In the crystal world before them, this time, without Eren calling it out, Yago already knew where they were—the underground altar of the Reiss family. It was here that, for a hundred years, the power of the Founder had been passed down through generations of the Reiss family, until one day...
"Frieda! What are you doing? Hurry up and kill this damn intruder!" Rod Reiss roared at his eldest daughter with a somewhat twisted expression. Behind him, several children of the Reiss family huddled together, all wearing looks of terror.
In front of Rod, dressed in white with long flowing hair, Frieda Reiss calmly looked at the man before her. Her face was serene. Possessing the power of the Founder, she had eyes as brilliant as the stars, with intelligent purple light shimmering within her pupils.
Unfortunately, although she possessed the power of the Founder, due to the vow of renouncing war left by her predecessors, a faint, almost imperceptible gray haze covered those beautiful eyes.
At this point, some might wonder: Karl Fritz, who established the vow of renouncing war, was merely one of the many holders of the Founder's power across the river of time. So why did none of the successors after him resist or break this vow? In terms of status, whether Karl Fritz or the later inheritors, they were all merely hosts of the Founder's power.
In fact, it's easy to understand. There is only one requirement to use the Founder's power: possessing royal Fritz blood. And the vow of renouncing war made by the First King within the Walls, Karl Fritz, targeted all descendants with Fritz blood. The moment they inherit the Founder's power, the will of the First King instantly brainwashes these later inheritors.
This kind of will from a predecessor is nearly impossible to resist. Take Rod's younger brother, Uri Reiss, the previous holder of the Founder's power. In his youth, he also wished to use the Founder's power to save the people within the Walls. But the moment he inherited the power, his will was twisted.
From this, we can also deduce that the royal family within the Walls may not even fully understand the vow of renouncing war. It's also possible that this was Karl Fritz's doing from the very beginning—to prevent any future descendant with a strong will from resisting him after learning of the vow, he simply obscured its existence. That way, his descendants would be caught off guard and brainwashed by it. This is likely why Rod and his brother couldn't understand their father's inaction—their father simply could not explain the existence of the vow, and could only vaguely say that the First King wished for humanity's peace.
Yago had seen Frieda in older Eren's memories, but seeing her in person now was much clearer. Indeed, Frieda's appearance did resemble Eren somewhat. If the two stood together, Eren would actually look more like Frieda's younger brother than Historia did.
Looking again at the man before Frieda, Eren nearly became agitated once more—because that man was none other than his father, Grisha Yeager. On the other side, Zeke, seeing his father again, was also momentarily stunned. The Grisha before him looked far more haggard and worn than the one in his memories.
With disheveled clothing, Grisha stood facing Frieda, while Rod kept shouting from behind, urging her to kill him.
Grisha kept his head lowered. Then he raised it, revealing a relieved smile. At the same time, Yago frowned slightly. The moment they had appeared in this crystal cave, he felt something familiar—like something known had flashed by in an instant.
At this moment, Grisha spoke: "I will take the Founder's power—for the future, to save the Eldian people, for my child..."
Eren was shocked. Something wasn't right. Back when he had touched Historia in the crystal cave, the memory he saw of his father wasn't like this. Back then, his father had directly taken out a scalpel, stabbed his palm, transformed into the Attack Titan, and brutally killed Frieda. How could he be so calm now?
Frieda stared at Grisha with her purple eyes without blinking, as if unaware of any discomfort.
"I'm sorry. I won't hand over the Founder's power to you. Humanity's peace cannot be allowed to be destroyed."
Although she said this, Frieda showed no intention of taking action. Then, Grisha did something that shocked everyone—he actually walked straight toward her.
At the same time, a sharp pain shot through Eren's mind, as if something was being peeled away. The memory he had once seen in the crystal cave began to fall apart like peeling wallpaper, revealing the true memory hidden beneath.
Grisha walked up to Frieda and placed his broad hand on her head. This action shocked not only Rod but also Yago and the others watching nearby.
Likewise, Frieda, who possessed the Founder's power, froze in place. But perhaps no one noticed that at the moment Grisha made contact with her, the gray haze over her purple eyes disappeared for an instant.
A few seconds later, Grisha withdrew his hand and stepped back. As he retreated, he took a sharp scalpel from his pocket and repeated his words:
"I will take the Founder's power—for the future, to save the Eldian people, for my child."
This time, Frieda did not refute him. She simply stared blankly as Grisha stabbed the scalpel into his own palm.
Only when her father Rod shouted loudly,
"Frieda!! Do something!!" did she seem to awaken from a dream, instinctively raising her hand to her mouth and biting into it.
Boom!!
Two bolts of golden lightning exploded simultaneously within the crystal cave. Amidst the spreading steam and the terrifying roars of Titans, two massive figures burst out and collided violently.
The sharp-eared Titan with black fur covering its chest howled as it pinned the smaller female Titan to the ground. The female Titan had eyes that also shimmered with purple light—this was the Founding Titan.
The outcome of the battle was beyond doubt. The massive Attack Titan effortlessly tore apart the Founding Titan that Frieda had transformed into, biting off its neck along with its head, its green eyes filled with violent killing intent.
After tearing apart the Founder, the Attack Titan turned its gaze toward the remaining members of the Reiss bloodline.
Rod's face turned pale. In his extreme fear, he let out a shout and fled in panic, leaving his children and family frozen in place.
The next moment, the Attack Titan lunged directly at those children.
Their screams and cries had only just begun before they were abruptly cut off. All that remained was the splattering of blood, the cracking of bones, and the nauseating crunching sounds.
The cowardly Rod curled up in a corner, sticking his rear in the air, clutching his head with both hands, trembling violently and not daring to look up.
No one noticed that when the Attack Titan raised its hand to slaughter those children, they had already stopped breathing beforehand. The Founding Titan's purple eyes, clenched between the Attack Titan's jaws, flashed one last glimmer of light before being completely torn to pieces.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Yago felt that Frieda's Titan, before dying, cast one final glance toward their location. He wasn't the only one who felt this—Eren and Zeke sensed it as well.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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