Attack on Titan: What Is the Hallucigenia & How Is It Related to Ymir?

Attack on Titan is undoubtedly one of the most popular contemporary manga and anime series. Hajime Isayama’s series focused on the fight between humans, and the monstrous Titans have become a true modern classic with a large fandom from all over the world. And while Attack on Titan raises many interesting questions, we have decided to focus on just one in today’s article, and that is – what is the Hallucigenia-like beast known as the “source of all living matter,” and how is it related to Ymir Fritz in the series?

The anomaly that gave Ymir Fritz the Power of the Titans is called the “source of all living matter.” This happened roughly 2,000 years ago. The manifestation of this anomaly resembles the Hallucigenia sparsa, an ancient species of aquatic lobopodian worms from the Cambrian period. It is technically not an animal, but it manifested itself as one when Zeke Yeager discussed the origins of life.

The rest of this article will provide you with more details on the Hallucigenia seen during Zeke Yeager’s discussion on the origins of life itself. You’ll learn everything you need to know about the anomaly and its connection to Ymir Fritz and the Power of the Titans. We have gathered all the necessary information for you in one place.

What is the “source of all living matter” in Attack on Titan?

In Chapter 122 of the Attack on Titan manga, titled “From You, 2,000 Years Ago”, a mysterious lifeform was introduced to the world of Attack on Titan. The lifeform explains how and why the Power of the Titans came to be and how Ymir received her powers 2,000 years ago. This was all explained in a story told by Zeke Yeager.

The lifeform remains unknown and is like nothing humans have ever encountered. Today, it is known as an anomaly and is officially named the “source of all living matter”; it seems to be ancient and older than any known human being. Not much is known about its origins, but when Zeke talked about it, it appeared as an ancient animal from the Hallucigenia genus, or more specifically, the Hallucigenia sparsa, an ancient species of aquatic lobopodian worms from the Cambrian period. That is why some fans keep calling it the “source of all living matter” Hallucigenia.

Interestingly enough, the manga and anime versions of the anomaly are slightly different, as you can see in the pictures provided in this article. Now, allow us to tell you a bit about it.

It is unknown if this irregularity is the source of all existing life. Still, it is implied that it can affect all living beings around it since a tree that stood where said abnormality was found grew until it reached a colossal height compared to the other nearby trees. His physical contact with Ymir brought out the effect known as the power of the titans and a mutual connection of the consciousnesses of the Subjects of Ymir through the Path.

Zeke Yaeger theorized that the nature of the Titans’ power, the creation of gigantic, virtually indestructible bodies, and a possible path to immortality are the result of Ymir’s own insecurity and his fear of his death. Although the anomaly appears to be in a permanent state of hibernation, it can display high levels of physical activity if pressured to do so; when Ymir got close enough to her, he extended several of her limbs so he could touch her. During the assault on Shiganshina, the abnormality materialized by emerging from within Eren’s headless corpse to connect to his head.

Later, the anomaly once again unsuccessfully tried to connect to Eren’s head. Being the source of the power of the Titans, the anomaly can use abilities similar to those of the creatures that exist thanks to it.

How is the “source of all living matter” connected to Ymir?

Ymir was a slave of the warlike Eldia tribe who lived around 2,000 years ago. After their village was attacked and slaughtered by the Eldia tribe, Ymir and other survivors became slaves and had their tongues cut out. One day some pigs escaped from the settlement, whereupon the tribal leader, Fritz, had all the slaves assembled and demanded a culprit. He threatened to have the eyes of all the slaves gouged out if the guilty person was not identified. Several slaves then referred Ymir, after which Fritz sadistically decided to “set Ymir free.”

While running away, Ymir was hit by several arrows and eventually collapsed in a clearing. There, however, she saw a huge tree in a clearing in the forest. Since there was a cavernous hole in the tree, Ymir stumbled into it to escape pursuers. However, in the cave inside the tree, she suddenly fell into a hole and plunged into an underground lake composed of an unknown liquid. Ymir’s contact with the liquid linked her spine to a previously unknown life form, the “source of all living matter,” causing Ymir to transform into a giant, humanoid monster.

Although she had become the first Titan ever and possessed immeasurable powers, she remained true to her slave mentality and returned to the Eldia tribe. Without a will of her own, she served the tribal leader, who used her powers to cultivate his lands and expand his power. After a few years, Fritz chose Ymir to bear his children and thus mixed their power with his blood. Also, in the following years, Fritz used his slave Ymir to destroy his enemies – especially the Marley – and also to give birth to children. He had three daughters with Ymir, who were named Sheena, Rose, and Maria.

One day – thirteen years after Ymir received her Titan powers – Fritz, now king of the Eldia Empire, accepted the oath of allegiance of some vanquished enemies, and Ymir and her three daughters stood at his side. However, one of the enemies jumped up, drew a hidden spear, and hurled it at Fritz. Ymir noticed this in time, and as a faithful slave, she jumped into the spear’s trajectory to protect her master’s life. The spear entered her body under Ymir’s armpit and pierced her spine.

As Ymir slowly lost consciousness, her soul suddenly found itself in an empty sand plain of a spiritual dimension. Her human body was hacked to pieces by King Fritz, and he ordered all three of Ymir’s daughters to eat her body so that Ymir’s powers would not be lost. In fact, Ymir’s Titan powers were inherited that way. Since Ymir only lived 13 years after gaining her titan powers, all other titan shifters since then have always died 13 years after gaining their powers. This phenomenon has been dubbed the “Curse of Ymir.”

To forestall this, the bearers were always eaten beforehand by their respective successors, thus ensuring that the power of the titans would be preserved. As a result of this inheritance, nine new Titans were created from the power of Ymir, each carrying an aspect of Ymir’s titan power. These nine titans continued the triumphant march of the Eldian Empire that had reigned for centuries. From then on, Ymir herself was trapped in the dimension of the Path, which exists beyond space and time. Whenever a wielder of the Titan power created a Titan, Ymir was forced to create that Titan from the sands of the dimension, which took a long time but involved no loss of time in the real world.