God of War: Daughter of War

Kratos and Flurry stood there for a moment or two before the sound of Gaia resuming her climb to the peak of Olympus, to which the pair separated for a time and readied themselves, so when the titan emerged Kratos returned to her hand while his daughter flew around to keep an eye on the other attacking gods. Based on what Flurry could see Hermes was gone, as if he had ducked out to avoid fighting anyone, Hades seemed to be down in the Underworld right now, and Helios used his chariot to move around so he could assault the other titans, who were mostly ignoring him. Oddly enough none of the other gods that knew they were moving forward bothered to stop them, meaning Poseidon's death might have scared them off, which was a good thing in her mind since it meant they wouldn't have to worry about ending more lives than necessary. Such a thing allowed Gaia to climb without being stopped, reaching the summit of Mount Olympus without wasting too much time, all while Flurry could see that the sky was rumbling as Zeus readied himself, meaning her father would have to defend himself before going on the offensive.

As they reached the peak, however, the pair discovered that Zeus was just standing there with his arms crossed, where he seemed to be annoyed by the fact that this was even happening, causing Kratos to step down into the balcony that was in front of them as he gripped the handles of his weapons.

"Tell us, father, what will you do now? Will you run and hide, or will you stand and fight?" Kratos inquired, though while his focus was on Zeus he knew his daughter was keeping an eye on the sky, and Gaia was no doubt getting ready to break the rest of Olympus to show the rest of Greece that the days of Zeus were finally over.

"What, no epic statement about how 'death could not hold you, and the Sisters of Fate could not stop you'? Even now you disappoint me." Zeus replied, because after everything they had been through he expected something more from both his son and his overly powerful granddaughter, instead of the questions he had been asked, where a part of him wondered how this would have gone had he found Flurry first.

"Sorry, but we're focused on one thing right now: your death." Flurry stated, where she readied both her scythe and the Blade of Olympus, because while both could kill Zeus on their own, as they were godly weapons, this showed the King of the Gods that they weren't playing around, they were going to take him seriously.

Zeus, despite the fact that he had been weakened by their previous battle, clearly knew that they were going to come at him and prepared accordingly, as the moment both Flurry and Kratos stepped forward the King of the Gods hurled large bolts of lightning down on the balcony. They didn't come out of nowhere, as the ones coming from his hands weren't this strong, rather he had been preparing them up in the sky while the other gods were fighting the titans and summoned all of them when he felt the time was right, causing Flurry to go on the defensive as she snapped barriers into the area that was in front of them. In that instant she found that she wasn't Zeus' target, something that would normally be a mistake due to her overwhelming power, rather the lightning bolts tore into the half of the balcony that they were on and tore into Gaia as well, the sheer force of the attack nearly shattering her left arm, as her hand had nearly come off and was only connected by one of the larger inner roots, like the bone. While the lightning seemed to have no effect on Kratos it quickly became clear as to what was happening, Zeus was casting them into the depths once more as his lightning tore into the ground, though when Flurry found an opening she frowned as she discovered that Zeus had vanished, running from them once more, causing her to sheath her weapons before rushing after her father.

She could hear her father loudly talking to Gaia, where the titan was struggling to hang onto the side of Mount Olympus, all while discovering that her father was using Artemis' blade to keep himself on the titan's arm, the tip digging into the rock and stone far too easily since he was rapidly approaching the edge of her arm.

"Kratos, Flurry, know that we are grateful to you for bringing us back to the future, but... you were nothing more than a set of pawns to us." Gaia stated, something Flurry found to be amusing, that she was claiming that they were the pawns when it was her and the titans that had been used in such a way, though the titan followed her statement up with pulling her now wounded arm back and waving it a little so Kratos would be dislodged, "Leave Zeus to us, Kratos... your part in all of this is over. So go, take your daughter, leave Olympus, and never look back."

Flurry knew that Gaia was fighting a doomed fight, because if it hadn't been for her barriers there was a fair chance that one or more of those lightning bolts would have shattered Gaia completely, which could have been what Zeus was after, knocking them off of his palace and then crushing them with a massive pile of boulders. Instead of saying anything to the titan, however, Flurry rushed through the air, caught the Blade of Artemis, and then dismissed it before grabbing onto her father as she used her magic and wings to direct them somewhere else. The reasoning for that decision was because he and Gaia had fallen so far thanks to Zeus' attack and, if what she was seeing was to be believed, the River Styx was getting closer as she seconds went by, so she aimed at the open patch of ground near one edge. She wasn't sure if it would do something to her father or just leave him alone, but right now she wasn't willing to take that risk, causing her to level out before finally coming to a total stop, where Kratos touched down before letting his daughter land as well.

The downside to being near the River Styx meant that they were in Hades' domain, the Underworld, or the portion that he had built under Olympus, given that the Chain of Balance was linked to this area as well, where they stared out at the rest of the realm that was in front of them.

"The Underworld. Of course." Kratos remarked, though he wasn't sour over Gaia calling them pawns, not after their plan to use the titans as a distraction to breach Olympus' defenses and get to Zeus, rather he was focused on what they had to do next, before spotting what appeared to be a magical gateway off in the distance, "And that might be our ticket out of here, without fighting Hades."

"Good, I'd hate to see what might happen if Hades was slain." Flurry said, because if Poseidon's death flooded the rest of Greece, something they couldn't have possibly known ahead of time since both Persephone and Ares just exploded and did no damage to the world, all while their bodies evaporated into nothingness, she could only imagine what Hades' death might have on all of Greece.

Kratos, Flurry. a voice said, where they found the magical image of Athena appearing out of thin air in front of them, meaning she and Hecate likely had one more message to tell them before they got too far out of range, since they were moving to the furthest edge of Greece, We felt the shockwave of the seas rising, which means you were unable to talk some sense into Poseidon... I'm sorry you had to do that, especially after everything that happened between you. Listen, we've been going over any potential targets you might want to hit before going after Zeus, in the event that you two were forced to take a different path, and there's one thing that comes to mind: the Flame of Olympus, a terrible power that is lethal to both mortals and gods. If Zeus finds a way to use it against you... well, we're certain it'll burn you alive, until there is nothing left.

"He has not used it yet, meaning he cannot channel the power it holds. How do we destroy it?" Kratos inquired, because if the Flame of Olympus was truly so terrifying, and could kill anything it touched, it made him wonder why Zeus never tried to use it against his foes, especially given the fact that he and Flurry had been targets of interest.

We are unsure. Only Hephaestus knows of the Flame's secrets, but no one has seen him since you became the new God of War... though there are whispers that he's somewhere in the Underworld. Athena replied, where it was clear that she was unsure of the information they had gleamed during their departure from Greece, especially since Zeus likely made it hard to track down the Smith God.

"Then we'll find him, of that you can be sure." Flurry said, because if Hephaestus really was down here, no doubt working on Zeus' project for the rest of his life, there was a good chance that they could bump into him and learn whatever they could from him, which all depended on how Hades reacted to them being in his realm.

As the magic faded away Kratos and Flurry resumed moving, using a nearby grapple point to launch themselves over to an area that some undead legionnaires were wandering around in, smashing and slashing through them with ease, only to find that the gateway was surrounded by dark chains and a familiar energy. Hades had no doubt returned to his seat of power and was blocking them from leaving, meaning he either knew how dangerous they were and wanted to keep them out of his brother's domain, at least until the other gods were ready to crush them, or he had his own personal reason for wanted to keep them contained. After jumping over the tops of a few rocky pillars the pair reached the area in front of Hades' large statue, where they could hear him laughing at them, no doubt because this was Kratos' third time in this realm, before he sent a force of undead legionnaires to deal with both warriors, as if assuming they were up to the task. It was a foolish and rather stupid mistake, as both of them were gods in their own right and they tore through the undead without even taking a bit of damage in the process, allowing them to see that there was some bramble in the way, but instead of setting it on fire right away, which Flurry could do with a spell, they used a nearby rope line to continue exploring.

Sure enough enemies attacked her father while he was making his way across the massive gap that the rope line was resting far above, so while he focused on some of the undead enemies Flurry raised her own bow and took out those that were off in the distance, preventing the archers from hitting her father as he tore through his own enemies.

After finally touching down the pair resumed moving forward, even though Flurry found a note from one of the souls that had come through here in the past, from someone named Peirithous, something she decided to leave behind as they focused on exploring and finding a new way to burn the bramble. The path brought them to an area where the doors that Kratos opened became a wall on the other side of the circular area, though before that they had to deal with a gorgon, one who had to be one of Euryale's since she was fatter than the normal gorgons and had a deep look of hatred in her eyes, no doubt for the warriors that killed her patron. Fortunately she made a mistake, using her gaze on Kratos prompted him to use the Golden Fleece to reflect her gaze and turn her to stone so Flurry could smash the statue in an instant, while her father found a second gorgon pulling herself into the arena and severed her head instantly. As the body fell down into the depths of the Underworld the pair opened the door that was in front of them, walked down a short path and jumped over a small hole in the ground, before entering an area that looked like a prison.

"I will be brief, Spartans... I have suffered long enough." a new voice said, where they found some bramble in front of a man in a chair off to their left, after crossing over the gap in the bridge, though judging from the name engraved nearby it was easy for them to assume that this was Peirithous, the writer of the note Flurry had noticed a few moments ago, "This is the punishment Hades has given me, a prison of tinder for eternal torment... I have only my bow left. Free me and I'll give it to you as payment."

"Oh now I remember where I've heard about you: your Apollo's champion!" Flurry stated, as she had been thinking about this ever since she read the name on the note, and the reason she knew it was due to the fact that Apollo had told her all about the demigod that was in front of them, meaning he must have done something to piss off Hades, causing her to pull out her sickles for a moment.

Kratos didn't have to ask what she was doing, because at this point those sickles of her could cut through everything that was in Greece if they could hack through even the mythical onyx, though as Flurry made short work of the bramble, and put the pieces off to the side to burn on their own, he dealt with their new enemies. Of course it was more of the undead and a cerberus hound, the latter being fully grown this time around, so he dodged the hound for a few moments and cut down the undead that were coming at them, breaking one in half with his bare hands, and once those foes were gone he turned his gaze towards the hound. Taking it out proved to be just as easy as it was in the past, a quick stab to the brain for one of the side heads, piercing the throat of the other side, and then wrapping the chain around the central head and using the heat the blades could produce to remove it's head. Peirithous, having heard tales of the God of War, thought the vast majority of them were tall tales, but now he was sitting there with an open jaw in surprise as Kratos dealt with one of Hades' stronger hounds like it was nothing at all, which only made him wonder about Flurry herself.

When the last of the bramble was removed, and Peirithous could move since Flurry even found a way to shatter the stone curse that had been placed on his feet to prevent him from moving, he handed over the bow and they found that it was more like flames than a normal bow, just like how Typhon's Bane was a wind based bow, where he found that he could switch between the two at will.

With it in hand Kratos told Peirithous to get to safety, detailing how they had gotten to this point so he could be as close as possible to the gateway they had spotted earlier, as there was a chance that one of their allies might use it to shepherd all those they were able to save to safety. Sure, it was a gamble on their part, but it was either that or let him follow them even deeper into the Underworld, causing the man to bow out and carefully make his way to the safest spot possible, all while the pair continued moving and found some bramble for Kratos to use the Bow of Apollo on, as he loosed an arrow made of fire at it and burned the material away. After that they followed the rest of the path that was behind it, passing by another note that spoke of anguish and torment, and came to a stop at a short balcony of sorts that allowed people, or souls since the Underworld was full of them, to stare at something. The scene in question appeared to be the bottom part of the Chain of Balance, the portion that was stuck in this realm, and it looked like it was behind held onto by three large stone or metal statues that seemed to be important in some manner, only for them to be interrupted by some harpies that flew down to attack them.

Flurry decided to waste the harpies with one of the deathly orbs she had practiced after becoming the Goddess of Death, drawing in the small enemies in an instant before the eerie yellow lightning it produced shocked her targets for a couple of seconds, killing them almost instantly, causing her to realize she'd have to use this against stronger foes for it to have any real effect.

Following that Kratos glided down to an area where he had to climb along the outer edge of a structure, one that just so happened to be mixed with a mountain side, though while he did that he found that Flurry remained at the ready, using her wings to hover at an area where she could see everything and held her bow at the ready. As it turned out she didn't need to do that at all, her father was able to make his way around the outside with far too much ease, especially since the pair knew that Hades knew they were here, but if he was going to allow them this freedom they were going to use it to the best of their ability. She also discovered that the path brought them closer to the Judges of the Underworld, based on how they were positioned, though Flurry noticed something interesting, the onyx in the back of their heads, meaning none of them were alive, just golems serving Hades and Zeus. In fact none of the statues moved as they approached what had to be a central platform, though it seemed to be stuck and wouldn't let them use it until a 'trial' was cleared, in the balcony area that was down the nearby set of steps, and when they stepped down them a row of spikes separated them from the Judges as more enemies showed up.

The first trial, as there were apparently more than one, were interesting to deal with, despite the fact that neither warrior were too worried about what might be sent at them, where the opening act was to destroy all of the hands of Hades that happened to be reaching for the wandering souls that appeared in the area. Such a thing was far too easy since both of them found that the hands seemed to look like the bramble in some manner, causing them to burn the hands away and clear the challenge with ease, though the next one was more interesting, as the barrier turned dark as souls started to walk towards it. The second one required them to stop the souls before they reached the edge of the barrier, which would convert them into members of Hades' army, as the example morphed into a minotaur, though given all of the monsters that existed in the world Flurry set up a barrier in front of the barrier to stop the souls in their tracks. It worked perfectly, as no soul was able to reach Hades' trap as her father slashed the monster apart, though after that they faced the third trial, which involved destroying every foe that got in their way, by using a gorgon to turn harpies and minotaurs to stone and then smashing them, which was too easy with their medallions and skills.

Once that was done they were allowed to stand on the platform, where the Judges let go of the Chain and assumed new positions as the massive chain moved a bit, revealing onyx cores that was keeping the chain contained, though the Judges found them 'wanting, worthy, and not ready for the Underworld' before revealing the way to one of the two gateways that were in this area.

The gateway, as it turned out, brought them to an area that was above and behind the heads of the Judges, in fact Flurry could easily walk over to the backside of one's head and slash apart the onyx gemstone that was it's power source if she so desired, but she decided not to for the time being as they followed the new path. Such a thing brought them an area that had some minotaurs guarding it, along with explosive containers they could ignite with a flaming arrow, which Kratos did without delay and found that their enemies were wiped out in a matter of seconds. It was good information to have as they continued deeper into the Underworld, as the path weaved around the third and final Judge's head, where his core was down on the neck area, oddly enough, but Flurry made a note of it, as she had a feeling they would be back to wreck all of them, if their past adventures were anything to go by. The part that caught them by surprise was the fact that there were no enemies up here for them to worry about, meaning they were able to jump over a few bits of ground with ease, jumping and gliding across a few gaps in the process, even though it seemed to end near a ledge that overlooked where the Judges were resting.

At the edge of it, however, was something that caused the pair to pause for a moment, as it was a statue of Pandora, this time positioned like she was half kneeling and half presenting something to someone else, along with a blue flame that had a familiar presence inside it.

Kratos! Flurry! It warms my heart to see you again. the flame said, where they watched as it took on the shape of a very familiar figure's head, Pandora's to be exact, and the pair could see that she was smiling, confirming that she was happy to see them, despite where this statue was located.

"Pandora... why are you here, in the Underworld? Have you been wrongfully imprisoned?" Kratos asked, because while it was true that they hadn't had the honor of meeting Hephaestus' daughter in the flesh, especially given that they hadn't see the Smith God for a long time, he could only imagine how wrong things must be if an innocent girl was locked down here, in who knew where.

I'm... not in the Underworld. Zeus locked me away in the heart of his Labyrinth. Pandora replied, where the pair found that she seemed sad, which was understandable since the King of the Gods had basically stolen her away from everything and everyone she loved and locked her in some unknown part of Olympus, He said that 'I was a thing' and that I had no right to exist... but, because of what I am, the key to undoing the Flame of Olympus, he decided to lock me away, where no one would find me. He said... my father should have killed me when he had the chance...

"Please don't cry, Pandora... you know your father loves you with all his heart. He'd never do anything to hurt you... in fact, when we find him he'll probably ask us to find you." Flurry said, though she had to admit something, Pandora was strong for taking all of this abuse and still, somehow, having the strength to hold on and hope for a better future, and her words caused the girl to smile and nod before the flame vanished, causing her to growl for a moment, "Zeus... you unbelievable bastard! Just how many lives has the King of the Gods destroyed?"

"I do not know." Kratos answered, though instead of telling Flurry off for her choice of words, since it was different for her, he decided to let it slide for the time being, as he was also growing more and more pissed off as they discovered more of Zeus' vast crimes, and with how long it had been since they last saw Hephaestus he was growing concerned for the Smith God, since he was friendly towards them, "Come, let us move on. We have a pair of gods to find."

Flurry let out a sigh as she nodded her head, because now there was more them to fight for, to find their missing friends and get them out of here before either Hades or Zeus did something to them, all while knowing that they were going to pay back Zeus in full when it came time to finally end this nightmare.