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There are many things she was called. A witch, a vixen. A monster that was given too much mercy when she should’ve been left locked up in eternal suffering in Tartarus.
Maybe the only good thing that came from this situation was that she cannot go anywhere.
As long as she was here, there was no need to listen to it. To the words mumbled from the mouths of the ordinary people, a tale told to scare children who never wanted to leave their parents’ side and amuse bored heroes in their free time.
Calypso, they whispered and told, smiling amongst themselves as if it was a joke that only they would understand. Beautiful, beautiful Calypso. The maiden from a far away island, untouched and pure. Lovely as a blooming flower, brilliant as the most precious of jades.
They say that only the mightiest of heroes could find their way to her. They say that once your name reaches Olympus, once it becomes so great, the gods themselves will grant you a gift that will make it very hard to refuse. A woman of beauty and clement, the nymph that frolics in the bravest of men’s dreams.
Calypso, oh beautiful Calypso. The untouched woman who couldn’t help but fall in love with the heroes that end up on her island. Plenty of men would dream of it, of waking up from a long dream, to a woman singing next to them, taking care of them and holding their hands as they walk through a paradise that belongs only to them.
But opinion has always been divided. For some, she is the greatest prize. There are men who swore they would never choose to leave had they ended up in her presence. Others curse her name, calling her a witch who seduces and takes men away from their homes. After all, isn’t that the reason why none of the heroes that ended up on her island would always choose to leave and run away from her?
Calypso, Calypso…
A monster who hides with the mask of a fairy.
Truly one of the vilest of them all.
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In the beginning, it felt like she was floating in an endless sea.
There was a symphony of horror around her. Sounds of flesh being torn and cut, of screaming men and begging mothers who only wanted to live to see another day. Once in a while, there was the sound of a roaring beast, and men would fall one after another. A sickening image of guts and entrails strewn all over the battlefield as they fell helplessly before beings called mythical.
But she, as the champion of the Sword God, must absolutely not fall in this battle.
There are things far more gruesome than this situation. As horrible as the surroundings painted with the blood of her allies look, dead bodies strewn as far as the eyes can see, of heroes and warriors that she had talked to not even a full day’s hour ago, this was a situation where she absolutely will not lose.
Her memories of how she happened to be lost has become fuzzy in her mind now. It felt like a long time ago, and she doesn’t really know how many years had passed since she last fought.
When she woke up, she did not know where she was.
There was grass under her hands and the soil felt so soft that it felt like she was lying on a mattress. The birds chirped and sang to her a gentle song, lulling her to a deeper sleep and urging her to relax. The sunlight gently bathed her with its warm light, a soothing feeling sinking into her skin and reaching deep to her bones.
There’s no trouble here, that was what everything was telling her.
She sits up, eyebrows scrunched together. The sword that she has never gone without was still firmly by her waist, remaining stubbornly sheathed. Her chiton was the same as she remembers—Not quite as pure white as it used to be. It was already halfway dyed red and had long since dried that it was useless to try to wash it off.
She remains silent. But in the end, the voice of her patron god did not speak inside her mind as he always had.
Still, as a heroine who has won past multiple adversaries, she remained calm and assessed her situation. This level–headedness in a mysterious situation was one of the reasons why the Goddess of the Hunt tried, again and again, to recruit her into her Hunt no matter how many times she had to refuse.
Her attention moved ahead of her, where the keen ears bestowed to her by her god caught a sign of life that wasn’t quite like the animals that are found in the forest. She remains still, but her hand slowly draws down towards the hilt of her sword.
Alas, a figure brushed away the bushes and moved to where she was.
It was a woman, in a tunic so pure that it shimmered underneath the gentle light of the sun. Her hair was braided in the most intricate of ways, as fancy as the princesses of the kingdoms that she once visited, interwoven with numerous flowers that further highlighted her features.
That face…was one that could make even the strongest of men halt and fall on their knees.
But the moment that the woman saw her, she paused from where she was. Her mouth opened slightly and then closed. Multiple emotions passed by her face, but the heroine who had been carefully watching each one took notice that none of them seemed positive at all.
A soft sound came out. It took her a while to notice that it was the newcomer’s voice.
“What kind of mockery is this?”
The beautiful woman takes a step back, her face contorting into the most heartbreaking expression that she’s ever seen anyone wear. No matter how many times she has seen men break down and give up hope in the face of the divine, no matter how many desperate women she saw beg for their lives—None of them made her heart break as much as this person’s expression did.
She turns her head to the skies and raises her pale hands up. She smiles, but there was a shimmer in her eyes that made it clear that she was far from happy.
“Aren’t you tired of this?” she yelled at the indifferent heavens, as if she thought that her voice would somehow reach the high and mighty Olympus. “It’s been years, and the world is slowly forgetting! Aren’t you sick of these games?!”
The heroine, who didn't understand what was happening, loosened her grip on her sword and looked at the woman with her lips pursed. And yet, she said nothing until the other existence lowered her arms and turned her tired eyes to the one who just arrived.
They stared at each other for a long time. Then, the woman’s green eyes fell down to her hands, scarred and marked with her years of fighting and wielding a sword, to the chiton stained with blood that belongs both to herself and those who had fallen to her blade, and to the sheathed weapon that hung securely by her side.
Her features contorted to a pained look. And yet, there was nothing about her that made her any less beautiful.
“What is…your name?”
The wind blew softly around them. The heroine, who hasn’t had to talk with anything that looks as fragile yet firm as the existence that stood before her right now, did nothing but close her eyes.
In her mind’s eye, she could still see the image of an exhausted person yelling at the gods for an answer.
In the end, none of them were given. So right now, she assumed that the best she could do was to give what was deprived of her then.
“Yu Iseol.”
There was the soft of a fatigued sigh.
“Yu Iseol,” the woman’s sweet voice echoed, sounding as if she was repeating an action that has been scripted by the greatest of the Greek theater writers. “Yu Iseol, welcome to my island. I’m afraid there has been a mistake.”
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She said her name was Calypso. Said it was the name that the gods and mortals alike bestowed upon her. A name that followed her ever since she started tending to the paradise that she calls her own.
When Yu Iseol asked why she calls it a paradise, Calypso smiled at her and said, “This is a place untouched by human hands. It is a place where neither gods nor monsters can reach you. What else is a better name to call it?”
But she says these words with such emptiness in her expression that there was just no way that Yu Iseol believed what it was that she was saying.
In fact, maybe in another circumstance, she would’ve been convinced of it. This island knew the kind of peace that Yu Iseol has never known ever since she stepped up and took her title as the Sword God’s successor. There was a gentle song that flits through the air every once in a while, brought to life by the other woman’s lips, bringing life into the night sky and soothing all worries that might’ve plagued her heart. She hears neither the screams of mortals nor the whispers of the gods.
But Yu Iseol wasn’t a fool.
She’s heard about this person before, from a long time ago. In fact, it was more of a surprise that she still clearly remembers the stories about it.
A long, long time ago, a hero arrived on this island and was seduced by the witch that lived in that place. It was only due to the grace of the gods that he was able to escape and return to his wife and son.
Another came, and it was through his wit that he was able to leave the island. He came to tell the stories about a woman who tried to deceive him, a trick summoned by his enemies in hopes of keeping him away from the battle, to steal the throne that he laid his claim on.
Another came, and that same story repeats. Again and again, like a comedy written by the poets that would sing in taverns every once in a while.
Still, something was off.
The woman who claimed to be Calypso did none of the things that she was accused of. Instead, she tended to the injuries that Yu Iseol had that she didn’t even notice. Once she was done, she had resumed living as if there wasn’t another person that now shares her island with her.
During the mornings, she would do some of the chores that she had to do. She would collect grass from the forest and leave them out to dry from the sun, turning them into straw over time, and then weave it into a basket that she can use to collect food. In the evenings, she would water her plants and sing them songs that sounded faintly familiar. At night, she would insist on checking on Yu Iseol’s condition to see if any of her healing injuries are fading safely.
A witch? No, there was something off about that.
Having seen plenty of deceitful creatures and existences during her life, it was difficult to classify this person as one of them. When those beings wanted something from them, they would typically act so pleasant, doing favors and offering help as much as possible.
But Calypso didn’t do such a thing. She didn’t interact unless it was necessary. Sometimes, she would look at Yu Iseol as if she cannot stand being in her presence, but the quiet moments between them during their night interactions is the only time they properly address each other. Even in those moments, no words are traded between them.
Sometimes, Yu Iseol would sit outside and stare up at the moon, an expression as unreadable as the jewels in the sky on her face. But no matter how many times she tries asking about why she was here, her god did not answer her questions.
Once in a while, she wonders if that kind of loneliness was what Calypso had felt whenever she calls out to the gods of Olympus.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Calypso must’ve eventually felt bothered by how much she was watching her. In the end, it was her who first called out to Yu Iseol, who just remained silent by the sidelines while she was tending to her garden.
“Time runs differently here, you know.”
Midnight eyes flickered up to her face. Yu Iseol, whose tunic was changed into something cleaner as provided by the woman before her, looked as immortal as the gods that brought them to this place.
She tilted her head and just kept studying the other person. Calypso slowly lowers her bowl, which she had been using to give water to her plants. She looked at Yu Iseol as if she didn't quite know what to do with her.
“Aren’t you in a hurry to come back?”
There was a soft shaking of the head. Her eyebrows furrowed together.
“Why not?”
Hearing a negative answer was a joke that was almost as funny as the one being played on her right now. There was not a single hero that washed up on her island who did not want to return to where they came from.
She still felt that scrutiny carefully watching her for a long time, like the heroine was looking at her very soul. Her head tilted and her dark hair seemed to cascade behind her. Calypso cannot help but briefly think in an off-handed tone that there must be some relation between this person and the Goddess of Beauty.
Yu Iseol idly taps at her temple and speaks in a voice softer than Calypso’s own.
“It’s in fragments.”
…And it made sense.
Of course that was it. That simple response made her understand why this person doesn’t seem to be in much of a hurry to leave her island.
She doesn’t remember everything. There are gaps in her memory, and those gaps are probably some of the most important things that she carries. The moment that she remembers what she lost, she will undoubtedly leave and not look back anymore.
(That’s how it has always been.)
It was some cruel humor. In the end, Calypso cannot help but laugh to herself, a hand reaching up to cover her mouth as she trembles where she stood.
First, a woman on her island. And now, her memories are locked up and ensuring that she doesn’t leave too quickly. What for? To give her false hope? To give her time to, gods forbid, fall in love with this person?
She loathes them. She loathes the gods who gave her this destiny, the Fates who weaved her loom into something as ugly and devastating as this.
Instead, she says, “Then you should remember quickly.”
Before she turns around and continues with what she was originally doing, she catches a glimpse of it. The look on the heroine’s face that looked like she pry open all the secrets that she was hiding.
That’s something that should stay out of her business. And to do that, she must quickly forget about this incident.
“When you do, the best thing to do is to leave immediately.”
Or at least, that’s what she insisted. But in the end, Yu Iseol seemed to have decided to take her time rather than follow her advice.
It was definitely a surprise when she came up, grabbing the drying grass from Calypso’s hands while she was in the process of moving it from the shed to where she would usually dry it. She was so startled that when their hands brushed, she looked up with her eyes a little wider than usual.
Then, realizing that the heroine was helping, her eyebrows moved together by a couple centimeters.
“What are you doing?”
“Helping.”
She tries to grab the straws again, to take it from her hands. But Yu Iseol has a reaction time carefully honed by her time outside the island. She easily avoided the hands and stubbornly carried it, staring at her with an expression that silently asked the question of, Where should I put this?
“Save your strength,” Calypso says, trying again and failing. In the end, she stood helplessly and had no choice but to let the other woman help her with her daily chores.
It wasn’t the first time. Rather, it was only the beginning of Yu Iseol helping her with every little thing that she does in that place. It was still quiet between them, but their interactions slowly increased by the day.
Calypso didn’t understand. No, she can’t figure it out at all.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
They came slowly to her over time; the things waiting for her outside this place. It was the mundane things at first. She witnessed how she met a god turned mortal, punished due to something he had done selflessly. She slowly remembered how that god took her hand and taught her how to fight, becoming a force more powerful than most male heroes that tried to impose upon her.
“Power is not limited to one’s gender,” he tells her, eyes glowing with wise red eyes, engraving his words deep into his words. “But it comes with a price regardless.”
The fragments of the past would only come to her through dreams. Recalling the words of Calypso about the time she’s spent in this place, she wondered how much time would pass if she were to wait until everything comes back to her.
There is a lot that she knew from the state that she arrived in. The numerous injuries and the scars in her body speaks on things that are better left in the past. Sometimes, she wonders if it will really be better if she remembers everything, rather than remaining ignorant of everything like how she is now.
And then a voice spoke to her, just next to her ear.
“...Is something wrong?”
She turns her head. Calypso was looking at her, some of the flowers she recently plucked were resting in the basket she weaved with her own two hands. The expression on her face was one of worry, and her eyes insistently ran over her features as if she was trying to know if there was a problem that she can detect simply by looking.
She stares at her for quite some time, long enough that the other woman ends up clearing her throat and looking away first. She took some steps back and turned in the opposite direction. It was no longer visible from the angle where Yu Iseol stood, but she had to take a breath, a mild flush of pink dusting her delicate cheeks.
“I have a question.”
There was the sound of a throat being cleared.
“Yes?”
Her hand slowly drew down to the hilt of her sword, in silent debate over something.
“How much time passes?”
Ah.
She sees it. The exact moment when Calypso’s expression shuttered, recognizing the meaning behind her words. Her hold on the basket tightens ever so slightly. Once more, she slipped back on the face that she has worn from the beginning.
“I don’t know,” she answers honestly. “Because I’ve never left, I cannot really tell the exact amount of time.”
“If it has been a long time, how are you still alive?”
“Me?” she smiles, as if the question was amusing. “Why dear, that's because I'm immortal.”
It was spoken so calmly, as if it was something that was natural. But Yu Iseol, as well, hadn’t been surprised by the answer that she was given. She already had an inkling about it, from the tales about this person that was told from one person to another. There was another reason she asked, though. And it was because she wanted to confirm something.
Whether or not it was true. If this person, someone who may have hardened her heart but had been nothing but nice to her during her stay here, was truly like the monster that she was rumored to be.
A witch? A vixen?
A monster?
No. It was just one of the many immortals in the world. It explained the ethereal, otherworldly aura that she exudes. Perhaps a being close to a god, but not quite? Nevertheless, she must’ve not been anyone that originally wished harm, unlike how she is constantly rumored to be.
She watches every miniscule change in Calypso’s expression, feeling a stir in her heart. What was it? Pity? Guilt? Or perhaps…a wish to do something more for her?
“I—”
She was mercilessly cut off.
“You’re healing well, your memories will fully return soon.”
Then, without waiting for her response, Calypso turns around and walks away. Yu Iseol, whose words barely missed the arm that she grabbed by a few millimeters, remained standing there for a long time, just looking on with a complicated expression on her face.
Somehow, it felt heavy.
The prospect of going away. And that kind of expression that she wore.
It took a while for her to wear down some of the guards that Calypso had built around her heart. But at the slightest indication that she might be leaving soon, she had immediately put all of it back up. She smiled and responded to what Yu Iseol does as she always does, but there was a distance between them once more.
She didn’t like it. She really, really doesn’t.
She doesn’t really know how long she spent in that place, but that short while had been enough for her to appreciate the immortal’s presence. The tiny moments between them, mundane and calmer than anything she’s ever experienced before—It was something she finds herself coming to treasure.
So the natural thing to do was talk.
At night, Calypso would sit outside and just stare at the skies. So Yu Iseol came to sit with her, bringing her knees closer to her chest and taking a look at the sight that the other woman was watching.
Calypso did not make any indication of acknowledging her presence. Instead, they sat together for a long time, in a silence that was both stifling and uncomfortable.
Hm. This, too, was something she didn’t quite like.
So without anything else, she raised her scarred hand. Slowly, gracefully, her fingers traced a shape in the sky, keeping her eyes up without blinking.
The action caught the attention of the immortal next to her. Calypso slowly looks at her hand, unable to help the curiosity that bubbled within her as she sees the strange gestures. When it stopped and the hand was lowered, her gaze also trailed down, looking at the face of the heroine who hesitated to meet her gaze.
This time, it was Yu Iseol who started the conversation.
“The Great Bear,” she spoke softly. “Do you know of it?”
It was quiet, as if the whole world had fallen silent to give their conversation a moment of privacy. As if there was no one, no one else in the world but she, and her.
Quietly, cautiously came an answer.
“...No.”
“In the past, the Sky God fell in love with a mortal woman.”
Green eyes finally met midnight ones. It was the most that Yu Iseol had spoken, but her insistence to be listened to instead of the one listening for once made sure that it won’t be all that will be said.
“But the Sky God already had a wife, the Queen of the Gods. When she found out about the affair, she turned the mortal into a bear and forced her to roam as a beast that only knew how to hurt.”
“...”
“Her son…he didn’t recognize her. So he almost killed her. The Sun God who couldn’t bear to watch took pity on them and made them part of the stars, untouched by anything else that might try to hurt them.”
Calypso’s expression twitched slightly. She turns her attention back to the sky.
“...Then, which one of them are they?”
There was another period of silence. Rather than answering, Yu Iseol only held out a hand. The other woman turned to look down at it, the question left unsaid.
“I will show you.”
Pause.
And then…
A soft hand rested on the calloused ones. The heroine turned her attention back above, guiding their intertwined hands to trace the shape of the Great Bear in the dark, painted canvas.
It didn’t end with one. Yu Iseol moved their hands again, tracing a different shape.
“Andromeda, the woman who became the sacrifice, for her mother offended the gods.”
“Orion, the great hunter who killed and killed until he angered the Earth.”
“Heracles.”
One after another, the heroine told her the stories of constellations and stars once told to her when she was young. And in each one, Calypso listened with rapt attention, her eyes sparkling at the tales that she had never heard before due to being locked in the island.
It was only when their arms had finally grown tired did she gently let go of their fingers, making sure it fell quietly, safely, back to her lap.
And then it was quiet again.
Calypso, who had closed her eyes at that moment, quietly mumbled, “I thought it would’ve been fine.”
“...”
“Men after men come to my island, and I always end up falling for them. They tell me sweet things, give me their heart each time.”
There was a painful squeeze in her chest, which doesn’t quite beat similarly to how mortals’ do, but still feels the same things otherwise.
“I regret it each time, because they would leave without fail.”
This was a story familiar to her, but the version told had always blamed Calypso. Therefore, listening to the quiet mumblings of the lonely immortal who sat next to her, she remained silent and simply…lent her ear.
“I thought the gods were having a laugh when they sent me a woman. Like they were mocking me this time. But…But…”
Her voice trailed off. There was something choked in the last syllable she uttered. And in truth, there was no need for her to finish what she wanted to say. Because nevertheless, her sentiments were already heard and kept to heart.
Still, she made sure to bring it to life.
Fingertips touched the back of Yu Iseol’s hand. Calypso had her head bowed, refusing to make eye contact as if she was ashamed that the face that she would show lacks the dignity befitting of an immortal.
“I don’t think I want you to go either.”
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
There was a man on the shore near the garden. He looked like he has been waiting there for quite some time now.
His presence felt familiar to her, even though his appearance itself wasn’t anything that she could recall from her almost-complete memories. He was a man with a face that could be said to have been carefully sculpted by the Fates themselves. Handsome enough to have made the Goddess of Love fall for him, despite the seriousness of his expression. There was a smoking pipe loosely held on his left hand, which he lowered when he saw her.
He looked as if he had been waiting for Yu Iseol to see him as well. He tilted his head and evenly met her eyes. There was something about it that reminded her of someone.
It came to her quickly, despite not having to think much about it. Yes, those eyes were similar to Calypso’s.
“Yu Iseol,” he says, but his voice was normal, nothing like a god’s. “We’ve met before.”
Everything about him was familiar. If his eyes were similar to the immortal of the island, then his being as a whole felt like something she had known very well in the past. In her memory, there was only one person who felt like this.
She dips her head in respect as she concludes who he is.
“Snake God.”
The god smiled at her as if there was something funny about her greetings.
“Child, why are you talking so formally?” he asks, a hand reaching up to touch his chin. “You’re my Hyung-nim’s champion, so you could talk a little casually, yes?”
She straightens up again, but doesn't grace him with an answer. That’s right, from her recollections, this was the same god who willingly allowed his own immortality to be stripped from him as well just so he can accompany her god to the mortal world, walking alongside him. He treated her similar to how the Sword God did, similar to how he treated everyone else in the tiny group they called their family. There was truly no need for formalities.
She stares at him for a while, and he only looks back patiently, as if waiting for her to ask first despite him being the one who came to seek her. It was never easy with the two of them. He raised his pipe again and started smoking.
Relenting, she asks, “Why are you here?”
“It’s approaching a month since you vanished.”
“...”
“As we speak right now, more time is slipping, and the war is getting worse. Hyung-nim came up to Olympus to convince the Council to allow you freedom. Tell me, have you made up your mind?”
Yu Iseol fell silent at the question, suddenly finding the words drying from her mouth. There is something echoing in her ears, the voice of a person that wasn’t anywhere near them now.
“I don’t think I want you to go either.”
She looks around briefly to see if they are alone. Her action didn’t go unnoticed by the god.
“Calypso is busy somewhere. She will not see us until our conversation is done.”
“...I see.”
The heroine turns her head again, looking troubled.
“I don’t understand something,” she admits.
Looking at her expression, the hesitation despite knowing what it was that she left behind outside this island, Tang Bo understood immediately what she was trying to say. So he spared her breath and answered before she could continue, giving her mercy from speaking some difficult things.
“Do you already know why she is here?”
There was a shake of the head. Thick bouts of smoke blew her way, but none of it actually reached her.
“In the past, my grandfather did an unpleasant thing, and the gods have always hated him for it.”
“...”
“They refused to forgive anyone related to him that is not a god. Therefore by relation, Calypso was taken and locked up as a cruel punishment handed to her by Olympus. Many men would be sent to her island, but they will always inevitably trample over her heart and leave her hanging.”
“...”
He smiled at her, but there was no humor in that expression.
“Unfair, isn’t it?”
“It is,” she agrees, eyes flashing with resentment that she quickly hid. In the past, her god taught her to tread with caution, because there are some things that he cannot protect her from.
The Snake God nods. “Then, do you understand what you must do?”
Yu Iseol shakes her head, as if she still doesn't know. “But what did it mean when I was sent here?”
“What did it mean?”
She nods her head. The god’s eyes gleamed mischievously at that, like he found great entertainment after seeing something he didn’t like very much.
“It doesn’t mean anything different. It just means that she’s someone who can fall in love with you.”
And that was a confirmation that she can’t decide what to feel about.
She heaves a sigh and clasps her fingers together. Staring at it, she can almost feel the mirage of the warmth of the fingertips that rested over it just the night before.
“I’m destined to leave?”
“No,” the Snake God shakes his head, shaking his pipe slightly. “It’s your choice to go or not. It’s always a choice.”
“Then Calypso—”
“Ah, ah. Don’t ask me about her,” he stops her swiftly. “And don’t call her that. It’s a name given to her by the gods and mortals, but it has never been hers in the beginning. It’s something you should find out by asking her.”
“...”
“And before making a decision, you should speak with her first.”
The god, the man she had known as Tang Bo in the past, smiles at her. As if he already knew how this would end, and it would all conclude in a way that he would find himself liking.
“Decisions feel less burdensome when shared with others.”
“Wait—”
But before she could call out, he had already vanished, leaving nothing behind but the smell of herbs and medicine in his wake. Where he once stood was the figure of a startled Calypso, who almost dropped the straws in her hands.
“Where did you come from?” she asked, looking a little pale. “I didn’t see you.”
Staring at her like that, after having just made peace with her, she realized just how difficult this might be.
“Let’s talk.”
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
In the past, Calypso wasn’t a witch or a vixen. No one dared to call her a monster. And most importantly, Calypso wasn’t Calypso.
She tells it to Yu Iseol like a heavy confession, refusing eye contact as if she feared what she would see if she looked up.
Tang Soso, that was once her name.
And just as told to the heroine, her fate was one given unjustly. Although there was really nothing that she’d done wrong, she was doomed by a curse that mercilessly crushed her heart no matter how many times she tried to pick up the pieces.
Looking at her right now, a woman who looks like she’s far too exhausted now, Yu Iseol found her heart aching.
Calypso? Sure, the name was pretty. It was a name bestowed by the gods, but it was also a name that carried too heavy of a burden.
Tang Soso? She’s seen glimpses of her in the time she spent here, in the smiles and the hidden laughter that she stifled when she thought no one was looking.
She seemed to have understood the decision when their conversation was steered to her life story. Calypso—Tang Soso looked like she was now talking about the life of another person, as if it was a story that she, herself, did not have to suffer for countless, unknown numbers of lonely, miserably years.
She talks a little, no. She talks a lot about herself. There were tears in her eyes like she was trying to make the most out of the conversation before their time inevitably ended.
She saw it in Yu Iseol’s eyes, the same one that everyone else had had.
It won’t be much longer before she, too, goes.
The heroine now remembers everything, the duty and family that she had left behind when she was brought to this island. Her curse has always been fulfilled without fail, and just because the hero was a woman doesn’t mean this will change so suddenly.
Her disappointment must’ve radiated from her, no matter how much she tried to hide it. Because so suddenly, the sword hanging by Yu Iseol’s waist was removed from where it was. And it was held up to her, waiting for her to take it.
Tang Soso glanced up at the heroine, throat having gone dry.
“What are you doing?”
“I’ve decided to go,” Yu Iseol answers.
There was something there. A stabbing feeling in her heart and something stinging at her eyes. Still, she refused to shed the tears.
She already knew this. She already expected this.
“Then why are you giving this to me?”
A sword was a hero’s lifeline on the battlefield faced with horrible monsters and spirits. To let go of it, to give it to someone who has no use for it—It was akin to a declaration of their own death.
But Yu Iseol did not falter. She maintained her steady gaze, but it softened the longer she looked back at the other woman.
“I will return.”
It was an answer that came completely unexpected.
“That’s—”
“I don’t know how yet. I don’t know when. But I will. I really will.”
She was a warrior. She was someone who doesn’t know how to effectively use her words in order to speak out her heart. So this, giving her life to the person she is making a promise to…it was the best that she can do.
“So until then, hold onto this for me.”
“You’re—”
Tang Soso’s voice trembled. Her legs felt weak, and she stumbled forward slightly as if she couldn't quite balance herself.
“Why are you doing this?”
Yu Iseol watched her, unflinching, unrelenting.
“You said you inevitably fall in love.”
“...”
“Don’t think it was just you.”
“...”
“When I come back, I will tell it to you again. Properly, outside of this place. Then, I will show you more stars you haven’t seen, and let you walk on mountains you’ve not seen in a long, long time.”
That’s—
“I’m only mortal,” she continues, but there was no shame in it. “But it will happen. So take this sword, and it will be our promise.”
…
You, of all people she’s seen, are probably one of the worst heartbreaks that Tang Soso will ever have.
Still, she finds herself thinking that it was a heartbreak that she will untiringly pick again and again.
A hand rests on the sheathed sword. The weapon was taken, the promise was sealed, and the heart was, for the last time, given away to another person that will eventually leave her again.
It’s a little different from what she’s used to.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
The truth is, despite all her years of living, Calypso is still a fool.
She was someone who had easily fallen for the promises, regardless of whether it was empty or not. She was exactly the kind of person who would keep waiting for a long time, clinging on to that faint thread of hope that was cast out for her to hold on, claiming promises of salvation.
Maybe if she had let go quickly, then her heart wouldn’t have shattered to so many pieces.
But there she still was, sleeping with the sword next to her, waiting for the other half of a promise to be fulfilled. And in her dreams, she sees images both beautiful and horrifying, of beautiful days and of blood that was shed by the same person she was waiting for.
She repeated it a hundred times to herself a day, as if trying her best to not forget it no matter what.
Yu Iseol.
Yu Iseol.
Yu Iseol.
Yu Iseol.
At last, a figure stood on her shore. She looked a little older now, but the beauty she had hadn’t diminished by the slightest. She looks a bit tired, as if she hasn’t slept for days. But there was a faint shimmer in her skin that doesn’t quite feel man nor mythical.
She smiles, similar to how the image in Tang Soso’s dream does. So for a moment, she cannot tell if she was just seeing things and was stuck in yet another Elysian dream.
But the heroine had held out her hand, waiting for her to put hers in it like she had a long time ago, when they had traced shapes of the stars and told the origin of each one.
“I’m back,” she says, smiling faintly. “It took some time.”
And Tang Soso—
She was running before she’d known it, the largest smile on her face and the first genuine laugh she had made in what felt like a handful of millennia.
“Welcome back.”
-
end.