I do not own Naruto or God of War. This story is co-authored by The Dark Void.
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"You will pay for this Zeus. Be certain of that!"
In the middle of a war-torn city, surrounded by the remains of allies and foes alike, Kratos, God of War and the Ghost of Sparta, used his last breath to curse the god who had betrayed him. All of his accomplishments: the chaining of the great titan Atlas, the slaying of Ares, his defeat of the Colossus of Rhodes, now meant nothing. His body was broken, his power gone, and his armies slaughtered. All that remained was to fall back and be wrapped in the cold embrace of death.
A few feet away, Zeus, Lord of Olympus, watched as the hands of the underworld appeared and clenched their gnarled fingers around the fading Spartan. He turned and began to walk away when he suddenly stopped. A shivering chill ran down his spine, and the god worried that all had not gone according to his plan.
XXX
Deeper and deeper into Hades, Kratos was dragged down by the disembodied arms. Far below his limp corpse burned the savage flames of Tartarus. This dark inferno seemed pulse and sear even stronger as he descended as if anticipating the arrival of their latest victim. The screams of the damned rose up from the abyss to create a disturbing chorus that echoed off the charred crags.
But this was not to be the end. Each story begins with a choice, and even the Sisters of Fate, with their vast pools of knowledge, are unable to foresee every possible outcome.
All around, dirt and stone began to shake. A bright light burst forward from high above, splitting apart the earthen ceiling, and its radiance cast down upon the realms below. Rays like blue fire lanced through the air with speed and purpose. Their target was the body of the dead ghost still being pulled towards its final destination. The beams pierced through Kratos and enveloped him in their glow. Any black hand nearby was instantly turned to ash. The other hands quickly retreated back into their crevasses, fearing the light's brilliance.
Inside of the aura hung Kratos, suspended between the land of the living and that of the dead. Slowly, the light stabbing through him started to spread until his entire body glowed. As it went, every cut and bruise it encountered began to heal. The gaping wound in his abdomen hissed and bubbled as it gradually sealed itself shut. All that remained of the terrible blow was a thick scar running the length of his stomach. Finally, his injuries mended and life restored, the light lifted Kratos up, back to the mortal plane and a new destiny.
XXX
Slowly, the Ghost of Sparta began to regain consciousness. As he came to, the sounds of a heated argument fell upon his ears.
"-at are you doing!?" a powerful voice roared, it's anger palpable even to the recently resurrected warrior.
"I am repaying a debt that has long been standing." Another voice replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
Kratos stirred his tired body. The voices, one male, one female, sounded familiar, but their identities eluded him. Sluggishly, he opened his eyes until they cracked apart ever so slightly.
"You foolish child! You do not understand; he will bring Olympus crashing down around us!"
Kratos' mind suddenly snapped to attention, willing himself to do something, anything, to harm the being who had betrayed him. However, the gray-skinned man was still weak from his previous battle and trip into the world below. His limbs were of lead and his chest constricted, making even the slightest breath a laboring ordeal. The Ghost of Sparta could do nothing but lie there and seethe silently.
"As would be right, Father. The feminine voice spat out the last word with little hidden disgust. "Look around you. You waged war against the titans because of their tyrannical rule, yet see what we have become. We are no longer gods of life, whom our people can look to with hope, but gods of death, whose wrath mortals are forced to incessantly fear. I may not be able to right the wrongs of all Olympus, but I can still save this man from the fate he has been delivered."
"Stand aside, Daughter. He must die, and you will be punished for your rash actions. I will not allow this heresy to continue any further!" Zeus said, his voice trembling trembling the very air with its rage.
"Then I regret to inform you that this matter is no longer your concern. Farewell, Father. May we meet again on better terms."
At that, Kratos saw a heavy mist begin to surround himself. Zeus gave one final shout of fury but could not stop the woman from fleeing with the revived Spartan. Kratos his body being swept away by an invisible force. Finally, the toll wreaked upon his entire form caught up to the exhausted man, and he fell back into blissful unconsciousness.
XXX
When he awoke, Kratos quickly sat up, drawing the twin blades from his back. His heart pounded as memories of what had just occured flooded into his mind. As his lungs heaved for fresh air, he immediately noticed that he was no longer in burning ruins of Rhodes, nor was he back in his private chambers on Mt. Olympus. Instead, Kratos saw that he was in the middle of a small clearing, surrounded by what seemed to be trees made out of solid stone.
"Calm yourself, Kratos." From his right came the feminine voice he had heard earlier. Swiftly throwing a blade towards the sound, Kratos turned his head as well, and was momentarily shocked by who he saw standing before him.
She was a women of medium height, her visage a picture of royalty. Vibrant blue eyes gazed upon him softly but with a hint of fear and remorse just underneath the surface. She wore a bronze cuirass and shoulder guards with flourishing designs decorating their faces. Metallic greaves and gauntlets studded with emeralds completed her set of armor. Over the top, she wore pure white linen of the finest quality. Her tawny hair was pulled up in a small bun. Framing the top and sides of her face was a headpiece made of gold bands, three jewels adorning the center of her forehead.
"Athena!" Kratos' disbelief quickly turned to anger as he let out a growl. Through clenched teeth, he ground out. "Where am I? How am I alive?"
"You are in the Petrified Forest, near the eastern end of the Persian Empire," Athena said. "And all will be explained shortly."
In a flash, Kratos was on her, grasping her throat as he pinned her to a tree. "Do not play your games with me, Athena. Answer my question!" Throwing her to the ground back in the clearing, he watched as Athena rubbed her throat, coughing heavily.
"I arrived at the battle too late to stop Zeus' final blow, but I was able to revive you and take you away from the city. It was my hope to let you have a second chance." Kratos snorted,
"The gods give no second chances." These words brought a smirk to Athena's face.
"Then it is a good thing I am no longer a god." Kratos narrowed his eyes at the Olympian, silently demanding she continue. "There is no way to restore someone's own life Kratos. Life must come from life. I had no other choice but to give up my godhood, my immortality, and place it in you to pull you back from the depths of Hades. I am as mortal as you now, Kratos." With a grunt, the Ghost of Sparta turned and yanked the blade he had embedded into one of the surrounding trees. Without a single glance back, he began to walk away. His thirst for revenge was already on the rise.
"Kratos, where are you going?" Athena yelled after him.
"Zeus must pay for what he did to me."
"Kratos, stop!" With that, Kratos came to a halt, as if invisible ropes had suddenly attached themselves to his arms and legs.
"Do not get in my way Athena, or you will suffer the same fate." Kratos snarled, his voice filled with malice, as he struggled against his bindings. Even without his contribution, the Spartan could feel the magic's power steadily waning. Beads of sweat began to form on Athena's pristine face.
"Listen to me, Kratos. You can not win against Zeus. He is too strong, and you have lost all the power you had as a god. Please trust me."
"And what would you have me do Athena, run away like a coward?"
"No, I am asking you to let Olympus destroy itself." At that, Kratos stopped his struggle against whatever spell Athena had used to bind him. Turning to glare at her once more, he said,
"Explain yourself."
"You know very well what I speak of, as did our late brother Ares. A god's power comes from those who worship him. Should the deity be completely abandoned, they will slowly fade away into nothingness, and a new god will arise to take their place."
At these words, Kratos relaxed his muscles, and Athena relinquished her hold on him. Memories from his quest for Pandora's box flashed through Kratos' mind. It was true that, during said journey, he had learned a different way to kill a god. It was the strategy Ares had been using when he razed Athens to the ground. During his own reign as God of War, the Ghost of Sparta had heard his own men talk about how he was more real than any other god they prayed to. He was there on the battlefield with them, displaying his power before their very eyes. His men soon claimed they no longer cared if they were in the favor of the gods, as long as he led them in battle.
"You have been on Olympus. You have seen the rot. Soon all of Mt. Olympus will be decaying as the people turn their backs on the gods they once worshiped. What crueler fate, and better revenge, is there than to let Zeus be his own undoing?" Athena finished. A tense silence enveloped the clearing until Kratos finally relented.
"Tell me your plan Athena." Said former goddess let out a relieved sigh and smiled at her half-sibling.
"That is simple my dear Spartan, we are heading to the East."
XXX
After a day and a half of hard traveling, the two runaway gods found themselves at the end of the forest. Before them was a large chasm, with the bottom and opposite side unable to be seen.
"What now, Athena?" Kratos questioned while sneering. "Is your plan to simply jump of this ledge and let the Fates take care of the rest?"
"I don't understand. Everything I read and researched said there was another world to the east of ours. I don't know where I went wrong." Athena peered into the blackness beyond the cliff they stood upon. She noticed something strange about it and reached out her right arm. Her fingers suddenly brushed against something, sending a visible ripple through the dark void.
"TURN BACK, OLYMPIANS!"
Kratos and Athena jumped back and looked around, searching for the source of the high, rasping voice that had just spoken to them. Seeing nothing, Kratos yelled,
"Show yourself, coward!"
"It is not wise to anger me, Ghost of Sparta!" This time, a figure appeared with the voice, floating above the empty expanse. It had long, wild, white hair with two red horns sprouting from the top of it's head. Its skin was a sickly pale purple. It wore a large billowing cloak that was opened slightly at the top, exposing its withered torso. Both of its eyes were entirely black, save for its golden irises. It held a long strand of beads in its left hand, and pointed teeth held a knife clenched between it's gaping maw. "For it will be the last thing you will ever do."
"The Shinigami." Athena whispered in horror.
"You know what this thing is?" Kratos felt his anger rising again. He had trusted Athena, yet now it seemed she had been leaving him in the dark once again.
"The God of Death. I had heard rumors of his existence, but I did not expect to encounter him so soon."
"What are two children of Zeus doing at my border? Has that fool sent you to spy upon me?"
"No, Lord Shinigami." Athena said. "We are here of our own free will. I do not believe anyone else on Olympus knows the truth of your existence except for us."
"Then what is your purpose? If you did not come to spy on me, why are you trying to enter the East?"
"We come seeking refuge. We have abandoned Olympus and were hoping to find asylum beyond this world."
"Athena, what is going on here? How is there a god that I have never heard of before?" Kratos' temper was was steadily increasing. He had been manipulated before and did not wish to be so again.
"Foolish child. So even the stories have forgotten my existence." The Shinigami said, with a hint of sadness in his voice. "As for your request, I can not allow it. My lands have lived safely away from the wars of other gods and titans. Allowing you to cross could alert Olympus to their existence, and that is something I will not allow."
"Please Lord Shinigami, you must help us. Zeus is becoming more power-hungry by the day, and soon the veil will no longer hide you. Should you help us, I promise we will aid you however we can." Athena was becoming desperate. Soon her magic would completely fade, and she would no longer be able to hide herself and Kratos from Zeus' watchful eyes. Then they would be at his mercy.
"What!? I will not be forced into the service another god Athena!" Kratos' rage was at the bursting point now. He had served various gods before, and all three times it had cost him dearly.
The Shinigami gazed upon the two former gods, a debate waging within his mind. While he had not expected the eastern lands to remain hidden forever, he had hoped they would only be discovered once Olympus had weakened itself considerably. A war right now would cost his people dearly, and while he may be a god of death, he did not wish to take more lives than he needed to. In the end, an idea came to him as he gazed upon the Spartan before him. Memories of an event six years ago passed through his mind.
"Do not worry, Ghost of Sparta. I will not abuse any power I hold over you. I will eventually require your assistance, but that time is far off. For now, close your eyes, and when you wake up, you will be near one of my chosen cities, Konohagakure. There, I will tell you what I wish from you."
As the Shinigami spoke, Athena and Kratos fell into a deep sleep. If all worked as planned, he too could right a long standing wrong. He reached a cold hand through the invisible veil and picked up the sleeping warriors. The Death God then pulled them through with only slight resistance from the barrier. Their forms began to shimmer and fade along with his until blackness once more reigned supreme.
XXX
Zeus Almighty, Ruler of Olympus, and King of the Gods, sat upon his throne, gazing down at the Earth. Not only had Kratos survived his attack, his own daughter had been the one to ruin his plan. Now, he looked for them, searching every hiding place he knew of. It was only a matter of time before Athena slipped up. He would find them, kill Kratos, and punish his daughter for her foolishness.
Yes, Zeus thought with a smile. Soon, they will be within his grasp, and all will be righted once more. Olympus will continue to stand, and all who would oppose it shall fall.
Lost in his thoughts, Zeus did not notice the slight wavering in the blackness on the eastern edge of the world. Nor, in his arrogance, did he fathom the thought that his world was not as small as he thought it was.
XXX
Phew, done. Just to make sure everyone understands, this takes place just after the first level in God of War II. Anything that happens after that has not taken place yet. Also, anything that we did not learn about in God of War, Chains of Olympus, the first level of God of War II, or the God of War book, for all intents and purposes has never happened. Sorry for the lack of action, but don't worry, there will be plenty soon enough. See ya.
Glock3bb, The Dark Void