Eren?! Why? They kept on asking why Eren suddenly changed. Suddenly? It wasn't sudden, but gradually over time. Why? Why is it that everyone seemed to be determined to get in his way. Eren had enough. It's time to be free. Just because they're fated to die in a few years, to have their time be limited as a payment for their power. So, it doesn't matter how much we struggle over it? No. It matters. I wouldn't die. I wouldn't rest. Not yet. A large rock smashed the Armored Titan's face loosening the weight behind the Attack Titan's back. Eren glanced at the top of the wall where a familiar 17 feet titan clung.

Eren narrowed his eyes at the Beast Titan throwing large rocks as projectiles slowly chipping down the enemies from Marley. Now, they just needed to touch. He needed the key to have access to the Paths. Once he opened the door, he could finally... But for what... Since Zeke's here, does it mean that Captain... Eren stumbled as Reiner caught up with him. Only a few meters separated him from Zeke. He gritted his teeth. It was always Reiner who got in his way. Someone who's a coward. Who could only offer him an answer of 'it can't be helped, i had no choice'. Someone who couldn't even own up to his own decisions. Someone who kept on surviving on other's sacrifice. The Marleyans watched as the Founding Titan roared. Eren struggled against Reiner's hold, freeing a hand, he reached towards the fallen Beast Titan. The Beast Titan screamed.

Pain erupted from his neck as a bullet pierced through his flesh and his head flew. Eren saw as the world spun. It happened in an instant. His head landed on Zeke's palm. There was a flash before fragments of memories flashed through his mind. His consciousness spread as he saw everything all at once. For a moment it was dark before a large tree made of light appeared in front of him. There was sand everywhere and the night sky was filled with streaks of light in various colors all connected to the large tree.

That's when Eren saw a figure. A presence that was always here all alone. The founder, Ymir.

Eren watched as Zeke lifted one of the chains that held him on the ground. It must be the Vow of Renouncing War. Eren turned around, his head swimming. Zeke kept on talking about their- no, his dream- about saving the world, about euthanizing the Eldian race to render them infertile. His half brother's joke of a plan. Zeke foolishly blaming Eren's actions and decisions on their father's influence. When Zeke was unaware how much Marley influenced his own actions and ideology. Easily rendering the chains around his to crumble into sand.

Zeke crushed the chain around his neck into sand as he stood. Clearly, the time we spent in the Paths were different. It was only a blink for Eren, but for the older man it felt like an eternity.

Zeke pointed at him as the same chains enclosed Eren's wrists. He gritted his teeth as Zeke came closer and their foreheads touched. Grisha's memories flowed through between the two brothers. Eren silently listened as Zeke tried to let him see their father's true colors. How Grisha forgot his first family, how he used his status as a doctor to investigate the Ruler of the Walls and the Founding Titan. How he was a shitty father who could sacrifice his own family for his ideals as an Edian Restorationist. Eren glanced at his half brother, to see if he noticed what Eren already knew from the start. Not yet.

Eren drowned Zeke's words as he glanced at the family picture on Grisha's desk. The family picture of Zeke and Dina Fritz.

Soon

Grisha murmured from his sleep. Eren crossed his arms. Grisha suddenly woke up, calling for Zeke, looking straight at the older brother, while Eren observed his brother's reaction.

It's Time.

Eren twisted the door knob open. It his turn to show Zeke, who's the real one who lost his true self. As Zeke watched Eren's childhood through Grisha's memories, he asked why Eren betrayed him despite being raised without being told nothing about the truth, why Eren refused to end the fight, and what he intends to do with the Founder's Power.

Eren waited... and waited... until Grisha turned to look at him and said, "Eren, when I return, I'll show you inside the basement that I've kept secret all this time." He hadn't notice. But Zeke will soon know, as they watched Grisha's expression turn grim the further he was from his family. Until he reached the Reiss family. Grisha's voice reached his ears, begging to free the Eldian's from this curse. Eren frowned. Heat flushed through his tense body. He glared at Freida Reiss- no, at the Founder, the true Ruler of the Walls.

"Eren?" Finally, he noticed. Both Grisha and Zeke looked at Eren.

Eren still silently watched as the Reiss scrambled to get away from his father. Until a clink of a scalpel falling on the ground silenced everyone. "I can't..." Grisha's voice quivered. "There's no way... that the past could... change." Zeke trailed off. No. It could. Remember, this is all for... the future. Eren closed his eyes, a face flashed through his mind before dismissing it.

"Hey," Zeke muttered. "For your comrades from the Restoration. For Dina. For Kruger." Eren taunted. "We need to keep moving forward to avenge them. Even if we die... Even after we die." He ignored Zeke's clouded gaze. He ignored the hurt in his chest and whispered, "This is... the story that you started, right dad?" Zeke's gaze never left him as Eren's gaze grew solemn. Grisha came out stagerring from his titan. Shouting for Eren. Whether his actions would really save Eldia, save Carla, destroy the walls.

Eren. A voice calling his name brought Eren back to the present. Love... I wish we could've spent more time together too. But you're probably already dead or gravely injured. Eren shook his head. It wasn't the time to think about that. He calmly observed as the light faded from Zeke's eyes as he learned the truth. "Dad..." Zeke finally lost his will to fight. But Eren clenched his fists drawing blood as he braced himself for the next words to come from his father. The same words he saw from this memory when he kissed Historia's hand. "Zeke, stop... Eren." "Ugh!" They were both tugged from the memory as Zeke fell on his back. It's over for the man. Eren would win. He already went this far. He already lost so much... lost him. Even if he's alive, he'd never agree with Eren's decisions, and he'd be the one to kill Eren. He inwardly smiled as Zeke scrambled away from him, demanding if Eren planned everything from the start, from when and where did his influence on the past started.

Eren clicked his tongue at Zeke's useless last struggle. "The Coordinate!" Eren gasped. He screamed and tugged until he torn his flesh and ran. Towards the slave, Ymir. "That's it! I'm going to put an end to this world! lend me your strength!" Enough! Eren hugged Ymir, "You should choose! Whether to stay here forever... or end it!" His consciousness came back to the real word. A spine grew from his bloodied neck and quickly connected to his severed head on Zeke's hands. The Walls started breaking, crumbling... falling into pieces. It can't be stopped anymore. I'll destroy this world! The Rumbling commenced. It's over. Eren opened his eyes. Mikasa stood in front of him. Her eyes were dim but determined and she's still wearing the damn red scarf. Her stance were steady along with her grip on the swords. I had hoped I could spare her from this... I had hoped it was Captain, someone who swore that'll kill me once I went berserk... but a different Ackerman came. She advanced, the cut was clean. He didn't even feel the slash of the sword. One moment Mikasa caught his head. Then there she was. Ymir, with a smile on her face, as Eren's eyes closed and he felt a faint pressure on his lips. He opened his eyes again. He found himself inside the Paths again. Eren panted as his hand touched his neck. It's intact again. Being beheaded twice was taxing on his mind. His other hand clutched at the sand after he fell to his knees.

Eren coughed as it all came crashing down. He'd gone and done it. The Rumbling. The scenery that stretched miles and miles away of gigantic footprints, of blood and flesh, of concrete and soil.

Eren refused to think of what ifs. Behind Ymir, the streaks of lights were slowly dimming before completely disappearing one by one. It felt like the world was collapsing.

"Humanity's hope." Ymir's voice wavered as their surroundings flicker in its destruction. "...and Humanity's strongest." Eren faltered. "I..."

She smiled again. "It's over now." He ran his hands through his hair. As the last vestiges of his vision became darkened, he heard Ymir say.

It was raining when Eren woke up. It was raining but he felt hot. He lurched as he saw the steam surrounding him. He tugged himself from the muscles and flesh connecting him to his titan. What happened? What did Ymir do to me? His head throbbed as he slipped from the decomposing titan. She implied that he'd be given a chance to change the past. What she meant by that remained to be seen. The Paths were destroyed along with the Curse of Ymir and the power of titans. Looking around, he's definitely not where he last were. The grass were a clear stark from the yellow plains of barren land. He's still a bit disoriented from the sudden transportation but this wasn't something that could be easily shaken off. The proof that he's in Paradis was the Walls looming over the distance. The question was where exactly was he, in Maria, in Rose? But He raises a trembling hand when he noticed something. Turning his head, he noted his long hair draped over his shoulder. Looking down, he's still wearing a hoodie and his pants, the same clothes he was wearing during... Eren retched. Just then, a fragment of memory entered his mind. Memories that's not his. It was raining. An explosion on a cart. Someone with a gear and green cloak, a scout was blasted away. A bridge. A forest. A slumped body by the river. Scouts arriving near, and one of them was Hange. They turned the bloody body over before speaking with a small voice. "Levi?" Eren dry-heaved. It was Captain Levi. Levi's face was covered with blood but the open wound that stretched over his face diagonally from his temple, over his eyes, until his chin, extending to his neck was gruesome. His fingers were also missing. He looked... dead. "He's dead." "He got caught in the explosion of a thunder spear at point blank range." If that were Captain Levi's state just before... Eren's eyes burned as tears traced his cheeks. The memories were gone, faded. Now, the rain soothed the burning rage consuming his body but he still glared. He pounded the ground with his clenched fists. Captain Levi always came back from expeditions with minimal injuries. He wasn't someone who'd easily make a mistake on the field or let himself suffer from grievous wounds. He had quicker reflex than that of a normal human. If he was injured, he must've been taken off guard. "Zeke!" Eren gritted his teeth. He's about to curse his half-brother for every single thing he'd done to injure his people that Zeke justified for his cause. The man was just like Reiner. "He's here." A woman's voice, Ymir. "Ymir?" Eren flinched as he glanced upwards at the grey skies. The rain peppered his face. "He's still there." Suddenly, an inconceivable idea churned in his mind. Eren stood on shaky limbs before moving forward. Walking, until he found himself jogging towards somewhere his feet consciously led him. In a distance, there's a familiar bridge. He urged his feet to move faster until he's running. After crossing, he ran along the familiar river. "Captain-!" Eren gasped. "Captain Levi!" He knelt and carefully turned the body over. It was him. The same image he saw as Hange. The fact that this happened inside Paradis, where he should've been safer, instead of the battlefield filled Eren with rage rivaling the anger he felt when he felt his freedom being threatened. "Captain..." Eren lifts a shivering hand to Levi's cheek. It's cold. He needed to immediately administer first aid. Clean the wounds, assess, before treating it. But they shouldn't stay under the pouring rain. So, he gathered his captain's unconscious body and head towards the cover of the trees.

When he found a decent shelter, he propped Levi by the base of a tree. He probably shouldn't have carried him without a stretcher board but... Eren had a feeling. So, he started cleaning the blood from Levi's face. As he saw the pale skin underneath the dark red blood, his hunch was confirmed. Instead of a ghastly open bleeding wound, only a healed scar remained proof of what Levi experienced. It was healed. Eren grasped Levi's hand and saw that the fingers were complete but there's also a scar where it should've been detached. Like someone reattached the fingers and stitched it on. It was only then that he allowed himself to breath a sigh of relief. Levi now had several scars across his face including a prominent one across his right eye and scars on both the index and middle fingers on his right hand. Well, among several old scars all over his body. But he's alive. He shouldn't have been able to recover from the explosion, his leg should've been injured too but it's not. It could only be Ymir. She could create and shape anything she wanted using the sand in the Paths just like she did with Zeke. Once Eren's satisfied in Levi's current state, sitting beside Levi, he closed his eyes. He intended to go to the Paths to look for Ymir but he couldn't. A force or a wall seemed to hinder his way. Eren frowned. He's still not sure where he was exactly. The only thing he's sure of was they somehow came back to the past.. At least until Levi was seriously injured. Probably inside Wall Rose. But how... and why? If this was the past, or at least a few hours before his death, then what was he supposed to do? And why was Levi with him. Hange should've found Levi. Or did he arrived earlier. Then, Hange should be here soon. But-! Eren felt dread. Zeke's body should've been near. And the debris of the explosion wasn't anywhere to be found. There's only Levi's unconscious body. He started breathing heavily. Pressing the base of his palm over his eyes, he concentrated on slowly inhaling and exhaling to calm himself. Being agitated and angry wouldn't help his confusion. When he managed to settle down, he glanced at his companion. Only to be surprised by the trembling eyelids. Levi seemed to be waking up soon. Eren hurriedly knelt and leaned over Levi, his hand gently cupping the Captain's cheek. It felt like hours as he knelt frozen in position while waiting for a sign of consciousness. He felt the world clicking into place again into a semblance he's familiar with. With Levi, he was aware how much secured he felt. Levi anchored him. Even if Levi might condemn him, Eren wouldn't mind. He already lost. He wouldn't mind being defeated by Captain Levi. Maybe, he could ask if his companion remembered anything before they ended up here. Maybe, Ymir spoke with him. Eren found his balance again. No matter, when and where they were. He'd only move forward. This chance that Ymir granted him, he'd utilize it. A breath hitched in his throat when Levi's left eye blinked open. A gunmetal eye met his own and Eren felt winded. The memories returned.

Levi pov. Am I going to die? He was about to chop of Zeke Yeagar's limbs when the bastard pulled the string detonating the thunder spear. A flash, a ringing in his ears, and a shock-wave from the point blank explosion. His body was thrown far away. Then his skin was burning, his insides too. Levi felt a jolting sensation that wasn't like anything he'd ever experienced before. No, he's not fucking dying. He'd die after killing the damn Beast Titan. But he's quickly losing his consciousness. The ground was hard and cold as he laid on his stomach. And it was raining. Levi's body was going numb and tingly, but might it have been the adrenaline. It felt like someone hit him with a big shovel all over his body, and mostly his head. His lungs felt like they're burning and he really had the urge to wheeze or cough but he couldn't even move. Am I really dying?

Levi blinked as he was abruptly transported to some place. At once, his body could move and the ringing in his ears stopped. The rain halted and replaced by a clear night sky streaked with lights swaying and seemed to be connected to a large tree made of light in a distance. He slowly breathed as he sat up. Surprisingly, there were sand everywhere but the ocean was nowhere in sight.

With a flicker, a woman with blonde hair, small stature, and wearing ragged clothing appeared in front of him. The lights behind her hid her features but Levi could still make out the curve on her mouth. She was smiling.

Ymir stated and Levi couldn't understand half the crap she's spouting.

Then world shifted throwing him back on the cold hard ground. It was still raining. But something was different. Last, he remember that he's lying on his stomach. Right now, he's on his back. He expected to feel the ground and stones digging on his back instead of warmth. Seems like I dodged death once again. Someone was holding him. His body was gingerly carried somewhere that sheltered him from the rain. Then, a cloth found his face and gently wiped away the blood and grime. Who? One of the scouts? Hange? He gradually lost his consciousness again. With a bit of a struggle, Levi finally managed to open his left eye. The first thing Levi saw after his eyes adjusted to the light was familiar ocean blue eyes. The last time he saw those same eyes, the once dull eyes that he never wanted to see on its owner. But now, the barely restrained emotions contained in Eren's eyes nudged something in his chest that he thought he'd lost. Hope. The one thing that Eren represented.

Levi's voice croaked. Eren's hair grazed his ear as the man leaned closer and Levi was finally able to decipher the emotions leaking from those gaze. Relief. Worry. Guilt... Elation. Hopefulness.

The crackles from the fire as wood burned. The creak of tall trees and leaves rustling in the wind. Levi had been conscious for a few minutes but he kept his breathing shallow and his eyes closed. He expected to smell the smoke from the explosion of the thunder spear and charred flesh but his senses were hit by the fresh air, grass, and an earthy smell of decomposing leaves soon after it rained. There's someone else's presence beside him in the forest clearing. Slowly, Levi opened both of his eyes aware that his body had healed albeit a little disoriented. By his side, someone was sitting on a large root with their hands clasped together and staring at the bonfire. Just like Levi, the man was also sitting still and silent. From their build and the long dark brown hair, Levi had a guess on who's his companion. Especially if he didn't dream seeing ocean blue eyes when he had a bit of consciousness earlier. It was dark as the night sky enveloped the forest in darkness with the fire as their only source of light and heat. Eren furtively glanced behind him and their eyes met. The young man's eyes widened along with his mouth.

Levi blurted out. He slowly sat before leaning back as if he's looking at a wild animal that'll pounce if he moved wrong. Eren immediately closed his mouth shut before looking back at the fire. The surroundings were silent giving Levi's mind the time to ponder. Levi's mind raced as he thought of the implications of Eren's presence here with him. There's no Zeke and his body didn't felt like it experienced a deadly explosion point blank. He traced his face and noticed the large scar, along with the scars around two of his fingers. That woman who mended him... His thoughts were interrupted as Eren spoke.

Levi narrowed his eyes. That woman told him that Eren was gone but the man was clearly here. He clicked his tongue.

Levi looked at his stretched left leg and felt uneasy. Maybe its because he hit head but he couldn't recall things as fast as he could.

Eren murmured with he same blank tone he used last time they talked.

Levi never looked away from Eren who flinched at his last question. He used the word miserable but the appropriate word would probably be unsettled. The shitty brat looked restless as he fidgeted with his knuckles. He waited as Eren carefully chose his next words.

Amongst all things Eren could've said, that's the least thing Levi predicted. No, he wasn't even able to think about that response. What did he mean by 'back in the past'?

Levi glared when Eren added the 'sir' as if its an afterthought.

Levi continued, crossing his arms. "Betray you..." Eren finally looked at him again, unidentified emotions swirled in those murky eyes.

Levi frowned. Since Eren disappeared months ago, this was the longest the man held a conversation with him. Since the scouts rescued Eren back from Marley, the young man never showed a desire to talk to any of them.

Levi remarked. He inwardly smirked as Eren showed a bit of anger in a scowl.

Eren glowered before suddenly halting when something passed though the sullen look on his face as if he saw something he- Levi realized that Eren looked at his scar when those blue eyes glanced down his neck. They spent the next seconds in uncomfortable silence while Levi mulled on Eren's words. The young man mentioned what Levi told him soon after they got custody of the holder of the Attack Titan after the trial.

"No, didn't you still need to kill someone?" Just then, he remembered hearing someone talking while he thought that he's dying. It was then that he's dragged to that unusually beautiful place. That woman... "No, didn't you still need to kill someone?" Levi thought if it was Eren that she referred to that he needed to kill instead of Zeke who he thought of killing.

Eren asked, anger momentarily forgotten. It had been a while since Levi heard this kind of earnest tone from the brat.

Eren must've seen the confusion in his face since the brat sighed.

Levi listened as Eren described the same woman who healed him.

Levi was still suspicious of Eren and he never believed a word he spoke about being in the past. He didn't even know what did that mean or implied since he didn't feel like he went back to the past. The last time he recalled matched the sequence of events that led to this moment. He was unconscious, Zeke escaped, Eren apparently arrived too late- maybe they missed each other- and then the brat helped him...

Levi asked. That's the one thing that didn't match with anything.

Eren stammered. A stark contrast to how he was in that airship where he laughed after learning Sasha's death.

Eren clenched his jaw before speaking in a strained voice. Levi was still determining whether it's from frustration or because the brat had something to hide. He had his bet on the latter.

Levi drawled, not giving Eren the option to lie.