p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"strongCHAPTER 0: IMMORTAL, BUT STILL DEAD/strong/p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""emYou…disappoint me, Spartan." Athena's ghostly face showed blank hatred, and Kratos could only grunt at her. He did feel pain after all, and at the moment, the pain was too great to speak words. Athena pulled the Blade of Olympus from his body and released his head, floating away as Kratos fell to his side. His vision blurred and he coughed, the gaping hole in him was clean, as though nothing was there. If you looked from above, you could the ground Kratos lay through the wound he gave himself. Kratos looked at the cliff, he may be a soldier of land, but he secretly loved the sea, and that was where he always wanted to die. Using the last of his demi-god strength that he thought would've been gone already, Kratos pulled himself to the edge, and then pushed off. He didn't fall straight; he flipped over and over before belly-flopping onto the sea. The sting of saltwater rushing though his insides were for once too much to bear, and Kratos closed his eyes. He could've drowned like that, passed out in the sea. But, he had Poseidon's magic absorbed into his body long ago, so he could breathe under the water. Kratos, in his lapse of full thought, figured this meant that he was dead, it was all over now and his painful life-long quest of revenge was over./em/p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emSadly for him. It was never that easy. Kratos awoke on the tip of what was once a very huge mountain. His arm was slung over the rock tip, keeping him from continuing down the current. He looked down; the gaping, see-through hole in his gut was still there, though the bleeding had stopped. Gray-brown eyes cloaked in confusion looked around. How was this happening? In the distance he saw what looked to be a giant clam shell chariot, driven by the naiads. He squinted to see who controlled the water-made daughters of Poseidon and saw it was Aphrodite. That's right. She was still alive, she had done nothing against him and Kratos even got a good rut from her, so he held no grudge against the goddess. Aphrodite came to a stop in front of him and she squatted. "Kratos, oh my dear Kratos…what a mess you've gotten into. This was rather foolish, no? Seeing as how you can never truly die as it is. Does the power of the river Styx mean nothing to you?" she asked. Kratos furrowed his brow, having no idea what she was talking about. "Kratos, you've heard of Achilles, yes? How he was dipped in the river Styx and his body gained immortality- except his ankle?" Kratos didn't answer, but it was clear he knew, and was slowly putting the pieces together. "Well, Kratos. You have done the same, the river you constantly swam in during your time in the underworld, not to mention when Zeus and Gaia chucked you down Mount Olympus and you landed in the water. That water- that river, was the Styx."/em/p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emKratos wanted to rip off his beard. How could he not have thought of that! Now he looked like a fool, a deep wound in him, his pathetic looking self clinging to a mountain tip in the sea. "So I'm doomed to just live here in torment, watching the ruins of the world forever?" he asked the goddess. Aphrodite smiled. "That is where I come in, Kratos. Seeing as how you did such a good job earning my favor in my chambers, I shall help you. Do you know of 'reincarnation' Kratos? No? Well, it's something very important people- who have earned such a gift- go through. You aren't one of those people, sadly. But, Pandora and Lysandra were, along with Calliope. They, in due time, will find a new vessel to hold their spirits, and you, lucky Spartan, get to wait for when they do. You'll be stuck in this limbo like form, visible only to the reincarnations of these people, and if you earn it, you will come back to life in the glory you once had. The ashes of your sin will no longer stick to you, once you revive, and you will have a second chance. The process takes many years though, but in the end it will be worth the wait." Kratos stared at Aphrodite. "You speak the truth, woman?" he grunted. Aphrodite smiled and nodded. "After the wonderful time we spent/emem, this will repay it. For now, I will heal this gaping hole you placed in yourself. I would do no good to have your future salvation see you with a giant, see-through wound." And with that, Kratos grunted and hissed as his torso was forced back together, muscle, organs, blood, tissues, things like that all replaced and toned like they used to be. And finally, the new scar, overpowering Zeus' stab wound, took place over his abs./em/p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""emWhat's done is done; now all you must do is wait. Sleep, Kratos. When you awaken, things will be much, much different." Aphrodite kissed Kratos, and when she parted, the Spartan was asleep once again, arms latched around the mountain tip. "Now, to find Demeter, Artemis, and Dionysus. It will take much, seeing as there's only one man to reproduce with, but we will make do."/em/p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""emYou…disappoint me, Spartan." Athena's ghostly face showed blank hatred, and Kratos could only grunt at her. He did feel pain after all, and at the moment, the pain was too great to speak words. Athena pulled the Blade of Olympus from his body and released his head, floating away as Kratos fell to his side. His vision blurred and he coughed, the gaping hole in him was clean, as though nothing was there. If you looked from above, you could the ground Kratos lay through the wound he gave himself. Kratos looked at the cliff, he may be a soldier of land, but he secretly loved the sea, and that was where he always wanted to die. Using the last of his demi-god strength that he thought would've been gone already, Kratos pulled himself to the edge, and then pushed off. He didn't fall straight; he flipped over and over before belly-flopping onto the sea. The sting of saltwater rushing though his insides were for once too much to bear, and Kratos closed his eyes. He could've drowned like that, passed out in the sea. But, he had Poseidon's magic absorbed into his body long ago, so he could breathe under the water. Kratos, in his lapse of full thought, figured this meant that he was dead, it was all over now and his painful life-long quest of revenge was over./em/p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emSadly for him. It was never that easy. Kratos awoke on the tip of what was once a very huge mountain. His arm was slung over the rock tip, keeping him from continuing down the current. He looked down; the gaping, see-through hole in his gut was still there, though the bleeding had stopped. Gray-brown eyes cloaked in confusion looked around. How was this happening? In the distance he saw what looked to be a giant clam shell chariot, driven by the naiads. He squinted to see who controlled the water-made daughters of Poseidon and saw it was Aphrodite. That's right. She was still alive, she had done nothing against him and Kratos even got a good rut from her, so he held no grudge against the goddess. Aphrodite came to a stop in front of him and she squatted. "Kratos, oh my dear Kratos…what a mess you've gotten into. This was rather foolish, no? Seeing as how you can never truly die as it is. Does the power of the river Styx mean nothing to you?" she asked. Kratos furrowed his brow, having no idea what she was talking about. "Kratos, you've heard of Achilles, yes? How he was dipped in the river Styx and his body gained immortality- except his ankle?" Kratos didn't answer, but it was clear he knew, and was slowly putting the pieces together. "Well, Kratos. You have done the same, the river you constantly swam in during your time in the underworld, not to mention when Zeus and Gaia chucked you down Mount Olympus and you landed in the water. That water- that river, was the Styx."/em/p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"emKratos wanted to rip off his beard. How could he not have thought of that! Now he looked like a fool, a deep wound in him, his pathetic looking self clinging to a mountain tip in the sea. "So I'm doomed to just live here in torment, watching the ruins of the world forever?" he asked the goddess. Aphrodite smiled. "That is where I come in, Kratos. Seeing as how you did such a good job earning my favor in my chambers, I shall help you. Do you know of 'reincarnation' Kratos? No? Well, it's something very important people- who have earned such a gift- go through. You aren't one of those people, sadly. But, Pandora and Lysandra were, along with Calliope. They, in due time, will find a new vessel to hold their spirits, and you, lucky Spartan, get to wait for when they do. You'll be stuck in this limbo like form, visible only to the reincarnations of these people, and if you earn it, you will come back to life in the glory you once had. The ashes of your sin will no longer stick to you, once you revive, and you will have a second chance. The process takes many years though, but in the end it will be worth the wait." Kratos stared at Aphrodite. "You speak the truth, woman?" he grunted. Aphrodite smiled and nodded. "After the wonderful time we spent/emem, this will repay it. For now, I will heal this gaping hole you placed in yourself. I would do no good to have your future salvation see you with a giant, see-through wound." And with that, Kratos grunted and hissed as his torso was forced back together, muscle, organs, blood, tissues, things like that all replaced and toned like they used to be. And finally, the new scar, overpowering Zeus' stab wound, took place over his abs./em/p
p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;""emWhat's done is done; now all you must do is wait. Sleep, Kratos. When you awaken, things will be much, much different." Aphrodite kissed Kratos, and when she parted, the Spartan was asleep once again, arms latched around the mountain tip. "Now, to find Demeter, Artemis, and Dionysus. It will take much, seeing as there's only one man to reproduce with, but we will make do."/em/p