God of War's Inferno: A New Path
A crossover fanfiction by Lily Nadesico
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Hello, everyone!
It's been quite a long time ever since I published a brand new fanfiction on this site. And, truth be told, I have been slacking off in updating certain stories. I apologize for that, and I can assure you that many of my stories, especially my Pokemon epic, will resume as soon as I have a little more time. For now, I am getting quite a few ideas, and I have this overwhelming urge to write them down on paper. Or, in this case, on a text file.
This one story isn't anything that great, if I have to be frank. It was something that crossed my mind one day, and I decided to write it for fun, hoping that someone else might like reading it just as much as I hope to enjoy writing it. Therefore, buckle down and get ready for jumping back in time, to an era where the Olympian Gods ruled over Greece, and a lone cursed Spartan warrior terrified the lands and the seas. Of course, I am talking about Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta, slayer of gods and bringer of destruction.
Yeah, I know, it's a rather unusual story to write for me. After all, I tend not to like villain protagonists, but Kratos is one of the few exceptions to the rule. For some reason, I can sympathize with Kratos, in spite of the terrible things he does. Maybe because the God of War games are very much a matter of Evil vs Evil, or maybe because I can actually feel sorry for him... well, in any case, in this story, Kratos will get a chance to change his fate, and you can bet he's going to stop at nothing in order to do just that. However, as Kratos makes an unexpected choice, unforeseen consequences will arise, which not even the Oracle of Delphi or Zeus himself will be able to predict.
God of War, Dante's Inferno and all related names are trademark of their respective companies. This story has been written for entertainment purpouses, and the writer gains nothing from it.
Well, this is pretty much all I can say at the moment. I hope you'll find this first chapter to be interesting... and I hope you will be kind enough to leave me a review! See you soon!
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Chapter 1 - Ripples
"I... I have come too far to fail!" a weary yet determined voice came from the utter darkness that invaded the shrine, as Kratos' supernaturally honed senses felt his invisible opponent throw himself at him, and the audible sound of metal scraping upon metal told him that a sword was being unsheathed. Scowling in annoyance, the warrior known and feared throughout the whole Mediterrean as the Ghost of Sparta grabbed the Blades of Athena and sharpened them one against the other, getting ready to counter the attack. With the patience of a hunting wolf, Kratos waited for his opponent to come closer and skillfully dodged a slash from his sword, easily predicting where the blade would have cut the air even without the luxury of vision. Then, Kratos brought his arm forward and delivered a powerful blow to his unseen opponent's midsection, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him with his back to the barrier of colored glass that made up most of the dark room's wall. Then, with a powerful lunge, Kratos threw himself at his opponent and held him in a deadly grab, before launching himself at the fragile glass and shattering it with a deafening sound! The opponent let out a pained grunt, and both he and the former Spartan general fell for quite a long while before landing harshly on a solid marble pavement, several feet below them. In his battle frenzy, Kratos drew one of his twin blades and prepared to drive it into his stunned opponent's flesh...
But, in a moment of clarity, the ferocious Spartan warrior managed to take a look at the one who had tried attacking him, and the stunning realization stayed his hand as he saw he was throttling a soldier wearing the typical arms and armor of one of his former warriors, many of whom had fallen in the ill-fated attack against Rhodes! In fact, Kratos was able to recognize him as the last survivor of his army, the one who had greeted him when he was back from the realm of the dead.
"You?" Kratos asked, in a mixture of incredulity and rage.
The Spartan soldier caughed a little as the fallen god of war relinquished his hold upon his throat, and after getting some breath back in his lungs, he looked up at Kratos. "My... my lord..." he mouthed, almost as if he was ashamed at not having recognized his mighty leader in the dark of the room.
Kratos' surprise soon turned to anger, and he grabbed the soldier by the chestplate, shaking him violently. "What is the meaning of this, Spartan? What are YOU doing here?" he bellowed. "I told you to go back to Sparta! How is it that you have left our polis unguarded?"
The Spartan soldier grit his teeth, as the moment he had dreaded the most had come. "My lord..." he mouthed, after making sure he was mostly uninjured. By some incredible stroke of luck, Kratos had recognized him and interrupted the battle before mortally wounding him. "I... I regret to inform you that... Sparta is no more."
Kratos was unable to speak for all of two seconds, after which he quickly went back to roughtly questioning the exhausted soldier. "What? What treachery is this, Spartan?" he exclaimed in fury. "How could Sparta possibly have fallen?"
"This... this is no treachery unfortunately, my lord..." the young soldier answered. "Zeus... he came into Sparta under the cloak of darkness. I and two of my comrades in arms were watching over the polis from the top of a watch tower, the night in which I had managed to come back to Sparta... Suddenly, lightning bolts began raining from the sky without warning, destroying watch towers, and killing people everywhere. Then... right in front of everyone, Zeus came down upon the city, dwarfing all with his sheer size. I... I personally saw him grab a tower from the ground and toss it away like a child would discard a broken toy. In mere minutes, Sparta was in ruins, its population slaughtered in order to set an example to thosewho would challenge Zeus' will. I was the only survivor of all my comrades... the people cried for you... they begged for their god to come and save them... But you did not come."
Stunned, Kratos relinquished his hold on the young soldier, who took a couple of breaths before standing up shakily and continuing his tale. "I was left with no choice but to search for the Sisters of Fate, in order to change the fate of our beloved Sparta, for I was all that was left." he murmured.
A dark scowl was on Kratos' hard face, although he seemed to have calmed down somewhat. However, it wasn't a reassuring type of calm. The embers of Kratos' rage were still simmering underneath the surface, and were ready to flare out as soon as they got the chance. The gods were toying with him again... they were setting him up to once again kill someone who had faith in him... it was sheer luck if that hadn't come to pass.
Seemingly oblivious to the surviving Spartan, Kratos paced towards the huge columns on the other side of the clearing both men had fallen into... and in his rage, he raised his head and let out a rage-filled scream! "ZEUUUUUUS! IS THIS HOW YOU FACE ME, YOU COWARD? I am through doing the bidding of the Gods! I grow tired of their lies! Come down here and face me now if you dare, Zeus!" he bellowed, his screams echoing through the immense complex and causing the young soldier to take a step backwards in sheer awe. With a heavy sigh, Kratos finally calmed down and glared at the uncaring columns, his mind wandering to the thought of what he was about to do... and of what he had done in his blind rage, all those years ago...
That time, it was his rage and his blindness that caused him to lose his family... just as, this time, his rage and blindness had almost caused him to do something else he would regret...
"My lord?" the last remaining Spartan ventured as he saw Kratos taking a few rage-filled breaths.
"This is... just like that time..." Kratos muttered, more to himself than anyone else. So entranced he was in his own guilt and rage, that he did not react when a large tentacle wrapped itself around one of the huge columns in front of him, closely followed by another one... and soon after, a monstrous shape dragged itself out of the water-filled pit it had been laying in wait, its hideous maw stretching impossibly wide in a face that had some very passing resemblance to that of a human being, and was all the more hideous for that! A rubbery, mottled green hide, covered in iron-hard scales, covered the horror's deformed body, armed with sharp barbs that seemed to jut out of the monster's body at random parts, and a pair of blood-red crazed eyes glared at the Spartan general and his warrior with greedy hunger!
The Kraken let out a mighty roar, showering Kratos in foul-smelling saliva and almost shattering the young Spartan's eardrums... but this act seemed to snap Kratos out of his funk, and the enraged Ghost of Sparta grabbed the Blades of Athena once again and got ready to fight, just as a rubbery tentacle sliced the air and bore down upon him! Kratos slashed twice with his left blade, intercepting the flailing appendage in midair and causing the Kraken to roar in pain and anger as it retreated its offending limb!
Kratos grit his teeth and prepared to attack again, when the young Spartan came up at his side, his shield still up and his spear raised high, in the Spartan's typical guard pose! "My lord... please allow me to fight at your side! I might be of some use to you!" he said. Kratos could see that the young man was clearly afraid of that horrific creature, but he would not back down, and privately praised the young soldier for his bravery in the face of danger.
However, Kratos also knew that he would not be able to last long against such a creature. "Stay out of this, soldier!" he exclaimed angrily. "You would only get in the way! I have to deal with this foul thing... myself!"
Gritting his teeth in anger, Kratos glared at the monster, trying to find a vulnerable spot in its immense body. As a seasoned warrior and the former god of war, it was easy for him to locate the eyes and the throat of the Kraken as its most vulnerable spots, but the problem was going to be how to get there, or at least how to wound the Kraken in a significant manner. Then, he realized that he and the last spartan were standing on some sort of iron grill, and a faint hot wind was blowing from below them. If only he could find a way to intensify the wind, he could use the wings he had taken from Icarus to get up to the Kraken's face and attack it.
The question was... how to achieve that?
The Kraken was not going to wait for Kratos to come up with a possible answer, and once again tried to strike him with its tentacles, bringing its powerful boneless limbs in a powerful arc across the small plaza. As he jumped up to avoid the first strike, Kratos could see his last remaining soldier reluctantly getting away and getting out of the hideous thing's reach, but still keeping his shield and spear high. Now fully concentrating on his opponent, Kratos swung the Blades of Athena and slashed the Kraken's tentacle... though, compared to the sheer size of the beast, such a wound was barely more than a paper scratch. However, he had managed to annoy the beast, and now the Kraken was beginning to flail way at the Ghost of Sparta in a frenzy. Kratos knew that in its rage, the Kraken was more likely to commit a mistake, and advanced towards it, still slashing with his blades and waiting for an opening...
Enraged at the sight of that puny mortal challenging it and actually managing to wound it a little, the Kraken raised its left tentacle, revealing a square panel right below the column it had wrapped its limb around. Kratos did not miss that particular... and as soon s the Kraken brought its heavy limb down again, he felt that the stream of warm air coming from below him was increasing just a little. That could be his chance... it was obvious that the panel controlled the stream of hot air, and if he was to keep it pressed...
The Kraken raised another tentacle, this one topped in an iron-hard black spike, and tried to impale Kratos upon it... but the Spartan general quickly rolled out of the way, causing the tentacle to embed itself on the marble floor, and the Kraken to roar in rage as it tried to dislodge the limb. Having gotten the distraction he needed, Kratos quickly reached a raher large piece of stone that the monster had broken from one of the columns as it was surfacing. He quickly grabbed the large rock, encircling it with both arms, and lifted it with some effort, before lifting it above his head and taking careful aim. Kratos grit his teeth as a tentacle smacked the floor dangerously close to the place he was standing on, and used all of his strength to toss the boulder towards the panel the Kraken was "guarding". It landed right on the target with a loud crash, and immediately after, the stream of hot air increased, and the incensed Kraken spat out a glob of corrosive bile at its opponent, who barely managed to roll out of the way, received a few drops of the lethal liquid on his back as he stood up. Kratos shrugged off the pain and did a quick roll towards the hot air stream, before spreading Icarus' Wings and letting the wind take him up and up... until he was just a little above the Kraken's hideous head!
Before the surprised Kraken could react, Kratos folded his wings and spun around, slashing outwards with the Blades of Athena and striking the monster's face multiple times, drawing rivulets of foul-smelling green blood as the Kraken roared in pain and rage. Its left tentacle dashed forward, trying to impale Kratos as he was landing... but another powerful slash from the Blades of Athena swayed the blow, and caused the monster to once again stab the floor. This time, however, Kratos quickly ran up to the tentacle before the Kraken could get free, and began climbing upon the masive limb, using his blades to help himself up. He reached the joint, upon which the iron-hard membrane connected with the Kraken's rubbery hide, and delivered a powerful slash that broke apart the natural protection and caused the Kraken to roar again, this time in alarm! A ring of raw, pink flesh remained exposed as the Kraken's protection broke, and Kratos stabbed the vulnerable part with the Blades of Athena, before launching himself up and using his extendable weapons to execute a flawless acrobatic move around the weakened appendage. He quickly did a loop around the tentacle and struck with his blade, causing the boneless limb to be hacked away from the body in a fountain of foul-smelling gore!
The Kraken roared in pain and rage as it retreated its mutilated limb, while the severed tentacle fell to the marble floor and twitched a little more before immobilizing. The gargantuan beast, thirsty for revenge, began whipping the air with its remaining tentacles, and a stray hit struck the Ghost of Sparta in the chest, sending him tumbling to the ground! The white-skinned warrior spat out a little blood and stood up again, only to get wrapped by the Kraken's other main tentacle. The beast squeezed tightly and began dragging Kratos towards it, while the cursed warrior began struggling for all he was worth and trying to loosen the tentacle's grip around his body, even as he was getting the breath squeezed out of him. Gritting his teeth in anger and pain, Kratos managed to free one of his arms and stabbed the Kraken's tentacle... but he was unable to put much strength in it, and the blade only managed to nick the monster's rubbery hide, bouncing upon it.
Kratos slashed again, but the Kraken had managed to regain its momentum and was squeezing tightly, smothering the Ghost of Sparta in its iron grip. It was getting harder to stay concentrated, and his sight was becoming blurred from lack of air... but even so, he was able to make out the shape of the young soldier he had narrowly avoided killing, who was now approaching the battlefield, wielding his spear tightly and keeping his shield up. He seemed to be trying to find a good place to make his stand, and to keep himself out of the reach of the Kraken's smaller tentacles... and finally, he stopped and took aim, just as the Kraken took notice of him and regarded him with an almost mocking glance. The monster seemed to be both annoyed and amused that such a puny creature was about to challenge it, while Kratos, even as he was getting the breath squeezed out of him, asked himself what was the soldier going to do. The young man was obviously no match for that hideous creature...
In a moment of pure tension, the young Spartan took a few steps and, braving the Kraken's tentacles, tossed his spear with all of his strength, aiming for the horror's monstrous face. Caught off guard by that unexpected display of courage, the monster failed to see the attack coming in time, and the javelin struck it in one of its bloodshot eyes, causing it immediate and searing pain as it stumbled backwards and released its hold on Kratos! The beast's pained roar echoed throughout the place, and Kratos landed on his hands and knees, trying to catch his breath before the Kraken recovered. The hideous thing raised its remaining main tentacle in rage and tried to impale Kratos with it, but the former god of war stood his ground and grabbed the tip of the Kraken's appendage as it was about to impale him, before pulling with all of his might and driving the iron-hard tip of the tentacle into a nearby marble column! In its rage, the Kraken tried to dislogde its tentacle from the column, but Kratos was faster than it, and used the Blades of Athena to grab the still-functioning appendage and lift himself up, once again executing a flawless acrobacy around it. He landed on the iron-hard spike on the tip of the tip of the Kraken's tentacle and hacked away at it until the protection on the joint broke with a loud clang, once again exposing the raw, unguarded flesh on the monster's appendage. In a flash, Kratos repeated the same process he had done with the first tentacle, wrapping the chains of the Blades of Athena around the Kraken's limb and vaulting around it, before hacking it away with a single, powerful slash! Now left with no tentacles to hold itself up, the Kraken roared in agony and sunk back into the abyss it had crawled out of, only managing to use its smaller tentacles to keep itself from falling. It roared in agony and began trying to climb back up again, but its smaller tentacles failed to hold up its massive frame, and it could do nothing but glare hatefully as Kratos approached the border of the pit, ready to finish it off.
The Ghost of Sparta grabbed a lever that seemed to have been conveniently placed on the edge of the ravine, and pulled towards himself with all of his divine might. Immediately, a large marble bridge shot out from under him and rushed towards the Kraken, who roared one last time before the bridge struck it right in the mouth, ripping through its body and exploding out of the back of its hideous head in a shower of gore! Its roar became a low, chilling gurgle and began whipping its tentacles in every direction in its last throes. It continued writhing for a few seconds, its boneless arms grabbing frantically at the bridge... before its resistance ceased, and it slumped lifelessly.
Kratos took a deep breath in order to get his breath back in his lungs and regarded the corpse of the Kraken in grim satisfaction. Right behind him, the last Spartan sighed in relief and tentatively approached his lord, who was standing tall, his white skin matted with blood and sweat, on the edge of the newly created bridge.
"Spartan!" Without even turning, Kratos called out to the last remaining of his disciples, who stood firm in his place and awaited for his lord's next words. The former god of war turned in the young soldier's direction and, without losing his hard expression, nodded once in approval.
The last Spartan stood tall in a gesture of respect towards his lord, then looked at the sight that had appeared right behind the Kraken's still body. A large bird of prey whose feathers seemed to be made of pure fire was standing on the other side of the bridge, seemingly waiting for someone to come to it. After a few moments of silence, the young soldier finally spoke up, addressing his lord. "Lord Kratos, is that...?"
"The Phoenix. The legendary creature who rises from its own ashes." the Spartan warlord explained, without even blinking. "I will use it to travel to the temple of the Fates, and make sure Zeus won't even lay a hand on Sparta."
"And what am I to do, my lord?" the Spartan soldier asked.
Kratos paused for a few seconds before answering, which the younger man thought to himself was somewhat unusual of his self-assured lord. "My orders to you are to stay alive. Soon, Sparta will rise again, and this nightmare will be over."
The young soldier was a little disappointed about not being able to join his lord in this endeavor, but as a faithful Spartan soldier, he knew better than to oppose orders. "I understand, my lord." he answered, retrieving his spear from the Kraken's eye and standing at attention. "If that is the case... I'll have faith that our comrades in arms will soon be back, thanks to you."
Kratos nodded again and began walking towards the Phoenix, the Blades of Athena tightly held in his hands. As he approached the fiery bird, the Spartan warlord frowned in determination. Yes, he would bring back his soldiers and get his revenge... but there was something more to it. Maybe... just maybe... this was his chance to undo the mistakes of the past. Maybe, if the gods weren't going to take his nightmares and his torment away, this was his chance to do it himself.
Maybe this time, things would be different.
With a renewed determination, Kratos advanced towards the Phoenix, ready and willing to reach the Fates and change his fate...
A small ripple in the flow of time... which might become a tidal wave that completely changed history.
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TO BE CONTINUED...
