"Ever since I was born into this world, right before my eyes, there has always been a pervasive sense of melancholy. A looming, desolate wall."

"Burning water, lands made of ice, and snowy plains of sand."

"The world beyond these walls is so much broader, so much more expansive."

"Those who have seen it know that it's the epitome of freedom."

"This is freedom!"

Eren Jaeger smiled, his arms outstretched, basking in the splendor of his childhood dream – the beauty of the outside world. However, the moment was short-lived as he began to descend, something dragging him down. Eren looked down to see a mountain of lifeless bodies, his comrades struggling to pull him into their midst, urging him to join them. Even Eren's parents were there, their eyes welled up with tears, gazing at him.

In that very moment, he was on the verge of letting go and closing his eyes. He longed to end his suffering until he remembered those words. The words that propelled him to keep moving forward.

"Save Mikasa and Armin." Those were the words repeated by his father and Eren Kruger.

"Not yet," he declared, and suddenly, he descended into the boundless sands of paths.

"I need to keep moving forward until I—"

He crumpled onto the sand and reverted back to his child form. Memories of Armin speaking about the ocean and the sandy plains flooded his mind. He scanned the surroundings, and all he saw was sand. He yearned to show it to Armin.

"Hey, Armin!" Eren exclaimed, turning his head and looking at the adult form of Armin.

"Eren," Armin responded, gazing at Eren's childlike state. He approached him, and child Eren extended his hand. Armin accepted it, and together they ventured through their shared memories, reaching the moment they first crossed paths.

"They used to label you as a heretic," Eren said, his mind now back in his adult state, despite his childlike body. Armin turned to look at him.

"I always found people mundane, as if they were nothing more than contented cattle,"

"Among them, there was you. You were frail yet stronger than any of them. I was intrigued by you."

Both of them peered at the moment when they first met. Armin sat on the muddy ground, tears glistening in his eyes.

"Are you okay with losing forever?" Eren asked, and Armin sniffled.

"You're mistaken," he replied and continued,

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

"To be honest, when I met you in that moment, I saw you as my equal. I had finally found someone who shared my desire to explore what lay beyond the wall."

"No, not just my equal, I considered you better than me. But you never believed it. You consistently questioned your abilities. Yet, in the end, you were always the hero while I harbored vengeance in my heart."

"Ere—"

"There's more to tell, and to do that, we need to go back even further."

"That little girl is Founder Ymir. I'm sure Zeke has already told you a lot about her, but I'll just show you instead – the moment it all began."

Young Ymir gazed at a bird soaring in the sky, spreading its beautiful wings, while they watched her release the pigs.

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"Watching that bird ignited a forbidden desire in Ymir – a desire that all Attack Titan shifters share. It's the desire that led her to free those pigs. All nine Titan shifters share certain qualities with Ymir," Eren explained. He turned his gaze toward Armin, wearing a serious expression.

"You, Mikasa, and I exist to fulfill a purpose for Ymir. You and I sought freedom, while Mikasa represents Ymir's desire to do the right thing that she failed to achieve 2000 years ago."

"What right thing?" Armin inquired, but Eren ignored the question, and the location shifted to the tree where the parasite resided.

"In the realm of Paths, time flows differently compared to the outside world. It felt like an eternity in here, while only a second passed on Earth."

Ymir dashed towards the gigantic tree and tumbled into a hole filled with water.

"The spine that attached itself to Ymir is a potent lifeform that has existed on Earth since time immemorial. It possesses knowledge about humanity and everything in this world, yet it can't survive for long outside that pit unless it finds a host. A human body is the ideal vessel, as we humans are born with intelligence."

The spine attached to Ymir, causing her to transform into a colossal titan. Eren and Armin watched in awe. Armin was wide-eyed, whereas Eren remained nonchalant, as if he had witnessed this spectacle numerous times.

For some reason, the spine couldn't complete its takeover. Instead, it became subservient to Ymir.

"It can take on any form, as it's the source of all organic life," Eren explained. "Yet, it chose to become a titan. All because of my intervention."

"You did this?" Armin questioned.

"I had to, to ensure that everything unfolded as it did. It was inevitable."

"When I pretended to push you away, it was merely an act. The truth is, nobody in this world is genuinely free. We're all driven by forces beyond our control. In my case, I possessed the power, yet I couldn't erase 2000 years of history. I didn't want to vanish. I wanted it to occur so that I could be born and spend time with you and Mikasa. I even had to direct Dina to kill my own mother. I inflicted my own suffering to maintain the integrity of this timeline."

"When I touched Historia's hand, I saw what I was destined to do. It was painful and lonely, and I yearned to tell you everything."

"But I couldn't. To achieve my ultimate goal, I had to distance myself from you and cause the deaths of millions to attain that one objective."

The scene shifted to the beach on Paradise Island, where Armin unleashed a series of punches on Eren.

"You killed millions of people!" Armin shouted as he continued to punch Eren.

"You hurt Mikasa,"

"You decided to push everyone away," he exclaimed, knocking Eren into a puddle of water.

"Tell me, Eren, why did you keep it hidden? Why did you undertake all of this alone?" Armin bellowed.

"Because," Eren got up.

"Because I am insignificant, and you guys are precious to me. I wanted you to lead long and happy lives."

"Worthless?" Armin asked, his face filled with sadness and frustration.

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

"You were precious to us too, damn it. You always left us behind, going further and further away. All we ever wanted was for you to be with us."

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

"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's why she should be the one to kill me,"

"What did you just say?"

"I killed millions, Armin. There's no forgiveness for me. I took the lives of innocents who did nothing wrong, all because I wanted to reach that goal,"

"Look at me, Armin,"

Eren said as he stood atop the mountain of bodies. He looked down and saw Ramzi. Ramzi gazed at Eren with confusion. Eren's face went pale as he stared at the brutalized head of the boy. The scene shifted to the moment when 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 lamented, staring at his bloodied hands.

"I took that boy's future."

"I have no right to be loved or to love someone," Eren continued. He jumped down from the mountain and took 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, took it away from my someone and forced them to do the fact they abhorred."

The location changed to the moment Eren told Zeke about his true nature.

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

"I have always been that way, seeing the world in black and white, until I learned the truth about this world."

The scene shifted to the moment when he saved Mikasa from human traffickers.

"It was cruel, and that cruelty led to me saving Mikasa. I have no right to take away the freedom of others. 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 changed to the ruins of a Marleyan city filled with the bodies of crushed people.

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

The location changed to the moment when Armin and the others leaped from the plain to confront Eren.

"This is?" Armin asked.

"This will be the battle that ends the curse."

End of Chapter - 1 (Covering chapters 139 - 140)