God of War: Daughter of War

After talking with Pandora, and getting angry over the fact that Zeus would imprison an innocent girl in the depths of his foul Labyrinth, Kratos found that the way forward was to move across a chain line that linked the area they were in to another platform, one that seemed to have a passageway on a lower level. Flurry hovered nearby as he made his way across the chain and found no enemies for them to worry about, meaning it wasn't long before her father reached the end and quickly climbed down to the passage they had spotted. The passage in question was partly blocked off, containing a single opening that they had to press themselves against a wall in order to reach whatever might be on the other end, though as Kratos started to do so Flurry found another note, this one from Callisto, her father's mother. Such a thing made her wonder which afterlife Callisto ended up in, even after the gods, no doubt Zeus, had messed with her life, before she put the note away and made her way through the passage as well, reaching an area where they could walk normally again in no time.

Following that the pair found more undead legionnaires waiting for them, some armed with blue flames that could ignite the explosive containers that were in the way, causing the pair to wait for them to get close before wiping them out with a blast from another container, and the one that remained Flurry defeated with a swing of her sickles. Kratos walked across a few planks and found a few more undead coming towards them, where he yanked them apart before they had a chance to do anything to him, only to stop at an area that had another note and an area with a lot of bramble for someone to set on fire. The note, as Flurry discovered, was from the Captain of the boat they had saved from the Hydra many years ago, only he had died sometime after that point in time, from what she had no idea, but this seemed to be a note of thanks for those who had saved him, causing her to smile a little as she added it to the others. Her father, on the other hand, set the bramble on fire and created some steam for him to use to get to the walkway above them, where a couple of undead legionnaires were gathering to stop them, not that Kratos cared as he cleaved his way through them.

The nearly lever allowed them to reach another level that had a good number of explosive containers that looked like they could pull them out and push one somewhere, even though Flurry dealt with a couple of undead by freezing and breaking them with her weapons, before they realized that the key to this area was to drop one of the explosives on the lower level to make the steam pillar larger.

Such a thing allowed her father to glide up to the underside of a stuck lift, something that caused it to lower into place in front of an ornate door, where Flurry glided down to the edge of the now freed lift as her father opened the door without wasting time, only to find that it was connected to a dead end passage full of the hands of Hades. With that discovery made Flurry glanced up at the ceiling and found another passage that the lift had been blocking, where she opened her wings and moved up into the area in question, causing her to call for her father to join her, who did so a couple of seconds later. The passage brought them to a set of stairs that were connected to an ornate structure, which gave them a fantastic view over the rest of the Underworld, though the nearby book informed them that the hellish landscape in the distance was, in fact, called the 'Pit of Tartarus', likely the deepest place in the entirety of Greece, where they could hear a titan off in the distance, or at least Flurry could. In addition to that they found that some of the stone statues came to life and tried to attack the pair, where both repeated what Flurry did back during their first adventure together, they quickly got behind the animated statues and pierced their backs, ending their existences in a few seconds.

The path at the other end of the area happened to be broken and required them to glide down to what appeared to be a set of stairs leading to another portion of Hades' domain, where they heard the sound of something being hammered, like a forge, and as Flurry glanced at the top of the stairs she found a somewhat familiar large figure working up there, only he wore no shirt and was more disfigured than she remembered.

"No... No it can't be. He can't be here. Hephaestus, is that you?!" Flurry asked, as the moment she noticed the figure she rushed up the stairs and landed on what appeared to be the central section of a forge area, where it looked like the god in question was resting in the heated material that was allowing him to heat whatever he was working on, and when the tall figure turned towards them Flurry could feel more pain in her heart.

"Ah, Flurry, Kratos, I've been expecting you. I knew Zeus would be unable to kill either of you." Hephaestus said, where he set something down and shifted around for a moment, allowing him to face them and give them more attention than he might give to someone else, all while showing that his body was definitely more disfigured than they recalled, in fact both warriors noticed what appeared to be bruises on his body.

"Why? Why are you imprisoned down here?" Kratos inquired, as this was outrageous, first they find that Zeus locked an innocent girl away in the heart of his mysterious Labyrinth, even though they knew Pandora had committed no crimes in her life, and now Hephaestus was apparently locked away in the Underworld, despite doing everything in his power to keep the King of the Gods happy.

"Because, in Zeus' fear filled eyes, I betrayed him. I made Pandora's Box, if you remember, and it was to house the Evils that were born after the Great War, which is what it did for many years," Hephaestus answered, though at the same time he asked for the hammer they acquired from the Barbarian King and Flurry, despite the rage that was coursing through her body right now, handed it over to the Smith God, who also took the onyx fragment and got to work while he talked, as he was great at multitasking, "to make the Box, however, I required a very special and powerful flame to work the metal into what Zeus desired, a fearsome flame known as the Flame of Olympus. Doing such a thing meant that the Flame could be a 'lock' for the Box, a true prison that it could never be sprung from, save for using the 'Key' that would undo the lock, a Key that became Pandora herself. Zeus originally intended to lock the Box in the Flame until the end of the world, so no one could use it, but the Sisters and I were able to convince him that placing it on Cronos' back, at the very end of a large and challenging temple, would keep it safe until we needed it's power... and we did, when Ares went insane."

"The Flame can only be destroyed if Pandora is sacrificed to it? I cannot blame you for your actions, Hephaestus, because you were doing what any true father should have done: protecting your child." Kratos stated, though as he stood there he found that he and Flurry were truly getting enraged by Zeus' actions, because every sin his father committed seemed to be far worse than the one that came before it, and the King of the Gods' lack of respect for the lives of everyone else was just pissing his daughter off.

"I know, I keep telling myself that... that everything I did was to keep Pandora safe. Anyway, after you opened the Box, and let out the Evils inside it, Zeus demanded the truth from me," Hephaestus said, where they could tell that he was doing his work on the weapon to keep himself distracted from the rage that was no doubt coursing through his body, as Zeus must have done something to enrage him as well, "I refused to tell him about Pandora, you see, because I knew that if he found out about her and her connection to the Flame he'd either hurt her, maybe even kill her to make the lock unbreakable, or he'd lock her away and steal her life from her. He beat me relentlessly... no, it is more accurate to say that he tortured me for days... trying to get me to reveal what I knew and why I had lied to him, but I refused to tell him anything, and when he struck me hard enough to put me on Death's Door, and disfigured me further, Pandora revealed herself to save my life, even though I was gladly giving it up for her sake. Zeus cursed me to remain in this place until the end of my life, making it so I could never see my beloved daughter again, and forced me to help construct everything that went into making the prison he locked her inside."

"So that's what you've been doing..." Flurry remarked, though her hatred for Zeus grew even more, because he tortured one of their friends, despite them no knowing Hephaestus that well, and nearly killed him when he refused to sacrifice his daughter to the madness that had overtaken the King of the Gods.

"Yes... toiling away for a mad god." Hephaestus said, where he raised the hammer for a moment and they found that the weapon looked nothing like it did when Flurry first picked it up, as it's handle was sleeker and more like the handle of the Blades of Chaos, while the head was more rectangular and crystalline and was missing the spikes the Barbarian King had put on it, and it had some designs on it that showed it had some magical power inside it, "There, 'Earthshaker' is complete. I used the bit of onyx you had to imbue the weapon with it's own elemental power, hence it's new name... it should aid you in your quest to stop Zeus. But that's not all you'll be doing, is it?"

"Hephaestus, after hearing all of that, there is no way we would leave Pandora to her fate. Tell us, how do we get to the area she is imprisoned in?" Kratos asked, though at the same time he and Flurry noticed something, there was a halberd resting near one of the statues the Smith God had made of his imprisoned daughter, likely something Hephaestus made in his spare time when Zeus wasn't demanding his full attention.

"That, Kratos, I cannot tell you, for I do not know. But, knowing you two, I'm sure you'll find the path." Hephaestus stated, showing them that he had faith in their abilities and was hoping that, against all odds, they would do the impossible again and save Pandora from her prison, and maybe get her out of the Labyrinth before Zeus realized what was going on.

Kratos nodded as they bid the Smith God farewell for the time being, where he found a lever that lowered a gate at the bottom of the stairs he and Flurry had walked up to reach this part of the Underworld, though while they walked he found that whatever seal his daughter had put on her full power seemed to slip, transforming her attire into the robed avatar of Death that installed fear into those that saw it. He knew that when this happened, and it was rare that it occurred, she was beyond pissed at someone or something, no doubt Zeus in this case, though he also knew that the only way to snap her out of this state was punishing whoever caused the change in the first place, or until she calmed down. The path in question brought them to a circular structure that they could rotate by using the crank that was directly in the center, though Flurry stared at the four bulky statues that were positioned around the area and gripped the new and improved warhammer as she waited for one of them to make a move. Oddly enough none of the statues came to life, allowing Kratos to access a path with bramble and used Apollo's bow to set the wall on fire, allowing him and his daughter to head out into another part of Hades' massive realm as they searched for a way to undo his binding on the gate they saw earlier.

The view on the walkway allowed them to see the path they had used when they first started exploring after Gaia told them to forget about Zeus, and it ended in another balcony that happened to have one of Pandora's statues at the edge, this one looking like she was receiving a gift of some kind.

"Pandora, we have spoken to your father and have learned more about the situation you are in. Can you tell us where your prison is located?" Kratos asked, taking a moment to lower himself down so he could look at the blue flame directly, since it felt strange to tower over the statue like he usually did, while at the same time Flurry kept an eye out for any enemies that might try to attack them.

I don't know where the heart of the Labyrinth is located, only that I'm somewhere between Olympus and the Underworld right now. Pandora replied, where Kratos could see that she was rubbing the side of her arm, not because she was hurt or anything, but rather it had to be because she was sad about her father's predicament and was upset with herself for not being able to do anything for Hephaestus, I suspect that if you make your way up to Olympus you'll eventually see my resting place in no time.

As Kratos nodded his head, however, he found that some undead legionnaires appeared around them, though Flurry was the first one to strike as she swung her new and improved hammer and crushed the chest of the undead that happened to be her first target, as Kratos could hear the bones break upon impact. In the next moment Kratos understood the reason why Hephaestus called it the 'Earthshaker', because when Flurry turned the weapon so that the head was pointed towards the ground and struck the ground he found spikes of earth erupting out of the floor, which pierced their foes right in their chests with ease. That was her not giving the weapon a specific foe to track down, because in the next moment he watched as she focused on the last undead and intentionally missed her attack so the hammer's head would hit the ground, creating an earthen spike to pierce her target's chest and kill it instantly. Kratos had to admit that he liked the Earthshaker more than what it had been before Hephaestus had worked on it, because now there was nothing to it that suggested it had been used by someone else, even though they both knew the truth, and Flurry even let him use the weapon for a time, allowing him to crush a few more undead legionnaires in the process.

Once the area was cleared they dropped down onto the area below them and used some grapple points to reach the area they had started in, where both warriors quickly returned to Hades' large statue before dealing with the bramble that was around the area, only to find two fiery cerberi growling at them. Apparently they were supposed to be guardians of the area, bad ones since they had fallen asleep on the job, though as Kratos repeated what he did before, stabbing the outer heads before removing the central one, Flurry smashed it's back repeatedly with the hammer. After that she made sure to crush all three of it's heads, putting the poor creature out of it's misery, before she joined Kratos as he forced the large door in front of them into the ceiling and walking into another chamber, requiring them to open another door to enter the main part of the area. Before either warrior could do that they had to defeat a few groups of undead legionnaires and a few undead dogs, which really were too much of a challenge as Flurry crushed her opponents into the ground and walls as her father literally tore them apart with his bare hands.

After taking care of their enemies Kratos forced open the door in front of them and found a ramp leading to what looked like a makeshift tomb of sorts for Persephone, complete with a coffin with a doll made to match the fallen goddess inside it, since they knew her body had dissolved into nothingness after her detonation, all while at the same time realizing that this place was also Hades' palace.

Welcome, Spartans. Do come in, make yourselves at home... trust me, it'll be the last thing you ever do. a voice said, where the pair knew it was Hades', since this was his realm and he had been observing them for a time, or at least both of them assumed so since he had been oddly quiet since their arrival in his realm, no doubt realizing that the ones who had killed his insane wife were running around the Underworld.

The pair discovered that there was a wheel nearby that was connected to a grated door on the upper level, so Flurry held it in the up position as her father found a pile of hard stone, on a float piece of wood designed for being pushed around, and moved it over to the wheel so he could shove it under the handle, locking it into place. Of course harpies came into the area to try and bother them, but the pair simply slashed all of them to bits before making sure the wheel wasn't going anywhere, though Flurry found a way up since there weren't any lifts for them to use right now, they just had to climb on the side of the large tree that was in the center of the chamber. Getting up there allowed them to see a few minotaurs and a few hounds running around, causing Kratos and Flurry to lash out at them, cutting and smashing all of them to pieces like all of the enemies they had come across so far, to the point where Flurry cut off one of the minotaur horns and used it by stabbing it's owner in the heart. It was actually rather disappointing for the supposed guards of Hades' palace, as they were expecting some of the greatest monsters in all of the Underworld to be here, but neither were going to question his decisions as they tore through the rest of their enemies and resumed exploring the rest of the structure.

A few moments later they found their way to the highest point of the structure, which had a statue of Hades and a crank that not only released and moved it's arms, but also raised the coffin up to this portion, though why it did that neither of them bothered to question, as it was Hades and if he wanted this than they weren't going to argue.

Flurry realized that their target was on the other side of the statue, meaning they had to use the coffin to burst through it's chest and that required finding a way to trap the hands so they didn't block the area that had to be their target, but with no way up to what had to be the controls for the chains both warriors were stuck. Fortunately both of them had the exact same thought at the same time, all they had to do was pull the coffin back and let it swing, where it's collision with the statue dislodged a ladder on either side of the chamber, leading to the smaller chambers in question. What they found was that both smaller rooms had wheels that could be locked into place, though while the right one had nothing for them to use to stop it the pair found a lift heading back to the first floor, where they could remove the stone blockage and use the lift to bring it up to the wheel. With that in mind Flurry returned to the main crank and got into position, so when her father called for her to get started she moved it and the cuffs opened, allowing her father to move his wheel to return the left hand to the cuff and locked it into position, causing her to do the same with the right, because with both arms locked there was nothing between the coffin and the statue.

With that done Kratos latched onto the coffin with his blades, pulled it back, and swung it at the statue, breaking a hole into the statue's chest and allowed both of them to jump into what appeared to be a darkened chamber of some kind, no doubt where Hades wanted to fight them.

"Ah, my guests have arrived... so good of you to carve out some time for us, as you know we need it." Hades said, his voice coming from the darkness ahead of them, in fact talking gave him away since Flurry was able to pinpoint his location with ease and could tell that he had his own sickle weapons at the ready, though he appeared to be waiting for a good time to do whatever he was thinking, "You know, I sense some bad blood between us... though to be fair, you two did murder my brother, Poseidon, and butchered my queen in cold blood."

"Your wife tried to destroy the world, Hades, and she knew how to unbind the titans... at the time, killing her to keep the peace was the only logical answer." Flurry stated, though she had a feeling that the God of the Underworld was going to be a pain in their rears, as in she suspected that he wasn't going to stand down and was going to come at them with the intent to murder them for the crimes they had committed against him, "And we tried to talk Poseidon down, we really did, but he was dead set on protecting one of the worst sinners in all of Greece... don't let his mistake repeat. Will you stand down, Hades, and let us continue on our way?"

"No, you have committed too many sins against me. I won't let you leave this place!" Hades replied, though as Kratos and Flurry got ready for a fight they noticed that the god wasn't coming at them right away, rather he seemed to be taking a few moments to think about what was going on, like her words might have reached him, "Your daughter asked a question, Kratos, so before your demise I'll let you ask one as well."

"I have only one thing to ask, as Persephone had no answer years ago: where did Lysandra's soul go?" Kratos asked, as he knew that since there was no reasoning with Hades, and asking him for directions seemed to be a waste of time as well, this was the only thing that came to mind before the battle started, a question that had been bugging him for years.

"Your late wife? Oh yes, I remember her... Zeus claimed her soul the moment she arrived, said something about having the perfect torment for someone like her. I wonder what he did with her." Hades remarked, where Kratos growled for a moment, as this was just the cherry on top of everything Zeus had done, to go so far as to deny his late wife her resting place with Calliope, and here Hades was, laughing like it was the funniest thing he could have said.

In the next moment, as Hades stepped out to attack them, Kratos grabbed onto Earthshaker for a moment, avoided both of Hades' weapons as Flurry bashed them to the side with her sickles, and jumped into the air as he swung the weapon, an attack that collided with the bottom of the God of the Underworld's head, knocking his helm clean off. Hades paused for a moment as he carefully touched his jaw, feeling the throbbing area that Kratos had struck, as he realized that Hephaestus must have granted them another new weapon to add to their arsenal, a powerful one that could rival some of the weapons they had collected so far. After that he decided to get serious as Flurry slashed into his side with her sickles, causing him to growl as they noticed how hideous his true face was, where he created a surge of chains that rushed out of the ground and targeted both of them without delay, only for Hades to frown as a magical sphere appeared around both of his opponents. Hades shifted his stance and called forth some of the souls he had captured over the years, manifesting transparent gray cerberi that growled at the warriors in front of him, only to find that Flurry slashed through them with her scythe, slaying them instantly, as they glared at each other.

Hades, in his rage, hurled his weapons in a way that caused the claws to tear into the structure that was around them and even the floor itself, breaking the area for some odd reason, before Kratos and Flurry countered with their weapons, a fact that knocked them backwards, before they snatched one claw each and yanked them away from Hades, stealing his own weapon and adding it to their growing collection.

The Claws of Hades were similar to both Kratos' blades and Flurry's sickles, weapons with chains that could be used to hit enemies that were further away, though as Hades got back up, half of his body stuck inside the river that was below this part of his palace, neither warrior bothered to use them. Kratos jumped into the air and struck the wounded god with the new hammer, breaking his hands and fingers as he did so, though Flurry crossed to the other side of the ruined structure, switched her scythe for another weapon, and plunged the Blade of Olympus right into Hades' exposed back. Sure enough the God of the Underworld let out a pained gasp as she did that, though to make sure he couldn't reach back to grab her Kratos stabbed both of his hands, using the Blades of Chaos for his right and the new Claws for his left, before pulling on them as he stood near the walls, restricting Hades' movements. Hades felt the pull of the Blade of Olympus as Flurry stole some of his own power from him, though as he resisted against her attacks she pulled her weapon out, appeared in front of him, and stabbed him right in the brain before he could even make an attempt to stop the attack.

Such a thing caused Hades to die on the spot, though all of the souls he had stolen over the years built up inside his body for a moment before bursting outwards, where Kratos watched as his daughter's magic washed over the entirety of the Underworld, causing the souls of the dead to peacefully return to their afterlives, and those who hadn't been judged were heading over to be judged.

"Flurry... are you okay?" Kratos asked, as he knew that when his daughter used this much magic, and on a grand scale no less, it usually exhausted her, not to mention the fact that killing another god had to weigh heavily on her mind, just like it weighed heavily on his.

"Not really... I don't want to kill any gods, not when our target is Zeus, but they're so doom driven that we have no choice but to end their lives." Flurry replied, because it only made her wonder just how many gods would fall before they found and killed Zeus, though at the same time she picked up Hades' helmet, adding it to her collection of items, while some of the still angry souls barrelled into Hades' body and dragged it until the river, "Come on, let's get out of here."

Kratos nodded as they departed from Hades' palace and started to retrace their steps so they could head back to the gate that was near where she had dropped them at the start of their visit to the Underworld, as it was time to see where it might take them and what else they needed to do before reaching Zeus.