God of War: Daughter of War

Kratos and Flurry quickly left the sounds of battle behind, leaving the defenders of Athens to deal with Ares and his army of monsters, and entered what a nearby plague called the 'Desert of Lost Souls', which made sense given that this was where the gods decided to hide Pandora's Box and it informed newcomers of the fates of those who came before them. Of course this time around they had the backing of the gods themselves, they wanted the pair to find the box, retrieve it, and use the power that was inside it to destroy Ares, where Kratos was hoping it was an empowerment type of power so he could tear the God of War apart with his bare hands. Flurry, on the other hand, had no real opinion on what was inside the artifact, rather she was more interested in the fact that it existed in the first place and that they, out of everyone in Greece, had been tasked with retrieving it from it's ancient resting place. She could only hope that she and her father didn't end up among the people who had lost their lives trying to find the artifact, since there was no telling what sort of challenges the gods might have set up to prevent the box from being discovered and used against them.

As they passed from the rocky area of the main path and entered the start of the desert, which had sand moving thanks to either the wind or a natural storm, both warriors spotted another statue of Athena in front of them, causing them to stop in front of it as it was energized by the goddess' essence.

Kratos, Flurry, the journey ahead of you will be perilous, but one you must complete if you are to have any hope of killing Ares and saving Athens. Athena said, confirming that this might be more like the quests the pair had been on before, as in the journey to destroy the Furies and the quest to restore Helios to the world, which really only made them wonder what sort of dangers were waiting for them.

"Your Oracle spoke of Pandora's Box... does it really exist?" Flurry asked, because many of the tales claimed that it was just a myth, something that didn't exist, and as she thought about it she realized that none of their godly friends had said a word about the artifact, either because they weren't supposed to speak about it or they didn't know about it.

Yes Flurry, the Box exists. It is the most powerful weapon a mortal can wield. Athena replied, her tone revealing that she wasn't displeased by the question, rather she had been expecting it and had prepared a response to such a thing, likely one of the many things she rehearsed for those who dared to seek the artifact and passed by this area, With the Box, many things are possible... but, due to it's power, it is hidden well, far across the Desert of Lost Souls. There is safe passage to the area it is hidden in, but only those who hear and follow the siren's song will discover it... you must find the sirens, for only they can guide you to the titan known as Kronos.

"A titan lives?!" Kratos inquired, because all of the information they had gained over the years indicated that the titans, all of them, had been chained in the area that Atlas had once been chained in, making him wonder what was going on as Flurry just looked out at the sands that were in front of them, "Do we need to kill him to retrieve the Box?"

No. Zeus has commanded that Kronos shall wander the desert until someone conquers Pandora's Temple and retrieves the Box, at which point a new punishment will be chosen for him. Athena stated, informing them that they were to stay their hands and not do anything to the titan, that the gods had plans for him and that they had to abide by what Zeus said, as the King of the Gods expected his rules to be followed, For the time being the temple is chained to his back, all while the sands assault his body endlessly.

"Okay, find and slay the sirens before tracking down Kronos. We can do this." Flurry stated, because the sirens sounded like the easiest part of this entire quest, especially since there was no telling what might be lurking inside the temple that was constructed to hide the Box from the rest of the world.

Kratos said nothing to that as he nodded his head, he agreed with his daughter on the fact that they would be able to find and take down the sirens, while everything else would be determined when they encountered the challenges of the gods, to which Athena let her essence fade from the statue as they truly entered the desert. It wasn't long before they heard the sound of a siren, or maybe multiple sirens were singing at the same time, to which the father and daughter decided to just stay together this time around, as while tackling multiple of them at the same time would be better neither of them had a desire to get lost in the storm. Flurry found that there were no other monsters in the desert, meaning the sirens were the only things killing people who dared to come out this way, meaning they could focus on tracking down their targets and not worry about being interrupted by any of the other monsters the pair had seen in the past. The sirens this time were actually wearing clothes, an improvement in Flurry's mind, even though they did make sure that their breasts were more of a focus, something that had no effect on her and her father as they lashed out at the first siren that appeared in their path, cutting into her as she tried to deal damage to them.

When they damaged the creature enough, and she floated backwards, Kratos grabbed onto her and pulled her head back with enough force to snap her spine, causing her soul to burst out of it's body and surge off into the distance, though with that done they resumed looking for the other two sirens that were hiding in the desert. The second one, still singing her part of the song despite the danger that she and her sisters were in, happened to have two minotaurs guarding the area she was hiding in, as if that would do something to keep her safe from those her sought her demise. Neither warrior let the monsters gain any ground as Flurry used her sickle staff to hook a minotaur's weapon into the ground before raking it's head clean off, while Kratos used Medusa's Gaze to turn his foe to stone and smashed it with a powerful punch, right before they found the siren and broke her like her sister. The third one was being guarded in a similar manner to what the pair discovered when they discovered the second, so their first order of business was killing the minotaur before taking out the siren, breaking her body just like the previous two, and once that was done Flurry started to move towards a new glowing light with Kratos following her.

The light brought them to a temple that looked like it was mostly buried under the swirling sands, save for the doorway and the roof, which seemed to be a rest spot of sorts before the next part of everything that the gods had prepared for all those who sought the mythical Pandora's Box.

Flurry discovered a set of stairs heading into the ground and found that it was, in fact, the next part of the path, though it brought the pair to a long chamber that had a belt that moved things from one side to another, similar to what they had seen in the Statue of Apollo ten years ago. There were undead legionnaires guarding the belt itself, constantly moving over to the right side of the chamber, at least from where she and her father were standing, because of the fact that there was a spiked grinder over on the other side, designed to grind would be hunters of the Box to death. There was also a path off to the right as well, which seemed to be the way forward, and there was a door that Kratos could shove up into the ceiling, as he jumped down after discovering what was going on, which let him into a small chamber with a moveable stone that had to be a stepping stone for them to reach the path. With that in mind Flurry used her sickles to cut through the rest of the legionnaires as her father moved the slab into position, allowing them to jump up onto a ledge that had another door that had to be raised, but this one allowed the pair to enter a far more important place than the last one.

It was a short passage that ended up bringing them to an impressive looking horn, one that was facing the storm itself to be exact, though since there was nothing else to do Kratos blew into the device and it loosed a sound that opened a path in the storm itself, no doubt leading right to where Kronos was wandering around, which they were able to confirm after climbing a set of stairs and reaching a second intricate horn.

"So that's Kronos." Flurry said, because standing near the edge of the platform allowed them to stare out at the massive being the gods had tasked with carrying Pandora's Temple on his back, though she had to back off as a dust devil came through and shrouded the horn, causing it to disappear as three more sirens appeared, "Okay, look at the titan later... let's take out some sirens."

"Indeed." Kratos said, where he lashed out at the nearest siren and knocked her back towards the stairs, while the others were repelled by his daughter, as while he did share her desire to look at the titan, and just marvel at the fact that one had been left in the land of the living like this, most of his attention was on their enemies.

What they discovered was that there were more than three sirens in the area, in fact it seemed like there were at least ten in total since one replaced any that happened to be slain, but they were incredibly weak to both Poseidon's Rage and the lightning power of Zeus' Fury, as Flurry smashed a lightning bolt into one's chest and obliterated it instantly. Kratos used the first ability they obtained during this quest and shocked multiple sirens at the same time, taking two out at once due to what he discovered, though both of them were expecting some minotaur to drop down into the area and attack them, given that they had been guarding the sirens earlier. The reality of the situation was that it was just the sirens this time, as nothing else showed up to attack Kratos and Flurry, though instead of questioning this discovery they made the most of it as they tore down the remaining enemies that dared to face them, until there was nothing else for them to fight. Once the last one was dead, and both warriors were sure that nothing else was coming to attack them, they braced themselves for a moment as the dust devil returned and restored the horn to where it had been resting previously, though neither took a step for a few moments, just to make sure they were no longer under attack.

As Kratos approached the horn, however, he was stopped as Flurry held a hand out, because she was studying everything that was in front of them right now and recalled what was happening in Athens at that very moment, so she knew time was of the essence and they didn't have a lot of time to waste on climbing what appeared to be a sheer wall of rock, as that was what she could see on Kronos' massive back.

"Father... do you trust me?" Flurry asked, because she had an insane idea in mind that should, if she was right, earn them some time, something they didn't have a lot of since they really had no clue as to when Ares would tire of Athens and move on to his next important target, since he seemed to be going to war with the other Olympians.

"Of course. I take it you have something in mind?" Kratos inquired, as it felt weird for his daughter to ask such a thing, due to the fact that she was one of the few people in the world that he wholly trusted, hence why they worked so well together since they both knew that the other had their back, so it make him wonder why she'd ask such a thing.

Flurry smiled for a moment as she backed up to the center of the area the horn rested in, where she placed her hands on the ground as she opened her wings, her gaze focused on the tan form of Kronos off in the distance, before she launched herself into the air that was above the horn. Kratos watched as she flew around for a few seconds, as if giving herself a bit of speed or something, before he realized what her plan was and braced himself, waiting for the perfect moment before he rushed at the edge of the area and threw himself into the air. In the next moment he hurled his blades into the air that was above him, as if there was something there that he could use to move above the vast desert, and Flurry caught both of them as she flew by, pulling Kratos through the air as well as she locked onto where she assumed the temple had been hidden by the god. While that happened, and he got a good glimpse of the ground, Kratos had to admit that this was one of her better plans, because there was no telling how much time they were going to save by utilizing this method of travel, even though he understood why his daughter didn't use it until now, he was a heavy warrior and he felt her falter for just a moment before correcting her course.

A couple of moments later they found that Pandora's Temple did, in fact, rest on Kronos' back, an imposing place that had all sorts of dead soldiers and vultures hanging out near and around the entrance, though before they could get close to the entrance Flurry dropped him in a circular starting area before collapsing nearby.

"Flurry! Are you alright?!" Kratos asked, where he rushed over to where his daughter was resting and found that it looked like she might have strained her wings to carry him this far, as fast as she did, which explained why she didn't tell him the plan that had sprung into her mind, as she knew he'd tell her that it wasn't a good idea.

"Yeah, just... ow. Note to self: not doing that until I get my strength up, as you are too heavy for me." Flurry replied, which Kratos understood, even though he suspected his daughter was underestimating her strength, given that she had hauled him all the way to Pandora's Temple in the span of a few moments, before she shifted her position and held out a small container, "Mind helping me out?"

Kratos nodded as he took the container and opened the back of Flurry's attire, as Artemis had been kind enough to give his daughter some ointment for when she strained her wings like this, where he removed some of it and rubbed it into the areas that he had been shown when the goddess taught him how to do this. It took a few moments for him to ease some of the pain Flurry was in, though it wasn't supposed to be an instant cure, rather the goddess went with natural healing all the time, but both of them knew that it would take some time for them to fully heal, so she'd be stuck without them for an undetermined amount of time. Once he was done, and Flurry claimed that she was fine to move on again, Kratos gave her the container so she could put it away while he returned her attire to what it had been like before she put her reckless plan into action, before he recalled the Blades of Chaos to his side. After that Flurry stood up and carefully stretched, just to confirm that there was nothing else wrong with her body, before readying her weapons once more, checking to be sure none of them had fallen during the flight, and then nodded to her father to show him that she was ready to go, causing the pair to resume moving once more.

The only path available was a long wooden bridge that was older than anything they had seen in Athens, though when they reached the other side the pair discovered that there happened to be a locked gate between them and the temple, which told them that there was either a lever or something to pull to open the way forward. In addition to that there was another figure in the area, on a level that was above them, though interestingly enough he seemed to ignore them as he hauled one of the slain soldiers over to the bonfire that was near him, while some harpies came and deposited more in the flames, an odd thing to see for sure. Other than watching the man work there was nothing for them to do in the area, so Kratos found a path leading under the area and took it, only to discover that it allowed them to reach a large stone carving in the wall that looked like it could be pulled out, much like they found in the halls of the Fire Steeds. With that in mind Flurry kept an eye out for enemies as her father pulled on the bottom section of the carving, forming a set of steps for them to jump up, which is what they did and found that it brought them up to where the man was silently working on his bonfire.

"So, you two think that you can conquer the temple of the gods, do you?" the man said, though when he turned the corner the pair discovered something horrifying, he was half dead looking, as he was missing half his face, a chunk of his stomach area was totally missing, his right hand was gone and most of the flesh on that arm had been peeled off, and there was far more that seemed wrong about his body, "It's never been done, you know... sooner or later the harpies will bring what's left of you to me for burning. The gods hid Pandora's Box here so that no mortal could ever claim it's power... and yet, year after year, I open the gate for more and more soldiers and end up placing more bodies on the pyre. You are the first ones to come in a pair, as everyone else usually comes in on their own, but in the end you, too, shall meet your death in this temple... if I were you, Spartan, I'd take the girl home and live out the rest of your life in peace."

"If she were far younger, I would have considered your words more... Flurry is a skilled warrior, so it is unlikely that you'll see us until we come out with Pandora's Box." Kratos stated, because while he appreciated the man's words, showing that he still had some of his humanity left despite the long about of time he had been trapped here, tending to the flames thanks to a punishment from the gods, he and his daughter were determined to complete this quest.

"Very well, I see both of you are determined." the half dead man said, where he reached down with his good hand for a few seconds and lifted a charred skull, which he hurled at a pair of harpies that were sitting on a high rock, like they were better than the others that were carrying the dead out of the temple itself, but the skull seemed to be the sign for them to move as they flew down and lifted the gate up so they could approach the massive temple, "May the gods grant you the strength to conquer the perils and challenges that lay before you... good luck, Spartans."

As they jumped down into the area in front of the gate, so the pair could enter the temple at last, they found that three new cyclops climbed up over the side of the area and targeted both Kratos and Flurry, though while their skin was different in a few places, and they had what appeared to be spikes growing out of their backs, they weren't very tough. Flurry found that they were basically like the cyclops they had fought in the past, they just had to avoid the incoming attacks and lash out at their foes, cutting into their flesh and dealing damage to whatever part of them that they happened to be targeting. Once the three cyclops were dealt with, and Flurry confirmed that there were no more enemies for them to fight, the pair started to walk up the stairs leading to the temple's entrance and came to a stop in front of a set of stone slabs that served as the door of the temple, where each side had an arm with a sword design on them. In front of the door they discovered a crank that could be turned, causing Kratos to turn it around for a moment as he forced both slabs to move out of the way, opening the way for them to enter the true entrance of the temple, which they did so once he was done with the crank.

The chamber in front of them had a number of statues, all of Zeus to be exact, there was a circular stone slab at the other end of the room, and there was a stone tome for them to look at, though as the door closed behind them a few wraiths appeared to fight the pair. This wasn't much of a surprise to them, since this was the place that an incredibly powerful and dangerous artifact had been locked away, so it made sense for Kratos and Flurry to find more monsters here, especially since Flurry was sure that the bodies burned on the pyre outside were reborn as monsters. It was the only thing that really made sense to her when she thought about how important the Box was, that it would need an army of creatures to keep it safe from those who might be seeking it for their own ends, especially if it contained the power to bring down a god, but for the time being she shelved the thought as she joined the battle. Some undead legionnaires joined the wraiths as well, showing the pair that there were more enemies than just what they were originally expecting, but they simply attacked all of them as well, showing the monsters that they weren't intimidated by their numbers.

Once all of the monsters were dealt with Kratos and Flurry sheathed their weapons and approached the stone tablet, an item that informed all seekers of Pandora's Box that this temple had been erected in honor of, and at the command of, Lord Zeus, where only one would succeed and all others would fail, which was signed by the architect of the temple, Pathos Verdes III.

"Flurry, are you ready?" Kratos asked, though at the same time the runes around the circular door glowed and a section of the center moved out of the way, revealing the way into the center of the temple, where they would find all sorts of grand challenges and monsters waiting to kill anyone who made it this far into the massive structure.

"Time will tell." Flurry replied, because there was no telling what might be waiting for them, as it might just be more of the same, identical monsters to everything they had fought so far, which would be far too easy for them to deal with, though there was also a chance that they might encounter something new and that could cause all sorts of problems, before she let out a sigh and held her sickles at the ready, "Let's go find Pandora's Box."

Kratos smiled for a moment as he gripped the Blades of Chaos as well, because this would be an interesting test of their skills and the powers that they had been granted since the start of this quest, and he was looking forward to seeing what the gods might have in store for him and his daughter.