Isolde quickly went searching for a mirror. She could hardly hide her eagerness to see her former self again—after all, who wouldn't long to be young and beautiful once more?
The mirror reflected the image of breathtaking beauty. Though the Sea God had sculpted his divine vessel from an ideal image within his heart, it barely rivaled her natural radiance.
She reached out, letting her fingers brush gently across her own face, then smiled softly.
"It's been so long since I last saw this face. I nearly forgot what I once looked like."
Suddenly, the Sea God appeared beside her, chuckling as he teased:
"Well, you're certainly not the only one. But I still remember it just fine."
Startled for a brief moment, she turned and gave his waist a sharp pinch. The familiar sensation—her fingers grasping him—was something she hadn't felt in ages. Her strength had long since faded.
The Sea God winced in exaggerated pain, his face twisting dramatically. Of course, divine beings were far beyond the reach of mortal strength, but he allowed himself to feel it—just for her.
"Ow! That hurt! You haven't pinched me like that in ages!"
Though he cried out, the smile never left his face. She snorted in amusement.
"From the look of you, it seems like you want me to pinch you even harder."
The Sea God shook his head furiously, like a husband caught red-handed.
"No, no! Of course not. By the way, do you feel... anything strange?"
Isolde skipped in place, testing her body with a few sharp movements. After a careful self-assessment, she grinned with satisfaction.
"Everything feels perfect. My strength, my senses—everything's exactly how it should be."
The Sea God nodded approvingly.
"Good. I did my best to make it feel as real as possible. Any more real, and it wouldn't even be reality anymore."
Simulating an entire world, even if less taxing than actually creating one, still required a colossal amount of energy.
The sheer number of entities—both sentient and otherwise—within the world was overwhelming. Even a god would find it daunting to manage.
Naturally, there were no other gods present in this world. Their existence would serve no purpose here, not for the Sea God.
"If this world were any more real, it would have to be a dream. Even reality can't reach such perfection." she mused.
The Sea God laughed at her words and extended his hand, gesturing grandly.
"Then, my goddess, would you care to take a walk around this world with me?"
Isolde blushed at being suddenly called a goddess. Flustered, she looked away and muttered:
"W–What are you saying? Calling me your goddess out of nowhere…"
The Sea God remained exactly as he was, smiling gently as he replied:
"If you're not worthy of being a goddess, then who is? So, what do you say?"
Had his colleagues—especially the ones who preferred taking female forms—heard him say that, he would've surely been mobbed for making such a bold (and, frankly, insulting) claim.
But Isolde didn't hesitate. She took his hand in hers and smiled.
"Alright, let's go."
⋯
One hundred and thirteen years later.
Though they hadn't managed to visit every corner of the planet, they had traveled through all the most wondrous places it had to offer.
Lately, however, the Sea God had begun to sense that her time was nearing its end. Quietly, he brought her back to the deserted island where it had all begun.
The two of them sat side by side on the soft sand. She leaned her head gently on his shoulder and whispered:
"This… is where we first met. I want it to be where everything ends too."
The Sea God's gaze turned to the horizon as memories surfaced.
"I was drifting across the ocean when I came across a girl clinging to a piece of wood, floating alone in the vast sea. You were barely conscious, but your will to live... it was fierce. Even without awareness, your hands wouldn't let go. That was the first time I realized—you weren't powerful, not in the usual sense. But somehow, you still held on. That strength… it surprised me."
Isolde closed her eyes, sinking into her own memories.
"When I woke up, there was no crew, no ship—just a handsome young man sitting beside me. I thought I was dreaming. Or maybe I'd died. You felt like an angel then, to someone who had just awakened from the edge of death."
The Sea God chuckled.
"An angel? Hardly. I'm a Sea God, remember?"
She pinched his side again and snorted.
"Hmph. Don't interrupt me when I'm telling a story. When I finally learned you were a god, I was honestly shocked. I always imagined gods as these lofty, unreachable beings. I never expected one to be... such a lonely, pitiful guy."
The Sea God laughed and pulled her gently into an embrace.
"You know, you're not the first human I've met… but you are the first one to ever describe me like that. And honestly… you're not wrong." he said.
He was, in truth, a rather unusual god among gods. While the others thrived in their divine realms, untouched by time or sorrow, he alone seemed burdened by the ache of solitude.
"But not long after, I realized I'd fallen in love with that poor, pitiful god. You were sometimes annoying, yes—but everything you did, all those silly little things, were just to make me smile. To make me happy." she continued, smiling softly.
The Sea God wasn't particularly surprised to hear her say it, but he still asked, curiously:
"And how does a little girl like you manage to understand me so well?"
She giggled, though her hand reached up to tug playfully at his ear.
"Little girl, huh? We've been together for over a hundred and fifty years! That's enough for two lifetimes in the human world!"
He chuckled, eyes gentle as they rested on her.
"I never thought I'd meet someone like you in this life—a person who truly cares for me, who fits with me, who brings me joy. In the span of billions of years, only the time I spent with you made me feel… alive. Thank you, for existing."
She wrapped her arms around him. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears as his words sank in.
"Silly. There's no need to thank me. Didn't you love me too?"
They gazed at each other in silence for a moment, and in their eyes, the depth of their love was unmistakable—unchanged, undiminished, eternal.
But even the most beautiful moments must one day end.
Suddenly, she felt something shift within her. A heaviness. A weariness. She looked at him, her voice soft.
"Sea God… I'm sorry. I don't think I have much time left. Would you… would you let me be alone for my final moments?"
His face clouded with sorrow.
Though he had known for a while that her soul was weakening, that it wouldn't hold much longer… hearing her say it aloud made it harder to accept.