From You, 2,000 Years Ago

Returning from Grisha's memories, Zeke is horrified to learn that Eren purposely pushed Grisha to acquire the Founder and manipulated his past to ensure the future he had foreseen when touching Historia. Zeke commands Ymir to enact the euthanization plan, but Eren rips free from his chains to rush after Ymir as she advances toward the Coordinate. In a flashback to 2,000 years earlier, Ymir lived in a small rural village which was invaded by Eldians led by Fritz who enslaved the inhabitants. The young Ymir is blamed for letting a pig escape. While she is being hunted down, she enters an ancient tree and falls into a deep pool where a parasitic-looking entity turns her into the first Titan. Still treating her as a slave, Fritz uses Ymir's Founding Titan to destroy Marley's armies and expand the kingdom of Eldia. During this time, Fritz has three daughters with Ymir: Maria, Rose, and Shina. One day, Ymir sacrifices herself to save Fritz from a dissenter, and Fritz orders his children to eat her body so their descendants can keep passing on the power of the Titans. Ymir's soul is transported into the Paths where she spends the next 2,000 years making Titans by hand. Back in the present, Eren reaches Ymir and offers her the freedom to choose her future for the first time in her life. Ignoring Zeke as the one of royal blood, she decides her future lies with Eren. Consequently, the Rumbling begins as the Walls collapse and the thousands of Colossal-like Wall Titans encased within it are released. Pieck, Magath and Floch tumble from Wall Maria while Reiner rushes to save Gabi. Though Armin is relieved that Eren was not on Zeke's side, he realizes every Wall Titan on Paradis was released when only a small group would've been enough to take down the global alliance. Eren, having transformed into his version of the Founding Titan, uses the Paths to telepathically announce to all Subjects of Ymir of his intention to use the Rumbling to exterminate all life beyond the island.