God of War: Daughter of War

Kratos and Flurry spent a few minutes resting in the area that the Amazon had been standing guard in, mostly in the off chance that the latter felt the urge to hurl again, but nothing seemed to happen and that was all the experienced warrior needed to see as he called for them to start moving again. Flurry nodded her head as she fell in with him again as they took a moment to look around the area for the path that would allow them to process, causing her to point out the lift that had to link the foot and leg they were currently exploring to the other one that was across the river. Kratos stared at it and found that it was the most reasonable way for them to continue making their way towards the highest point of the statue, but based on what he was seeing it looked like it was too far away for him to jump to, and with Flurry being too small to fly he knew that asking her to carry them wasn't an option either. As such it left them with only one option, he needed to break part of the scaffolding holding a block of stone up and use it as a stepping stone to reach a higher point, hopefully the rope that would allow him to ride down to where the lift was located.

Flurry, upon seeing what he wanted her to see, as he occasionally felt the urge to test her in solving puzzles, nodded as she stepped back for a moment, allowing Kratos to swing his blades at the weakened section that was his target and broke the wood with ease, dropping the stone he had noticed. With the block in position he paused for just a moment, allowing her to climb onto him back once more, before jumping on top of it and leaping even higher, allowing him to grab hold of a ledge and pull himself up as they both noticed that there was more ruined scaffolding for him to latch onto. As such he climbed up it for a few seconds, where Flurry pointed out a chain that he could use as a swing point, like he had done with the circular part of the outer foot earlier, and he simply nodded before jumping towards it, allowing him to launch over to a stone wall that he dug one blade into. Such a thing allowed Flurry to see that his blades were incredibly durable, as the one he was using cut into the stone with ease and allowed him to move downward at a decent pace, and it came to an end withing a few seconds as he dropped down onto the rope they had spotted.

With that done they reached the lift in no time at all, granting them a good view of the wrecked face and head of Apollo's massive statue, before Kratos frowned as he noticed that the only thing that could be done now was pull a lever, to which he had Flurry ready herself, by pulling out an arrow, and pulled it once they were ready to go.

As he expected the lift started to move towards the other foot once he pulled the lever, along with the fact that several harpies started to come at them, where he waited for Flurry to wound one with one of her arrows, even if the wound was minor at times, so he could easily yank it over to them. It was a tactic that utilized the best of their abilities, Flurry simply stunned their foes while he grabbed them, allowing him to either tear them in half with his hands, split them in half with his blades, or remove their heads by twisting them off, all while giving Flurry a chance to recover her arrows. After taking out six harpies, however, one of Charybdis' tendrils burst out of the water, swaying off to the right of the long side of the lift for a couple of seconds, before it came down on their lift and shattered it into two halves, causing Kratos to latch onto the pristine part as he reached out to Flurry. He caught her before she fell too far for her wings to save her, at least in the sense of gliding over to him, and once she was back on his back he started to move up the fragment he had grabbed onto after the attack, climbed up the side of a hanging stone block, and rode a rope down into Apollo's head.

While Kratos dropped down into the head's insides, which seemed to be a massive puzzle that was now broken thanks to all the damage that had been done in the past, Flurry had to wonder if the amulet could even repair everything, there was just too much based on what she was seeing at the moment.

The moment they landed, however, two sibyl sirens emerged from magical dark holes that appeared on the ground and attacked the pair, where this time Kratos put himself between them and Flurry as one loosed what seemed to be some sort of lightning based stun attack. As Flurry opened her mouth, to cry out in shock, Kratos shattered the spell like it was nothing and punched the offending siren in the jaw, breaking the bones with a surprising amount of ease, and before the monster could flee he grabbed it's face, slammed it into the ground, and smashed it's face in with a stomp of his foot, all while the second just floated there. Since it was stunned Flurry raised her bow without delay and let an arrow fly right into her target's shoulder, causing it to stagger as Kratos pulled out his blades and stabbed it twice, right above it's breasts for some odd reason, before yanking one out to bring it down as a diagonal slash that hit the side of it's neck and cut all the way through to the opposite side of it's body. Once both sibyl sirens were dead the pair remained still for a moment, just to be sure that the coast was clear before they did anything else, before Kratos signaled that it was okay to move and did so without delay, allowing Flurry to claim her arrow before they tackled the next puzzle Archimedes had designed.

There was a rusted chain he could pull, which seemed to be the only thing for them to use right now, that was actually more sturdy than Kratos thought as he carefully moved it back a bit, allowing him to see that a lift was raised in front of them, one that started to lower if he let go of the chain. As such he had Flurry stand on the lift for a few moments before he moved the chain, allowing her to reach the upper area with ease before he let go of the rusted item and leapt up onto the lift before it reached the ground, only to leap up to where the little girl was standing a second later. From there they found that the only way forward seemed to be out of reach, to which Flurry found a gear that could be turned and Kratos grabbed onto it not even a moment later, only to find that by moving it he turned a large spiral lift of sorts and dropped a stone block into the area they were in. Such a thing gave them an idea as Kratos moved it against the wall that was right below the opening they had spotted, only to discover that it brought the pair to a path of gears that weren't moving and that he had to activate all of them by using his blades on part of the exterior.

Once the gears were moving Flurry took her position on Kratos' back before he started to carefully jump from gear to gear, allowing him to reach a wooden corridor that a few beetles were guarding, so the moment he was on solid ground he took care of the bugs and kept moving, allowing them to reach the outside of the head as Kratos grabbed onto a rope that would let them access the next portion of the statue.

It took him only a second to cross the gap, as it was shorter than he thought it would be, allowing them to land on more of the scaffolding as he let Flurry walk once more, at least until they knew what form the path forward would take this time, all while keeping their weapons at the ready. This time the pair was able to drop down into a flat area that happened to be an arena, as an Amazon was waiting with a creature that Kratos said was a centaur, the upper body of a human mixed with the body and legs of a horse, which Flurry noted was male due to the lack of breasts on it's chest. Flurry discovered that there was more than one centaur in the area, in fact she could see two, and assumed that they were far more dangerous than a fair majority of the monsters they had encountered so far, mostly due to their size and appearance. Kratos, however, just proved that he was a veteran warrior as he quickly dispatched of the Amazon, using the impalement technique he used on the last one, before using her spear while he ducked under one centaur's body, slashing open it's body with the weapon as he gutted the creature in no time.

The other centaur didn't last very long as Kratos rolled out of the way of it's attacks and struck it's legs, just enough to stun it, before finding an opening that allowing him to hack off one of it's front legs, push it onto it's side, and opened it's lower side so he could tear into it with his blades, gutting the creature before it could stop him.

"You didn't attack this time... why?" Kratos inquired, as he had noticed that Flurry did nothing this time around, unlike all of their previous battles where she found openings to either let an arrow fly or attack with her sickles, and it made him take a moment to wonder if the deaths of the Amazons had affected her more than he previously thought.

"I know you don't want excuses, but... well, the centaur were faster than I thought, so I figured it was best to stay my hand and not waste arrows." Flurry replied, though she knew he was annoyed with her actions, as they had fought side by side so much since she woke up in the ruined Oracle's temple, without her knowing what to do most of the time, and here she was, standing on the sideline like she couldn't be bothered to help him out.

Kratos stared at her for a few seconds before his gaze softened and he patted her on the head, as he understood what she was talking about, because even with the larger area they were in he knew that fast enemies would be too much for such an untrained warrior like Flurry, so she made the right decision in keeping herself safe. After that they took a couple of moments to look around the rest of the area for anything that might be useful to their quest, where Flurry found that they might be heading into a knee next, since the foot it was connected to was on another bit of land, making her realize that the statue was partly kneeling. Both agreed on one thing a few seconds later, there was no way forward save for the somewhat rusted chain, so Kratos grabbed onto part of it with his blades and forced it down into position so they could use it as a stepping stone of sorts, though moving it out of position didn't do anything to the statue. With that in mind the pair climbed up onto the wooden scaffolding that was above them and found an entrance into the leg they seemed to be climbing so they could reach the peak, causing them to leap into the opening so they could figure out what to do next, as every section seemed to have puzzles and obstacles to overcome.

What they discovered was a circular chamber that had two areas that spewed fire, which Kratos said had to be powered by some sort of energy source that Archimedes discovered, since with the decay they had witnessed he had assumed the majority of the inner workings were broken, but it seemed like the man had spent a lot of time repairing it and that even included all of the traps. Fortunately there were two pressure plates on the floor that could be stood on, allowing the floor to move up towards another opening, and since they were positioned quite well they didn't have to worry about moving out of the way of the flames that were coming out of the traps. Flurry was glad for that since she didn't want to deal with being near the traps, a thought Kratos shared since some of the ones he had seen in the past could instantly kill someone, and they were out of the chamber in no time at all, allowing them to see that the path forward involved swinging from one chain to another to reach their next destination. She made sure to take her place on Kratos' back before he moved, as he swung across two of the points with ease and when he reached the third point they found that he had to bash his way into another portion of Apollo's statue, which involved more climbing on his part.

Flurry found that the area they had to move through next, maybe the neck she guessed, was falling apart and Kratos had to focus on quickly moving from point to point to ensure they survived this, only to find that it was incredibly short as he reached an area with more eggs, to which he and Flurry cut into them to make sure they weren't swarmed.

Following that he had to swing and smash through another portion of the area they were in, bringing them to an area that had more beetles to deal with, though this time around Flurry used one of her sickles to slash at the beetles that dared to attack Kratos from behind, keeping his back safe while he cleared the path forward. Once the pair dealt with all of the foes that were in the area, and Kratos was sure of that, he walked over to the edge of the area and found that he needed to climb the wall to his left for a few seconds, which involved breaking an odd black egg or goo sack that was in his way. The item in question shattered not even a couple of moments after he struck it, allowing him to climb up the wall before Flurry found a swing point outside the area they were in, something he jumped towards and latched onto it with his blades, as it allowed him to launch them out into an open area. They landed in what had to be one of the statue's gauntlets, no doubt for the hand that held up the lantern that housed the Eyes of Truth, though as Flurry touched the ground Kratos quickly discovered that this seemed to be the end of their path, at least in the components that made up Apollo's statue since he could jump across the small stones to reach the lantern.

As Flurry looked around for a moment as the area in front of them started to shimmer, where the arena that was crafted into the surface of the gauntlet started to disappear as a stone city of sorts started to take it's place, something Kratos seemed to recognize as he took a moment to look around at everything.

What is she? a feminine voice asked, one that sounded like it was a bit rough, almost as if there was something wrong with the speaker, though Flurry had to look around for a moment as she sought out the voice, where she found that part of the illusion seemed to shimmer, like she was seeing both the gauntlet and the city.

I don't know, but can you smell that? another female voice inquired, this one sounding like she was usually silent and said nothing, like an observer of some kind, where Flurry had to resist the urge to rub her eyes for a moment as she saw three figures lurking beyond the shimmering wall, one with four green spider legs coming out of her back, another that was wearing a robe and a hood that covered her eyes, and one in an odd black uniform.

Death! the third one, the one in black, stated, her tone almost like she was the leader of the three, as if she might be expecting her sisters to follow her orders or something, as Flurry was sure that she was getting a glimpse of the Furies that were hounding their every step.

As she watched them, however, Kratos had his own way to dispel part of the illusion that he was seeing, two items in the form of a necklace and ring that were special to him, something that caused the second sister to appear in front of them for a moment as she informed the warrior that they only meant to return him to his home, his roots. The bug lady quickly told the robe wearer to show him what Sparta did to traitors, though the illusion of soldiers from Kratos' homeland didn't stop him from mowing his way through them, as he knew they weren't real and any shame they were trying to make him feel didn't even register in his mind. As it turned out the bug lady, who Kratos identified as Megaera, had dark green claws for her hands, wore golden armor that showed off the tops of her breasts and the sides of her legs for some reason, had a cloth sash covering the area behind her legs, wore a single shoulder pad over her left shoulder, and had a helmet that had a blue flume on it. Megaera used all four of her spider legs as weapons, either bringing them down on where her current target was standing or swinging them into the illusions that were around her, likely to vent her frustrations despite not actually killing anything, where Kratos allowed her to kill the illusions as he dodged her attacks and lashed out at her when her guard was open.

Megaera's annoyance over the fact that she couldn't hurt Kratos, who was using his skills to avoid her attacks and deal his own in due time, eventually came back to bite her as Flurry noticed an opening that she could utilize, where she hurled a sickle through the air and struck the Fury's right hand in the palm, pinning it to a wall, allowing Kratos to bring his blades down on the exposed shoulder and severed her right arm, causing her to scream in pain.

As Flurry held her empty hand out, calling her sickle back to her interestingly enough, the illusion Fury struck by flying in on a bright blue bird of some kind that struck Kratos in the chest, pushing him away from Megaera so he didn't finish the job and kill one of the Furies, before dropping him on the side of a building. As he stood there, however, Kratos struck the familiar with his blades, finding that he was able to hit it despite the fact that it seemed like nothing was being done to it in the process, though Megaera retreated for the time being as Flurry grabbed onto the severed limb and hurled it with all of her might, causing it to end up in the water below. She wasn't sure if the Furies had the power to regenerate lost limbs or even attached severed body parts, but in the off chance they did she didn't want the injured Fury to regain her strength, a fact that allowed her to turn her attention on Tisiphone, the illusion Fury. She recalled the named that Kratos had told her earlier, so he would know their foes when she saw them, and it made her wonder where Alecto, the final Fury, was hiding as her sisters fought, before she made her move as she approached her target.

Despite all of her years of existence Tisiphone had made a mistake in her illusion, there was a set of stones that formed a small path right up to where she was standing while her pet attacked Kratos, so Flurry did her best to silently rush up all of them before leaping into the air and bringing a sickle down on the Fury's back, briefly cutting into her skin as she moved out of the way, allowing Flurry to glide down to Kratos' side.

"What the...? She can SEE ME?" Tisiphone remarked, as she had been using an illusion to keep herself hidden when her sister or her pet were in the middle of fighting, even though there were times where she needed to be present to weaken their target in some manner, but this was the first time that someone without the Eyes of Truth had seen through some of her illusions and attacked her.

Kratos, sensing an opportunity to end one of the Furies, rushed forward and grabbed Tisiphone by the head, driving her into one of the spikes that lined the area and made sure it pierced her heart, all while Flurry watched as Charybdis raised it's tendrils and pulled the Lantern of Delos into the water, before she noticed something.

"Kratos, that's not Tisiphone!" Flurry stated, because in the instant of Charybdis moving in the background the Fury that she had wounded did the impossible, she switched herself out with an illusion before her eyes could catch it, where she had to blame herself since she was the one who could see through the trick and had diverted her attention at a critical moment that would doom them.

"ENOUGH." a voice stated, where Flurry and Kratos found that the black robed figure, Alecto, emerged from the direction she had seen Charybdis in and loosed a burst of dark ink or goo at them, where Kratos made sure to take the brunt of the attack as it pinned him and Flurry to the floor, restricting their movements as the injured Megaera and the alive Tisiphone joined them, "It is time, Kratos, for you to return to your rightful place as Ares' loyal servant... perhaps we will place you on one of the thrones of Olympus one day, if you prove yourself worthy and do well in performing your duties. And not only you, but also the little girl that's been traveling with you, the one who has been touched by Death itself... who carries a piece of It's primordial power at all times. She is a boon we did not expect to find, and Lord Ares will be pleased when we deliver her into his service, especially since you seem to be doing everything in your power to keep her safe..."

"I should have done this a long time ago." a voice commented, where Flurry found that Orkos appeared out of thing air, a spell or ability that he had access to, and came to a stop behind Kratos as he rested a hand on the warrior's shoulder, but Flurry grabbed onto Kratos' leg, as she suspected that something was about to happen, "This time your plans will fail, of that you can be sure."

In the next moment, before the Furies were able to do anything, Orkos grabbed onto Kratos and teleported them, as in all three of them since it even included Flurry, to another part of the statue, one that seemed to have a lift for Kratos to use so they could access the rest of the structure.

"You will never reach the Eyes now that my Mothers now you're after them, which means you'll need a distraction to keep them busy," Orkos stated, where he let out a sigh as he considered what had just happened and what he had tried to do so he could help Kratos and Flurry reach their destination, plans that were no longer valid since the path to the Lantern of Delos had been altered due to the structure being pulled under the water, "I intended on arriving sooner, to tell you how to get to the Lantern without drawing their attention, but Alecto kept getting in the way and now those plans have to be tossed aside. I have a power that allowed me to escape the Hecatonchires, and now I hope it can help you and Flurry reach the end of your journey... do not worry about me, I will make due without it."

The power in question happened to be what appeared to be an amber seashell, orange colored that had some darkness inside it, though instead of explaining himself Orkos disappeared as soon as Kratos grasped the item, his 'oath stone' as he called the object, leaving Kratos to remark that items like this usually imparted their knowledge upon the user. As such Flurry found that he stood there for a moment, apparently being gifted the information necessary to use this item, before he beckoned for her to stand off on the side as he started to turn the crank that Orkos had dropped them near after his daring rescue. Flurry found that it started to lower a lift that would, in fact, allow them to reach another level that had no other path for them to take to reach it, and when he lowered it to a suitable point Kratos activated the oath stone, which created a shadowy black version of him holding the crank in place. In that moment she understood what this meant, as it would allow them to solve puzzles easier and keep things in position so they could move forward, at least for a time, and once the copy was in place Kratos collected her and climbed up onto the lift, allowing him to dismiss the copy and let the lift move them up to the upper level.

As Kratos realized that they were in what appeared to be Apollo's forearm, based on the appearance of the area that they were in, he gestured off to the side and insisted on letting Flurry take a small break before they started moving again, as while he knew that time was precious he also knew she needed to recover her energy since she didn't have his abilities and skills.

"Kratos, can I... ask you a question?" Flurry inquired, as there was something that had been bugging her lately and right now, with a break being given to her, she wanted to get it off her chest before worrying about the rest of the statue and all of it's various dangers, recent and ancient.

"You just did." Kratos pointed out, though as he noticed a little pout appear on her face, more in annoyance for realizing what he meant, he also knew that the Furies had said many things while she was present and it made him wonder what in the world she wanted to ask about, though he dreaded her asking about Ares and everything associated with him, "What's on your mind Flurry?"

"I... do I need to be naked as well?" Flurry asked, because while she was interested in what the Furies had said, in fact she knew that it was best to ask the question about that later on, there was a more pressing issue on her mind, thanks to all of the monsters they had seen since she joined him on his quest, though she missed him stumbling as he walked over to an area to rest as well, "It's just... well, almost every female monster we have encountered so far has been either naked or has worn very little over their bodies, exposing themselves to the world around them, and I thought that, since I'm clearly more monster than human, I might need to do like they do."

"Flurry..." Kratos said, as this wasn't what he was expecting her to ask, and yet he was slightly grateful that she wasn't too interested in what Alecto had said before Orkos' arrival, causing him to sigh as he decided to sit down next to her, since it might comfort her to have someone beside her right now, "While it is true that you aren't human... in fact I'm sure that the gods are the only ones who know what you are... you are, by no means, a monster. You are a unique individual, much like the Furies themselves since they are neither god or titan, nor mortal or specter, but I know that you are better than them in many ways, just as you are better than the mindless monsters we fight, and despite being so young you know more than all of them combined. If your current clothing is bothering you I can try to find something better once we're done with Alecto and her sisters, once we're back in Sparta or one of the other cities that I've been to over the years... until then, I would recommend keeping your attire on."

Flurry smiled as she heard that, almost as if he was suggesting she was more like a human than a monster, causing her to lean her head against Kratos' shoulder while they rested, simply to enjoy the moment before they were forced to do battle with all sorts of monsters as they sought out a new path to the Lantern and the Eyes of Truth.