Armin, Mikasa, and Eren sat around a fire, the ash and flare flying into the air and disappearing into the darkness. It had been a few days after all hell seemed to break loose after the Colossal Titan had appeared again and destroyed the wall yet again. Armin sighed as he watched the flames dance happily. Seemingly broken from her deep train of though, Mikasa looked up to him, catching his attention. They both looked to Eren, who kept his gaze locked on the flame's center. Mikasa frowned at the sight of Eren's disappointment. She never wanted him to feel as low as he was. After loosing several friends, Eren seemed to have changed for the worst it seemed. Armin looked a little restless, as if the silence wanted him to take some form of action. Eren, looking from the flame, noticed this. "Is there something wrong?"
Armin stopped fidgeting and looked at the two. He sighed as he thought of how to describe what was on his mind. He finally found the words to say; "Eren, do you remember that book from a long time ago? The one about what it was like outside of the walls?"
Eren nodded his head, recalling all the stories and imagery, but one thing made him stop for a moment. He remembered a ripped page in the book that had annoyed him for a while. Armin cracked a small smile as he pulled a small book out of a bag. "You see, I wasn't able to find the page, nor a book similar to that one, but one of those priest guys gave me a book that he explained as 'The answered to your questions'. I laughed at first, but I read a little bit of it. It is actually pretty awesome. Want me to read it to you two?"
Eren and Mikasa exchanged glances, then turned back to Armin. Mikasa nodded her head, as did Eren. Armin's smile grew wider as he began to read the title of the selection;
"The Legend of the Divine Warrior, a common folklore...
Before the time of A.D. began, there once was a civilization known as Rome. Humans lived happily and carelessly within the city. It was a time before Titans, and a time when man battled one another over food, land, and an attractive mate. But unlike many of the city, there was one man by the name of Maximus Duronius Ligur. He was a boy of poverty and starvation; his parents died and his brother rose to the high ranks of the military, leaving Maximus the low and orphan life. Living in any place he could find, he adopted the life style of constantly moving and hunger.
One day, at the age of 15, he found himself living outside of the wall surrounding the king's home, hoping that the rich would loose money over the walls for him to buy food. Unexpectedly, a figure approached him as he laid on his side, grabbing at his stomach like it was fading to dust. In a feminine voice, the figure asked if he was okay. Looking up to the figure, he saw a young girl, roughly the same age he was, on her knees hovering over him. In her hand, was a piece of bread and a flask of water. She handed him the bread and water with a smile. As he ate the bread and drank the water, he noticed how her eyes seemed to sparkle, and her beauty suggested she was a part of the higher class. When he finished, he thanked her and..."
Armin was cut off by one of the other cadets. "So, is this story time?" The three looked at him angrily as he slowly shuffled away. Eren and Mikasa turned back to Armin, but stood up. "I think it would be best if we finish this story later; maybe tomorrow?" Eren suggested to Armin. He nodded, folded the page, then stood up with the closed book in hand at his side. They then began walking towards their sleeping quarters and prepared for bed.
Late that night, Eren was awoken by a light coming from outside the window. Cracking his eyes, he made out two figures. One seemed to be an elderly person hunched over a lantern. The other was one of the priests that everyone seemed to ignore and push away. A look of concern filled his gaze as the hunched over figure rose the lantern closer to his face. Eren could fairly hear the conversation as he moved closer to the window. Easing into the conversation, he heard in a raspy woman's voice "Is the boy ready to find it?"
The priest nodded and pointed to the window. 'Shit,' Eren thought to himself, 'did they see me?' Keeping his eyes on the figure, he explained how he gave a boy the book to read it to the boy. Eren stopped for a moment. 'Who is supposed to find... what?' He stopped as he looked to where Armin was sleeping. The book was on the floor under his bed. Slowly creeping over, getting the book, and sneaking back over to his bed. He opened the book to the folded page. Suddenly, the light outside disappeared, leaving the room dark and impossible to read, even in the moon light. He sighed as he began to scan the room from his right to his left. But he stopped when the sight of an elderly woman filled his gaze. He jumped back and tried to scream, but not a squeak came from him. The woman had a horrifying smile on her face, showing what little teeth she had left. She put a figure over her lips, telling him to be quiet. She looked around the room and motioned to Eren for him to follow her. She began to walk towards the door, looking back at Eren and stopping for him to keep up.
His legs were weak under his weight as he followed the woman. He slowly took a few steps until the woman opened the door and stepped out into the open world. Eren stopped, and thought about what the woman could possibly want. Could it have something to do with the legend? OR what it was. He then looked at the book that he had forgotten about it being in his hand. He sighed. He did want to know what was going on, but what could the woman want? He decided to follow the woman. As he stepped out of the door the woman had vanished into thin air. He looked around for the woman when the sun rose in the distance. Feeling a bit of amnesia, he went back into the room and sat the book under Armin's bed. 'I could have sworn it was midnight when I was awoken...'