Shingeki no Kyojin © Isayama Hajime

Inspired by the song Full Moon by Sunmi

8. Creature of the Night

It was another snowy night. The roads were covered with thick white, frozen crystal particles, making even the guards who were supposed to be on patrol reluctant to fulfill their duty. Well, no one would want to step outside of their warm houses in this extraordinarily cold night, though.

Except maybe one.

A creature of legends—of stories told to scare little children, who lurked around the region to feed on unfortunate souls' blood. Legend had it that the creature had snow-like pale skin, hence why less people in the town were eager to come out of their houses during winter nights. The creature was said to be most active during winter nights, when the full moon shone brightly.

Armin counted days.

He was weak—he always had been, but he got even weaker when the disease gnawed his every inch. He couldn't walk on his own, then it got worse—he couldn't even stand on his own two feet, and he had to use a wheelchair to do everyday chores. His fingers trembled, he couldn't even lift something properly.

Elders of his village said he was cursed—because none of the villagers had ever experienced that before, and the Guardian Spirits didn't favour his family that much, especially after his grandfather published a book about the Creature of the Night, right before they both got killed in a boat accident. Armin loved that book, but the other villagers deemed the book as a curse, dedicated to the atrocious creature. Needless to say, he was exiled from the village, left alone in a cottage far away from his original home. Eren and Mikasa still visited him from time to time, but sometimes they were only able to leave some meals for Armin to eat.

That was why Armin counted days—counted every moment he spent breathing. He knew it was his third winter in this lonely cottage, meaning it had been three years since he was exiled. Armin had gotten weaker each day, but he was grateful that at least he was still alive, and Eren and Mikasa would visit him soon. They'd provide him the company he needed.

Armin stared outside the window, carving the view of the big, beautiful full moon, decorated with falling crystals of snow into his memory. He had always admired the beauty that the nature offered, although he personally still fancied the ocean more.

It was getting late, and the temperature fell quite drastically. Armin was about to wheel his wheelchair towards his bed when he was struck with a gruesome pain throughout his body.

If he had to describe hell, it must be this.

Each inch of his body felt sharp pain as if it was stabbed by hundreds of daggers, and his head felt like it was being hit by a huge club. His vision became blurry, and he couldn't even scream as his tongue went numb.

No, Armin didn't want to die like this.

He still needed to see Eren and Mikasa—they'd be worried sick.

I don't want to die yet...I—!

A freezing gale blew harshly, snapping Armin's windows open. He couldn't lift his head to see what was going on, but what he knew was a pair of blue eyes were staring straight at his own. Before him, stood a woman with a divine appearance he had never seen before. Her hair was shining gold, a skin pale like porcelain, and her eyes—they reminded him of the clear, summer sky he loved seeing whenever he visited the ocean with his grandfather during his childhood.

"Do you want to end your suffering?"

Her voice flowed smoothly, a voice Armin wouldn't mind hearing every day, but what was more important was her offer.

"Wha—?" Armin forced the words out of his throat, and the woman before him didn't even flinch.

Armin wasn't even able to lift a finger when suddenly her face was only an inch away from his, and she repeated her question. "Do you want to end your suffering?"

He didn't know if it was because of his open windows letting the cold get into his room, but Armin found himself going numb, from head to toe. The pain that was torturing him a few minutes ago just dissipated.

One thing from Armin that still functioned decently was his brain.

He remembered some lines from the book his grandfather wrote and published—The Creature of the Night.

She comes when the freezing gale howls,

with either an offer or a hunger.

She is the majestic queen of night,

she seeks the most perfect companion of her right.

She is a creature that feeds by the blood,

yet she needs none of those stained like the mud.

"You are…that Creature of the Night…are you not?"

Her eyes became colder, and Armin's heart started beating faster in fear. "The one and only, whom your grandfather acknowledged."

Armin was stunned, but a second later he shrieked—a sharp pain in his neck robbed the consciousness out of him, and a corner of his brain realized that he was probably going to die—as a victim of the legendary creature that everyone feared.

A burning sensation spread from Armin's neck throughout his body, the pain was so immense that he couldn't even let a single sound escape his lips.

His mind was slowly clouded, wiping every thought he had sparked in the last few minutes.

In the end, what was left was a thick, pitch-black darkness.

Armin opened his eyes, only to see an unfamiliar room surrounding him. It was dark, only a few candles—who still used candles these days? —acted as the source of light.

What stranger was that Armin could move his limbs freely, like he was never sick before. His senses became sharper as well, he noticed. He smelled the faintest burnt oil that he was certain wasn't from the room he was currently in, and he could still hear the faint howling blizzard outside.

A sudden, novel instinct made his whole body wary of a presence not far from him. His blood rushed faster in his veins, and he could hear his own heartbeat.

It was a feeling of being overwhelmed, and he soon found out what was making him like this.

"You are awake now, Armin."

The voice gave him chills, and Armin could see her figure, unsheathing the darkness surrounding them. She was standing there, looking even more majestic with her long black dress and neatly tied-up golden hair. Her blue eyes were still staring at his own, as if she was conveying messages through her gaze alone.

Armin didn't know how, but a sudden rush in his blood cracked a wall inside his mind, revealing something he wanted—and needed to know.

A name.

Her name.

The name of a creature, a being that the villagers feared so much, that his grandfather believed in.

Armin's eyes never left hers as he let the name come out of his lips.

"Annie."

Author's Note: After more than two years of absence...I'm finally back haha although I realize that my writing skills have become really rotten because I haven't written anything decent in months. Anyway, this chapter was a result of me forcing to write something, and Sunmi's Full-Moon really inspired me. If you watch the MV, you will understand why I'm saying that.

I apologize if this chapter is less-decent than the previous ones, I just really need to let this out of my head. I dare not to make any promises about updates in the near future, because finals are approaching and I will have my minor-thesis examination coming up as well. I just want to thank anyone who stops by and reads this story! Please do mention if I made any grammar or spelling mistakes!