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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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Chapter 21: Between Older Siblings

P.S. I now have a discord server! Discord .gg/ceBMM2Zz6c

The cold and the darkness were familiar as Kratos found himself pulled into a memory of his.

Not unusual in its general situation, but more on the specific nightmare welcoming him. For it has been a very long time since he thought of Deimos and their battle. That was where Kratos first learned of Zeus' treachery, a major turning point which angered him not just against Ares, but the rest of the major Gods in Olympus.

In the depths of the darkness, Kratos remembered the furious battle that almost made things right. Somewhat. While it wouldn't have made him back down from the painful path he took against Ares, Deimos was still his brother and his remaining family. The two siblings battled Thanatos, the monstrous God of Death lashing out fiercely in return.

It was perhaps one of the most difficult fights he had to deal with, even more when he truly was shattered anew upon the sight of Deimos being crushed by Thanatos. Even now as he watched over the despicable tale of how he lost the last family from Greece because of Zeus' cowardly fear, he couldn't help but feel upset.

Especially as he knew he wasn't alone in this memory, and he turned to greet the lone figure that watched the battle unfold with him from afar.

"The Shogun?" He guessed, but the smile of the tall beauty was a no in his mind.

She wore a creamy white kimono, her outfit hardly fit for combat and yet her gaze, full of experience akin to his, mirrored a degree of a hard-won sense of peace. She was mostly identical to the Shogun, but... it wasn't the Raiden Shogun.

"I was once the Raiden Shogun. My name is Makoto, Kratos, and I am sorry that we are meeting upon these circumstances," She muttered, her gaze back on the sorrowful scene as it shifted to when Kratos buried Deimos. "It was not my intention to paint your dream world with this painful time, but my presence did cause this shift from your usual nightmares."

...

"Why are you here?" He asked, unwilling to spare too much time with such a worrisome element.

Dream-walkers always worried Kratos. In the world of dreams, a realm he was hardly familiar with when it comes to clashes, he was not the former God of War but a small ant to a bigger monster.

"A talk, if you allow me to indulge your time within this endless realm. Nothing which will set you on a mission, but more of a request. Between older siblings, it feels natural for me to expect a degree of understanding," Makoto explained, with a wave of hand summoning two chairs and a table, soon the realm painted in a different sight.

Kratos almost didn't recognize it for he had never been there, but he had seen it from afar - the Narukami Palace, where the Raiden Shogun lived. This was confirmation that this Makoto was indeed, at the very least, familiar with this sort of environment. The pure perfection of each detail and item proof of the woman's remembrance born from years of living in that place.

"Your sister is... the current shogun? I wasn't aware there had been a change."

He was quite there had been not. In fact, there is scarce news about the Shogun even in Ritou.

"My twin sister, Ei, was my Kagemusha or Shadow Warrior. My body double in the eventuality something came to happen to me, which was the case when the Calamity of five hundred years ago came to be and now I am before you not as a living being but a soul that has been granted one last chance to plea my sister's case," Makoto answered calmly, yet her face tightened to display sorrow. "Back when I gave Ei this role, she was a happier girl. She had friends that made her understand Inazuma back then. But each of those died for a reason or another, and the pain had turned her into a foolish thing that grips upon a rather worrisome view of Eternity."

Kratos nodded slowly, offering the woman a moment to recover from these thoughts.

"I assume you wish to compare her to me."

"I do. But I don't need to explain how, despite the lack of mindless anger, Ei is hurting inside and she is lashing out at those undeserving of her hatred," The woman confirmed without hesitation. "I can't tell you much as there are limitations for me to abide, but I will ask you one thing and only one thing."

Kratos tensed up, always too familiar with this sort of requests. He grew more accepting of those, but then he thought of the few times he did and how many times this came to bite him back. He thought of Baldur as one of the most recent affairs that made him distrustful of those seeking to 'protect damaged people'.

"You want me to not fight her?"

It also fit with Zhongli's own contract. Yet he was surprised when Makoto let out a rather amused chuckle.

"Obviously not," She rebuked with a sad smile. "In fact, the opposite of that request. I want you to be the one to face Ei, to be the one to 'teach' her why she is wrong, I want you to do your hardest to drag her out of the pit she hurled herself at, and I want you to not feel ashamed in bloodying her face a bit more than you would with your enemies."

It was a most unexpected development. Kratos would have expected Makoto to be defensive of her sister, something normal among family members, but then his eyes found hers and there was a moment that felt horribly familiar.

Deimos. He remembered the monster he became due to the damnation cast upon him. He knew he had to be hurt to be reasoned with, that he had to be broken again before being set free.

But Ei-

"She is not like my brother."

"She is not. But that doesn't make her any less foolish," Makoto argued with a tired sigh. "I will not debate you on semantics, but Ei may have known love but years of loneliness have made her unable to see what is good in humanity. And she sees eternity in a childish and desperate way, unlike how it used to be under my control. I don't seek a restoration, obviously, but the people of Inazuma are suffering because of her and no resolution can come out without first hurting her by the way of combat."

Kratos closed his eyes, thinking about the situation. It was clear that there was more to this, but he couldn't deduce on the spot if this was a personal circumstance or if the damage done to Inazuma were far more than what they were aware of.

"Are you sure of this?" He asked, opening his eyes and finding himself standing upon a path rained by pink leaves.

Makoto fixed her umbrella and nodded at the bald man. "I had long to think about this. I had seen potential in many to stop Ei, but I couldn't put my own to them without risking fate's own damnation. You?" She walked up to him, her index finger pressing on his chest. "You are the one entity that not even Celestia can touch even if they wanted. And you have the means to show Ei what it means for Thunder to judge and rule, if not for what little homage remains of your paternal connections."

Frowning, Kratos was about to ask for more details on the last bit, a sense of unease filling him as a dark suspect came to mind. But Makoto turned away from him and her umbrella twirled as a more leaves came and hid her from his gaze for long enough to vanish her.

His mouth opened, ready to demand more answers but-

He woke up as he heard noises of blades clashing. He pushed himself out of the tent he had set up on their way to Narukami and-

Kratos readied Leviathan as he faced a most unexpected hurdle in their path that had decided to attack their camp.

A furious Oni woman that was missing a right hand.

AN

Kratos - Deimos, Makoto - Ei. Differing mirrors and medals, but similar pains and burdens.

Also, hi Chiyo! I guess not all of Ei's friends are dead (well, Yae is still around too, I guess...)