God of War: Daughter of War

Kratos found that the days immediately following the death of Ares were fairly interesting, as the day right after he and Flurry settled into what was their new residence, which would take some getting used to in his mind, there was a party to honor the ascension of the new God of War. Such a thing allowed him and Flurry to mingle with the other gods, while at the same time allowing them to explore more of Olympus, as Athena felt that them knowing where everything was would be beneficial to both warriors in the future, so neither of them got lost or something. Kratos found what seemed to be the very heart of Olympus, a massive burning flame that seemed far stronger than anything else in the world, save for maybe the sickles his daughter carried at all times, where the Goddess of Wisdom told them not to touch it, as it was deadly to nearly everything, save it's mysterious key. It also gave him a chance to see a set of large stone statues that seemed to be of the Muses, though they were, oddly enough, absent from Olympus, even though Flurry suspected their father might have used a bit of his power to immortalize them in stone after their various deaths.

In addition to that Zeus personally granted him his full godhood, where it seemed like he had simply extracted the power from Ares' body, transferred it into a goblet to serve as a temporary storage vessel, and then let Kratos drink from it, both allowing the power to surge into his body and also gave him a taste of the wine from Lemnos, an island close to where he was born. Not only that, but Hephaestus had a gift for Kratos, where he and Flurry found that it was a set of armor that was more like what he once wore as the General of the Spartan Army, something he had been forced to discard after his pledge to Ares, though it was mixed with the red coloration of the God of War and the designs were modified to fit him, as he was different from his predecessor. Flurry noticed that the design on the shoulders was no longer the three cerberus heads, rather it was more along the lines of either the God of War symbol, as in the omega symbol, or maybe it might be the head and the horns of the Minotaur, she wasn't too sure which it was and the Smith God seemed intent on keeping it a secret for the time being. Her father, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind the designs too much, rather they fit with the rest of his attire, or his limited attire he had worn for quite a long time, though she did know that it would take some time for him to get used to the idea of wearing armor again.

Hephaestus also had started making plans for a new weapon for her father, some sort of electric weapon that would be like his blades, but it would take time for him to complete the plans, which was understandable since there were all sorts of jobs he had to do for the other gods, so Kratos wasn't too annoyed that it would take some time for him to get it done.

In addition to all of that he and Flurry used the Olympian Gate to head down to Sparta, finding that Albis and everyone else from their crew had arrived rather quickly, not to mention safely, which had to be due to Poseidon helping them get home, likely another reward of sorts for ending Ares' life. The reason for their visit was to tell the people of the city that Ares was no more, something that came as quite the shock since the downfall of a god was unheard of, especially since Zeus had decided not to tell anyone about Persephone, but Kratos would forgive that error in judgement since he and the other gods were telling everyone about Ares' fall. Flurry knew it had to do with the fact that Ares was an Olympian, one of the major players on Olympus, while Persephone was minor to most people, though all this did to the people of Sparta was cause them to cheer the pair on and hold a feast in their honor. Flurry also discovered that they would begin making new statues of Kratos, once they knew what his godly armor looked like, to replace the ones of Ares that were scattered all over the city, plus the temple that belonged to Ares would be renamed to suit the new God of War.

Flurry did notice that Albis looked worried about something, no doubt because she understood Kratos' story, as many of the crew had figured it out over the years, and wondered how he'd take to replacing the one who ruined his life until he found her, but, in the end, she decided to focus on the present and celebrated with her father and those who called this wonderful city home.

Kratos also found that another change happened following Ares' defeat, something he should have seen coming, and that was the fact that Flurry started having nightmares, which was understandable since she had seen him die at the end of their trek through Pandora's Temple. It wasn't just her reliving the past, unable to change anything about the event she had seen, but also her reviewing everything that had happened inside the temple as her mind wondered if Kratos would have survived the trials on his own, which likely created nightmares of him dying to many of the traps they had bested. The first time he heard her wake up from one of them he thought it would be the only one, as his daughter was smart and wouldn't be held down by this, though when it happened for a third time he quickly opened the way to Sparta, though he did have to speak to Athena about it since she was near the gate in question, and returned with the only one that could help him. Albis had done wonders for Flurry over the years, being a motherly figure to a girl who had no mother, and right now there was only one person, other than himself, that might be able to calm her down and let her have some restful sleep, maybe even conquer the nightmares by having someone support them.

Sure enough he discovered that Albis calmed Flurry down and it wasn't long before the pair drifted off to sleep, though it would be some time before his daughter fully got over her nightmares, as he found that they were persistent in nature, but at least with the gorgon helping her he didn't have to worry about her losing sleep. Of course Flurry wasn't the only one who had nightmares, because one of the ones he had was similar to hers, as in Ares' cowardly attack hitting her and not him, sending his wonderful daughter to the Underworld and his heart being filled with pure rage, though when those struck him he usually got up and rushed to her room to make sure she was fine. The second nightmare he had was more like a vision or something, where mysterious strangers attacked his village, his younger brother, Deimos, was taken by one of them, and his mother was calling to him from what appeared to be Atlantis, the domain of Poseidon and the location of his greatest temple. Kratos had long believed that his mother, Callisto, had perished years ago, further breaking his bonds to humanity, but now it seemed as if she was still alive, though seriously ill based on what he discovered in his visions, a fact that told him if he didn't act quickly he might lose out on the chance to speak with her.

On the seventh night of that happening, confirming that it had to be more than a simple dream, Kratos bolted up in his bed and made his way over to where Flurry's room was located, opening the door just enough to make sure she was still asleep, where this time his daughter was sleeping peacefully with Albis resting with her, causing him to sigh as he closed the door as silently as he could before heading out to his balcony.

"Looks like someone couldn't sleep." a voice said, where Kratos found that Aphrodite, in her pink night gown, designed to be similar to her usual attire, was standing off to the side, though it was hard to tell if she was just wandering around the vastness of Olympus because she wanted to take in the fresh air, she couldn't sleep, or she was hoping to speak with him about something, likely a night of pleasure, "Is Olympus really that overwhelming?"

"It's unusual for a mortal to be here, and unheard of for one of my kind to become a god... so I would guess so." Kratos replied, as everything that had happened since he became the God of War had been quick and he hadn't had a lot of time to stop and think about what was going on, especially since a fair amount of his attention had been on the nightmares and rebuilding some of the stuff of his predecessor's that he didn't want anymore, "But, if you must know, Flurry and I have... been dealing with nightmares, mostly of Ares' last attack before we left Pandora's Temple. That cowardly attack, and the fact that I died, have left an impression on not just myself, but also my daughter, hence why I went back to Sparta for just a few minutes and brought back the only one who had a greater chance of helping Flurry get some restful sleep."

"Right, Albis the gorgon... the first monster to ever step foot on Olympus and not be struck down... she's a cutie, so I can see why you're interested in her." Aphrodite commented, where she noticed the look that was on Kratos' face and let out a chuckle as she held her hands up for a moment, showing him that she meant no harm by her comment, rather she was just having a bit of fun with the new God of War, trying to make him feel like he was part of Olympus and not a stranger for all of them to ignore, "Athena filled us in on who she was, or what she knows about Albis, and I must say that it's very interesting to see a monster with such a motherly side to them... much less that someone would take comfort in knowing that the individual in question was watching over them in some manner. Still, I'm surprised that you'd let such a thing get in your way."

"I am less concerned about my health right now, rather I am making sure Flurry grows well and isn't weighed down by any nightmares my death might have created." Kratos said, especially since he wasn't the expert in dealing with such things, as he had been dealing with his for a long time and only made progress due to his daughter's existence, where he could see that Aphrodite was quite surprised by what he was saying, since she was so used to Ares' foul methods, "Though, if I'm being honest, there is something that has been bothering me lately: it's a vision of my mother, apparently calling from the Temple of Poseidon in Atlantis, accompanied by flashes of my brother... both of whom I have long assumed were dead. So why, after all these years, am I suddenly dreaming about both of them?"

"Hm... might it be tied to Ares himself? A curse to make you forget about them, regardless if they're alive or dead, so you would focus on fulfilling his orders?" Aphrodite inquired, because while she had come here for something different, since she wanted to welcome the new God of War in her own special way, part of her had to admit that the Ghost of Sparta, as he was called in the past, was totally different from the pure cold-hearted monster she had heard about.

"Would make sense... he didn't want you to focus on anything else but what he told you to do, father." a voice said, where the pair found that they weren't alone, as Flurry walked out from around the corner, still looking tired, which made sense due to the fact that it was the middle of the night, while Albis stood behind her, more concerned for Flurry's hearth than anything else, "I could hear you talking from my room, so I decided to investigate. There's a chance that both uncle and grandmother are still alive, hence why you're getting the dream of grandmother calling out to you... we should ask Zeus or Poseidon, or possibly both, if we can head to Atlantis. Might want to bring Athena in to confirm the benefits of letting us go see if there's anything to your dreams... we'll either find that they're true, and that your mother is alive, or we'll find that someone wants you weak and take them out."

Kratos sighed for a moment as he thought about that, as Flurry was, once more, right about the situation that was right in front of them, they needed to talk with Zeus and Poseidon, he had to make sure he didn't think of them as 'Lords' anymore since he was technically a god as well, to make sure it was okay to travel to Atlantis. If they were lucky they would only be in the city for a couple of minutes and be out before anything major happened, it really depended on where the Olympian Gate was located now that he thought about it, though this was certainly better than his idea to muster the fleet to invade the city of Poseidon. Better to ask permission and stay on the good side of the gods, especially since Ares had broken nearly every rule that existed in Olympus and attacked the other Olympians as directly as he could, since the others refused to go to war with him since it would break Zeus' rules on the matter. With that in mind he ushered Flurry back to her room, as it was still the middle of the night and she needed her sleep, though he reflected to speak with the gods he needed to speak to once morning was upon them, so they could get underway and figure out what was up with his odd nightmares, though at the same time Aphrodite excused herself, no doubt intending to come back in the future.

Once morning arrived, and Kratos was sure that Flurry was well rested, she actually looked just fine despite having to face her nightmares during the night, the pair departed from their portion of Olympus and made their way over to the area that held the Gathering Chamber, which was where the gods gathered to discuss all sorts of affairs, and, sure enough, both Zeus and Poseidon were talking with Athena.

"Kratos, you and Flurry look armed and ready to go... is something wrong?" Poseidon inquired, because while it wasn't too weird for the Gods of War to carry their weapons at all times, in fact they had seen nearly everything in Ares' collection by the time of his demise, he wasn't expecting Kratos and Flurry to be ready for another adventure, so soon after the one that had brought about Ares' death.

"I have been having visions of my mother, showing that she is alive and seriously ill in your temple in Atlantis, and we have come to seek permission to travel there." Kratos stated, where Flurry could see that the three gods were taken aback by the information her father had just given them, in fact it looked like Zeus and Athena were surprised that he had learned that his mother was still alive, while Poseidon seemed caught off guard, in the sense that he had no idea what he was talking about, as no one had mentioned Callisto to him, "I have had the same dream for the last seven days, since Ares' defeat, and it's the same every time, so I thought it would be best to investigate the source of the dreams... Athena, would you agree that it is wise to snuff out a potential danger, before it causes harm to myself or those that are around me?"

"While I'm not sure there is any force that can weaken an Olympian through their dreams, I do agree that it would be in our best interests to discover their source." Athena said, where Flurry noted that she seemed nervous about this, as if she might have some idea as to what they were getting themselves into, or maybe she just knew better than to argue with the new God of War after giving him quests for ten long years, "Honestly, I don't think you'll find anything in Atlantis, but this should give you a chance to wrap up your mortal life and get used to the idea of being a god."

"I, for one, think this is a waste of time. Given Ares' habit of murdering everyone you cared about, I doubt he'd keep your mother around for this long, especially after you became our champion." Zeus remarked, showing them that he would no doubt refuse to acknowledge Kratos' desire to see if his dreams had any weight or not, which was odd since both Kratos and Flurry thought he would have wanted to help them move on from his mortal life, "The Olympian Gate to Atlantis will remain closed for the time being... I have other matters that require my attention. If you'll excuse me."

"Brother..." Poseidon said, though what was odd was that Zeus said nothing else as he turned and left the area, which was a shock to him and Athena, as they were expecting him to give Kratos and Flurry a reason for his remark, causing him to sigh as he turned towards the pair for a moment, speaking only when his brother was no longer in the area, "I apologize for his rudeness, he has been distracted of late... something about building a labyrinth... not sure why he wants one, but that's no reason to be rude to you two. However, I will grant you passage to Atlantis... while I cannot overrule my brother's decree on the Olympian Gate, we have a way around his statement: he only mentioned my city... he never said anything about Crete. I will open the way for you two to travel to the docks of the island closest to Atlantis and have a crew ready within the hour... though you will have to be wary of Scylla, as she's been acting weird lately and I'm worried the sea monster will do something dangerous in the near future."

Kratos and Flurry glanced at each other for a moment, as that generally meant that they would have to fight the creature at some point during this quest, especially when they thought about the giant monsters of their last couple of ventures, to which they acknowledged Poseidon's offer and departed without delay, as it was time to see what the dreams meant and if there was more to be discovered.