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Long ago, in a city located in western Greece, there lived a well-known family of five. While the husband and wife were local merchants, their three daughters were the talk of the town. While the two older girls were strikingly beautiful, their younger sister, Shiki, was seen as rather plain in the eyes of the common townsfolk. It was this negative behavior towards her that made the girl a shut-in, not wanting to interact with others. But she didn't mind, having grown used to being in her sisters' shadows.
Of course, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, found Shiki's plight amusing. This was a girl who was so plain, so unappealing, that she was dismissed by so many potential suitors. And yet she was no different than her far more well-known sisters. And on one day, the pink-haired goddess decided to torment the poor girl further, so she asked her son, Eros, for help.
"I want you to make this mortal girl fall in love with a terrible beast," Aphrodite instructed. "If she truly believes no man will ever see her as beautiful, imagine how distraught she will get if the one who loves her is nothing more than a monster himself."
And so, while Shiki was sleeping that night, Eros snuck into her room. Yet upon seeing her in a peaceful state, curiosity overtook his mind and he walked closer. "Huh. I don't get why my mother calls this girl plain," he noted as he reached for an arrow in his quiver. "She doesn't look that bad."
Eros was so distracted by this thought that he momentarily forgot how his arrows were positioned in his quiver. In a moment of weakness, his palm was pricked by an arrowhead. But it was too late. As his hand bled, his curiosity transformed into awe as he instantly fell in love with Shiki. Even if it was influenced by his own arrows, he saw the mortal girl as outright gorgeous. It was this attraction that made him unable to complete his mother's order, so he left without hesitation.
Three years passed since that fateful night and not much had changed for Shiki. She was still shunned for her plain looks while her sisters were soon wed to suitors of their own. Although constant rejection started out as a minor inconvenience, Shiki soon began to hate herself, believing herself as ugly. Eventually she got so fed up with being unable to experience love that she travelled to Miletus in hopes of seeking Apollo's wisdom on how she could find love for herself. But upon arriving at the god's temple, his oracle, a young blonde girl, spoke in his place.
"You are destined to fall in love with a terrible monster," the oracle revealed. "He is no wight of human seed, but serpent dire and fierce as may be thought. He flies with wings above in starry skies and doth subdue each thing with fiery flight. If you wish to meet him for yourself, you must wear mourning garments and wait on a rocky mountaintop, where your beloved will come and fetch you."
Shiki was horrified by this reveal, but she had no idea the oracle had described Eros. Of course, Apollo resented the winged god for making him have unrequited loves. Even with this bitter deception, Shiki agreed with the orders and soon she was wearing mourning garments and arrived at the rocky cliff in question, fearing going against the oracle's orders would anger the gods. But as she awaited to see the monster she was destined to wed, Zephyrus, the West Wind, lifted her up into the sky, never to be seen by her family again.
But what really happened to Shiki was something more pleasant. When Zephyrus set her back on the ground, she soon discovered a great palace hidden deep within a valley of flowers. It felt like a dream, but it was very real. And sure enough, a voice was quick to reassure her worries and confusion.
"This is will be your new home from now on. We will cater to your every need, whatever it may be. You will see your husband once night falls."
"But who is he?" Shiki wondered. "Apollo spoke of him as a terrible monster."
"Some do view him as such, but rest assure he is a good man."
What soon followed became rather routine. During the day, Shiki would enjoy the company of invisible servants. They helped her bathe, eat, and played music for her. Once night fell, she would meet up with her husband in their room, where they would embrace in passionate love as he showered her in praise and wonder. While he would be absent by morning, Shiki was so touched by how kind and loving her beloved was.
But as days turned to weeks, Shiki started to doubt the kindness of her unknown husband. He would never let her see his face, even when she asked one evening. What if this really was a terrible monster she had wed? Would he dispose of her once she was deemed useless? After all, no other man had loved her before. It was most likely a trick played by the gods themselves. And so, she ultimately decided it would be best to kill him before she lost her own life.
That very night, as the supposed beast slept, Shiki approached him with a lantern and dagger. But as she was about to land the killing blow, she gasped upon realizing who she had spent so many nights with. Bright orange hair cascading down his shoulders, inhumanly pale skin, perfect cheekbones, large wings resembling that of a great bird... It was the god of love himself, Eros. Panicked, she dropped her dagger and jerked her lamp backwards, resulting in a drop of oil falling onto the god's chest. His bright blue eyes flew open as he sat up, seeing both Shiki in a horrified state and the dagger she had dropped.
"What is this?!" Eros demanded as he stood up.
"Please forgive me!" Shiki cried out. "I thought the gods had tricked me to love a great beast!"
"So this is how you repay my love," Eros concluded. "Thinking of me as a beast and attempting to slash my throat." He headed for the balcony. "I can't believe I let myself fall in love with a mortal..." With that, he took off into the night sky, feeling hurt and grief in countless ways.
After Shiki returned to the mortal grounds, she proceeded to search Eros in hopes of forgiveness. She soon found herself at Demeter's temple, where she worked tirelessly away with a heavy heart. The goddess heard about the girl's grief from her pet iguana and took pity on her, feeling that this was most likely due to Aphrodite's meddling. It wasn't until the third night when the ebony-haired goddess took action.
"You have suffered for far too long," Demeter spoke. "If you truly wish for forgiveness, go to Aphrodite's temple and speak to her directly. As long as your words remain sincere and true, she will at least be merciful and spare your life."
But upon setting foot in Aphrodite's domain, she was anything but merciful. Even after Shiki begged on her knees, the goddess retaliated by grabbing a knife and slicing off most of the girl's hair and ripping her clothes to shreds.
"Look at yourself!" Aphrodite mocked. "You're nothing more than a wench cursed into society! No man will ever love you! The only reason why my son fell for you was because he wounded himself on his own arrow!"
That realization broke what was left of Shiki's spirit. Her worst fears were confirmed. Her marriage to Eros was nothing more than a sham orchestrated by the spiteful goddess. But she was insistent, refusing to leave until she was forgiven. Realizing this mortal was ever so stubborn, Aphrodite gave in and ordered four different tasks. If Shiki was to accomplish them, she would earn the goddess' forgiveness.
The first task was to sort out massive piles of various seeds at a grain barn and separate them by type. This was to be accomplished before sunset. But Shiki was diligent and started the task right away. But what she didn't know was that Eros was watching her from afar. Even if his heart was still hurting, he still felt strong love towards the mortal girl. So as she toiled away among the seeds, he commanded the nearby ants to assist her. She was confused by the sudden help, but it was able to assist her out in record time.
The second task was to retrieve a handful of golden wool from a flock of murderous sheep with sharp horns. But this time, Shiki didn't need help from an outside force. She spent a good amount of time observing the sheep from afar, monitoring their natural habitat in hopes of figuring out some kind of weakness. Yet while no such weakness existed, Shiki noticed the flock lived near some thorny plants. So while they were sleeping at night, she quietly gathered the wool from those same thorns. Even though she barely came in contact with the sheep, she still passed.
The third task was to fetch some water from the River Styx. While it was tough for Shiki to actually get there, the bigger issue was actually getting the water itself. There was a dragon guarding Styx deep below, a sure sign of guarantee death. But as Shiki tried to think of a way to complete the task, Zeus felt the same pity as Demeter and had his eagle retrieve the water instead. But even with the three tasks completed, there was still one left that had to be completed.
"Persephone is known to possess great beauty than far surpasses mortal women," Aphrodite said. "You are to visit her in the Underworld and retrieve some it for me. You will earn my forgiveness if you successfully obtain it."
That proved to be the most challenging, for Shiki knew the only way to go to the Underworld was to die. But before she did just that, wandering spirits from a nearby tower urged her to stop, telling her there was a better way to enter. So after hearing their advice, Shiki found a cave that served as the Underworld's secret gateway. After paying Charon to carry her across Styx, she was presented to Hades and Persephone.
"What brings a mortal to our domain?" Hades demanded, his red eyes hidden by the shadows.
"I'm here on behalf of Aphrodite," Shiki explained. "She asked me to obtain some of the queen's beauty for her."
"If it is my beauty she wants, I have plenty to offer," Persephone agreed. And so, after having her servants retrieve a box, she filled it with beauty and gave it to Shiki.
But on the boat ride back to the surface world, a horrible thought crossed Shiki's mind once more. Why would Aphrodite request a box of beauty? Wasn't she already beautiful enough? If anything, this last task was probably to mock her plain looks once more. Plus she worked so hard for forgiveness. Surely it wouldn't hurt to have a bonus reward and help herself to some beauty. So before Charon could finish crossing the river a second time, Shiki carefully opened the box in hope of obtaining a teensy amount of beauty. But instead of becoming lovely, a black mist emerged and engulfed her in it. By the time Charon finished her boat ride, she had realized Shiki had fallen into a deep sleep.
That did it for Eros, who could no longer stand to see his beloved suffer any longer. So without any hesitation, he flew into the Underworld and found Charon cradling Shiki back to shore. "Sorry, Eros," the dark-haired psychopomp apologized. "You're too late. Her soul belongs to Hades now." She took her chance to depart, expecting the worst once she returned to her master.
But Eros refused to give up so soon. He lifted the black mist from Shiki and sealed it back into the box. Sure enough, removing the cause of her near-death was enough to save her. Yet when she regained consciousness, her heart sank upon realizing who her savior was.
"You!" the brunette cried out in alarm. "Have you come back to mock me?!"
"Of course not," Eros answered. "I saved you from the clutches of death."
"Why would you do that?" Shiki asked. Her eyes were brimming with tears at this point. "Your mother told me your love was not your own, for you have pricked yourself with your own arrow."
"She's right that it did happen," Eros admitted. "But it was because I was surprised by why she had a petty grudge against someone like you."
"Because I'm so unappealing that men always turn their heads away from me?" Shiki concluded.
"But why?" Eros asked. "I never saw you as plain, even before I was struck by my arrow."
Realization dawned on Shiki. "Then...all those things you had told me..."
"You're beautiful, Shiki," Eros spoke as he smiled softly. He gently stroked her short hair. "Far more beautiful than all the other women in the land. Even if no one sees it, just know that my gaze will always be on you."
With their love restored, Eros allowed Shiki to complete the final task to Aphrodite, who begrudging forgave the mortal for her past sins. But there was still one last thing left to do. In order for Eros and Shiki to stay together, Zeus had her eat ambrosia in a proper wedding ceremony above the clouds. Doing so allowed Shiki to obtain immortality so she would never have to worry about her husband outliving her. And at long last, the former mortal was finally at peace, able to stay by Eros' side for all eternity.