Chapter - 1

"Ever Since I was born into this world in front of my eyes. There's always been a depressing wall."

"Burning water, Lands made of ice, Snowy planes of sand"

"The outside world is so much wider than what's inside these walls,"

"Those who seen it in all the world the most free."

"This is Freedom!"

Eren Jaeger smiles spreading his arms witnessing the beauty of his childhood fantasy of the outside world. But that didn't last as he slowly begins to fall, something dragging him down. Eren looks down at the mountain of dead bodies. His comrades trying to pull his body down beckoning him to join. Eren's parents were there too teary-eyed, gazing at him.

"At that moment, he was about to let go and closed his eyes. He wanted to end his suffering until he remembered those words. The words that made him keep moving forward.

"Save Mikasa and Armin," Those were his words repeated by his father and eren Kruger.

"Not Yet," He said and suddenly he fell into the endless sand of paths.

"I need to keep moving forward until I-."

He collapsed on the sand and regressed back into his child form. He remembered the memories of Armin talking about the ocean and the plains of sand. He looked around and everywhere there was sand. He wanted to show it to Armin.

"Hey, Armin!" Eren said turning his head back staring at the adult form of Armin.

"Eren," Armin looked at the childlike state of eren. He approached him and child eren offered him his hand. He took it and eren walked through the memories and reached to the moment they met.

"They used to call you a heretic," Eren said now clearly his mind back to his adult state although his body is still in the child form. Armin turned his head to look at eren.

"I always found people boring as if they were nothing more than cattle content with their lives,"

"Among them there was you. You were weak and yet stronger than any one of them. I was curious about you,"

They both peered at the moment where they met for the first time. Armin was sitting on the muddy ground with tears in his eyes.

"You fine with losing forever?" Eren says and Armin sniffs

"You are wrong," He replies and continues

"I didn't lose as I didn't run,"

"Frankly when I met you that moment. I thought of you as my equal, I finally found someone who wanted to see what is beyond the wall,"

"No not just equal, I thought of you as better than me, but you didn't believe it. You always questioned your capability. But in the end, you were always the hero while I filled my heart with vengeance."

"Ere-"

"There is more to tell to do that we need to go all the way back."

The location shifts to a village back in 2000 years ago. Armin looked around with curiosity. A small slave girl clumsily lifted a bucket full of water.

"That little girl is founder Ymir, I bet Zeke already told you quite a bit about her. But I'll just show you instead. The moment all it began."

Young Ymir gazed at the bird flying in the sky spreading its beautiful wings. They watched her freeing the pigs.

" Looking at bird made Ymir gave birth to forbidden desire. A desire the attack titan shifters share. A desire that made her free the pigs. All the nine titan shifters share some qualities of Ymir." He turned his head to Armin and looked at him with a serious look.

"You and I and Mikasa exist to do something for Ymir. You and I sought to achieve freedom. Mikasa on the other hand represented Ymir's desire to do the right thing that she failed 2000 years ago,"

"What right thing?" Armin asked, eren ignored the question and the location shifts to the tree where the parasite resides.

"The time in paths is different from the time in the earth. It felt like an eternity in here while on earth only a second had passed."

Ymir runs into the gigantic tree and falls into a hole full of water.

"That spine that attached to the Ymir is a powerful lifeform that existed on earth from the beginning of time. It knew about humanity knew about everything in this world. Yet couldn't move from its safe haven as it can't survive much longer outside that pit unless it has a host. It is stuck in that pit waiting for someone so it could take over that person's body. Only a human body is a perfect vessel as we humans are born with intelligence."

The spine attaches to Ymir and Ymir transforms into a giant titan. Eren and Armin witness it from the ground. Armin gapes at it while eren is nonchalant as if he saw this over and over again.

"For some reason, it couldn't do it. It couldn't take over the body. Instead, it became a servent to Ymir."

"It could bend and twist into any form. It is after all the source of all organic life."

"Yet, it turned into the titan. All because I intervened,"

"You did it?" Armin questions

"To make everything flow as it did I had to. It was inevitable. "

"When I acted to push you guys away. I acted like I had free will but in reality, nobody in this world is truly free. We are all driven by something that is beyond our control. In my case, I had the power and yet I couldn't erase the 2000 years of history. I didn't want to disappear. I wanted it to happen just so I can be born and spend time with you and Mikasa. I even had to direct Diana to kill my mother. I caused my own suffering all to keep this timeline intact"

"When I touched historia's hand, I saw what I was going to do. It was painful and lonely and I wanted to tell everything to you guys,"

"But I can't do that. To achieve the ultimate goal, I had to push you away and kill millions to achieve that one goal,"

The location shifts to the beach in the paradise island. Armin punches eren.

"You killed millions of people," Armin shouted as he kept punching

"You hurt Mikasa,"

"You decided to push everyone away," He knocked eren down into the puddle of water.

"Tell me eren, why did you hide it? Why did you do this all alone?" Armin bellowed

"Because" Eren got up

"Because I am worthless and you guys are precious to me. I wanted you to live long and happy lives."

"Worthless?" Armin asks his face full of sadness and frustration.

"Have you ever thought what we thought of you?"

"You were precious for us too goddamn it. You always left us back going further and further away. All we ever wanted for you is to be with us"

Eren turned away hiding his tears and let out a heavy sighed.

"Mikasa loved you eren,"

"I know she did but she doesn't deserve me,"

"You loved her too didn't you?"

"Yes, I did, and that is why she should be the one to kill me,"

"What did you just say?"

"I killed millions Armin there is no forgiveness for me. I took away lives of innocents who did nothing wrong all because I wanted to reach that goal,"

"Look at me, Armin,"

Eren says as he stood on top of the mountain of bodies. He looked down and saw Ramzi. Ramzi looked at eren confusingly. Eren's face went pale looking at the brutalized head of the boy. The location shifts to the moment eren met Ramzi.

"That child was an orphan struggling to survive. He collected coins one by one hoping one day he could live comfortably with his friend." Eren stared at his bloodied hands.

"I took that boy's future."

"I have no right to be loved or love someone," He jumps down from the mountain and takes Armin's hand.

The location changed to the moment eren forced his father to kill the Reiss family

"At that time I forced my father to kill. I who believed in free will taken it away from my father forced him to kill children."

The location changes to the moment eren told Zeke about his true nature.

"When I was young all I ever wanted was to achieve freedom. It was simple but something was dark about it. I didn't hesitate to kill anyone who wanted to take my freedom. I wanted to take it away from those who did"

"I have always been that way looking at the world black and white until I learned the truth about this world,"

The location shifts to the moment he saved Mikasa from human traffickers.

"It was cruel and that cruelty leads to me saving Mikasa. I have no right to take other people's freedom away. But I do not regret this moment. I do not regret saving Mikasa because she is the one who will save me from this burden."

The location changes to the ruins of a marlyan city full of crushed bodies of people.

"All these lives are lost for one purpose for one moment,"

The location changes to the moment where Armin and the other jump from the plain to fight eren.

"This is?" Armin asks

"This will be the fight that will end the curse."

End of Chapter - 1 (This will cover chapter 139 - 140)