Chapter 102: Hello Ymir (Part 2)

"Once more," Daniel Davis instructed. Zeke immediately cut his palm with a knife. With a loud crash, accompanied by golden lightning and a powerful shockwave, Zeke transformed into the Beast Titan. Daniel, using the powers of the Ope Ope no Mi fruit, closely observed the transformation process.

This procedure had been ongoing for some time. Although Zeke was always exhausted after each transformation, he persevered. Over this period, he continuously switched between his Titan form and human form, while Daniel carefully studied every phase of the transformation.

"As I suspected, substances from a dimensional space are enveloping Zeke's body," Daniel concluded. Using the Ope Ope no Mi fruit's abilities and combining them with the dimensional magic he learned from Kamar-Taj, Daniel began to unravel the mysteries of the Titans.

The secrets of the Titans might have remained hidden if not for the unique combination of his abilities. Dimensional magic and the powers of the Ope Ope no Mi fruit complemented each other perfectly.

"It seems I need to go inside and take a closer look." The Titans' powers originate from a dimensional space. While others might know this, they wouldn't be able to enter it. But Daniel could.

"Let's see if we can get some answers today. Remember what I told you before," Daniel said. Zeke, though visibly fatigued, was excited at the prospect of possibly solving the Titan problem. Without hesitation, he cut his palm again and transformed into his Titan form.

As Zeke started his transformation, Daniel's hands moved in a series of gestures. With the aid of his Sling Ring, he opened a golden portal. Through the portal, Daniel saw a desert landscape—a white desert, stretching endlessly with no other colors in sight.

"If things go wrong, retreat immediately," Daniel cautioned himself before stepping through the golden portal. What greeted him on the other side left him stunned.

A tree. Far off to his left stood an extraordinary white tree, towering several meters high with countless branches. Its canopy filled the sky above, dense with intertwining limbs.

"What is this place?" As Daniel surveyed his surroundings, Zeke, now back in human form, stepped through the portal and was equally astonished by the scene.

The Titan's dimensional space, previously accessible only through consciousness, now allowed physical entry thanks to Daniel's intervention. While Daniel scouted for potential dangers, Zeke, in a trance-like state, stumbled toward the white tree.

After a moment's thought, Daniel decided to follow, maintaining the portal while keeping an eye on Zeke.

"This is…" When they reached the white tree, Daniel noticed someone—a girl in tattered white clothing holding a small wooden bucket. She was building Titans from the sand. Each time she completed one, the Titan vanished from the space.

"Ymir!" Zeke shouted excitedly upon seeing the girl and rushed towards her.

"So, this is the Founding Titan," Daniel thought. From Zeke and the Tybur family, he had learned a lot about Titan lore. The girl before them was Ymir, the original Titan.

Despite Zeke's enthusiasm, Ymir ignored him and continued building Titans. Only when she finished did she stand lifelessly beside him, unresponsive to his words.

"What is this tree?" Daniel wondered as he examined the white tree using the powers of the Ope Ope no Mi fruit. To his surprise, he discovered that the tree's composition was identical to the sand on the ground and to the material that formed the Titans' bodies. It also contained a trace of dimensional energy.

"This material is incredible. It can transform into flesh, but it seems it can only do so through the power of the Titans," Daniel mused. The sand in this space was valuable, but unfortunately, it was of no use to him.

"If I'm not mistaken, this must be the coordinate. Titan powers are transmitted through this place, so even if no one inherits the power of an intelligent Titan upon death, it is passed through this tree-like network to another person randomly," Daniel deduced.

"So, Ymir is not alive in the traditional sense. Or is it that this dimension is unique?" Daniel wondered. He approached Ymir, but she remained silent and unresponsive, even more so than with Zeke.

"Magic is ineffective here," Daniel noted, surprised that his spells had no effect on Ymir. Instead, he took a sample of Ymir's tissue and blood for further study.

"You want to stay here? Alright, I'll come back for you." As Daniel prepared to leave, Zeke expressed his desire to remain. Being Ymir's descendant and one of the nine Titans, Zeke could communicate with Ymir, even if she remained silent. This was a privilege of the Eldian royal family or, more specifically, Ymir's direct descendants.

"If only you were the Founding Titan, things would be simpler," Daniel remarked. He took one last look at Ymir before exiting the portal.

Upon analyzing Ymir's cells and blood, Daniel found that her body and blood were composed of the same material as the sand in the dimensional space. This explained why she could exist for so long—it was not a normal human body.

This sand was indeed a precious substance, allowing souls to possess a physical form. Although fundamentally different internally, it appeared indistinguishable from a normal body on the outside.

Unfortunately, Daniel couldn't utilize this material.

"I've found a way to eliminate all Titan powers," Daniel announced after his research on Ymir and the white tree. He shared his findings with Zeke.

"Really? How?" Zeke asked, his excitement palpable. This was his life's goal, the reason he betrayed his parents. Now, on the brink of its realization, he was eager to know more.

"Destroy the tree. Both the intelligent Titans and the mindless ones are created here by Ymir and sent out through the tree's coordinate. Without the tree, the Titans can't be transmitted."

Over their time in the dimension, Daniel and Zeke had witnessed Ymir building numerous Titans. They even observed her repairing damaged Titans. It wasn't the intelligent Titans' abilities that allowed them to regenerate; it was Ymir, using the sand in the dimensional space.

They had even conducted an experiment where Zeke injured his Beast Titan form. Ymir's actions further confirmed Daniel's hypothesis.

While Ymir's movements were slow, in the outside world, the Titans' self-healing was rapid. This discrepancy was likely due to different time flows between dimensions. Ymir's slow actions translated to instantaneous effects outside.

Understanding that destroying the tree would end the Titans' power, Zeke grabbed a weapon and charged at it, striking the tree with all his might. Ymir watched passively, her empty eyes not reacting to his actions.

However, Zeke's efforts were futile. No matter how much damage he inflicted, the tree healed instantly. In the Titan dimension, Zeke couldn't transform into his Titan form, a limitation they had discovered earlier. Titans' bodies could only be transmitted through the tree-like network, and while Zeke could transform outside, he couldn't do so within this space.

It was like preparing a package for delivery only to find that the destination lacked a delivery point.

After a long, exhausting effort, Zeke returned to Daniel, panting and pleading for him to destroy the tree. He knew Daniel had a way, and he was right.

Daniel indeed had a solution to deal with the self-healing tree, a specialty of the Kamar-Taj sorcerers when facing dimensional creatures.

Titans, it turned out, were a type of dimensional creature, their origins tied to some mysterious connection with Ymir's body.

"I can destroy this tree and eradicate the Titans' power, but is that the right choice? Without the power to transform into Titans, what will happen to the Eldians in Marley?" Daniel pondered. The Eldians in Marley were like a reserve of potential Titans, Marley's last resort. If Marley faced defeat in the war, they would likely turn all Eldians into Titans, creating a massive army of mindless Titans. Even if it didn't lead to Marley's victory, it would buy them significant time.

"And what about the Titans on Paradis Island? If the power to transform into Titans disappears, the walls might collapse. What then?" Daniel speculated. He wasn't certain if the walls, created from the hardening of Titan powers, would remain without the Titans. He needed to investigate this further.

The current state of Paradis Island was unknown to Daniel. If the walls fell and Titans attacked en masse, the casualties would be enormous. While solving the root problem of the Titans was satisfying, he had to consider the survival of the people on the island.

"Moreover, just making the Titans' power vanish quietly—do you think that's a good idea? Will other nations believe it?" Daniel reasoned. To ensure the world understood that the Eldians no longer had the ability to transform into Titans, he needed to make a public announcement.

The timing for this announcement was crucial. It had to be made when Marley was weakened, unable to wage war. 

The Middle Eastern Union, united against the threat of the Titans, might not remain allied once that threat was gone. The alliance's future would be uncertain without the Titans.

"Let's align with others first, then wait for the right moment. I'll check on the island," Daniel decided. He sent Zeke to Fort Slava, where Marley was on the brink of defeat due to the lack of Titans and support. Eldians had suffered heavy casualties as they were often used as cannon fodder by Marley.

In the original story, Gabi, the girl who would later shoot Sasha, became a war hero during this battle but lost her legs to gunfire and was sent back to the internment zone.

Despite their heroic efforts in war, Eldians in Marley received no corresponding rewards. They were not even allowed to hold officer positions in the military. Even

 Zeke was merely a warrior chief.

"I didn't want to get involved in this war, but it seems I couldn't avoid it," Daniel sighed as he stepped through a golden portal onto the empty dock of Paradis Island. He shook his head ruefully.

"I wonder how Erwin and the others are doing," he thought as he stood on the tall wall of the dock. Without Zeke, the Survey Corps should have a much better chance against the Warriors than in the original timeline.

"That Titan is still here," Daniel observed as he flew into the island on his hoverboard, spotting a fat Titan crawling on the ground. Even unable to move properly, the mindless Titan instinctively headed toward the island's interior.

"It looks like they've found Eren's basement," Daniel noted through his binoculars. He saw members of the Survey Corps near Wall Maria. After some thought, he descended from his hoverboard as he approached the wall.

"The area around Wall Maria is almost clear of Titans," Daniel observed. Marley hadn't had the opportunity to send more Titans to the island recently.

Marley deployed mindless Titans on the island both to punish rebellious Eldians and to use them as a potential threat to the island's inhabitants.

Despite being brainwashed to fight for Marley, some Eldians still resisted. Even after Zeke's betrayal caused severe losses to the resistance, they hadn't disappeared completely.

Wherever there is oppression, there is resistance—an unchanging truth through the ages.

"Who's there?" Daniel's approach quickly drew the attention of the Survey Corps' perimeter guards.

"It's me. Is Erwin here?" Daniel waved and called out.

"The commander is inside," one of the guards replied.

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