Secrets....

𝐉 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐤

𝙰/𝙽 𝙸'𝚖 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 '𝙹'.

«🇵 🇪 🇷 🇨 🇾 »

"Percy. Percy Jackson." She acknowledged.

"Calypso."

We stared at each other for... I don't know. Seconds? Minutes? Maybe even hours? I just gazed at her ageless face and time seemed to freeze.

I searched for any hint of emotions in her eyes. Anything. But there weren't any.

No, wait. I got it.

I sensed a spark of thankfulness in her eyes. A glint of wistfulness. And a strand of curiosity.

Suddenly, something seemed to strike us both and we ran towards each other. I hugged her tightly. She smelled of cinnamon. A smell I had grown fond of over the weeks I was with her. She returned the embrace with equal longing.

We finally broke apart and smiled. It felt nice to smile. Even if it was a sad smile.

Then I turned towards the god again as my irritated look returned on my face.

"Well? Apollogize." I said earning a giggle from Apollo but he quickly hid it with a cough.

All the gods except Zeus turned to her muttered a quick "We're sorry. We hope we can make up for the mistake we made by cursing you."

I raised an eyebrow and said "You too, Zeus. And nicely, please."

"I apologize" He mumbled.

"Loudly."

"Sorry." A little louder this time.

"Like you mean it."

"I AM SORRY. I WILL DO ANYTHING TO EARN YOUR FORGIVENESS. ANYTHING JUST NAME IT. I APOLOGIZE." He screamed.

I gave off a satisfied grunt. Calypso watched all this with amusement basically written in red bold letters across her face.

"Oh- I accept your apology. Really. Though it would be nice if Zeus bowed." She hinted, obviously loving the opportunity.

Zeus turned with a look that screamed 'Can you believe her?'

"Zeus" I warned.

"Pfft- B-but I mean- she- just" He stammered "FINE!"

He bowed his head down and announced "I apologize Calypso. I admit, what I did was not fair for you."

I had to double-check if it was really Zeus and not some Eidolon possessing him.

With a couple of apologies, hand-shakes, hugs, and flirtatious winks *cough* by Apollo *cough*, I proposed her a place at camp.

"Percy, I would love to. But I want to travel a little before settling somewhere. After centuries on an island, I really want to explore the world. At least 2 years. I hope you understand. I'm sure that a camp is a nice place but we both know I don't belong there." She explained.

As much as I hated it, I knew she was right. Camp half-blood was a place for demigods. Half-human, half-gods. And she was a pure Titaness.

"I understand," I said, not trusting myself with any more words.

"One last thing. Please, explain this to Leo. He can be stubborn."

"Of course. Safe journey."

She smiled back and nodded to Zeus who proceeded to flash her somewhere else. Somewhere that is not Camp half-blood nor Camp Jupiter. And definitely not Ogygia.

I sighed. It was a quick farewell. A little too quick for my liking. But I was used to unplanned goodbyes by now. Eventually, everyone leaves. Prepared or not.

I gave Zeus a warning look. Somewhere, within that look, was a message hidden. A reminder to keep the other two promises. I hope he spots it before it's too late.

I gave a nod to Hades and Hestia, turning to leave. As I left the hall, I used my powers to slam the door behind me.

Elsa, I see it's fun to do it.

On my way to the elevator, I greeted a couple of minor gods. They waved back. Some even bowed. I also watered Leneus.

I stepped into the elevator, pressed the 'G' button, and turned to the closing doors. Before they were shut, I caught a glimpse of the entire city. And it brought stinging tears to my eyes.

It was once beautiful. Its elegance could leave even Annabeth astonished. Crystals would glimmer in the sunset. It was supposed to be the most beautiful thing in the world. Heaven. Home of the gods. But now?

It was in ruins. Most of the shrines were being used as hospitals along with the actual infirmary due to so many gods being injured during the war. On one side, there was a whole jungle. Every single tree of it was the soul of a satyr. The rare unharmed gods were there, but they were all battle-hardened. Scarred by so many deaths. Traumatized by the massacre.

I had tried to fix these things. I thought all of it was fixed so I settled in CHB. How can I think all of it was over when so much was still left destroyed?

All the dreams that were crushed. All the blood that was witnessed by so many innocent eyes. The trauma all of them had to go through. All the hands made for plucking delicate flowers and caressing their loved one's face but instead were forced to pick up a weapon and pushed into war.

After all the things they faced, how did I expect them to turn normal? They have seen it all now. There was no going back. By that war, I turned thousands of innocent children into either power-hungry monsters or battle-scarred soldiers. They aren't kids anymore. I crushed their childhood.

They were never supposed to be heroes. Yet I forced them into being legends. They ended up being nothing. All of them either dieing or wishing to die.

They survived but none of them made it out alive. They will survive but not live. And I'm the reason that put the difference in it.

I feel so cruel. All the love I promised, all the safety I guaranteed, all the happy endings I mentioned, all the sweet lies I fed them were all fake. All fake. All fake. Just for the sake of war. A war that wasn't even about me.

The elevator dinged as I reached the ground floor. I skidded to the table where the man sat lazily reading a porn magazine. I threw the key at him and vapor traveled to my cabin.

I uncapped Riptide and watched it draw blood from my skin.

Another typical day for me. Full of cutting and seeing the faults in me. But I have to put a limit today. I have promised my friends I'll come. They'll be expecting me. I'll go to them.

But right after I've lost enough blood.

𝙰/𝙽 𝙰𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛! 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛. 𝙾𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢 𝚝𝚘𝚘. 𝚃𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔.

𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐!

𝙱𝚢𝚎...