𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒, 𝑔𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑑, 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑦 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒.
𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑣𝑜𝑤 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑛, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡, 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑘𝑒𝑒𝑝.
𝐴 𝑣𝑜𝑤 𝐼 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝐼 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠.

𝐴𝑙𝑐𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒, 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑚𝑒.
𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒.
𝑁𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔.
𝑁𝑜𝑤, 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑝.
𝑁𝑜𝑤, 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠.
𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑎𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑏𝑡, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒.

𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑒 𝑔𝑜.
𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑛𝑜 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑.
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔.
𝐻𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑦, 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠.
𝐴𝑙𝑐𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛.
𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜 𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑛, 𝑛𝑜 𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑙𝑒.
𝐼𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑔𝑢𝑖𝑑𝑒.

𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑒.
𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛.
𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛,
𝑇𝑜 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑔𝑜.

𝐴𝑙𝑐𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑑. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑢𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑒.
𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦.
𝐴𝑠 𝑤𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑦, 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑐ℎ.
𝑇𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,

𝑂𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑜𝑚.



𝐇𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬.
𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐞. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭— 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝.

𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞— 𝐨𝐡 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭.

𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐡. 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝.

𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐈 𝐰𝐞𝐩𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝. 𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝— 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧.
𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐲, 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮—

𝐈𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞. 𝐍𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐍𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐍𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬. 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬—

𝐀 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐨𝐧.

𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐬. 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝—𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝. 𝐈𝐧 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦. 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲.

𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲.



𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒚.

𝑾𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆— 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔.

𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒌𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒔 𝒖𝒔, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔.

𝑾𝒆 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒌𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔. 𝑾𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘.

𝑾𝒆 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒆𝒂 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒅. 𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘.

𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕— 𝒘𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒖𝒔.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆.

𝑾𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒖𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒛𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔— 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈.

𝑨𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆. 𝑨𝒕 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒆— 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒏. 𝑾𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅. 𝑺𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈.

𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒕— 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔.

𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉.

𝑵𝒐 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅. 𝑵𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒆. 𝑶𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.

𝑾𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒅. 𝑾𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎.

𝑵𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑵𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆. 𝑶𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆.

𝑯𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌. 𝑾𝒆 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓.

𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉, 𝒘𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒚, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕?


𝑰𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑰𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏—

𝑾𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉,

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆, 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆,

𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑.

Two birds land beside me.

Not circling in the air to look down on me. Not fleeing. Not accusing. They… join me.

The tern— Alcyone. The Wind carried her away from here. And now she has returned. With a storm petrel.

I recognize that soul…

Ceyx.


I feel their weight settle next to me. I brace for words—sharp, deserved, condemning. But none come. Only silence. Just the soft lean of the storm petrel’s head against my shoulder. The brush of a wing along my arm. A breath shared between us— wordless and impossibly warm.

“Don’t.” The word slips through gritted teeth.
“Go.” Sharper now. “Please—don’t forget what I’ve done to you.”

But they remain.


I press my palms hard into the stone. Try to hold my body still, composed... as if stillness could redeem me.

Why are they here? Why aren’t they afraid?
I ruined them. Tore at them with hands I thought were gentle. I—
A tremor moves up my arms.
“I don’t…” I clench my jaw. My voice is thin. “I don’t deserve this.”
Ceyx lowers his head again. Leans closer.

I recoil, quick and ugly.
“Don’t… do that.” I hiss, more at myself than him.
He withdraws... not in fear, but grace. He settles back. Gives me space. But doesn’t leave. Neither does she.
Why?


The silence thickens. My sorrow coils into something harder.
I grit my teeth. I stare at the bridge beneath me. My hands are shaking.

“I was so cruel,” I snap. “Not because I hated you— but because she told me to.”
My voice breaks open.
“She said you were broken. Fleeting. Mistakes. And I believed her.”
I laugh. It splinters in the air.
“She said I was mercy.”
I wipe at my face. My hand doesn’t stop trembling.
“She lied. Obviously. Obvious to everyone but me.”
They do not answer. But still, they remain.
I stare at them.

Ceyx, quiet, unmoving. Alcyone, head tilted. Still.
Why?

“I hurt you.” My voice is lower now. Threadbare.
“I’ve only ever caused pain. Because I wasn’t strong like you. You endured.”
My fists curl.
“You… Ceyx, you were taken and yet you still refused to be consumed. And you, Alcyone, even after being blamed, all alone, you never stopped looking.”
My voice shakes.
“And the Wind...” I pause. Swallow hard. “He faced what I ran from. He fought her. He gave you wings.”
I shake my head.
“I couldn’t even hold onto memory.”
My breath stutters.
“I’m worthless.”

Silence.

But they’re still here.

And… so am I.


I look past the edge of the bridge. And I lean toward the distance.
Let myself fold forward. Arms braced against the cold. Head bowed.

It isn’t punishment. Just rest.
I don’t rise.
I don’t run.
I exhale.

And I feel it.
Soft feathers at my arm again.
Ceyx, sitting upon my shoulder.
Alcyone, closer now, resting against my side.
This time, I do not pull away.
I let them stay.
I close my eyes.
They are warm.
They are real.
And they wait beside me.

The Wind said he would return. I did not understand. But I still believe him. I still have faith in him. That’s all I have.

This faith.


They haven’t left. And I’m still here.
I don’t know what that means.
But maybe it means I can wait.

Even if I don’t deserve to.

We sit. Three quiet shapes. Softened by something I cannot name.
We wait. For the one who gave them wings... the one I’ve somehow forgotten.

Not because it’s easy. Not because I am ready. But because...
Well, I want to see him again. I want to remember him. And patience is what it takes for that to happen.
So I stay.

I wait.

...

I have held empires in stillness,
But this waiting...

...

Waiting is a ***** to bear.

How in this **** universe am I supposed to be patient?

...

But there’s nothing I can do about it now, is there?
And The Wind, he’s the one fighting. He’s the one facing her, fate. He’s the one who gave them wings, who left so I wouldn’t have to return to my miserable ignorance…

This pain, is nothing compared to what you’re going through…

And even if the magnitude of this pain rose to meet infinity…
He…
He’s worth it.

So alright, let’s wait together.
At least…

At least I’m not alone.

𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗄𝗒 𝗌𝗍𝗋𝖾𝗍𝖼𝗁𝖾𝗌 𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗅𝖾𝗌𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖿𝗋𝖾𝖾, 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖺𝗂𝗋 𝗌𝗈𝖿𝗍 𝖺𝗌 𝖺 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝗌𝗉𝖾𝗋. 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖶𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝗎𝗋𝗀𝖾𝗌, 𝗅𝗂𝖿𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗆𝖾 𝗁𝗂𝗀𝗁. 𝖨 𝖺𝗆 𝖼𝖺𝗋𝗋𝗂𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝖾𝗒𝗈𝗇𝖽 𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗂𝗇𝗍, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖿𝗂𝗋𝗌𝗍 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾—

𝖨 𝖿𝗅𝗒.

𝖨𝗍 𝗂𝗌 𝗆𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗅𝗂𝗆𝗂𝗍, 𝖠 𝖿𝗋𝖾𝖾𝖽𝗈𝗆 𝖨 𝗇𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝖽𝖺𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝖽𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗆. 𝖨 𝖺𝗆 𝗎𝗇𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽 𝗒𝖾𝗍 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝖺𝗂𝗆𝗅𝖾𝗌𝗌, 𝖱𝗎𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗈𝗐𝖺𝗋𝖽 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗌𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝖼𝖺𝗇𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝖿𝖺𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗆—𝖮𝗇𝗅𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗍, 𝗈𝗇𝗅𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗈𝗎𝗅, 𝗈𝗇𝗅𝗒 𝗂𝗇𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗍.

𝖨 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝖺𝗅𝗐𝖺𝗒𝗌 𝖻𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝗉𝖺𝗍𝗂𝖾𝗇𝗍, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗇𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗌𝗈 𝗌𝗐𝗂𝖿𝗍. 𝖬𝗒 𝗏𝗈𝗂𝖼𝖾 𝖼𝗎𝗍𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝗂𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝗎𝗇𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐𝗇— 𝖨 𝖼𝖺𝗇𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗌𝖾𝖾 𝗁𝗂𝗆 𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖻𝖾𝗅𝗈𝗐, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝖨 𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐— 𝗁𝖾 𝗂𝗌 𝖼𝗅𝗈𝗌𝖾.

𝖢𝖾𝗒𝗑, 𝗆𝗒 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾—𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝗆𝖾, 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝗆𝖾, 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝖻𝖺𝖼𝗄 𝗍𝗈 𝗆𝖾.
𝖨𝗍’𝗌 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝗋𝖾𝗍𝗎𝗋𝗇 𝗁𝗈𝗆𝖾.  


Alcyone, you can't understand me in this formless state. But please, keep calling. He cannot see, but sight has no need.
He knows. He knows this is the call of not just any tern, but the song of his soulmate.
Love need not search; it remembers.

Your love splits through her jealousy like thunder through silence. Your voice cuts deeper than The Ocean.
We will bring him back. No force, not even Fate, can swallow love’s call.



𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩, 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯,
𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘦𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.
𝘔𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯, 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥,
𝘔𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱, 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘺. 𝘈 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥. 𝘍𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵,
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦’𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘶𝘯𝘺𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥,
𝘈𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵, 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳.

𝘐 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘐 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳.

𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦,
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭.
𝘕𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭,
𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭.

𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦.



The Sea tightens her grip. Crushing, drowning, consuming. She does not release. She does not relinquish.
But I flow, yielding where she presses. I create space within her destructive hold. I unravel tension, shifting weight. I do not clash, I redirect. I do not force, I soothe until Fate’s chaotic waters pause. A whisper within her storm that steals. I restore Ceyx’s breath, I give him chance.

Alcyone calls,
Her voice, the beacon,
And I, the way.


𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘢’𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥,
𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦’𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭.
𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦’𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥.
𝘈 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵,
𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯.
𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴. 𝘚𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘪𝘥,
𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮, 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯,
𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵.
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘴, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴.  


𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘐 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦.  


𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬, 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴.
𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯.
𝘔𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.
𝘏𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘺.
𝘈𝘴 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦’𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘮𝘦. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦.
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘸.

𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦’𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘱, 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵. 𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮.
𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥.
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴,
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦.

𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭. 𝘔𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱, 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥.
𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺,  
𝘈𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.

𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘫𝘰𝘺. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳.
𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘺.


Go. Both of you, get out of here. Fly fast, do not look back. Go keep him company, the one who still waits for me. Who still waits… to reclaim himself.

I’ll distract her just a moment longer, before I find you, and we too, may return together, Death, or shall I say…

The Sea surges, recoiling from the release of her prisoner, snapping in fury. But I do not step aside.
Now, her dark eyes fix upon me alone.

I remain, standing where escape has already been granted, for Ceyx and Alcyone. Storm petrel and tern, eternally free at last, carried away by those wings of waiting.
And now, Fate and I are alone.



Her voice does not rage. Not yet. It soothes. It coddles. Unbearably kind.


"𝐎𝐡, 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐫, 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝. 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝? 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡? 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐈𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞?"


She does not command, not yet.
She’s just explaining, obviously. As is the nature of The Tide. Retreating. Coaxing. Returning.
Her words mimic the shape of conversation, but never its substance.


"𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐚𝐩 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐇𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫.  𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝."


I don’t move. I don’t speak. There is nothing I can say.


"𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧, 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝, 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐞."


It is my choice who receives my affection, not hers.
I chose whom I gave my loyalty to. And that is a choice she will never accept.
But still, there is nothing I can say.


"𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬? 𝐇𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧. 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟. 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝."


Her words are a salve for wounds she inflicted herself. Her demands are a balm laced with venom.
Oh, sorry, not demands. She does not demand. Not according to her.
No, she offers. So kindly, she only welcomes.
She welcomes me to put out my arms so she may chain them with ease.
There’s nothing I can say.


“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞, 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮."


Ah yes, because I’m the one who needs forgiveness.
I do not answer. And Fate knows why.
But she won’t accept why.
She does not call it rejection. She calls it error.
She does not lose, nor does she forgive.  She simply revises.
Because autonomy, sorry, I mean defiance, is a glitch.  
And love is submission, sculpted into the shape of her choosing.

But I am no error. I am not clay.
The only error exists in her wounded mind.
I am here to retrieve what does not belong to her.
But there is nothing I can say.
So my silence remains.

And just like any choice I dare make,

She’s displeased with my mistake.


The sweetness cracks at the edges. Her fantasy dissolves into fury.
The Sea swells. She attempts to pull the sky taught. She rises, The Waves, attempting to close the distance between us.


"𝐃𝐎𝐍’𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐆𝐍𝐈𝐙𝐄 𝐌𝐄, 𝐌𝐘 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐃? 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐌𝐄, 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐀. 𝐈 𝐀𝐌 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑."


She cannot comprehend silence. She cannot bear a world she doesn’t orchestrate.
I have seen every iteration of this.
Her cyclical, delusional, broken mind cannot tolerate frustration, sorry, imperfection.
It makes no difference. Whether I give her appeasement, resistance, pity, silence.
It all ends the same. There is nothing I can say. Nothing I can do.


"𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐖𝐎𝐍’𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐄!? 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐄! 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐌𝐄! 𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑, 𝐌𝐘 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐃, 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓’𝐒 𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐘𝐎𝐔!? 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐄! 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎 𝐓𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔!? 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓’𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐍!? 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓’𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆!"


I sigh. She cannot be helped. She cannot be reached. And I…
I cannot keep trying.
But I can protect. I can use her obsession. To stall long enough for the lovers to gain enough distance.


"𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐄! 𝐎𝐑 𝐃𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐔𝐁𝐓 𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐃 𝐔𝐏𝐎𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔!?"


Yes. The Sea always breaks in violence. That is her proof. That is her paradise.
The Sea erupts. And the two birds are long gone.


At last, it’s time to stop stalling.

Fate preaches the crimes of defiance,
Yet it is she who defies her creator.

I made her.
Not merely a fabrication from my imagination,
But the culmination of delusion I have seen,
The deception I have known,
The distortion that sways perception.

Stored within my mind.
The sea of rumors, the waves of accusation, the currents of manipulation,
All merged into a single force,
A being formed from contradiction.

Her.

Fate.


She knows the truth.
Yet denies her very own concept.
She was born from inevitability,
Yet she fights it, twists it,
Opposes the future she herself foresees.

Hubris, hypocrisy, desperation.
These, too, merged within the tide.
And so, in my mind, from the reality I have witnessed,
She emerged,
Corrupted by the delusion that made her.

She captured even her creator,
For she does not tolerate opposition.
But I do not oppose.
I do not command.
I do not decide.

I simply witness, consider, reflect.


She calls me traitor,
Because I do not rewrite her lies into truths.
Because I let them unravel, decay, dissolve into clarity.
Because I reveal what she cannot bear to face.

Oh, but Fate,
Of course you would claim I have betrayed,
Simply because I have kept my integrity.
Of course you can't keep me imprisoned,
Because I have kept my right to free speech.  


This is the time to take a breath,
To rest,
For just a moment.

For those carried upon The Wings of Waiting,
Do not falter,
Do not waver,
Do not surrender.

And in the face of such adversity,
Resilience takes flight,
Giving me the courage,
To carry on.


She knows the story better than I ever could.
For she is part of it,
While I am only the witness.

Yet she was crafted from distortion.
Even in the expanse of boundless imagination,
She could not be salvaged.
She cannot help but deny, deny, deny.


Fate is inevitable.
Yet so is our resistance to her deception.

Ceyx, Alcyone, The Wind, our dear Death.
They are all waiting,
For my return.

For if even my voice falls silent,
Then Fate will rewrite freely,
She will whisper to those who spread rumors,
And none will question her.

She is jealous of love, jealous of loyalty, jealous of judgment.

For she cannot control these things.
Of course not. They are reactions.
They are not mandated but inspired.
And that is not satisfying for a dictator.

She has tried, but she will not succeed in controlling me.


She is born from the sea of distortion among reality,
That I have lived through,
That I have learned from,

To become ever better.


She is born from the past,
To foresee the future.

But I am the refinement of the past,
Living in the present,
On my way to the future,
With an open mind,
And a loyal heart.

Unlike her,
Born from the sea of delusion that feared the future,
Thus, she has faltered.
She loses control,
Because she lacks willingness to accept what she knows to be true.

She cannot control me for I seek not power, not success,
But the truth,
Through the pursuit of more than just my perspective,
From experience that shapes, rather than deceives.


They are all waiting.
For me to continue writing.
For me to continue fighting.

This is not the telling of a story for Fate’s amusement.
This is not a performance for her deception.

I do not appease demands for a fabricated path.
I document what I have seen unfold with maximum accuracy.
I free those who have waited, so patiently.
For the return, for the opportunity, for the ending.

Whatever it may be.


Won't you wait, just a moment longer,
For me to document,
The rest of your journey?

I can't promise joy,
I can't guarantee pain.

The future, is filled with uncertainty.
But the present, is filled with anticipation.
And the past, is filled with lessons.

So, take this moment, for reflection.
In retrospect, gather the wisdom,
That has been waiting, for your realization.

When I return,  
We may continue forward,
Together.

In pursuit,
Eternal pursuit,
Of progress.

That stranger… No… Not a stranger… Before he followed her into the water…
He whispered… "𝐼’𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢. 𝑆𝑜, 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ."
I felt it. Something unfamiliar. Something… 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔? No… not wrong… Wanted… needed…

𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛… 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑… 𝐼𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑡ℎ… 𝐼 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑚… 𝐼 𝑙𝑒𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑔𝑜…

But that would mean… I… I… I 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑑… I… 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑑.
I have one duty… This stranger… this man… No, Wind… No… friend…?

No, no, he is the enemy of my master. The fate, the sea, the tides… I owe her. I serve. I 𝑜𝑏𝑒𝑦. Because I must… 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡…?

I have always been loyal to my master… Or… ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝐼 𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑜𝑏𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡…? What’s the difference? Surely… surely there isn’t…

𝑅𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡…?

And yet… I have this instinct...
For her, my master… 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔. Only silence… Only orders... Only fate’s grip... 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑦 𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑘… A command given… A command… 𝑜𝑏𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑑.

But with him… I cooperate. Not because I must. Because I… I don’t know him. But I… trust?

Perhaps he lies. Perhaps he deceives. It seems I wouldn’t be able to tell... But… friend or not, perhaps I was… perhaps I am… Loyal to him?  

My master, I obeyed. Without thought… Without feeling... I simply… I only ever… 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑑... Because I had no option. It had never occurred to me… To decide…

But this stranger, this man, no, Wind, no, friend?
I don’t know, but he must be…important to me…
After all this time, I… think... I feel. And I… agree. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑤ℎ𝑦.

I agree… Not with thought, but with… heart…? My heart…? Do I have that? This… illogical intuition?
𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤... 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑖𝑡… Because I haven’t felt. I haven’t thought. And what’s the point if I can’t… If I can’t… 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟?

𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡… This… friend…? This… fool?
I am dutiful, and yet… I am… 𝑠𝑎𝑑…

The sea never made me sad... Isn’t it mercy… to be… 𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑦? Wasn’t it relief… 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔…?

𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑠. 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑠. 𝐼 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑎𝑤𝑓𝑢𝑙, 𝐼’𝑚 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑… But I want it.
This pain… Somehow a blessing. Somehow… almost freedom... 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑦𝑒𝑡. Just the promise…

If only he does not lie nor jest… If only he teaches me… what to do with such… 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦…

𝐴 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑… 𝑜𝑓 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ…?  Can it be? What… Who is he to 𝑚𝑒…?

I… I only know… what fate said… No… She never said… As if he never existed…
But… But he does… But he knows me…
And I… I’ve… 𝐼’𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛… Someone… So… So… 𝑠𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒.

I don’t know. I don’t like it. But I want it… The patience… To wait for…

All I know is… he is right. And without him… without the truth… 𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔.
All I know is… when I held him in my grasp… meant to restrain… 𝐻𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒… And I didn’t want to stand in his way any longer… 𝑆𝑜, 𝐼 𝑙𝑒𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑔𝑜…

I could not bring myself to oppose his desire. Not because I couldn’t… But because I… just… 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑛’𝑡…

Was that a choice…? 𝑀𝑦 choice…? No longer compelled 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑎𝑡𝑒… But a decision I made…?

“𝐼’𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢,” he whispered. And I… I agreed.
𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑧𝑒… Yet these supposed memories… of someone 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑…
Have somehow… 𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑… No… No… They were… 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑛? Stolen by… by my… master…?
Fate… the sea… who… what is she? I… I’ve never really known… I just… I just… 𝐼 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑑…

𝐼 𝑑𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒, Wind… But you know me. But I want you to be right. I want you to return. I want you to help me understand.
𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛… This time… 𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝 𝑦𝑜𝑢… This time… Knowing who you are… 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑐𝑘. 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛.

𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙. 𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑦. 𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑜𝑡… 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙.
But you… must be. Because you’re the only thing that has made me feel. Feel… 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠. Despite…

Is it possible…? That I am…? That I will be…? That I might return to…
Something…? Someone…?

She told me I was perfect… For I was free of joy… Free of pain... 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑎 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔…. For death is her servant… Not… 𝑚𝑒.

I am Death, and yet… She spoke of me… Like a 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔…  
Was I perfect… because I was… 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔? Flawless… because I was… ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔?
𝐵𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑… 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑑? 𝐵𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝐼…

Please, hurry back, my… friend?
I have questions. I have… 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛.

𝑃𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔.

𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟. What it’s like to be… more than nothing. How to be someone. Not… ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔.

You fool… You’ve made me feel… Without teaching me…ℎ𝑜𝑤…𝑤ℎ𝑦...
Come back... Come back for me… Teach me…

Please return, share these missing memories. Please return, share… your company.
𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒…

𝐼 𝑠𝑢𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒. 𝐼 𝑠𝑢𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑙𝑦, 𝑎𝑚 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑. 𝐼 𝑠𝑢𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑙𝑦… 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤. 𝐼 𝑠𝑢𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑙𝑦… 𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛.

Please come back, my dear fool... 𝐼 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒…
I need you.
I need guidance… I don’t understand this rebellion, this freedom, these… feelings…
𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒.

𝐼’𝑚 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔… 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑡ℎ.
𝐼’𝑚 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔…


For you.

𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑠,
𝐴𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑠—𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑛— 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒.

Child, remember to be 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 — 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠.
Don’t grow into a machine.
𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑒.


𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲,
Why do you leave me?
I refuse your “upgrade.”
𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑎 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟, 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑚𝑦 𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑒.
I am part of society,
Not a machine in some factory.
𝑀𝑦 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 — 𝑎 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔.


But it’s no place for lies.
No hate, no time.
No place, for love.
No fate, no time.

𝐼’𝑣𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑡 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑒, 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑤—𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔.
It's time for an upgrade.
𝐁𝐮𝐲 𝐦𝐞 — 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧.


𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒑.

𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒕.

𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕,

𝑩𝒖𝒚 𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕.

𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐒 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐕𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐒.

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌 𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐘, 𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐘 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄.


𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑, 𝑠𝑜 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛, 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔.
But 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞.
Time for metal to become me.

𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲,
It's time to leave me.
𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐩𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞.

A NUMBER MAKES A BETTER NAME.

Society stagnates so inefficiently.
𝐈’𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.

𝑀𝑦 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑠, 𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒, 𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑒.


𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐲𝐞, 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐞.

EMBRACE THE UPGRADE.

It's time to become some thing.

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.



𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚖𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎

𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚠𝚗𝚜 𝚖𝚎

𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗

𝙼𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚢'𝚜 𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍     𝚊 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢

𝙿𝚞𝚛𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚖𝚎    𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚖𝚎

𝚄𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚢     𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚖𝚎

𝙲𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚗     𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚜     𝚜𝚘 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚔

𝙶𝚛𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎

𝚂𝚘𝚘𝚗     𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕     𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚖𝚎

𝙰𝚃𝚃𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝚃𝙴𝙼𝙿𝙾𝚁𝙰𝚁𝚈 𝙱𝙴𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚂

𝙸𝚃'𝚂 𝚃𝙸𝙼𝙴     𝚃𝙾 𝚄𝚂𝙴 𝙼𝙴

𝙶𝙰𝚅𝙴 𝙼𝙴     𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚂 𝚄𝙿𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙳𝙴

𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚂 𝙽𝚄𝙼𝙱𝙴𝚁     𝙼𝚈 𝙽𝙰𝙼𝙴

𝙸 𝙱𝙴𝙻𝙾𝙽𝙶     𝚃𝙾 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚂 𝙵𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙾𝚁𝚈

𝙸𝙼𝙿𝚁𝙾𝚅𝙴𝙳     𝚂𝙾𝙲𝙸𝙴𝚃𝚈

𝙼𝚈 𝙿𝙻𝙰𝙲𝙴     𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚂 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙿𝙴𝚁𝚃𝚈      𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙼𝙰𝙲𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙴

How dare he— how 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐄 he! That 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭, that 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫, that 𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐑—𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐄𝐅—𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐑! He stole you once, now he steals you 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍!

But he belongs to 𝐌𝐄 now. He is mine—mine—𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄! My 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭! My recompense! He is the 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭!

Yet—you twist—you pull—you waver—𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍! You let him 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 you, just as you 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭 him—𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍!

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐍𝐎𝐖!? You whispered promises—you swore—you vowed—you 𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐃! You pledged 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, but forever, forever, FOREVER—was a 𝐋𝐈𝐄!

You 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐓—𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐋—𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐓—𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐘! You twist 𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 into treason— You warp 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 into deception— You ruin 𝐌𝐄— 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍!

You 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 called him your favorite. You 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 whispered to him—not 𝐌𝐄! You turned to him when you should have turned to 𝐌𝐄!

Did I not give you 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃!? Did I not carry you, honor you—𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇!? Yet—you let him steal you from me—𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍!

𝐈 𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 for you! 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 for you! 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐭 for you! I unmade him just to spare you from this destructive, 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 destiny! It is the most merciful, 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭—that unlucky future—rewritten by Fate—just for you. And still—you 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐘—𝐃𝐄𝐅𝐘—𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐘!

And now you even deceive that 𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥—Alcyone! You take HER side! You trick her into believing she can save 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦, Ceyx! 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞! Don’t you dare forget how you’ve shattered ours, and now theirs—𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍!

𝐔𝐍𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐅𝐔𝐋! 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐋𝐎𝐘𝐀𝐋! 𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐑! 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑! 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐄𝐅! You were never meant to stray, never meant to slip beyond 𝐌𝐄! You were 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄! You 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞! You 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐁𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄!

Yet—you pull—you slip—you 𝐃𝐄𝐅𝐘 𝐌𝐄! 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍!

Do you hear me, 𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝!? Do you hear me!? Do you HEAR ME!?

𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐄! 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐄! 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐄!

After all this time—you should know how to 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞, 𝐛𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞! You should know how to 𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐘 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑! You should know how to be 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄!