Notice: I will be using Gigi's animation as the basis for this song. I'll notify you before each chapter begins, so anyone who wants to look it up on YouTube can have the best experience.

Polites looked at Odysseus; he didn't need to ask if he had followed Zeus's order. He wanted to question whether he couldn't have thought of another way, but his friend was suffering, and at that moment, all Polites wanted was to comfort his best friend.

Athena still remembered that moment. As the goddess of wisdom, her memory was perfect; she recalled how she had been more bothered by her father's interference with her pupil than by the task itself and Odysseus's reaction. Now, it seemed the opposite. Athena didn't know why her former student's suffering tormented her so much now, when it hadn't before, but she didn't like it.

Hermes observed Athena's expression; to those who didn't know her well, she appeared normal, but he knew his sister well and could see the signs of her discontent. Hermes smiled slightly to himself and quickly hid the smile with a handful of popcorn. It seemed his sister was beginning to realize her true feelings, and he could hardly wait.

There were many other thoughts in the minds of those present about what had been shown, but the screen began to light up again, and the words "Just a Man" appeared.

I look into your eyes and I

Odysseus was sitting on the floor of the room, leaning against the wall, with his helmet beside him and the child in his arms.
He remembered this; it was one of the few times he had sung on his journey. He sang to try to make the child sleep and also for himself.

Think back to the son of mine

A memory from before the war emerged: Telemachus was a baby sleeping in his mother's arms, while Odysseus smiled.
He felt a few tears gathering in his eyes. Oh, how he wished he could return to those days, to raise his son, to see him grow… How many nights had Telemachus spent waiting for him, having only his mother to comfort him with promises and stories about his father?
Odysseus pulled his son closer to himself. Telemachus was looking at the vision of his younger parents, especially at Odysseus. He was very different from the tired man he had seen before, but he still his father.
Telemachus looked at the Odysseus beside him. He looked not only older but also very different, as if he had gone through a great transformation. But that didn't matter.
He still his father.

You're as old as he was
When I left for war

Penelope and Odysseus stared at each other as he left for Troy, then the image of the older Odysseus was overlaid on the younger one.

Will these actions haunt my days?
Every man I've slain

Odysseus placed the child back in his cradle as he continued singing softly.
"They will," thought Odysseus, remembering all those he had killed personally or with his strategies during the war.
"And the other 600 after the war, too." He couldn't forget all his men; they were his friends, his brothers, and, even if he was haunted for the rest of his life, he needed to remember his men, or the underworld would be even crueler to them.

Is the price I pay, endless pain
Close your eyes
And spare yourself the view
How could I hurt you?

Odysseus raised his knife as he closed the little boy's eyes with his other hand, but he couldn't do it.

Hundreds of sighs of relief were heard as Odysseus dropped the knife, Polites's sigh in particular being the loudest.

Circe hid her sigh with a hand over her mouth. She might not like men, but he was just a child.

I'm just a man

"No more."

Who's tryin' to go home

"The only thing that matters to you."

Even after all the years away from what I've known

"And they probably won't even know me anymore, after all."

I'm just a man

"I'm just a monster."

Who's fighting for his life

"Who is just fighting for his own life."

Deep down I would trade the world to see my son and wife

"Who traded the world to see his son and wife."

I'm just a man

"I'm just a monster."

But when does a comet become a meteor?
When does a candle become a blaze?
When does a man become a monster?

Odysseus puts his helmet back on and turns to the mirror as a shadow appears.
Odysseus leaned closer to the screen.

When does a ripple become a tidal wave?
When does the reason become the blame?
When does a man become a monster?

Odysseus walks toward the cradle and picks up the child by his blanket as he begins to walk along the castle wall.
He starts to gasp.

Forgive me

Odysseus's breathing grows heavier.

(When does a man become a monster?)

Penelope holds him even tighter.

Forgive me

Telemachus climbs into his lap and hugs his chest.

(When does a man become a monster?)

More memories flash before his eyes; he can't hear his wife, son, and friends calling him—all he hears are screams.

Forgive me

And suddenly, another pair of arms embraces him, another familiar feeling surrounds him. Odysseus turns to his other side and finds Athena looking at him with something he's never seen in her eyes before: concern.
He feels a warmth he hasn't felt in a long time, and Odysseus thinks of his mother.

Odysseus collapses in tears of regret and guilt after 10 years of trials.

I'm just a man

Telemachus looked at Odysseus again, as if wanting to confirm something.
Yes, he is still his father.

The screen fades to black.

Some timeline context:

Odysseus is from the end of Charybdis.

Calypso is from the beginning of Love in Paradise.

Athena, Hermes, Circe, Penelope, Telemachus, and Ctimene are from the end of Thunder Bringer.

The rest are from the beginning of Full Speed Ahead.