God of War's Inferno: A New Path
Hello there! I managed to update sooner than I expected!
This chapter deals with the battle against the first two Sisters of Fate, Lachesis and Atropos. There will be nothing much to add to the events of God of War... but from next chapter onwards, the plot will actually start going off the rails! Stay tuned, and enjoy the ride!
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Chapter 2 - Struggling Against Fates
The path through the Temple of the Fates had been a long, grueling one... but at long last Kratos had managed to gain access to their innermost sanctum. As the improvised battering ram he was using smashed through the huge marble face, Kratos jumped into the hole he had just obtained, Blades of Athena drawn and ready for a battle as the slabs off marble littered the floor around him. The Spartan general, always on alert for any danger, looked around and carefully advanced, his sense drawn to the point where he could swear he was hearing voices inside his head.
"THE CONFRONTATION WITH THE FATES IS AT HAND, KRATOS." an imperious, yet almost too polite female voice said inside his mind. Kratos frowned, immediately recognizing that voice as the one belonging to Gaea, the female Titan that had helped him undertake that almost-suicidal task. "I TRUST YOU ARE READY TO FACE THEM AND THAT YOU WILL KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'LL WIELD THEIR POWER."
"You need not worry about that, Gaea." Kratos said, not in the mood to discuss any further. He really couldn't care any less about the Titans or theirgrievances with the Olympian Gods, but since their objectives were similar up to a certain point, he might as well pretend he was on her side all along. "I know what I am going to do when I'll have killed the Sisters. The rest is none of your concern."
"GOOD." Gaea's telepathic voice said. "WE EXPECT MUCH OF YOU, SPARTAN. DO NOT DISAPPOINT."
Kratos snorted as Gaea's mind link ceased, and after going through a couple more darkened corridors, the Ghost of Sparta finally found himself in what looked like a huge theater, decorated in strange, threatening motives, with three huge mirrors placed at the sides of the main platform, several meters below. Several strands of what looked like the web of a gigantic spider connected the main platform to the rest of the complex, and the silece and feeling of menace hanging in the air were simply overwhelming, even for a seasoned veteran such as him.
The Throne of Lachesis. There was no mistake about it. Never changing his expression, Kratos stepped forward and jumped towards the main platform, spreading the Wings of Icarus in order to slow down his fall. He landed flawlessly on the main platform and advanced towards the mirror in the center, but his senses immediately picked up the barely noticeable movement of someone, or something, moving close to him...
"We've been expecting you." a soft yet steely female voice said, coming from above Kratos. The Spartan warrior lifted his hard gaze, just in time to see the one who had just spoken swoop down, majestically sliding down and landing in front of him. It was a coldly beautiful woman with dark skin and solid white eyes, wearing an aloof yet at the same time amused expression of her helmeted head, and holding a simple hooked staff made in grey steel in one hand, as long as she was tall. She was wearing a strange sort of battle armor that exposed her left breast, and her wrists and ankles were decorated with golden bracelets and jewelry. A large mantle was on her shoulders, billowing out as if its was being moved by some sort of magic wind. Kratos immediately recognized her as Lachesis, the measurer of the thread woven by Clotho's spindle, and the one who decided how much time for life was to be allowed for each mortal, and every mortal's own destiny.
However, Kratos was not going to be deterred, and advanced threateningly towards Lachesis. "Get out of my way." he stated simply, which only drew an amused chuckle out of Lachesis. The supernatural woman was regarding Kratos like a human would regard an ant to be stepped on.
"Your resolve is admirable. Alas, it is also misguided." she calmly stated. Now her voice had taken a strange, otherworldly quality, as if there were two people talking at the same time. Floating a few inches above the floor, Lachesis went around Kratos, her cape billowing ominously behind her back. "None can change their own fate, Kratos. We, the Sisters of Fate, determine the destiny of all. It is I who decreed that the Titans would lose the Great War. And it is I who allowed you to get this far. There is nothing you can do, Kratos. Spare yourself further pointless suffering and resign to your fate. It is not your destiny to kill Zeus."
Lachesis placed a cold hand upon Kratos' shoulder, which the Ghost of Sparta swiftly shrugged off as he turned around with his blades drawn. "You do not control your destiny anymore." he stated simply.
Lachesis giggled arrogantly. "I see Gaea has seduced you with her lies." she went on, lording her perceived superior position over Kratos. "You have always amused us, mortal. But know this. I am only fighting you now to humour you before I destroy you. You can never defeat us. There is no power greater than the Sisters of Fate. If you challenge us, you will die."
"Spare me your words, Lachesis." Kratos cut the discussion short, rushing the supernatural woman with the Blades of Athena drawn. He executes a mightly roundabout swing, aiming at the creature's neck... but Lachesis, without even changing her expression, rose up in the air so quickly she might as well have disappeared and reappeared a moment later. She twirled her staff in her hand and tried to impale Kratos on its sharp hooked end, but thewarrior quickly rolled away and stood up, wirlding his mighty blades.
"Huhuhuhuu... what's up, Kratos?" Lachesis taunted him. Kratos slid into a guarding position, but he was caught off guard when his opponent disappeared from his sight... and instantly reappeared right behind his back. "Am I too fast for you to keep up with?"
Reacting with lightning quick reflexes, Kratos managed to avoid the pointy end of Lachesis' rod, which was threatening to impale him in the chest, and swifty rolled away before Lachesis could press her attack... but the woman was undaunted, and fired a green beam of energy from her staff, hitting Kratos just as he was about to stand up, and knocking him to the ground with a pained grunt. With a short laugh, Lachesis fired another energy bolt, but this time, the spartan warrior managed to roll away, and the attack hit the ground, leaving a large gash and a pile of smoldering marble. Kratos tried to stand up and attack again, but once again, Lachesis was too fast for him, and reappeared behind his back, hitting him with the blunt end of her staff and sending him to the ground once again. Kratos shook the dizziness off himself and climbed back up to his feet, only to be greeted by another searing beam of green energy.
"Give it up, mortal." Lachesis stated, keeping her arrogant attitude. "I am merely toying with you for now, but if you persist, only death awaits you."
Kratos didn't even bother dignifying that with an answer and stood up once again, sliding in a fighting stance. With a condescending shake of her head, Lachesis pointed her staff at Kratos once again, ready to fire another beam...
But this time, Kratos was prepared. Just as he began seeing the telltale emerald glow on the woman's staff, Kratos grabbed the Golden Fleece of the Argonauts... and raised it in front of himself just in time for it to intercept the beam from Lachesis' staff and reflect it back at her, hitting her in the chest! With a grunt of both pain and surprise, the supernatural woman staggered backwards, almost dropping her staff as she did... and Kratos took advantage of that moment to dash in and slash at Lachesis with the Blades of Athena. However, Lachesis recovered faster than Kratos had thought and managed to block the hit with her staff, glaring at the Spartan commander with cold rage. The two combatants began pushing towards one another, and for a while, there was a stalemate, which only ended when Kratos, using an old trick, caused Lachesis to lose her balance and stumble forward, after which Kratos was able to slash her in the back with his blades. Annoyed, Lachesis took altitude and fired several beams from her staff, several of them getting close to the mark, but all of them failing to hit... and when she threw her staff, causing it to whirl around like a top and fire a volley of spheres of green energy, Kratos blocked the attack with the Golden Fleece and fired it back at the woman. With a pained grunt, Lachesis dropped down a little, and Kratos jumped up, grabbed her in midair, and thrust his weapon into Lachesis' chest, causing her to grunt again and drop to the ground. She quickly got free and rolled away from her opponent, glaring at him with barely restrained rage as she held her wound with her free hand, causing it to close up almost instantaneously. However, that ephemeral defeat had shaken up Lachesis' confidence, and she was now seething with anger...
"YOU DO NOT DEFY FATE, KRATOS!" she shouted, a far cry from her calm, collected self of a few moments earlier. She hit the ground with her staff, the hooked end glowing sinisterly, and a black miasma began oozing from the place where Lachesis had touched the ground, creeping ominously towards the middle mirror in the room. "For we hold the thread of your life in our very hands!"
"And now... that life is at an end!" a coarse female voice continued when the black miasma touched the mirror, and another of the Sisters of Fate emerged from the reflective surface: a huge crone with a sickly greenish-yellow skin and long white hair, wearing an ornate breastplace, and whose claws were about as long as a grown man's arm, and seemed sharp enough to slice a soldier to pieces in a few moments. The lower half of her body was nothing but black, smoky incorporeality, making her look like some sort of demented caterpillar. Kratos recognized her as well - Atropos, the Sister of Fate who was tasked with cutting the thread of a man's life when his or her time had come. The Ghost of Sparta raised the Blades of Athena, trying to defend himself from the powerful womanlike monster's attack... but Atropos had other ideas. With a screechy laugh, she took flight and immediately dropped down, catching Kratos in her claws and pulling him along with her as well. "We control your destiny, foolish mortal!"
Atropos entered the mirror and dragged Kratos in... and much to the Spartan general's surprise, he was dragged through the surface of the mirror and briefly lost awareness of his surroundings, only to regain it again a second later. What he saw in front of his own eyes left him speechless - he and Atropos were hovering over the Bay of Athens, where an epic fight between two giants was taking place. He immediately recognized the scene - it was him fighting against Ares in their climatic battle for the fate of Athens, about one year ago! At that moment, the two giants had their swords crossed, each trying to overcome the other, and the sword-bridge Kratos had then used to slay Ares was still in place - the battle had obviously just started.
Atropos uncerimoniously dropped Kratos on the bridge, and the ashen-skinned warrior tumbled on its smooth surface for a short distance before standing up, grabbing his wicked blades, while Atropos floated in front of him, still convinced of her superiority. "With but our idle whim, we can end your life, or allow you live!" she explained, letting out a terrible laugh. "Search your memory, Kratos... the sword you are standing on allowed you to win against Ares. Without it, you will be the one who dies this day, not Ares! Hahahahahaaaa!"
The floating monster created a sphere of green energy in her hand and tossed it against the sword-bridge, barely missing Kratos! There was a disquieting noise of something cracking... and a few fissures appeared on the surface of the gigantic sword, which was now threatening to break. For a brief moment, Atropos' face took on a surprised expression... she was probably expecting the blow to instantly shatter the bridge, and was a little annoyed that she had not managed to do so. But she quickly shrugged it off, knowing that at the end, the results would still be the same. "We can change your past, and set your future! THAT IS THE POWER OF THE FATES! HAHAHAHAHAAAA!"
Kratos angrily grit his teeth and lashed out at Atropos with the Blades of Athena, but the Sister of Fate deftly flew under the bridge, just as the giant Kratos and Ares seemed to be locked in a stalemate in the background. Several black holes opened up in the bridge's surface, and several Olympus Sentinels and Demons climbed out of them, their weapons drawn and pointed at Kratos. They charged at him one second later, hoping to overwhelm him with sheer numbers... but they were no match for the might of the former Spartan general, who slashed them apart with his blades, sending their mutilated bodies down in the frothy waters below. However, Kratos suspected that this attack was just a distraction, in order to keep hs busy while Atropos attacked the bridge... and he was proven right when, a few seconds later, the wicked crone came up again, getting close to the bridge and bombarding it with bolts of green energy that began smashing it apart! Knowing that his past self wouldn't have been able to kill Ares without that sword, and that if he had died in the past, he would have perished in the present as well, Kratos produced the Bow of Apollo and began firing at Atropos when she was preoccupied with the bridge and could not dodge her opponent's attacks. More Olympus Sentinels came up from behind him, but he ignored them as much as possible, and only concentrated on Atropos, sending one bolt of energy after the other at her.
"You do not control MY fate, Sisters!" he bellowed angrily. "I will NOT be your puppet any more!" As if to underline his point, Kratos fired another volley of energy arrows into Atropos, striking her in the chest and causing her to stagger in pain and surprise. She flew backwards and dived down once again in order to get a brief reprieve, and Kratos quickly turned to the attacking Olympus Sentinels and charged at them in a whirlwing of blood and steel. The Blades of Athena struck true once again, decimating the attackers... and Kratos quickly pierced a straggler in the chest with his blades, before drawing him close and literally breaking him in half! The monster gurgles obscenely as his two halves fell on the bridge in a shower of gore, then ceased struggling just as Atropos came up again, this time getting at a safe distance from the bridge. She summoned another sphere of energy and tossed it at Kratos, followed by another one... but she had given away her intentions one moment too early, and without the Sentinels and the Demons to distract him, the Ghost of Sparta was able to use the Golden Fleece to intercept the attack and send it right back at Atropos, who growled in pain and anger when she was hit by her own attack.
"Graaaaaaah!" she shrieked madly. "Why? How is it that we cannot control the fate of a mere mortal? We are the Sisters of Fate, and we will not be denied by YOU, Kratos!"
The cronelike Sister of Fate floated up again and sent a volley of bolts against the bridge, hitting it in several parts and weakening it... but still not quite managing to shatter it, and Kratos used the Bow of Apollo once again to shoot Atropos and make her lose altitude. When Atropos dropped down again, she made a great swipe with her claws, hitting Kratos and sending him tumbling on the bridge's surface, but the Spartan warrior quickly rolled with the blow and managed to reduce the damage. He spat out some blood mixed with saliva and quickly stood up again, just as Atropos tried to shatter the bridge with her lightning bolt attack... and in the background, Ares was sucking the Kratos of the past into a dark vortex, in a nightmare dimension where he was going to once again be tormented with his family's death...
In a frantic effort to stop Atropos, Kratos summoned the huge hammer wielded by Alrik the Barbarian King, who he had defeated once again in his journey to the Temple of Fates, and swung it with all of his strength, hitting Atropos in the chest and staggering her! The crone shrieked in pain and fell down on the bridge, where she was struck again by the hammer... and then, Kratos switched to the Blades of Athena and stabbed Atropos in the chest, causing her to actually bleed! Blinding by pain and surprise, Atropos flew up, trying to dislodge the blade that had buried itself in her flesh, but the chain fastening the blade to Kratos' arm held tight, and Kratos let himself be dragged up when Atropos took altitude. In a desperate attempt to shrug off the Spartan warrior, Atropos writhed and turned in midair, but Kratos held tight and managed to get close enough to stab her again with the other blade! Both combatants fell on the bridge, Atropos crushing a few Olympus Demons under her massive body, and Kratos wasted no time in getting up again and stabbing Atropos in the neck! The Sister of Fate in charge of the death of every mortal tried to scream, but all that came out was a choked gasp and a spray of blood... and Kratos jumped up and brought his other blade down on her forehead, skewering it! Atropos convulsed in pain for a few seconds, then finally lay still in a large pool of blood, both her own and Kratos'.
The Spartan took a relieved sigh as he saw that, while damaged, the sword-bridge was still able to function as a weapon. In the background, his past self had just come out of the nightmare dimension Ares had dragged him in, and was kneeling in the water, with Ares pacing around him and getting ready to strike him down. The flame-haired god raised his sword, and was about to skewer the past Kratos with it... when his opponent saw the sword-bridge and shook himself out of his funk, rolling out of Ares' reach and grabbing the hilt of the huge sword! Atropos' body was knocked off the bridge and fell towards the waters below... and just then, incredibly, Atropos woke up and flew away, trying to reach Kratos... but she was forced to stop when she hit an invisible barrier in the sky, and began helplessly beating upon it with her clawed hands...
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As soon as past events had played out the way they were supposed to, Kratos had found himself back at the Throne of Lachesis, staring at the center mirror upon which an helpless Atropos was still trying to reach him, dangerously close to him, and at the same time infinitely far away. Lachesis, the dark-skinned Sister of Fate, was still looming threateningly upon him. She was floating in midair, a couple meters off the ground, and she was still holding her hooked staff, while the wounds Kratos had inflicted upon her earlier on seemed to have completely disappeared. However, this had not quelled her anger in any way. Her expression was unreadable... but she definitely wasn't smiling.
"I grow tired of toying with you, Kratos." she whispered dangerously. Then, she could not hold her anger in any more and pointed her hooked staff at the Ghost of Sparta, wrathfully raising her voice. "This power... THIS POWER WAS NOT MEANT FOR A MORTAL LIKE YOU!"
Kratos' insticts warned him of danger... but Lachesis was too fast for his reflexes to react accordingly, and he failed to get away in time when Lachesis unleashed a bolt of green lightning at him, sending a painful shock through his body. Kratos growled in pain and tried to get away from Lachesis, who tossed him to the ground and send three more bolts at the mirrors in the room. As Kratos shook his head and climbed back to his feet, Atropos emerged from the mirror on his left, her clawed hands holding on to the sides of the reflective surface. Kratos grunted in annoyance, and Atropos chuckled evilly while trying to emerge from the mirror.
"I do not die so easily, Kratos!" she crooned, tossing a green bolt at the Spartan warrior, who quicky rolled out of the way... and was struck by Lachesis, who had taken to the air and dropped down, hitting the ground with her staff glowing in green light! The Spartan was tossed away and slammed upon the wall, then slid down in a daze and acted just in time to avoid being skewered by Lachesis' staff! He grabbed the weapon in his hands and unleashed Poseidon's Rage, sending a powerful electrical shock into Lachesis' body and causing her to scream in agony before tossing her away on the ground. Another bolt of green energy from Atropos forced him to dodge... and a split second later, Kratos slowed down time and dashed towards Atropos before she could slink back in the mirror. He slashed at Atropos several times, forcing her to retreat... and as the mirror became cracked, he brought out his war hammer again and slammed it on the reflecting surface, shattering it!
Lachesis stood again and fired several energy balls at Kratos, hitting him once but failing to drop him. She attacked again, and fired a few more shots, which Kratos parried with the Golden Fleece and sent back at her... then flew up and shot a lighting bolt at the ground, charging it with destructive energy! Just in time, Kratos threw one of the Blades of Athena at an arc in the upper part of the Throne, then drew himself up as the ground crackled with energy... then launched himself at Lachesis and struck true, bringing her to the ground just as the effect of the lightning bolt ceased. Atropos emerged from the right mirror and fired again... but Kratos reflected the shot back at her with the Golden Fleece and slowed time down once again, repeating the process he had used to shatter the opposite mirror. With a frustrated growl, Atropos was forced back into the mirror before Kratos shattered it, leaving just one mirror intact. Getting more and more desperate, Lachesis flew in front of the remaining mirror and slammed her staff on the ground, creating several columns of green energy which she then sent towards Kratos at high speeds! The Ghost of Sparta swifty managed to dodge the attack by slipping between the columns of energy, and dashed in to attack Lachesis hand-to-hand. In a desperate attempt to stop the Spartan general, the woman twirled her staff and tried to swat Kratos aside, only to find all of her attacks blocked by the Blades of Athena.
"How? How are you keeping up with me, Kratos? How can I not decide your fate?" she exclaimed, putting more and more power in each of her attacks. Using all of the skills he had accumlated in years upon years of bloody battles, Kratos kept a close eye on both ends of the staff, alternating between avoiding the pointy end and blocking the blunt one, and taking advantage of whatever few openings Lachesis gave him in order to score a few hits. It was a truly impressive sight, with both combatants never giving nor accepting quarter, but it was plain clear that one of them was going to drop his or her guard soon, and then would have been the time to end the battle once and for all...
Finally, Kratos caught an opening in Lachesis' relentless assault. He threw one of his blades at her, and the Sister of Fate managed to dodge by simply moving sideways... but Kratos was not aiming at her body, as she discovered much to her chagrin when the chain fastening the blade to Kratos' arm wrapped itself around her staff, trapping it in a vicelike grip. Kratos began pulling inward, and manages to wrest the staff away from Lachesis, who stumbled forward awkwardly and allowed Kratos to stab her in the side with the staff's sharp end. The woman howled in pain as Kratos pushed the hook deeper into her flesh, then lifted the staff and threw it away along with its owner. As Lachesis tried to dislodge her own weapon from her body, Kratos got ready to launch a final attack against her... but a cold clawed hand emerged from the mirror right behind him and dragged his backwards, holding him in place as Atropos emerged once again from the reflective surface. The Spartan warlord struggled and tried to get free from the deadly grab... but this cost him some time, and Lachesis had all the time she needed to recover, extract her weapon from her own body and fly towards Kratos!
"Hahahahahaaaa! Strike him down now, sister!" Atropos laughed. With a vengeful scream, Lachesis raised her staff and got ready to skewer Kratos on its pointed end. But the Spartan champion refused to let them win, and managed to wrest his right arm free and launch one of the Blades of Athena towards an handhold on the walls of the Throne. Then, he pulled himself upwards with all of his strength, breaking out of Atropos' hold and lifting himself towards the ceiling. Atropos was left to grasp at thin air, but did not have the time to be surprised before her sister's weapon struck her in the forehead, piercing through her skull and coming out on the other side in a shower of blood!
"Sister!" Lachesis screamed in shock. Kratos vaulted around the hold he had gotten and swept down upon Lachesis, kicking both her and the dying Atropos into the mirror... then, before Lachesis could recover, he stabbed her in the chest with the Blades of Athena, and finally slashed her in the head, throwing her through the mirror. Lachesis could do nothing but scream in pain and impotent rage as she and her sister were absorbed by the mirror, and began beating mercilessly on the surface of the mirror in a desperate attempt to get free... just before her face froze in horror at the sight of Kratos summoning his war hammer once again and rearing it backwards.
"No... no... don't do this!" Lachesis pleaded.
Kratos paid her no heed and slammed the hammer on the final mirror with all of his might! With a chilling sound, the glass shattered, as Lachesis and Atropos let out a final, silent scream and were destroyed. All that was left of the two Sisters of Fate was a bunch of glass shard scattered on the floor... and a new corridor appeared behind the broken mirror, allowing Kratos to access the innermost part of the temple.
Keeping a fierce frown on his face, Kratos nodded and walked into the new passage that had just been revealed. The final Sisters of Fate, Clotho, was getting closer... and with her, his greatest chance to free himself of all his nightmares!
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TO BE CONTINUED...