"Damn it!!" Eren, filled with rage, smashed a punch straight into Zeke's face.
Although in the Paths space, the bodies of Yago and the others might exist as consciousness forms, the five senses there were no different from reality. In other words, getting hit in the Paths hurt just as much as in the real world—something Eren probably understood best.
But Zeke didn't know any of this. It was his first time in the Paths, and he didn't understand this place. All he knew was that he could use his royal blood to command the Founder.
So, caught completely off guard, Eren's fist slammed hard into Zeke's face. The force was so great that it sent Zeke flying backward.
"Tch—damn, that hurts." Eren didn't follow up with another punch because Yago pulled him back again. Meanwhile, Zeke, who had taken the blow, sucked in a breath of cold air as he climbed back to his feet, reaching up to touch his bruised face.
That touch made him freeze. On his face, he felt a clear indentation—his fingers could even sink into it.
Yago was equally shocked. It looked as if a chunk had been gouged out of Zeke's face, leaving behind a pitch-black hollow. Watching Zeke stick his fingers into it made Yago's scalp tingle.
Zeke himself was also surprised. Even without a mirror, he could guess what had happened to his face. He sighed,
"As expected of the Paths… what a mysterious place." But despite the amazement, he was still confused—why hadn't the Founder appeared yet?
Logically, under the command of his royal blood, the Founder should have responded instantly. So what was going on now? Why wasn't there even a shadow of the Founder?
Zeke was puzzled about the Founder's absence, but Eren didn't care about any of that. Right now, he only wanted to beat the hell out of that bastard Zeke again!
"Damn it! Yago, stop holding me! Let go!" Eren quickly broke free again and lunged at Zeke. Zeke retreated repeatedly and said sternly,
"Eren! If you keep this up, your brother is going to fight back!"
But Eren didn't care in the slightest. "To hell with 'brother'! Zeke! Stop running!"
Zeke saw the situation turning bad and immediately turned tail and ran. Eren roared in fury as he chased after him.
At that moment, Yago felt a deep sense of unease. Ever since he had appeared in the Paths, there had been a faint discomfort—like a vampire biting into him and constantly sucking his blood.
Enduring that discomfort, Yago quickly chased after them. No matter what, he had to stop Zeke's Eldian euthanasia plan.
But how? The current Eren wasn't the older Eren. How could a hotheaded kid move their great ancestor?
Thinking of what older Eren had said to the Founder in his memories, should he repeat it himself? Maybe it could move her? But… would those words sound right coming from his mouth? Yago imagined himself imitating older Eren's weary tone, hugging their great ancestor and saying emotionally,
"You've been waiting all this time for me to come and set you free, haven't you?"
Ugh—Yago's hair stood on end. That was unbearable. Next idea, next idea.
...
As the three chased one another, they suddenly ran into another vast expanse of sand. Yago, who was last, climbed over a sand dune and froze as his pupils shrank—he had seen something shocking.
Zeke and Eren also stopped. The three of them stared dumbfounded at the scene before them.
Before them, across an endless sea of sand under the illumination of a towering path of light, stood countless giants made entirely of sand. Each one was as massive as a Colossal Titan.
The pressure from just one Colossal Titan was enough to terrify an ordinary person into collapse. But when thousands upon thousands of them stood before you, that overwhelming sense of oppression—of insignificance—reached its absolute peak.
Even though these giants were only made of sand, Yago, Zeke, and Eren were all suppressed by the terrifying aura, unable to act rashly. Almost in unison, the three spoke the same word: "The Rumbling!"
Only now did they perhaps understand how the Eldians once ruled the world. In the face of such a horrifying Rumbling, no matter the nation or army, the only option would be to fall to their knees and beg for surrender.
Even though Yago had seen the Rumbling in older Eren's memories, witnessing it from someone else's perspective and experiencing it firsthand were entirely different things. And what stood before them now wasn't even the Rumbling—just a collection of sand-built Colossal Titans.
At the same time, among those countless sand giants, a small figure slowly walked forward, carrying a bucket. Though tiny and inconspicuous, that figure drew all three of their gazes.
Yago and Eren needed no introduction—they had seen Founder Ymir before.
As for Zeke, perhaps due to the resonance of his royal blood, he immediately concluded that the figure was the Founder. Without hesitation, all three rushed toward her.
While running, Zeke shouted loudly at their great ancestor,
"Ymir! Obey my command! I am a descendant of the Fritz family with royal blood! Now—immediately—strip all Eldians of their ability to reproduce!"
At the same time, Eren refused to be outdone and shouted,
"Founder Ymir! The power of the Founder is within me—don't listen to that bastard Zeke!"
Zeke: "Eren! Foolish little brother! The Founder will only obey those of royal blood—don't cause trouble for me!"
Eren: "Bullshit!" He grabbed a handful of sand from the ground and hurled it at Zeke, smearing sand all over his face.
Perhaps their shouting truly caught their great ancestor's attention. Still carrying her bucket, Founder Ymir actually turned and walked toward them.
Yago suddenly felt his vision blur, and in the next instant, he had teleported beside Eren and Zeke. All three of them seemed to slam into an invisible wall at the same time and fell to the ground. At the same moment, Founder Ymir appeared in front of them, still holding her bucket.
Yago sat up and looked at the Founder before him—the very creator of the Titan power. Her face was delicate, with neat, obedient bangs, and pale gray eyes devoid of any emotion. She still wore the same coarse linen clothes from her time as a slave. No matter how one looked at her, she didn't resemble the legendary Founder described by the Eldians.
Seeing Founder Ymir, Zeke's face filled with excitement. He eagerly called out,
"Ymir! I have royal blood! Obey my command! Right now—immediately—remove the reproductive ability of all Eldians!"
However, their great ancestor showed no intention of responding to Zeke's command. She quietly turned her head to look at him, then seemed to recall something. She crouched down, grabbed a handful of sand, wetted it in her bucket, and raised it to smear onto Zeke's face.
Zeke instinctively tried to dodge, but to his shock, he found his body completely immobilized, as if petrified. He could only let Founder Ymir smear the wet sand onto his face. In the blink of an eye, the hollow on his face was filled back in with flesh and blood.
After repairing Zeke, their great ancestor turned to look at Eren. Finding no injuries on him, she finally shifted her gaze to Yago.
The moment those pale gray eyes looked at him, Yago's heart skipped a beat.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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