Author's Note: Warning! This chapter contains some distubing scenes that include rape, cannibalism, self harm and other scenes that some readers may find disturbing. Reader discretion is advised.

Attack On Titan: Wings Of Crystal

Chapter 76: From You, 2,000 Years Ago

Opposing forces arise and clash and the cycle carries on without pause. But in the beginning, who was it that set this story in motion?

Ymir Fritz, the progenitor of the power of the Titans. The one responsible for the creation and endless torment of the whole Eldian race. How is it that one little slave girl could bring so much suffering? How did the power of the Titans come into existence? Only Joseph Ackerman can provide the answer. He was there when it happened. But to understand him, one must understand Ymir herself.

Her story began two thousand years ago, long before Titans ever existed. This was the story of those who had been resisting, struggling, and continually advancing for centuries. It took place in a tiny village in the vast countryside. Life for its occupants was a hard one. The villages had a population of only 30 people. All of whom were farmers. But most of the lands had been claimed by the Eldian Tribe. The number of resources they had to grow crops and breed livestock decreased with every passing week. It's only a matter of time until they starve.

Ymir and Joseph were born and raised in that village. Since birth, they'd known nothing but pain and hardship. Every day was the same for them. Wake up, gather water from the well, feed the livestock, farm crops, eat what small amount they can to preserve what's left of their food supply, and then go to sleep on the scratchy pile of hay that acts as their beds.

Life was hard, but Joseph saw one silver lining. Getting to spend every day with his only friend, Ymir. Their parents lived in the huts next to each other. They've been together since birth. There weren't many children in their village so there weren't many options to choose from. But they didn't need anyone else. They've got each other. That's more than enough for both of them.

Right now, the two young kids were carrying buckets of water they'd gathered from the well in the middle of the village and were tasked to bring it back to provide clean water for their families. On the way, Joseph stopped to help an elderly woman get back up on her feet after accidentally tripping over her cloak. The hunched woman bows and thanks the young man for taking the time to assist her.

Ymir was too distracted with carrying her bucket to notice him falling behind. She appeared to be struggling with keeping her bucket steady even with both hands under it. Her shaking arms caused some of the water to spill out.

"You look tired. Would you like me to carry it for you?" Joseph asked Ymir. He was around 15 years old at this point in time.

Ymir - who was 12 - stops in her tracks, looks up at her only friend and shakes her head with a tiny smile. Probably the only time anyone will ever get to see her smile. "No thank you, I've got it. But thank you for offering, Joseph."

"What are siblings for?" Joseph smiled back.

"We're not siblings though." She corrected him.

"I know we don't share the same blood, but we've been by each other's side since we were newborns. I consider you my sister. And as your elder brother and friend, I will always protect you no matter the danger."

Even as a child Joseph always had a warrior's spirit. From the moment he was born, he knew he wanted to be a warrior. He dreamt of being the strongest fighter the world had ever known, and to one day grow strong enough to battle the Eldian Tribe and kill their ruthless ruler, Fritz, freeing his village, and all others from his tyranny. Maybe then he'll feel worthy.

Ymir admired Joseph's resolve. She wished she was just as strong-willed as he was. But she was just a fragile little girl. What could she possibly do to make a difference in the world?

The sounds of the villagers going about their lives in peaceful solitude slowly died down until silence overtook their home. Joseph and Ymir were confused at first until they faced the direction the other villagers were staring.

Over the hill, far off in the distance, they can see long spears sticking out. But it wasn't the spears themselves that got the whole village spooked, it was the soldiers holding them. There was a whole army of men dressed in armour riding on horses. It was the Eldian Tribe. They've come to conquer the village as they did their farmlands. And they were led by Fritz himself.

The sounds of screams suddenly replaced the eerie silence as the villagers panicked and started running amuck. Fritz and his soldiers all let out a battle cry as their horses charged down the hill and raided the helpless village. Their screams reached their ears, carried over by the winds of fate. Both kids dropped their buckets, spilling their contents all over the grass, and raced back to their homes, hoping to warn their parents.

The whole village went up in flames in what felt like seconds the moment the Eldians invaded. The warriors threw their spears at any fleeing villagers, skewering them as they ran for their lives. Almost all of the village's population had been eradicated. Those that survived were taken away as slaves.

When Ymir and Joseph reached their huts, they could feel their hearts break upon seeing them burning. Their front doors were blocked by Eldian spears, trapping their parents inside. They have either burned to death or died of poisoning for breathing in the toxic smoke that seeped in through the cracks before the flames could get in. Either way, they have now become orphans.

To the Eldian Tribe, this was just another successful raid. They've claimed more land for them to expand their tribe and any surviving villagers will become slaves to their people. The villagers didn't even put up a fight, they essentially just stood there and took it. Fritz was glad. At least these people had the common sense not to challenge his might. As a reward, he'll let the remaining families continue to live together as slaves.

Though most of the captured men and women did attempt to resist him, which ended up costing them their ability to speak. Ymir wound up being one of those unlucky few. She tried to follow Joseph's example and stand up to one of the soldiers who was beating up a smaller boy just for the fun of it. Joseph had to watch them cut her tongue out. It took every ounce of will he had to resist the urge to fight back in anger. But he knew that would accomplish nothing but the loss of his tongue too.

He, Ymir, and the rest of the surviving villagers were all taken away by the Eldian Tribe carrying the front end of the chain they were all linked together on.

The slaves were brought to the heart of the tribe's village. Theirs was much larger than the one they came from. It covered so many acres of land they wished they had. All filled with fields of wheat, fruit, and vegetables. There were pens filled to the brim with all kinds of livestock such as chickens, cows, and pigs. They even had stables for their horses.

Theirs wasn't the only village the Eldians had enslaved. Countless villagers had been brought here as forcefully as they had. Though they seemed used to the labour issued to them. They've accepted this was their lives now. To work extremely hard for their Eldian oppressors.

Joseph tried on many occasions to think up a plan to liberate everyone and kill Fritz, but he was always talked out of it by Ymir even though she was no longer able to speak. But he could tell by looking into her eyes that she'd accepted her fate just as quickly as their fellow villagers. This angered Joseph. How could they all just give up so easily? Fritz killed their friends and families, cut out the tongues of those who resisted and burned down their homes, letting him hold power over their lives.

But Ymir was right about one thing. He was very fortunate they allowed him to keep his tongue. As long as he doesn't stir up trouble for himself or anyone and does as he's told they will leave him be. He hated it but was willing to obey to keep Ymir safe from further harm. She was worth the suffering.

One night, Ymir and Joseph were mucking out the pigs' pen, keeping them fed and looked after. It was what they'd been tasked with since their arrival. It wasn't all bad. Ymir seemed to have gotten along nicely with the pigs, even giving each of them a name. Joseph was glad she found at least some comfort in this new life they'd been forced into.

He watched her sit with them and used a stick to draw pictures in the mud. From what he could tell, she drew a picture of a man and a woman holding hands and smiling. And a few centimetres away from them was a drawing of a small girl with a sad face. Joseph couldn't understand who the couple was meant to represent, but he knew instantly that the sad girl was Ymir herself. Perhaps the happy couple were the parents she'd lost. It made the most sense to him. What else could it be if not them?

"…Ymir." He spoke slowly, waiting for her to turn away from her drawings and over to him. "I know things seem grim for us now, but I know one day our moment will come." He gazes up at the night sky full of stars. "If God is up there, he'll deliver us from this monster's rule. Everyone else is losing their faith in him, but not me… My father told me I was born with a fighting spirit. He told me to never give up no matter what stood in my way."

He turns back to Ymir and gently rests his hand on her shoulders. "On the outside, it may look like I've accepted their rule over us, but I haven't. I'm just… waiting for God to give me a sign to seize our moment. One day we'll be free of Eldia. When that day comes, you'll be free to visit the pigs whenever you desire, not when they tell you to."

As encouraging as his words are, they did nothing to raise Ymir's spirits. She hadn't smiled once since their capture. He should've cherished the last time she smiled back home when he did. He had no idea he'd grow to miss it so much. But he couldn't understand why she was so sad. The obvious answer would be the death of her parents and losing her tongue, but that wasn't it. Because she showed no signs of resentment towards Fritz and his Eldians for their actions. Whenever she looked at him, she wore a look of envy. But what has he got that she doesn't?

"Come on, we better get back to our hut before curfew hits. We've gone this far without causing trouble, we should not stop now." Joseph picks up the empty buckets that once contained the pig's slop and is about to head back but stops when he notices Ymir isn't following. "What's wrong?"

Ymir motioned him to come closer so he could see what she was inscribing in the mud with her stick. This time she was spelling out words as a way to communicate with him in Eldian. When she finished the words "I'll catch up later" were displayed for her older brother figure to see.

"You want to say one final goodbye to your new friends?" He asked. Ymir responded with a single nod. "Heh, alright then. Just don't stay out too long. Goodnight Ymir."

With a wave of his free hand, Joseph walks off into the night, leaving Ymir alone with the pigs. She blankly stares at them for a while before shifting her eyes over to the lock on the gate holding them in the pen. She felt sorrow for them. These poor creatures were locked up in a cage just like she was. Forced to breed, get fat and be put down by the Eldians all so they could gorge on their carcasses like the savages they are. She won't let that happen. She grew too attached to them to see them killed like that.

Without thinking, she unlocks the gate and lets them out of their pen. The pigs all race out into the open and run free. Ymir watches them with a smile. She then fled the scene of the crime before any of the villagers nearby could report her.

The next day word got out about the escaped pigs and Fritz knew immediately it was one of the slaves who'd done it. He orders all the slaves to be gathered in the centre of the village. Fritz sat on a wooden throne on a high porch in front of his hut, which of course was the largest one in the whole tribe.

The slaves all trembled with fear of being in his presence. This man could have them executed with a single word. He had total control over them. And right now, he looked furious. The villagers who saw Ymir suspected she was the reason they'd all been brought here. Joseph was standing among the crowd as well, though he could not find Ymir among the tall adults surrounding him.

Everyone was dead silent, awaiting Fritz's explanation of why they were there. Nobody would dare to so much breathe a word to anyone standing next to them. After he made himself comfortable in his throne, Fritz spoke with a raspy, soothing, yet menacing voice that sent a shiver through their spines.

"A bunch of pigs escaped. One of you allowed that to happen. I will give the one responsible the chance to step forward. If they won't confess, then I'll pluck an eye from each of your skulls and call this settled. Slaves can easily go about their work with one eye."

Terrified out of their minds at the mere thought of having their eyes plucked out, all the villagers point their fingers at Ymir. Joseph follows where they're pointing and his eyes widen with pure horror at the reveal of Ymir being the culprit.

"Ymir?! No!"

The soldiers push through the crowd and grab Ymir's arms, dragging her before their ruler and forcing her onto her knees. She gazes up at the Eldian ruler with trembling eyes.

"So, you allowed my pigs to escape?"

Ymir looks to her left and right. All the villagers were just glaring at her. Nobody bothered to try and defend her just because she was a kid. They'd rather let her face punishment for her actions rather than suffer themselves.

When she turned to the right, she spotted a very worried Joseph push past the adults up front to get a proper look at her. She felt terrible to put him in a position to see her like this. She wondered if he was thinking why she did it knowing what the consequences would be. Did she value her life? He wondered.

Nerves overwhelmed Joseph as he was about to do something so unbelievably stupid. Taking the deepest of breaths, he steps forward, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Please, my lord! Have mercy on Ymir. She was only doing what I told her to."

Now it was Ymir's turn to be shocked. Some of the other villagers even slightly shared her expression. They all know he was lying to protect her. It was foolish. He's now throwing his life away just as carelessly as she did.

One of the Eldian soldiers punches Joseph in the back of the head, knocking him onto the ground. He then grabbed him by the hair and pulled him onto his knees, putting him in the appropriate position to address their king.

"And who are you, Boy?" Fritz asked in his usual monotone.

"My name is Joseph Ackerman. And I am the one responsible for letting the pigs escape. Ymir may've opened the gate, but it was I who ordered her to." He puts his hands together and pleads with the tyrant. "I beg of you. Punish me for my actions. I will accept whatever the penalty… Just let her go."

He lowers his whole body to the ground, bowing before Fritz, begging as hard as he can. Even if she still had her tongue, Ymir would still be at a loss for words. She didn't mean for him to get involved in her wrongdoings. She had hoped that if she alone got punished Joseph would be spared. But she gravely underestimated his desire to fight and protect her.

Fritz looked down on the young raven-haired boy. It was obvious to him he was only confessing to save her miserable life. Though he was just a slave, part of him admired his willingness to face execution to protect her. "He must really love this girl…" he thought. As such, he will give him what he wants.

"…Then so be it. I hereby set both of you free."

The children were soon released into the wild the following day and ordered to run as fast and far as they could, which they did. But they were far from free. Fritz only released them so he could have his men hunt them for sport.

Joseph grabbed Ymir's arm and led her further into the forest, trying their hardest to evade the approaching horsemen. The sounds of the horse's hoof stomping get louder and louder, igniting an adrenaline rush to run faster.

"Don't look back! Keep running!" Joseph shouted loud enough for Ymir to hear him but not alert the hunters to their location.

But Ymir was getting tired and weak. She'd been hit in the shoulder by an arrow, hindering her movements. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this pace until she finally ran out of breath.

No matter how far they went they'd always find them. The dogs they brought with them will keep picking up their scent, leading the hunters to their location no matter what. Hiding would just make them easy prey. Running was their only chance.

When it looked like Ymir was on the cusp of collapse, Joseph picked her up and carried her the rest of the way. Doing so slowed his speed dangerously. And they were closing in fast.

Coming up on his left was a small, barely visible narrow path obscured by trees. The perfect place for Ymir to get away. He quickly puts her down and heads off to the right. Ymir attempts to follow him, but Joseph forces her to stay back.

"I'll lure them away! Head west and keep going! Don't follow me!"

Tears fill Ymir's eyes. He was sacrificing himself just so she'd have a slightly higher than a slim chance of escaping alive. Its suicide. Instead of heeding his words she just froze and desperately reached out for him.

"GO! RUN!" Joseph shouted as he ran, scaring her into running in the opposite direction.

The approaching hunters spot Joseph heading east and Fritz orders them to pursue the boy, unaware that Ymir wasn't with him. Joseph briefly glanced back and was relieved to see they were going after him and not her. Continuing to run is pointless knowing it was only a matter of time until they catch him. But like his father taught him, he won't give in. He will die a warrior's death than a slave's.

As Fritz and his hunters chased Joseph, Ymir kept on running in the opposite direction until she got shot in the leg by another arrow, causing her to trip and roll down a hill. The arrow was fired by one of the two hunters with the dog. Though they saw Joseph heading east, the dogs detected the scent of Ymir's blood going west. Fritz must've ordered two of them to pursue Ymir whilst they went after the boy.

Wounded and desperate, Ymir found an unusually large tree with a chasm at its base standing tall in front of her. Seeking shelter, she stepped inside and, not knowing of the sinkhole beneath, fell down a long chute and landed in a pool of liquid. Her body began to slowly sink into the depths of this strange lake. Her body was too tired and wounded to move and she was running out of air fast. The slightest movements caused her to grunt in pain, letting more of her captured air to escape from her lungs and float to the surface in the form of bubbles. There was no way out of this. She is going to die here. Drowning in the darkness, cold and alone.

Joseph told her that God would send her a sign one day, to give her the strength to fight back. Lying at the very bottom of the depths was a faint blue light. Was this it? The sign of God? It turned out to be some kind of mysterious spine-like creature. Whatever it was it didn't look like it was of this world. Ymir only caught a tiny, blurred glimpse of the creature before passing out.

The spineless creature swam up from the bottom and approached the drowning girl. Swimming circles around her before it got close enough to touch her with its dozens of tiny, transparent tendrils. The creature latches itself onto her spine, resting its round head on the nape of her neck. At that moment, the faint light emitting from its body began to grow brighter, lighting up the whole lake like the sun.

Back on the surface before these bizarre events could escalate, Joseph was finally able to get away from Fritz and his hunters. His clothes were soaking wet and he had two arrows sticking out of his back. To throw the dogs off his scent, he had to dive into a nearby lake. They'd lost his trail and Fritz ordered his men to head to the other side of the lake where they hoped he'd emerge and corner him.

But Joseph outsmarted them. Instead of swimming to the other side, he held his breath underwater for as long as he physically could before coming up, desperate for air. From there he double-backed and retraced his steps to the crossroads he and Ymir split up from.

Upon entering the narrow path, he found a trail of blood splatter leading him to the hill Ymir fell down. He can guess what happened. She'd been shot by a hunter that followed her and wound up falling down this hill. Joseph inhaled deeply and cautiously made his way down. One bad step will result in him slipping and falling.

He soon happens upon the same giant tree Ymir had taken refuge inside. The young Ackerman was in awe at the sheer size of it. It stood taller than every tree in the forest. It may be the tallest tree in the whole world. He looks up to try and see how high it stretched only to spot something glimmering near the top.

"What is that?" He thought as he approached the tree. On closer inspection, he found a bloodied handprint on the trunk. "Ymir must've climbed this tree to hide. She may still be up there." He assumed.

Joseph mustered all the strength and courage he had to jump up and latch onto the nearest handhold on the trunk of the tree. He was lucky to get up on his first attempt. He continued to climb for a few minutes but realised the next closest graspable handhold was too high for him to reach, forcing him to weigh his options.

His ears twitched as they picked up the distant sounds of horses neighing. The hunters were close by, he had no time to think. Left with no other means of scaling this monstrosity of a tree, he painfully rips the arrows from his back and uses them as climbing equipment. He stabs the arrows into the base of the tree and pulls himself up, lifting him further up the tree. He repeats this process several times, rapidly gaining height.

It took a while for him to even get close to the top. Every few feet he'd call out Ymir's name, letting her know he was near, completely unaware that she was under the tree not above it.

He could feel his muscles tightening. His whole body was exhausted. His fingers felt numb from gripping the arrows constantly. What's worse is his back was still bleeding, staining the back of his shirt completely. It even dripped off the bottom end and fell to the ground far below.

He could feel his hold on life weakening with each step he climbed. Won't be long until he gets tired and loses his grip. He will either fall to his death or die of blood loss before his body hits the ground. Despite all of that, Joseph fought on, determined to reach the top and find whatever it was that drew him up there in the first place. Whatever it was, he saw it as the sign from God he'd been waiting for. God was testing his resolve. See if he is willing to go above and beyond to take back his and Ymir's freedom.

His perseverance gave him the strength to make it to the top. The moment he made contact with the top branch sticking out to the east, Joseph collapsed onto his front and took a moment to get his breath back. The blood flow slowed and eventually stopped flowing from his wounds. He takes this chance to cover them up with some giant leaves hanging off the branches, using them as improvised bandages.

The view was captivating. He could see everything from up here. He could see the whole forest and the lands beyond them. He could even spot the Eldian village far off in the distance. The sun was shining brightly down on these lands, creating a vibrant orange hue. It was truly stunning.

"Is this how God sees the world?" He mentally asked himself.

The sun's rays focus on the tree branch he is laying on. A focused beam reflects off of the top and bounces into Joseph's eyes, blinding him. He slowly gets up and cautiously turns himself around on the branch, ensuring he doesn't fall and kill himself.

His eyes widened with a sense of wonder when he discovered what it was that lured him all the way up there. Embedded in the centre of the top branch's hollow was a glittering clear crystal. The sun's rays shone through it and smaller beams were reflected all over the tree, creating a spectacle of light beams dancing around the smaller branches and leaves. The centre of the crystal had a faint white glow fluctuating from it. The way it was growing and shrinking on repeat was hypnotic to the young Ackerman, prompting him to reach out and touch it.

He slowly reaches inside the hollow and wraps his hands around the crystal. A sudden spark of energy zaps his fingers like a static shock, causing Joseph to grunt before making another attempt to pick it up. On the second attempt, he felt nothing but the smooth surface of the mystical stone. It took a few firm tugs before he was finally able to pull it free from its hollow. The whole crystal was as big as his entire head and the underside looked like it had roots keeping it fixed to the tree until he disturbed its resting place.

"This is it. This is the sign God has given me… But what does it mean? What is it this gem does-"

Suddenly, a massive column-like burst of bright yellow energy explodes out of the ground beneath the tree extending high into the sky. The energy engulfed the entire tree, and Joseph, in an instant. He didn't even have the time to react. The burst wound up incinerating his entire body in an instant. All the wildlife in the area were scared away by the violent burst of energy sparking electricity from all directions above.

The gigantic beam lit up the whole forest, making it impossible for the hunters not to notice. They all turned their horses around and raced towards the anomaly. The tree ended up falling over. Joseph's charred black body fell alongside it. His hands still clutching the crystal close to his chest.

The hunters soon arrived on the scene just in time to bear witness to the birth of the world's very first Titan emerging from the deep hole Ymir had fallen into. Her Titan stood tall at over 200 meters with light hair similar to its hosts, a typically female figure, and long protruding ribs. Her Titan's face possessed no apparent skin, musculature or eyes, leaving only a visible skull.

Ymir's Titan unleashes a loud, terrifying roar as it lunges its head back. The mysterious crystal fused to Joseph's burnt hands reacted to the roar and the pulsing light within started growing brighter and the rhythm increased in speed. The roots of the crystal begin to extend and cover Joseph's corpse all over from head to toe. The crystal itself then shatters and the tiny pieces of it spread along the roots and fix themselves to certain parts of the body, forming a skeleton outline.

Joseph's eyes suddenly shot open; his pupils dilated as the energy surging from the crystal exploded into another gigantic beam of Titan energy equal to the one produced by Ymir.

Ymir's Titan and the Eldians divert their eyes in the direction of the second beam and watch the first Ackerman warrior be reincarnated as the world's first Crystal Titan.

Joseph's Crystal Titan stood taller than all those that'll come after him in the future, though not as tall as Ymir's. His Titan stood at 20 meters tall. Its body was just as black as its user's burnt body. Its body was completely covered in crystal shards just like his descendant in the present, though his armour was a lighter shade of grey. His Crystal Titan looked more like a beast than those that descended from him. His fingers and toes were tipped with razor-sharp crystal claws. His spine had shards sticking out of his back, and his head was just a skull like Ymir, with the added feature of curved crystal horns and glowing ocean-blue lights emitting from the skull's sockets.

The first two Titans both roar in sync with each other, shaking the whole forest like an earthquake. The hunters and their horses were completely consumed with fear. They wanted nothing more than to run for their lives before these giants decided to eat or crush them.

But Fritz didn't budge. He didn't look upon them with fear. Instead, he wore a sinister smile which confused his men. He knew these monsters were the two slave children they were hunting. He's unsure how or why, but somehow those children have obtained the power of God. Perhaps he had decided to answer young Joseph's prayer after all… Rather than run from them, he can think of the greatness that could befall his kingdom if he uses them. He could turn his Eldian Tribe into an Eldian Empire.

And he did exactly that. With their newfound powers, Ymir and Joseph returned to serve the newly named King Fritz and used their Titans to cultivate the land, build bridges, and amass wealth for the Eldians. Under his command, they also vanquished the armies of Eldia's rival, Marley.

With the Crystal Titan's power to construct anything the user desires, King Fritz commands him to build a colossal castle for him to live in. He also built new weapons and armour for the soldiers to use, houses for their families to live in, and a bigger, more efficient wall to act as the border for their kingdom. Ymir was Eldia's spear, and Joseph, its shield.

Over the years The Eldian Empire started to grow bigger and stronger from the small tribe it started as. Ymir was now 18 years old, and Joseph was 21. Their hair had gotten longer with age. Ymir's had stretched down to her lower back whilst Joseph's was around the length of her younger self. He started growing facial hair in the form of a trimmed beard.

He was also wearing the new military armour he'd designed for the tribe's army. He got what he'd wanted. He was no longer a slave, but a soldier. A warrior.

In the beginning, he didn't want to use his newly acquired Titan powers in the name of Eldia. He originally planned to assassinate Fritz with it. But the newly elected king saw right through his intentions and threatened to execute all the slaves if he did not fight for his empire. Ymir also pleaded that he try and accept their ruler and be happy with the new lease on life their powers granted them.

The two Titan Shifters kneel before their king now dressed up in fancy garments and wearing a proper crown adorned with crystals he obtained from Joseph. The last time they knelt before him he ordered them to be hunted. Now he was rewarding them for their loyalty and paving the road for Eldia's future.

"My slave, Ymir. My warrior, Joseph. You have done such great work in my name… You have carved out roads. Cultivated the hinterlands. Build bridges spanning mountains. Constructed my castle and provided my army with the finest in weapons and armour. You have helped the tribe of Eldia become large and powerful." The two shifters lower their heads. "Both of you shall be rewarded for your efforts. Ymir, you will be blessed with my seed."

Those words sparked a reaction out of Joseph but not enough for him to lose his composure. "That tyrant is gonna force her to bear his children? What kind of sick, twisted reward is that?" He thought.

"And you, Joseph, shall have the honour of leading the Eldian army into battle in my name… as their new general." The king concluded.

Joseph accepts the position with honour. Becoming general means he'd have access to the king's side. Maybe even make a few tweaks in his courtroom. However, he can't see his influence affecting Ymir's fate. Is this what faith has given her? To become a concubine to that despicable warmonger? Just why? Why isn't Ymir disgusted with the proposal? It's as if she wanted this.

His eyes widened with shock when he noticed something he'd thought he'd never see ever again. Ymir was smiling… Could that mean she did want this? She's actually accepting of becoming a mistress. That is not the Ymir he grew up with.

"The Marleyans are our hated foes. In the name of Fritz, bring them death!"

The years rolled by as the Eldian Empire was continuing its war against Marley. King Fritz himself was on the front lines leading his forces into battle. And standing tall behind them were Ymir and Joseph in their Titan forms.

The overwhelming power of the two Titans weakened Marley's forces faster than any army ever could alone. Ymir trampled their soldiers. Reducing the very ground they stood upon to dust and ash after burning them alive with her Titan's excessive body heat.

And Joseph raised them with rows and rows of sharp crystals, impaling the remaining forces on spikes, displaying their corpses for all to see. His black Titan inspired fear into those fortunate enough to have survived, nicknaming him The Reaper.

This wasn't even a war. It was an execution. Marley fell before they even had a chance to take a single Eldian's life. When it was over, King Fritz placed their leader's head on his spear and paraded it around for his people to see. Ymir and Joseph walked alongside his horse on both sides, relishing in their king's victory.

But this was only the start of many wars King Fritz would declare on the other opposing nations. A few months after their victory over Marley, Joseph was ordered to lead his soldiers to attack others who opposed Fritz. He fought alone this time as Ymir was eight months pregnant with her first baby. Eldia's Grim Reaper wouldn't get the chance to see her again until thirteen years later when they're both young adults.

By the time he finally returned for good, Eldia had completely evolved from a small village to a great kingdom. Without the Crystal Titan to make expansion simpler, the people had to rebuild it themselves out of stone mixed with Titan Crystal.

The Eldian people gathered in the square to welcome the brave men who fought for their empire back home with open arms. Joseph and his soldiers received thunderous applause for bringing about Eldia's rise to power. Unfortunately, not all the soldiers came back to celebrate.

Joseph, now looking more like his middle-aged self from the Crystal Cave, was brought before King Fritz himself within the courtyard of his palace. He had grown much older over the last thirteen years. But his change in wardrobe more than made up for it. He was wearing crystal armour with a red cape and a gold crown and a sword was strapped to his waist.

He was sitting proudly on his golden throne, awaiting his finest warrior's arrival. Joseph notices a grown-up Ymir standing at his side. And standing with her were two of her three daughters. The youngest one she held in her arms. The girls the three walls were named after. Maria, Rose, and Sina.

All of Eldia's soldiers stood aside to allow their general a clear path to the king. He was to be awarded a medal of honour as a reward for conquering various lands in the name of Fritz. Ymir was given the privilege of placing the medal around his neck, which pleased The Reaper.

Joseph and his most noble soldiers all knelt before their king, waiting in anticipation for their medals. However, one of the soldiers was revealed to be an enemy spy who'd been waiting for the perfect moment to get close enough to the king to assassinate him. Sensing his moment, he grasped his spear and threw it with all his might at Fritz.

Joseph was the first to respond and summoned a crystal spear in his hand, stabbing the assassin through the heart, and killing him instantly. But he was not quick enough to stop him from throwing his.

He slowly turns around and gasps in horror. The spear was heading for Fritz, but Ymir got in between him and the projectile and got struck by it instead.

"NOOOOO!" Joseph storms up the stairs and rushes to Ymir's side, holding her in his arms, her head resting in his palm. "Ymir! Ymir, stay with me! You stay with me, you hear?"

But there was no reply. Not even so much as a whisper. Jospeh gently shakes her but there was still no reaction. "Ymir? ...Don't do this to me! Please Ymir... Ymir, no." The grown man started weeping unceremoniously over her loss. But King Fritz himself was not convinced she was dead.

"What is the meaning of this? On your feet. My slave could never be done in with a single spear, of that I am certain. Now rise and do your work, Ymir."

"…She's dead." Joseph sorrowfully muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"SHE'S DEAD!" The first Ackerman roared at his "king" with such aggression and animosity. "That spear was meant for you, but she let herself be killed instead?! She died for you of all people! She did not deserve her death!"

"Watch your tone, General!" The king venomously remarked. "Do not forget that it was I who made you what you are. You were just a slave until I made you my general."

"You only made me a general because of my power! Had I never gotten them I'd be lying dead in the forest! My body would've fertilised the ground by now… You said no harm would come to her! You gave me your word! That's why I conquered those lands for you! Killed people who weren't deserving in your name… No more!"

Joseph gently places Ymir back down and walks backwards down the stairs. He looks over at Maria, Rose, and Sina, then looks over everything he'd built with his powers. He no longer has any reason to remain loyal to this monster. Now's the time for him to do what he should've done thirteen years ago.

"The irony of it all is that I built this kingdom… And now, I'm going tear it down!" He threatened.

As he was about to bite his thumb and trigger his transformation, his once loyal soldiers who followed his every command turned on him, thrusting their spears through his body. Taken by surprise, he had no time to react. Joseph vomited up blood from the multiple impalings he'd received, some of it staining his bushy beard. His eyelids felt heavy and the feeling in his legs was fading. He collapsed onto his knees first before hitting the ground hard, pushing the spears back out.

Any normal person would be killed by that many spears stabbing them at once. But Joseph was no ordinary man, and Fritz knew it.

The original Crystal Titan inevitably regained consciousness after his Titan powers healed his wounds. His eyes take time to adjust before he can open them fully without resistance. He realises that he is locked in the castle dungeons. He recognised it from all those times he'd escorted prisoners down there, never imagining he'd wind up locked down there himself.

He was tied to a rack. His hands were held high above his head covered up by metal cuffs, and his mouth was covered up by a metal mouthpiece identical to the ones they put in horses' mouths when attaching their reins.

He wasn't alone. There was a whole crowd of women wearing white sleeveless dresses gathered around a wooden table. King Fritz himself was there, as were his and Ymir's daughters. The room was silent aside from the murmurs of the people in the room. But their whispers were startled to silence by the discomforting sounds of flesh being chopped up.

"Do it! Feast, my daughters. We must bear Ymir's power into the future no matter the cost. Consume every scrap of your mother's body, Maria, Rose, Sina." The king instructed his daughters.

It was then Joseph caught a glimpse of Ymir's chopped-up body displayed all over the table. Her blood was everywhere. Horrified, Jospeh struggles intensely against his restraints. His muffled cries of despair drew the three girls' attention, but Fritz forced their attention back on the bowls containing Ymir's organs and bones.

"Ignore him! Hurry up and devour your mother's body, or else the guards will force-feed them to you!"

Maria, Rose and Sina hesitantly pick up their mother's body parts, their hands stained with her blood. Inch by reluctant inch, they sunk their teeth into the flesh and gagged in response to the texture and taste of it. But their father forced them to continue despite their objections.

Joseph continued to struggle, begging the king not to make them do something so disgusting and inhuman. King Fritz soon decides to give his former general some attention and explains to him what will become of his power in the future.

"As for you, Joseph. Your power is too great to just execute you. With Ymir gone, you will be forced to serve Eldia until the day you die."

Joseph angrily muffles "I will never serve you again" to him as clearly as he can behind the gag. Fritz didn't understand a word of that, but he knew his ex-general was in denial of it, which is why he was tied up.

Fritz snaps his fingers. The guards standing on both sides of the rack pull out their knives and point them at Joseph's neck. He doesn't flinch, he won't let Eldia's first king strike fear into him. He just said that he was too valuable to kill, so he had no fear. They're probably gonna torture him into submission. But his Ackerman instincts were too great for any form of torture to shatter.

Except the knives weren't cutting into his body. The guards were using them to cut open his grey shirt. They'd already removed his armour, boots and sword before bringing him down here. All he had on now was a shirt and trousers. After removing his shirt, they cut off his trousers and exposed his naked body to all the women in the room. Satisfied, Fritz orders his guards to return to their post.

"What is this? Why did they strip me?! And why are there so many women down here?" He questioned.

"Like your beloved Ymir, your power must be preserved for many generations to come. Your power lies in your blood; therefore, your bloodline must continue." He gives the women a nod and they begin to form a line in front of the rack he was chained to. One of the guards turned a crank on the wall, lowering the rack until it was level. Joseph was now forced to raise his head to look down at Fritz.

"These women will receive your seed and bear your children, ensuring the continuation of the Ackerman bloodline. Your purpose now is to breed them." He stated bluntly with a vicious smile. "Their children will be moulded into the perfect protectors of Eldia. But only the strongest will be worthy to eat you and inherit your power. If you resist in any way, all these women will be executed."

The women all gasp in shock. Most of them were married, and some even had children of their own. They did nothing to be deserving of execution. They didn't even volunteer to be bred by the Crystal Titan. It was decreed by King Fritz, and the worst part was it wasn't going to be just them. Fritz desired to increase the Ackerman bloodline even further by having every woman in the kingdom receive his seed. Every newborn in this generation would be the spawn of The Crystal Titan.

With a horrified expression, he realised there was nothing he could do. He can't let these innocent women die because of his refusal. Once again Fritz held power over his life. He went from slave to Grim Reaper, only to become a slave again. Not even that but something less than human, an arguably worse fate.

The evil king smirked when Joseph finally bowed his head, allowing the women to do with him as he – the king – pleased.

Words cannot describe the torment Joseph Ackerman was forced to endure for the next few years. After impregnating as many women in the kingdom as possible, they'd all given birth to the first generation of Ackerman descendants. A roughly equal number of boys and girls. Once they were old enough they underwent vigorous training to become Eldia's strongest warriors just like their birth father.

But there was a problem. Some of the children grew too strong as a result of their Ackerman blood. Strong not only as a fighter but also strong in will and character. They seemed to have inherited Joseph's unbreakable desire to protect what they love, which isn't this kingdom.

Some even followed in Joseph's footsteps and rebelled against King Fritz. But the solution was simple. Kill off this first batch and replace them with a new, improved one. Though it didn't help their mothers' loyalties to their king. King Fritz at first couldn't understand what the problem was. But when in doubt, go straight to the source. Joseph Ackerman.

He decided to go down to the dungeons himself and pay him a visit, escorted only by his now adult daughters. They enter the dimly lit dungeon finding a really skinny Joseph still chained naked to the rack weakly muttering gibberish to himself. Upon opening the door, the girls were hit with the full brunt of the foul stench that was coming from The Crystal Titan. His hair and beard had grown even longer than before. Flies were buzzing around his head. The room stank of his odour and sweat. Sina had to hold back the urge to vomit.

Joseph was too weak to lift his head to see who was visiting him. He was practically skin and bones at this point in time. The guards do feed him to keep him alive, they just give him scraps from the palace. Not enough to build his muscle mass back to how it used to look.

"Hello, Joseph." There was no response from the starved warrior. "You seem tired. How does a man whose only purpose is to sleep with women suffer so greatly?" Fritz then laughed cruelly. "Many men would kill to have your role in life."

"…Go …to …hell." He weakly muttered.

King Fritz skips the small talk and gets straight to business. "Your resolve is strong even though your body is weak. The children your concubines birthed seem to have inherited your defiance against me. Seems you were telling the truth about having an unbreakable spirit."

He signals the guard to turn the crank in the opposite direction, tilting Joseph upwards until his body is right side up. Fritz's daughters approach the bent, damaged, but ultimately unbroken man.

"What are… you doing?"

"Your Ackerman instincts do not break as easily as your body and mind, it even seems to be powerful enough to influence the will of your offspring. To mould them into the perfect warriors, I have to modify the source… My daughters, use your powers to reshape his mind. Reach down to the very depths of his blood, bone, seed and soul. Make it so he and all who come after him wield their power for my family and all of Eldia forever!" He ordered them.

Maria stood in the middle and held her arms out to the sides. Her two sisters conjoin their hands with hers and place their free hands on the sides of Joseph's head. The moment their fingers touch him, he feels a surge of electricity pass through his skull and enter his brain. Joseph starts to scream and writhe, his body spasming as though he were fighting an invisible force.

He could feel Ymir's power surging through his blood, rewriting his genes into whatever King Fritz desired. He felt himself falling through an endless black abyss. Chains of crystal manifest out of the nonexistent walls of the void and wrap themselves around his consciousness. King Fritz's voice echoes from all directions, tormenting him further.

"Hear me, Joseph Ackerman. From now until the end of time, you and your descendants who inherit your power will be cursed to obey my, and Ymir's, orders without question. When I tell you to fight for me, you will fight! When I order you to defend Eldia, you will defend it! Even after you die you will continue to serve Eldia through your successors! Their minds will become their mind. And your unbreakable spirit will spend eternity in darkness. You will never experience freedom again... When it's finally your time to die, your power will be passed down to the youngest member of your family, ensuring a life-long service to the Eldian Empire. For you shall forever be Eldia's shield, in one way or another!"

As the monstrous king's words flowed through his consciousness like a metaphysical spear through the brain, Joseph found himself surrounded by three new Titans. He suspected them to be the Titan bodies of Maria, Rose, and Sina. Each of them was a mixed breed of the nascent nine Titan powers. The eldest daughter, Maria's Titan was the biggest of the three. Hers was a combination of the Founding, Colossal, and Female Titans. It was the height of the Colossal but had the feminine figure of the Female with extremely long blonde hair.

The middle child, Rose's Titan was a mixture of the Attack, Armoured and Warhammer Titans. Hers was the bulkiest in appearance. The armoured plates covering her body were white like the Warhammer's and her face was covered by a mask of hardened skin similar to Lara Tybur's Titan. She had shorter blonde hair than her sister identical to Eren and Grisha's Titans and piercing green eyes.

The youngest daughter, Sina, possesses a quadruped Titan that houses the traits of the Beast, Jaw, and Cart Titans. Its appearance looked similar in shape to a horse but had sharp claws instead of hooves and was covered in black fur. The Titan's head resembled the skull of a reptilian animal with rows of sharp teeth, the two at the front of the snout being fangs, and skin flaps stretched outwards around her neck like a lion's mane.

The three Titans all raise their right hands at Joseph, delving ever deeper into his consciousness until they've reached the very centre. Their Titans were acting as an amplifier, ensuring the changes remained permanent. Forever locked away in his genes. This way Joseph Ackerman's instincts will remain dormant within his descendants until they're awakened by Eldia's king and The Founding Titan.

When it was finally over, Joseph was reduced to an empty husk of the man he once was. Foam was dribbling out of his mouth and his pupils had rolled back in his head. Panicked, Fritz orders a doctor to come down here and check his pulse. He can't allow him to die yet. Not until he breeds a new, altered batch of his kin into the world.

Maria, Rose, and Sina back away and allow their father to approach the doctor and await his analysis.

"His body is still responding to the performance-enhancing drugs, but it seems his consciousness retreated deep into his own mind. I don't think he can function as a man anymore, my lord."

"I don't need his mind, just his body. See to it he is ready to deliver more of his seed. I want every woman in my kingdom to bear children carrying his blood. His power must be passed down to a worthy successor… And then we will put him down." He replied coldly, showing no remorse for his once respected general.

The doctor bows to him and gets to work on getting his body back in working order. On the way out, Maria, Rose and Sina glance back at the brainwashed Joseph, all of them looking at him in pity. Their mother loved him like a big brother and always missed him when he went to war. And the only memory they'll ever have of him is as he is now. The horrors inflicted on this man would haunt their dreams for the rest of their lives.

Joseph finally met his gruesome end one day when he decided to take his own life. His spirit prevented him from taking the coward's way out for a long time, but that strength was ripped out of him. The final nail in the coffin was when Fritz ordered his own daughters to lay with him, realising that if he combined The Crystal Titan's power with theirs, their Titans would grow even stronger and obtain its attributes.

It was painful enough breeding with almost all of Eldia's women, but they were Ymir's daughters. They were like nieces to him and he was forced to deflower them. He felt disgusted with himself, with King Fritz. He was worse than a monster. He was pure evil. A true spawn of the devil.

When the time came for the king to meet his demise, his final words to his daughters were to give birth and continue to multiply. The blood of Ymir must continue to live on alongside the Ackermans. And when it is their time to die, have their children eat their spines, and let their children eat their spines, and so forth and so on forever.

Maria, Rose, and Sina obeyed their father's final wish, and each bore three children. Three out of the nine babies were born with Ackerman blood. They raised their children the same way King Fritz raised them, passing on his knowledge and desires, until they died within thirteen years like their mother before them.

The nine children devoured their bodies the same way they devoured their grandmother, once more splitting the power of the Titans into nine separate pieces: Attack, Armoured, Female, Jaw. Cart, Beast, Colossal, Warhammer, and The Founding Titan. All of them were born carrying the traits of The Crystal Titan, granting the power of hardening to them and their descendants.

When the time came for the users of the first Nine Titans to pass on their powers, they discovered the key to inheriting them successfully was to consume their spinal fluid. At some point in the future, the discovery to create Pure Titans will also come to light, making the transfer even easier to use.

But as the centuries passed it was discovered that the power of hardening diminished over time with every new incarnation of Titan Shifters, leaving all but a few of the Nine no longer able to harness the power of The Crystal Titan.

As for Joseph, he committed suicide in the most ironic way imaginable. He bites his tongue off and holds back his regenerative abilities, allowing himself to bleed to death. He did this as a twisted way to honour Ymir's memory. The day he began to lose his sister and watch her devolve into an obedient slave to King Fritz.

After his death his soul wound up chained inside The Crystal Cave, becoming its first prisoner. He would remain there for all eternity until the day the second Crystal Titan user winds up there, keeping him company. And so on throughout the ages.

With every clash of their blades came a new piece to add to the puzzle which is the life of Joseph Ackerman. Little by little Michael was able to see his ancestor's life play out to him like the chapters of a book. Even in death Joseph is determined to defend Ymir from harm, even from his own flesh and blood.

This man had watched the rest of history play out from The Crystal Cave through the eyes of every Crystal Titan who preceded him. He saw the Great Titan War. He watched King Fritz's 145th heir build a paradise for the Eldian Race on the Island of Paradis. One of his descendants harnessed his powers to assist in the construction of the three walls named after Ymir's daughters.

The cave began to fill with more and more of his descendants, all of them chained to one another, each of them dominated by his will, much like the curse of the Founder, cursed to torment the next user until it was their time to join them.

Michael was so focused on defeating Joseph that he failed to notice Eren had finally arrived in The Paths. Lazarus hadn't noticed until he heard him screaming, desperate to break free from the chains binding his wrists.

The truth is that he was there for some time, appearing as Lazarus and Michael were arguing. Eren used Michael as bait to lure Ymir's protector away so he could freely approach and force her to lend him her power. He was so desperate to reach her that he didn't hesitate to tear his hands apart just to slip them out of his cuffs.

"No! Michael, stop fighting!" He attempted to warn them, but his words fell on deaf ears. Michael was too wrapped up in defeating Joseph. "Zeke, do something! Stop him!"

Zeke callously looks in his direction. "There's no point. Ymir has already accepted her orders and begun moving. She's about to take away the ability to reproduce from every last one of her subjects. Nothing in this world can stop her now."

Lazarus summons all his strength to break himself free from this forever-repairing crystal. Every time the surface cracks it winds up fixing itself again. But Lazarus kept pushing, screaming his lungs out, until he finally managed to explode the crystal outwards and ran like hell after Eren, desperate to reach Ymir first.

Eventually, Michael's ears pick up the distressed cries of Lazarus running for his life. He then spots Eren wrapping his arms around Ymir from behind and realises he'd messed up.

While he is distracted, Joseph kicks Michael into the sand and raises his greatsword above him, ready to deliver the killing strike. "Say goodbye, Michael."

"Joseph, stop! Ymir's in danger!"

"I know. That's why I will end you before you get the chance to-

"Not me, you fucking idiot! Eren! Look behind you!" He pointed.

Joseph turns around and is shocked to see Eren grabbing Ymir. "I'll end it, here and now! I'll put an end to this world if you give me your strength!" He heard him declare aloud.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Joseph charges towards Eren, completely ignoring Michael and the rapidly approaching Lazarus.

"You're nobody's slave, and you're no god either! You're just a person. You don't have to serve anyone. You can make your own choices! This is YOUR power! You get to decide! You wanna stay here forever with him?! Or do you want me to end it?!"

"YMIR, DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! He only wants to use your power to end the world! Mankind shouldn't have to die for the sins of Marley! Let me bear the burden of your power! Let me make the choices you can't carry out! Let me ensure nobody wields your power ever again! Please don't give him control!" Lazarus called out to the slave girl's spirit, begging her, but she wasn't listening.

Now it was Zeke's turn to try and stop Eren, realising that something was going wrong. He gave Ymir a command yet she was resisting. She's not supposed to question her orders. She was made to carry them out no matter what.

That is why she was listening only to Eren. He alone understands that she's been guiding him this whole time. She'd been all alone, waiting. Even when Joseph showed up, he never did it to catch up. He only appeared when her life was in danger. He'd grown so obsessed with keeping her safe that he'd forgotten to be a friend to her.

Two thousand years she waited for someone to free her, and she finally found him. And in return, she will help him put an end to this world.

Zeke was right. Time in The Paths flew by in an instant back in the real world. The moment all four of them exited The Paths went by just as instantaneously as they'd entered. To everyone else, it was as if it hadn't happened at all.

The Winged Titan was still in the process of devouring Eren's body, though he never got the chance to ingest his spinal fluid. Lazarus suddenly froze in place, drawing everyone in the area's attention. Before they could wonder why he stopped all of a sudden, The Winged Titan let loose a pain-induced ear-piercing scream. Erwin, Gabi, Ludwig, Reiner, Jean, Connie, and Sasha all cover their ears to avoid bursting an eardrum.

The Winged Titan's throat was violently pulsing. Something was forcing itself up his throat pipe, causing unspeakable pain. His head suddenly shot back, and his mouth was forced wide open as the mysterious spine-like creature burst out of its mouth and surged towards Eren's severed head, plunging itself into the stump of his neck, reconnecting the head to his body. Erwin, Gabi, and Ludwig bore witness to its emergence, all of them thinking a variation of: "What is that thing?!"

Ludwig estimated it was the true source behind the power of the Titans itself. The very thing that started it all. His elderly eyes widen with awe. "This is the Coordinate? It's… beautiful. A creature from a world beyond ours. And it's chosen Eren as its host. We've won!" A creepy smile forms on his face which turns into maniacal laughter.

As everyone looks on in shock, a gigantic burst of Titan energy explodes out of Eren's body within Lazarus. The Winged Titan's screams grow intensely as it can feel its entire body being vaporised in an instant. Michael didn't have any time to react but was saved at the last second by Erwin who fired his anchor into his body and retracted it back with him attached. Though he, Michael, and Gabi ended up getting blasted back by the shockwave. The electrical energy started spreading throughout the island. For a brief, terrible moment… all was silent. Then they heard it. The walls were shifting.

Slowly at first but quickly gaining speed, the walls were cracking and crumbling away into nothing, freeing the army of Colossal Titans within, exposing them to the outside world for the first time in hundreds of years. Pieck, Magath, Mikasa and Floch ended up falling as the wall beneath their feet fell apart, prematurely ending their battle. Annie, Bertolt and Willy trembled with fear as they witnessed the Titans standing where the walls once stood.

Erwin, Michael, Gabi, and Ludwig bore witness to the birth of Eren's new Titan body growing larger than any other ever had before. Standing at over 235 meters tall, far larger than the Colossal or Rod Reiss' Titan. Its whole body has an enlarged ribcage that spans several meters, almost as big as Shiganshina itself. There was no flesh or muscle mass aside from the head and back legs. The rest was all bone. Eren's Founding Titan looked and walked like a centipede. Ludwig was the only one who gazed upon it with awe and reverence, stretching his arms out to the sides like he was devoting himself to a god.

"MAGNIFICENT! TRULY MAGNIFICENT! The day of reckoning has come at last! The end of the world is here!" His praising drew Erwin's attention to him, which Ludwig was aware of. "Your Wings of Crystal have failed, Erwin! Subject 14 is no more! I doubt there's anything left of him to regenerate from this time. The Rumbling has begun! I'd stay on the island if I were you. It's the only place that won't get trampled."

"LUDWIIIG!" The enraged commander aims the discarded rifle he picked up from a dead Marleyan at the mad scientist and opens fire. But Ludwig fires one of his anchors into one of the ribs of Eren's new Titan and blasts off towards it.

Ludwig hangs himself off the side of the gargantuan rib and waves his cane at him and the others.

"Eren promised me a front-row seat to this spectacle, and I am NOT going to miss it! I will watch the old world burn as its sole witness. And when it's done, the new one will take its place. I will see to it this new world gains the knowledge it needs to get it started. Only then will I let death claim me… Goodbye, Erwin Smith. And Goodbye, Michael Suurvalta. It hasn't been a pleasure." Those were the last words they heard him say as Eren's Founding Titan began its long and perilous march across the world.

The Wall Titans join in on the march and follow their leader. Their footsteps kicked up untold amounts of debris. The Armoured Titan quickly rushes towards Erwin, Michael, and Gabi and shields them with his body. Safe and sound underneath him, they watch The Rumbling begin.

"What is that thing?! It's gigantic!" Gabi stuttered between words, still paralysed with fear.

"This is the monster that's been invading Lazarus' nightmares," Michael answered. "… It's all come true. We couldn't stop it… We failed… I failed."

Tears build up under his eyelids and trickle down his face as he sees the Titans of the Walls walking in a straight line behind Eren. Erwin pats his son's back, comforting him. He looks around for Lazarus, hoping Ludwig was wrong about him being dead for real. But there was no sign of him or The Winged Titan. There was only a pile of ash where it was sitting before the blast. This was very bad. Lazarus was the only one powerful enough to stop this crisis. Without him, their chances of stopping The Rumbling are limited but not impossible.

But he refuses to believe he's gone. After all the time he tried and failed to kill him in the past why should this be any different? He had to be alive. They need The Winged Titan… The world needed him.

"Listen, Michael. Gabi. We can't afford to sit around feeling sorry for ourselves. Look!" He points them in the direction of the inner gate. They were shocked to see that it had fallen as well.

"All the walls have fallen, even Wall Maria. Eren's plan all along was to unleash a full-scale Rumbling. Not a small fraction like the volunteers were hoping for… It's as Ludwig said, Eren is going to annihilate the entire world. We can't-

In a sudden flash, he, Michael, Gabi, and every other Subject of Ymir worldwide were summoned to The Paths. The loud shaking of the Earth had grown silent in that instance, and in its place was the menacing voice of Eren Yeager.

"Hear me, Subjects of Ymir."

Every Eldian froze with terror. They all know that voice. It belonged to the same individual who caused the Massacre of Liberio. And now he was broadcasting his declaration to massacre the rest of the world.

"My name is Eren Yeager. I'm addressing my fellow Subjects of Ymir, speaking to you directly through the power of the Founder. All the walls of Paradis have crumbled to the ground, and the legions of Titans buried within have begun their march. My only goal is to protect the lives of the people of Paradis, the island where I was born. Right now, the nations of the world are united in their desire to exterminate my people, but it won't end with our island. They won't be satisfied until every last Subject of Ymir is dead. I won't let them have their way!"

Although Lazarus' body might've been completely obliterated, Eren made sure he heard what he had to say. He knows he'll recover soon, and he wants him to know that once The Rumbling has concluded, he will be the only living thing left beyond Paradis. This was his final revenge to him.

"The Titans of the walls will continue their march until every trace of life beyond our shores is trampled flat. And the people of Paradis… Are all that remains of humanity."

To Be Continued

Author's Note: Sorry to do this to you again, guys, but I'm taking another break from AOT for a good long while. Writing these chapters has proven to be more difficult than I originally thought and my mental health is starting to decline. I'm not feeling as inspired to write this story as much as I used to and I feel like some of you can tell through the way some of my more recent ones have been written or what others told me in my messages.

I am still happy with how this chapter turned out and I figured the start of The Rumbling would be the perfect place to stop for now until I feel well enough to continue till the end. I did cut out a lot of the details and scenes that I realised may've gone too far had I left them in. I hope you all enjoyed reading it nonetheless and if you like this fanfic be sure to follow it so you'll be notified whenever I decide to post the next one, and please checl out the other two fanfics I've completed i you haven't yet. Thanks guys and I hope to see you soon ;)