Rage Awakened
God of War and all associated characters and interpretations are property of Sony Santa Monica. Kingdom Hearts and all associated characters are property of Disney and Square Enix.
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The blizzard had grown exponentially in the short time it took Kratos and Sora to travel to the shoreline. They perched themselves atop two frosted over trees, both growing somber at the sight before them—a few animals too slow to sense the danger had been frozen solid, macabre remnants of their last moments. Sora leapt down first, and soon both were slowly walking to the edge of the frozen lake. Kratos pulled his Blades of Chaos off his back, willing them ablaze.
Sora stopped just ahead of Kratos, right on the edge of the shoreline. He cupped his hands over his mouth. "Sinmara!" he shouted into the frigid gales. "I want to talk!"
The blizzard did not stop, but a shape slowly formed at its edges. Sinmara walked through the fog, silent as a ghost. As Sindri said, she wore a device over her chest—though in Kratos's opinion, it looked more like a breastplate than a harness—which itself was covered in a thick layer of ice.
She stared impassively at Sora—not even bothering to acknowledge Kratos—uncaring of the chaos in her wake. "Keybearer," she intoned.
"The name's Sora." He stood firm. "Sindri told me that you want the Keyblade."
"Sindri lives?" A smile ghosted across Sinmara's face. "That is good news."
Sora nodded. "He also told me why you want it. And I'm sorry, but it won't work. The Keyblade can't bring Surtr back to life."
The blizzard instantly intensified, though the only change in Sinmara was her throat tensing. "You are but a child," Sinmara's voice thundered from within the blizzard. "And a mortal besides. I am Sinmara, born of the ice that formed the bones of this World. I wield far greater power than one like you can ever dream. The kind of power that can bring forth the true might the Keyblade wields."
"Sure," Sora snarked. "But whatever power that is just can't bring back Surtr. It doesn't work like that!"
"Then how does it work?" Sinmara asked, voice dropping to a hiss. Sora winced as he realized his mistake, before shaking his head.
"I'm sorry, but you're not getting the Keyblade."
"I am not asking permission," Sinmara intoned. Lazily, she raised her arms from within the blizzard. Shapes formed within the icicles around her, and various monsters—from lowly draugur to mighty trolls—slid out of the ice and onto the lake. A small army had been formed within seconds, and it was slowly approaching.
Sora's face twisted into a frown as he looked over his shoulder at Kratos. Kratos merely nodded, adjusting his grip on the Blades of Chaos.
Sora turned back to Sinmara with a sigh. He held his right hand out, and a Keyblade appeared from a burst of light and flower petals. This one's shaft was a was a white tower with some kind of golden rope spiraling up it, the tip being the tower's purple-covered apex. The teeth of the blade was a golden sun, and the handle was made of green and yellow vines, a colorful flower connecting it and the shaft. Its keychain was a frying pan, of all things, connected to the weapon by a golden, braided thread.
Sora looked down at the Keyblade with a frown. "Well, if you really want the Keyblade that bad…" The sound of glass breaking echoed from Sora as he shot forward in a burst of Flowmotion. He bounced from monster to monster as he approached Sinmara in the blink of an eye. The frost giant gasped, jerking back and summoning ice spikes in front of her. The wrong move, because Sora was able to weave through them as she impaled her army.
Sora came to a screeching halt just before Sinmara. "You're gonna have to catch me first!" he declared, before flipping over her and gliding away at a breakneck pace. Sinmara growled in rage, vanishing into mist as the blizzard followed Sora like a rabid hound.
Kratos let out a breath as the temperature rose just a few degrees more. With a sharp grunt, he leapt forward in a burst of Flowmotion, stabbing his Blades into a dragur's head, the Blades of Chaos' primordial fire easily melting through the creature and leaving it in pieces.
The remaining monsters roared and swarmed Kratos. Kratos roared in response, grabbing his Blades by their chains. When the first monsters grew close enough, he whipped his blades out, calling upon Flowmotion as he spun in a sharp circle, a tornado of blue-tinted fire forming around him and melting multiple creatures.
Kratos fell into a familiar state as he slaughtered his foes. He had to work fast. Sora was a powerful individual—a fact he could personally attest—but facing a Primordial being on your own could be taxing even under the best circumstances. The blizzard centered on Sinmara had grown even more intense as she chased Sora, but thankfully had not grown any larger. Perhaps she had determined that condensing her energy was more fruitful compared to expanding it when it came to catching him.
Kratos ducked under a Troll's wild swing and raised his blades to impale it. Only to pause as thunder crackled behind him, followed swiftly by Mjolnir crashing through the Troll—shattering it—and landing in the frozen lake.
Thrud landed beside him, snapping her fingers to summon the hammer back into her hands. "Hey Kratos!" she shouted as she whirled around and slammed the hammer through an ogre.
"Are the people safe?" he asked as he summoned a spear and pinned an approaching monster to the ice.
"Skjoldr's leading everyone to his village for safety. Loki's watching their tails." She frowned. "Why'd you ask for me and not him?"
Kratos grunted and jerked his head at the blizzard. "I need you to mitigate the storm as best you can. Before it can grow worse."
Thrud grew silent as she battered their foes. "Kratos," she said during a lull in combat, "I can barely make storm clouds, and that's just for my own amusement. Trying to counteract an artificially created blizzard of that size and strength?" She shook her head. "It's too much!"
"I am not asking for a miracle," Kratos replied kindly. "But right now, Sora is distracting Sinmara on his own. The more we can do to assist him, the better."
"By turning Sinmara's attention to me?!"
"She is focused on Sora." He grunted. "She desires his Keyblade." It was no guarantee, of course. But as someone who had also once held a single-minded revenge, Kratos knew all too well how rage could blind you.
Thrúd gained a determined expression. "Okay. Okay, let's get closer." She raised Mjolnir in the air, the hammer's unique properties lifting her off the ground and towards the blizzard. Kratos followed below, bounding forward with Flowmotion.
More creatures sprung from the ice as Kratos and Thrúd neared the storm. Kratos's Flowmotion enhanced attacks tore through the smaller ones like a hot knife through butter—rather, ice. But the larger ones were tougher and required Kratos's full attention to destroy. Thrúd slammed down before him, lightning arcing around her and frying those few that remained.
The young goddess blinked as she stared onto the storm. "Woah…that's pretty big!" she shouted over the raging wind. "But…I can barely feel it." She looked down at her left wrist, where Kratos could see one of the pieces of jewelry Sora gave Lúnda and Sindri. "This stuff really works, huh?"
Kratos grunted. "So long as it can help you keep your focus for the task ahead." Thrúd grimaced, but she did nod. She shifted her stance and held Mjolnir in front of her in a two-handed grip.
She pursed her lips. "Any advice?"
"Did you ever witness your father manipulate a storm?"
"A few times." Thrúd smiled. "Once, when I was a kid, he summoned a huge storm and then got rid of it to show me my first rainbow." She laughed. "Everyone was so pissed! But he didn't care. Said my smile made it all worth it."
"Do you recall any special movements or gestures he performed?" Kratos asked.
Thrúd hummed. "I think…Yeah. He channeled his magic into it—a lot of it. I got shocked a lot, but I'm practically half-lightning, so, you know, it was like he was tickling me." She closed her eyes with a hum. Lightning sparked up and down her body, before condensing on her arms, wreathing them in lightning.
"Very good!" Kratos declared, letting stray sparks of lightning wash over him. "What did he do next?"
"Dad forced all the energy to the top of the hammer—the apex." She did so, the lightning collecting into a swirling ball of energy atop Mjolnir. "And then he…He released!" she shouted, thrusting the hammer into the air. The lightning atop Mjolnir exploded into a column of energy that stretched into the sky. It parted the storm clouds, before they swirled around the beam. A funnel of steel-gray clouds formed in the air, sucking up the blizzard and diminishing its effects. Now, Kratos was able to see flashes of light from within the storm—made by Sora, no doubt.
The light was obstructed once more, however, as the storm regained its previous strength. Thrúd faltered, but managed to hold firm, though the beam Mjolnir emitted lost some of its shape.
"Getting hard to control!" the young goddess spat through grit teeth.
"Do not overexert yourself!" Kratos bellowed as monsters burst out from the surrounding ice. "You are doing well. Hold strong!"
"Easy for you to say!"
Kratos did not respond as he darted around Thrúd, protecting her from their foes. His blades and spears slashed and impaled monsters with abandon, and though unable to do any real damage, his axe, when thrown, still sailed with the strength of a god, and staggered all but the largest of foes. But they were many, and for all his skill, Kratos was only one.
Wild lightning flying from Thrúd staved off the lesser foes, but one Ogre of a pack of three slowly made way against the constant assault. Kratos tried to attack the beast, but the other two ogres were tough enough to require his full attention. Even when he unleashed his Spartan Rage, the two beasts held firm, keeping him from helping Thrúd.
The ogre finally made it to the young goddess. Thrúd sneered at the ice-made beast as it reared a fist back to strike her. But just before it could strike, it was swarmed by three Shield-Maidens. The rest, and Freya, converged on the two Kratos fought, allowing him the chance to grab them by their heads and smash them together, shattering them upon impact.
"Lovely weather, eh, Brother?" Mimir called out from Sigrún's hips.
"Who else is coming?" Kratos asked.
"Tyr's gathering mages that excel in fire and ice magic." Freya replied. "What's the plan?"
"Currently, Thrúd is working to divert Sinmara's storm."
"Ah!" Mimir exclaimed. "I thought that beam of light looked familiar. I didn't know that she could pull that little trick yet."
Kratos nodded. "She will need guards. Whoever isn't chosen to do so will need to scan the shoreline to ensure that no creatures have travelled beyond it." He paused for a moment. "Freya, I would like you to travel South, relieve Atreus, who is guarding those that were still within the festival grounds this morning, and send him to me. I shall be traversing the blizzard to reach Sinmara and assist Sora."
As Sigrún began barking orders for which Shield-Sister would perform which duty, Freya arched a brow at him. "Why do you need Atreus? You and I work just as well."
"True," he replied, a smile ghosting across his lips. "But Sora's magic allows him and those he has bonded with to perform great feats of strength."
"And him and I don't have that." Freya nodded. "Alright. Good luck." She stepped away, her wings flapping twice as she was lifted in the air. Four of her sisters followed her into the air, but before they could leave, the storm intensified, and chunks of ice swirled in the air before forming into two dragons.
Before anyone could react, Mimir, of all people, shouted, "No you don't!" The talking head glowed blue with Flowmotion, and his Bifrost eyes shone like newborn stars. Twin beams of energy shot out from his eyes, ricocheting on thin air before piercing through each dragon's wings. The creatures screeched in pain, after which Kratos quickly threw spears into the creatures' necks. Their cries turned into gurgles, and they fell to the ground, shattering on impact.
That broke everyone else out of their stupor. Sigrún removed Mimir from her belt and held him up. "What the hell was that?!"
"I told you I learned how to use Flowmotion to augment my abilities, same as Kratos and Atreus."
"Yeah, but you didn't tell us it could do that!"
"What part of 'It makes those awful eyebeams Brok and Sindri forced on me tolerable' didn't you understand?"
"Enough!" Kratos bellowed, cutting Sigrún's retort short. He grabbed Mimir out of her hands. "We have our tasks. See them through." The shield-maiden huffed but did move to join her sisters in guarding Thrúd. Freya and the rest still stared down at them in shock, but a frustrated wave of Kratos's arm got them moving.
"Honestly." Mimir groused as Kratos placed him on his belt. "I offered to demonstrate but wouldn't let me. Even when I told them it was just better."
Kratos grunted as he performed a Flowmotion enhanced leap into the blizzard. "The original technique is destructive. As are the Flowmotion abilities Atreus and I have demonstrated. It is only natural for them to assume that a combination of the two would be less restrained, as opposed to precise."
"True." Mimir said sigh.
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The storm, as expected intensified as Kratos travelled further and further inside—even as Thrúd successfully countered it. However, as with many storms Kratos had endured, the center of it, the eye, was calm.
In the distance, Kratos had a clear view of Sora and Sinmara. The former's clothes were blue—like when he wielded that massive he used to kill the Seiðr-dragon in Vanaheim. In his hands, his Keyblade had transformed into a staff; the shaft of the blade made up the body of the staff, and the sun-shaped teeth had shifted to the top, framed by vines.
Sora summoned massive pillars and beams of light to attack Sinmara, who, despite her immense power, was not a skilled combatant. Her attacks were simply wild swings, ice forming weapons or spiking off the ground to try and impale Sora. Her dodges—when she wasn't simply caught off-guard and hit—were erratic, and left her open for more attacks.
Sinmara let out a frustrated roar, wrenching her arms back before clapping her hands together with a loud boom. Dozens of Icicles spawned in the air, shooting down on Sora like arrows. The Keyblade Wielder, however, wove through the projectiles—Kratos initially thought he was sliding across the ice, but a closer look revealed that he was hovering a few inches above the ground. When he had to dodge, he teleported away, leaving behind a sold, light-based copy of himself. By the time Sinmara's assault ended, Sora had created five copies, all circling her.
As Sinmara recovered, Sora thrust his staff forward, and now Sinmara was barraged by projectiles—dozens of orbs of light-based magic, capped off with an explosive finish. Unlike Sora, Sinmara was unable to dodge even one, and her screams of rage and pain echoed around them.
"I take it Sora's doing fine?" Mimir asked from Kratos's hip.
"He is," Kratos replied. But despite the brutal onslaught, Sinmara, though winded, did not appear to be truly damaged. Either Sora was holding back, or, more likely, she was simply that resiliant.
Unbidden, Kratos felt his divine might sing within his blood, before centering on his right hand. He quashed the feeling in an instant before he could instinctually call upon the Blade of Olympus. He had not used the weapon since regaining it during his trials in Valhalla. Now, though, would be the perfect time to bring it out to the real world once more.
And yet, he hesitated, because he still held the hope that they could talk Sinmara down. Or at the very least, beat her so thoroughly that she broke and no longer entertained her insane plot.
Instead, he gripped his Blades of Chaos, and leapt into the air with Flowmotion. He threw one blade towards the frozen lake, letting it sink into the ice beside Sinmara. The Primordial Being had just enough time to jerk her head towards the sky, before Kratos pulled himself down the chain and slammed his shield into her face.
Sinmara was sent sprawling as Kratos landed and pulled his Blade out of the ice. Sora teleported beside Kratos. "She's not listening to reason," he solemnly stated.
"I gathered."
Sinmara rose to her feet with a growl. She glared at Kratos. "You would tear my heart in two once more, Ghost of Sparta?"
Kratos let out a breath and shook his head. "I seek no quarrel, Sinmara. Surtr willingly sacrificed himself that you would live. I would honor that."
"Silence!" she screamed, grief and rage mixing together as tears streamed down her face. "You took him from me! You're keeping him from me!" She sobbed. "I'm all alone. There's no one left."
Sora slid forward. "Sinmara…"
The frost giant took a deep, shuddering breath, and looked back at them. Her eyes were blank, her voice numb. "Nothing will keep us apart again." She vanished into mist.
Kratos huffed, standing back-to-back with Sora. "We must destroy the device," he said.
"I've been trying," Sora replied. "But the ice blocking it is thick. Keeps reforming even when I blast it with fire magic."
"Allow me, then," Kratos replied, his Blades of Chaos' fire intensifying. As he said that, he felt a sudden drop in temperature from his left. He and Sora darted away just as Sinmara reappeared, a massive hammer of ice slamming down where they once stood.
Sora swung his staff forward, a large beam of light travelling across the ground towards Sinmara. The frost giant leapt away but was left open for Kratos to run in and land two solid strikes on her chest. The ice armoring her melted readily, but not enough, and as Sora said, slowly reformed.
Sinmara growled, wildly slashing her arm out as icicles sprouted from the ground. Kratos blocked them with his shield as she vanished once more. Kratos kept his shield up, slowly scanning the battlefield as Sora slid above the ground, circling Kratos defensively.
Suddenly, Mimir shouted, "Behind us!" And Kratos felt and heard his friend gather energy form Kratos's hip. He waited, and only moved only after the energy released, turning around to see Mimir's Flowmotion enhanced beams slam into Sinmara's chest and face, forcing her backwards. Sora shot her with three blasts of fire as Kratos rushed forward and stabbed Sinmara's armor with his Blades of Chaos. The ice halted his strike, but with the blades stuck in the ice, they melted far quicker than before.
Sinmara hissed at him, slamming her hands against Kratos's chest and sending him away with a burst of freezing wind. Her face morphed into confusion as he was only blasted away, however. Briefly, Kratos looked down at the snowman pin on his shoulder strap—whoever had made these trinkets was truly a master craftsman.
Sinmara shook herself from her stupor, and swiped her arms at Kratos, summoning icicles in the air to pierce through him. Sora, having formed more copies of himself, destroyed them with blasts of magic. Sinmara face twisted into a snarl, but it soon morphed into confusion as three arrows landed in her waist, a giant purple sigil forming around them. She had just enough time to gasp in alarm before Sora called out, "Duck and cover!" and shot a massive ball of fire from his staff.
Kratos ducked down and hid under his shield just as the fireball crashed against the sigil. The explosion that erupted was at least twice as powerful as the one Sora and Atreus had last used against Sinmara in Muspelheim. Kratos's eardrums popped and the heat seared his skin as he was shoved back several feet from the force of the explosion—and if his shield were of any lesser quality, he suspected it would have melted into slag.
His divine constitution healed his eardrums just as Atreus ran up beside him. "Father, Mimir." He nodded at them.
"You're becoming awful fond of explosions, lad," Mimir said with a chuckle. Atreus just grinned, before focusing on Sinmara. She landed on her back, her icy armor bearing multiple cracks and falling off on its sides before she hastily froze it over again. She glared at the pair of them with nothing less than sheer loathing—the kind Kratos hadn't seen since Greece.
"What's the plan?" Atreus asked. Yet, just as the words left his lips, Kratos felt lightning travel down his spine. After a shared look with Atreus, they turned to Sora, who nodded resolutely. Kratos took a deep breath and called upon the new energy coursing through his being.
Sora darted over to them as Kratos rose to his feet. He felt his Rage build to new heights, but instead of simply releasing the energy, he felt it spread out to his son and Sora. As one, they bent their heads upwards and roared to the heavens, a shockwave of pure power pulsing around them as their bodies erupted in crimson, ethereal flames.
Kratos leapt into the air, clasping his hands together and slamming them down towards Sinmara. The giant scrambled away, but the force of the blow split the frozen lake apart and forced her into the air with a startled yelp. Sora and Atreus dashed from either side of Kratos, springing up after Sinmara. Sora landed a solid kick against her gut, while Atreus punched her back to the ground.
Sinmara gasped in pain, her armor cracking again as Kratos ran up and grabbed her by her shoulders. He slammed her against the ground before tossing her forward. Sora appeared in front of her, and delivered a spinning kick against her midsection that sent her flying to the left. Atreus, transformed into an Ibex, reared up before kicking her with his hind legs, sending her back to Kratos, who grabbed her and slammed her against the ground once more.
He stood her up and released her before landing a solid right hook against her jaw. She spun with the blow, which allowed Sora the chance to elbow her in the gut, which opened her up for Atreus to knee her in the back. And then she returned to Kratos, who punched her towards Sora, repeating the process again.
Sinmara cried out in pain and rage with each blow as they pummeled her between them. It was brutal, even by Kratos's standards, but this was a Primordial Being that wanted them dead and rebuffed all attempts at peace. Such ruthlessness was required.
The energy coursing through them reached a crescendo. The three stepped back, the ethereal flames surrounding their bodies intensifying into an opaque blaze. They raised their arms overhead, hands clenched into fists, and together, slammed them against the ground. The shockwaves from the blows joined together in the middle, right at Sinmara's feet, and the frozen lake erupted in an explosion of fire, launching her in the air as she was obscured by the attack.
The energy spent, Kratos drew his Blades of Chaos hopped backwards, Sora and Atreus doing the same with their weapons. But after the fire vanished, though the blizzard still raged, Sinmara was nowhere to be seen.
Then, quick as a flash, the storm vanished.
The three of them warily looked around, Sora's clothes flashing white before returning to their usual brown, his Keyblade appearing in his hands.
Atreus spoke first. "She's…Is she dead?"
"No." Sinmara's voice whispered around them. The ice beneath them burst apart, and the three were encased in a prison of icicles. Sora was lucky, in that the icicles were unable to pierce through his furs—though they did slice through the few gaps where his skin showed. Kratos and Atreus, however, were not as well protected, and pierced in several places—and the image of his son in pain brought forth an incredible fury within Kratos, his previous reluctance to kill Sinmara vanishing in an instant. Unfortunately—or not—he had no Rage to call upon at the moment.
Not even Mimir escaped unscathed, and icicle cutting through the rope attaching him to Kratos's belt and lifting him to Kratos's eye-level.
Sinmara appeared before them out of mist. Her hair was a wild, half-melted mess, and the armor she wore was finally shattered. However, the device it shielded was none the worse for wear; not a scratch on it. As always, Sindri's creations were the stuff of miracles.
Sinmara panted, eyes alight with manic rage as she glared at Kratos. "You could have just stayed away." She hissed. "With the Keyblade in my grasp, I would have no need to kill you and your son for your crimes." Kratos saw the Shield-Maidens and Thrúd fly in from the distance. Without breaking eye contact, Sinmara waved her hand, and a massive dome of ice rose up and separated them from the outside world. Thrúd, crackling with lightning, slammed Mjolnir against the dome. However, though it shook, the dome held firm.
"Now," she spat through grit teeth. "I shall collect the Keyblade with my hands stained red with your blood."
"Sinmara!" Sora cried out, face twisting in frustration. "Please, stop! This isn't right!" The frost giant ignored him, raising her hand and clenching her fist. Slowly, more icicles sprouted from the ground to skewer them.
Kratos grit his teeth, willing his Rage to build and build as he concentrated on forming it into the Blade of Olympus. But was forced to he stopped as something truly…extraordinary occurred before his eyes.
Inky, crimson fluid spawned beneath Sora. Even Sinmara paused as the fluid spread out in a large circle centered around Sora. Then, the fluid rose, breaking through the icicles imprisoning Sora as he fell into it, upon which it encased him in cocoon of swirling black and crimson. There was a dreadful energy coursing through the air that felt familiar to Kratos, but not in any way he could place at the moment. The next second, the cocoon faded into nothing, and out arose…something.
It looked like Sora, though his skin, hair, and even his Keyblade were pitch-black, as though he had he'd been infused with ink. His furs dripped black ink, and parts of it were burnt and still smoldering, smoke rising from them—no. Smoke drifted from all parts of its body, not just the furs. But the most unnerving were this…this creature's eyes. They not normal eyes, simply circles of light. The center of the light was a bright, sickening yellow, while the edges glowed a deep, dull crimson.
Sora—it had to be Sora—landed in a low crouch. He twitched erratically, his left arm held low, his right arm, bearing the pitch-black Keyblade, held high overhead.
Sinmara stepped back in clear terror. "W-What is—" she said nothing else, for in that moment Sora vanished in a puff of smoke, reappearing before Sinmara and slamming his Keyblade's hilt into her gut. She gasped as she bent over, before Sora spun in the air and landed a solid kick on her face, sending her flying into the dome.
Sora landed on his hands and free hand—like an animal—before flicking his right wrist backwards. His Keyblade flew out in a wide circle, breaking the ice holding Kratos, Mimir—who Kratos had to catch—and Atreus prisoner. He looked over his shoulder at them as he caught the Keyblade—unblinking, unmoving—before vanishing in another puff of smoke.
Atreus staggered over to them, all three of them gaping at Sora as he reengaged a terrified Sinmara. "What the fuck is that?" Atreus gasped.
"That is the power of Darkness," Kratos replied, securing Mimir back on his belt. "Do you not recall the energy he summoned with his Keyblade, Oblivion? It is the same." Sora ducked under a panicked swing from Sinmara, before launching at her and grabbing her head, slamming it against the ice dome until they broke through it. "Though this is much more potent."
Atreus spluttered as they sprinted for opening. "B-But Sora said he could only use a little of the Darkness!"
"Clearly the word 'little' means something different where he comes from," Mimir deadpanned.
They exited the dome with the terrified shrieks of Sinmara as a backdrop. "Stay away! Stay away!" she cried as she frantically summoned icicles to impede Sora. He just bounced off and broke through them before tackling Sinmara to the ground. She brought her arms up to cover her face, but Sora ignored it—though he did slam his Keyblade into the ground above her head, trapping her hair underneath it. Instead, he slashed erratically at the device on her chest, streams of red energy augmenting his blows. He left dark, smoking claw marks against it with each attack, each strike digging deeper and deeper into the metal. Until, finally, it broke apart, revealing a mass of rainbow-hued ice underneath.
Sinmara gasped in alarm and summoned a pillar of ice from her left that knocked Sora off her. She scrambled backwards, her hair tearing and shattering underneath the Keyblade, as Sora twisted in the air and soared back above her. He summoned his Keyblade in a flash of red light, and dove right down at Sinmara, Keyblade poised to impale her. She cried out in alarm, and held her hands over her chest, a sphere of blue energy forming between them.
Sora's Keyblade stopped halfway through the orb, both him and Sinmara trembling as they tried to overpower each other. Sinmara's face had twisted into one of pure desperation. Sora simply stared down at her like a statue, his glowing eyes casting a grim pallor over the last frost giant. Then, Sora twisted around his Keyblade, that same inky fluid that heralded this transformation spawning around Sinmara—spreading out in a wide circle, ending just before Kratos's feet. Massive orbs of the fluid rose up around Sora and Sinmara, spinning in place and growing spikes as they glowed ominously, before shooting out rays of light. Sinmara's face morphed into one of pure terror as Sora shoved his Keyblade down further through her sphere. The tip of the Keyblade shattered Sinmara's hastily made shield and shattered the ice beneath it.
What happened next was an explosion that far eclipsed any Kratos had ever seen. In an instant, he was thrown off his feet, and sent flying, crashing back into, and then through the dome of ice. It could have been the fight against Sinmara, the Darkness Sora summoned, or some combination thereof, but Kratos found himself struggling to stay awake as he crashed through the air. When he crashed headfirst into a cliff face, he no longer struggled, his world growing dark.
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A/N: I couldn't not have Rage Form appear within this story.