Title- Seeking Obolus
Summary- Of dark promises and misgivings, how long can you keep a man from the thing he holds most dear before killing him? Dark fic, centered on Kratos' and Kvar's little game of cat and mouse. [Rated M
Rating- M, for good reasons.
Warning- For those of you who missed the M rating I'm going to let you know now that this isn't going to be a pretty story, nor is it going to be something you're expecting it to be. This isn't going to be an angst fest, nor is it going to be a 'Wah my life sucks, I'm going to attempt suicide' story. This fic is going to cover a lot of unpleasant subjects while I attempt to get deep into Kratos' personality while exploring Kvar's psychosis at the same time. This is your warning, and I want to make it perfectly clear that this isn't a story for the weak of heart so don't you dare send me fifty reviews whining about how your little eyes are tarnished for life because you thought the story was clean just because the prelude was. I warned you, and I'm going to post a warning in the beginning of all the chapters after this about content so don't you dare start crying to me about 'your' little Kratos.
Prelude
Life, a simple thing once you think about it. A fragile thing that can be created just as easily as it can be destroyed. People, the greatest abusers of Martel's most precious gift, tend to do equal amounts of both. People are disgusting in this fact. They take for granted this thing given to them and use it for the soul purpose of abusing the gifts of others. And Martel, in her infinite glory, gave them the power to do so. However, in the never ending sea of death and rebirth, man was given a new gift- humility. With it he learned mercy and empathy and, at least for a short time, the bloodshed ceased. Then the word 'mercy' earned a new definition that I, at the time, was unaware of. Mercy was dying for a country that sought to control all others, mercy was killing off entire villages that opposed your war faction, mercy was decapitating women and children for slander against the king. Mercy became the cover word that those in control used in response to despicable actions that they may have to partake in, and the general public feasted upon it as if it were the savior that would save them from their misery and sins. This story isn't about that. This story is about a new trick that mankind has learned over the course of the years, a new definition to the no longer one act play.
It begins with ambition. The pursuit of life is mankind's strongest emotion, one they are willing to give up all else in order to secure. But at what point can one claim that what they are giving up isn't worth dying for? At what point can you turn around and realize you have given up everything that made life worth living for? Few of man know this point and even fewer still realize its significance, and for those that do they don't know how hard of a decision it is to make.
This is a story about mercy, and the sick joke that it had never meant to become. In life a man was bestowed upon this thing called mercy, but what he wasn't told was that only in death could he achieve it.
This story is about mercy, the sick gift that Hades himself hands only to the immortal.
Author's Notes:
For the few of you who recognize my penname, you'll see that I'm doing my yearly summer posting. However, you've probably also noticed the rating, the new-ish style, and the fact that this is going to be a chapter story- something I've never done before. I'm not going to bog you down with reasons why I've chosen to do something like this because I figure most of you don't really care.
In the mean time, I would like to thank you for reading and I would hope that you will at least wait until the second (or rather first) chapter before deciding if this thing is worth waiting out until the end. Reviews are appreciated as is constructive criticism, and no- this isn't going to be updated once a year over the summer. The plan is that I either complete the entire thing over the summer or, God forbid, I'll update during the school year. This story will have an ending, that is a promise.