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(Everything was going absolutely terrible for Odysseus. He just wanted to see his wife, was that so much to ask for?)
Zeus floated around the ship, smirking a little too wide to be human, but not too little to be frowning. He hated how all the gods seemed to be off ever so slightly— It always seemed so… creepy. Like something was off, but you couldn’t tell what. The king of the gods finally stopped right behind the Captain, just right out of his view.
‘’Choose.’’ Zeus stated, as if casually. As if he never made Odysseus pick between killing an infant, a boy, a child. As if he never helped make Odysseus fight in a war he never even wanted to be in to begin with.
‘’Choose?’’ He echoed, voice barely above a mumble. Zeus scoffed, as if what he was implying was common sense. Sue him for not knowing what the gods are planning! They never make their intentions clear.
‘’Someone’s gotta die today, and—’’ Zeus did a few laps around Odysseus using his cloud, similar to Aeolus, before landing right in front of him, pointing at him. ‘’You have got the final say.’’
The king of Ithaca's eyes widened, as anxiousness built up in his lungs. Zeus couldn't be doing this to him, right? This- This was a horrible dream. He was under the siren’s spell somehow, or he was still knocked out from that argument, and he was having a horrible nightmare.
“You? Or your crew?’’ Zeus continued, already knowing his answer. Odysseus wanted to scream. To shout. To spite him. Because he knows he used to be capable at it. That’s what fuels him. But he only did that because the gods were WRONG. But this time? He hated to say it, but Zeus had a point.
Zeus stretched his arms, (and he was sure that he was doing that to mock him), while Odysseus stared at the floor, contemplating what to do. He needed to see his wife. If he died here, how would his beloved Penelope know?
‘’Please, don’t make me do this!’’ Odysseus begged to the god, even if it would be useless in the end. ‘’Don’t make me do this!’’ He continued, looking, SEARCHING, to see if there was at least an ounce of sympathy in the god’s eyes. But alas, not even a grain of pity was there. No, it was amusement. (How did Polites greet the world with open arms so much, when not even the gods empathize with him?)
He wondered if it was always bound to be like this. Changing and leaping, believing and spiting— Only to end up back where he was and always will be. A man made into a monster. Odysseus supposed it was technically his fault, he should’ve never trusted anything. Never trusted the gods. Never trusted his crew. Never trusted the rules. When has ANY of that helped him?
Odysseus was never a man. He would never be a husband, never a father. He was always something else. He hated how he was so inhuman ever so slightly— It was always so… disturbing. He would always be an example. A statistic. A lesson. A question.
Was he ever the answer? At least he’s an answer in some way. If you ever asked how does a human become a monster, a comet turned meteor, you would be pointed to him.
Ah, he remembers his friends. Former friends, actually. He remembers his friend, Athena, his mentor— Although she has explicitly stated she isn’t looking for friends. Right. Sometimes, Odysseus forgets that no matter how kind any god or goddess seems, they are under Zeus’s rule for a reason.
Speaking of rules, Odysseus remembered Eurylochus. He was still on the boat, awaiting his verdict. Eurylochus was always loyal, even after all this time. (‘How ironic was this?’ His thoughts asked. ‘You and your brothers ideals have swapped. You call him a hypocrite, but you are no better than him.’)
That was essentially all his friends, aside from his beloved Penelope. He’s considered the aftermath, and knows his choice. This was it, his decision was final, and he would selfishly sacrifice his brothers for his own life.
……
…..
…
So why did he feel like he was wrong?
He knew morally this was wrong. But there was nobody there to stop him, gods, he’s lost his morality long ago. He lost that when he had dropped an infant off a wall. He lost that when he brung a city he didn’t even care about to its knees. He lost that when his mentor had given up him. He lost that when his brother had given up on him. He lost that when Polites died—
A lightbulb lit up in his brain. Oh. That’s why he felt so guilty. He couldn’t believe he forgot about Polites, his friend, one of the ONLY ones who made Odysseus not give up.
What was he doing, anyway? Giving up on his crew after everything? He hated to say it, but he was being as hypocritical as Eurylochus.
Odysseus shut his eyes, sighing, still not facing his men. He couldn’t show his face.
‘’....Captain?” Eurylochus said, speaking up. Odysseus couldn’t see him, but he knew what Eurylochus was thinking.
‘’You have to see her.’’ Odysseus replied apathetically. Gods, he hated how he sounded when he was in stress-induced situations. Eurylochus made a small sound of surprise.
‘’But we’ll— What?’’ His second-in-command replied, cutting off his own sentence. Eurylochus didn’t expect this, it seemed. Odysseus himself didn’t either.
‘’Tell her. Tell her everything that happened.’’ Odysseus said, ignoring how his voice pathetically cracked.
‘’Ody, you’ll die.’’ Eurylochus said frantically, begging his friend to not do this.
The king turned around, smiling. Odysseus felt tears welling up in his eyes, but he barely cared. Because he had it coming this whole time, and his sins were finally catching up to him. He might as well embrace it with open arms.
’’I know.’’
There was anger in the air, and thunder crackled.
‘’This was not how it was supposed to be, but you have forced my hand and made your choice.’’ The thunder god boomed, disappointed that things did not turn out how he planned them to be. (‘How does it feel to have a taste of your own medicine?’ He deadpanned in his mind.)
Zeus launched himself in the air, reaching the clouds. Golden symbols and patterns zapped around his hand, before forming into a giant ball. It had lightning imagery around it. He had to admit, it was mesmerizing for a brutal death. There was shouting and yelling from Eurylochus, who Odysseus noticed was being held back by the other crew.
As thunder, lightning and rain swarmed around the gods hand, Zeus threw it at Odysseus. Eurylochus screamed in protest, rain was hitting everywhere, but the captain, the king, no— The husband of Penelope did not mind. The father of Telemachus scanned the area, noticing a distressed but unmoving owl watching, and a faint and transparent but still noticeable figure with broken glasses watching and smiling. Ah, at least his mentor and friend would see he learned his lesson.
Odysseus spread his arms out in an embrace, greeting the world with open arms one last time, smiling and crying bittersweetly.
(Everything was going finally peaceful and calm for Odysseus. He just wanted to see his wife, and Eurylochus would fulfill that for him. He would be meeting his friends and his friend Polites in the Underworld— Which was too much for Odysseus to ask for. Gratefully, he accepted it.)