Power to Strive

Ymir Speaks

The group perked up. Questions began appearing in all their minds. Mainly regarding the royal family name "Fritz."

"A cult was born and they worshipped me as a goddess."

Levi, Hange, and Erwin's thoughts turned to the content of Ilse's journal. The Titan had referred to Ilse as "Lady Ymir."

It's all finally coming together. Hange thought.

This is it. Erwin's heart pounded. A tingling sensation went through him. More questions being answered.

"Eventually, we were discovered and arrested. Oh wait, I should give you some background about the goddess thing. Not sure if you all know the story. Basically, it goes likes this: A long time ago, Ymir Fritz obtained the power of the Titans. She was the original Shifter. The progenitor Titan."

The founder. Eren's head ached at the thought.

She had made a deal with the devil. Christa was startled by the thought. She couldn't recall where she had learned that. Was it in a book?

"And with her powers, she accomplished great things. Building roads and structures, raising bridges, cultivating lands, bringing good fortune to her people, and all that. When she died, her powers were split nine ways, nine Titan-Shifters."

They knew of four: Eren Yeager, Annie Leonhart, the Colossal Titan, and the Armored Titan. Five counting her. Petra thought. What could the other four do? What abilities did they possess? And why were the Shifters sent to eliminate them?

That's just what we need. Levi thought irritably. More enemy Shifters.

"What happens when one dies?" Despite the order to stay quiet, Armin's curiosity overwhelmed him.

"It gets passed on to another person. An Eldian, specifically. Only they are able to inherit this power. Only they can be turned into Titans. And the only Eldians, also called the Subjects of Ymir, left in this world are the people of the Walls and those kept in a segregated area in Marley called Liberio."

The rug had been swept out from under their feet once again. First, learning they were not, in fact, the last humans left. And now this. This was even worse.

We can be turned into Titans. Sasha stared at her hand in disbelief. How was that even possible? It made her feel ill, thinking about the Titans she had helped take out. They were all people.

Are we murderers? Connie felt dizzy thinking about that. But we didn't know... He thought helplessly.

It was suffocating. Levi's whole body felt like lead. All this time I thought I was doing something good. Thought human bloodshed under his hands was over. Turned out he was dirtying his hands further still. I thought I was done. But it was just more of the same.

Ymir felt bad for them, watching the truth tear them up inside.

So many lives were lost because of her. Petra was glad she was sitting down. Otherwise her knees might have given out as the world spun. Guilt gnawed at her. What if we could have helped them some way? Maybe they should have taken Hange's approach, trying to study them and learn more about them, to understand, instead of simply killing them.