Aot:The Silent Witness

Chapter 6: The Price of Devotion

The city of Eldia pulsed with celebration. Banners of crimson and gold fluttered in the evening breeze, torches burned bright along the streets, and the air was thick with the scent of roasted meat and spiced wine. The people cheered, raising goblets in drunken joy, their voices merging into defeaning chorus that echoed through the grand plaza.

At the center of it all stood King Fritz, perched atop an elevated platform, bathed in the golden glow of torchlight. His crown gleamed, his crimson cloak billowed, and his voice boomed across the sea of adoring subjects.

"Rejoice, my people! Once again, eldia has triumphed over the weak! The lands of those peasants are ours to take, their warriors slaughtered, their walls torn asunder! This world is ours to rule, for we are the chosen ones, the inheritors of power itself!"

The crowd erupted in to wild cheers.

At his side, his three daughters — Maria, Rose, and Sheena — stood with practiced poise, their young faces bearing expressions of quiet admiration.

And just a few feet behind them, unnoticed, stood Ymir.

Thirteen years has passed since she was granted the power of the titans. Thirteen years of war, of counquest, of bending the world to King Fritz's will. She had torn down walls, crushed armies, and built the empire he so proudly stood opun.

And yet, As the torches burned bright and the people sang his praises, Ymir was nothing more than a shadow — standing alone, unseen, and unacknowledged.

Her expression remained blank, her eyes dull as she listened to his words.

The moment passed, the celebration roared on —

And high above, hidden within the rafters of a building overlooking the plaza, a lone took aim.

The assasins hand's were taut and steady as they gripped a metal long bow loaded with a specialised arrow made of a metal alloy, its tip honed to a deadly point. A gift from from Marley—crafted to pierce the flesh of their oppressor.

Their gaze locked onto King Fritz. A slow and measured breath. A steady arm drawn back.

And then—

Ymir moved.

She saw the glint of metal a fraction of a second before the assassin let go of the bows string. Her body reacted before her mind could.

In an instant, she leaped forward, her feet leaving the stone platform, he arms outstretched.

The wind rushed past her, the world blurred.

The arrow struck.

A sickening thunk echoed across the plaza.

Silence fell.

The cheers died, the laughter ceased.

The crowd gasped as Ymir staggered, the arrow buried deep in her chest.

For a moment she remained standing, swaying slightly, her breath shallow. Blood seeped through the wound, staining her garments, pooling at her feet.

Then, her kness buckled, and she collapsed.

Maria screamed. Rose and Sheena ran to their mother, their small hands grasping at her, desperate, panicked.

Ymir holds their hands but her eyes remains locked with Fritz's own, looking for something, anyhting, just a small recognition from him. But what she saw was nothing but indifference and disgust.

He did not rush to her side. He did not kneel.

He was not panicking, for he knew that Ymir with the titan power could heal.

Instead, he sighed.

"You foolish creature," he muttered, his voiced laced with irritation rather than concern.thenshift his gaze to his daughter's and says "get away from her, she doesn't deserve your pity, she's nothing but a monster and a slave, it should be her honor to die for her king."

Ymir's finger twitched.

Her vision blurred as she turned he gaze upward, meeting his disgusted expression.

For thirteen years, she had fought for him. For thjrteen years, she had obeyed his every command. She had built his empire, bore his children, given him everything—

And in the end, she was still just a slave.

A tool to be used.

A weapon to be discarded.

Her daughters wept, but King Fritz merely waved a hand, as if dismissing an unimportant matter.

"just let her be, your tears are wasted on her. She can regenerate he wounds."

But his daughters wouldn't listen to him and kept crying holding their mothers cold hands.

King Fritz irritated of their disobedience orders the guards stationed near to bring them to their rooms so that they can reflect on the behavior.

Seeing as King Fritz wouldn't even let her touch her children and seeing their tear streaken faces something broke inside her. for the first time in Ymirs life she felt anger. Anger not towards King Fritz, anger not towards her daughter's but anger towards herself for being this way, for being this weak willed to let even her children tears flow.

She wanted to hug them, she wanted to wipe their tears, She wanted reach out to them and say it Allright. But che can't for her will to live has vanished with King Fritz's dismissal of her efforts. Her efforts to be loved.

She could feel the Titan's power surging foward, eager to heal her wounds, to mend her back to liife.

But she did not want to be saved.

She did not want to heal.

She did not want to live.

With the last of her strength, Ymir interfered— not with the world, but with herself. She willed the power away, forced it to remain dormant.

And as the torches burned, as the crowd whisper, as her daughters sobbed, Ymir let go.

And let the darkness swallow her whole.

———————————————————

A vast, endles expanse stretched before her. The glowing roots and grain of sand of the paths pulsed beneath her feet, weaving through time and memory.

Ymir stood there, her expression unreadable, her blank eyes staring into nothing.

And beside her floated Ember.

He had been watching the entire time. Watching and Observing.

The two stood in silence for what felt like eternity.

Then, Ember turned to Ymir. His voice, usually laced with humor, was devoid of it now.

"Was it worth it?"

Ymir did not answer.

She merely stood there watching.

Watching as, in the world she left behind, King Fritz panicked. Watched as his empire began to tremble without her power. Watched as, in his desperation, ordered his daughters—Maria, Rose, Sheena—to consume her corpse.

To devour their own mother.

The girls sobbed as they are forced to obey.

She watched as The people of eldia cheered, as the cycle continued.

Ymir watched it all unfold, her expression never changing.

And ember watched with her.

[END OF CHAPTER]