God of War: Daughter of War

Kratos spent some time holding his daughter, letting her cry and embrace him after seeing him die by Ares' cowardly attack at the entrance of Pandora's Temple, while finding that Artemis and Apollo, at the very least, stayed near them while Hecate surveyed the damage that Flurry's magical rampage had caused. He was fortunate that the Olympians had sensed what was happening and rushed out to deal with it before something terrible happened, though with that thought in mind he wished one of the others had done something, anything, to try and stop his daughter, as her rage had nearly turned her into a brand new monster. The scythe was still resting nearby, a reminder that she had, against all odds, used her rage like he had, even though it was possible that she had no idea she had done such a thing after her world had shattered on her earlier, but it did confirm the fact that his daughter was definitely connected to Death. As he took in her altered form, attire that was simple like his attire, the energy powering the transformation seemed to break apart and his daughter returned to her previous state, the scythe following suit as it turned into her sickles, before he noticed something else.

He found a pair of markings on her legs, positioned roughly where livestock would be branded, that appeared to be a small version of her scythe with a dark formless object with red eyes behind it, like something about her was confirming that she was, in fact, connected to Death, but he shelved the thought as Flurry pulled her head back.

"How did you get out of the Underworld? I saw the gateway close after Hades' power claimed your body." Flurry inquired, because while she didn't want to talk about her father's death, since it pained her to think about it, part of her was curious as to how he had managed to get out and make his way to where she and Ares were fighting.

"Just like with all those who had perished before me, I fell into the Underworld... until Lord Hades caught me and delivered me to a hole in the ceiling. Lord Zeus was waiting to pull me into Athens." Kratos explained though he was fortunate that the gods were on his side, because based on how he descended into Lord Hades' realm he was sure that he would have been unable to save himself from reaching his final destination, not without screwing someone else over, but he didn't have to make that decision since the gods had assisted him, "Lord Zeus explained that he suspected Ares of using such a cowardly attack, but the Fates would not advise them on how to accurately deal with everything that was going on... so he created a way into the Underworld, in the off chance Ares actually killed me with a cowardly attack. Upon feeling your rage and power, after seeing me killed in such a way, the gods assembled to stop the potential destruction your clash would have caused, while both Lord Zeus and Hades made sure to collect me before I fell too far, allowing me to break out of the Underworld and come here, to join you in killing Ares."

"A fact you were able to accomplish thanks to our powers, your training and determination, and the power that had been locked inside Pandora's Box... I'd say you guys did wonderfully." Artemis remarked, where the smiles that were on her face and her brother's told the pair that they were totally fine with Ares being slain by a pair of mortals, one empowered by a new level of rage that no one had seen before and another empowered by the contents of Pandora's Box, though such a thing caused Kratos to pull out her blade, only for her to have her hand for a moment, "For now, keep the blade... I haven't used it for years, so it's better in the hands of someone, or a pair of someones, who actually know how to use it, and after seeing how you both fought with it I can loan it to you for a time."

Kratos said nothing to that as he nodded his head, as the blade was an awesome weapon and it was good to have it on hand, especially after having killed Ares with it, though as he dismissed it for the time being Flurry got up and collected her sickles, allowing them to see that she had completely returned to normal, because even her wings had returned, not that she had noticed. It made Kratos realize that her 'Rage of Sparta', if it could even be called that, was totally different from his own, in fact he had a feeling that it would take her a long time to even train the power so she could use it without the fear of losing herself to it's power, something they would have to work on in the future. This also meant that if Hecate did any additional training with Flurry it would likely be more intense and focused than anything she had experienced before this point, but that was something they could talk about when the time came, even if there was more on his mind right now. There was the nature of the mysterious markings his daughter had gained, what it could possibly mean for her and all those that knew her, and he had to wonder if the gods would do something about it, though as he thought about that he and the others found that Athena was walking over to them, after having spent some time talking with Zeus.

Such a thing caused him to stand up straight as Flurry sighed and sheathed her weapons, all while their allied gods backed off for a time, to give them space, as it was time to announce the end of her latest quest and what the next task likely was, given that there seemed to be a never ending supply of them for the pair to do.

"Kratos, Flurry, while we will mourn our fallen brother, you have done well in completing your great task, and as such your past will no longer be a weight on your soul." Athena stated, which was good news for once, that the gods were upholding their end of the bargain, something that made Kratos let out a sigh of relief, as it meant he was one step closer to living a life without all of the nightmares he dealt with, even though with Flurry beside him they had decreased in frequency, just not enough for his liking.

"And the nightmares?" Kratos asked, because that was what he truly cared about, even though it was nice to know that all of the crimes he committed while being under Ares' control were no longer going to be held against him when he finally came before the Judges of the Underworld, even if joining Calliope was something that would never happen, even if he spent the rest of his life tending to the whims of the gods.

"Unfortunately I could not convince Zeus to rid you of your nightmares... he said that there is no power to grant you what you desire, and even if there was it's something that no one, by they mortal or god, should interfere with." Athena said, a fact that was followed by her lowering her head slightly as she rubbed the side of her arm, as if she would have preferred to actually do something for their savior and his daughter, instead of annoying them by not giving Kratos what he really wanted from them.

"Is... Is there really nothing that can be done?" Flurry inquired, because she knew that she had been a good influence on her father's life and even seemed to have some impact on his nightmares, as he claimed that they had become somewhat less frequent since they started traveling and living together, but she had been hoping to help him get over this part of his past so they could face the future with their heads held high.

"I honestly wish there was something I can do, but we can't... however, with a vacant throne on Olympus, we can promise you an improved life as the new God of War." Athena stated, something that made the other gods in the immediate area pause for a moment, because none of them had expected her to say such a thing, even though it meant that Zeus wanted to fill the vacancy with the most promising candidate that was available.

Kratos thought about that for a few moments, as there were benefits to being a god and this served as the ultimate form of conquest, which was part of what drove him before he had been beaten into the corner by the Barbarian King, so if he took the offer it meant he could actually rest easy and focus on whatever his godly duties were. At the same time he knew what his first action would be, he and Flurry would head back to Sparta to tell the priests in Ares' temple about the change in leadership, no doubt something that would be fulfilled with something from Zeus himself, just so they believed what he was telling them. Such a thing could mean he'd have to spread his glory as the new God of War to the rest of Greece, as in taking down those who still worshiped Ares and refused to believe that he had been beaten and replaced, which meant he could potentially open a can of worms by doing this. If he didn't take the throne Kratos already knew that the gods would hound him and Flurry until the end of their days, because leaving two god-killers alone was asking for trouble, and there was a chance that Hercules, an idiot with a lot of muscle, could take the throne.

When he glanced at Flurry, however, he knew there was only one path for him to take, something that caused him to let a smile grace his face, despite everything he and his daughter had been through, and faced Athena while the other nearly gods smiled as well, almost as if they knew what his decision would be.

"I will become the new God of War." Kratos stated, though as he said that he noticed something, they were resting on the cliff that Flurry had found the odd gate on not that long ago, where Athena nodded as she waved her hand and opened a golden gateway to Olympus, but before he took the first step he realized something else, "What about the crew of our ship and Albis?"

"They are perfectly fine... though once your ascension is complete Zeus will be sending them back to Sparta with news of you replacing Ares, which you can access with your own gate." Apollo replied, speaking for the first time since he and his sister arrived in the area that Kratos and Flurry had been having their moment in, though Flurry noticed that he seemed a tab bit distracted by something and glanced at his sister, silently communicating something to her, but decided that it was best if she didn't bother him right now.

Kratos nodded as he and Flurry followed Athena through the portal, finding that it brought them straight to Olympus, or at least the portion that once belonged to the previous God of War, where they found a grand walkway leading straight to a temple or palace, not the main one that belonged to Zeus. As they walked into the structure the pair found that Ares had a massive collection of weapons and armor, no doubt either offerings from mortals or demands for his protection, and off to one side there was a section dedicated to Ares' trophies, items Kratos would hold onto mostly because they likely held some sort of historic significance, at least until someone came to collect them. What interested him was that Athena told him and Flurry about how two new additions had been added to the collection, the heads of the Hydra and some of the Minotaur's armor, showing them that she and Zeus likely expected Kratos to accept the offer, but he decided not to even bother questioning the King of the Gods. Artemis and Apollo also pointed out where the bedchambers were located, but since Kratos would likely raze Ares' stuff to the ground they revealed that the main room was already under renovations to make it into what he wanted, so before it was completed he would have to speak with the builders, and there was even an area for Flurry, since the gods assumed she'd be living with him for a time before, eventually, moving out.

As they looked around at the pristine floors and marble columns, plus the flames that were constantly burning to provide light to the God of War's private domain, Kratos stopped in front of a grand throne, taking a moment to think about all of this and what it meant, before sighing as he turned around and sat on his brand new seat of power.

"All hail Kratos, the new God of War." a new voice said, where they found a large figure, taller than Athena and the others by a fair amount, appear by the door of the temple and discovered that he wore the attire of a blacksmith, allowing Kratos and Flurry to recognize him as Hephaestus, the God of Smithery, though while he wasn't the most beautiful of figures he stood straight and seemed more like a common person, in terms of appearance, "I hope I'm not intruding."

"Not at all. We were about to leave... I still have to talk with Zeus about the ascension." Athena stated, where she bowed her head for a moment, mostly out of respect for the new God of War, before turning and leaving as both Artemis and Apollo did the same, even if they seemed more likely to come back and resume Flurry's training in the future.

"Good. Now then, I heard that you acquired some interesting weapons inside Pandora's Temple. May I see them for a few moments?" Hephaestus inquired, because while the other gods departed from Kratos' new domain, something he needed time to get used to, he had stepped into the God of War's domain after seeing that he and his daughter were fine with him getting close to them, a refreshing change given how some of the others reacted to his presence, to which Flurry pulled out the pouch containing the odd blades and handed them over, "It saddens me to see these like this, especially since they were a gift for Aphrodite once upon a time... not of my own making, mind you, but rather they were from a land she had visited and their best smiths produced these chakrams as a gift. She told me they had been stolen during one of her visits to the mortal realm, along with a mirror that she gave to special lovers, allowing her to speak with them over distances that would break a mortal's heart... last I heard the one she gave it to had been murdered in his sleep and she spent an entire week mourning his death."

"It seems that whoever stole it must have been cursed, but since the person died in Pandora's Temple she couldn't just go in and get them back." Flurry remarked, as she put the pieces of the puzzle together rather easily, since there wasn't too much for someone to think about when listening to Hephaestus' tale, though it was interesting to see someone like him inspect weapons, as his eye was far keener than anyone else's.

"You would be right... it's going to take me a few days to get these in working order again... oh, before I forget, may I see your sickles?" Hephaestus remarked, where Flurry raised an eyebrow for a moment before pulling them from her belt and handed them over, where the Smith God set down the worn chakrams and grasped the sickles, surprise appearing on his face as he carefully studied both weapons, showing Kratos that not even he knew anything about them, "Amazing... I have never seen weapons like these. I understand that Spartans do regular maintenance on their weapons, to avoid injuries or even death on the battlefield by having something important break, but... these look like they haven't seen battle at all... so either you've taken real good care of your weapons, or they're made of a material that doesn't need repairs."

"Still, they are great weapons." Kratos stated, though as Hephaestus handed them back to Flurry she showed the god what else it could do, combining them into the sickle staff as the Smith God raised an eyebrow for a moment, as he wasn't used to seeing this happen, especially after seeing that there was a third version that Flurry could access, though after seeing that Hephaestus reached into his own pouch and produced a familiar statue, "Isn't that the small statue you sent as a gift a long time ago?"

"Yes, but this one is special... and, to keep it safe, I need to trade it for the one I gave you previously." Hephaestus said, all while Flurry took the new one and found that he was right, it was definitely special, as this one had a crystal right where the heart was located, a silver one that seemed to have a bit of magic inside it, something that caused her to pull out the old one for a moment, "You see, Pandora's taken a liking to the tales of your adventures and she asked me to deliver this to you: a statue that will allow you to communicate with her directly. The crystal responds to if she's able to speak or not, as green will mean she's available, red means she's not, and blue means either she or the magic of the statue is trying to verify which path is right."

Kratos raised an eyebrow as he thought about that, as he wasn't expecting to learn that Hephaestus' daughter, for that was who Pandora was, was interested in him and Flurry, to the point that she wanted to speak to them directly and listen to their tales, instead of listening to them secondhand and maybe missing something interesting. In the end he agreed with his daughter's own unspoken opinion, she wanted to speak with Pandora, have someone her own age in her life and not be stuck with him all the time, and who knew what else, so he was okay with her trading the old statue for the one the Smith God was offering. He did think it was odd for it to have a system in place that warned them as to whether or not it was safe for them to speak with Pandora, though his eyebrow remained raised as he found that Hephaestus pulled out a wooden horse toy, the type of toy that some kids were given when they're young, but decided not to say anything, as they were different in how they approached their daughters. At the same time the god informed them that Aphrodite was likely to show up at some point to claim the mirror from them, since it was time for it to return to it's rightful owner, before he excused himself to tend to his wife's weapons, leaving Kratos and Flurry to get used to their new home.

The pair sighed as they headed out to explore the rest of their new home, because it would take some time for Kratos to be gain his newfound godhood and seeing what else was in this place seemed to be the best idea right now, to relax as they braced themselves for whatever the future held in store for them.

Athena had told Kratos and Flurry the truth, she needed to talk with Zeus, though while granting Kratos his new godhood was one of the topics they had to discuss it was one of the minor ones, because after seeing the battle with Ares she knew something was wrong and wanted to see what Zeus thought about their recent discovery.

"Zeus, as much as I hate to say it, and I really don't want to say this, but... it seems that we might be wrong in thinking that the Masked Warrior prophecy has been dealt with." Athena said, as she had seen the marking that had appeared on Flurry's body during the intense battle with Ares, a distinctive marking that was unlike anything they had seen before this point, the very same fact that once caused them to nab Deimos, for his birthmarks.

"You think Flurry Heart is the warrior in question?" Zeus inquired, though he didn't have to worry about anyone else listening in on their conversation, as the other gods and goddesses had departed for their own portions of Olympus after coming to stop the potential destruction that Flurry could have caused, all while he stood by his throne as he thought about what the Goddess of Wisdom was saying.

"Well, it certainly wasn't Deimos, whose been trapped in Thanatos' domain since Ares captured him, and honestly I'm not sure Kratos is the warrior either, despite his markings." Athena replied, because Deimos had been born with some rather distinctive birthmarks, which prompted her now dead brother to go and take him from his home, though with Deimos being taken it caused Kratos to mark himself with the red marking he was known for, to honor his younger brother, but now, after the battle with Ares, she feared they had been mistaken the entire time, "While it is true that Kratos is the likely candidate, due to his honor marking and the ashes of his slain family fastened to his body, I have my doubts that he is the one to bring down Olympus. Flurry's new marking is unlike anything we have seen before, so one can only assume that she is, in fact, the Marked Warrior... you once said that the prophesied warrior would be born of Sparta, the very place Flurry has called home when she's not out at sea, that they would have a distinctive mark, which she now has, and that they would be of your own family... while she isn't directly related to you, unless you had another affair behind Hera's back, she is Kratos' daughter in all but blood, making her your granddaughter."

Zeus hated it when Athena was right, as before Flurry's awakening, for there was no other name for the event they had just witnessed, he had long suspected that Kratos was the Marked Warrior and had been silently hoping that his battle with Ares would end in a tie, both dying so the prophecy would die without him having to do much. With Flurry's sudden awakening, and the appearance of her unique marking, he had to wonder if the prophecy was alive and might actually come to pass at some point in the future, something he had been trying to avoid since he first heard about the warrior who would bring about the end of Olympus. He could see why Athena was focused on the young girl now, because in her rage state she had dominated the previous God of War, without the power of Pandora's Box coursing through her veins no less, and tapped into what had to be one of the most terrifying powers, if not the most terrifying, in the world, that of Death itself. It made him wonder if that was why Thanatos's daughter kept telling him that the God of Death was getting weaker as time went on, that there might be someone else in the world who could utilize his powers far better than even Thanatos could, and if that was the case he needed to do something to keep them from meeting.

With that in mind he realized that they were going to start playing a very dangerous game, because regardless of who was right the fact remained that the Marked Warrior was now part of Olympus, meaning they had to be very careful in how all of them approached Kratos and Flurry in the future.

"What do you propose we do, Athena?" Zeus asked, because while he had his own plan on what to do with this knowledge, to try and stop the prophecy from coming true, he wanted to know what the Goddess of Wisdom had to say on the topic, since it involved the potential fate of Greece as a whole.

"Honestly? Not give them a reason to turn on us... I mean, Kratos is somewhat annoyed that we cannot do anything about his nightmares, but we should focus on making them feel welcome and accepted." Athena replied, cause she felt that such a thing was the best course of action right now, as she now realized that Ares had turned on them due to his ambitions to rise above his station and due to the fact that he was shunned by the vast majority of the gods that watched over Greece, so if they could nip the latter problem she felt they could stop a disaster from potentially unfolding, "If we learn from the past, and welcome our new God of War AND his daughter into our ranks, we can prevent the prophecy from happening and move on with our lives with the knowledge that we've saved Olympus from total destruction. If what Ares did was repeated, and the pair try to bring down Olympus... well, I'm not sure we'd be able to stop them, even if you used the Blade of Olympus to combat them and Flurry's newfound power."

Zeus paused as he heard that assessment, that the weapon that ended the war with the titans a lifetime ago, a weapon he had forged from the heavens and the earth to banish the titans, wouldn't be able to stand before the might of Flurry's new and terrifying power, because it was hard to believe. The blade itself was resting in a private place that only he could access, as it was his personal treasure from the says of the Titanomachy, or the Great War as some called it, but hearing that was a hard fact to swallow, especially given all the power he had called upon during it's creation. He suspected that if he used the weapon on Kratos it would work far better than anything else in their arsenal, but it appeared that Flurry was another matter entirely, something that made him wonder about things and the plans that had been put into place a long time ago. For the time being he understood Athena's opinion on the matter, they needed to welcome the pair with open arms and do everything in their power to make sure the Marked Warrior prophecy never came to pass, otherwise he was sure it would spell the end of Greece as they knew it.

As the pair departed, however, both Zeus and Athena were unaware of the darkness that was lurking in Zeus' shadow, an evil that they thought was now resting inside the new God of War, after opening Pandora's Box and absorbing the power within to combat Ares, and continued walking through Olympus without noticing the darkness that had invaded their halls as they looked forward to what the future held in store for them.