"Yes," Eren confirmed. "She calls herself the 'First Eternal.' She claims to understand elements not as separate forces but aspects of a single power."
The queen's face drained of color. "The First Eternal... a being who existed before the Great Three, before the Sundering of the kingdoms. Those legends are so old they were already considered myths when I was a child." She stepped closer to Eren. "Tell me everything."
"It's not an alliance," he began, deciding to trust her. "It's coercion. Kaida holds my mother, Queen Elysia, captive. She threatened to kill her if I don't complete more TUNA rituals under her control."
"TUNA rituals?" Elizabeth's alarm was evident. "So she knows of the ancient ways."
