Power of the Titans

"What are you? A man? Or a Titan?"

- Kitz Weilman to Eren Yeager

The Power of the Titans (巨人の力) is the ability which allows for Eldians to transform into one of the Nine Titans. Unlike regular mindless Titans, those with the Power of the Titans are able to control their form and retain their human intelligence. The Nine Titans are far more powerful than regular Titans and oftentimes display abilities unique to only them, though only nine humans can possess the Power of the Titans at any point in time.

Transformation
In order to transform, a human with the Power of the Titans must suffer an injury that draws blood (often self-harm) while having a solid goal or belief in mind at the moment of injury. However, being injured by another person is also sufficient. Once the transformation is initiated, a burst of energy is released (in some cases as a bolt of lightning or an explosion), followed by the generation of the Titan body and a release of hot steam. After transformation, the human body rests within the nape of the Titan's neck, the center of control. The human body is also merged with the Titan's flesh inside to varying extents, most frequently on the area of the cheeks below the eyes, rendering them immobile.

If a Titan form is pushed to its limit, the human will emerge from the nape of its neck, sometimes in a semi-conscious or entirely unconscious state. But if a Titan form is not exhausted, then its human form can emerge from the Titan form in full consciousness. In some cases, a human is able to partially emerge from their Titan body without fully leaving the nape.

When the Power of the Titans is used, oftentimes the area around the emerging human's eyes is marked by dark lines for a short time after. The amount of time the human possesses these marks appears to depend on how long, skilled, strong or overworked they were when working with their Titan forms, ranging from either several minutes to several hours.

In some cases, the ability to transform into a Titan is hindered by injuries inflicted on the human body. A human can transform into a Titan with injuries as severe as a missing limb, but only if a previous transformation has not occurred recently. If a human emerges from their Titan form and receives severe injury, this person cannot transform into a Titan again until said injuries have fully healed.

Humans with the Power of the Titans appear to be resistant, but not immune to, the normal absorption that creates mindless Titans if they stay transformed for long or repetitive periods of time. In the case of Eren Yeager, it has been shown that repeated transformations in a short period of time lead to decreased control over the Titan form, as well as diminished Titan size and power. As such, it seems that there is a limitation on how long a human can remain in a transformed Titan state before risking absorption. The length of time spent in a controllable transformed Titan appears to depend on how skilled the human is at controlling their Titan form. However, even the most skilled humans with Titan power can become incredibly fatigued for as long as several days after repetitive use.

Physiology and abilities
The average height among the transforming Titans is 15 meters, but this can vary greatly, ranging from the 5 meters of Ymir's Titan form to the 60 meters of the Colossus Titan. It is notable that the female Titan forms have thus far been shown to be shorter than the male Titans, with Annie Leonhart's Female Titan standing at 14 meters and Frieda Reiss' Founding Titan at 13 meters tall. Humans with the Power of the Titans also gain the Titans' ability to regenerate. They are capable of advanced healing capabilities, to the point of regaining lost limbs or even an entire head. However, regeneration from severe injuries such as lost limbs can strain their powers and prevent them from transforming for a period of time. It is evident that healing as a human takes much longer than as a Titan. The time it takes to regenerate appears to depend on the extent of the injury and how focused the individual is on healing that area. The only surefire way to kill a human with the Power of the Titans is through severing the brain's connection to the rest of the body, although on rare occasions the most skilled humans with the Power of the Titans are able to transfer their minds to the rest of their nervous system and survive even this.

It is also shown that those who inherit the Nine Titans are not safe from regular Titans, and will be attacked even while transformed. This is because they are regular humans that have been transformed into uncontrollable Titans, and the only way for a Titan to regain its human form is by eating a human with the Power of the Titans.

While not all Nine Titans' abilities have been identified, each of the inheritable Titans possesses a unique power. Bertolt Hoover's Colossus Titan is able to evaporate its body and release devastating gusts of steam to ward off enemies; he is even able to completely evaporate his Titan form in seconds. Reiner Braun's Armored Titan possesses hardened armor-like skin covering all but the key areas of movement. Annie Leonhart's Female Titan is to call upon mindless Titans with a scream, luring dozens towards her position with little time. Zeke Yeager's Beast Titan is able to create Titans with his spinal fluid, and even control them to an extent, including at night. The Founding Titan has historically been the greatest of all Titans, able to have complete control over the actions and memories of every Eldian, both human and Titan.

Some of the Titans have been shown to possess the ability to harden their skin to the point of near indestructibility. The most notable Titan in possession of this ability is Annie's Female Titan, which is able to selectively harden regions of her Titan body and even create a hard crystal around her human body, putting her in an apparently unconscious state with no need for nutrient intake. In addition to the armored plates covering Reiner's Armored Titan, he too is able to control some hardening aspects of his Titan such as creating claws on his fingertips. Zeke Yeager's Beast Titan also possesses a hardening ability, though it has not been seen at use. It seems, however, that not all transformed Titans possess this hardening ability, as Eren was unable to cause his Titan to harden until he ingested an "Armor" Titan serum.

Inheritance
The Nine Titans, and the holder's ability to transform, can be transferred to a new host, should they be devoured by a mindless Titan. This allows an ordinary Titan to become a new human with the Power of the Titans, and inherit one or more of the Nine. This has been the case with the Founding Titan for over a thousand years.

However, according to Rod Reiss, the Power of the Titans resides within a human's spinal fluid, meaning that to gain the Titan's power, it is not necessary to eat the entire human, but rather a Titan can simply bite through the spine and ingest said fluid. Titans serums are, in fact, the spinal fluid of Titans, though study of the serums is difficult due to the serum's rapid rate of evaporation upon contact with air.

Inheritors of the Nine Titans do not adopt the appearance of the previous owners' Titans, as both Ymir's and Frieda's Titans' appearances from Marcel Galliard and Mr. Reiss' Titans, respectively. Rod Reiss has claimed that humans can choose the serum that will give them a specific Titan form, meaning they are able to adopt the form given by the serum and not whatever form the Titan they eat possesses. However, the current holder's Titan form do experience certain changes depending on which of the Nine recieved, as Ymir's Titan form gained sharp claws and teeth after acquiring the Jaw Titan and Armin's Titan form became much larger after accquiring the Colossus Titan. Eren's mindless Titan form was much smaller and less mature than his current form, and both Ymir's Titan form and Frieda's Titan form were noticeably more emaciated than their Titan bodies after inheriting their Titans.

Those who inherit the Nine Titans are also able to see the memories of previous holders to some extent. Blood relations between the inheritors of a Titan play a significant role in passing these memories. The inheritors of the Founding Titan from the Reiss family are able to access memories going back by dozens or perhaps hundreds of generations, while the current holder of the Founding Titan, Eren Yeager, is unable to do so. Other inheritors of the Nine Titans are shown to be able to see the memories of the previous Titan at the very least. However, this process does not seem to be instantaneous, as Eren Yeager and Armin Arlert did not receive any memories immediately upon inheriting their Titan, and Porco Galliard is waiting to complete the memories from his brother.

If an individual with the Power of the Titans by some means dies before their power can be taken by a successor, it is said that the power of that Titan will be passed on to an Eldian baby, regardless of the distance or any relation to the previous holder of the Titan.

Curse of Ymir
Despite the immense Power of the Titans, each human which inherits the power is fated with the "Curse of Ymir", which shortens their lifespan to another 13 years once they acquire the Power of the Titans. During the last years of their life, their body will weaken until they perish.

Nine Titans
After Ymir Fritz died after using her powers for thirteen years, her powers passed over to nine inheritors. By transferring the power of Titans, those nine Titan lines continued. Through this, there can be a maximum of nine humans with the Power of the Titans at any given time. However, after Grisha Yeager ate Frieda Reiss, the line of Founding Titan mixed with the line of Attack Titan; it is unknown if after mixing two lines it is possible to separate them. Currently, the number of possible existing Titans has been reduced to eight.

List of Lines and Titans
Founding Titan (始祖の巨人)
 * Ymir Fritz
 * The First King
 * Mr. Reiss
 * Uri Reiss
 * Frieda Reiss - Last descendant of this line. Later mixed with Attack Titan line.

Attack Titan (進撃の巨人)
 * Eren Krueger
 * Grisha Yeager - Mixed with Founding Titan line.
 * Eren Yeager - Current holder. Mixed with Founding Titan line.

Colossus Titan (超大型巨人)
 * Bertolt Hoover
 * Armin Arlert - Current holder.

Armored Titan (鎧の巨人)
 * Reiner Braun - Current holder.

Female Titan (女型の巨人)
 * Annie Leonhart - Current holder.

Beast Titan (獣の巨人)
 * Zeke Yeager - Current holder.

Jaw Titan (顎の巨人)
 * Marcel Galliard
 * Ymir
 * Porco Galliard - Current holder.

Cart Titan (車力の巨人)
 * Pieck - Current holder.

War Hammer Titan (戦槌の巨人)
 * Unknown member of the Tyber family - Current holder.

Trivia

 * Many transformed Titan forms are modeled after mixed martial artists. For instance, the Armored Titan is modeled after  and the Attack Titan is modeled after.
 * In the August 2016 Issue of Bessatsu Shonen Magazine, Isayama was asked of what is it like to come out of a Titan's body. He stated, "Just think that it’s like coming out from a sauna."
 * Zeke Yeager appears to be the most skilled living Titan, as he possesses the power to mimic human speech in Titan form, climb over the Walls, and create Titans that function at night. Annie Leonhart appears to be the second most skilled living Titan, sporting a variety of learned powers and moves, including selective regeneration, skin hardening, and Titan summoning. However, the holder of the Founding Titan would often be the strongest of all Titans, as noted by Rod Reiss. The least skilled appear to be Eren Yeager, who is still learning how to use his powers, and Armin Arlert, who has yet to experiment with his new Titan form inherited from Bertolt Hoover.
 * While the ability to turn into a Titan is commonly referred to as the "power of the Titans" (巨人の力), this term is also used by the Reiss family to refer to the Founding Titan as well.
 * Grisha Yeager consuming Frieda Reiss is the only known case of a person, who already has one of the Nine Titans, acquiring another one of by eating the previous owner. In all other known cases of inheritance of the Power of the Titans, the receiver was always a mindless Titan.

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