God of War: Daughter of War

As it turned out the key that Flurry picked up was far a nearby hatch, which just so happened to be bolted down and had a lock on it, allowing Kratos to unlock it with ease and drop down into the area it led to, only to find that it was the path that was beyond the lowered gate either of them could open earlier. With the gate forced open, just in case they needed to come back through this way, the pair continued deeper into Athens, finding that the ongoing assault was causing the ceiling of the tunnel they were walking through to collapse in certain locations, even crushing a pair of guards in the process. After lifting another gate out of the way the pair walked out onto what appeared to be the rooftops of the burning city, where they had to climb up some strong green vines that easily supported Kratos' weight, which Flurry found to be interesting as she kept an eye on her father as he climbed to the peak. While he did that it was easy for them to see that, in the span of time it had taken them to reach this point, Ares was now inside Athens itself, occasionally hitting the buildings while watching as his army of monsters tore into the guards and the civilians, but since he had yet to notice two ants moving on the outskirts the pair said nothing as they continued on their way.

The building they entered happened to have a few wraiths tormenting a dead soldier, where Kratos and Flurry wasted no time in rushing at their foes and hacking into them, pulling them out of the shadows and cutting into the undead before they could do anything else. Flurry found that other enemies showed up as well, in the form of archers and legionnaires, but none of them really stood much of a chance against her and her father, as they cut them down, even shocked them for a few moments with Poseidon's Rage, before clearing the area out. There was even a roof level where they found a pair of cyclops, the armored type, waiting for them, though Kratos wasted no time in turning Medusa's Gaze on them and turned both foes to stone before they had a chance to attack or even reach his position, allowing him to break both statues. Flurry was a little disappointed in the power of Ares' army, as some of the monsters were far too easy for them to take, but she realized that the God of War must be keeping his stronger creatures off on the sidelines, or maybe they were somewhere else in the city, not realizing that they were even here.

In the end they were able to clear the monsters out and continue on their way, entering a main part of the city, or at least it sure seemed that way as another of Ares' attacks hit the walkway in front of them and blasted some soldiers apart, along with the stone walkway, but that wasn't enough to stop the pair as Kratos climbed on some vines and Flurry provided some support with her arrows.

The path brought the pair to what appeared to be one of the main temples of the city, no doubt Athena's since this was her city, though it was also likely that this was for another god, but they had to focus on their mission as Kratos found a ballista that could be moved, so he pushed it down a path to their left as Flurry kept watch over them. The chamber that it brought them to happened to have a large gear for them to put the ballista on, so by pulling a nearby lever they could turn it to face another direction, though to get it to face the large wooden door that was blocking the way Kratos had to spin it once more, all while Flurry dealt with the undead legionnaires in the area. Once the coast was clear, as he joined the battle the moment he found that there were more enemies than they originally expected, Kratos pulled the bolt back and kicked it, breaking down the door and allowing them to enter another passage that would take them deeper into the temple. While the pair walked, however, Flurry suspected that this was where they would gain another power, because this just seemed like the most logical place for a god to grant them more power, though the only question she had was which god would be the one to assist them this time around.

Sure enough she found that they entered a nice chamber that had some fancy art on the walls, though the entrance that was on the other side of the area had two statues of a male god, one whose statues commanded the power of lightning, meaning Zeus was going to assist them in some manner.

"Lord Zeus." Kratos said, where he decided to keep his frustrations about the people not knowing about them chaining the titan Atlas locked inside him for the time being, as there would be time to discuss this once Ares was dead, and he could see that Flurry wanted to say something about it and came to the same decision that he had.

Kratos, Flurry, both of you grow stronger as your journey progresses, but if you are to succeed in your quest to bring down Ares you will need my aid. Zeus stated, something that confirmed that Olympus was standing against Ares right now, as even the King of the Gods was willing to aid their mortal champions in their great quest, where lightning coursed through their bodies for a moment as he granted them a small portion of his grand power.

Once everything was said and done they found that the magical door faded away and allowed them to step out into the open area in front of the temple, though when the pair stepped onto the bridge they heard a couple of archers on top of the temple's roof and turned to face them. This new power, 'Zeus' Fury', allowed both Kratos and Flurry to create bolts of lightning above their hands that they could throw at their enemies, either those that were far away or those that got far too close for comfort, though for now Kratos assumed they would use it to take out ranged enemies. Flurry didn't mind a new ranged weapon or power, rather she was excited by the idea of having the ability to use lightning like this, and once both of them had a good idea on how to channel the power they headed into a building that was behind them, where the pair found a ladder to climb. With that in mind both warriors resumed moving without delay, since there was no telling how much more they would have to deal with before they found the Oracle and learned what they needed to do so they could bring down Ares, and when they reached another roof section the pair found more enemies to deal with.

Flurry dealt with the harpies that were flying around the area by either utilizing her bow or using the new power to shock all of them, while at the same time her father hacked into the minotaurs that got in their way, and when no enemies were nearby both of them leapt from roof to roof to progress.

There was an area where they found a soldier holding onto a lever, preventing the halves of the wooden bridge that was in front of them from moving into a walkway for them to use, and when Kratos called for him to release the lever the pair found that he didn't care, he just wanted to be safe from the monsters. For a few moments the more experienced warrior debated on whether or not he should zap the soldier with Zeus' power, a brief return to the monster he had been before he found Flurry, but the decision was made for them as a harpy flew down, grabbed onto him, and carried the soldier off into the battlefield. With that done the lever switched back into the main position and raised the bridge for them to move forward, which required smashing through a weak wall in front of them to enter another structure, where Flurry found a few wraiths floating around and attacked them without wasting time. As Kratos rounded the corner that happened to be in front of them, as he knew his daughter didn't need his aid, he found a few more and shocked the trio of wraiths with the power Poseidon had granted them earlier, opening the way for them to move deeper into Athens.

After that they discovered a lift that took them down into the ground, back down to an area they had walked through not that long ago, or at least a walkway that was above where that unfortunate lady fell to her death, and they discovered the Oracle on the other side of the path, only when she turned to face them a pair of harpies carried her off.

"Of course the Oracle gets kidnapped by monsters... do you think Ares knows we're looking for a way to kill him?" Flurry asked, because it sure seemed like the God of War might be making sure that anyone who might spell his doom was taken care of or brought under his thumb, to be under his watchful eye until he was sure Athens was totally crushed and he did whatever else he was here to do.

"Yes and no. He likely knows the gods have tasked someone to speak to the Oracle, but he likely only knows I exist... you he might not know about." Kratos replied, as he recalled one of the gods that they were friendly with telling him about how no one liked the God of War, so Ares was likely cut out of many of the godly conversations that the gods shared with each other, meaning he likely had no idea that his daughter even existed.

"If he doesn't know about me, despite everything we've been through, then he's an idiot." Flurry remarked, where Kratos raised his eyebrow for a moment as he heard that, as his daughter was usually more respectful towards the gods, save for those who annoy her in some manner, like when Athena was rude to them back during their previous adventure, but he decided to say nothing about this, as he didn't like Ares either.

With the conversation over, for the time being, the pair crossed the short gap and then climbed the stairs beyond it, only to find a path on the side of a mountain that seemed to bring them closer to their destination, though they did have to cut through a number of undead legionnaires in the process. Fortunately the path was incredibly short, as it reached another set of stairs that brought them to a great stone bridge that would bring them to a large temple that was larger than what was in Athens, meaning this had to be the temple of the Oracle, and, sure enough, the figure was carried into her building by the harpies that loved to carry her everywhere. Of course a number of other harpies came out and tried to kill them, no doubt on the orders of Ares, though this time around the father and daughter were ready as they opened fire on the tide of enemies, Kratos hurling bolts of lightning into the air as Flurry loosed some arrows into the air, striking down their foes in no time at all. There were also some gorgons, but they didn't last long at all, and once all of their the enemies were dealt with, and both were sure of that fact, they glanced around the exterior of the temple, seeking anything that might be of use to them in the near future, only for Flurry to find that there was a mound of dirt off to their left, with someone working no less.

The figure in question was an old man who looked like a normal person who dug graves, especially with the shovel that was in his hands, though she found it to be interesting that none of the monsters even acknowledged his existence, as if a god was watching over him, and her father walked over to the grave, finding that it was quite large and deep.

"Good my boy, good. Athena has chosen wisely... you who have the blades, the skin as pale as the moon, and who are followed by the shadow of Death itself." the old man said, taking a moment to climb out of the hole they had spotted him in, who seemed like part of his mind might have gone over the long years of digging graves and burying people, though as he did so he focused on Flurry, as if he had never seen some like her before, "Perhaps you will save Athens... but be very careful, as I don't want either of you to die before I'm finished with this grave."

"I do hope you aren't suggesting that we're going to die." Flurry remarked, because that was just an unpleasant thought to have, that this quest would come to a terrible end for one of them, and knowing her father she suspected that if what the old grave digger was saying was true it would be him to rush into his end, something she'd like to avoid.

"The gods are sending you against another god. Someone has to die, and I would like to be prepared." the man said, as if he didn't really care what Flurry had to say on the matter, rather he seemed like most of his focus was on digging his large grave, which was starting to look like a hole in the ground for some odd reason, "But don't worry, because when all hope seems lost, I will be there to lend you a hand."

Kratos knew that something was up with this scene, as no one dug graves while in the middle of a battle, especially not while the God of War was tearing through Athens and it's army, though he decided not to say anything as Flurry kept her sickles on her belt, having decided not to get angry at the man for suggesting they would die in the future. Instead of even thinking about what he said the pair focused on their main objective and headed inside the temple that the Oracle had been dragged into, as she held the key to destroying Ares and potentially getting rid of Kratos' nightmares at long last, a fact both of them wanted to accomplish. On the inside of the temple they found that a large number of harpies came out of holes in both the left and right walls, which flew around and screeched at the pair, though as that happened Kratos just let loose with Zeus' Fury whenever his foes stopped and cut into those who got close to him. At the same time Flurry used her arrows and a bit of her magic to take her targets down, though she could see that there were far more than either of them were expecting to find, something that caused an idea to form in her mind as she found two large statues that just so happened to have shields on them.

When she pointed it out to her father, however, Kratos nodded as he realized what she was saying and they rushed over to where the statues were resting, to which he moved the left one down into position while Flurry replicated the motions with the other one, allowing them to block the harpies from entering the temple.

Once the rest of the harpies were taken care of, and Flurry confirmed that the passages were blocked, the pair discovered a spiraling passage that was blocked by a gate that they removed, though it was a short walk up to the second level of the entire temple, which would involve walking across some beams. Flurry took up her stance to keep an eye out for enemies, as there was no telling with how things were going during this quest, while Kratos stepped out onto the beams and made his way towards the other side, only to find that some fell and he had to change his path accordingly. Fortunately they had no more harpies to deal with and Kratos was able to reach the other side of the level without slowing down, though once he was on solid ground once more he beckoned for Flurry to join him and she did so by flying over to his side. She could have simply walked across the beams as well, but since they had no idea what the harpies were doing with the Oracle, in fact they could be ripping into her at that very moment, she put their quest first and everything else was set aside, hence why she caught up with her father so they could move forward.

The passage that was on the other side happened to have several groups of weak undead legionnaires inside it, where the pair tore through them with ease, slaughtering the undead without pause, before reaching an area that looked like some sort of meditation area with a statue of the Oracle, or an older one, with the current Oracle hanging off a rope that was far above the ground, so if she let go she was as good as dead.

"Kratos! Flurry! You must save me! Athens' survival depends on my safety!" the Oracle stated, spotting the two warriors as they entered the area and noticed her hanging from where the harpies had left her, though her statement was true since she had information that would help them stop Ares and save Athens.

"Of course." Flurry said, where she opened her wings and took to the air, flying over to where the Oracle was hanging as she slipped her sickles onto her belt and held both of her arms out, something that caused the lady to stare at her for just a few moments before she pulled herself into Flurry's arms, who held onto her before flying down to where her father was standing, much to the Oracle's surprise.

"Please, excuse my surprise. It's just... I never expected Death to be so caring towards life." the Oracle commented, which wasn't a surprise to the pair, as everyone who encountered Flurry said something similar, calling her 'Death' and talking about it whenever they mentioned her, though she was happy that their godly friends had stopped after the first couple of visits they had with each of them.

"Why does everyone say that? Calling my daughter 'Death' all the time?" Kratos asked, because with an Oracle they might be able to learn something, other than the information that would allow them to bring down Ares, as he would like to find out why nearly all of the important figures, such as the Furies and the gods, called Flurry 'Death'.

"I wish I knew... as much as it pains me to admit it, but I cannot see her fate, nor why such a title was given to her. Flurry, I am blind to your future." the Oracle replied, informing them that, despite their thoughts on the matter, that she couldn't pierce whatever veil was preventing the various Oracles of the land from seeing her future, which Flurry found to be odd since Aletheia could, in fact, see a glimpse of her future, at least according to what her father had said previously, "But I do have some good news, I have the information you require: you must seek Pandora's Box, which the gods have hidden in the desert to the east... it holds the power to bring down a god. But be warned, as many have gone in search of the box and all have failed."

"If it means the death of Ares, then we shall not fail." Kratos stated, because with Flurry by his side he was sure that any of the challenges set forth by the gods would be conquered in no time at all, where the Oracle said nothing to his remark as she walked over to a pillar and waved a hand over one of the symbols, magic flowing into the surface as she beckoned to a path that would allow them to make good progress towards their next destination.

With the information on how to bring down Ares acquired, and their path set, Kratos and Flurry walked into the passage and found that it brought them to the side of a cliff that was across from a large statue holding a massive sword, one that formed a bridge for them to walk on so they could reach the statue. What was odd was that there was a path to their left that happened to end at a peak that was far above the water that rested around the statue, with an odd brass monument with a statue of Athena resting to it's right, which Kratos figured was godly in nature. After checking out the side path, as Flurry had flown along it while Kratos started to walk along the blade's surface, the pair focused on their objective and just crossed the bridge without anything happening, though what Flurry found to be weird was that the blade was real, it was actually made out of metal. Such a thing made her wonder why in the world it was here, and what would require the blade to exist in the first place, though she decided to shelve the thought for now as they headed into the statue's chest, without any monsters stopping them, and walked down the spiraling path that was in front of them.

The stairs brought them to the sewers of Athens, which was crumbling under the weight of the invading god since several of the pillars were broken or in the process of breaking, and, sure enough, Kratos and Flurry found more monsters simply wandering around, who were eager to attack them the instant they were spotted. When the undead legionnaires stepped into battle Flurry focused on using her arrows to take out the ranged enemies, allowing her father to cut down and hack apart the melee foes that were coming at him, while the one that rushed at Flurry died before it could reach her. Kratos knew it was due to his daughter reacting to what was going on around them, instead of relying on him to rush to her aid in moments like this, allowing him to focus on the couple of minotaur that were further along the path, cutting them down as they moved towards the exit. There were also two unarmored cyclops hanging out in the sewers, where Kratos turned the power of Medusa's Gaze on one of them and shattered the statue before he and Flurry cut into the second one, and once all of the enemies were taken out Kratos continued on his way as Flurry followed behind him.

Eventually they tracked down a ladder that brought them up to another spiral staircase that brought them back to the short bridge that the Oracle had projected herself to so she could talk with them, though to reach the summit they had to pull a nearby lever to lower the rest of the path into position.

"Great, it's morning. I didn't think it would take so long to make our way through the city." Flurry commented, because at the start of their venture into Athens, or the dock and outer walls, it had been late evening or early night, though now it was a totally different time of day, telling her that they had spent more time tracking down the Oracle than she or her father might had originally expected.

"It is a surprise, but even so our target remains in one spot." Kratos said, as they started walking once they got used to the light of the sun being in the sky, where he stopped at the balcony and discovered that Ares was still attacking the defenders of Athens, like he was purposely dragging out his invasion to have some fun with the mortals of the world, which annoyed both of them as they watched him, before Kratos turned down the path to the right, "Come, we have work to do."

Flurry nodded as she followed her father down the path in question, stopping for only a moment when they found a massive gate that had been opened from afar, likely the Oracle's doing, and the vast desert that was beyond it, which held the key to bringing down Ares, causing the pair to ready themselves for whatever the future had in store for them as they stepped out into the unknown.