Chapter 15: The Moon's Gaze

They had no course of action, no leads, nothing. It had been two nights now since Nut had chased after Heka's supposed killer with no return. Either she was innocent and killed, possibly abducted, or she was indeed a traitor as Thoth had correctly theorized. The three of them were up in Kratos and Freya's original chambers now from when they first arrived. Kratos was practically fully healed, and irritated at their situation. He was pacing back and forth in front of the window, a strange occurrence as the spartan wasn't much of a pacer when stressed. His eyes never left the floor.

"Kratos, there's nothing we can do. Thoth and his allies are doing what they can. It's a big land, with an ocean's worth of sand. They could be anywhere," Freya attempted to assuage the god's tense mood.

He sighed, relenting, and sat in the chair opposite where she was seated on the bed. The god was silent a moment, before uttering, "While Atreus is bathing, there's something I must tell you."

Her heart leapt into her throat. She could feel her blood's flow quickening as she sat up breathing, "Um, alright."

Kratos looked anxious, his fingers nervously tapping against the arm of the chair as his gaze wandered around the floor still. Finally, the spartan's yellow eyes rose to meet hers. His face looked even more menacing with the right half bathed in the crimson moonlight, but not to her. There was an apparent look of dismay in his expression.

"The night of the attack. You're right, I shouldn't have told you to remain here. Weapons or no, armor or no, you've always-"

Freya cut him off with a raised palm. "There is no need to apologize."

Blinking several times in surprise, Kratos leaned forward. "But I-"

Shaking her outstretched hand again, insisting on his silence, she continued, "How many times have you done just this? Told me there's no need to explain or apologize with your big hand raised." She averted her gaze as she looked to the corner of the bed, smiling to herself. "You did that after we finally freed me from Odin's grasp in Vanaheim. I was in the process of telling you I understood that…truly, you weren't the one responsible for Baldur's death, Odin was. 'No need to explain. Not to me. Not for that,' were your words. They remain stuck in my head. As do several things you've said over the years. You weren't wrong, Kratos, and neither was I. I was weaponless, armorless, and there was no time. But also, I am your partner. If you charge into the storm, I will always be there with you. The next time we fight, I'll have my swords, and I won't be in a dress."

"Those were your words," he sternly replied after a minute of quiet.

"What?"

Turning back to face him, their eyes met. While the permanent night sky outside was certainly terrifying and alarming to the mortals of these lands, they cast such a beautiful soft pink light on his face. His golden eyes shone with speckles of light red as the moonlight bathed their room through the windows.

"You do not remember? When Atreus was ill, I apologized for my behavior before. As I was leaving I tried to right the wrong of my actions, and you said that to me," his head was leaned forward the slightest touch now. The distance between them was but a foot or two.

I remember Atreus lying sick. Me telling him to go to Helheim. To dig up his past..I even remember him apologizing. I guess I forgot my reply to it..huh, funny.

Her lip curled up into a smirk as she snickered. "Hegh, well I guess I provide such wisdom that even I forget all of it. I should give Mimir a run for his title, no?"

The spartan snorted as his own lip turned up a sliver shyly nodding. "I suppose so."

Freya grew a bit bolder now. Continuing their locked stare, she gently patted the spot on the bed beside where she was sitting. The Greek god's eyes quickly darted to the washroom entrance, before he sighed and stood from the chair, to sit where Freya had signaled next to her.

"I know we haven't truly spoken about it in all these years we've worked together. And I know, it wasn't what I told you back then, but I do forgive you, Kratos. It took me a long time, but I do forgive you for the part you played with Baldur. I told you then that you weren't the one that needed to die for that, and I was correct…but I was wrong when I said I'd always be angry at you. A part of me did hate you, for that first year or two even after sharing a home together, but that part…lessened, over time. With each good act we did, with each example of who you truly are, what a good person you are… I don't know, the fire of that hatred just faded as the months went on. Neither of us are perfect, or the model of stability, clearly..but your presence, and Atreus', have been one of the greatest blessings of my life. I don't regret telling you my feelings the other night. I'm glad you know. I also know we aren't here for us, or that this is about us. So if you were planning on telling me how you feel..whether you share those emotions or not, save it until after we've won. Then, you can tell me without having to worry about some murderous gods ready to shove swords in our back," she voiced with a smile as she closed her eyes, feeling an odd sensation of serenity in the moment.

She was drawn from that quiet peace after a few moments by a new sensation. Kratos' hand had moved to rest on top of hers. The callous fingertips gently slid over her tattooed skin until they came to a stop, and she felt his palm warmly against the back of her hand. Her head turned to look into his. They stared at each other for a few breaths, faces but a foot apart.

"I think there will always be gods with swords ready to stab into our backs," Kratos replied plainly.

An exasperated scoff escaped her smiling lips as she burst into a chuckle to disrupt the seemingly intimate moment. "Seriously. Are you trying to make jokes now? Are you feeling alright? And don't you dare just say i-"

He interjected quickly, "No, it-"

"Was a fact," they both said in unison, although Freya with a very plain layer of mockery in her tone.

At that moment Atreus walked out from the bath, fully dressed but with still damp hair. "What are you two talking about? How much you love me?"

Kratos hand jerked back from hers with reflexes like lightning. "Yes," said Freya. "No," replied his father at nearly the same time.

"Right, well..uh, if you two want to take the bed, I can take the chair, or something…" the young giant teased with a smirk as he closed the shutters to the windows. Even in the low candlelight, Kratos' glare at his son was easy to discern.

Freya had taken the bed, Atreus the chair, and Kratos slept on the floor. He had slept on far more uncomfortable surfaces than the smooth, stone floor in his years as a spartan, and also countless decades of wandering lost between Greece and Midgard. They had only been asleep a few hours when they felt a large quake in the earth and building. Before they could ascertain what was happening, they heard a roar loud enough to wake the entire city. The call was so loud, Freya felt it rumbling to her bones. Whatever its source, it must be truly massive, and it was.

Atreus flung open the shudders to gaze down upon a monstrous lion that was at least four times taller than the highest buildings in the city. With one swing of its claws it leveled two buildings to dust. The fur of its head appeared quite a soft bronze in its shade, and the body even lighter still, almost tan. Its mane was a dark black, and a long tail reached out behind it tipped with a matching tuft.

The trio grabbed their weapons and armor and sprung from the chamber down the stairs. Kratos had the blades clenched in his fists, axe roughly bumping against his back. Atreus's left palm was resting on his katana's hilt while the right stabilized the top of his bow as he descended. Ingrid flew a few paces behind, never far from her wielder. Lastly, Freya's two trusted swords were strapped to her back, and her hand gripped the pommel of the cursed short sword that had been entrusted to her sitting at her hip.

Upon reaching the entranceway to the large structure Thoth called home, they gazed down at the city below. There were other chaos beasts running through the streets, but none held a candle to the size of the massive lion in the background nearest the river. Screams and cries echoed out into the night from innocent mortals being brutally slain. As they were about to descend down into the chaos, Baast and another god arrived to join them.

The pair of Egyptians were both in their human form, Bast easily recognizable but the other unknown to Kratos or Atreus. Freya remembered him from meeting him a few days prior while Kratos was still unconscious. Geb, Nut's husband and the lord of earth here.

Bast had been walking through the halls with Nut and Geb, Nut's tears dried to her face and her black makeup running down her cheeks. Geb's expression was anguished, but far more stoic than his wife. Freya had been walking the halls for a respite from sitting in the not overly comfortable chair at Kratos' bedside when she encountered. "Lady Bast, how are you?"

The cat goddess hadn't even realized Freya was in the hallway with them, her attention so diverted to her conversation with her sorrowful companions. "Oh, Freya, good afternoon, at least I believe it is but who knows anymore. This is Nut, goddess of the sky, and Geb, god of earth."

With a slight bow Freya gave a small smile, "Good to meet you. Is everything okay?"

The new goddess had braided, black hair that was long on her back but cut into tight bangs across her brow. Her skin was a touch lighter than Thoth's, surely lighter than the dark skinned Baast. Nut looked up and met eyes with Freya and returned the polite smile. "You as well. Apologies for my...appearance. Set, the god that your partners battled and stopped, he was our son."

Geb's arm wrapped tighter around his wife's shoulder. He was wearing a dark blue headdress that matched his wife's hair, reaching just past his shoulders on the back but tight across his hairline in the front. His facial hair was pulled into a tight, curled braid from his chin. Geb's skin was a bit darker than his wife, more brown than black like Bast was. Similar golden, blue, and white adornments and fabrics coated his figure to the other Egyptians.

Freya's eyes lit up with alerted shock. "Oh, I'm so terribly sorry for your loss. I hope Kratos awakens soon so we can get further knowledge from him on what happened. Atreus is a wonderful young man, he did what he thought was best in the moment with Kratos gravely injured and Set fleeing Ra's assassination."

Geb bowed his head slowly, speaking for his grieving wife, "Thank you, Lady Freya. No, I don't believe the spartan's input will change the outcome, or our grief, any. But thank you. He betrayed us, and sadly I don't think I'll ever fully know or understand why."

"My son…I lost him. A few years back now. I don't mean to diminish your pain but I do understand it, what you're going through. Kratos killed him, to protect me. Baldur hated me, you see, and I was prepared to lay down my life to appease that anger inside of him. Kratos did not want to see me sacrifice myself for the sake of my..misguided son. I hope you don't hold anything against Kratos or his son."

Taking a few steps closer now, the Egyptian god separated from his wife and rested a hand on her shoulders. "Thank you, for the kind words. We do not hold anything against your man, or his son. They did what was right. It is not only grief that plagues us but also rage. Had I known what my son was plotting to do, I would have killed him myself before he had the chance to act it out. He was always contemptuous and arrogant, but I had never expected him capable of this."

"Oh…" was all Freya managed to get out after a few seconds of trying to think of something else to say and failing.

I suppose the two of them and myself had very different reactions to the death of our sons. They blame their son, and I blamed the killer…

"We were just headed down to the main hall for something to eat, if you'd care to join us, Freya. I'm sure they'll send for us right away when Kratos wakes," Bast proposed, stepping to join her companion's side while supporting the still tearful Nut.

Freya followed them, and had what was probably the nicest conversation she had had with any of the foreign gods since her arrival. They discussed art, culture, the massive number of gods in these lands, among other topics. Freya had told them a few stories of her home as well. Of Odin's reign, of Ragnarok, the ensuing aftermath, and what she does now to better the realms.

"And what's he like?" Bast posed as servants came to clear the dishes from their meal.

"Kratos?"

The two Egyptian goddesses shook their heads. The panther goddess continued, "I had only met him at the Oasis before the night of the feast. I thought he'd be taller, and less… well to be blunt he just looks…tired. I pictured a warrior with bloodlust in his veins and rage in his eyes. His eyes just looked, yes, tired."

Freya scoffed, "I know his reputation surely proceeds him, but really, he is nothing like the stories, now, anyways. I have only known him roughly a decade but even by that time, the rageful Ghost of Sparta was mostly retired. He is an incredibly skilled warrior though, no doubt for that. I cannot speak to him killing the Greek pantheon but he surely did it. In my homelands, he has killed and beaten many fearsome enemies and creatures. Loki and him defeated all of the Valkyrie, including their queen, trolls, dreki, ancients, dragons… He bested Thor, our god of thunder, who I'm told has been here some years ago, so you know his strength already. Kratos even slay Heimdall, a god with the ability to see into the future. How Kratos fights, it was so unpredictable that even a god with foresight couldn't hope to be a match."

She said all the words she expected they wanted to hear. Whenever someone asked about Kratos, the first thing they wanted to know were about the stories. How many gods he's killed, scars in battle his body bore, the largest monsters he felled.

That's not who he is though, not truly..

"But with me, I don't know, he isn't some terrible god slayer. He's a man. A good man. Honest, kind, gentle, in his own ways, he's the kind of god that would never seek leadership and trust but finds it all the same," she finished with a smile.

That was days ago though, and this was now. The colossal lion was leveling buildings, while the smaller assortment of creatures was ransacking through the streets. Before their party of gods could move however, the lion turned and faced them. Freya hadn't seen it before, but the lion bore two massive scars slashed top to bottom across one of its eyes. Its bloodshot eyes were focused on them, and it began to rush forward.

"No…" Bast suddenly whispered to Freya's right. The valkyrie turned, and saw an expression of such anguished torture, such pained emotional devastation and fear on Bast's face, she wished to never see it again in her life.

"What have they done…" The cat goddess moaned as tears began to dot her eyes.

"What?" Kratos grunted as he braced himself for the coming attack.

A singly finger rose as Bast pointed to the charging lion, "That's him. My son, that's Maahes. I don't..I don't know how. But he bares those scars, and look at his feet."

Kratos, Freya,and Atreus studied the paws now of the charging lion. It had been impossible to see before in the dark of the night and with the creature lurking behind buildings, but now it was clear as day. The feet of the monster were not lion's paws. They were the contorted, twisted hands and feet of a man. The nails had grown long and sharp, cracked and bleeding from the transformation. Its hind feet that once were toes, ankle and heel, had now been contorted with the toes growing long. Along the digits, bones had cracked and pierced skin. Its roars could very well have been from pain, not simply mindless rage. Somehow, their enemies had managed to turn a god of war into a giant chaos beast.

"That explains the size," was all Kratos grunted as he began to charge down the stairs to face the creature. Freya's arms sought Bast and wrapped her shoulders. "Is there any way to undo this? Any way to reverse the transformation? Can we return chaos beasts to normal?" She panickedly asked the two Egyptians.

"No…" Geb replied regretfully as his hand clasped Bast's shoulder. "Before this, chaos beasts were merely animals. Hippos, scorpions, crocodiles, that had been affected by the chaos demon's magic. Apophis has never turned one of us into one… Thoth and Heka had attempted to study them for years for a reversal, but it was deemed impossible."

"So we have to..kill him?" Atreus questioned carefully.

Geb nodded, as Bast was still in pained shock simply staring at the monstrous beast bearing down on them.

Suddenly, the lion let out a booming roar as Kratos' blades flew along their chains and cut into the flesh of one of its legs. The surprise of the attack took the lion off balance, tripping it into a row of buildings to the south. "Atreus, go back up your father. The three of us will deal with the dozens of smaller ones."

"No." Freya heard sternfully growled from behind. Bast stepped forward now, fists clenched, her human facade gone, and the angry glare of the proud panther staring at the thing her son had become. "I will do it."

Before the others could protest, Bast leapt forward with surprising speed and cleared sixty feet in a single jump. She joined Kratos' side, as Atreus flew down beside them in hawk form before shifting back into his human self. Maahes massive body skulked back out from the building, having regained its footing. His head hung low, bloodshot. reddened eyes staring at the trio of them.

"He's really big, like really big. Have you taken something down this big before dad?"

Kratos growled, "Once, it was far larger..but it involved climbing through its innards to attack the heart directly. I don't believe that will work here."

Atreus saw him reach into his pocket for something, but couldn't tell what. It glowed in his father's hand for a moment. Taking a few steps forward towards his father, Atreus reached for the small, round object in confusion. Before he could say anything though, he heard an all too familiar voice call out behind him, and the unmistakable sound of a rift opening.

"Hello!"

Atreus spun around with instant reflexes, only to see his suspicion for the voice was indeed correct. Standing roughly sixty paces away was his beloved partner. A giant space rift to her right as she stood on their battlefield.

"Angrboða?!" Was all he could exclaim, completely dumbfounded.

The giantess replied with a wide smile and wave. "Hey hun!" Even bathed in the glow of the blood red sky and moon she was still a beautiful sight to behold. She was a few hairs taller than Atreus now, and her hair longer too. With the tied off dark braids reaching down to her waist. His love was wearing the silver armored breastplate he had given her for when they fought, as well as the arm guards and matching set for her legs.

"Is he ready!?" Kratos roared from behind his son.

"Sure is!" Angrboða placed two fingers to her lips and a loud whistle echoed out. Not four heartbeats later a massive blur rushed past them. If the size of the beast wasn't a giveaway, the gray color of the fur and familiar growl certainly were.

The giant wolf hit the colossal lion broadside with such a force it shook the entire city. Maahes was sent rolling side over side, taking out six more buildings as he was shot into the desert.

Atreus was truly taken aback now with yet another unexpected ally in their fight. "FEN!?"