Echoes from the Paths

Chapter 15

“I’m what you may call ‘Prime Eren’—Eren Yeager from Universe 139,” the worn out Eren announced, his voice calm yet carrying the weight of countless lifetimes.

Prime Eren let his gaze sweep across the assembly of other Erens, each one mirroring him in different forms, before continuing, “I am the first Eren Yeager to succeed in my part of freeing Ymir Fritz and the first to take her place as the new Founder.”

A 23 year old Eren stepped forward, his brows furrowed with curiosity. “What happened to the Erens before you?” he asked hesitantly.

Prime Eren’s expression darkened, and for a brief moment, he seemed reluctant to answer. But then, with a heavy sigh, he spoke, “They all ceased to exist.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd of his different versions of himself, but Prime Eren pressed on, his voice steady despite the solemnity of his words. “As many of you know, Ymir Fritz was viewing the world through Mikasa’s eyes. In every universe, when Eren Yeager died, Ymir couldn’t accept it. She, influenced by Mikasa’s wish for Eren to be alive, began creating alternate timelines—new worlds—to fulfill her own longing for Mikasa to come to terms with his death. She sought her own freedom through Mikasa’s acceptance to let go of her attachment to serving the will of King Fritz.”

He paused, allowing the gravity of his revelation to sink in. Many of the gathered Erens nodded, recalling fragments of memories that weren’t entirely their own but felt deeply familiar, as if they were their own.

“What Ymir didn’t realize,” Prime Eren continued, “was that by creating new worlds and leaving from one to another, she disrupted the balance of the ones that came before. Each time she formed a new timeline and left for another, the previous one began to unravel and they slowly but eventually ceased to exist.”

The Erens exchanged uneasy glances, the full weight of this truth hitting them like a tidal wave. Prime Eren’s voice grew softer, tinged with guilt. “She didn’t mean for it to happen. She was trapped in her own cycle of pain and longing. But countless timelines–worlds were destroyed before she was finally freed… when Mikasa killed me to end the Rumbling.”

His head lowered, shame clouding his face. “Even though Ymir was freed, remnants of the universes she had created began to change with their energy mixing with my own, forming worlds that closely mirrored my own. As a form of redemption, I vowed to prevent what happened to my world—and the ones before it that ceased to exist—from happening again. To do this, I began influencing other universes.”

Prime Eren’s gaze fixed on our Eren from Universe 140 before him now. “Your universe… Universe 140, was the first I successfully influenced. But I was too late. Much like my own timeline, you too died and became the Founder. I couldn’t accept it. I found a way to give you a second chance, allowing you to travel back in time and make the changes necessary to alter your fate.”

Universe 140 Eren’s breath hitched, his mind racing as he processed the revelation. “So… you’re the reason I could go back?” he asked, his voice revealing his shock, “You gave me this second chance?”

Prime Eren nodded, a faint smile of reassurance crossing his face. “I did. And I’m glad you’re using it.”

Eren swallowed hard, emotions welling up inside him. “Thank you,” he whispered, sincerity dripping from his words.

Prime Eren acknowledged his gratitude with a nod before turning to address the rest of the gathered Erens. “As I influenced more timelines, I discovered something unexpected. Our collection of universes is just one multiverse… but there are others. Entirely different worlds and all of them when they combine are called an Omniverse.”