The Death of Kratos

There was more damage than Kratos had realized.

The world was in ruins, pieces of the Earth were broken and scattered. There were no longer mountains; the floods had devoured most of them. No land meant nothing, there was barely any life left to walk across the lands. There was only destruction and death, and he was to blame. Power had ruined him; it took him too long to see that. Now everything was gone. The ghost of Athena, goddess of wisdom, looked at him happily. "You have done well, Kratos. Freed from the bondage of Olympus and cleansed in chaos, mankind in now ready to hear my message."

Kratos was enraged, "Look around you, Athena. The world stands in ruin! What good is your message?"

Kratos could not bear to look at her. The pretentious smile that covered her face mocked him, and reminded himself of his sin.

"Go if you must," she said with a flick of her hand as if pushing him away from her, "but first I insist you give me the power from inside the box."

That box, the box of Pandora. This mess started because of him, he was faced with an enemy, and was looking death into his cruel eye's when he promised Ares his soul to him if he only saved Kratos' life. When doing so, Kratos made a promise to do the will of the god of war. After what felt like a hundred years of killing, he was tricked by Ares into killing the only people he had ever loved, his wife and child. After that, Kratos was blinded with fury and rage, but he did not understand that then. All he wanted was to destroy the gods, and gain revenge from his loss. For him to succeed that mission he would have had to open the box of Pandora. Pandora, the key to the box made by Hephaestus, looked like child. She had reminded Kratos of his own daughter, Calliope. Pandora was sacrificed to open the box; she had said it was her destiny. She had died because of his selfishness, just as Calliope and his wife Lysandra had. All three of them were gone, dead because of him.

"The box was empty." Kratos said bluntly, staring gravely out into the death that was his world.

"That cannot be true!" Athena said, floating in front of Kratos and blocking his grim view. She stared at him, "I can see it in your eyes. You used my power to kill Zeus. You still have it as we speak!" Athena said. Kratos did not break his blank gaze, and Athena turned away bitterly; her arms folded in front of her ghostly, armored chest "When Zeus gathered all the evils and placed them in the box, I dreaded what would happen if it was open again.

"And so, I summoned the most powerful weapon in the world and placed it in the box." She finished. Kratos sighed, for a goddess of wisdom she had so much ignorance. Could she not understand? Perhaps she had mistaken the grief in his eyes for power. "I told you, it was empty. Pandora was sacrificed in vain." Kratos said sorrowfully, and he began to feel drops of rain beat against his bare, scarred chest. "She died because of my need for vengeance."

Athena shook her head in disagreement, "You must be mistaken. You used my power to kill Zeus, I watched you do it! Unless…" Kratos looked at Athena when she stopped to ponder in mid-sentence, and he raised an eyebrow with confusion and curiosity. "Of course," Athena said, Kratos could hear the spark of understanding and realization in her voice.

"When you opened the box, you released the evils to the Gods. The evil infected them; changed them. Zeus himself fell prey to the dark evils. This is why he became so enraged and obsessed with your death. He was consumed by evil. Fear. I thought the power I placed in the box was never released. All these years I assumed you drew the evils from inside to destroy Ares. But I was wrong…

"The power you took from the box is mine. From it you gained the strength Zeus could never destroy, strength great enough to overcome fear. Locked deep inside of you Kratos, is hope."

Kratos remembered Pandora speaking of hope. How it's what we fight with when all else is lost. How its light would save all from the darkness of evil. That is why we are here, we live for hope. He raised one of his hands, and saw a blue, fiery light dance across his palm. Athena and he both admired its beauty, than Athena spoke again. "It has remained buried, trapped by your guilt and the failures of your past. When you killed Zeus you must have allowed something to awaken it." Kratos continued to stare at the bright fire in his hand, and Athena looked at him and spoke gently. "What was it, Kratos?"

His mind was blank, all Kratos could do was think of his family and Pandora. He thought of their forgiveness, their hope that he would one day understand. "What was it, Kratos?" Athena said more harshly and determined. He lowered his hand, and looked at Athena.

"All I remember is what I have lost." He said sadly, and began to walk away.

Athena's eyes watched him, "That is why you should give me the power. I understand its true meaning and where it belongs. I trust you to do the right thing, Kratos." Kratos turned back to face her,

"You shouldn't."

Kratos sat on the rock of what used to be part of a high mountain. Athena's eyes flashed with anger as she looked at him. "You owe me this, Kratos!" She shouted at him, infuriated. Kratos looked to his left, and saw the sword of Olympus lying on its back. He knew what to do.

"I owe you nothing." He said standing and facing Athena. His sword was in his hand, and shining with power.

"I made you a god!" She screamed at him, "I sheltered you from the wrath of Olympus, and I delivered your revenge on Zeus!" Kratos looked down at his blade,

"It is over Athena."

Her eyes became wide with surprise and shock, "You would dare strike me, again?" She said.

Kratos looked up at her, and grunted. "My vengeance ends now." Kratos's blade began to glow, and he raised it to strike.

"No, you can't!" Athena shouted desperately, shielding herself with her hands. Kratos whipped the weapon around, and brought it toward his left and grabbed it so that he was wielding the blade with both hands. He stared at it for a moment; he knew what he had to do.

Kratos turned the blade so that the tip was facing his abs, and he forced the sword through his stomach. He growled with pain, he could feel his blood all over his body and a burning pain inside of him. Athena stepped back, and gasped "You fool! What have you done?" Athena shrieked. Kratos began to feel his power and energy slip away quickly; its light shining brightly for all to see. "No!" Athena said, repeating it over and over. "That was meant for me!" She shouted at Kratos as he fell onto his knees. He was filled with pain, and he could feel his life passing away and leaving him. Athena motioned toward the distant, "They will not know what to do with that power!"

Athena took a deep breath, and floated over to Kratos. The sword was still through his body, and he was just barely breathing. She raised his head to make him look at her, "You disappoint me, Spartan." Kratos grunted, and breathed heavily through his teeth. The pain he felt burned inside of him like a fire, but soon he knew he would be satisfied. Athena ripped the sword from his stomach hard, and Kratos gasped. He watched her float away, leaving him to die. His vision began to blur as he slowly lowered himself from his knees to his back. The sword left a large, gaping hole in the middle of his body. Kratos coughed blood, and gasped. His blood flowed away from him, and within moments Kratos ceased to struggle for air. He no longer needed to breathe.