Hellooooooooooooooo my friends! Here iz chapter three!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Legend of Zelda or God of War, only my OCs.
WARNING: Intense violence coming up. You have been warned.
ENJOY!
Hyrule Field
A beautiful and cloudless day graced the great kingdom of Hyrule. It had been two years since the land was liberated from the clutches of Zant and Ganondorf, and the kingdom had returned to normal. In fact, Hyrule had improved greatly since then. Any and all traces of Zant and Ganondorf's rule were erased completely.
A golden beam shined down upon the field, glowing intensely before fading away instantly. Slowly, Kratos stood to his full height, taking in his surroundings. He found himself standing in a field, stretching out as far as he could see. Green grass littered the land, a cluster of trees here and there. Mountains were in his field of vision to the north and west. The blue sky was cloudless and he could feel the warmth of the sun against his ash white skin. When he turned around, his eyes beheld a large forest. Kratos took one last look around. How contrast this land is compared to what Greece is now, nothing but a chaotic wasteland of his doing.
With a slight glare, Kratos shook his head and began to walk forward. He didn't know where to find the ones he is to assist, Link and Zelda, he recalled their names, but he would find them soon enough. As if fortunate was smiling down on him, Kratos spotted a sign with four wooden panels. Quickening his pace, Kratos approached the sign and examined it from the top panel to the bottom.
Ordana Province: South
Castletown and Hyrule Castle: North
Karkariko Village: East
Lake Hylia: West
The second panel had Kratos' attention. From what he remembered during his time with Hylia, Link and Zelda wore fine and delicate clothing, suitable for royalty. He put the pieces of the puzzle together and came to the conclusion that Link and Zelda reside in the castle. With his destination set, Kratos walked off in the direction of where the sign was pointing. However, it wasn't too long in his journey when he stopped in his tracks. His instincts were telling him that he was being watched. Dense bushes surrounded both sides of the dirt road he was walking on. Perfect for an ambush. And he was right.
Six men emerged from within the bushes on both sides of the road, all wearing leather or fur tunics, and all were armed with swords. Excited growls escaped their throats as they encircled the Ghost of Sparta, ensuring that he had no escape. To a citizen of this land, being trapped by bandits would be great trouble. To Kratos? They were just obstacles standing in his way, ones he intends to deal with.
Mercilessly.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here, boys?" One of them, apparently the leader, spoke in a gruff voice, eyeing the Golden Fleece with a greedy interest. "Tell ya what, hand over that shiny gold bling ya got there, and we might just let ya live."
Kratos' face darkened dangerously as he glared daggers at the bandit leader. "I will say this only once." He began coldly and menacingly. "Get out of my sight, or I will kill you and your pack of vermin."
Of course, they didn't take him seriously and began to laugh hysterically, fatally unware he could more than backup his dire threat. "You dumb or somethin', fool?" The leader mocked. "There's twelve of us and only one of you." Kratos' glare never left his face as the bandit spoke. In fact, it only deepened. "Ya want to do this the hard way? Then we'll do it the hard way. Jackson, get 'im!"
The one called Jackson nodded in sadistic excitement and charged toward Kratos from behind, a crazed cry escaping his throat. At the last second, Kratos whirled around and gripped Jackson's sword with his bare hand, stopping the blade cold in the air. Jackson stared with surprised wide eyes, then became utterly shocked when Kratos snapped the blade in half with the use of his godly strength. Before Jackson could even exclaim at the sight of his destroyed weapon, Kratos used the snapped off half of the blade to ruthlessly stab Jackson in the throat. The man violently coughed up blood before falling to the ground lifeless, red staining the dirt and grass. Before the other bandits could converge on him, Kratos quickly unsheathed the Blades of Chaos and threw them out. Gripping their chains, the God of War then twirled his demonic weapons over his head, forming a deadly cyclone of hellfire and metal, instantly killing those caught in their reach. Blood and inner organs splattered onto the ground as the bandits fell while Kratos pulled back on the chains and the blades returned to his hands. The leader dropped his blade and stared with horrified wide eyes at the sight of his disemboweled comrades, shock rendering him frozen in place. This cost him dearly as Kratos swung his right blade in a horizontal angle, cleaving the man's head clean off the body.
With his blades dripping with their blood, Kratos looked around at the bodies of the fools that had laughably attempted to rob him of the Golden Fleece. Scoffing, he casually sheathed the Blades of Chaos and proceeded onward as if nothing ever happened, not even bothering to glance back at the gruesome massacre he had left behind.
Kratos continued his journey until sunset. Of course, he had thought about trekking straight through the night, but even he needed to rest. Finding a somewhat secluded area, Kratos laid down and got as comfortable as he could get before closing his eyes, falling into an extremely rare peaceful slumber.
Hyrule Castle
Within their bedchamber in the castle, Link and Zelda laid asleep in their king sized bed. After another long day, the couple was more than happy to retreat to their bedchamber for the night. Link was sleeping peacefully, but the same could not be said for his wife, given how she was twitching and fidgeting in her sleep.
She stood in her throne room, but it had certainly seen better days. The once white walls and pillars were now torn down and somewhat demolished. The scent of smoke and fire hung heavy in the air. Zelda looked around at what remained of her throne room, but when her eyes spotted something, a dreaded gasp tore from her throat as she ran over and knelt down next to the unmoving body of her husband. A massive scar was imprinted across his chest, oozing blood.
"Link! No!" Zelda cried out as she cradled her husband's body in her arms, sobbing into his throat as tears spilled down her cheeks.
Suddenly, the sounds of grunting brought Zelda's attention up from Link's lifeless body, and a gasp of shock escaped her throat. Although her vision is blurry due to her tears, she could still see what was going on. She would recognize his black armor and cape, green skin, orange red hair, and that despicable grin anywhere.
Ganondorf, the Demon King.
But it was who Ganondorf was fighting that really shocked Zelda; Him.
Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta.
Aside from a new massive scar on his abdomen and now wearing golden armor on his right arm, his appearance hadn't all changed. Thousands of questions rang through Zelda's head.
What is Kratos doing here in her throne room? No. What is Kratos even doing here in Hyrule?
Why is he fighting Ganondorf?
Did Kratos inflict this wound upon Link?
Zelda was brought out of her contemplation when Ganondorf and Kratos punched each other in the face, and they were both sent flying away from each other, slamming into pillars with pained grunts. Kratos recovered first and charged toward Ganondorf with a savage war cry. The Demon King saw the Ghost of Sparta coming and rushed to meet his adversary, cocking his right arm back and clenching the fist of said arm. But Ganondorf's fist never connected to Kratos' face when the God of War unsheathed the Blades of Chaos in a blink of an eye and slashed them in an upward arch. The force of the attack sent the Ganondorf flying back into the pillar he had slammed into not too long ago. Kratos threw his demonic weapons and they impaled into Ganondorf's chest. The Ghost of Sparta then harpooned himself into the Demon King, ramming him. Kratos then pulled on the chains and threw Ganondorf into the other pillar. Kratos had just landed back on the ground when Ganondorf sprung off the pillar and darted toward his enemy. Kratos was more than prepared for him and once again impaled his weapons into Ganondorf's chest. The God of War spun around once and with a fierce grunt, he tossed Ganondorf back into the pillar. Parts of the pillar came crashing down on the Demon King, burying him underneath rubble. Said rubble then shifted before exploding.
"I grow tired of this." Ganondorf sneered hatefully as the Sword of the Six Sages formed in his right hand.
The two combatants then broke into a sprint toward each other, unleashing ferocious war cries. Soon enough, the Sword of the Six Sages and the Blades of Chaos violently made contact, and Zelda's vision became engulfed in white.
Link's eyes snapped open, startled by his wife's sudden scream. Sitting upright in the bed, he turned to Zelda's side of the bed to her breathing heavily, looking distraught. "Zelda?" He asked, concern evident in his voice.
Zelda snapped her head in Link's direction and it took all her might not to scream again. There he was, her heroic husband, alive and well. The visage of his lifeless body with that hideous scar still tormented her mind. In an instant, Zelda wrapped her arms around Link's neck and sobbed into his shoulder.
For five minutes, Link said nothing as Zelda wept into his shoulder, caressing her back gently. After that amount of time, Zelda's breathing returned to somewhat normal, though she let out the occasional sob. "Zelda, what has you so shaken?" Link inquired gently.
Zelda pulled away to meet her husband's gaze. "I- I had a nightmare, Link." She whispered, almost choking the words out.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Link asked.
Zelda hesitated. She realized she never told Link about Kratos before. She didn't see the need to. But she was baffled as to why she had this sudden nightmare. The last time she had a vision of Kratos was two years ago, months after Link had prevailed over Ganondorf in battle. She shivered as that vision came rushing back to her memory. The image of Ares' malevolent, towering form, the way Kratos would viciously swing the Blades of Chaos by their chains, and the sounds of people screaming as he murdered them in cold blood were all still fresh in her mind.
Shaking her head, Zelda spoke. "No need. It was merely a dream, nothing more." The words sounded hollow though.
Link didn't really believe it, but he nodded regardless. "If you say so." He then kissed Zelda on the forehead before the couple laid back down on the bed, their arms lovingly wrapped around each other. All the while, Zelda prayed to the goddesses that she will never cross paths with Kratos.
Little did she know, the man himself was here in Hyrule. Adding to that, she and Link will need his help to combat an oncoming darkness.
Next Morning…
The warmth of the sun flooded their bedchamber as Link and Zelda prepared themselves for the day ahead. The end of their private morning routine was nearing. "A council meeting, what a fantastic way to start the day." Link muttered sarcastically.
Zelda sat before her vanity, eyeing her husband's reflection in the mirror while brushing her chestnut brown hair. "You know these meetings are essential to our kingdom's prosperity." She reasoned.
Link sighed, noting the optimism in his wife's voice. "Yes, I suppose." He cast his wife a smile through the mirror, which Zelda returned beautifully.
Today was the monthly Council meeting. Each month, Link, Zelda, and the members of the Royal Council would gather in the Council Chamber and discuss all manner of topics, ranging from Hyrule's internal affairs to foreign relations. These meetings aren't exactly enjoyable, but they are critical to Hyrule's growth.
"I wonder what they want to bicker about today." Link mused aloud.
Zelda placed the brush down on the vanity and approached her husband with a smile. "Is the great Hero of Twilight afraid of a few councilmen?" She teased.
"Not at all." Link retorted in the same teasing tone as he placed his hands on Zelda's waist.
Link contemplated his life. Before Zant's invasion, Link had been a simple goat herder in the village of Ordon. Every day was pretty the same as the last, perform his usual duties. At one point, Link thought he would marry his best friend, Ilia, and have children with her.
All that changed the moment he was dragged into Twilight for the first time, changing into the form of a sacred wolf… and met Midna.
During his entire adventure, Link realized that he was never destined for a normal life. When he stepped out onto the fields of Hyrule for the very first time, the world instantly became larger.
And now, here he was two years after he had defeated the Demon King. He was king of Hyrule, the people praised him greatly, and best of all, he had a beautiful wife he loved with all his heart.
Link leaned down to kiss Zelda on the lips- just as someone knocked on their bedchamber doors. "My Lord and Lady?" a muffled voice sounded.
With a slight groan, Link pulled away. "Come, my love. Let us face the enemy together." Zelda teased lovingly. Link smiled and took Zelda's hand into his own. The together, the two departed their bedchamber, heeding the call of duty.
Link and Zelda entered the Council Chamber, a spacious room with tall windows and a vaulted ceiling. The windows were covered with drapes bearing the Triforce crest. In the middle of the chamber was a large stone table with three decoratively designed chairs on each side. Two chairs of the same design filled the space on the ends of the table, two of them reserved for the king and queen of Hyrule, the other two reserved for those of foreign royalty.
When Link and Zelda entered the chamber, the six ministers were already seated in their chairs, then rose when the king and queen came into the room. On the left side of the table, sat Lord Troy Moore, Minster of State Affairs; Lady Kayla Snow, Minister of Religious Affairs; Lord Zack Gilihan, Minster of Military Affairs.
Zack had taken a mentoring role in Link's life since he accepted Zelda's offer to join the Royal Army, mainly because Captain Felix Henshaw had introduced them. Felix had worked closely with Link in their business of training new recruits. The captain was also greatly impressed by Link's skill with a sword and respected him greatly, while Zack tutored Link in history, etiquette, and politics.
On the right side of the table sat Lord Shaun Anderson, Minister of the Treasury; Lady Sarah Newman, Minister of Judicial Affairs; and lastly, Lord Nick Danithan, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
"Councilors." Zelda greeted them with a nod and smile as she and Link sat in their seats. "Please be seated."
They obliged and the queen waited until they settled into their seats. "As you are all aware, we gathered here for our monthly meeting to discuss the state of our kingdom. Who would like to start?"
Troy spoke first. "The preparations for the ball of your anniversary are about half way complete."
"Luckily we had just enough rupees to do so." Shaun added with a chuckle.
Nick mentally scoffed. Being a conservative and traditionalist, Nick had always lived under the belief that preserving the 'purity' of the royal bloodline was the key to any kingdom's prosperity. He had always disapproved of Zelda's friendship with Link, and he had strongly opposed their engagement. But the rest of the council had allowed the engagement to proceed to the wedding. Although he doesn't show it, Nick had always been bitter about it, and it only grew the past two years.
"Your Majesties." Nick cut in, feigning kindness, and all eyes went to him. "We have received a letter from King Victor of Aubradia. He wishes to arrange a trade treaty as soon as possible."
"Send a letter to Aubradia and notify King Victor that we will arrange a rendezvous as soon as we can." Zelda said. A trade agreement between Aubradia and Hyrule would greatly benefit both kingdoms.
The meeting went on for another hour, each minister discussing their respective fields. "If that will be all, you are all dismissed." Zelda said.
One by one, the councilors rose from their chairs and departed the Council Chamber. When they were alone, Link and Zelda rose from their seats and walked out together. "See, was that so bad?" Zelda teased sweetly.
Link rolled his eyes playfully before leaning down to kiss his wife on the cheek.
Hyrule Field
Kratos resumed his journey at first light. For hours, he walked on the dirt road as the sun slowly ascended into the sky, replacing the cool night air with its warmth. But the Ghost of Sparta was becoming impatient. This field seemed to never end, and he felt no closer to his destination then when he began yesterday.
After a few more hours of walking, Kratos came to a stop at the top of a hill, and it was there he saw it in the distance. A large castle towering over a small town. He estimated it was about a few more miles away. With that in mind, Kratos began to walk again, but didn't get far when what sounded like a horn blowing in the distance made him stop.
Kratos looked to that direction and scowled when he saw them. Green skinned humanoid creatures outfitted in leather clothing. Some of them were wielding clubs, others had bows. Some were on foot, others were riding what appeared to be large boars. Unbeknownst to the Ghost of Sparta, these are Bulbins and Bullbos.
Kratos growled in annoyance as the Bulbins screeched and brandished their weapons, pointing at him. Once again, he was being hindered in his journey. And just like the bandits from yesterday, these creatures will fall.
"Foul beasts!" He bellowed as he unsheathed the Blades of Chaos and assumed a fight stance. "I will send you to the depths of Hades!" Or whatever is left of it, he mused.
The Bulbins seemed to take Kratos' shout as a challenge and rushed ahead. With a war cry, Kratos raced to meet them in battle.
One of the passenger Bulbins riding a Bullbos notched a fire arrow to its bow and fired. Kratos absorbed the projectile with the Golden Fleece and sent a ball of golden light back. Both Bulbins were hit by the projectile and knocked off the Bullbos. Kratos threw his left blade in a low horizontal angle as the Bullbos charged by, cutting off all four legs. The beast screeched in pain and violently skidded to a stop, instantly dying from the combination of shock and blood loss.
Kratos threw both blades and they soared through the air until they impaled themselves into a Bulbin's chest. The creature screeched as it felt the pain from not only the blades, but the hellfire searing into its flesh. Kratos pulled on the chains and the blades ripped themselves out of the Bulbin, utterly disemboweling it. The Ghost of Sparta then whirled around and blocked a club from a Bulbin that attempted to sneak up on him. Kratos parried the attack and stabbed both blades into the Bulbin's head, reducing it to pieces of flesh. Kratos then twirled his weapons in a vertical circular pattern before slamming both blades down on the ground, killing at least six Bulbins. His weapons then glowed a bright orange and with a war cry, Kratos rammed them into the ground, and a line of fire formed, burning those caught in its path. The Bulbins caught roared as the fire consumed them. Kratos swung both blades in horizontal angles, ruthlessly decapitating two Bulbins. The God of War then tossed his right blade and impaled into the chest of another Bulbin. Kratos pulled on the chain and spun around once and sent the Bulbin violently crashing into a few others.
It soon became a bloodbath. The Bulbins screeched in horror as Kratos mercilessly tore his way through them, swinging the Blades of Chaos through the air by their chains without pause. Not even the Bulbins that had decided to flee were spared from his terrible wrath. With a savage roar, Kratos leapt high into the air and slammed both blades down on the ground, and a fiery explosion erupted in the area of impact. Relentlessly, Kratos slaughtered the Bulbins until none were left standing.
Or so he thought.
A roar of anger sounded from behind. Kratos whirled around and barely rolled out of the way when a much larger Bullbos attempted to ram him. Kratos recomposed himself and looked at his new adversary. This Bulbin was much larger than the rest, larger horns protruding out of its head. It was equipped with a large axe and shield. The Bullbos it was riding had larger tusks, and it was armored.
King Bulbin and Lord Bullbos.
Lord Bullbos snarled and King Bulbin growled before the former charged at Kratos, who simply sheathed his blades and firmly planted his feet into the ground. Just as Lord Bullbos was about to ram into him, Kratos grabbed the beast by the jaws, stopping it cold in its tracks. Kratos slammed Lord Bullbos into the ground before jumping into the air and kicked King Bulbin off his mount. Lord Bullbos then thrashed around, but that was ceased when Kratos unsheathed one of his blades and with a savage cry, he plunged the blade into the beast's head, killing it instantly. Kratos hopped off the now dead beast and sheathed his blade. Casually but menacingly, he made his way over to King Bulbin, who had recovered from being kicked off his prized mount. Snarling, King Bulbin brandished his axe and charged toward the Ghost of Sparta. When he was close enough, King Bulbin raised his axe high into the air and brought it down…
Only for Kratos to grab the wooden handle of the weapon. King Bulbin's eyes widened before Kratos pried the axe from his grip. The Ghost of Sparta then used the axe to cut off King Bulbin's right arm. The large Bublin screamed in total pain as he fell to the ground, blood gushing out where his arm used to be. Kratos then discarded the axe and stomped his foot down on King Bulbin's throat, crushing the monster's wind pipe with a sickening crunch. Kratos then gripped one of King Bulbin's horns and ripped it off.
"RAAAAAAH!" Kratos roared as he plunged the torn off horn into King Bulbin's face.
Again, as if nothing even happened, Kratos walked off. His task beckoned him.
Thank you for reading! Please leave a review and until next time, have an awesome day!