Hallu-chan, Ragnarok, and Fate: How the Alliance can Make Sense
Introduction
A common theme in Attack on Titan is the revealing of mysteries. From what the walls are to what lies outside the walls, the audience has been given answers to almost all of their questions. Yet a very large unanswered, only vaguely touched over topic in the story is that of what the Hallu-chan and the paths are exactly. Some may think that this topic will be permanently left untouched because it adds a sense of unease to the titan powers but the importance of Hallu-chan is often underestimated. If not for this odd prehistoric worm, practically all life on Earth and all the characters we know would not exist (if Hallu-chan really is a source of life). The whole story relies on this creature.
I'm not trying to prove that AOE will happen, persay. There are already plenty of theories showing that. The point of this particular theory is to attempt to understand how AOE will happen and how it will be explained; we need to understand how the backbone of the story's lore works. Right now, AOE is like a crazy math equation with a thousand variables and only a few constants. If we set some variables as I outline in the theory below, interesting things arise. You might notice that this page contains multiple different lines of thinking under the guise of one theory. This is due to my junky research and theory crafting. And my cocain addiction.
Parasite
The whole description of Hallu-chan implies that it is a parasite of some sort, or if not requiring to, it at least desires to attach to particular creatures. The only being that Hallu is shown integraging with is Ymir, but as we see in ch. 137, there are multiple of these worms. Therefore, it is likely that many different creatures across the ages, including birds, have hosted this entity. If Hallu is indeed the origin of all living matter, it perhaps helped to push along evolution and spreading of species. We also see Hallu has the ability to alter the memories of Eldians. Hallu-chan must have a goal to attach to people, a reason that it might be manipulating things. Or perhaps, they are only conveyors of someone else's goal.
Worm Fragments
Hallu has the ability to break into many small pieces. We can reason that every Eldian has a worm-fragment in them. This 'parasitic infection' can be discovered with a blood test. Different parts of Hallu probably do different things. Each of the nine titans is a special piece of the worm body, and Zeke's spinal fluid and that armor ability activation liquid from season 3 part 1 likely contain special parts of the worm. Entire bloodlines like the Royal Family and the Ackermans must have special fragments in them. I don't think that non-Eldians are connected to Hallucigenia but they might be.
Titan Bodies
To accomplish these feats of titan powers, Hallu must posses the ability to manipulate biological elements and bring forth matter from within itself. They also have the ability to produce inorganic matter, unless that is just a quirk of the land of the paths.
Time and Space
I believe that the description of invisible paths flowing through real physical space is incorrect. Instead, all of Hallu-chan's parts are time-synchronous. When a titan transformation occurs: the worm-fragment inside the particular Eldian activates and brings forth the titan mass from itself. When a titan shifter dies without being eaten: Instead of one of the nine titans flying through space to a random Eldian baby, the part of the worm that "died" simply regrows off of the worm-fragment attached to a random Eldian. If Hallu-chan is one entity outside of time, all of it's separate pieces and fragments are both simultaneously scattered across the ages and connected to its full core body, which resides at the coordinate. There is no past or future for Hallu-chan; only being.
Two Options for Paths
While theorizing, I came up with two possible ideas for what paths represent: a real physical place or a spiritual/mental dimension. I think it is most logical to assume that the paths dimension either is a real place on prehistoric Earth or is modeled after it. I went with the former, because I think it's more interesting. Though the paths dimension could very well be a mental place too. Whatever.
My Idea of Paths
Paths is Earth in prehistoric times. As we see here at first there was only mere matter in the world (water and sand). The image of earth here is strikingly duo-chromatic. That means Paths is a very large place, and that would explain why sometimes people don't see the actual blue tree when they go there (watch Ymirs backstory) because they are too far away and see sparkly ribbons instead. Now here comes something that I really have no proof for: the Paths tree has roots that spread all across that land. When Ymir builds a titan, the roots under it move the titan from there to the current time and transform it into different matter.
Outside of (Their) Time
If we look at paths world as prehistoric Earth, with only pure matter (sand and water), things start to come together. We can assume that once a creature or person is connected to Hallu-chan, their souls/memories are contained within Hallu, and can materialize in the paths dimension, outside of their own time. Their souls/memories contain an imprint of their appearance that when summoned, forms their body in paths out of the roots that run in the sand. Ymir doesn't need to make people's bodies out of the sand when they arrive, because they form out of the roots, in the image of their souls. We know that Paths is a place without life or death so the souls/memories of Eldians are stored in the paths tree. I doubt that all the dead Eldians are just freely wandering paths because we only see them come out when beckoned.
Alternate Realites and Timelines
I haven't figured out if there are consecutive timelines or parallel realities but I did come up with a possible idea that combines the two. Because of Hallu-chan's unique nature, the different timelines could stem from itself at the beginning of time, or many other divergence points. Some characters in the timelines can look across the vertical and to them it looks like alternate universes. It can be comparableto Schrödinger's cat, where multiple realities exist until the box is opened, except in our case all realities may be true. Just imagine the paths tree, how there are larger branches with many divergences, all part of the same tree.
Ymir
As soon as Ymir first came in contact with Hallu-chan, her body from that point was duplicated to paths and she was enslaved immediately. This is evidenced by her having her young body in paths even after she died as an adult. Someone had to make that first titan form, and that person was her. Now ask yourself, does it make sense that after ending up in paths she would make herself a very strong titanic body and... return to her abuser that wanted to kill her? This is because Hallu-chan stole her recent memories (remember that sometimes titan shifters forget what happened before they first transform) and possibly replaced them with feelings of love for Fritz, thus enslaving her in both paths and her world.
Fritz the Fool
Even though it is shown in the story, I don't think old King Fritz is really that influential at all in the grand scheme of things. Most characters in the show have no idea what kind of power they are dealing with and that creepy dude is no exception. I think the whole thing about Old King Fritz claiming to enslave Ymir for all eternity was a ruse. This decrepit pedophile has no idea about anything. He doesn't know about paths, he doesn't know about Hallu-chan, and he probably doesn't know about about the future unless Ymir told him. He doesn't know jack about this immense power which he claimes to wield. I bet that he's just a pawn in the grand scheme of things, a slave to a power he is ignorant of. How was Ymir enslaved then? Answer: By Hallu-chan or an unknown true orchestrator of events. Ymir's memories were manipulated (in my opinion) to make her stick around. This is my ultimate cope. There is also the theory that Ymir did not love King Fritz but wanted to be loved, by anyone; this idea could be compatible with my idea but I haven't dove into it.
Ymir's Death and the 13 Year Curse
There are two sides of Ymir: the young slave girl side (in paths) and the living adult side who "loves" King Fritz. Does Hallu-chan (or Eren?) manipulate adult Ymir's memories to enslave her? In chapter 112 Eren basically says that memories can form who a person is and that ignorance=slavery. Honestly, just read the entire table scene, it's quite insightful. Anyways, let's go forward under the assumption that adult Ymir's love seems real to her but in reality she is manipulated by a greater power. She sacrificed herself because of this love. When she dies, she remembers the white flower and all the pain she experienced, realizes that she was manipulated, and dies. I have 2 ideas for what the titan curse is. One is that after realizing her vulnerability and manipulation, Ymir forces the 13 year rule as a rebellion against Hallu-chan. The other idea is that the Hallus or someone fated it to be that way. Bonus theory that shows that Ymir lost her will to live, and is quite interesting anyway.
Many Inspirations
If you've read more than a couple theories about Attack on Titan, you will know by now that Hajime Isayama has taken major influence from multiple sources. It is confirmed that one of these sources is Muv Luv and unconfirmed that The Eternal Champion is another, plus Mist, maybe Dune, etc. After reading around, I am 99% certain that another one of these major inspirations was Norse mythology. There is a mulitude of obvious and hidden references to stories and characters of Norse mythology. Read in detail here and here. It personally feels that Norse mythology just fits with the aesthetic of Attack on Titan. Just look at the medieval German-esque setting of Paradis (Germanic mythology heavily draws from Norse) and the artstyle of the season 2 ED. Unimpressed? The first giant in Norse mythology is literally named Ymir!
The World Tree
The Norse cosmos is supported by Yggdrasil, the world tree. Yggdrasil has 3 great roots and the 9 worlds hang from it. (9 titan powers!) The Paths tree is obviously the world tree, because all timelines are connected through it. This might mean that there are 9 timelines instead of 3 but I don't know. Peep this awesome 9 timeline theory.
The Norns
In Norse mythology the Norns, or Fates, play an important role. They might be the most powerful beings in Norse mythology, because even the gods must follow fate. Source 1, Source 2.
Mud and water? Sounds a lot like paths. I think that the Hallu-chans (are there more than 3?) represent the Norns. It is possible that they decided the 13 year curse. It is also possible that they control way more than we think.
Cool Artworks I found, LOL
Here are a couple interesting paintings by John Bauer, a Swedish illustrator who worked on folk tale and mythology stories in the early 20th century.
The Golden Key by John Bauer ↑
I just want to point out, that from Ymir's backstory we know that the "deal with the devil" option is what really happened. But I think that the devil are the Norns and the Norns are Hallu.
Hallu Enslavement
For this theory, I think a major question is if Hallu-chan is actively manipulating events and people or if someone else is (Eren). Hallu-chan definitely has the powers to alter memories of connected Eldians but if the guiding hand of a human person is required to control this power is unknown. Hallu-chan also might be able to control, to an extent, attraction between creatures and among humans. More on that below. Also consider pure titans - people are literally enslaved and forced to become weapons, experiencing a 'nightmare that never ends.'
Rumbling Arc Decline Explained (?)
Explaining what in the tarnation was happening with the characters during the rumbling arc and 139 was actually the original reason I began writing this theory. I came up with 2 options that are not exclusive of each other: Firstly, that memories and personalities of shifters (or perhaps Eldians in general) were bleeding across the timeline-realities and causing the characters to be inconsistent. Remember that if shifters can have memories of past inheritors, then it's not too far fetched to think that they can have memories of their own selves from parallel timelines. If the Consciousness Theory is true then it also might mean that when Eren says the famous "10 years at least" line he is actually occupied by cabin timeline Eren (don't know if there are any proofs of this). The cabin timeline is very different due to the butterfly effect; Eren's personality might have been completely different there. In fact, all of the characters might have been different. Well why would they still adapt start of the Rumbling Arc the same in the Anime? Perhaps when the Rumbling gets activated in any timeline the mind bleed occurs.
If that first explanation can be considered a passive event, my second solution is the active event: What if Hallu-chan operates by influencing the 'attraction' between subjects of Ymir? What if many lifeforms since the beginning of time were 'bred' by Hallu-chan or the user of its power? In 137 Zeke says that the purpose of life is to multiply but where did that purpose come from? This might explain why Mikasa is so creepily in love with Eren, or even why Eren seems in love with Mikasa. He might have been aware of this, that may have been a reason why he tried so hard to push Mikasa away in the table scene, or why he said tatakae to the mirror. This attraction could have been facilitated by the manipulation of memories. It also may not be limited to... romantic... attraction, because in the Rumbling Arc people who were once enemies get unusually close, almost becoming friends. Just think of how the Alliance interacts with Annie, who used to kill their comrades and people. Just a thought.
Freedom
One of the most highly debated topics in AoT is its most major theme: freedom. There are multiple kinds of freedom discussed in the story, including physical freedom, freedom from dreams and desires, freedom from fate/destiny, and freedom from ignorance. Reddit post about freedom. For my theory, freedom from ignorance and freedom from destiny are the most crucial to investigate.
In light of Norse mythology, it could be that Eren is attempting to beat the Fates, or the Hallus. Or he is in control of destiny. I don't know. He may be attempting to free himself from two binds: ignorance and fate. His future anime self may be enslaving him. Hell, his future self may be masterminding the Ymir situation too.
Odin, Beren, the Mirror Man, and Mikasa
To learn the secrets of fate, Odin once hung himself upon Yggdrasil for 9 days and nights. Perhaps when Mikasa buried Eren's head (and a remnant of Hallu inside it) under the tree, Eren did something similar to Odin, as theorized here and explained here. I think the mystery kid of the extra pages, known by some as Beren, plays a role in AOE. It is probable that he is an Ackerman descended from Mikasa. Beren likely came in contact with Eren's Odin form and somehow learned the truth about the world from him, or merged with him. Then, though it's a stretch, I think Beren became the Mirror Man, an interesting character who appears in the Lost Girls OVA. If you watch Lost Girls, the Mirror Man seems connected with Mikasa and has information about Eren's fate. He says: "I am no one but I can be anyone." Remember that the Ackermans get the skills of every past Ackerman when they activate. The Mirror Man also has a collection of knives. These are likely different knives from different timeline realities. I bet that the Mirror Man is representative of the Ackerman line and it's hidden ability, hosted in the body of Beren, who maybe recieved instructions from Eren's head hanging in the tree. But the question still remains about how Mikasa activates this divergence power. When manga Eren says he doesn't know what Mikasa will do, I think he is also reffering to her actions in subsequent realities.
Eren vs Fate
This section is another shot in the dark, unfortunately. Sorry for my inability to concretely follow a single thread; there are just so many options! Okay, let's imagine that Hallu-chan doesn't really have an intelligence, but rather an ever-present will as a symbol of Fate. And perhaps some parts of this Fate are less set in stone than others, which are unchangeable. One of these unchangeable things might be the death of Eren's mom. There are probably numberous events that happen the same across all timelines. The very existence of our characters may be set in stone, but sometimes their appearance and world will be different due to the butterfly effect (shout out to the AOT live action movies).
So basically because so much of the growth of life on earth is connected to Hallu-chan, including subjects of Ymir, and because Hallu-chan is outside of time, the world is thus largely in the grasp of Fate. Yet interestingly Hallu-chan is not in complete control because its power must be channeled by humans. So there is another figure who has a major hold in Fate: Eren Jaeger. He is even up to the point of being another side of Fate. He desires a particular future, where he and his friends and all of the people of Paradis can be free and see 'that scenery' of the outside world. However the path of Fate, while fickle, contains many hard spots. Perhaps there really must be a choice made between Eren's friends and the survival of Paradis. The path can be chosen but the details are non-negotiable. Why? Only Ymir knows. For you big-brain Muv Luv fans, think of it almost as a visual novel with divergent choices.
Death of Hallucigenia
It is crystal clear, by seeing the extra pages, that our beloved Hallu-chan did not perish in 139. Perhaps a section of the worm died, but it grew back somewhere else. Or, the thing that Reiner fought was an artificial body constructed by the worm like its personal titan form. It got into Eren's dead head by doing the tried-and-true playing dead technique, leaving it's larger form to smoke up while the real Hallu-chan gets into Eren's skull. Mikasa would bury his head under the tree, leaving Eren to become Odin and study the fates for 100 years until Beren finds him. Perhaps he did this to see what the result of his choices was. While the power of the titans was ended, Hallu-chan and Eren possibly lived on.
Ragnarök
Take 1 The idea of fate constantly infuses Norse mythology, the concept that destiny is immutable. This concept culminated in Ragnarök, the coming destruction of the world whose inevitability echoes through the majority of Norse myths. So precisely was it preordained that the details of what would occur were already known by all, and the gods prepared for it on a daily basis. However, although Ragnarök implied universal chaos, annihilation would not be total. For even at the end of existence lies a glimmer of hope for humanity.
Take 2 Ragnarök will be preceded by cruel winters and moral chaos. Giants and demons approaching from all points of the compass will attack the gods, who will meet them and face death like heroes. The sun will be darkened, the stars will vanish, and the earth will sink into the sea. Afterward, the earth will rise again, the innocent Balder will return from the dead, and the hosts of the just will live in a hall roofed with gold.
Take 3 The remains of the world will sink into the sea, and there will be nothing left but the void. Creation and all that has occurred since will be completely undone, as if it had never happened.
Ragnarök is the ultimate end game of Norse mythology. Its Attack on Titan parallel is obviously the Rumbling. The key is that there is no way to stop Ragnarök from occuring. According to AOE theories, the anime will show a reality where the Rumbling finishes. This would be the final reality that Eren/Fate has worked towards this entire time.
Conclusion
So hypothetically, Hallu-chan possibly represents the Norns, because they have the most power. They could be controlled by an ultimate Eren. They could have played a major role in shaping history with the butterfly effect, forming different realities. The Norns decide when Ragnarök happens, and despite Eren failing in a few timelines, there will come a final reality where Ragnarök happens to a full extent. What will happen afterwards to Hallu-chan and Eren, I don't know.
I hope that my claims here are interesting and can lead to productive theory crafting. Look I may be stupid but I sometimes say interesting things, right guys? Right?
Misc. Points (Warning: High Headcanon Concentration)
Why did Zeke dying stop the rumbling? We know that Eren probably did not need Zeke anymore after getting Ymir on his side. So maybe Zeke getting killed didn't really do anything; manga Eren just decided that was a good time to sacrifice himself. Zeke did play a role in waking up the past shifters though.
Why didn't Eren stop his friends with the power of the Founder, so that he wouldn't have to kill them? It could be that Eren really wanted his friends to freely make that choice on their own, as he tells them in paths, not knowing that they are influenced by the mind bleed. Or, as related to my "Eren vs Fate" idea, the whole Alliance was a quirk of fate, an unchangeable fact of the path that Eren takes. I am coping so hard right now.
Is anime Eren the 'ultimate' one? I would think so. However the possibility of there being an even crazier Eren masterminding events is there.
How much power does Eren have?Well obviously no one who got close to Hallu-chan had complete control, not even Ymir (she was trapped there for 2000 years against her will). If Eren had some crazy time-transcending powers he could simply start a new timeline where everything just works, yet instead he has to work towards that the hard way.
How did Mikasa get her ability to create divergence points? Can Eren do the same? Mikasa was given this power through Hallu-chan, by whom I don't know. The Mirror Man/Beren also must have this ability. I don't think Eren carries that ability within himself but rather relies on others to carry it for him.
Did Eren kill his mom? Probably the death of his mother was necessary to satisfy fate/the bootstrap paradox/whatever. Besides, she was stuck under debris and couldn't be rescued. Eren also knew that Bertholt was an important figure. If you read the dialogue of 139 he says "It wasn't Bertholts time to die yet." Perhaps Eren, wanting to both keep Bert alive and ensure that everything looped, nudged the titan Dina. DAMN YOU YAMS FOR MAKING THIS SO COMPLICATED WITH THIS STUPID TWIST. I'm doing it. I'm going full cope mode. Never go full cope mode kids
Why does it look like MAPPA is committing to the same 'mistakes' as the manga? There are many reasons. 1) If there will be a good standalone AOE without alternate timelines, in my opinion, the Rumbling Arc would have definitely seen some character changes by now. So the alternate timelines with a mind-bleed or other manipulation must occur in order to justify. 2) MAPPA probably doesn't want to spoil the AOE too early. 3) Isayama definitely knew that his manga ending would be criticised, so if he was planning an AOE from the beginning there is definitely a reason for the Rumbling Arc to be that way. I just hope that it gets explained by the end of the anime.
If paths is a real prehistoric world, why is it always night? Just because they only show it at night doesn't mean there isn't a day. Or Yggdrasil is located at the North Pole or something where nights are many days long. Though the opposite could very well be true, that paths is simply in the mind of Hallu-chan.
Why do characters keep seeing force ghosts? Why do Connie and Jean both see Sasha in 139? Everyone from every time is connected, or at least their memories are still contained within paths after they die.
Am I clinically insane? How many cups of lean did I drink while writing this? Yes, and yes.
Is the Alliance sane? Not exactly, according to my mind-bleed theory. If their actions are being influenced by their current state, alternate versions of themselves, and manipulations by Eren and/or Hallu-chan well, that explains why dem be goin crazy.
Did Eren become a bird? The whole bird theory is a fascinating one honestly, and it gets explained by some of my ideas: there must be a species of birds that are part of Hallu-chan just like Eldians are. Eren's memories which lingered in paths influenced a bird to pick up a scarf. While living, Eren could use birds to perhaps give revelations to people like Falco. That's it.
Can Ackermans be manipulated by the founding titan? Taken at face value, chapter 139 almost completely destroys this notion of not being able to manipulate Ackermans, because Mikasa herself implies that Eren wiped her memories of their encounter. This would mean that this rule is breakable under special circumstances like the royal vow against war. But wait a minute, their encounter was a whole different timeline which they both experienced together, so basically I don't know.
What happened with Ymir at the end? This is a hard one. Honestly this question is beyond my paygrade. The whole Ymir situation is quite complex, with her appearing as her adult form to Mikasa in 139 which makes everything just more complicated. But she doesn't actually say anything. Ymir was probably freed from her bonds at the end of the manga though. She was the one building the titans, and perhaps Eren took her place in paths. See "Death of Hallucigenia" above.
When will the divergence point be? With my theory any point up until Mikasa tries to kill Eren in the titan mouth is fair game, but I'd personally like to see more and more changes as that time approaches.
Why does Eren have to complete the Rumbling, or even do it in the first place? We all know about the 'getting the children out of the forest' metaphor. If the forest represents the cycle of hatred between the world and Eldia, there are realistically only 2 options for completion: Either all Eldians die or the rest of the world dies. Even if Eldians claim to have lost titan powers, as we see at the end of 139, the conflict and tension will still carry across generations. I personally like to think that in the Cabin timeline Zeke somehow carried out his plan, just so that we have a contrast to the other 2 primary timelines. Rejecting this idea, and rejecting the manga ending, Eren might go 100% in the anime.
Can Hallu-chan be killed? I'm not sure, because in my theory it is an entity that is internally synchronous across time and space. Killing Hallu-chan is required to completely be rid of titan powers, but it would also be akin to making Take 3 of the "Ragnarok" section happen.
Three or one Hallucigenia? Three (or more) main Hallus that are part of the same entity.
Why can't Hallu-chan just build their own titan forms instead of needing Ymir? Perhaps they lack the creativity of humanity.
That's all folks!