Chains of Destiny | Attack on Titan x OC

23

"So. . . these are the walls," the little girl stood in front of a huge gate. 

She had heard about these walls from her father before. Walls that kept a civilization of humanity inside for a century.

"Hey! Kid! What are you doing outside the walls?! It's forbidden!" A soldier shouted as he jumped down using his strange-looking gear.

The girl spun around, eyes wide with surprise. A soldier stood before her, his gear glinting in the sunlight. He wore an orange jacket emblazoned with a rose symbol on his chest. The strange, metallic contraption strapped to his back made him look almost otherworldly. It was the first time she'd seen someone dressed like that.

The soldier's face twisted into a frown, his hand resting on the hilt of a sword. "I'm asking you, kid. Why are you outside the walls? It's illegal."

"I—" she stammered, struggling to find the right words. "I. . . I can't— I can't remember. . ."

The soldier's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, 'you can't remember'? It's a simple question."

Before she could respond, a voice cut through her hesitation. It was low, familiar, and somehow soothing—though the words it spoke were anything but comforting.

"Manipulate their minds, Adrasteia. Just look into their eyes and command them to forget."

The voice was hers. Or at least, it felt like hers. But the command it gave was something else entirely. 

The girl's heart skipped a beat. She knew that voice. It was the one that had spoken to her before. 

She glanced up at the soldier, still staring at her with suspicion. His posture was rigid, waiting for an answer. She could feel his gaze like a weight pressing down on her.

"Look into his eyes. Command him. Erase the doubt, erase the threat."

Without thinking, Adrasteia's gaze locked onto his, her eyes wide and unblinking. The soldier's expression faltered for just a moment. The world seemed to slow around her, the sounds of the wind, and the rustling of the trees, fading into a faint hum.

"Forget," the voice whispered again, and this time, the words left her lips before she could stop them. "千ㄖ尺Ꮆ乇ㄒ."

For an instant, the soldier's eyes seemed to glaze over. His stance shifted, his grip on his sword loosening slightly, as if the command had taken hold of him. He blinked rapidly, a confused expression crossing his face.

"W-what. . .?" he muttered, stepping back. His hand faltered as if the weight of his own body had become too much to carry. He shook his head as if trying to clear away a fog that had suddenly clouded his mind.

Adrasteia felt the power ripple through her, dark and foreign, but she was too stunned to stop it. Her command had worked, but at what cost? The soldier's confusion deepened, his body swaying slightly as if unsure of his own presence at the moment.

"I don't. . . I don't know why I'm here," the soldier murmured, his voice distant. "I—"

"Go back inside the walls," Adrasteia said, her voice trembling slightly but firm. "Forget what you saw. Forget me."

The soldier nodded, his movements stiff and mechanical, like a puppet on strings. "Forget. . . yes. I. . . I must go inside."

With that, he turned and walked back toward the gate, his steps slow and disoriented. He didn't glance back, didn't question anything further. His mind, wiped clean of the encounter, left him oblivious to the little girl standing at the gate.