The pull from Gaia had been overwhelming, like being dragged into the core of the Earth itself. Then, suddenly, it stopped.
Reality shattered around me, and I found myself back in the present moment. Calypso lay sleeping soundly on her bed, and I was stretched beside her as her colored shadow.
But things had changed. I could see it now, Gaia's soul stretching endlessly below us, vast and ancient. The memory of her power made me shudder.
She had been stronger than anything I'd ever encountered, stronger than Tartarus, stronger than Nyx. And I had been completely helpless.
The realization hit me more than ever, I needed a body. Without a body I was weak, I was weaker than I had been when I had faced Tartarus, weaker than even when I was just a simple demigod. I needed to grow, to expand to every shadow, to every soul.
As I contemplated Gaia's slumbering soul beneath us, a plan began to form. Just as I had once traversed shadows in my physical form, I could traverse her soul now. I needed to find someone who could help me regain my body, someone who could help me become the Primordial I needed to be.
But would she wake if I used her soul as a pathway?
Before I could decide, Calypso stirred from her sleep. Her hair was a tangled mess, but her eyes held a warmth I'd grown familiar with over our time together. A small smile played on her lips as she looked at my shadowy form.
"You awake, Ozzy?" she asked, voice still heavy with sleep.
The casual way she said it made my non-existent heart ache. After experiencing her life, being trapped in her consciousness for millennia, I understood her pain better than anyone. Yet somehow, I could still see a wisp of joy in her soul. Her resilience was remarkable.
"Yes, I'm awake," I replied softly.
"Well, that's good," she said, stretching. "What do you want to do today? Maybe we could work in the garden? The moonlaces need tending."
"Calypso," I interrupted, "I'm leaving."
She went still. The smile froze on her face, then slowly faded. Years of experience hadn't made this moment any easier for her.
"Okay," she said, her voice carefully neutral.
"I promise I'll get you out of this island," I added quickly.
She waved her hand dismissively. "Whatever you say."
"I mean it, Calypso."
"The others also meant it," she cut in, her voice sharp. "The countless heroes who've made the same promise? Who've sworn to return, to free me, to remember me?"
"This is different," I insisted. "I promise to do it, just wait."
"And now you're leaving too," she said quietly. "Just like they all do."
"I have to. You know I have to."
She turned away, but not before I caught the gleam of tears in her eyes. "I know. They always have to."
Silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken words. Finally, I did something I'd never attempted before. I willed a part of my shadow to fuse with her soul, creating a small, infinitely colored space within her, a piece of myself that would always be able to find her.
"What did you just do?" she asked, placing a hand over her heart.
"Insurance," I replied. "So I can find my way back to you."
She laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Ozzy."
"Just... try to remember me differently than the others?" I asked.
"As what? The shadow who lived in my own for a day?"
"As a friend who understood."
She was quiet for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Goodbye, Odysseus."
With those words echoing in my consciousness, I focused on Gaia's slumbering soul beneath us. I willed myself to find help, to find someone - anyone - who could restore me. Then I sank into her essence, leaving Calypso alone once more.
Calypso POV
My shadow shifted, twisting for a moment before settling into its natural shape. No more swirling colors, no more the form of a boy. Just darkness against the cave wall. I was alone again.
The dream from last night lingered, refusing to fade like most dreams did. I found myself walking to the cupboards, my feet moving of their own accord. Inside were the diaries - one for every hero who had ever washed up on my shores. At the top sat the oldest one, its leather still as new as ever, the Mist really did wonders.
"A girl never forgets her first," I murmured, pulling out the first ever diary I had written.
Days with Odysseus
The book fell open to the first page, revealing a single line I didn't remember writing.
My name is Odysseus.
"Haah," I sighed, running my fingers over the words. "You also said you would come back, didn't you?"
I closed the diary with deliberate care, my hands trembling slightly. Then, in a burst of movement, I hurled it at my mirror. The glass shattered, fragments falling to the floor in a clatter.
"AAAGGHHH!" The scream tore from my throat, raw and primal.
The invisible servants materialized instantly, their forms flickering with concern. "Lady Calypso! Are you alright?"
"Leave me," I commanded, my voice hoarse.
"But the glass-"
"LEAVE!"
They vanished, leaving me alone with the broken mirror and scattered diary pages. I sank to my knees, picking up a fragment of glass. My reflection stared back at me, distorted and fractured.
"They always leave," I whispered to my reflection. "They always promise to return. And I always believe them."
A drop of water fell on a glass shard. Then another. I touched my cheek, surprised to find it wet.
"But will you be any different?" I said to the empty cave.
Only silence answered me.
I gathered the diary pages with trembling hands, carefully piecing them back together. As I did, I noticed something strange - tiny, colorful shadows dancing across the pages, almost too faint to see.
"Remember you differently?" I laughed softly, bitterly. "Oh, I will."
Outside, Ogygia continued unchanged, waiting for the next hero to wash up on its shores. And I would wait too, as I always had, as I always would.
But somewhere in my soul, I didn't know why i held out hope, that maybe, just maybe. This hero would keep to his promise.
A/N: I'll try to keep uploading but I'm in the middle of exams so yeah, however after July 14th I will be fully done so daily chaps then no matter what, until then I'm gonna try my best lol, also stones, reviews, comments, basically anything is appreciated.