Final arc: Origins (Part one)
"Why? Why? Shouldn't you have disappeared long ago? Don't you understand? I am the most perfect you!"
Cracks spread rapidly throughout the pure white room, accompanied by roars, like a broken eggshell, eventually collapsing completely to reveal the dazzling and vast Paths outside.
As the short man's exasperated voice rang out, the mist obscuring his face gradually dissipated, revealing his youthful and handsome features. If Annie were here, she would surely recognize this face in astonishment—it was none other than Yago, whom she had first met more than ten years ago in the nameless Alley of the Liberio Internment Zone.
The tall figure in front of the furious "Little Yago" also clearly revealed his face; it was Yago, whose face was covered with black markings.
Yago's lips curled slightly as he looked at his smaller self, who was jumping up and down in anger. He said sarcastically, "Stop pretending. An insect is just an insect. Even if you've existed for tens of millions of years, your mindset is destined to prevent you from becoming a real person. The emotions you express are ultimately just crude imitations."
Upon hearing Yago's words, the previously furious "Little Yago"—or perhaps "Hallucigenia" would be a more fitting Hallucigenia —vanished without a trace, his tone returning to indifference, "You seem to know a lot."
Yago chuckled softly, the black lines on his face deepening slightly. "Of course, what you said earlier is true. Aren't you me now? Of course I know everything. As expected of the Hallucigenia who has survived for hundreds of millions of years, so-called Fate is utter nonsense. Everything is your doing. You are the greatest being, aren't you?"
"That Ebson guy is really stupid. He has no idea what power he's coveting. But then again, you're the one who made all of this possible, right?"
The Hallucigenia stood up and walked to Yago, who was sitting upright. Because of their height difference, the two looked at each other at eye level. Beside them, Founding Titan Ymir, still stood quietly, like a statue, carrying a small bucket.
"Is Ymir still conscious?" Yago suddenly interrupted.
Upon hearing this, the Hallucigenia turned and glanced indifferently at the Founding Titan Ymir beside it, calmly saying, "It's just an abandoned shell; that faint consciousness is utterly insignificant. However, you owe your ability to escape that shell largely to your father."
Yago remained silent. Only when he truly merged with the Hallucigenia did he understand everything, see through the truth of everything. Everyone, yes, everyone, had been deceived, including his father and Ebson. The Hallucigenia before him was the one who started it all.
The Hallucigenia, a creature that has survived for hundreds of millions of years—no, it can no longer be described as a creature. In Ebson's words, perhaps it can only be described as a god. This "god" with an incredibly long lifespan has been slumbering beneath this world for hundreds of millions of years.
Countless millennia ago, a chance event in the world awakened this slumbering deity. When this "deity" first came into contact with water, something then unknown but now explainable (genes) was secreted from it. Thus, the first single-celled organism appeared on the planet, and the word "life" first appeared on this planet. The single-celled organism rapidly multiplied, evolved, and differentiated...
Everything now, whether human, animal, plant, or even unseen microorganisms, can be said to be a descendant of that "god." What Ebson attempted to steal was never the Founding Titan Power of the Eldians ancestors, but the true power behind them, belonging to the "god."
Although it's hard to believe, the "god" who created all life began an irreversible aging process after being awakened. For humans, the remaining lifespan of the "god" can be described as eternal, but for the "god" who has no concept of time, this is simply aging! Although it doesn't understand what the end of aging is, driven by the instinct for survival, the "god" still chose to continue sleeping to preserve life. The instinct for survival that modern organisms have also come from the instinct of the "god".
And so, the "god" fell into an unknown slumber once more, while the life it had sown underwent billions of years of reproduction and evolution.
The reawakening of the "god" was an accident, the accidental fall of a human slave into a tree hole, a pitiful and thin girl slave being hunted by her tribe.
The "god" was awakened again almost instinctively. It possessed the human girl, or perhaps parasitism would be a more appropriate description. The awakened "god" and the desperate girl Fusion into one. Subconsciously, the "god" evolved into the strongest being in the girl's heart - Titan.
In a girl's eyes, tall and strong adults are undoubtedly the most powerful and terrifying beings, especially the taller and stronger ones. They have countless slaves like themselves. What girls fear most are tall and strong adults, and similarly, what gives girls the greatest sense of security is also tall and strong adults. Therefore, "gods" evolved into Titan hundreds of meters tall, which became the strongest beings in a girl's heart.
From that moment on, the "god" that merged with humans was no longer a god; it became a deformed parasitic creature, an existence it itself could not comprehend— the Hallucigenia. The slave girl parasitized by the Hallucigenia also had no idea what kind of being had transformed her into a Titan hundreds of meters tall.
The Hallucigenia, having just encountered humans, knew nothing, or rather, it didn't even possess the concept of thought. The confused Hallucigenia was unable to control the human girl Ymir.
Bound by her innate servile mentality, Ymir, despite possessing formidable power, did not choose to kill all the Eldia tribe pursuers who were chasing her. Instead, she bewilderedly deactivated her Titan Transformation and returned to the Eldia tribe with those who had just been chasing her.
Founding Titan Ymir, truly King Fritz? Perhaps not. Or rather, it wasn't love in the true sense of the word. Ymir, now possessing immense power, was more deeply ingrained with a servility that had been ingrained in her soul since childhood. In the eyes of the young Ymir, even the strongest adults would submit to King Fritz of the Eldia tribe. Therefore, she submitted as well, obediently and numbly carrying out all of King Fritz's orders, even bearing him a child.
It was during this period that King Fritz frantically instilled a deeper slave mentality in Ymir, deeply imprinting the mark of the Eldia tribe into Ymir's soul.
And this is the origin of everything...
(These are purely the author's personal opinions)