Getting out of the Greek realm was easier than Kratos thought. He only had to pass through a slight barrier, and he was out. Of course, what came next was far from easy.
Although Athena had given him information about the world between the Realms, Kratos was still surprised. The place between the realms was totally empty, all you could see was darkness all around. He and Pandora were constantly attacked by creatures of Chaos.
Of course, this was no problem for the current Kratos, one of the only living divinities able to stand up to Poseidon, the most powerful God in the Greek Realm.
And these attacks proved to be great training for a novice Spartan, Pandora. Kratos, after Pandora's insistence, decided to train her.
'It's been years since I left Greece, and seeing Pandora transform into this warrior fills me with... with pride?' Kratos already noticed that he saw a lot of Calliope in Pandora, but he tried not to let it change his judgment.
The God of War has opened up to Pandora so much that in training, he lets her use The Blade Of Chaos.
The first time he did this, Pandora was surprised, '' Are you sure? I know how much you hate this weapon.''
Pandora noted that for years and years, Kratos had tried to get rid of the weapon, but for some reason, the Blades always came back to him.
Kratos looked at the weapon with hatred, and passed one of them to Pandora, '' Whether I admit it or not, they are great weapons. Besides, this is just training, not permanent.''
Pandora was reluctant for a few seconds and then decided to accept, '' Fine! It's only for training!''
As soon as she picked up one of the Blades, Pandora, who, wanting it or not, was a creation of Hephaestus, recognized how powerful this weapon was, ''Strong! Stronger than any other weapon I have on me now!
And Pandora had received several weapons from Hephaestus and Aphrodite before leaving the Realm.
Pandora looked at Kratos again and asked, '' Can we continue the training?''
Kratos slowly picked up the other Blade from the ground, '' I'll teach you everything I know! Don't expect mercy!''
10 seconds later, Pandora was on the ground, defeated.
'' You were too slow. By the time you tried to defend one of my attacks, the third already hit you! You need more focus! Now, get up and face me again!'' Kratos always had this mentality, that strong warriors were born under pressure. And he wasn't wrong about this method of working with Pandora.
The Goddess slowly got up from the ground, wiped the blood from her mouth, and said, "Let's go again!''
Kratos nodded with approval and attacked again. This time Pandora stayed strong until 12 seconds, which was considered good.
'' Again!''
14 seconds.
'' Again!''
17 seconds.
'' AGAIN!''
20 seconds.
Finally, after fighting for hours with an experienced God of War, Pandora passed out from exhaustion. Kratos held Pandora in his arms and put her on the ground. As this was The Place between realms, a bed was a luxury they didn't find.
' She is getting stronger! She does have a Spartan spirit.' After making sure Pandora was okay, Kratos looked at the darkness around him, and his thoughts, just like all nights ever since it happened, went to the day he murdered his family.
' Even the Gods couldn't do anything about this... it is getting more difficult to bear those visions.'
Kratos who was constantly fighting his demons, always remembered what Poseidon said to him before he left Greece.
'' Your path is not here on the Greek realm.''
'' This is the fourth time you told me that! How can you be so sure about this?'' Kratos asked Poseidon.
The God of the Sea sighed, '' You can call that a hunch, but you'll learn to live with your demons if you go to another realm! I promise you.''
'' And if I can't?''
Poseidon patted Kratos's shoulder, '' You'll have to trust me on this one. Besides, what could go wrong? You lost too much here, it's not a place to restart your life.''
Kratos eventually accepted his situation, '' I'll go!''
But now... Kratos wasn't so sure about what Poseidon said. ''It's been years, and I still haven't found a realm!''
Kratos looked up at the Darkness all around him. After an unknown amount of time, Kratos looked up, his eyes practically burning with motivation to keep going.
Kratos wasn't one to give up, besides, he now has Pandora to take care of, ' I have to keep going... I can't stop!'
Filled with motivation, Kratos went to wake up Pandora, to continue their journey.
And today marks exactly 40 years since Kratos and Pandora left Greece, and the duo finally saw another Realm.
The place between the realms was totally empty, all you could see was darkness all around. So noticing this new Realm, which was practically a yellow beacon, was easy for Kratos.
''Finally! I couldn't stand eating these monsters anymore!'' Pandora, when she got out of the Greek realm was a powerful Goddess (Poseidon gave her divine powers), but under Kratos's tutelage, she is now a first-class warrior. Sure, she couldn't stand up to Kratos, but she was good.
Kratos glanced at her, '' Don't complain too much. This new Realm might be hostile toward us! Be on your guard!''
Kratos then looked at the notepad Athena gave him and checked which of the 4 realms was this one.
'To the north, we have the Nordic realm, to the east we have the Greek realm, to the west we have the Egyptians, and we have no information about what is in the south.'
Kratos looked at the description of the Norse realm and noticed that the description did not match. He then looked at the Egyptian realm and noticed that everything matched the description. 'Sand everywhere, strange structures.'
It was written in Athena's notes, 'The entrance to the Egyptian Realm is surrounded by sand. We don't know why, but it is said to be a form of distraction against Chaos creatures, who hate sand for some reason.'
Putting the notes away somewhere else, Kratos said to Pandora, ''We are in the Egyptian Realm. Athena had no information about the people, but stay alert! What have I taught you?''
Pandora, who was already holding the sword Hephaestus' gave her, '' Always be on the lookout for any attack!''
Kratos nodded, ''Let us enter. Follow me closely!''
So, after crossing a barrier, Kratos and Pandora entered the Egyptian realm.
AT A LOCATION WITHIN EGYPTIAN TERRITORY
Ra, the Sun God, recognized as the most powerful Egyptian God, has been battling the forces of Chaos for millennia. But his actual situation was special. He has been fighting daily for 41 years, with no time to rest, after a spacial rift opened in the center of the Egyptian territory.
When the rift opened, no God felt it, so it allowed Chaos creatures to wrecked havoc around the Egyptian Realm, but they're later suppressed by Ra and the other Gods.
But the Chaos creatures managed to kill all Oracles, and the Gods who had powers to see the future were unable to do so after the attack.
The Gods then came up with a plan to stop the attack. And Ra, being the most powerful God in the realm was tasked with protecting the rift. And so he did for 41 years, with no rest.
The Sun God launched an attack on the Chaos creature that was about to enter through the only rift that gives access to the Egyptian realm.
After killing the creature, another one came next. Ra shot another sunbeam and killed the creature.
Just as he was about to take a breath, he felt two deities enter the Egyptian realm, '' Hmmm...?''
He used his powers and quickly noticed Kratos and Pandora, '' And who might these be...?''
Ra knew about the Greek and the Nordic kingdoms, so he had a basis for who it was, "From the looks of it, they are Greeks. But what are they doing here?''
The Sun God suddenly attacked the rift and killed a creature that was trying to sneak in.
As Ra could not leave his post, he called another deity to check the intentions of the outsiders. ''Thoth!''
After a few seconds an old man appeared in front of Ra, '' Did you call me?''
''Two outsider Gods have just passed through the realm's barrier. Can you verify who they are and what their intentions are?''
Thoth nodded, ''Let me see what they look like... Ah, I know who the man is, but I don't know the woman.''
Ra asked, ''Who is the man?''
'' The famous Ghost of Sparta, who helped the other Greek Gods to end Zeus' tyranny. As far as I know, he left the Greek realm decades ago.''
'' I wonder what he is doing here?'' Ra asked curiously.
Thoth tried to think of a solid reason, but nothing came to his mind, '' Maybe he's just passing through? I can keep an eye on him if you want.''
Ra nodded and added, "Don't let Seth know about this. He loves a mess, even more so with another god.''
Thoth nodded and disappeared from Ra's sight. The Sun God sighed, '' Hopefully it's nothing bad!'' Then he continued at his post, defending the realm against Chaos' attack.
WITH KRATOS;
Kratos passed through several villages, and some mortals seemed to recognize him, some even bowed to him.
Pandora noticed this, '' Have you ever traveled to this realm?
Kratos was also confused, '' No...''
The God of War noticed that, although they looked at him in fear, the mortals did not run away, ''What could have happened?''
Kratos and Pandora were in the middle of a journey, when suddenly, an old man appeared in front of them, '' Good afternoon!''
Instantly, Pandora and Kratos took off their weapons, as they recognized the man as a God.
'' OW ow, calm down. I come in peace... please put down your weapons.''
Kratos looked at the man and noticed no malice. He then started to lower The Blade of Chaos. Pandora did the same when she noticed his actions.
'' What do you want?'' Kratos grumbled.
The old man still had his hands up, '' Excuse me for intruding, but it is not normal to see a deity from another realm passing through ours. Can you tell us your intentions?''
Kratos still had his guard up, '' We are passing through, going north.''
As he was the God of Wisdom of the Egyptian Realm, Tooth was genuinely intrigued, "May I ask why?''
Kratos stayed quiet. Pandora, who looked up to Kratos, was following his lead.
'' Fair. I will show you an easier way to get to the Norse Realm. Follow me.'' Thoth then began to walk.
Kratos and Pandora stood still. The girl then asked, "Shall we follow him?''
Kratos looked again at the old man and saw no malice, '' Let's follow him for now. If something happens, we'll fight!''
Pandora nodded, and the pair began to follow Thoth, who was trying to have a conversation.
''Forgive my frankness, but I am really curious about what the famous Ghost of Sparta is doing here.''
At the mention of his nickname, Kratos stopped walking. Thoth noticed this and stopped as well.
''How do you know that name?'' Kratos said with his hands on the Blade of Chaos.
Thoth said calmly, '' It seems that the Greek Realm does not send spies to the other Realms... we have a network of information about everything that happened in the other realms.''
''That's how I know about your family, about how the other gods rebelled against Zeus and how you, the God of War, helped them.''
Kratos kept walking, but his hands were still on his weapon, '' ... Can you tell me something about the North?''
Thoth, realizing that this was a chance to get on Kratos' good side began to talk without stopping. He explained to Kratos about Yggdrasil and its branches, which contained worlds. Odin and the giants. Everything he knew, he was talking about.
And so four weeks passed, in which the trio hardly rested.
It was nighttime when Thoth said, '' Let's rest here today.''
Kratos and Pandora looked at him suspiciously. Tooth said quickly, ''It's just that we're close to the barrier. Let's talk some more... what do you think?''
In respect for the information Thoth had given him, Kratos sat down on the ground. Pandora saw that Kratos was going to stay there and took some kind of cloth from her backpack and lay down on it.
Thoth sighed in relief and also sat down, '' I would think that after so much time together, you would trust me more.''
Kratos looked Thoth in the eyes, '' To gain my trust is a long road.''
''But you trusted the Greek gods when they went against Zeus.''
'' The situation was different. Zeus had lost his mind, and I wanted revenge.''
After that, the two remained silent. Thoth then asked, '' Can you ask me a question?''
Kratos was quiet but nodded.
'' In your realm, there were Goddesses who could see the future, right?''
'' The Sisters of Fate... and yes, they existed.''
Thoth nodded, '' So, there's something our informants couldn't figure out... what happened to them?''
Kratos hesitated, remembering the circumstances behind the Sisters' deaths. 'Should I tell ...?'
After a moment, Kratos decided to tell. He talked about the vision they had, that they tried to change the future only for one of them to suffer a backlash.
He talked about how the other two sisters decided to follow the first one in death but left some of their powers behind, and about how their bodies were shattered by some creatures after they died.
After Kratos finished talking, he noticed that Thoth was surprised and shocked, so he asked the Egyptian God, "What happened?''
This time it was Thoth who hesitated. The Egyptian God thought for a while and then sighed, "41 years ago, a Chaos rift opened in our Realm. Our oracles lost their powers or were killed by some creature... but they all left a morbid message.''
This caught Kratos' attention, ' It seems that all the oracles from all the realms had a vision.'
The God of War asked, '' And what would this vision be?''
'' Destruction. The Oracles died before they could speak about the visions, but they wrote about what they saw on paper.'' Thoth seemed angry when it came to what happened to the Oracles.
Kratos said nothing and silently took a book from Pandora's bag. It was a description of the vision of the Sister of Fate.
The God of War passed the book to Thoth, who took it with perplexity, '' What is this...?''
''Read it.'' Kratos said this and stood still.
Thoth didn't understand anything and started to read. The more he read, the more shocked he became, ''The visions are the same!''
As soon as he finished reading, Thoth sighed, ''This is bigger than I expected... can I take this to Ra, our leader?''
Kratos agreed, "This is just a transcript of the message. It can stay with you.''
Thoth thanked him and disappeared from the scene, heading towards Ra.
Kratos took advantage of Thoth's departure and decided to get some rest. Just as he was about to do so, he heard a, '' Finally!''
Pandora and Kratos reacted immediately, with weapons at hand. Both the Greek Gods noted the man who talked. It was a God, it had a horse head and Kratos noted that it had powers similar to his, ' A God of War, perhaps?'
'' I thought the old man wouldn't go away, but he finally did it!'' The God finally realized something, '' Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Seth, the God of War in this realm! It's a pleasure to meet you...?''
It was clear that he asked for Kratos and Pandora's names, but both stayed quiet.
Seth didn't seem bothered by it, '' Heh, it really doesn't matter, it was just courtesy. Now, I can see that you are really strong!'' He pointed at Kratos, '' How about a spar?''
Kratos finally talked, '' I just passing by, I don't want to kill anyone.''
While Kratos didn't want to sound arrogant, those words had triggered Seth, '' So you think you can kill me? Ha, we will see about that.''
After saying that Seth attacked Kratos. Pandora wanted to intervene but Kratos shook his head at her.
You see, while Kratos was training Pandora, he was also training himself. He had lost a lot of things to his Rage, so he wanted to control it. But one of the aspects of the God of War is the more rage he has, the more powerful he can be.
Kratos was trying a lot of things, and one of them was holding back in combat. Kratos lost control sometimes when he was training Pandora but he always managed to hold himself at the end, before delivering the final blow.
And now, against a 'real' enemy, Kratos was also holding back by a lot, to see if he could control his rage. 'Let's see how long I can hold it this time!'
WITH RA
Ra killed another Chaos creature that tried to pass through the rift. The Sun God was used to this routine.
It had been a few weeks since Ra had sent Thoth to speak to the outsider Gods, and he had not received any information yet, 'Since I didn't feel any attack on the Realm, I believe they came in peace!'
Ra's powers allowed him to sense most parts of the realm. The only reason he didn't feel the attack of the Chaos creatures on the Oracles, was because the place where the rift opened was far way, deep in the realm. When he felt the Oracles' death, it was already too late.
Just then, Ra felt Thoth's presence coming onto his location, so he waited. A moment later, Thoth appeared in front of him.
Ra realized that Thoth was distressed and anxious, so he asked, '' What happened? You don't look so good!''
Ra thought it was a problem with the outsiders, but he never expected to hear what Thoth said next.
''The problem with Chaos is bigger than we imagined. I think we will have a full-scale attack in a few years!'' Thoth said this and passed Kratos' notebook to Ra.
The Sun God took the notebook in perplexity and began to read at Thoth's insistence. The more he read, the more Ra was shocked by the information, ' Same visions as our oracles, Chaos attack on the same day... this is troublesome!'
Ra passed the free one back to Thoth, '' Any ideas?''
Thoth, the God of Wisdom in this realm, had already thought of some possibilities, '' Something must have happened 41 years ago that changed the structure of Chaos. They started to become more active, and rifts that we had never seen before started to open up... I believe this is also happening in the Norse Realm, but since our agents have a hard time getting information from there, thanks to Odin, I can't confirm it.''
Thoth sighed, '' But this is unprecedented! Chaos has never been more active than in the last few decades!''
Ra was silent and disgested Thoth's information, ''If what he thought is correct, we need more information about Chaos and the other realms! Send more spies to the Greek Realm and the Norse Realm! I want information about strange happenings, whatever they find!''
Ra thought for a while, '' Send a few to the South as well, maybe we will have better luck this time... How fast can you send them?''
Thoth thought, '' If they use our maps to cross the Between the Realms, they can get there in up to four months.''
Four months to cross the Between the Realms was incredible, since Kratos and Pandora took 40 years to find the Egyptian realm.
Ra, who had already said everything he wanted, was about to send Thoth away when the two Gods felt a fluctuation of divine Power. ''One of our people has been injured!''
Ra and Thoth looked at each other and already knew who was to blame, ''Seth!''
Thoth apologized to Ra, '' I'm sorry! I shouldn't have left the outsiders alone knowing Seth's personality.''
Ra sighed, '' Don't worry. The information you brought me was extremely important... besides, Seth is alive, and he probably deserved this beating.''
Thoth relaxed when he noticed that Ra was not angry. As he had already said everything he needed to say to Ra, he said goodbye, '' The outsiders are only passing through to go to the Norse Realm and have come in peace. Seth probably attacked them...''
Ra sighed, '' Go and take care of that idiot.''
Thoth nodded and started to leave.
Ra watched Thoth leave when he remembered something, '' Wait!''
Thoth looked at Ra and waited for the Sun God to speak.
Ra took some maps and passed them to Thoth, '' Give them this! Maybe it will come in handy in the future.''
What Ra passed to Thoth were maps to make navigating the Between the Realms easier.
Thoth took the maps with him and left. While Ra continued protecting the Egyptian Realm against the forces of Chaos.
WITH KRATOS
While Kratos saw the fight against Seth as a training session, Seth was serious. His attacks were ferocious, and his sword technique was perfect. But he launched blow after blow and dealt no damage on Kratos.
Luckily for Seth, Kratos was limiting himself to defense, so the openings that the Egyptian God showed, Kratos did not attack.
Seth tried everything, but no attack hit. The Egyptian God became very angry, 'He's playing with me!'
Anyone watching would come to the same conclusion. Blinded with hatred, Seth wanted to make Kratos take him seriously.
At that moment, Seth noticed Pandora, who was watching the fight. 'If I attack his companion, he will probably react!'
Deciding on his new plan, Seth attacked Kratos, who defended himself with the Blade of Chaos. Seth took advantage of the impact of the weapons and moved toward Pandora.
When he saw that he was getting closer to Pandora, Seth smirked, 'That's what happens when you mess with me!'
Seth could already see the other God reacting and fighting him seriously.
But, what Seth failed to notice, is that Kratos didn't move from his position and looked at the Egyptian God with pity, 'Pandora may not be able to beat me, but against a God of this level...'
Seth's plan, which was to make Kratos fight seriously, failed before it started.
Then Seth, who was flying towards Pandora, had also forgotten that his objective was to get Kratos' attention and attacked Pandora seriously. He tried to hit her in the leg, but when he attacked her, Seth noticed that the girl had disappeared, ''?"
Looking around and full of doubt, Seth didn't notice that Pandora had jumped high and was falling in his direction.
'' Bang!''
Seth heard the sound of his bones breaking after someone fell on top of him, ' But how ...?'
That was Seth's last thought before he fainted.
But of course, Pandora, who had become an extremely formidable Spartan warrior, was annoyed. Even though Seth was unconscious, she kept kicking him, "You idiot! Your fight was with him and not with me!''
Pandora didn't hold back her kicks, and Seth's body started accumulating wounds. Just as Pandora was about to kick Seth in the privates, Kratos stopped her.
Pandora looked at Kratos, '' Why did you stop me?''
Even Kratos, famous for being ruthless, broke into a cold sweat at what Pandora was about to do to Seth, '' He already lost. And remember, we came in peace.''
Pandora was quiet for a while until eventually, she nodded. Kratos let go of her and saw the Goddess unleash another powerful kick on Seth, ' At least it wasn't in that place...'
Kratos and Pandora then stayed there, waiting for Thoth to return. Seth also stayed there, but it was because he was totally passed out.
After a few minutes, a tired-looking Thoth, already knowing what happened, arrived on the scene.'' I'm sorry about what happened.''
Thoth looked at Seth, who fainted, '' He is our God of War, but he has serious behavioral problems and is impulsive. In fact, this beating was well deserved!''
Kratos didn't want to start a war, so he accepted his apology and said, ''No problem, let's forget what happened here... Can you continue to lead us to the barrier to the Norse realm?''
Thoth looked once more at Seth, and nodded his head, '' Of course, just let me call some people to take care of him.''
Kratos and Pandora watched Thoth disappear. Pandora then asked Kratos, '' Why is this God of War so weak?''
'Or are you too strong.' Kratos looked at Pandora, '' He was taken by surprise by you, other Gods may not be so easy to defeat. Never let your guard down!''
Pandora nodded and the duo stood silently waiting for Thoth. Pandora was already used to the silence thanks to Kratos, who rarely spoke for more than 5 minutes.
It didn't take long for Thoth to return, this time accompanied by a Goddess with wings. Pandora was surprised by the scene and asked, '' And who might you be?''
The Goddess, who was checking on Seth's situation, looked at Pandora and smiled, '' Hello, young man. My name is Isis, and as you may already guess by the fact I'm here, I have healing powers.'' Isis looked at Seth, '' And forgive my friend, he's ... impulsive.''
Kratos said nothing as Pandora nodded, '' No problem. He already got what he deserved.''
Isis nodded and grabbed Seth. She then looked at Pandora and Kratos, '' Well, we've barely met, but I should be going. I wish you luck and happiness on your journey!''
Kratos and Pandora watched as the Goddess flew away, taking Seth with her.
Thoth wasted no time, '' Shall we continue?'' then he started walking.
While following Thoth, Pandora became curious about who was the person who attacked them, '' What is the name of that God who attacked us?''
Thoth replied as he walked, '' His name is Seth, and he is, to say the least, troublesome. This is not the first time he has done something like this, so it was nice to see him being put in his place.''
It didn't take long before they reached the border of the Egyptian Realm. Tooth stopped in front of the barrier, '' When you pass this barrier you will be in the Norse Realm. You will exit directly into Midgard, one of the nine worlds there.''
Thoth looked at Kratos, '' The Gods of this realm don't like outsiders much, even more so when they are Gods, so try not to cause too much trouble.
Kratos stared at Thooth, '' As you can see, most of the trouble follows me. I don't go after them.''
Remembering the incident with Seth, Thoth sighed, '' Fair enough.''
Thoth then passed some maps to Kratos, who asked, '' What is this?''
When he started to speak, Thoth had a proud look on his face, '' It's a map that makes the crossing of the Between Realms much easier.''
Kratos accepted the map and asked, ''How fast are we talking?''
Thoth looked even prouder, '' A journey of 100 years would take 1 year!''
Kratos stared at Thoth, to see if what he said was true. Kratos noticed that Thoth did not seem to be lying, so he looked at the map with great surprise, '' Then my journey will be much faster... I thank you deeply.''
Thoth nodded. The God of Wisdom hesitated before talking, '' As you already know, I know your story... I truly wish you to find what you seek on your journey!''
Thoth held out his hand and Kratos shook it. Then, Thoth spoke to Pandora, '' To you too. May you be very happy in the future.''
Pandora smiled, '' Thank you!''
Thoth watched the duo pass the barrier, disappearing from his view, ''Due to the distance, I think they will arrive in five months in the Norse Realm.''
Not wanting to waste any more time, Thoth rushed to summon the spies to send to the realms, '' Hopefully this time we'll get some information about what's in the south... and that Chaos won't be active anymore.''
Kratos and Pandora wandered around the Between the Realms, following the map that Thoth gave them. He also told them what kind of Gods and other races they had in the Norse Realm, so they knew, to some extent, what to expect when they arrive there.
Then after walking the Between the Realms, killing a lot of creatures of Chaos, Kratos and Pandora finally saw the barrier to the Norse Realm.
They looked at each other, both with different reactions. Pandora was smiling, while Kratos had a deadpan face. But the duo was glad to finally arrive at their destination after decades of walking.
It took Kratos and Pandora 4 months to reach the Norse Realm, 1 month less than what Thoth predicted, and 51 years in total.
As they passed through the barrier, a cold they never felt before hit them. Both had to use their powers to adjust to the temperature. Pandora shouted after looking around, '' What the...''
It didn't matter where Pandora looked, she only saw white. Snow filled everything, '' Thoth never told us about this...''
Kratos also looked at the scene. '' Maybe Thoth's information is out of date... Come on, we need to find a place to settle.''
The duo continued wandering around the place, noticing that even after walking for a long time, they didn't find any intelligent life, only animals.
Pandora looked around curtly, '' I wonder what happened here?''
Kratos was walking ahead of Pandora and replied, '' I can't say for sure, but it seems that some kind of conflict occurred in this place, causing all the inhabitants to flee. Ence why we don't feel anyone around here.''
Pandora accepted Kratos' suggestion since he is very experienced in knowing things related to conflicts.
The duo wandered the land for many days until finally, they found a place to settle down. Kratos looked around the area and hoped from the bottom of his heart, that he would find the peace he wanted around this place.
Kratos then looked at Pandora, who was gathering stuff around the place to build a house. He looked at her with pride, knowing that it was his training that allowed Pandora to protect herself against any kind of danger.
' Maybe if Calliope was alive, she would be just like her...' As he remembered his deceased daughter, Kratos was filled with sadness and rage.
'Control it... We don't need me to go on a rampage.' After taking some deep breaths to control his rage, Kratos went in Pandora's direction, to help her with the materials collection.
When Pandora saw Kratos coming in her direction, she smiled, '' How about you help me put some trees down? We need a lot of wood to build a house.''
Kratos nodded and took out his Blade of Chaos. He looked at his weapon with hate and solemnity, ' I never thought I would use it to chop down trees... a fitting ending to such a horrible weapon!'
Then Kratos strolled around, gathering as much wood as he could. After getting some of them, he went back to Pandora's location and gave her the wood.
Pandora thanked him and started to build their house, with Kratos' help. While she was making the layout, Kratos was putting the thing in place. It didn't take long for a house to be built.
Pandora and Kratos looked at it, then at each other. ''It's fine for a first house, we can always rebuild later if we don't like it!''
Kratos nodded at Pandora's suggestion.
'' Now we need to build the furniture!'' Pandora was extremely excited, maybe because she was a blacksmith in the core of her being or some other reason.
MANY HOURS LATER
The inside of the house and the exterior has been modified many times until finally, both were satisfied with it. '' I think it's finally done!''
After Pandora said that, she looked inside the house again. The furniture was clearly inspired by the Greeks, but with a lot of modifications.
Pandora sat down on her bed, which Kratos help her build. After looking around the house with affection in her eyes, she asked Kratos, '' Now what?''
Kratos smiled after a long time, '' Now we live!''
To say that Pandora was shocked was an understatement. It has been a long time since she saw Kratos smile, if not the first time. But after some time thinking about what he said, Pandora also smiled, '' I look forward to the rest of our lives!''
10 YEARS LATER
Pandora was hunting down a deer in the woods of Midgard. She, who once was a defenseless girl having to hide for her entire life, now was a full-fledged Spartan Goddess.
She followed the trail the deer left behind until she came across a gruesome scene. The deer she was hunting was getting eaten by a troll.
When Pandora saw the scene, she sighed, '' Once again, a fucking troll!''
Pandora was getting tired of encountering trolls in Midgard. It got to the point where she wanted to literally follow some of them and kill their entire race, but Kratos didn't let her, saying 'They're good training material!', so she could only kill the ones she encountered.
Pandora then slowly put her bow away and took out her sword. It wasn't the Blade of Chaos. Kratos put the weapon away in the second year.
It was a sword Pandora made with some materials she found around the area. It wasn't indestructible, but it was good enough.
Pandora made her way to the Troll, who was distracted eating the deer and didn't notice her arrival. She slowly started to put power in her leg and then jumped high.
The Goddess wanted to get done as soon as possible, so she aimed at the Troll's neck. When she was falling down on the Troll, the monster noticed her presence, but it was too late.
'Slash.'
One clean cut to the neck and the Troll was decapitated. Pandora looked to see if the deer had any meat left, but no such luck. She then kicked the Troll's corpse, '' Useless! If you're at least edible, but no... you're useless!''
Pandora gave a few more kicks until she got her rage out. She put her weapons away and sighed, '' Now I have to find another deer or some other animal...''
She then made her way to the more secluded area in the forest. It didn't take long for her to find a trail of blood around the area, '' Lucky me!''
Pandora then started to follow the blood, but noticed something strange, ' It doesn't look like an animal trail... maybe someone!?''
It has been a few months since Pandora and Kratos saw someone around the area, and all of them ended up being hostile or running away when they saw the duo.
So Pandora was excited to see if it was a person or not. She started to run deep into the forest. After a few moments, she arrived at the location of a person.
It was a woman, and she was deeply wounded. Pandora approached her, '' Are you still alive?''
The only thing the woman managed to say was a few grunts here and there. But it proved that she was alive.
So Pandora, with no hesitation, carried the woman in her arms, '' Hang in there! I'll bring you to someone who can help. Hand in there!''
Pandora started to run toward her house, where Kratos was, '' Maybe he can help her...?''
It didn't take long for the pair to arrive. As soon as Pandora saw her house, she screamed, '' Kratos!''
The door to the house was blown away, with Kratos ready to fight,'' What is it!?''
When he saw Pandora with the woman, he lowered his weapons and went to check the woman's injuries, '' She is alive, for now! Get her inside the house.''
Pandora did just that, while Kratos closed his eyes and used his powers to see if anyone was watching. After a few moments, Kratos finally opened his eyes, ' Strange... such a deep wound couldn't have been made by the types of Trolls...'
With doubts in his mind regarding who did that, Kratos entered the house. He went directly to the woman, who was laying in Pandora's bed.
While Kratos was checking the woman, Pandora asked, '' Is it bad?''
Kratos nodded, '' For her to survive such an attack, she must be strong or very lucky. Or both!''
After that, Kratos did some first aid. It wasn't much, but it was the best he could do. '' Now we wait and see how she reacts.''
Pandora nodded. Then she remembered something, '' I forgot to hunt dinner. Should I go away again?''
Kratos shook his head, '' That type of wound is not normal. Maybe an apex predator appeared in the area... Let me handle the hunt for today, while you take care of the woman.''
The God of War then took his bow and a sword and went away.
Pandora looked at the woman on her bed, '' And who are you...?''
What Kratos and Pandora haven't realized at the moment, was that this meeting would change their lives forever.
Kratos hunted some rabbits around the area, killed 3 Trolls who were wandering, and finally returned home after some hours.
When he opened the door, Kratos noticed that Pandora hadn't left her place since before he left, '' She will not wake up even if you do that, you know.''
Pandora didn't even look at Kratos, '' She is still breathing, but no sign of waking up yet.''
Kratos saw people dying up close, so he knew it was important to keep the patient well fed, so he called out to Pandora, '' Hey, I'll make us dinner, so can you feed her for me?''
Pandora nodded without hesitation, '' Of course, leave it to me... I don't know if it was because it was me who found her, but I feel this sense of responsibility, to keep her protected. Is it weird?''
Kratos shook his head, '' It just means that you care... and that is a good thing! But remember, always prioritize your well-being!''
Pandora nodded, got up from where she was, and went near Kratos.
'' I thought you would watch her at all times?'' Kratos asked while making dinner.
'' She will not wake anytime soon, so I decided to watch you.'' Pandora gave Kratos a mischievous smile.
Kratos said nothing and continued to make dinner, all while Pandora watched. It didn't take long for dinner to be ready. '' One portion for you, one for me, and one for our injured friend over there.''
While the duo ate, Pandora asked, '' What could've caused that type of injury? I never saw anything like that.''
Kratos didn't want to lie, '' I have no idea. It could be a God, a human, or an animal. What I know is that whatever did that is strong!''
'' More than you?'' Pandora asked.
Kratos stayed silent before shooking his head,'' No, only a handful of people were strong than me. But it could prove a challenge to you, a Goddess.''
Pandora's eyes opened comically, '' Are you serious?''
Others might not have noticed, but Kratos could hear the excitement in her voice, so he tried to put reason with her, '' Don't even think about it!''
Pandora feigns ignorance, '' What are you talking about?''
Kratos sighed, knowing it was difficult to control Pandora when it comes to fighting. He also forgot to mention that it was he who molded her into this warrior.
Kratos was about to say no to Pandora when he noticed her pitiful face. He struggled a lot before agreeing, '' Listen, if you want to fight it, let me track it down first and see what we are dealing with. Then we will see if you can fight it.''
Pandora looked like she was glowing, as she thanked Kratos, '' Thank you!''
The duo then finished their dinner. Kratos went to check the area while Pandora went to feed the woman.
The location Kratos went to was where Pandora found the woman. He went there to see if he could find any traces of the creature, and follow it.
Kratos arrived soon after and started looking around. He could see signs of attacks, ' It was one x many... That woman is more incredible than I initially thought.'
Kratos could see blood around the area, but no trail was available. He searched the whole day and nothing. So he debated whether to search more or go home, ' Forget it. I'll search another day... but Pandora will be sad for a while.'
The God of War was leaving the area when he felt someone watching him from afar. He looked around to see if the danger was nearby. When he couldn't see, he used his God powers to sense the area.
As soon as Kratos used his powers, he instantly disappeared from his spot, appearing a few hundred meters away. When he saw what was in that area, even Kratos, who had seen a lot of strange creatures, was surprised, '' What are you...?''
The creature looked like a mix between a human and an octopus. It had human legs, while the upper part was an octopus.
Kratos looked around and finally saw traces of the creatures, ' So they covered their tracks... Smart!'
Kratos deduced, 'So the creatures were intelligent, and our friend here was left to die by the others... That will be a good dummy for Pandora, but first, let's see if he can still fight.'
Kratos then picked up his sword and started walking toward the creature. The creature, noticing this, began to make strange sounds. When Kratos noticed this, he stopped walking, ' I can't understand what he says...!'
Kratos found it very strange, 'A creature I've never seen. It may be because it's a creature of this Realm. It would explain why I don't understand it ... but there's something about its appearance that's bothering me a bit...'
It was then that Kratos remembered the conversation he had with Athena decades ago, 'This must be a Chaos creature! It matched exactly what the texts said about their appearance... But what is it doing here!'
Now more than before, Kratos wanted to capture the creature, which was still making strange noises. Not wanting to waste any more time, Kratos rushed at the creature and punched her into a knockout.
Kratos could have used his sword, but the creature was already wounded and he didn't know if it would survive.
After feeling the area with his powers and seeing that there was no one else around, Kratos picked up the creature and headed for his house.
Kratos thought that the creatures had attacked his house, but everything was normal. He opened the door and saw that Pandora was watching the woman, but this time from a distance.
When Pandora saw the creature on Kratos' shoulders, she became excited, '' What is it?''
Kratos hesitated and decided not to tell her about Chaos, 'She is still too weak to know.'
'' It is one of the creatures that attacked our mysterious friend, ''
Pandora noticed that he used 'some'. '''So that means there are more of them!?''
Kratos put the creature on the ground and nodded. '' This one is injured. When it heals, you can use it as training.''
Pandora said nothing to Kratos. The Goddess was already studying the creature. At that very moment, the duo heard a grunt coming from Pandora's bed.
The mysterious woman was waking up. After checking that the creature was properly tied up, Kratos and Pandora went to check on the woman.
When they got there, a few seconds passed and the woman woke up. The first thing she did was raise her arms as if to defend herself.
Kratos tried to calm her down, '' Relax. You're safe now!''
The woman struggled a little more before she noticed she was safe. '' Where am I?''
This time it was Pandora who spoke to the woman, "You are on Midgard. I found you injured in the woods and brought you to my house. You were unconscious for a full day.''
The woman made a surprised face, but quickly hid it, '' I was hunting a deer when I was surprised by creatures I had never seen before. I managed to get them to back off after wounding one of them, but I also received a strong attack. I tried to run as far as I could and probably fainted... Thank you for saving me.''
The woman thanked Kratos and Pandora.
Pandora puffed her chest, '' It was no big deal.''
On the other hand, Kratos got right to the point, '' Can you tell me if that's one of those creatures that attacked you?'' He was pointing at the creature that was tied to the ground.
When the woman followed the direction Kratos pointed, her pupils contracted. Eventually, she nodded, '' Yes... and there were four more with it... Did you find any more?''
Kratos shook his head, '' He was left behind, probably because he was hurt.''
The woman said nothing more after that, and the house fell silent.
Pandora, who noticed this, tried to talk to the woman, '' Can you tell me your name? Mine is Pandora, and his name is Kratos.''
When the woman heard the name Kratos, she looked surprised. But still, she replied, '' You may call me ... Laufey.''
It took one week for Laufey and the creature to recover from their respective injuries. Pandora wasted no time and started fighting the creature, while Kratos and Laufey watched.
Pandora was winning, but it was because the creature was trying to run away instead of fighting. But of course, the trio had already prepared for this. It was Laufey who came up with an idea.
''A barrier around the area?'' Kratos asked
Laufey nodded, '' That's the least I can do for you. The barrier is good against many things, including these creatures.''
Kratos, who had nothing to lose, accepted her help and here we are. The creature could not escape, and the barrier blocked the perception of the Gods and several other creatures.
As Kratos and Laufey watched the fight, the woman tried to make conversation, '' So, we haven't had much opportunity to talk.''
Kratos grumbled and became quiet.
This behavior was to keep people out of his life. But what most of the time worked, this time had no effect.
Laufey continued talking, "I've wanted to ask you something for a long time. Is Pandora your daughter or ...?''
Kratos merely shook his head. That didn't stop Laufey from continuing, '' At the end of the day, blood doesn't matter much. You must be very proud of what she has become.''
Just then, Pandora unintentionally used too much force and killed the creature. The Goddess looked at Kratos and said, '' Oops!''
When Pandora saw that Kratos was a little annoyed, she kicked the creature, '' It wasn't my fault! That creature was too weak! Look at that, I can break its arm with one kick!''
Pandora then stepped on the creature's arm, shattering the limb.
Laufey, who had just said this, got a surprised look on her face. She then looked at Kratos, ' This is going to be a little more complicated than I thought... but I must admit, he has a certain kind of charm.'
The trio consists of Kratos, a God of War who wants no more War. Pandora was once a naive girl who is now a merciless warrior. And last we have Laufey, a giant who foresaw many things and forced Chaos to attack her, and who has a very... peculiar taste in men.
The trio stayed together, thanks to Pandora, who offered Laufey to stay with them permanently. Some may say it's because she could see that Laufey had a crush on Kratos, but it was just a rumor.
Laufey accepted the offer and started to live with Kratos and Pandora.
SOMETIME LATER
Laufey was standing outside the house, her hands raised as if she was waiting for something.
Kratos noticed this and asked her, '' What are you doing?''
Laufey replied, '' I have a special axe. It comes back to me whenever I command it. I didn't do it before because I didn't want to make you uncomfortable, but since I now live here too, I didn't see any problem.''
Kratos accepted the answer and waited to see the axe. The wait did not take long, as the axe came flying towards them.
Laufey grabbed the axe with ease. She looked at it fondly.
When Laufey noticed that Kratos was interested in his weapon, she brought the axe in front of him, '' Do you want to try it out?''
Kratos was quiet but accepted the axe. He then gave a few blows with it and was extremely surprised by the quality of the weapon. 'It is almost at the level of the Blades of Chaos ... incredible!'
After testing it a few more times, Kratos passed the axe back to Laufey, '' That is a good weapon.''
Laufey took the axe back and said, '' The name is Leviathan... Since I showed you my weapon, how about you show me yours?''
The sentence had a double meaning, but Kratos just shook his head, '' If it were up to me, I would never use it again.''
Laufey was specheless.
While it took years for Kratos to open to Laufey, he eventually did. He talked about his past, what he did, and his true nature. Kratos expected Laufey to not accept him for who he was, but he was genuinely surprised when she accepted him with full arms.
'' Everyone has a history or a past that they don't like. It was not your fault, and I'll not judge you for your mistakes. Besides, we can always be better.'' From that moment on, they started a relationship.
20 years after their relationship began, a baby came into the world. 10 years after that, Laufey got some weird disease.
Kratos tried everything, but nothing was working. The God of War, who swore that nothing else would take him out of normal, was panicking.
Pandora, who was the 'creator' of the couple, was also distressed. But nothing she tried worked.
The two were about to give up everything when Pandora remembered something, '' THE COMMUNICATOR!''
Kratos looked at her, confused, '' What are you talking about?''
Pandora paid him no mind and started searching the house. When she couldn't find it, Pandora checked the basement. And there was the communicator that Hephaestus created, '' I found it!''
Then Pandora took the communicator and brought it to Kratos, '' I found it!''
Kratos still did not remember what it was, '' What is this for?''
Pandora said quickly, '' Do you remember Poseidon asked Hephaestus to create a communicator between the realms?''
The memory slowly returned to Kratos, '' But what does that have to do with our current problem?''
Pandora was already using the comm, which they didn't even know if it worked, '' Maybe they have a way to cure Laufey!''
Kratos hadn't thought of this possibility, so he waited to see if the communicator worked.
The God of War watched as Pandora moved more and more. Until a noise came from the communicator. Pandora thought it was on and began to speak, "Hello? Hello? This is Pandora and we need help! I repeat, this is Pandora and we have a problem!''
After repeating the message several times and receiving no other signal, Pandora slowly gave up hope, '' ... I don't think it's working.''
Kratos noticed this too and thought again about how to save his wife, ' Maybe there are some gods around here that have healing powers... but Laufey told me not to get involved with the gods of this realm because they are treacherous.'
While Kratos was thinking this, Pandora was putting away her communicator. It was then that the pair heard something, '' Hel-.''
Pandora stopped walking and Kratos looked at the communicator, where they could hear once again, this time more clearly, '' Hello.''
Pandora stood still and put the communicator down and began to speak, '' Hello! Hello! Can you hear me?''
After a few seconds, Poseidon's voice came from the other side, '' I can hear you, Pandora. I couldn't hear you very well before because I was... busy.''
Pandora was too excited to care about that, '' No problem!''
Poseidon's voice came over the communicator, '' Okay. Can you repeat what you said?''
Pandora took a deep breath, '' We have a problem.''
Pandora then explained to Poseidon the situation. That Kratos had a wife now, that they had a son, and that Kratos' new wife was dying.
When Pandora finished speaking, she heard no response from Poseidon, so she thought the communicator had failed, '' Are you still there?''
Poseidon spoke right away, '' I am. But I don't know if we'll make it there in time. It took you over 50 years to get there. If we follow the same path, she'll already be dead.''
Pandora thought and thought. Then she remembered Thoth's map, ''I have with me a map that will get you here in less than ten months!''
Again silence. Just as Pandora was about to speak, she heard Poseidon's, '' Alright. Tell me about this map.''
Pandora spent over two days detailing the map to Poseidon, who finally said, ''We have everything we need... if what you told me is true, in nine months we can get there. Will Kratos' wife be able to handle it?''
Pandora looked at Kratos, who nodded, "If we use our powers to protect her body, it should be possible. But come quickly, please.''
Poseidon replied, '' Don't worry, help is on the way. Goodbye!''
After that, the communicator was no longer used. Pandora finally let out a breath of relief. She looked at Kratos, '' Now we have to do our part and wait for Poseidon!''
Kratos nodded and went beside Laufey, who was already in a coma due to the illness. Kratos looked at his wife in distress, ' Help is on the way... hang in there!'