The battle begins: Within the Paths
Whoosh!! The blinding white light gradually dissipated, and Ebson, who had been forced to close his eyes, lowered his raised hand and squinted as he surveyed his surroundings.
Above them stretched an endless starry sky, to their left and right were boundless deserts, and in front of them lay a vast, boiling Blood Lake, as expansive as Ocean. On the distant horizon, a Heaven-Piercing Light Road, entwined with countless crimson veins, stood tall.
Ebson's eyes widened as he greedily surveyed his surroundings. Finally! He had returned to this place—the legendary Paths of the Eldians! The location where he sought the ultimate life force!
"Hahahahahahaha!" Ebson threw his head back and let out a hysterical laugh, his hands trembling with excitement. The Blood Lake in front of him seemed to boil even more as Ebson laughed, as if it could sense his excitement.
Ebson gazed at the Blood Lake before him with equal excitement. He could feel the immense power hidden beneath the Blood Lake, a power that called out to him with joy, like a wife who had been waiting at home for a long time finally welcoming her husband back from afar.
Ebson was convinced that when this Blood Lake completely submerged all the Sand Dune, he would become the first god since the dawn of life!
However, Ebson's smile faded; there were only two final steps to reach that goal.
Thinking of this, Ebson turned his head, and sure enough, behind him, two figures, one tall and one short, one male and one female, stood quietly.
Yago crossed his arms and watched with interest as Ebson indulged in his fantasies. Beside Yago, the Great-Grandmother Ymir, dressed in a linen robe and wearing a wooden hairpin, also watched Ebson quietly, her bucket at her feet.
"Hehe, Yago, it's finally time to meet you here again. Can you feel it, Yago? Can you feel that almost divine power calling to you?" Ebson took a few more steps toward Yago and the others.
Yago merely scoffed at Ebson's words. Admittedly, he did feel the call of the boiling Blood Lake, but the ethereal power held no appeal for Yago. Ebson, that fool, was blinded by power; he had no idea what this power, or rather, the Hallucigenia, represented.
"Stop dreaming, Doctor! You're just a pathetic wretch who knows nothing!"
Ebson remained unperturbed by Yago's taunts, stubbornly holding his ground against the Founding Titan Ymir. He sensed true power emanating from this seemingly little girl—a power called the Hallucigenia, comparable to that of a god! The boiling Blood Lake continued to send him messages: Devour this little girl! Devour her! Devour her, and the power will be yours!
Crack! Crack! Crack! Countless Crimson Lightning suddenly surged around Ebson's body, and his eyes turned blood red in an instant.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!... Suddenly, one after another, bursts of light emerged from Yago's chest without warning. First, there were nine pure white lights, followed by gold, ochre, blue, green, brown, purple, cyan, and red! The different colors represented different Intelligent Titan Power.
More than a dozen beams of light rushed toward Ebson, one after another merging into Ebson body. The Crimson Lightning wrapped around him became increasingly violent, and the Blood Lake behind him surged with towering waves, the crimson waters exploding more than ten meters high.
"Finally! Hahaha! Finally! Finally I have obtained power! The power of life! No! The power of the gods! Hahahaha!"
Snap! At the same time Founding Titan Ymir beside Yago, also underwent a change. A flash of white light appeared, and the Great-Grandmother was originally not even as tall as Yago's waist, suddenly grew taller as if someone had pressed the fast forward button. Her linen clothes were replaced by a set of clean and smooth white robes.
Her face matured in an instant, but her beautiful face was expressionless, even her eyelids were half-drooping, and she looked numb. This was Founding Titan Ymir, who had lived for thirteen years after obtaining the Titan Power!
Thud! The long, slender, azure claws, as sharp as jewels, pierced deeply into his body. Crimson blood flowed down the claws onto his pure white robe, staining it with large, horrifying bloodstains. One after another, countless sharp azure claws pierced deeply into the body of the Founding Titan Ymir.
The grotesque Hallucigenia coiled around Great-Grandmother's waist, its countless sharp, long legs running from her spine down to the back of her neck. Its indescribable, shell-like head rested on Great-Grandmother's shoulder. At this moment, the Hallucigenia seemed to sense some kind of call, raising its head towards Ebson and letting out a silent howl.
Ebson knelt on the ground, letting countless Crimson Lightning engulf his body, while he wore an expression of extreme excitement, his crimson, greedy eyes fixed on the Hallucigenia wrapped around the Founding Titan Ymir. But soon, his excitement subsided.
The hysterical laughter abruptly ceased, like a rooster suddenly grabbed by the neck, replaced by a terrified roar, "No! Impossible! How could this be! How could this be! How could there be a missing piece of power! Yago! You bastard! You lied to me! Where is the most crucial Founding Titan Power?!"
Ebson roared furiously at Yago. Yago lowered his hands and walked step by step toward Ebson. At this moment, the Crimson Lightning on Ebson's body became a cage binding him. Every muscle and every blood vessel in his body was pulsating with these deadly arcs of electricity, so he could not move and could only roar at Yago in impotent rage.
"I never claimed to have gathered all the Titan Power, Doctor. That's just your own idiotic fantasy." Yago walked up to Ebson.
"No! Impossible! The Founding Titan Power is in that Jaeger! The power of the Attack Titan is also in him! You clearly obtained the power of the Attack Titan Power too! Why!? Where is the Founding Titan Power? Where?!" Ebson's expression was extremely ferocious.
Yago nodded, seemingly reminiscing, and said, "Yes, the Attack Titan comes from Eren. But who says Eren has to have the Founding Titan Power?" In Yago's mind, a slender, tall figure appeared, along with tired green eyes and flamboyant long hair.
"No way!! You're lying to me! No!!"
On the other side of the Paths, Eren, who was sitting steadily on the platform, seemed to sense something and smiled slightly in a certain direction. For a moment, his eyes, which were as bright as stars, turned into a tired green.