𝙇𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙨 | 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴!𝘈𝘖𝘛 |

| 13 |

...

You knew it was a bad idea when it popped into your mind.

Not a bad idea, a terrible idea.

One in bad taste, you already hit Annie once and didn't want her to hit you back.

You'd be like that internet meme of the cat that tried to hit another cat but instead of hitting it, it turned on the faucet and got wet, and-

You know what?

You were born to die, if this is a dream, you're not going to do it, right?

Yes, it was probably the dubious-looking nachos; surely in the real world, you must have foam in your mouth.

You almost laugh out of embarrassment imagining your mother walking into your room to take pictures of you and hang them in one of those special frames she treasures so much.

Well, if that happens... you'd burn that frame, that was for sure.

You prayed before throwing the first stone. No, I'm not speaking metaphorically, you literally threw a stone at Annie Leonhart in her titan face.

Even though she wasn't looking at you, she could fight with the shadow of one of the destroyed houses that was now holding another stone just as big as the previous one.

Now, your intention wasn't to come across as the heroine, you were just buying time for the idiot Eren to get up.

At least he would hit her and then Annie would crystallize and-

Oh no.

Wait, Annie would lose several years of her life being crystallized.

Was that right? Contributing to taking time away someone else's life?

She had killed people, that was true, but would that make you just like her?

Would you be like her? Your hands weren't stained with blood, nor did you have a tragic past.

Your life had been full of "luxuries" compared to the characters'.

So, what was the right thing to do?

For the first time since you arrived at this place, your mind filled with doubts. Putting your future in the hands of other kids? Or forging your own by going down a different path?

Your existence had been a mistake. A blotch on a white canvas, a mistake, but the artist was the one who decided if the blotch stayed or not.

You are the artist, this was your dream. A dream you weren't supposed to dream, and as silly as it sounds, you still blame everything on the marathon you decided to watch.

And if this is your dream, could you do everything you wanted? Could you make it a reality?

Was even that possible?

Was that possible for a soul trapped in a giant body?

Was it right what you were going to do next?

'Probably not', you thought as you watched Annie struggle against the rocks being thrown at her from different directions.

But, you could be brave for once and not try to "fix" yourself and cover yourself from the world so that no one knows of your existence.

You didn't want fame or anything like that, but this time you decided to break away from the conventional. You were going to leave the game Matrix-style.

Okay, that sounded very reptilian of you.

...