SHORT STORY

The Testament of Ymir.

This is a continuation of “The contract from God.”

[Scroll I — To live a life she was proud of]

We live in a world of broken promises. No steadfast men, no upright elders, no principled peers who don’t treat their words lightly. We tell a friend we will meet her next week for lunch knowing full well we don’t have the time to do so. We promise a co-worker we will bring in that new book we love so much knowing full well that we never lend out our books. This saying of things we don’t really mean becomes a habit when we practice long enough. But our story starts with a young protagonist who was the opposite of this — having developed a honesty philosophy at very tender age.

Her younger self had no religion, but she could have as well been Buddhist. She practiced what Buddha said, and Buddha said “Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?” She honed this speaking ability through staring people in the middle of their eyes, where you won’t see what they truly are. She wouldn’t get corrupted by nastiness — as the eyes are where everyone’s mask slips. Nevertheless, people still cursed her by giving off way too much information somehow — she could still discern the true nature of the people around her with alarming accuracy.

She was always unusually tall for her age. She kept her shaggy raven-black hair in basic arrangement, plainly parted down the middle — as apologetic as she could. Her defining feature? The number of dusty freckles scattered across her cheeks — the kind only commoners and forgotten daughters possess.

Freckles lived as a pure beggar — with no home. Then she was found by a shady cult leader, who took her to be worshipped, as a proxy-goddess. They called her ‘the Second Ymir’ or sometimes, ‘Lady Ymir’, after the name of their deity — the First Ymir.

She didn’t resist much; such was her selfless nature — maybe she thought: at least she would have a place to sleep.

[Scroll II — The False Ymir]

This church, they would always put a front. Whenever they didn’t shut their doors, they would sing loudly the songs of common religions, with the Second Ymir being placed behind their tabernacle covered by a smelly tarp. The ancient hymn from Elvina M. was their favourite.

I hear the Savior say, “Thy strength indeed is small; Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in Me thine all in all.”

♪♫♪

Watsuji Tetsurō is often referred to as the “Philosopher of Betweenness” due to his concept of ai-dan. He argued that individuals are not isolated entities but are always in relation to others, and in relation to the social environment. No person is an island. Now, the Marleyan authorities took this idea and shattered it. They were at the extreme end of individualism — more than the two-faced church. When the fraudulent church was scattered by Marley’s agents, their members were experimented with a serum which could turn individuals into Giants living on the things that lived. When they discarded Freckles into the wilderness (as was their custom), her only compensation in life was the whispers of her ascension (during her early years in her disbanded church).

This paralleled her story to Moses of the tribe of Levi. In his story, some sects believed the true religion of Moses was actually the mystical religion of ancient Misr, where he was raised. But this was so for a higher purpose — God had wanted him to really understand the beast empire of ancient Misr. Now, why call the empire such a name? Their ultimate goal, as with all such empires, was to trigger their end times (i.e. wiping humankind from the face of the earth) so that humankind doesn’t reach their destiny to be raised up to be like Angels.

[Scroll III — Primal Adaptation]

She was unconscious for 60 years, roaming as a mindless giant. The state of despair she was in mirrored that of modern job seekers trapped in the Ghost Jobs Market of 2025. Something reachable, but also not reachable.

But when Freckles finally got her senses back, she would resolve to proudly live for herself only. She would become the most viscerally agile Jaw Titan.

[Scroll IV — Facing the possibility of a New Life, we ran as if to meet the moon!]

You can resolve to live your life with integrity. Let your credo be this: “Let the lie come into the world, Let it even triumph. But not through me.”

Freckles, with all her integrity, had to make up a story when she reached the gates of Eldia. Migrants aren’t rarely accepted well in many societies — especially those with empty hands and burned pasts. Societies want renowned scientists, engineers, and English-language teachers; certainly not beggars.

For a moment, she practiced her English, remembering some piece of paper that she was lucky to have found on the floor in the land of the Marleyans. “Mr [Mister] is for all adult men, Mrs [Missus] for married women, Ms [Mizz] for all adult women, and Miss [Miss] for… young girls.” That was all she had access to know. When she tried to force herself to actually speak, she found herself saying to the air: “G’day…I speak enough to kirl and.. I have many-many engrish.”

She realized teaching wasn’t her thing anyway. Words were too slippery! Instead, she would join their military corps; a much easier task. Again, she would at least have a shelter to sleep under.

[Scroll V — The simpler road of enlisting in the military]

In the army, Freckles would change her nature to match the brutality of her Jaw Titan form. Her fellow soldiers would come to call her Beer Ymir — due to her relentless love for the most alcoholic of drinks which were available in Eldia.

For it was in the army where she had made her second resolution — she would drink away the memory of the prophetess she used to be.

Beer Ymir with a note to the pub.

[Last Scroll — The Progenitor of the Titans]

The First Ymir, in contrast, had a different story.

She would stare at your soul when in conversation; despite her equally-frail nature to Freckles.

She would resolve to fight in a selfless manner only for her love for the Eldian King, unlike the Second Ymir who was selfless for humanity.

She had golden hair, while Freckles had dark hair.

And…this First Ymir… was the only giant whose contract from God came with lightning from the ground. Thus, the tales of her story controversially echoed the first Humans

and the Apple –

the fruit whose cost would be exile and blood.

The original Ymir (Left Panel), The second Ymir with Marleyan soldiers (Right Panel).

Sources:

Google Images.