God of War: Daughter of War

Once Kratos was ready to go he and Flurry walked into the underground cave he had landed in, only to find a circular area that a couple of sirens were wandering around in, though instead of letting them pass the monsters turned and shrieked at the pair the moment they spotted them. From what the pair could see this was more like simply killing their enemies and not using their powerful shrieks to break something, like how both warriors opened the way to the Steeds of Time, causing them to prepare themselves accordingly as they faced their current foes. Of course both warriors weren't surprised to find that a minotaur joined the fight and rushed at them while they were distracted, though Flurry rounded up the sirens with the ghostly chain of her sickles, something she rarely used, and took them out as her father used his Gorgons' Eye to turn the minotaur to stone. After smashing the statue the pair headed down the path in front of them and found another small area that had a sickle satyr and a few barbarians waiting for them, where Flurry wasted no time in smashing one barbarian with the hammer, crushing the warrior's head like a nut, and her father slashed the other apart before they dealt with the satyr before it could flee.

After that they left the cave they were in and found what appeared to be another fragment of a large chasm, where this time it looked like the walkway was still fine, even though there was nothing else connecting them to the center of the island, all while a crazed looking man with makeshift wings pulled himself onto the end of the walkway.

"Go back, warriors, go back!" the man, who had to be either Icarus or Daedalus, as they were the only two people who had their own makeshift wings that could allow them to fly or glide, said, though the way he marched around told the pair that he was definitely not someone to focus on as Flurry determined where she would have to drag her father to, like when she got him up to Pandora's Temple, "There is no passage here... neither of you will make it across. You think you can, but you cannot. Do you hear me?! It is my wings that will make it across, for this is my test!"

"Technically it is the test of anyone who seeks the Sisters." Flurry remarked, though at the same time she and her father stood near the edge of the walkway as she turned her gaze to what was below them, only to discover that there was what appeared to be a tunnel in the group that headed into the depths of the world, "Out of curiosity, are you Icarus, or are you Daedalus?"

"Fool, do you not know who I am? Have you not heard of Icarus?" the insane man, who confirmed that he was Icarus in the oddest way possible, stated, though at the same time he got up in both of their faces as they stared at him, finding that his mind was definitely nearly gone by how his eyes seemed to dart around before focusing on them, causing the pair to just ignore him entirely, "It is my fate to make it across, NONE OTHER! This is my test! The Sisters will grant me an audience, to change my fate... not you. You will die, foolish warriors! Both of you will die!"

"Ignore him, his mind is gone." Kratos said, where he frowned for a moment as he finished surveying the rest of the area, as it sure looked like there was nowhere for them to go without forcing Flurry to carrying him over to whatever was on the other end of the chasm, causing him to move over to another portion as they ignored Icarus, "It doesn't look like there is a way over to the center of the island... we might have to resort to using your wings to get across all of this."

As Flurry opened her mouth to say something, along the lines of that she agreed with her father about what to do next, Icarus latched onto her father's head and forced the pair to fall over the edge, which forced her to spread her wings as she jumped over the edge and flew after them. Icarus, despite the fact that he was face to face with the God of War, lashed out with his fists as he did nothing to his chosen foe, though nothing mattered since he was unable to actually land even a single punch as they fell into the passage they had spotted earlier. Her father, on the other hand, delivered a couple of attacks to his opponent's chest, in an attempt to convince him that he was making a mistake, and Flurry found that Icarus used his wings to push them deeper into the changing passage, like they were heading into the Underworld again, which would ruin things. Kratos, knowing that things had to change, decided to stop trying to save Icarus and got onto his back, allowing him to see that the man had grafted his wings to his own back, though with time of the essence he grabbed onto the base of both wings and tore them free, allowing him to spread his arms and use the wings to slow his fall.

Shortly after that they passed through a familiar hole in the ceiling as they entered a part of the Underworld they hadn't been in for a long time, where the worn and weathered form of Atlas greeted them, though Flurry loosed a single arrow into Icarus' head, killing him instantly, giving him mercy as her father landed in front of Atlas' eyes, on a walkway she was sure hadn't been there the last time they saw him.

"Are you alright?" Flurry asked, which might be a dumb question to ask since she could tell her father was fine, but she felt it was best to ask before they moved forward, though at the same time she looked at the wings and ran a bit of her magic over them, mending the feathers so they would be pristine until her father didn't need them, as this seemed like an item he might keep, before adding them to the magic that kept the Blades of Chaos floating on his back.

"Yes. We should get moving before Atlas realizes we're here." Kratos replied, keeping his voice low as he glanced at the eye that was near them, as it looked duller than what he recalled the titan having the last time they had seen him, though he did notice that all of the chains looked pristine and were holding well, meaning Flurry didn't have to reapply them, and the lava coming from the roof had altered Atlas' form, hence why his body was so different.

Flurry nodded as she hid herself from the titan's eyes and leapt up onto his brow, while her father carefully climbed up his stone nose and found that Atlas moved one of his hands to cover the opening they had come through, giving them a new objective if they couldn't find a way out. As they regrouped Flurry explained that the magic she had weaved into Icarus' Wings would allow him to open them in the air with a slight thought, so he could glide across small gaps with ease, though she reckoned that if they found a thermal vent he might be able to propel himself into the air with ease. She also found a few flaming harpies and loosed a few arrows at them, taking them out as Kratos caught up with her, giving her a chance to inform her father that even with her additions he wouldn't be able to fly like they were natural wings, but for making his way around certain areas they would be incredibly useful. Kratos had to agree, as Icarus' Wings weren't like what Flurry had, though while he was pleased with this addition to his own arsenal he was disappointed that they couldn't do anything to stop Icarus from making such a stupid decision, causing him to follow his daughter as they made their way across the platforms that were near Atlas' brow.

These platforms seemed to have been made from the chains that held the titan in place, or maybe they were inspired by them, before gliding down into what appeared to be a cave passage, one that looked more like the inside of a body, like when they were making their way to the Furies a lifetime ago. Of course there were enemies to fight, more flaming harpies and a few satyr warriors, with a sickle one mixed into the group every now and then, where Flurry dodged the attacks as she lashed out with lightning, blasting her foes into submission as her father slashed his way through them. What caught them by surprise was the fact that to move deeper into the cavern they had to move a pillar that was made of bone, as if they were in part of Atlas' lower body or something, or maybe this was the new form of this portion of the Underworld for some odd reason. Neither warrior cared too much since they wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible, because the moment Hades realized they were in his domain, and located them, he'd likely do everything in his power to keep them in one spot so Zeus could be called in to deal with them. With the Blade of Olympus in his hands Flurry knew that Zeus would have a good chance at killing her father for real, and maybe making it stick this time, while she would put up more of a challenge after everything she had been through, causing her to focus on the chamber they glided into as they found one of the stone minotaur waiting for them.

The pair glanced at each other before using their Gorgons' Eyes on the stone minotaur, turning it into a stone statue in a matter of seconds before Flurry smashed it with the hammer, allowing her and her father to use a large fragment of it to reach another passage that brought them to a larger area that gave them a view of Atlas again.

Both warriors didn't stay in the area for long, as Kratos found a weak opening in the left wall that he could open with a quick swing of his blades, where a chunk of stone fell into a lava river and started to move towards the area's right edge, allowing him to use a grapple point to launch himself to another area. The new cavern had a ledge that couldn't be reached by any of their normal means, save for Flurry's wings, though by breaking a large nearby rock they were able to open a thermal vent for her father to use to reach the upper ledge without much delay. That ended up bringing them into an area that had a fair number of nymph nests, where both warriors found more enemies coming at them, though as Flurry used the twinblade to take them down her father moved around the cavern and smashed the stone nests before they floored the area with more foes. Once those were taken care of her father climbed along the walls and ceiling of the chamber they were in and came to a stop at the opening that headed back outside, causing her to follow after him and found that it, too, gave them another good view of the massive titan, like a silent reminder that he was there.

Flurry found that her father would have to use the underside of another rock path to move forward, using his blades to aid him in his climbing, to which she hovered near him and used her bow to take down the satyr warriors that got in his way, a fact that allowed him to find an opening to a small rocky chamber. This one happened to have one of the spikes in it and he stood on top of it's small platform as it moved down into an area, though he did have to jump to another climbable area as his daughter hovered and used her arrows to take down any enemies that dared to get in his way. The purpose for such a thing, odd as it was, was so he could break some stalactites and use them to break open a thermal vent in the area just before the grapple point, causing a smile to appear on his face as he dropped back down into the center of the chamber for a few seconds, only to use the new vent to propel himself to a new area. Flurry quickly discovered that the next area they had to move through involved jumping and gliding from one spiked platform to another, with one having a crank that would allow them to reach a higher point to reach other areas, which looked like Hades must have gotten bored and built some sort of path around Atlas for fun.

There were a few enemies on a crank platform, namely satyr warriors and a few flaming harpies, but they mattered little to the pair as they turned their foes to stone and smashed their statues, allowing Kratos to move the crank, and the platform, while Flurry kept an eye out for more enemies.

At the end of the final platform Kratos found a chain he could use to slide down, like with the rope lines, that brought him to another short stone path and a stone wall he had to climb around, causing him to latch onto the wall as Flurry remained in the air, since both of them knew this would likely have enemies for them to deal with. Sure enough some satyr warriors tried to attack her father from below, so while Flurry dealt with them her father kept moving higher and higher, breaking a few bits of stone with his blades before using a few grapple points to move around to a new rocky walkway. She landed in what appeared to be an area where one had to move two identical stones into position, placing one on top of the other so they could push the higher one into a new area and use it as a platform to continue their ascent, or at least that was what she saw when looking at the area. Kratos proved her right, as that was exactly what they did by working together to cut down on the time they were in the Underworld, and it wasn't long before he started to climb up another stone path, one that had a pair of paths for him to jump between as he avoided falling rocks.

Kratos found that he didn't need to worry too much about the rocks, as Flurry loosed a number of arrows into the air and he quickly discovered that they contained a small bit of magic that tore the rocks apart, even though he had to head down a second path and climb up another portion, before he stopped at what appeared to be one of Atlas' palms.

"Who dares to scurry around me like a pair of ants?" Atlas asked, his voice sounding the same as what the pair recalled, all while this confirmed the fact that his sight must have gotten worse over the years, though as he glanced around the area Flurry and Kratos glanced at each other for a second before glancing at the titan.

"Atlas, know that it is I, Flurry Heart, the Goddess of Death, and my father, Kratos, the God of War." Flurry stated, raising her voice enough so that the titan could hear her from where they were standing, all while Kratos looked at the ceiling that was above them and knew the path back to the surface was within reach, "A great deal of time has passed since we last encountered each other, and know that we no longer walk with Zeus... as for the other Olympians, it all depends on if they walk with him or decide to leave him to his fate."

"Death? Well, that is interesting." Atlas commented, where it looked like he was lost in thought about something, no doubt due to what she had told him and what their presence meant, at this point in time, all while Flurry glanced at the hole her father had noticed and realized that to get out of here, without freeing the titan, she would need to use her wings and carry him to the surface, "Very well, since Gaia seems to be moving I shall grant you a bit of my power... I won't forgive you for imprisoning me here, but I will help you complete your task."

Flurry determined that Atlas must have felt Gaia's presence around her father, given her assistance in making sure they reached the island in the first place, hence why he was willing to trust them so quickly, despite the fact that they had put him in his current position, though she wasn't about to argue with him. This power, as it turned out, was 'Atlas Quake', the ability to call forth boulders made of magic that, with a stomp of their feet or hoof, or pounding their fists on the ground, sent the magical projectiles out into their enemies before they had a chance to react. Both of them realized this was good for clearing out large crowds of foes, provided they weren't in the same area or Flurry got into the air so her father could use it against other enemies, though for the time being Flurry used her magic to set up a magical wall between them so they could practice with ease. She also found that Atlas was doing his best to watch them, which wasn't easy given where his hand was resting right now, though it did look like he might be pleased with their progress in using his power, and the moment the satyr warriors that popped up for their test were taken care of she got ready.

She wasn't about to free one of Atlas' hands, even though she had the gauntlet that could move the chains and seal him in place again, so with that in mind she jumped off the palm, opened her wings, and circled back to where her father was waiting for her, as she grabbed onto his back and hauled him into the air. Kratos found that Flurry was wasting no time in getting them back to the surface, as her magic formed a barrier around them as she smashed through the rocked that fell down the passage she was currently using, once more reminding him as to why Hecate had offered to train her all those years ago. While they headed up the passage he also heard the sound of Atlas talking, saying something about wishing the pair well, as the 'lives of many' depended on their success, something both of them knew to be the titans, since they were no doubt upset over Zeus and the Olympians beating them during the war. With that thought in mind the pair focused on the passage as Flurry tore her way to the surface, where she found that the area on the surface that this one had brought them to was the opposite end of the fractured bridge above the chasm, allowing her to place her father on the bridge before landing beside him.

Kratos paused for a moment as Flurry brought her wings in, leaving them in the neutral state when she wasn't using them for any reason, as he was expecting her to do something to indicate she had strained herself, causing him to chuckle just a little as he realized something he had failed to acknowledge.

"Is something wrong?" Flurry asked, because it was incredibly rare for her father to chuckle, in fact the best she and the rest of their group had gotten out of him was the smile that showed he approved of something or was proud of someone, and she had only heard this at least twice during her time with him.

"No, just... you are stronger than I expected, Flurry. I am proud of you." Kratos replied, as that was the truth, he had been so preoccupied with dealing with Zeus' plans and machinations that he hadn't taken the time to say anything about just how his daughter had improved over the years, both as a warrior and as a goddess.

"Thank you, father. I had a lot to live up to, and had such wonderful teachers to help me along the way." Flurry said, where she had a feeling she knew where her father's statement was coming from, the fact that the last time she did this she had strained her wings and had to rest them for a short period of time, while this time she had suffered no injuries and was ready to face what the future held for them, causing her to sigh as she faced the path in front of them, "Come on, we had best get going... we have less time to reach the Sisters, since Hades will no doubt report our visit to the Underworld to Zeus, meaning we need to hurry."

Kratos nodded his head as he started to move once more, as he wanted to reach the Sisters before Zeus had a chance to stop them and ruin the mood, though he knew that they were more than ready for whatever challenges were standing between them and their targets and he was eager to see what the future held for them.