This is the price we pay to live. VOL. 1

Chapter Six.

"I see you draw your final breath! I see a man who gets to make it home alive, But it's no longer you.."

Odysseus looked at the prophet as he finished to speak, Cleopas stood next to him as he didn't dare to speak. They made it to the underworld and it was for nothing just for a prophecy. Odysseeus simply got back to the ship as there was nothing left to ask, but Cleopas stood there.

"What about me? I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory...When's it gonna get me?In my sleep, ahead of me? If I see it coming, do I run or do I let it be? Will I ever find pace in this mortal life after all this sorrows?" The boy asked to Tiresias and the prophet stared at him.

He shook his head as the silence between them fell again. "You aren't going to find rest in this life. I see your future in chains, serving people. Your life is going to be painful and full of sorrows but you find a reason for keep going." Cleopas' breath caught in the back of his throat, he grabs Tiresias' hand in a disperate attempt to make him stay longer. "What about my sister? What about Cassandra? Is she alright? Where is she?" He asks so fast as if was out of breath.

"Mycenae..." Tiresias muttered before fading away. Now, Cleopas was left with more questions then answers. What did the prophet mean with Mycenae?

---------

[[ QUICK AN: Did I just skipped the underworld saga? YES, I'm saving both you and I the tears and the traumas. And thanks for the 200\250 reads, it's means the world to me and I'm so grateful for it, so thanks you so much y'all again :') ]]

"Don't you miss me?" Penelope said sweetly at the sight of her beloved husband. "More than you know." Odysseus answered as he smiled sweetly.

"Then jump in the water and kiss me!" Penelope exclaimed as she gestured Odysseus to jump off the ship.

"Penelope, I've told you this before- You know I'm afraid of the water." Odysseus replied. "I'll make sure that you are safe and sound.Come play with me and our daughter and let's watch our love leave the ground!"

"Oh, I would but I'd be suffering trying to float the whole time." Odysseus said before Penelope reassured him. "I would take the suffering from you!"

"Oh as good as that sounds, right here I'm just fine-" Odysseus contested. "I can take the suffering from you." Penelope responded joyfully.

"You know that I prefer my feet on the ground-" Odysseus denied. "I will take the suffering from you!" Penelope remarked before Odysseus sighed.

"Fine, but only if you answer a question or two." The capitan said.

"Of course!" Penelope answered almost immediately.

"Okay, so let's say I was on the run or hiding- From I don't know Poseidon- And let's say he blocked the way home with giant waves and giant storms!" He started to explain.

"Oh, no!" Penelope gasped dramatically.

"How am I to evade him? How am I to get home? Which route should I take? Where am I supposed to go?" Odysseus questioned to Penelope.

"He will chase you high and low so find a place he'd never go. The one way you'll get home is sailing where he's scared to roam, It's through the lair of Scylla." Penelope answered. Odysseus shook his head at his wife's words "No." he denied. "This is your only way home, The lair of Scylla." Penelope repeated.

"But Scylla has a cost..." Odysseus muttered. "Well, you asked and now you know. Now, jump in the water!" Penelope said happily.

"Ooh, for you, I would die, but can't you let me stay dry?" Odysseus joked and smiled.

"I can take the suffering from you" Penelope said. "You should come onto the ship, We'll jump at the same time!" Odysseus suggested as he gestured to his beloved wife to reach him on the ship.

"I will take the suffering from you." In a few seconds, there she was, standing in front of her husband as he sighs. "Ah, the things I do for you."

Odysseus picks a bow and shots a arrow at Penelope, a loud scream fills the air and the beautiful woman transforms, revealing her true form.

"Let's cut the charade, you are no wife of mine. You've been tryin' to take my life this whole time!" Odysseus yelled as the siren falls on the wooden floor.

"I know underwater, there are packs of you hiding. Yeah, I know exactly what you are, a siren." The siren hissed. "My real wife knows I'm not scared of the water. And my real wife knows I don't have a daughter! But while you were so focused on turning my men into snacks...You didn't notice that your friends got snatched!"

"What!?" The siren exclaimed. Cleopas roughly dragged another siren by the hair and threw her next the one that Odysseus was talking with. He looked at her face, she took Cassandra's appearance. Little she knows that Cassandra was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god  Apollo and fated by him to utter true  but never to be believed. So why Cleopas should believe her now?

"We've been away from home for, about twelve years or so." Odysseus started to explain. " First, we slayed in our own war, and now, we're here with more foes. While on the run from Poseidon; We found a ship with no crew. I realized nearby, there were sirens, singing sailors to their dooms." Cleopas stood next to Odysseus as the capitan spoke.

"We filled our ears with beeswax, that's how we resist your song! You pretended to be my wife so I just played along. I read your lips and phrases, scanning for information. Sirens know about every route and horizon, now I know how to get back to my island."

The siren let out a sob. "Spare us! Oh, spare us please!" she pleaded disperate. Cleopas felt his heart tightening in his chest as he looked at the scene.

"Why?" Odysseus questioned. "So you can kill the next group of sailors in this part of the sea?Nah, you wouldn't have spared me.I made a mistake like this, it almost cost my life. I can't take more risks of not seeing my wife." He turned to Eurylochus and the rest of the crew. "Cut off their tails! We're ending this now. Throw their bodies back in the water! Let them drown."

The sirens let out a loud screams, in a few the water of sea was red and the deck was covered in blood. Cleopas gazed down at his bloodish hands before looking at Odysseus.

He is the man-made monster...He is the one who conquers.