God of War: Daughter of War

After bringing an end to the Furies, and Kratos was sure of that after what they had seen, Kratos and Flurry departed from the Prison of the Damned, finding that all of the cells were now vacant and there were no monsters for them to deal with, meaning the destruction of the oath stones likely freed everyone else. Such a thing meant that they could simply walk out of the area and not have to worry about being attacked, though even with that in mind Kratos kept his guard up, as he had grown used to battle and always trying to anticipate possible attacks. Of course with their targets dead he saw no need to carry the three artifacts they had recovered so far, though instead of simply discarding them he turned towards Flurry and let her add the amulet, the oath stone, and the Eyes of Truth to her collection, as she seemed to enjoy collecting items, plus it looked like only she could see what was inside the pouch. Another part of his reasoning was, in the off chance they might need the relics in the future, they would remain safe and sound until he could determine whether or not they needed them, plus if they were captured again none of their enemies could take the artifacts and use them against them.

As they climbed down the body of Aegaeon, however, Kratos was surprised to find an oval shaped doorway waiting for him and Flurry, resting on a bit of flat ground that had survived the battle with Megaera and her foul creations, causing the pair to pause as they stared at the glowing golden magic.

"Kratos... what is that?" Flurry asked, because while she was sure it was magic, much like some of the things she had seen since joining the warrior on his quest to kill the Furies, another part of her wasn't too sure, hence why she asked the one that had the most experience in this field.

"It seems to be a gateway... one of the gods wants to see us." Kratos replied, though this was odd timing, that a gateway that connected two points in the world would be here, even if it was a temporary one since he could see that there was no base for it to rest in, causing him to shift his stance as he wondered which god was behind this, "Be ready, there's no telling what might be on the other side."

Flurry nodded as she gripped her sickles and followed Kratos through the portal, arriving at what seemed to be the outskirts of a town or settlement, though in front of them stood a single story house that looked identical to the ones she had seen when the Furies tried to tempt Kratos with what he couldn't have.

"It would seem that someone favors us... Artemis, maybe... for we are home." Kratos said, where he relaxed a little bit, not that Flurry could tell the difference since his current stance was nearly identical to when he was focused, but it did confirm what she had been thinking about after laying eyes on the small structure, before he heard something move nearby and was quick to draw his weapons, "Who dares to interrupt us?"

"Um... hello?" a familiar voice said, where Flurry found that the gorgon from before poked her head out from behind the side of the house, meaning one of the gods must have brought her here, or she had somehow known they were going to take down the Furies and came here for no reason, making this a meeting of coincidence, before she rushed over to Flurry and pulled her into a hug, "I'm so happy that you're okay!"

"It was touch and go there for a moment, but we prevailed." Flurry stated, though this time she didn't even try to fight it, as she was too tired from all the fighting they had done to care about being in the hands of a monster, a friendly one that did seem like she wanted to keep her, and even Kratos to some extent, safe, before she glanced at the warrior, "This one freed me from my cell and returned my weapons to me... that's how I was able to save you, even though I'm sure you could have done so on your own."

"I see. You have my thanks, gorgon." Kratos said, which was odd in his eyes, thanking a monster for saving them from the dark plans that the Furies had been trying to set in motion, but she was different than the others he had encountered over the years and it made him somewhat curious about her, "Tell me, do you have a name?"

"I, um... L... Albis. I'm called Albis." the gorgon replied, where it was clear that she must have come up with it on the spot, especially since most monsters didn't have names in the first place and Kratos had only asked because she was one of the more unique individuals he had encountered, so there was a fair chance someone had named her.

"I'm Flurry Heart, and this is Kratos." Flurry added, because while there was a chance that the gorgon might have learned their names while listening to the Furies, back when they were captured and transported, she wanted to make sure that she knew what names to use for both of them, before she heard a pop of some kind and found that Orkos was standing by a lone tree, "Orkos..."

"I will talk to him. Why don't you two check out the rest of the area?" Kratos inquired, as he suspected that whatever the figure had to say was best told only to him right now, where Flurry nodded her head as the gorgon, Albis he corrected a few seconds later, departed from the house so they could check out the rest of the area, causing him to turn towards the son of the Furies, "Orkos, I am glad that you are safe as well."

"As am I, Kratos... though I have to ask: what's with the gorgon?" Orkos asked, speaking once the two were out of range, as he couldn't help himself in this situation, not when there was a friendly monster hanging out with a literal unknown entity, one that forced his Mothers to change their plans the moment they learned of her existence.

"Albis is the one that sprung us from our prisons... and she has taken a liking to Flurry, like a mother watching over their child, among other things." Kratos said, where he glanced at the two for a moment as they explored the rest of the area as he and Orkos stood by the tree, because it would take some time for him to get used to the idea of a friendly monster, to which he turned back towards the other figure, "The Furies said they had plans for her. Do you have any idea what they were trying to do?"

"Only that they wanted to make a monster... Flurry is connected to Death, which means Thanatos, but I am unsure what it means in the grand scheme of things." Orkos commented, because while he suspected that Flurry's skills and abilities had convinced his Mother and her sisters to change their plans for Kratos, choosing to kill him instead of convincing him to swear fealty to Ares once again, he could only wonder what the little girl's true powers were, "Kratos... what are you going to do with her? You do know that the deaths of the Furies will reach Zeus and the other Olympians... in fact, I'm sure some of them are already on their way to speak with you, maybe even enlist your aid in dealing with other matters that might be on their minds... but Flurry will interest them far more than you will."

"I would not let her become a servant of Ares, if that is what you are worried about. Maybe Athena or Zeus." Kratos said, as Athena was the Goddess of Wisdom and Zeus was the King of the Gods, where he was sure that both would be good for someone like Flurry, though as he said that he could see that Orkos had raised an eyebrow, like he was silently telling him that he had misunderstood him, "Oh, that is what you meant. Well, after all we have been through since her arrival in the Oracle's temple, I would take her with me on whatever is next, to face whatever dangers might be in our future, and train her to the best of my ability."

"Like a daughter?" Orkos inquired, because it sounded like the Spartan was more protective of the girl than he should be, since they didn't know each other all too well, and he could see that Kratos considered his words without reaching for his blades, as he seemed to value his opinions or views on things, which only made what he was here to do much harder than it had to be, since he was sure they could become friends, "I know you want to live in a world of truth, Spartan, and to that end I have some bad news: my Mother, Alecto, saw fit to make me your oath keeper once again, extra insurance to keep you bound to Lord Ares... to break it you must take my life. I know you don't want to spill more innocent blood, but this is the only way for you to break your bond to my Father and, ultimately, have your revenge... all I ask is that you give me a proper warrior's death."

Kratos stood there for a moment, debating how to go about this strange situation, before he sighed as he raised his right hand, gripped the blade that Orkos was offering him, and, after hesitating for a few seconds, drove it into the Fury's chest, right into his heart. As that happened Flurry stopped what she was doing as she and Albis watched the scene unfold, both of them saddened by the death of someone who helped them take down the Furies, before Kratos fell to his knees for a time, looking like his mind was being tormented by the truth of his deeds. Flurry walked up to where he was resting and did the only thing that she could do right now, she wrapped her arms around him, to the best of her ability, and gave him a hug to let him know, even in the depths of whatever was happening, that she was there for him. Albis stood nearby, as if she wanted to join in and comfort him as well, but was clearly debating how such a thing would be taken whenever he was able to regain himself, until she decided to tend to Orkos' body, moving it to the side while Flurry waited for Kratos to come back to them.

It took a few minutes for Kratos to break free of whatever painful truth he had regained, though when he did so he looked at Flurry for a moment before hugging her, as if she was now his anchor to the real world or something, before getting up to look at the surrounding area and his house. Flurry could see the determination in his eyes as he told her and Albis to break a few of the wooden items inside the structure so they could build a funeral pyre, though as they did so she found that he didn't retrieve anything from his past, where he told her that anything worth taking had already been taken during his long time away from home. It was clear that there were some items he wanted to take, namely a bracelet and a ring he kept on him at all times, the latter Albis found on the ground near where he had been resting after killing Orkos and gave to him so he didn't leave it behind, but everything else was gone. With that in mind they did their best to build the pyre for Orkos and, when Kratos was satisfied with the result, he lit a torch and set fire to some of the components inside his old house, allowing them to watch it for a time before he tossed it in and turned away, allowing Flurry and Albis to follow after him without delay.

As they walked away from the burning house, however, Flurry realized that there was a problem and had no idea if the experienced warrior had even considered it before making the funeral pyre, though it wasn't the fact that they had Albis with them, a monster, rather is was that they had no ship to leave the island.

"Kratos... how are we going to go on any new quests without a ship?" Flurry asked, as she figured that their next course of action would be to leave the place that Kratos knew for most of his life, as she assumed this was Sparta based on all the words that had been thrown around by the Furies, plus the fact that his house had been the destination of the gateway they had walked through.

"No, no more of this 'Kratos' business... how about 'father', instead?" Kratos replied, because he had taken some time to think about this, as Flurry was an unknown figure in the lands that the Gods watched over, one that caused the Furies to change their plans for him and even worried Orkos should anything happen to her, and came to understand that Orkos was right, she needed a guardian and he was the best candidate, before noticing the tears in her eyes, "What? Do you..."

He never finished the statement as Flurry cried 'yes' and wrapped her arms around him, showing him that, despite all of his past deeds, there was someone who still cared for him, though while Albis smiled, as she adored the scene in front of her, all three of them turned their heads as they heard someone approach them.

"Peace, Kratos, I mean you, your new daughter, and your new companion no harm." the figure said, where they found that the speaker was different from what Kratos was expecting, as he was expecting a human, one of the Olympians no doubt taking on a more normal form, not a female creature that had the lower body of a lioness and the upper body of a lady, though she had long fair brown hair and a revealing chest piece and helm that reminded them of the Amazons.

"Lady Artemis?!" Kratos inquired, as the Amazon armor that looked more like a metallic bra, that moved perfectly with her body and didn't get in the way somehow, was the only clue he could see that could reveal who the figure was, especially with the bow and quiver that she carried on her back, the former looking like it was forged from the rays of the moon, as it was pure silver, "Forgive me if I sound rude, but..."

"I'm not what you expected? Don't worry, my brother and I get that more than you think." the figure, Artemis, replied, as if stating a fact, in fact Flurry could tell that she didn't seem bothered by such a thing, which only made her more interested in Apollo and what sort of form her twin was stuck with, where she walked around the trio for a moment and studied Albis for a few seconds, before pausing when she laid eyes on Flurry, "So, you are the little one that helped free my corrupted Amazons on the isle of our birth... quite handy with a bow, I might add, and rather skilled in a fight despite being so very young... honestly, that reminds me of how my brother and I defended our mother after we were born."

"You mean killing Python and bringing down Tityos? Those were good days." another voice suddenly said, causing them to turn back to where Artemis had been standing before and found that someone else had shown up, who looked more half human and half animal, a tiger Kratos noticed, as he had a tiger tail and ears, his feet ended in tiger paws and like allowed him to creep silently around an area, and his hands were humanoid with clawed tips and paw pads, though he wore a set of familiar golden armor.

"Lord Apollo! You... really don't look anything like your statue." Flurry stated, as the armor, minus the ridiculous helmet Archimedes had given him, was the secondary clue as to who this was, even though his remark was enough to tell them who he was, before her eyes widened as she realized that she had been incredibly rude with her remark, "Oh gods... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so rude!"

"Easy there, little one, you aren't in trouble. Like my sister said, we're not as mortals expect us to be." Apollo replied, as he, much like his sister, wasn't too bothered by someone not recognizing them, though at the same time he knelt for a few seconds and rubbed Flurry's head, to show her that everything was perfectly fine, while considering what she had said just after seeing him, "Truth be told, I didn't have the statue commissioned... both Zeus and the Furies had a hand in creating it, each for their own reasons, and Father... well, let's just say that he doesn't like the idea of mortals worshiping gods that look like animals."

Kratos raised an eyebrow as he heard that statement, as he wasn't expecting to hear such a thing from a god, especially as he considered that Hades looked more like a demon and that was how he was depicted in his statues, but decided not to say anything on the matter, figuring that it was best not to provoke the twins.

"Anyway, we decided to track you down after I discovered your deeds on Delos, as I wanted to thank you for freeing all of the corrupted Amazons you encountered." Artemis continued, where she raised her hand for a moment and a bow, identical to the one that she carried, appeared in front of her, one that Kratos noted was about Flurry's size, meaning it was better for her in the grand scheme of things, before she lowered it into the little one's hands, "I don't know how long you'll keep using your bow, but I figured that, for the time being, a replacement that grows with you would be best... I would have given it an enchantment or power, but I didn't want to overwhelm you. I'll also throw in some archery lessons as well, when I have the chance to do so."

Flurry was at a loss for words, rather she happily accepted the gift and tried to hug Artemis, causing the goddess to chuckle for a moment as she lowered herself into a resting position so she could hug her upper body, something that pleased her as Kratos stood nearby, while noting that Albis seemed wary of the twins as Apollo approached him.

"While my sister came with a gift, I came with a warning: you'll find a ship docked nearby, fully stocked with both food and a crew to help you reach your destinations, with a statue of Athena on it." Apollo stated, something that surprised Kratos, as it was if the gods knew he would tear down the Furies and had come prepared to speak with him, or a few of them based on what was happening so far, though he remained silent as the god shared his knowledge with him, "We suspect that Athena wishes to enlist your aid in a number of tasks... for what purpose, we do not know, but after everything you've done so far my sister and I thought you deserved some warning of her gift, and possible message. Also, I have to ask: what's with the gorgon?"

"Albis helped us escape from the Furies, allowing us to kill them... and she's taken a liking to Flurry." Kratos said, though he understood why the god was a little curious about what was going on, as monsters generally caused problems for mortals and killed whoever happened to in their way, which might be what Athena wanted from him now that he thought about the warning.

"A friendly monster... well, maybe we can talk some sense into the other gods, to help them see that she's not a problem," Apollo commented, as he knew that some gods and goddesses might take one look at the gorgon, Albis he corrected, and seek her demise purely because of what she was, not the deeds she had done, which was something they might need to fix in the future, before he sighed, "My sister and I will see what we can do in terms of clothing... some armor would help others realize that Albis isn't like the other gorgon, or maybe more civilian clothing, and we'll see what we can do for the little one. Oh, that reminds me, this is from Hephaestus."

What Apollo pulled out of a pouch, which he seemed to conjure out of thin air, was a small statue of a girl praying, which seemed to be made out of bronze by the looks of it, and the figure was fully dressed, unlike some of the statues Kratos had seen during his travels.

"Don't ask me why he wanted me to give this to you guys, but maybe you can ask him... if you bump into him." Apollo said, showing the warrior that even he was confused as to why the smith god would do such a thing, but Kratos knew that it was best to not turn down the gift, as he gently took it and handed it to Flurry, who smiled as she studied it during their walk towards the ship.

Kratos was both happy and surprised by this turn of events, as he wasn't expecting Artemis or Apollo to be chill with the discovery of a friendly monster, even if they were more interested in Flurry Heart, as he could see them eying her sickles, just like the Furies had done, but neither tried to do anything to her. Rather they joined them on the walk down to the ship that had been prepared by Athena, allowing the pair to recover some of their energy from fighting Alecto and her sisters, a fact that reminded Kratos that they needed some actual food and rest before doing anything else. He could see that Flurry had taken a liking to both gods, especially since it was her first time meeting godly beings that didn't want to use her for their own twisted plans, though there was a chance she was focused on their shared aspects, she was a pony while both figures were feline in some manner. With that in mind he assumed he might see more of them in the future, since the pair likely had some archery lessons in mind for Flurry, both were skilled with the bow according to their various stories, and he might pick up something from watching them, possibly even take part in some of the lessons himself.

When they reached the ship he found that the gods were right, there was a crew at the ready, a statue of Athena resting at the front of it, and plenty of rooms for him, Flurry, Albis, and the crew, plus plenty of rations to keep them sustained for a decent amount of time. Kratos realized that stopping at the various ports would be important, both to get supplies and to get news on anything that was going on, since taking down monsters for the various settlements might yield rewards, like supplies, which he kept to himself as they looked at everything else. The ship was definitely ready for the open water and the crew looked well prepared, no doubt chosen by the gods themselves based on everything that was going on, while he discovered that the Captain escorted them to a set of rooms, one large one that had a bed his size while the other two of the three were smaller, but had beds for Flurry and Albis. Kratos was sure the gods had set up the rooms for him and for Flurry, but the friendly gorgon was definitely not something they were expecting, though the crew seemed surprised by her addition to the group, especially since she was nude like all of the other monsters, while keeping their mouths shut so they didn't piss anyone off.

In the end Kratos was pleased with the ship, as it even had some gear that Spartans used to train, perfect for Flurry, but as soon as he nodded his head both Artemis and Apollo apologized, as they did have other things to do on Delos, which let Flurry and Albis check out their rooms as he approached Athena's statue.

Kratos. a voice said, where the Spartan stared at the statue for a moment as he found that it's eyes lit up, almost like the goddess was temporarily possessing it, and it's mouth moved as it said his name, though he seemed to be the only one focused on it, as the crew was readying them to depart.

"Lady Athena." Kratos replied, bowing his head slightly, because while he knew that she had something to do with part of his miserable past, it wasn't something he could correct anymore and decided to be civilized, since he suspected that with an order the goddess could have all three of them killed if she so desired, "You have gifted us with a good ship and what looks to be an excellent crew. What have we done to deserve such a thing?"

The gods of Olympus have need of a mortal champion, and you and your new child are the perfect candidates for such a position... especially with the deaths of the Furies. Athena stated, informing Kratos that she and the others knew about the demise of Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera, no doubt through Ares or Zeus, though it seemed like he and Flurry would be suffering no consequences for doing what they did to free him from his bond to the God of War, In return for your service, Kratos, Zeus has decreed that we will forgive the sins of your past.

Kratos kept his opinion to himself, as he suspected that she knew about how the return of his memories had tormented him after he slew Orkos, for a short period of time, and wondered if that meant that she was warning him that he would suffer their return again and again until something was done. Her offer made sense, that the gods were willing to forgive his actions under Ares, which no doubt pissed off the God of War, and take away the potential nightmares, or at least that seemed to be what Athena was offering right now, causing him to agree. Not only would he benefit from such a thing, no doubt after a certain number of years since nothing was given freely, but he knew that Flurry would appreciate a change of scenery, while at the same time using the missions of the gods to further hone her incredible skills. Athena informed him that she would be the one delivering all of their missions to him and Flurry, meaning he would have to approach this statue every now and then to figure out what to do after each quest was completed, before she left the statue, returning it to it's previous state as he returned to the inside of the ship.

He found that Flurry had fallen asleep on her new bed, in fact the battle with the Furies must have exhausted her, and he discovered Albis was placing her weapons on a rack so they wouldn't get in the way of her sleeping, with the small statue resting nearby, to which he let a small smile appear on his face as he placed a quick kiss on Flurry's head before heading to his own chambers, so he could be ready for whatever the future held for them.