

Cinder looked around her as she tried to think of another way to free herself. Eren tried to think too, but all he could think of at the moment was the damage Darkness had done. While he was happy to see Cinder, he wasn't happy to see that the rest of his friends weren't here.

"Cinder, are you sure you're okay?" Eren called over. "And everyone else? I mean, I saw what Darkness did, but I-"

"I'm okay, Eren," Cinder reassured her friend. "And so's everyone else." She was glad Eren asked, given that she was still worried about him. Even though he appeared to be himself again, Cinder had no idea what the deity had put Eren through. "What about you? I saw what Darkness did to you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." Eren sighed as he hit his head. "I'm sorry, Cinder. I should have known about his plans. I tried to fight him!" Eren smacked himself again, harder this time. "God, I did! But he was... he was-!"

"A God," Cinder finished. Given how hard it was to fight him back home, Cinder could only imagine how hard it was for Eren to fight him here. "But I'm okay, really."

"..."

When she saw that her best friend was starting to feel better, Cinder decided to ease the situation with a joke. "I mean, I'll feel a lot better when we're together and out of these chains."

Whether Eren laughed with her or not was something Cinder didn't know. Because any other sound was drowned out by something new.

*CLINK*

Cinder looked at her feet to see that a chain had fallen off her body. She didn't know where it came from, but Cinder was positive that the chain was once wrapped around her. But now, the shackle turned to dust and disappeared.

"Hey, you got it off!" Eren shouted in glee. He was far away from Cinder, but not far enough to be unable to see anything.

"Did I do that?" Cinder asked. "I was just talking to you."

Eren tried to think of how this was possible. He remembered Zeke once broke chains like this by pulling them, but maybe this was different. "Maybe it's voice-controlled or something!" he said. He had seen technology in Atlas that responded with a voice, so he decided to try it with his shackles. "Um... feel a lot better!"

"..."

The chains refused to fall.

"Together!"

"..."

"...Together and out of these chains?"

"..."

Cinder tried to think of another word or phrase that would make sense, but nothing came to mind when she searched her memories. "No luck?" she sadly asked.

"Nothing," Eren replied.

This was a small victory, but Cinder greeted it with optimism. "Hey, don't worry! We can figure this out!"

It didn't take too much convincing for Eren to see that Cinder was right. "...Yeah. Yeah, you're right! We've been through worse!"

"Yeah! I mean, you still beat Salem! I saw her crystal!"

Eren had forgotten about his victory over Salem, but he too saw the crystal she was in before he woke up in the Coordinate. "Hey, that's right! We did it! We still beat her!" His hope for the future had returned when he saw this truth.

Cinder smiled back at Eren, but she didn't think what he said was true. "No, Eren," she said. "You did it. You're the one who beat her."

"Well... yeah," Eren admitted. "But you were still there too. Fighting all those Grimm and Salem's followers." Eren smiled again. "We make a great team, you and me. You know that?"

"..."

*CLINK*

It was Eren's turn to look down and see a chain turn to dust. Part of his body felt loose, and he could move around a little more freely than he could earlier.

"Hey, you did it!" Cinder said with pride.

"It's working!" Eren called back to his friend. "But, uh... I'm not sure what I did."

Cinder thought back on what exactly happened before each of their chains disappeared. The first thing that came to mind was their shared conversation, as well as their compliments.

"Well... we were talking about each other," said Cinder. "I mean, good things about each other."

Eren recalled the conversation with ease, but he was unsure if that was truly the key to solving their predicament. "You think that's what's been happening?" he asked skeptically.

Cinder understood this skepticism, but she wasn't ready to give up on her theory. "Hang on, let me try again."

"..."

Cinder started to get an idea as to what she could say to Eren. "Um... I'm happy to see you're smiling again!" she said.

"..."

Eren chuckled at the statement, given how funny it sounded. He hadn't realized that he never smiled ever since he gave Emerald her own Titan, so he was glad that Cinder had noticed this. It felt good to smile again, after everything he had gone through.

But he wasn't happy that Cinder's chains hadn't fallen down and disappeared again.

Cinder was starting to see that this wasn't going to be as easy as she thought. However, she also saw that her statement about Eren was a rather easy one. What she said before was more personal and sincere. It was foolish to consider, but Cinder couldn't think of anything else.

So even though it was a risk, Cinder spoke from her heart.

"I think you look cute when you smile," Cinder confessed.

"..."

Eren couldn't help but blush as he awkwardly chuckled at the compliment. He felt an itch at the back of his head that he couldn't scratch, but it disappeared shortly after Eren became comfortable again. Cinder was starting to feel awkward too, but not when more chains broke and fell to the ground.

*CLINK*

*CLINK*

*CLINK*

"Yeah, I did it!" Cinder said as she looked down. "But, uh... I'm not sure what it is."

While this was true in Cinder's case, Eren was starting to see what was making the chains hit the ground. "I think... it's saying certain things," he said. "Like... things we never said to each other."

Cinder looked up to Eren. "Oh..."

"..."

Eren was sure that he was right in this case, given what Cinder had just done. But as to why this was necessary, Eren had no idea. Was this all being done by Darkness? Was he trying to get the last laugh despite being trapped inside the Coordinate?

And why wasn't Ymir helping him again? Was she involved in this too?

Even though he wanted to know for sure, Eren realized that he wouldn't be getting answers to his questions anytime soon. The path to freedom had revealed itself, and there was only one way to take it.

"..."

In that moment, Eren began to feel grateful about the situation. Despite being shackled and trapped in the Coordinate, there could have been ways much worse than sharing his feelings about Cinder to obtain freedom. The force behind this event could have made Eren let her go if it chose to, just like he let his friends on Paradis go. But instead, it gave Eren the chance to hold on tight.

Which is exactly what he did.

"Looks like I'm next," Eren said with another laugh.

Cinder didn't share Eren's optimism at the situation. Instead, she was afraid of saying the wrong thing or saying too much. If she did one or the other, she might lose her best friend forever.

Cinder was prepared to say that she would find another way out, but Eren was too quick on the draw for her.

"Cinder... I'm really glad you decided to be my friend," he said calmly. "I was always afraid that you'd be scared of me, when you found out who I really was. And after everything you've seen me do on Paradis and Remnant. But you've always been there for me, no matter what I did. And you did it in the best ways I could have imagined. You've been strong, brave... and free." Eren smiled at his friend again. "I feel really lucky that I got the chance to be your friend."

"..."

*CLINK*

*CLINK*

*CLINK*

*CLINK*

As Cinder watched Eren's chains fall, she felt inspired and transformed by his words. The predicament she once thought to be scary had turned into something beautiful, and something that she was ready to share with her best friend in the world.

Eren found himself with fewer chains than Cinder was wrapped in. "Try to keep up," he jokingly requested.

Cinder cleared her throat and became brave once again. "Eren... I think you're an incredible person," she confessed. "That you're the most incredible person I've ever met. You've done things most people would call impossible, and you did most of them all on your own. You've always inspired me to be the best version of myself I can be. And every day, when I look in the mirror, I see someone that I'm proud to be." Cinder smiled again. "It's all thanks to you, Eren. You're a better person than you might think."

"..."

*CLINK*

*CLINK*

*CLINK*

As the sound of chains falling reached his ears, Eren became grateful for what she had said. Darkness' possession of him made Eren wonder if Cinder or anyone else could ever look at him the way they used. Everything Cinder had said made him feel better, and just as inspired as she felt.

When the chains stopped falling and had turned to dust, Eren and Cinder found themselves feeling a little more comfortable than before. They were still prisoners in the Coordinate, but that didn't stop them from continuing to move forward.

Now it was Eren's turn.

"Back on Paradis, I always dreamed of seeing the outside world," he said. "I shared Armin's dream of seeing things like the ocean. I always believed in the dream... but I think I believe in your dream a little more. That you can change the world."

"Really?" Cinder asked with a smile and red cheeks. "It, uh, sounds a little harder than seeing the ocean."

"And you know how hard it is. But you haven't given up. You never give up. You do what you say." Eren felt his cheeks grow hot again. "And honestly... you changed my world. The way I see and feel about it all, I mean."

*CLINK*

*CLINK*

As Cinder watched Eren's chains break again, she decided to say one thing before she took her turn. "I learned from the best, Eren."

Eren gratefully accepted the compliment as he patiently waited for Cinder's next confession. It turned out that it wasn't really a long one, but Cinder meant every word of it.

"I know I'm probably going to be busy with it all," she said calmly. "Changing the world, I mean. But it'll be more meaningful when I'm with you. So I'll make sure, no matter what, I'll carve some time out of my day for you. You're worth that, Eren. To me."

"..."

When Cinder saw a hesitant expression on Eren's face, she suddenly stopped smiling. What she said was the truth, but she could see that there was something that Eren didn't like hearing. Her earlier fears of saying the wrong thing returned, and now she was afraid of what he might say next.

"Can I ask you something?" Eren asked as he looked at the chains wrapped around him. "Before I go next?"

Cinder snapped out of her daze when she saw that she needed to give Eren permission to speak. "Yeah, of course," she replied, even though she was afraid of what he might say. "What is it?"

"Cinder... am I holding you back?"

Fear turned into confusion almost instantly for the young girl. "Wh... What?"

Eren sighed before he took his turn to talk. "I meant what I said about how you can change the world. How you changed my world. But I don't think I can do that if I'm holding you back."

"What? Eren, I don't understand."

"Back at the hospital, after I killed Tyrian, we were talking about what we'd do after we stopped Salem. You said you could do more with the Huntsmen and Huntresses, but you also said you wanted to live a simple life... as long as I was there."

Cinder's confusion refused to disappear. "Well... yeah. What's wrong with that?"

"It's wrong if I'm the reason you're not doing something good! Something you were always meant to do!"

"..."

"Cinder, I don't just think you can change the world! I think you deserve it! You see what's wrong with the world and you want to change it for the better! But what good is that if I'm the reason you'd wanna give it up?!" Eren began to calm down when he saw that he had lost his temper. "I don't want to get in the way of your life, Cinder. Not when you can do something better with it."

"..."

*CLINK*

As Eren felt the chains leave his body once again, he began to think about his earlier wish of leaving. His time on Remnant, no matter how much good he may have done, had only amounted to being the chosen vessel for a god set on conquest. And even when he wasn't this vessel, Eren did nothing but block any of his friends from reaching their true potential. He even almost got them killed on multiple occasions.

"I don't belong here," Eren reminded himself. "I don't belong anywhere."

"Eren? Eren, look at me."

Cinder's command was an easy one to obey, so Eren did so. When he did, Cinder took her turn to share something.

"That is, without a doubt, the dumbest thing I have ever heard anyone say in my entire life," Cinder bluntly declared.

Eren only had one thing to say to something like this. "...Huh?"

*CLINK*

Cinder's declaration was enough to make her chains fall, but she didn't stop talking.

"Holding me back?" Cinder asked sarcastically. "Is that really what you think you've been doing to me all this time? Did you hold me back when you rescued me from the Atlesians? Or when you taught me how to fight? Or what about when you sent me that text to give me the confidence to talk to Councilwoman Redwood?" Cinder pointed directly at Eren. "Holding me back? Eren, you've been teaching me how to move forward!"

"..."

Cinder lowered her hand as she began to calm down. A great many chains had fallen off her, but she had one more thing to say. "Eren, you're a better person than you think," she repeated. "I just... don't understand why you hate yourself so much." Seeing her friend in such a state was enough to make a single tear fall from her eye. "Just knowing that you do... Eren... it breaks my heart."

"..."

Eren didn't need to ask if this was true or not. The falling chains and Cinder's face said it all for him. It was true that he hadn't been able to look at himself in a more positive light lately, but he never thought it would break Cinder's heart.

Now he had a good reason to hate himself.

Eren felt horrible for causing Cinder such emotional distress. And he even felt guilty for doing this for such a long time. He remembered specific events where he asked Cinder if he was doing something wrong and insisted that he was taking her down with him whenever he was acting like himself. Despite it all, a part of him felt better knowing that he had left a more positive impact on Cinder's life.

Now it was up to him to do it again.

"I'm sorry, Cinder," Eren began. When he saw that he had her attention, Eren continued talking. "I didn't mean to hurt you, I just... I was just scared for you."

"..."

*CLINK*

A chain fell off Eren, but he continued to talk.

"I was scared that by you following me, doing everything we've done so far... that I'd be taking you down with me," Eren confessed. "I never expected to survive beating Salem, and I didn't want you to have to fall with me. And when Darkness took control of me, I didn't want you to die because of me."

"..."

Eren's chains had stopped moving, and he was met with nothing but silence. Cinder didn't seem to be happy, but the look on her face was one of understanding. Cinder didn't think what Eren said was stupid like before, it was completely rational. And given what happened with Salem and Darkness, it was a very credible fear.

But Eren was done being scared now. Now he had to be brave and honest.

"You're special, Cinder," Eren continued. "Ren, Nora, and everyone else are important to me, just like Mikasa and everyone else in Paradis. But you're more than that. To me."

"..."

*CLINK*

*CLINK*

*CLINK*

"All this time, all these years we've been together, it's made me see something I used to think was impossible. I feel like we have this bond, this understanding... something I never thought was possible between two people. I actually said it before, but... I've grown closer to you than I did to anyone. On Remnant or on Paradis. Losing that, in any way, would break my heart."

"..."

Eren had said enough at this point, and he was once again met with silence. But rather than sadness, Cinder appeared to be dumbfounded. Her cheeks were a bright red and her eyes were as wide as they could possibly be as she stood while being humbled by Eren. But soon enough, a soft smile came across Cinder's face to thank Eren for talking to her.

A million words and ideas came to Cinder's mind when Eren was finally done. Words of thanks and gratitude were the first to come, but ones with more passion and emotion came next. Eren had done an incredible job of expressing his emotions, but he seemed unsure if he had used the right words. He felt there was a single word or feeling that could fully express what he just expressed, and then some. But he didn't know what it was.

Cinder knew this word better than anyone.

"Maybe we can speed this up," Eren said as he looked at the remaining chains. He and Cinder weren't as imprisoned as they previously were, and it didn't look like it would take long break the rest of the chains. "Any, uh... Anything else you wanna say?"

"..."

Cinder stopped smiling when she heard the question. Just as she believed earlier, Cinder had the right words to describe her own feelings. More specifically, the one word.

"I... Um... Well... You see... I mean..."

Eren was immediately taken aback by Cinder stumbling over her words. Such a thing was a rare sight, one that Eren wasn't used to seeing. He didn't think he said anything wrong, perhaps Cinder was still getting over what he said earlier.

Or perhaps she had something else to say... and she wasn't ready.

What could it be?

"See, this is why you've been so useful, Cinder. I knew my champion would need friends to aid him in battle... but I never expected someone like you would fall in love with him."

"..."

Replaying Darkness' words and looking at Cinder made Eren freeze. While he had forgotten about the taunt earlier, Eren thought that Darkness was trying to lie to her or simply be cruel. But when he saw how nervous Cinder appeared to be, Eren couldn't help but draw his own conclusions.

After all this time?

Was this true?

Cinder had fallen silent when she saw the look on Eren's face. She was simply nervous at first, but now she was mortified. She too remembered what Darkness had said to her, and now she could tell that Eren was listening. He knew what the corrupt deity had said.

This was it.

After so long, Cinder's chance had finally come. Now she could finally tell Eren how much he actually meant to her.

"Cinder... I heard what Darkness said to you," Eren confessed. "Was he-?"

"No!"

Cinder immediately looked away from Eren. But as soon as she did this, she realized that she made a horrible mistake. "No" could be taken in many different ways, but it was mostly a lie that Cinder was telling Eren. So, she decided to explain herself better.

"I... I can't talk about it," Cinder said without turning back. "I can't."

Eren was more confused than ever at this point. It was clearly a sensitive topic for her, given that she said she "couldn't" talk about it instead of simply not wanting to. It may not have been Eren, but something was holding Cinder back.

And for the sake of helping her, Eren had to find out what it was.

"...What?" Eren asked. "Wh... Why?"

Cinder mustered all of her courage once again to talk to Eren. "Because I'll be the worst girl in the world if I do," she said.

"The worst... what?"

Cinder looked back up this time so she could explain herself. What she said next was only half of her true feelings, but it was good enough in her mind.

"Eren, there's something I have to tell you," she began. "Do you remember the night you told me who you were? When you introduced me to Darkness?"

"...Yeah?" Eren confirmed, although he was unsure as to why that was relevant.

"And when you asked him to show me your memories?"

"...Yeah. Yeah, I remember."

Cinder took a breath before she continued. She knew it was a risk, that she would be exposing herself more than she had already. But at least she could explain herself in the process.

"Eren, Darkness didn't show me all your memories, just the ones he thought were important. But he also showed me things I shouldn't have seen. I'm sorry, there was nothing I could do about it."

Eren rolled his eyes at the idea. "Of course he did," he mentally cursed. He remained silent as he let Cinder explain herself.

"The last things I saw were you saying goodbye to all your friends, how you tried to make up for leaving them behind. And how sad you were about it."

Eren softly gasped at the idea. "You... You saw all that?" he asked.

Cinder nodded. "I'm really sorry, Eren. But I just want you to know that I won't get in the way of how you feel."

"Get in the way?"

"No, I won't. Not with them, not with us, and... and not with Mikasa."

"..."

The look on Eren's face was breaking Cinder's heart once again, but this was of her own accord. Nevertheless, she couldn't stop talking; no matter how much it hurt.

"Darkness made me watch what you said to Armin, how you want to be with Mikasa. How you want her to have feelings only for you. Feelings like... like..."

"..."

Cinder couldn't bear to look Eren in the eye or finish her statement. All she could do was turn away in shame and say one more thing.

"I won't get in your way, Eren. I won't."

"..."

If he wasn't sure about Cinder's feelings before, Eren was growing incredibly close. And after everything that had just happened, there was only one thing Eren could associate with Cinder now. One word that could sum up all his emotions together.

Pity.

Eren took pity on Cinder for a multitude of reasons. The first of which was that Cinder had chosen to keep her experience a secret for so long. He could relate the witnessing of certain memories and keeping them secret to the day the same thing happened to him. The memories Eren saw that told him he would commence the Rumbling was a secret he kept hidden from almost everyone, and the truth of it all nearly destroyed him.

Now the memories Cinder saw were beginning to destroy her as well.

Another reason Eren pitied Cinder was how sad she was. She looked as if her whole world had just collapsed around her, that she was ashamed of herself. Now Eren understood that he wasn't holding her back from anything. But rather, Cinder was holding herself back. She was ignoring her own feelings, however good or bad they were.

She wasn't allowing herself to be herself.

The last, and most important reason Eren pitied Cinder was because the memory she had witnessed was something she believed to be true, to be an accurate description of Eren's feelings ever since he came to Remnant in the first place.

But in reality, the memory was the complete opposite of the truth.

The confession he shared with Armin wasn't Eren's proudest moment, given the circumstances of the situation. It wasn't a lie either, since Eren meant what he said. However, Eren's confession wasn't necessarily the truth.

Not anymore, at least.

Eren thought about his friends from Paradis nearly every day of his life, but today was the first day that he thought back to the time he confessed his feelings about Mikasa to Armin. He remembered being honest, passionate, and sincere about his feelings. He knew that he shared Mikasa's feelings at the time, and how he wished he could have been with her for the rest of his life.

But now, despite trying, Eren couldn't feel that way anymore.

Eren remembered his feelings for Mikasa, but he couldn't feel them like he did before. He still loved her, since she would always be a part of him. But now Eren could see the love he had for Mikasa wasn't entirely the same as it was before. It wasn't gone, it was just... different.

More specifically, it wasn't the same as what he felt with Cinder.

Eren felt like a complete fool for not realizing it earlier, but he now saw that he underestimated the feelings he shared with Cinder. He underestimated how happy he truly was with her; more specifically, how she made him happy.

Every day on Remnant, Cinder gave Eren empathy, compassion, but most of all, she gave him understanding. He never said this before, but Eren felt that he had been misunderstood his whole life. Hardly anyone understood his desire to see the outside world, hardly anyone understood why he wanted to join the Survey Corps, and nobody understood how he needed to take the world's freedom so he could achieve his own; as well as the freedom of Paradis.

But there was only one person who understood him: Cinder.

Cinder understood Eren's desire for freedom because she shared this sentiment with him. She understood his desire to fight for his friends because she also shared that sentiment. But there was something else that Cinder understood about Eren, something that he didn't see before.

Cinder understood that deep down, Eren wanted to be happy. And she made it her mission to make him happy.

Whenever Cinder chose to be in Eren's company, he was happy. Whenever she chose to help Eren, he was happy. All the times they talked together, read together, played together, fought together, won together, and every time they were together... Eren was happy.

Eren realized that he was starting to understand Cinder, just like she understood him. The thing he understood the most was why Cinder was giving him happiness. She wasn't doing this because she promised to protect him, she didn't think he always needed to be saved at a moment's notice. And she surely wasn't denying herself anything by making Eren happy. Doing this was making her happy too.

There was only one reason this would happen.

"Oh, my God..." Eren thought as he gasped. "Cinder... Cinder loves me?"

This may have been the last thing Eren expected to find on Remnant, but it had just proven itself to be the best thing too. With every smile, laugh, hug, and kiss she had given him, Cinder had made Eren the happiest he had ever been. He never knew what it was like to feel this way before, and now he could finally admit that it felt wonderful. Eren had been loved all of his life on Remnant, he just didn't see it until now.

Now he had to make Cinder see it too.

"Cinder, you're wrong," Eren began. "What you're feeling doesn't make you the worst girl in the world."

"Yes it does," Cinder said as she began to tear up. She was so distraught and angry that she didn't notice that another one of Eren's chains had fallen. "You've given me so much, Eren. Standing up for me when we were kids, helping me escape Atlas, teaching me how to fight, and that's all just a little while after we met!" She began to growl in frustration. "I shouldn't feel this way, Eren! I shouldn't want more than what we have now! I shouldn't be as greedy as all those people in Atlas! Not after you've spent another life making me happy! I'm sorry, I'm so-!"

"Stop."

Cinder stopped talking when she heard the command. As she looked back to Eren, she received a surprise. She had been expecting complete apathy from here on out, but Eren simply looked at her with a calm expression. Not a cold or calculated one, but rather an expression of understanding.

Eren didn't seem to possess any kind of contempt for Cinder.

"Wh... What?" Cinder uttered in confusion. "But... I don't-"

"Cinder... your whole life, you've survived things that would have broken me," Eren began. "That would have broken anyone. But all you've done is rise above it all and make it a part of who you are. You are so amazing." Eren smiled once again. "I am so proud of you, I'm never going to think any differently of you."

"...Really?"

"..."

Cinder could see that Eren's mind was made up on the matter, and her spirits began to rise once again. "And... And we're okay?" she asked.

Eren continued to smile at Cinder. "I think... we're more than just 'okay,' Cinder," he said. "I think we've been this way for a long time. Am... Am I right?"

"..."

Cinder was immediately flustered by the idea. One look at a smiling Eren and the consideration of her feelings caused her to blush uncontrollably and awkwardly brush a part of her hair away from her face.

"I... Um... I do have something else to say," Cinder confessed. "But... I'm not sure if I should."

"..."

"It's like... a fire," Cinder continued. "When I'm a Titan, I can make fire anytime I want. Just like how we made our friendship. But if I make this one grow... I think I'll burn."

Eren understood the fear and displayed the understanding by nodding. "I'll burn with you," he firmly promised. "Even after we're ashes on the fire."

"..."

Eren smiled again as his mind was made up on the matter. "It's okay, Cinder," he said. "You can tell me."

Cinder believed Eren, even though she was the farthest thing from "okay." However, unlike all the other times before, Cinder decided not to let it stop her from sharing her real feelings with Eren.

Whatever happened next... she was ready.

"I... I always saw you as more than a brother," Cinder began. "Even more than just friends."

"..."

Despite her hesitation, Cinder braced herself as she shared the truth.

"I love you, Eren."

[Play "Red Swan"]

Despite arriving at this conclusion moments ago, it almost sounded too good to be true. "You... You do?" Eren asked with a smile. "Really?"

Cinder smiled back as she nodded. "Really."

"I... I love you, too."

And just like that, everything changed.

Eren and Cinder noticed that they had finally been freed from the chains, despite that they were previously covered in them. And not only did they find themselves within arms reach of each other, but they had also reverted back to their normal appearances.

The change was a surprise to both Eren and Cinder, but neither of them questioned it. Instead, as aqua met amber, both of them smiled and knew how this was meant to be.

Here was a man who used to have no idea what happiness and love truly were until he traveled across worlds. Now he had the perfect teacher, someone who could make him better than he had ever been before.

And here was a woman who found freedom not in escaping slavers or stopping evil, but in the eyes of the man who had won her heart a long time ago. Now she had the perfect person to show how much love truly resided within her.

They didn't notice it, but Eren and Cinder were joined by a smiling Ymir. She had indeed orchestrated the whole thing, all for the purpose of making the two happy. Spending her whole life unloved and seeing the spark between the two had inspired Ymir to take action and give Eren and Cinder the chance they deserved to be happy.

And now, she proudly watched the fruits of her labor in silence.

As the two reached out and gently held each other, Eren and Cinder made a silent promise to always be together, to never let any force on Remnant or beyond tear them apart. For each of them knew, right from the start, they belonged together.

To seal this promise, Eren and Cinder shared their very first kiss, which felt exactly how each of them dreamed it would be. The entire world seemed to fade away for Eren and Cinder as they refused to part, for all that mattered to them was this very moment.

As they relished in the beauty of it all, Eren and Cinder made another promise of their own. Eren promised that he would do everything in his power not to waste this life like he did his last, that he would dedicate his heart to the future he planned with Cinder. And Cinder promised to never want another thing for herself for the rest of her life; she had everything she could ever want right now.

And she wouldn't give it up for the world.

Act I: Salem - End

---

Author's notes: hey, everyone. Hope you're all doing great, and we especially hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Thank you for the feedback from last chapter, AT and I really appreciate it. That being said, and given this chapter, we understand the uncertainty of the future for the story. But rest assured, AT and I are far from finished with the story. This chapter marks the end of Act I: Salem, and we have a lot left to cover before we can properly call it a wrap. So we hope you enjoyed Act I of Attack on Titan: A New Path.

That being said, AT and I are gonna be hard at work with giving you all a proper Act II. But before we do, we actually have some work left for Act I. We haven't talked about it yet, but given the results of the poll we created, and the valid criticism we received, AT and I made the decision to rewrite the first 10 chapters of Act I. We want to do this to not only address/fix the criticism we received, but we also wish to use some missed opportunities we noticed and include them in the story. We know some of you haven't expressed any thoughts of change, but we think you'll like what you see.

With that in mind, here's a note from AT himself:

"Hey guys! The Avenging Titan here! We've finally done it. After 2 years we have reached our biggest milestone to date: the end of Act I! Thank you all so much for sticking with us on this journey, and thank all of you for reading the story.

But this isn't the end of things, oh no, this is only just the beginning in more ways than one. Court would have mentioned this already, but we will be making some updates and alterations to the early chapters to the story. This will be what we will be focusing on before getting started on Act II. And if you thought Act I: Salem was a fun ride, then wait till you see what we have prepared for you in Act II.

But there is one more thing as well: the prologue chapter for Attack on Titan: Beyond the Path is all done and ready to upload, and should be up soon after this. Attack on Titan: Beyond the Path will be another little project to be worked both during and even after the chapter rewrites. We created a big world with all sorts of events and concepts, and Beyond the Path will be there for you all to read up on it. I hope you will all find it enjoyable.

This is The Avenging Titan, signing off."

That's right, we also have a cool side story coming up as well! We'll be working on that as well as the rewrites. We're super excited to make everything, but we could use your help to. Your thoughts and reviews are pivotal to making all of this fun and successful, and we'd really like to hear what you have to say.

That being said, AT and I plan to release our first rewrite soon. You should expect it a week from today at 12 PM EST. When you do, don't forget to leave a review and let us know what you think. We'd really appreciate it. And be on the lookout for Beyond the Path as well. You're gonna love it.

With that, all we can say now is that we hoped you enjoyed the chapter and we hope you all have a great day. Thanks for reading!