Hey guys! Here's another crossover story that's been on my mind for a little while. For the first time, I'm not doing a crossover from two anime, but instead an anime and a video game! I spent a lot of time mulling over the kind of potential Chainsaw Man and God of War could have meshed together, and I've decided to put those ideas into writing. I'm sure that a lot of people out there would never consider these two franchises to be a crossover story, but I think there's some real potential for a story. I'd like to give a huge thanks to Princeasimdiya12 for helping me get this story started. He beta-read the chapter and helped me with planning for how the story will progress. Without further ado, here's the first chapter!
The air was cold in Midgard. The forests were barren, only the sound of chirping birds and humming insects audible to anyone who was actually there to listen. Though this land had once been lush and densely populated by man, their numbers had dwindled, leaving very few left to observe the desolation that had taken place.
Few denizens remained in this land. Two of the few inhabitants, a man, and his son, were walking in the woods. This man was around his mid-50s, with a full-grown beard and two scars on his face and stomach. His skin was unnaturally pale, and there were several red tattoos stretched around his face and chest. He carried a large log on his shoulder as if it were nothing.
The boy looked to be around 10-11 years old. He had red hair and a pale complexion similar to his father, with icy blue eyes to match. The boy walked nervously behind his father. One would only have to look into this man's eyes to see he was not one to be taken lightly. But one could hardly imagine that this man, living as a hermit alone in the woods, was Kratos, the Greek God of War.
Several years had passed since his days as a Spartan General. Rather than living as a God of War, he would try to live as a mortal man. He met a woman, Faye, and together they had a son, Atreus. The couple had lived well together. Faye would care for their son, while Kratos would spend his time hunting in the woods. The Spartan had never taken the opportunity to indeed bond with his son. He entrusted this responsibility to Faye, for he knew not how to express his love as a father, and the weight of his past continued to bear heavily on him. But now, this was no longer an option, for Faye had just passed away.
Kratos had feared this day would come, but he never expected it so soon. The pain of her death was still fresh, and he knew Atreus grieved for her even more deeply than he did. The pair eventually made it to their small house. The father dropped the log onto the ground.
"That was the last," he said, his voice deep and commanding. Faye had asked Kratos to cut down specific trees marked with a glowing hand sign to use them as fuel for her pyre. As Kratos began cutting the log into smaller pieces, Atreus entered the house, where his mother's body was laid on the table, completely wrapped in cloth while candles were laid out around her. The boy grabbed a lit candle and used it to ignite the others.
"Lo there, do I see my father. Lo there, do they call to me. Lo there, do they call to me." The boy gently placed his head on his mother's body and closed his eyes. "Lo there, do they call to me." Atreus could feel the tears flowing down his face. Why did she have to go? Why her?
The door burst open. Atreus quickly straightened himself for his father, wiping the tears from his face. "She's ready."
Kratos nodded. He approached his wife's body and knelt before her. Though his face showed no outward sorrow as his son, his heart was still heavy from her death.
"Find your way home."
Kratos could find no other words to say, so he gently picked up his wife's body and placed it out on the pyre. Atreus watched as his father put his mother on the pyre, igniting the pyre with a flint and his axe. The corpse burned, and the child slowly approached. The father and son watched silently as Faye's body burned. They stood several feet apart, neither knowing what to say.
Atreus soon noticed his mother's knife sitting on top of her burning body, and quickly grabbed it. But the blade had already begun to heat up, and within moments, Atreus dropped the blade while his hand grew red from pain. Kratos knelt down and grabbed a clump of snow, placing it on his son's hand.
"Squeeze."
The son did as his father instructed. Kratos grabbed a piece of the bandage wrapped around his wrists and tied it around his son's burned hand. The Spartan then took Faye's blade out from the snow and held it before Atreus.
"This blade... It was hers. Now it is yours." Atreus slowly took the knife with his unburned hand. As he held this knife, he could feel resolve burning inside him. This was his mother's, and he needed to honor her legacy. Atreus gazed at the knife, continuing to admire it while mulling over his thoughts. As he did this, Kratos stood up. He needed to know how capable his son was, what there was to teach him, and what his weaknesses were. Now, it was his job to prepare Atreus for the challenges ahead.
"She taught you to hunt?" Kratos asked.
"What she knew."
"Show me."
"Now?"
"Now."
Atreus did as his father asked and went to his house to retrieve the bow. Kratos stared emptily into the smoldering fire. This was the beginning of a long journey.
While this duo were silently dealing with the death of a family member in a desolate land with time to spare, another duo was running for their lives.
In this city of Japan, two students fled on a motorcycle as the city was falling apart, though one look at them, and anyone could tell they were no ordinary citizens. Riding the motorcycle was a man wearing a school uniform, but instead of a regular head, it had a demonic, mechanical shape with long, jagged fangs. More unsettling was the giant chainsaw coming out of his forehead. Clutching his body was a young female student with brown eyes and long, black hair. What was most odd of all, however, was that this motorcycle had a chainsaw positioned horizontally between the two wheels and extended for a few meters out the front.
The person driving this suped-up motorcycle was the famous hero Chainsaw Man, whose secret identity was that of a regular high school teenager named Denji. The teenage girl seated behind him was Asa Mitaka, a classmate of Denji's who was serving as the host to the War Devil: Yoru. Asa had no idea Chainsaw Man was Denji, and Denji had no idea Asa was host to a devil that had taken over Asa's body to eliminate Chainsaw Man. Despite these differences, these two teenagers did their best to survive as a devil closed in on them.
Things had taken a strange turn when a new devil had appeared that night. Falling Devil, a Primal Devil, had arrived on Earth to prepare a meal for the residents of Hell, and the War Devil was the main ingredient. Once she'd arrived, the entire world had turned upside down. Literally. People had begun flying up into the air as though they were falling. Doors had appeared in the air, leading directly to Hell. Some people had fallen so high up that they fell right through these doors and into the Devil's domain.
The civilians watched as this sudden change in gravity occurred and people fell up to the sky. Among the people watching, Denji's adoptive sister, Nayuta, had been nominally surprised at how dire the situation was becoming. As the Control Devil, she had sensed the presence of a powerful devil beforehand, but the effects were truly disastrous.
Not only were people falling up into the sky but these people were overcome by their worst traumas. This devil used trauma as a weapon, and for those with the gravest inner demons, it made their fall all the greater. Before long, entire buildings were falling apart, floating up towards the sky. When all seemed lost, Chainsaw Man had arrived, attempting to eliminate the Falling Devil, though her powers were too great for him to overcome.
Before long, Falling Devil had found Asa and convinced the troubled teenager to succumb to despair and fall to her death. But before she could fall, Denji had arrived. Though Asa had previously accepted death, Denji had managed to reignite her heart, sharing with her his own pain and the trauma that sat deep in his heart. In spite of their efforts, the duo still fell through a door into hell. Asa had fallen unconscious, leaving Denji alone as he saw nothing but darkness. But Denji spotted a door and attempted to escape. Unknown to him, a devil had been waiting in this empty room, attempting to eat the meal Falling Devil had prepared for it. But then, another man with Chainsaw Man's appearance had come through the door. Thanks to the arrival of this newcomer and Denji's perseverance, he and Asa managed to escape through the door, at the cost of his energy.
Asa regained consciousness and spotted the weakened Chainsaw Man lying on the ground. Yoru attempted to land the finishing blow, trying to convince Asa to finish the weakened Devil off with the promise of returning Asa's body. But Asa refused. Instead, she cut her hand, giving Chainsaw Man her blood to rejuvenate him. Chainsaw Man's words had left their mark on Asa and made her realize that maybe she still had the right to live.
Though Denji had been rejuvenated, neither of them were out of the woods. The devil who was supposed to consume Asa burst through the door with its gargantuan tentacles to drag Asa into its mouth. But the duo fled. They took the motorcycle from a random citizen, using the power of the War Devil to modify and enhance it. That was the harrowing timeline of events that had led the pair to this moment, fleeing for their lives from the tentacles of a giant devil who wanted to make them its dinner.
"That Fake Chainsaw Man said if we can outrun those tentacles, we'll make it out of this!" Asa shouted.
"And you believe that fake?" Denji replied.
"They saved us, didn't they?"
Before Denji could think of a rebuttal, eight tentacles began hovering in the air, preparing to strike the duo. Denji took evasive maneuvers and jumped to the side of a building. He narrowly avoided the giant tentacles but could tell this devil had another trick up his sleeve. One of the tentacles was beginning to morph and grow limbs. Within seconds, the devil's main body shifted to its smaller tentacle. One of the devil's arms morphed into a hammer to clobber the two teenagers. The duo narrowly dodged the attack and made it back on the road. But even as they fled, the devil attempted to crush them with its hammer-arm.
"What kind of devil even is that thing?" Denji shouted.
"No freaking way! Ahead of us! Look out!" Denji gazed up and saw a several-story office building floating in the air, telekinetically controlled by the Falling Devil.
"Eat this."
The Falling Devil flung the building at the pair of teenagers. The surrounding area was ruined as the thrown building began to break apart. Denji attempted to drive through the building's various desks, chairs, and other office equipment. But despite his best efforts, he was losing control of the motorcycle. From the air, a desk came flying and hit Asa square in the face. Her grip around Denji's chest was broken, and she began tumbling down the ruined building.
"ASA!"
Denji attempted to stop the motorcycle and turn back to get her, but he'd already lost control. The front wheel quickly started wobbling. The chainsaw in the middle of the wheel carved through the concrete and the loss of balance sent Denji flying straight into the Devil's mouth. Denji felt his mind draw a blank. He was out of options: he was really going to end up as a devil's dinner.
"NOOO!" Falling Devil barely had time to turn before she felt some sort of chain pierce through her head. Standing behind her with a chain released from the tip of her finger, Nayuta grimaced with a sense of horror. She knew the devil who'd arrived was really powerful, but she never thought the Falling Devil could put Denji on the ropes like this. If this went on for any longer, he could be killed!
"You're not gonna turn him into your dinner, Falling!" she shouted, "Now send that devil back! Now!" The command in her voice and its overwhelming authority caused Falling Devil to shudder. Though she had been following Famine Devil's orders, the power of the Control Devil was too much for her to resist. It was as if a surge of power was coursing through her, unlike anything she'd felt before. Lifting one of her hands, Falling Devil summoned a gargantuan door behind the devil. This door was far larger than any she had summoned before, and a glow emanated from it, radiating incredible power. The devil felt themselves tip over and tumble through this large door. But Nayuta had not anticipated Denji's movements. Unable to stop his momentum, the teenage boy dived into the door alongside the devil.
"Hang on! I'll get you outta there!" Nayuta sprang forward and leaped through the door before it could fully close. The large door slammed shut, leaving the devils trapped inside.
The three devils were now in a free fall. Denji had experienced the sense of free-falling only a few minutes before when he and Asa had fallen into hell, but this felt... different. The seconds were passing, and his free-fall had still not ended. It's as if he'd fallen from an even greater height than before.
Though Nayuta had not realized it, her desire to protect Denji had caused the Falling Devil's powers to be kicked into overdrive. As the Falling Devil, this Primal Devil could utilize her power of gravity to make whoever she wished to fall into Hell. But now that Nayuta's power and desire to protect Denji had enhanced Falling Devil's abilities, it had allowed the Falling Devil to make a door that fell even deeper. Now, the three devils had fallen into a space existing even farther down than Hell, into realms none of them had ever imagined.
As the brother and sister were falling into realms unknown, the father and son in the other realm were just beginning their hunt. Atreus had just retrieved the bow from the cabin, uncertain where to start.
"What are we hunting?"
"You are hunting deer."
"Which way?"
"In the direction of the deer."
Atreus was put off by his father's bluntness. That didn't really give Atreus any answers. "Okay...? Uhh... this way." Atreus began a quick sprint towards the border of their property. Kratos stood from behind, allowing his son to take the lead.
"Father, why are we doing this now?"
"I need to know you can survive this journey."
"Then we leave for the mountain?"
"That depends on you."
Atreus was stricken silent. Though the child had done this many times before, his mother had always taken the lead. The pressure of taking the lead, with his father, no less, was very intense. As if that wasn't enough, how he performed here would decide whether he would accompany his father to spread Faye's ashes. The two wandered through the woods, hearing nothing but the sound of water running through the stream, waiting to pick up on the sound of any animals nearby.
After this brief silence, Kratos saw his son standing over something on the ground. "What did you find?" the father said.
"Tracks. Not deer, though. I'll keep looking."
As the two continued the hunt, Kratos watched from afar, observing his son's actions while maintaining awareness of his surrounding. Occasionally, he would find a small pouch of gold on the ground to snatch. While keeping watch of his surroundings, he noticed something that his son had passed.
"Boy. You missed these." Atreus walked over to the puddle of mud his father was kneeling over to observe the footprints.
"Huh. They're close, but also not deer. See? The tips are too wide. They must be a mountain goat." The father couldn't help be impressed at his son's knowledge of this subject.
"Your mother taught you well," he said. Though Atreus felt a small smidge of joy hearing his father compliment him, it was immediately swarfted by the reminder of his mother.
"Yea..." The boy solemnly returned to his original place. Kratos could tell his son was still dealing with the death of his mother, but he could find no words of comfort for him. So instead, they continued investing all their energy into the hunt. It took several more minutes of wandering through the woods before they found what they were looking for. Trotting from deep within the woods, a deer appeared before Atreus. This deer was far larger than an average deer. It's fur was snow white. Its horns were several inches long and curled upward like a thorny crown. The horns emanated a light blue aura as if this deer carried some sort of mystic energy within it.
"There it is!" Atreus shouted.
"Hold!" said Kratos. But his son did not take heed: the child immediately acted on impulse and drew his bow. But his form was sloppy, and he ended up missing the shot. The deer quickly fled into the forest in fear. The father felt his anger bubbling up and stomped toward his son.
"What are you doing?" he said, yanking the bow from his son's hands, "Now it's guard is up! ONLY FIRE-" Kratos could see the fear and guilt in his eyes and took a deep breath. With a more controlled yet stern voice, he finished his sentence. "Only fire when I tell you to fire."
The son looked at his father with a defeated expression. "I'm sorry..." he said. But Kratos would not let his son accept defeat now.
"Do not be sorry. Be better." Atreus stared his father in the eye and could feel the meaning of these words of wisdom seep into his bones. "Find it."
Kratos could see some of the fire in his son's eyes return to him. He reached for his bow, but Kratos jerked it away from his reach. "FIND... it." Atreus stared at his father with eyes of daggers but did as he said and ran after the deer. As the pair continued going through the forest, they were leaving the wooded area and approaching what appeared to be the ruins of a long-abandoned castle wreathed in vines and shrubbery. It was a reminder how barren this land had become. And as the father and son would find out, the only beings that walked this realm were not their allies.
A roar came from nearby. Rushing in was a monstrous creature with a light orange glow and a sword in its hand. This undead being was a draugr, a mortal who died in battle but refused to go to Valhalla out of a burning desire for revenge. Instead, these undead beings would aimlessly wander through Midgard searching for battle, and Atreus and Kratos was this Draugr's target.
"My bow!" Atreus yelled.
"No! You are not ready!" The draugr drew its attention toward Kratos while the god of war drew his Leviathan Axe. The axe glowed light blue as its frost power was activated, and ice encased the head of the axe. "Stay back!"
The Draugr swung its sword at Kratos, but the god of war easily evaded the creature and, with a few swings of his axe, weakened the Draugr until it collapsed into a pile of heated ash. But it wasn't over yet. Several Draugrs rose up from the earth and charged at Kratos, but the warrior was too experienced. He casually dodged the undead creatures, blocking their sword swings with his Guardian Shield while bisecting them with his frost axe. Within a minute, all of the Draugrs had now experienced death a second time.
Atreus was surprised to see a Draugr here, of all places. "I've never seen Draugrs get so close to our woods before," he said.
Kratos took no note of this. "Keep moving." The father and son continued along the path and got a better view of the ruined building. As they approached, Kratos could see it was a temple of some sort meant to worship one of the Norse gods. They came across a large door painted blue which Kratos pushed open.
"Look!" Atreus spotted the target a few dozen meters away on the other side of the door, standing in the snow. The duo knelt down, Kratos waiting for Atreus to see what he'd say next.
"Can I have my bow back?" Atreus asked.
"Can you hit it from here?" Atreus wanted to protest and insist that he had the skill to fire at such a long-range, but his rational side knew better. "We should get closer." The child rushed down the stairs to navigate the temple while his father walked behind. As they went through the temple, they would come across several dead-ends with chests waiting for them. Kratos would break the chests and steal the loot inside. After exploring for several minutes, they came across a room with a gate leading out. In this room were several Draugrs standing in place, reacting to the presence of Kratos and Atreus. As before, Kratos dealt with them swiftly and effortlessly. Kratos activated a pulley mechanism to open the gate and lead them outside.
Once they made it outside again, Atreus followed the dirt path to where he predicted the deer would be. As he thought, the deer was casually grazing on some grass only a dozen meters away, near the edge of a cliff. Atreus and Kratos knelt down, and the father gave his son his bow.
"Wait for my mark," he said, "Relax. Do not think of it as an animal." Atreus readied an arrow while he drew back the string. He took a deep breath to relax his mind and muscles. He needed a clean shot, and his father was there to help him make it. Atreus needed to aim at a vital spot, and found that the chest area was the spot where he'd have the highest chance of success.
"Steady yourself. Now exhale... and release." The arrow was let loose and struck the animal. The deer bellowed and fell to the ground, writhing in pain. A smile spread across Atreus' face, and he looked to his father for validation.
"I got it!"
"Good." Atreus rushed down to the deer's location. But when he approached it, he found that the animal was still breathing, losing strength but using its energy to squirm in frustration. Kratos knelt down near the deer's head. He knew what the next step was.
"Atreus, your knife." The boy took out the knife, expecting his father to finish the dying animal off, but he was mistaken. "No. Finish what you started."
As he held the blade, the weight of this small piece of metal suddenly felt like a block of steel threatening to sink his hand to the ground. He held the blade with both his hands, inches from the deer's throat. All he needed to do was push down and cut it's windpipe. But looking into the deer's bright blue eyes, he could not find the strength.
"I can't."
Rather than scold his son, Kratos placed both his hands around his son's. He understood that Atreus could not do this alone, so Kratos would help him finish the deed. The god gently pushed the blade into the deer's flesh. The deer cried out, but there was nothing it could do. Now that the blade had gone in, Kratos released his hands and watched as his son fully sunk the knife into the deer's throat. Atreus watched as the deer's breathing slowly stopped, its eyes closing to begin its eternal slumber.
Atreus was at a loss. He had just killed a creature, sunk his blade into its throat and watched it take its last breath. "I..." He wanted to find the words to express his conflicting emotions, the horror of killing an innocent creature in such a brutal manner. But he could not find his voice, and stared out into the forest to dwell on these feelings. Kratos could see the conflict in his son's eyes, understood how much of a step this was for him. He reached his hand out, attempting to place his hand on his son's shoulder. But as his hand hovered inches away from Atreus' shoulder, he lost the will. Compassion was such a foreign feeling for Kratos, and he knew not how to properly express it.
So instead, the god of war took the knife out from the dead deer's throat and held it out for Atreus. The boy held the blade in his hands and gazed at it for a moment. At least he wouldn't have to use it to take another life. Though he would quickly be proven wrong.
Without warning, a giant hand appeared from the bottom of the cliff and grabbed the deer. It was the hand of an angry troll who had heard the father and son on their hunt. The troll's other hand came up and swatted Attreus down to its height.
"Atreus!" Kratos dodged the troll's hand and rushed forward, kicking the troll in the face. The monster was knocked off-balance and hit a pillar. As it regained its stance, Kratos returned the bow to his son, for he would need it.
"We're gonna fight that?" Atreus shouted.
"We have no choice!" The god of war drew his axe. Though he'd prefer not to, it would seem his son would have to overcome this second trial if they were to survive.
As the father and son were beginning their battle with a monster, the brother and sister were dealing with their own struggles. The pair had continued to fall into oblivion and into realms unknown. But as they were falling, Denji noticed the extra individual who was falling alongside him, the one person he'd never wanted to be here, of all places.
"The hell do you think you're doing here, Nayuta," Denji said, "This ain't your fight! You should be back at home watching the dogs!"
"Well I had to see you fight as Chainsaw Man, dummy," she retorted, "I literally told you that before you left to fight Falling Devil."
Denji wanted to give her more of an earful but knew there were other priorities. He had no idea how much longer they would be falling or how long it would take for them to get out. As they continued to fall, the Justice Devil attempted to continue their fight and wildly swung his fist at Denji. The teenager repelled his attacks by slicing the limbs with his chainsaws, but with a lack of stable ground to properly swing his arms, he could only make superficial cuts. He needed to get to level ground!
Denji would soon get his wish. Peering down, he saw what appeared to be a door below, rapidly increasing in size as they fell.
"Hang on to me, Nayuta!" The young girl did as he said and wrapped her arms around Denji's waist as tightly as he could, using her chains as extra support.
After seconds of dreadful suspense, they finally reached the door, which had opened for them just in time. Denji and Nayuta had braced for the impact but could do nothing as they hit the hard dirt ground, tumbling down the ground from the free-fall. Falling for so long at terminal velocity would undoubtedly be painful, and had it been anyone else, they most certainly would have died. But thanks to their nature as devils, they could weather this fall with little more than scratches.
"You ok there, Nayuta?" asked Denji, "My chainsaws didn't cut you on accident, right?"
"Nah, I'm fine," she replied.
"Good. Now get back and lemme finish this!"
"Awesome! A front-row seat!"
"Got that right!" Denji's focus resumed on the battle. The Justice Devil had just regained its footing and internally assessed its situation. The Falling Devil had come to Earth to feed Asa Mitaka as his dinner and any patron that refused her dinner would be killed. He'd been taken to this unknown place, and Asa was nowhere in sight. He looked above him, and the situation was even worse. The door that had brought them here now vanished, meaning that there was no way for him to get back. Maybe if he brought Falling Devil Chainsaw Man's heart, he could curry some favor with her and save himself from certain death at her hands.
The devil unleashed several more tentacles from his body to incapacitate Denji. The hybrid dodged the tentacles while cutting the tentacles that were too close to evade. While doing this, he rushed toward his opponent, jumping up and attempting to slice the devil down the middle. However, the Justice Devil raised his hand to form a hammer, blocking the blow. With his other hand, he morphed it into a hammer and swung it at Denji. He quickly crossed his arms together to block the attack, but he was sent flying through several trees.
The Justice Devil wouldn't give Denji a moment to rest. The devil rushed with thundering speed and swung down its hammer to crush Denji like one would hammer a nail. But before it could slam down, Denji lifted all three chainsaws and sliced the hammer into multiple pieces. The devil let out a roar of pain. Denji resumed his assault, jumping on one of Justice Devil's arms and jamming his chainsaw into the devil's arm while running up to the head. Denji swung both his arms in a horizontal slicing motion at the devil's head. The Justice Devil released another screech of pain and used his sharpened tentacles to stab Denji. Chainsaw Man let out a groan of pain as this sharpened nail pierced through his stomach.
Denji was thrown into a boulder, which cracked behind him. Denji could see this wasn't working. This thing was too damn tough. He needed to find a better way to deal some serious damage. Then he noticed a large, gaping mouth in the center of his stomach. If he couldn't finish this thing from the outside, that left only one option...
The Justice Devil watched in confusion as Denji ran toward him. What was his plan now?
"Open wide, sucker!" Chainsaw Man dived head-first into Justice Devil's extra mouth. Within seconds, Justice Devil felt his insides burning. Chainsaw Man was hacking and slashing inside him like a madman. It didn't matter if he had direction or focus. He just needed to keep cutting, working his way upward! It took only moments for Denji to burst open from the Justice Devil's head in all his maniac, unhinged glory.
"Awesome!" Nayuta shouted.
With a loud thud, the Justice Devil's corpse fell to the ground. "Guess you got what you wanted, buddy: a meal. Though I'm more of a steak guy myself, your crummy blood's gonna have to be my dinner. Gotta heal this gaping hole you left me, after all."
Denji drank some of the deceased devil's blood and felt the gaping wound close up in seconds. Now that his wounds were healed and the battle was over, his transformation faded, and the chainsaws on his head and hands dissolved into gray sludge. Nayuta jumped into Denji's arms to tenderly embrace him.
"Glad to see you're still up and running, Denji!" Nayuta said.
Denji gave a small smile and reciprocated the embrace. "Well, it's gonna take more than a devil like that to bring me down. Now... where the hell are we?"
Denji and Nayuta took the opportunity to observe where they were now that they could focus. They'd clearly been transported deep into a wooded area with no sign of civilization in sight. "Did that crazy devil drop us to the middle of nowhere in Japan?" he said, "How the hell are we gonna get back home?"
"This place feels weird..." Nayuta's enhanced sense of smell took note of all the new scents that were surrounding her. "There's nobody here for miles. But there's somethin' else. The trees and animals aren't like anything I'm used to back home."
"So what's that mean?"
"I think it means Falling Devil took us to another city or country, somewhere that definitely isn't home."
The blonde teenager felt a massive lump well up in his throat. He closed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair. Just when his life was already complicated enough with everything he had to juggle, now that devil had transported him and Nayuta to a random place on the globe. If they were stuck here for too long, it would just make their lives ten times worse.
"Ain't no use sitting here with our fingers up our asses," Denji said, "Let's start looking around, see if there's anybody who can tell us where the hell we are. And let's keep it quick: we stick around too long, the dogs and Meowy won't have anybody to feed them, then they'll start pissing and shitting all over the apartment. Last thing I wanna do is spend my day cleaning up dog shit from the floor."
"Then what're we waiting for? We can't leave'em all alone like that!" With renewed vigor, Nayuta ventured forward into this new land to find a way back home. Denji sighed and rushed behind her while she took the lead. He had no idea where the hell they were or what they were gonna do, but Denji needed to stick with Nayuta, no matter what. He had no idea what kind of troubles or devils could lurk here, and he didn't want Nayuta to have to spend her childhood fighting devils as he did. Denji could only hope that things would work themselves out, but a part of him knew that things never did, especially for him...
Now that one duo had just finished their battle against a devil, the other duo had just begin their battle against the troll. The creature took a pillar out from the ground and used it as a melee weapon. It began the battle by slamming the pillar down to crush Kratos, but the god dodged the attack.
Kratos used the Leviathan Axe and began his attack with a series of long-range attacks. He threw the axe at the troll's arm, then recalled it back to him to throw it at the troll's other arm.
"Just tell me when to shoot!" Atreus shouted, being sure to stay at a distance like his father.
"Fire in tandem with my attacks! That will weaken the creature more quickly!"
"Got it!" As Kratos threw the axe into the creature's back, Atreus fired a volley of arrows. The troll bellowed and attempted to attack Kratos again with the pillar, treating like a battering ram. The Spartan made another evasive maneuver and rushed toward the troll, slashing its legs while Atreus fired more arrows at the troll's back. The creature momentarily stumbled before stomping its legs, forcing Kratos back.
The troll lifted the pillar and slammed it down again, swinging it wildly in an attempt to hit Kratos, but the god was too swift. Atreus continued his own assault, firing his arrows while slowly inching closer to get a better aim. The troll grew irritated at the increasing number of arrows in its back and targeted its attention at Atreus.
"Boy! Be careful!"
"I know!" The troll tried crushing the child with the pillar, but Atreus swiftly rolled and dodged the attack. Kratos sprinted forward to regain the troll's attention and slashed at the monster's upper legs. The troll let out another bellow and continued his wild swinging that he had done before.
"Stay out of his way, boy!" While the monster wildly flailed its weapon, Kratos and Atreus continued their long-range attacks. The god continued carefully aiming his axe swings at the troll's arms and legs while Atreus aimed his arrows at the monster's stomach.
"It's working! It's slowing down, getting weaker!" Atreus shouted. Though this troll had strength, its lack of technique and the combined efforts of Atreus and Kratos would be its undoing.
When it finished its wild flailing, it took several labored breathes and knelt to the ground. The slashes and arrows across its body had worn it down. Kratos took this opportunity to rush forward and hit it with an uppercut. The creature staggered, and Kratos followed up by jumping and punching the monster on its head. The impact broke one of its horns, and it was helpless as Kratos pummeled it. The god slammed the troll's head down to the ground, and with a swift movement, snapped the troll's neck. The battle was over. But Atreus, however, wasn't done.
"GGGRRAAHHH!" The child drew his knife and began wildly slashing at the troll's corpse. To him, this creature even daring to try and kill them was an insult he couldn't ignore. "That's what you get!"
"Boy..." Kratos tried to speak to his son, but Atreus was too blinded by rage and couldn't stop his wild slashing. Even as his breathing grew ragged and coughes escaped his mouth, the boy did not stop.
"THINK I'M AFRAID OF YOU?! YOU'RE NOTHING TO ME! NOTHING!"
"Boy!" Kratos knelt and grabbed his son by the shoulders. "Look at me! Look at me, boy!" Atreus' temper slowly cooled as his breathing returned to normal.
"We did it..." Now that his anger was fading, the pride of having hunted the deer and slain this troll was replacing his rage. He was sure that his father would commend him, say that this was a big first step for Atreus. But the words that came out of his father's mouth ended those hopes.
"You are not ready."
"What?" Atreus could not comprehend what his father was saying after what he'd just accomplished. "I found the deer. I proved myself. How am I not ready?"
"We are going home." Kratos refused to elaborate any further on the subject, not now. But Atreus quickly came to his own conclusions about his father's statement.
"I haven't been sick in a long time," he said, "I can do this."
"You are NOT ready." The Spartan repeated these words but with a sterner voice. In spite of this, Atreus still showed defiance.
"I AM ready."
"Do not speak again." Kratos was in no mood to argue with his son at a time like this, and he refused to hear any backtalk from him, either. This managed to keep Atreus from speaking out. Kratos proceeded to jump up the cliff while bringing his son up with him. The father and son made their way back home on the path they took. As they walked, Kratos could feel an aura of hostility surrounding his son. He could tell Atreus would like nothing more than to give his father an earful, but he was smart enough not to incur his father's wrath. The air of hostility around them made for an even more awkward walk between the two of them. It was about thirty minutes before they made it back to their home.
"Inside, boy." The Spartan opened the door and had his son enter. He closed the door behind him and approached the smoldering embers that were once his wife's body. Kratos knelt solemnly and began scooping up the ashes he could fit in his hand. He then put these ashes into a pouch and gently held the pouch in his hands. To think, in his hands, were his wife's remains. His face softened as he was being reminded of what he had lost. Faye was dead. Now, it was his duty to fulfill her dying wish and spread these ashes to the highest peak in the Nine Realms. And now, the burning question was whether or not his son would accompany him to fulfill this mission.
The god of war hardened his face again and paced into the house. When he got inside, he could see his son sitting impatiently on his bed, mumbling to himself about the unfairness of his situation. Kratos approached his son, knowing they would have to discuss what happened.
"You lost control."
Atreus scoffed. "That thing was trying to kill us. It's not like you don't get angry in a fight."
"Anger can be a weapon. If you control it. You clearly cannot." The god of war knelt down to meet his son's gaze.
"Look at me." The boy stared at his father with his eyes full of hostility. "Your anger. You can get lost in it. The path ahead is difficult, and you are not ready to walk it." Atreus could still not accept his father's words. There existed a gap, an impasse between the two of them. Atreus was still dealing with so much, and his anger was letting loose in a way that would have dangerous consequences. Kratos, on the other hand, did not know how to guide his son away from this path of rage, did not know how to shower his son with love and compassion. How would they work to close this gap?
The house suddenly began rumbling. From the outside, the growling of a large creature reverberated throughout the air. "What was that?" said Atreus.
"Quiet." The father and son stood still, wondering what this meant. In seconds, they heard a loud pounding at the door.
"Open up! No use hiding anymore!" From the other side of the door, a man spoke. Kratos went to the door, holding it shut. This stranger continued to speak. "I know who you are. More importantly, I know WHAT you are." Kratos felt an uneasy sensation in his stomach. Who was this man? Did he know his true identity? Why was he here? One thing was certain: Atreus had to be protected.
"Boy. Beneath the floor, now."
"But you told me never to go down there," Atreus replied, "Who is that?"
"I do not know," Kratos said with a hushed voice. He threw the rug aside and lifted the floorboard up.
"What's he talking about?"
"I do not know. Get in." Atreus did as instructed and dropped down. Kratos quickly dropped the floorboard shut and covered it again with the rug.
"Just tell me what I want to know! No need for things to get bloody." The Spartan slowly walked toward the door, feeling his feet grow heavier with every step. He had hoped to avoid the life he once lived, the path of conflict and bloodshed that had brought so many deaths. Now there was a man here claiming to know who he was. What would happen? Who was he? Kratos steeled himself. Whatever came next, Kratos would have to be ready for anything.
Ok, that's how this first chapter goes! It's mostly just recap, but it's still necesary to set the mood for what's coming next. Now you'll have to wonder exactly what role Denji and Nayuta will play now that they've entered into Midgard, and what will happen before they cross paths with Kratos and Atreus. Guess you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out!