AN: So I've never tried making something like this before so I'll try my best to keep it interesting. Any help and/or criticism to make the story better would be greatly appreciated.
Alright so, the story will start at the end of God of War 3 when Kratos is about to impale himself, and if you want the full context of it if you didn't already know, then I suggest watching a youtube video of the cutscene.
For now I think my upload schedule will be a chapter every 3 or 4 days
(3rd pov)
"The power you took from the box is mine. From it you gained the strength that Zeus could never destroy, a strength great enough to overcome Fear. Locked deep inside you Kratos, is Hope." Athena says as Kratos looks at one of his hands with burning blue flames coming off it.
"It has remained buried, trapped by your guilt and the failures of the past. When you killed Zeus, you must have allowed something to awaken it. What was it Kratos?" She asks calmly.
'Hope is what makes us strong. It is why we are here. It is what we fight with when all else is lost.' A memory of Pandora played in Kratos' head.
"What was it Kratos" Athena asked slightly more demanding.
"All I remember is what I have lost" Kratos says walking past Athena, overlooking the lands that were once beautiful and a sight to behold now plunged into chaos with no sunlight in sight.
"That is why you should give me the power. I understand its true meaning and where it belongs. I trust you do the right thing, Kratos." Athena says while gently placing her hand on the back of Kratos' shoulder.
"You shouldn't" He says shrugging her hand off and crouching down looking down at the Sword of Olympus.
"You owe me this, Kratos!" Athena says with anger not being able to hold it in.
"I owe you nothing!" Kratos shouted back with an anger of his own, standing with the sword in hand.
"I made you a god. I sheltered you from the wrath of Olympus. I delivered your revenge on Zeus." Athena says.
"It is over, Athena" Kratos says in a slightly calmer tone.
"You would dare strike me down, again?" Athena says astounded by his actions.
"My vengeance... ends now." Kratos says getting the sword up and letting his power run through it as the blade was now surrounded by blue flames.
He swung the blade at Athena and she stepped back, but for better or worse she was not the target. Kratos held the weapon by its blade before impaling himself letting blood gush out everywhere.
"You fool! What have you done!?" Athena says even more angered.
Kratos was not able to say anything as he went up in the air and a white pillar surrounded by blue flames shot out into the sky before dispersing in a shock wave spreading out the power.
"No! That was meant for me! They will not know what do with it" She exclaimed.
Kratos didn't say anything as he dropped to the floor with him quickly dying.
"You disappoint me, spartan" She says lifting Kratos' head up making him look at her in the eyes.
Kratos only grunted and gave a very small smirk that's barely noticeable.
Ahtena had enough as she ripped the blade out of Kratos leaving a gaping hole in where it once was. She turned around and floated away leaving Kratos to bleed out and die with the view of the dark and grim sky.
(Kratos pov)
I'm surrounded by darkness, finally after all these of these years, all of the suffering, the losses, the bloodshed, and serving those accursed gods... finally, I can experience the sweet release of death. But then a light appeared in the distance, though dim it was still there.
I thought nothing of it and ignored it, but over time it grew brighter and brighter before it was too bright and I had to close my eyes.
As the light dies down I suddenly feel grass..? I slowly open my eyes to the sun shining brightly in a clear blue sky. By the gods... what is going on? I sit up and look at my surroundings, I'm in the middle of a forest. Looking down at my arms they are still the same, and on my back I feel a set of blades. I take them out to see that they are no longer the blades of exile, but they are the original blades of chaos just without their usual glow through them.
What the fuck is happening.. at one moment I was finally able to enjoy the sweet release of death. But then it was ripped away from me and I got kicked into the living again. What sort of trickery is this!?
"ATHENA!" I shout into the sky but gain to response
"ANSWER ME DAMN IT! HAVE I NOT SUFFERED ENOUGH!?" I shout again but it is no different than the last time
"ARGH!" I punch a tree out of pure rage as the god or gods are tormenting me again.
As I eventually calm down I realize something about my surroundings.. they are completely untouched by anything but nature, aside from the tree I just punched down. And the sun is back too, how is this possible? Am I in the past because I have the blades of chaos with me? If that's so then the gods might be alive.
After contemplating for some time, I decide that I will find that out later. For now I have to get a vantage point and look for any signs of civilization, if there's any. I get up and from what I can see there's an unusually tall tree in the distance to my right, so that's where I went.
I run through the forest in the general direction of the tree, but I hear some rustling and a low growl. I get to a complete stop before taking out my blades and listen for more noises. I hear thumping behind me, I quickly turn around to see a decently sized creature with a white mask on its head.
I sidestep out of the way before hooking my blade into it and slamming it into a tree to get a better look at it. It looked like a wolf with completely black fur and it the white parts on it seems something similar to bones, it also has glowing red eyes.
Before it can do anything else I punch its face to the ground before snapping its neck. But then something strange happens, instead of just dying and becoming a corpse, it turned into.. smoke. This is an interesting creature.
Moving on, I continue running in the direction of the tree and without any more interruptions I arrive at it quickly. I then use my blades to launch me to the top of the tree. I look around and I can see smoke, so that's where I'm heading.
(Small Timeskip)
On the way there I came across another one of those black creatures, but that time it was a bear variant which was just as easy to kill as the first creature I came across.
As I made my way closer to the smoke, I enter a clearing where I can see a village that's decently sized and I see there are some guards at the entrance of the village so I approach them.
As they see me they immediately get their weapons ready, which I don't blame them for, considering how I look. "Halt! State your business!" One of them says pointing their spear at me.
I stopped a small distance away from the tip of the spear, "I was exploring the forest but I got lost, so I'm currently looking for shelter that I can stay in for the night" I say making a quick half lie.
They look amongst themselves before turning back to me and one of them asks, "Do you have any lien on you?"
"No I don't" I don't even know what that is, is that supposed to be currency?
They think about what to do before telling me, "We'll give you a place to stay, but in exchange you will have to protect the village from the grimm."
Another thing I don't know, if it's the creatures with the bone masks I can deal with them, and even if it's something else I can and will handle it so there's no issue, "Alright, we have a deal" I say.
They seem relieved at my answer before leading me to the village's elder. On the way there I get stares from those who see me, some of fear, some curiosity, some admiration. And I believe I see some of the villagers have animal appendages, like cat or dog ears or have a different type skin texture or color.
We arrive at a big hut in the center of the village, "Wait here for a moment" one of the guards says before entering the hut, probably to talk to the elder about me. As I wait, I hear small footsteps behind me and a woman's voice telling them to stop. I turn around to see a boy looking up at me.
"Umm.. h-hello sir, my name's Jacob c-can I know what's yours?" The boy asks nervously
I chuckle a little before crouching down to his level, "My name is Kratos, boy."
"Th-those scars seem old, you must have been through a lot right?" The boy asks with slightly more curiosity in his tone this time.
"More than you could ever imagine boy" I smile a little and ruffle his hair before standing up as I hear the door open.
The guard along with the village elder comes out with a smile on his old face, "I'm assuming you're the one that will be protecting our village for the time being?" he asks.
I simply gave him a nod, and he seems overjoyed, "We will finally be able to have a good night's rest without having to about grimm. I thank you so so much kind sir. John, if you would be kind enough to show our guest and guard to his quarters" He says referring to one of the guards.
The guard nods before asking me to follow him which I do. It doesn't take us long before arriving at a hut that's only a little larger than the normal ones I passed by. "This is where you'll be staying, I will be taking my leave now" the guard says as he walked away.
I sit on the stump of wood acting as a chair, and just enjoy the moment. Because it has been far too long since I could just relax for once. "Come out boy, you are horrible at hiding your presence" I call out the boy and he comes out from around the building, it was the same boy from before. "Why have you followed me?" I ask him while patting the other stump next to me signaling him to have a seat.
"Well, we don't get new faces in the village often, so I wanted to get to know you better." The boy says as he's taking a seat.
"And what about your mother, isn't she going to be worried her child just ran off somewhere?" I ask him.
"Oh no need to worry, I already told her that I was gonna play with some of my friends" He answers.
"Then what would you like to know about me, boy?" I ask
"Hmm.. I don't know, I never thought I'd get this far. Could you maybe tell me a story of one of your adventures?" He asks the last part with excitement.
I think for a moment before making up a story of me exploring a cave I found along with a giant beast inside. I would never tell anyone my past, let alone a child. As I was explaining the story, the boy got more and more interested. And by the end of it, the sun was only moments away from disappearing. "You better go back home boy, it's time I guard this place" I say while getting up.
The boy nods before walking away waving goodbye to me. I walk out to the village gate meeting up with the other guards that are also tasked to keep watch. They all greet me before they disperse, surrounding the village walls while I guard the entrance.
(Timeskip to the next day)
Nothing eventful happened last night only a couple of what I assume to be grimm, as they call it. I didn't even need to use my blades; they were so weak that a normal punch from me kills them easily. I go back inside and go to the village elder's hut. I see him sitting outside drinking some tea.
"Ah Kratos, what do I owe the pleasure of having you here?" He asks before taking another sip of his tea.
"I need to know where's the nearest city from here, I'm planning to leave in a few days" I answer.
"Hmm, it's a shame you can't stay for long, but I don't have the right to stop you. The nearest city is Vale, and you just have to head east. I'm going to guess it takes an hour for a bullhead to get there, so you'll need to leave early." He says.
"Alright, thank you" I say before leaving. I wonder how long has it been since I've ever thanked somebody if ever. I sit outside my hut again and not long after the boy came back here.
"Hello again Kratos" he says with a smile and is now much more comfortable with me.
"Hello boy, what do you want this time?" I ask.
"I want you to train me" He says.
"Care to say that again?" I ask not expecting what I just heard.
"I want you to train me, Kratos. I want to be able to defend the village" He says, and I can see the determination in his eyes.
"I will not. My training is too harsh for someone of your figure, and you don't even look older than 10" I say turning his request down.
"But why?" The boy asks.
"I already said why, boy. And besides, I plan to leave in a few days" I reply.
"Please? At least teach me the basics" He says begging.
"No means no, boy. You need to understand that." I say turning him down again.
The boy gets fed up and stomps away angry and mumbles things to himself. I lean back and sigh, it was for his own good.
(Timeskip to nightfall)
It's night again and I killed a few more grimm and there hasn't been any sign of them for the past hour or so but then suddenly...
*BOOM*
Explosions can be heard behind me and there are flames rising into the skies accompanied with the all too familiar screams of sorrow. I run inside and see what caused it, bandits. I get mad and take out my blades before tackling one of them to the ground and smashing their head in. The others quickly surrounded me hoping to catch me at a disadvantage. Well lucky me, they're closer together.
I spin my blades around at their neck level too quick for them to react, and just as they realize what's happening, their heads are no longer attached to their bodies as they drop dead. More are coming my way, so I dash at them. With all of my momentum, I carry it in a punch to one of their heads which kills him without a question before launching him away.
Another raises their sword to try and attack me but I break the arm holding the sword, and before he could scream I grab his head and impale his neck into a wooden spike that's poking out. The other three I made quick work of before dashing around the village to find a lot more bandits.
If someone was watching from afar, I would say that this isn't a battle, more so a slaughter. Heads were flying, screams filled the night, the once clean lands now stained with blood and flames. I sigh, this sight I know all too well...
I dash around the village killing every bandit I come across and after half an hour of slaughter there were finally all killed. The fires have long died down and only a remnant of the village remained.
I begin searching through the rubble trying to find any survivors and I have no luck so far. I keep searching until I hear someone coughing and calling for help. I rush over to where it was and lift the rubble to find the boy. I quickly get him out and see that his left thigh has a large piece of wood in it.
I run out of the village and get some leaves and fibers before pulling out the piece of wood making the boy cry in pain. I quickly put leaves on it and then tie the fibers I got tightly making a makeshift bandage that will do for now. "You should rest now; you need to heal" I say. The boy could only nod before falling asleep from exhaustion.
I then carry the boy with one hand and hold my blade in the other before walking in the direction of Vale.
