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Early Life
Born in the Greek city-state of Sparta, Kratos is the demigod son of the King of the Gods, Zeus, and a mortal woman named Callisto, with unique superhuman godly powers and abilities, although he would remain unaware of who his father was for most of his life. Outraged at Zeus for fathering yet another bastard child, Hera ordered Kratos' execution on the day he was born, but the King of the Gods took pity on the child and refused, leaving him in Sparta to be raised by Callisto.
Like all Spartan youth, Kratos, with an incredible set of superhuman godly powers, (unknown that he is Zeus' son and the one whom he inherited the abilities), was monitored and trained for combat by the Spartan authorities; those who were deemed fit were to stay and be trained as Spartan warriors, while those who were deemed unfit would be sent to the mountains (probably Mount Taygetos) to fend for themselves. Already feisty and aggressive at a young age, Kratos trained together with his younger brother, Deimos, who's also a demigod, as they dreamed of joining the Spartan army when they grew up. Around this time, Zeus began to hear prophecies foretelling his demise at the hands of one of his sons, a "marked warrior". Hoping to circumvent the cycle of patricide before it was too late, Zeus sent Ares and Athena to hunt down and dispose of the boy who would one day rise up against him. Ares, noticing Deimos' strange birthmarks, decided to invade Sparta with an army of centaurs and take him to Thanatos, the God of Death. Kratos tried to save his brother, but Ares punched him into a pile of wood, leaving him with a permanent scar over his right eye.
Insulted by the mortal's defiance, Ares prepared to kill the young Spartan but was stopped by Athena. The Goddess reminded Ares that they had what they were looking for, and apologized to Kratos before disappearing into the flames. The loss of his brother left an indelible mark on Kratos, as he vowed to never falter again. In honor of his brother, Kratos had himself tattooed in the exact image of Deimos' birthmark. Kratos would later forget that it was Ares and Athena who took his brother from him and wouldn't realize it until after Ares' death.
As Kratos came of age, he became a respected member of the Spartan army, eventually marrying Lysandra and siring a daughter, Calliope.
Quest for the Ambrosia and Rising through the Ranks of The Spartan Army
Shortly after her birth, Calliope contracted a plague, causing the Spartan authorities to deem her weak. Spartan law required that she be thrown into a chasm and left to die. Determined to save his daughter, Kratos set out on a journey for the Ambrosia after hearing from an elder of its exceptional healing capabilities. But unbeknownst to Kratos, Ares had chosen him to be his champion in the wager of the Gods, a contest with the ultimate goal being the capture of the Ambrosia; the victor would have statues erected in their honor all throughout Greece. A battalion of Spartans accompanied Kratos on his quest, including Captain Nikos. Along the way, he encountered a healer who gave him the Flames of Apollo.
Kratos eventually encountered Poseidon's champion, Herodius, and killed him as the Spartans conquered his army and stole their ship. Enraged at Kratos for costing him the wager, Poseidon unleashed a handful of hazards at sea in the hopes of killing him but failed. Later on, Kratos encountered Artemis' champion, Pothia, and killed her as well, with her army also falling victim to the Spartans, although Artemis did not retaliate. In fear that Kratos would defeat his champion, Alrik, the Barbarian King, Hades sent a torrent of fire through the sky. Although he failed to kill Kratos, he succeeded in killing many of Kratos' men, including Captain Nikos. As he found the Ambrosia, Kratos encountered Cereyon, the Helios' champion, and killed him as well.
Alrik and his Barbarian army battled the Spartans for the Ambrosia, as Alrik's Father was very ill and in need of the elixir. After a grueling battle between the two leaders, Kratos successfully captured the Ambrosia at the cost of his own men and summoned an army of Rocs to continuously torture Alrik. Kratos then returned to Sparta and healed Calliope, obtaining the rank of 'Captain' from the King of Sparta.
At some point after becoming captain, Kratos would command a young soldier named Atreus who remained hopeful even in the darkest times. When the day came for Atreus to lay down his life in battle, he did it without hesitation and saved many others, earning Kratos's respect. The captain carried Atreus home on the soldier's shield and personally buried him will full honors of Spartan custom, acknowledging him as the only Spartan who ever had a smile on his face even in battle.
Birth of the Ghost
Sometime later Kratos became a Spartan General and as a general and a demigod (unknowingly), Kratos won battles against other armies with brutal, but effective tactics. However, his pride and hunger for power grew greater with every victory. Despite Lysandra's pleas, Kratos vowed to continue his bloody conquests "until the glory of Sparta is known throughout the world", spending time with his family only when he was able to return to Sparta.
Kratos and his army finally met their match when they encountered the merciless Barbarian tribes from the East, led by Kratos's old enemy, Alrik. Outnumbered and overpowered, the Spartans quickly found themselves on the losing end of the battle, with Kratos himself left at the mercy of Alrik the Barbarian King, who sought revenge against Kratos for inadvertently causing the death of his father. In desperation to save his life and refusing to admit his defeat, Kratos called out to Ares, the God of War, pledging his allegiance in exchange for victory. Ares accepted the offer, proceeding to kill all of the Barbarians, giving Kratos the Blades of Chaos as a sign of his servitude and immediately after receiving them he used the Blades of Chaos against Alrik and decapitated him, ending the battle in Spartan victory.
For a time, Kratos served Ares loyally, raiding villages, slaughtering innocents, and spreading chaos in his name. Under the God of War's influence, Kratos became utterly ruthless and gradually lost any semblance of the humanity he once had. One day, during a raid on a village of Athena's followers, Ares secretly transported Lysandra and Calliope to a nearby temple. Ignoring the village oracle's warnings, Kratos entered the temple and slaughtered everybody inside in a fit of blind rage, including his wife and child (whom he believed were still in Sparta). Ares justified this as a means of severing Kratos' remaining attachments to the world of mortals, thereby molding him into the perfect warrior. Stricken with horror and grief at what he had done, Kratos left the bodies of his family to be burned within the temple, ultimately renouncing his allegiance to the God of War. The oracle cursed Kratos, forcing him to forever wear the ashes of his dead family on his skin.
From that day forward, Kratos became known as the Ghost of Sparta; his skin now 'pale as the moon' from the ashes that coated him. To other mortals, he was now marked by his ghostly white skin - the knowledge of his past actions often repulsed them to the point where they would rather die than allow him to save their lives. He became known as the personification of cruelty and selfishness. Word of this metamorphosis would spread even outside of Greece as Norse god and advisor to Odin, Mimir who would become a future ally to Kratos himself would later on instantly recognize who Kratos was.
Redemption and Vengeance
For breaking his oath, Ares ordered The Furies to hunt down the Ghost of Sparta and force him to once again serve the God of War. Meanwhile, Kratos finds himself in the abandoned village of Kirra, where he is trapped in an illusion of his home in Sparta, with his blood oath inhibiting memories of him killing his wife and daughter. The Furies' oath-keeper, Orkos, appeared before him and encouraged him to see past the illusion, using Lysandra's necklace and ring to break it. Although Kratos distrusted him, he followed Orkos's instruction to seek out Aletheia, the Oracle at Delphi. She had earlier been captured by Pollux and Castor, but Kratos killed them both and took the Amulet of Uroborus. He spoke with the dying oracle, who revealed Ares' plan to mold Kratos into a warrior capable of overthrowing Zeus, thereby allowing Ares to become the new King of Olympus. Kratos then traveled back to Kirra, where he encountered Orkos once again. The oath keeper revealed that he is the son of Ares and Alecto, one of the three Furies.
Orkos explained Ares' intentions to Kratos. As Zeus had forbidden the Gods from waging war on one another, Ares sought to breed a warrior capable of destroying Zeus in his stead, so that Ares may usurp him and rule Olympus for himself. Disappointed in Orkos' complete lack of fighting skills, Ares disowned his son. Instead, Orkos became oath keeper of the Furies in an attempt to please his mother, Alecto. Ares saw in Kratos the makings of the warrior he needed to overthrow Zeus, and for that reason, he helped him against the Barbarians that day. The murder of his family was meant to be one of three "tests" that would bind Kratos to Ares' will: the slaughter of one's enemies, the slaughter of innocents, and the slaughter of one's own family. Orkos did his mother's bidding as oath keeper and did not question her until Ares tricked Kratos into killing his family. Armed with this knowledge, Kratos took a ship to Delos.
Once there, Kratos traversed a giant, ruined statue of Apollo, where he was attacked by all three Furies. In the ensuing confrontation, Kratos managed to cut off Megaera's arm, but Alecto used her power to capture him. Orkos appeared and freed Kratos, escorting him to another location, with Alecto vowing that he would never succeed. After a perilous journey, Kratos used the Amulet of Uroborus to fully restore the statue and retrieve the Eyes from the Lantern. But after completing the Trials of Archimedes, he was once again ambushed by the Furies, who take him prisoner and steal both the Eyes and the Amulet.
For two weeks, the Furies tortured Kratos in the Prison of the Damned. The Spartan eventually managed to free himself and pursued Megaera through the prison. She and Tisiphone attempted to misdirect him with an illusion of a brothel. When he went to sleep with a woman inside, he spotted a ring on her finger and realized that it was a trick. He responded by tackling Tisiphone, but Megaera intervened and insisted that Kratos belongs to her. Megaera released insects into Aegaeon's hands and mouth, mutating them into insect-titan hybrids. Kratos retrieved the Amulet of Uroboros by killing Megaera and the Hecatonchires, only for Tisiphone to create an illusion of him being honored by the King of Sparta. Kratos saw through it and, progressing further into the prison, found the Scribe of Hecatonchires, the first mortal to ever be imprisoned by the Furies. The Scribe revealed that the Furies were originally fair in their punishment, and became ruthless only under Ares' influence.
Making his way to Alecto's chamber, Kratos retrieved the Oath Stone from Tisiphone's pet bird, Daimon. Upon entering the chamber, the Furies project another illusion, this time of Kratos' home in Sparta. He is nearly taken in by this, for he saw his wife and daughter again. He came close to sleeping with the image of Lysandra, but soon notices the ring on her finger, revealing her to be Alecto. She then tries to convince Kratos that he could live in this illusion forever if he rejoined Ares; however, noticing the Eyes of Truth hanging on her hip, he refused, preferring the truth to living a lie. Enraged, Alecto drops the illusion and threatens to execute him if he would not serve Ares. Kratos breaks free of her sludge trap and snatches the Eyes from Alecto, who retreated back into her sanctum before she realized they were gone. Tisiphone joined Alecto as Kratos advanced on the remaining Furies. They created an illusion of a massive whirlpool, with Alecto transforming into a horrific sea monster.
Using the Eyes, Kratos broke through the Furies' illusions and forced Alecto back into her human form. As he advanced on the Fury Queen, Tisiphone dispatched Daimon once more, but Kratos simply used the Eyes to destroy the bird. He proceeded to strike Tisiphone, shapeshifting between the forms of the King and Kratos himself, as she belittled him. As he wrapped his hands around her throat, Tisiphone transformed into the form of Lysandra, causing Kratos to briefly hesitate. Tisiphone then changed into the Village Oracle, telling Kratos that his family was not there by mere chance the night he killed them before Kratos snaps her neck. With only Alecto left, Kratos drew his blades. The Fury Queen coldly tells him that the truth would only bring him pain before he plunges his blades into her chest. With her last breath, Alecto spitefully promises that her death would change nothing.
With all three of the Furies dead, Kratos returned to his home in Sparta, where Orkos congratulated him on his victory. At the same time, he also revealed that he was made the new oath keeper, thereby maintaining Kratos' bond with Ares. He begged Kratos to give him an honorable death, as it would free them both from the God, to which Kratos initially refused, proclaiming that no more innocent blood should be spilled. Orkos'a continuing pleas ultimately forced Kratos's hand. With this act, Kratos experienced the first of many nightmares, previously masked by his bond to Ares: this was the price he had to pay for breaking his oath. He also discovered his path to redemption through continual service to Olympus. Kratos proceeded to burn down his house, with the corpse of Orkos inside it.
Service to the Gods
For the next decade, Kratos faithfully served the Gods of Olympus in whatever tasks they required of him. During the fifth year of his atonement, he joined the army of Attica in their struggle against the invading Persian Army and the great beast they brought forth. After a lengthy battle, Kratos killed both the Persian King and the Basilisk, before asking the gods if they wished him to do more in his servitude. At that moment, the Ghost of Sparta saw the Sun fall from the sky and vanish, leaving the world in darkness.
Sensing a plot at work, Kratos followed the last remnants of light on the horizon, eventually reaching the Temple of Helios and the city of Marathon. Upon consulting with Athena, Kratos realized that Helios, the God of the Sun, had been kidnapped by an unknown force, allowing Morpheus, the God of Dreams, to put the other Olympians in a deep slumber. With the Gods of Olympus incapacitated, Kratos was tasked with finding and rescuing Helios before Morpheus could seize control of the land by covering Greece under his Black Fog. Fighting through Morpheus' minions, Kratos entered the temple of the Sun God and, after learning of the events that transpired, was tasked by Eos, the sister of Helios, to awaken her brother's Fire Steeds, which would take Kratos to where Helios was being held prisoner.
Having awakened Helios' Steeds, Kratos was taken to the Underworld where he saw Helios' glowing light in the distance, right before the Pillar of the World. Kratos fought his way through Hades' domain, acquired the mighty Gauntlet of Zeus, entered Tartarus and killed Charon, the ferryman of the dead. Kratos then discovered that the Titan Atlas had somehow escaped Tartarus and captured Helios.
Throughout his journey, Kratos was plagued by illusions of his daughter, Calliope, and the song she played on the flute that he once gave to her. When Kratos reached the Pillar of the World and the Temple of Persephone that lay nearby, he had already forgotten his task, thinking only of reuniting with his daughter. He encountered Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld who had been kidnapped by Hades and forced to wed him. She revealed that Kratos could be with his daughter again if he relinquished all of his powers to the Forsaken Tree. Desperate to see his daughter again, Kratos did as she asked, and she allowed him to enter the Elysium fields where he met with his daughter and was seen happy for the first time since he became the Ghost of Sparta.
Kratos willingly abandoned the Gods to their fate but Persephone appeared before him, revealing that it was she who freed Atlas and asked him to capture Helios. With his help, she devised a scheme to destroy the Pillar of the World, thus killing the Gods of Olympus and all of mankind as well. She taunted Kratos with the knowledge that he may live with his daughter for a short period, but would ultimately see her die again upon the completion of her plan. Kratos then forced himself to become the Ghost of Sparta again by killing the innocent souls of Elysium and regaining his powers. Whilst giving pursuit to Persephone, he realized that he would never have the chance to be with his daughter again. As he heard her crying behind him, his hatred for the Gods of Olympus deepened.
An enraged Kratos succeeded in killing Persephone and chaining Atlas to the ground above the Pillar of the World, thus completing his task. Before he left the Underworld, Atlas asked Kratos if he truly believed that the Gods would keep their promise. Kratos replied that it was the only thing he could hope for now since he could not go back to Elysium. With the use of the Fire Steeds, Kratos then escaped the Underworld, but found himself too exhausted from the journey and fell from the Chariot to the ground below. He was saved by Athena and Helios, who then leaves him unconscious upon the cliffs overlooking the Aegean Sea.
The Final Task
en years after beginning his service to the Olympian gods, Kratos was commissioned with killing the Hydra and bringing peace to the Aegean Sea. Along the way, Poseidon granted him the power of lightning and implored him to use it against the Hydra and Kratos engages Hydra in a bloody battle, Hydra almost devours Kratos, but Kratos, thanks to his blood of divinity, used his superhuman strength to open the Hydra's mouth in order to emerge himself out before overwhelming Hydra. After a long and vicious battle, Kratos emerged victorious by impaling the Hydra's front head on the ship's mast. Entering the decaying Hydra's throat, Kratos retrieved a boat key from the ship's Captain. For unexplained reasons, he refused to save his life and instead allowed him to plummet to his death. The Ghost of Sparta celebrated his victory that night with wine and women but continued to suffer from nightmares of his past deeds. Distraught, he approached one of Athena's statues and asked her when he would be free from his past. She told Kratos that his final task would be to find Pandora's Box and use the power inside it to destroy Ares. Kratos, having finally been granted an opportunity for revenge against the God of War, asked Athena if the gods would take his nightmares away upon completing this task. The goddess, however, refused to provide a clear answer, and instead offered him an intentionally vague promise of forgiving his past sins. Nonetheless, Kratos interpreted this answer as a 'yes' and set sail for Athens anyway.
Arriving at the docks of Athens, Kratos made his way through the besieged city, killing countless minions of Ares in the process. Encountering Aphrodite in a nearby temple, Kratos decapitated the infamous Medusa, Queen of the Gorgons, at her behest. In return, Kratos was granted the power to freeze his enemies where they stand. He later acquired lightning bolts from Zeus as well, using them to strike down a terrified Athenian guard after he refused to lower the bridge, thereby allowing Kratos to cross. Progressing further into the city, he briefly encountered the Athenian Oracle, who was then kidnapped by a pair of Harpies before she could speak to him. Giving chase, he soon found himself outside the Oracle's temple, where he observed a gravedigger (later revealed to be Zeus) digging a grave. Kratos inquired as to who would occupy it, to which the gravedigger answered that Kratos will. The Ghost of Sparta is alarmed by this answer, but the gravedigger reassures him that "all will be revealed in good time, and when all appears to be lost, I will be there to help".
Progressing further into the temple, Kratos finds the Oracle dangling from a nearby cliff and rescues her. She immediately suspects that Kratos is motivated by something other than a desire to do good, and looks through his memories. The Oracle is horrified by Kratos' past deeds and asks why Athena would ever call on someone like him. Kratos angrily grabs the Oracle by the throat and throws her aside, telling her to stay out of his head.
The Oracle informed Kratos that Pandora's box could be found in Pandora's Temple, located just beyond the Desert of Lost Souls on the back of the Titan Cronos. She warned the Ghost of Sparta that none have ever survived Pandora's temple, but Kratos is unfazed. A statue of Athena appeared before Kratos at the desert entrance, telling him that he must follow the song of the sirens and destroy all three before he can progress further. After doing so, he finds the Titan Horn and uses it to summon Cronos. Kratos begins to climb the Titan, arriving at Pandora's temple three days later. Just outside the temple's entrance, he notices a gatekeeper (who is revealed to be the undead spirit of the first mortal to ever attempt Pandora's temple) tending to a pyre of dead bodies. As punishment for his failure, the gods forced him to watch over the entrance for all eternity, and burn the bodies of any soul foolish enough to try and conquer Pandora's temple. Believing Kratos would fail just like all the others, he disinterestedly wishes the Ghost of Sparta good luck before opening the gates. As the Spartan made his way through the temple, he encountered both Artemis and Hades, from whom he gained the Blade of Artemis and Souls of Hades, respectively. Along the way, he defeats countless monsters (including a giant armored Minotaur), survives impossible traps, and sacrifices a caged Athenian soldier before finally reaching Pandora's box, being the first demigod ever to do so. However, this did not escape the notice of Ares, who responded by hurling a large broken pillar towards Pandora's Temple, impaling Kratos. The Harpies collected Pandora's Box and took it back to Ares, while Kratos died and fell into the Underworld. But Kratos, due to his immortality, manage to wake himself up and fight his way out of the Underworld as he plummeted to the River Styx, Kratos grabbed hold of the Captain's leg and used it to climb to safety before kicking him down below into the River Styx.
Reaching the top again, Kratos managed to escape the clutches of Hades via the same hole that the Gravedigger had been digging earlier. He tells Kratos that Athena is not the only god watching over him and that he still has one final task to complete before his sins are forgiven. Journeying through the now destroyed city of Athens, he reacquires Pandora's Box from Ares and uses it to grow tremendously in size and gain a substantial amount of power in order to battle Ares on more even footing, Kratos engages Ares in a long brutal battle with Kratos gaining the upper hand as he proves to Ares that he's not a mortal. After a vicious fight, Ares traps Kratos in a psychological void where demonic incarnations of himself attempt to kill phantom versions of his family. Kratos successfully fights them off but watches helplessly as Ares strips him of his Blades of Chaos and used them to kill his family again. Kratos, now distraught and vulnerable, nearly met his end at the hands of Ares, but soon took notice of the Blade of the Gods and finally kills Ares with it.
Though his past had been forgiven, the Gods refused to relieve him of his nightmares. His last bit of hope taken from him, Kratos attempted to commit suicide by jumping from a cliff. However, Athena had a different plan for the Spartan; she saved his life and offered him the now empty throne of the God of War on Olympus. Kratos accepted the offer, sat upon the fallen god's throne, and became the new God of War.
As the God of War
Kratos entered Tartarus once again in search of the Ambrosia in order to destroy it, for the Disciples of Ares desired to use it to resurrect their now dead God. Throughout his journey, Kratos received flashbacks of his first quest for the Ambrosia. Making his way through Tartarus, Kratos encountered and defeated a giant arachnid monster. After pulling his blades out from the beast, Athena spoke to him in an attempt to warn him about new dangers on the path he took once before. Kratos shrugged off her warnings, confident that nothing would stop him.
Later, he encountered Athena again and was told by the goddess that it is now the dead he must fear. Again, Kratos ignored her warnings, proceeding to find the dead bodies of Spartan soldiers who had accompanied him on his earlier quest for the Ambrosia. Rising from the dead, they attempted to kill Kratos in retaliation for abandoning them, although he defeated them all. The island then revealed itself to be a monstrous beast named Gyges, who sought revenge against Kratos after one hundred of his arms were burned off in his battle with Helios' Champion. Kratos, however, incinerated Gyges with the Flames of Apollo, destroying the Tree of Life and all of its Ambrosia. He then left the island, knowing that the disciples of Ares would hunt him down for destroying the last hope they had at reviving their fallen God.
Sometime later, Kratos experienced visions of his mother being held at the Temple of Poseidon in Atlantis. En route to Poseidon's city, Athena attempted to dissuade Kratos from his mission, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. His ship was then attacked by the Scylla. Chasing the monster off, he received another vision, this time of his childhood training with his brother Deimos. He entered the temple and encountered his long presumed dead mother Callisto, who assured Kratos that it is really her, to his shock. She then tells him that his father had taken her there and that Deimos is still alive; trapped and tortured in the Domain of Death. Both shocked and angered, Kratos asked who his father was and why she lied to him all those years ago. Before Callisto could tell him, she is transformed into a hideous beast, forcing Kratos to fight and critically wound her. Callisto used her dying moments to thank Kratos for setting her free and encouraged him to pursue Deimos in Sparta.
Enraged over the gods having taken yet another member of his family, Kratos embarked on a journey to save his brother, defiantly ignoring Athena's orders that he turn back. At one point, Kratos encountered the Titan Thera, imprisoned inside a volcano, who told him he would be incapable of leaving if he did not free her. After forcefully imbuing the Blades of Athena in the Titan's chest, Kratos obtained Thera's Bane and left the volcano. In releasing Thera, Atlantis' fate was sealed.
Upon his descent, he impaled the Scylla, who had been pursuing him relentlessly ever since his arrival, finally defeating the monster. Before returning home, Kratos found himself under attack by Erinys, Thanatos' daughter. Following Erinys' defeat, Kratos returned to Sparta, killing the Piraeus Lion and a Dissenter before entering the Temple of Ares (then in the process of being converted into the Temple of Kratos), where he would find the key to saving his brother. The Spartan then made his way back to the sinking city of Atlantis, although his route was fraught with danger as Poseidon had unleashed an enormous whirlpool at sea and attempted to blast Kratos from the sky in retaliation for the destruction of his city. Kratos survived Poseidon's assault, only to be contacted telepathically by the Sea God via one of his broken statues, warning him that he would pay for what he had done to Atlantis. Sometime later, Athena inadvertently revealed to the Spartan that it was she, along with Ares, who had taken Deimos from him that day, justifying their actions on the grounds that he was a threat to Olympus. This revelation deepened Kratos' hatred for the Gods even further. Proceeding onward, Kratos entered the Domain of Death and the Temple of Thanatos where he finally found his brother Deimos. Kratos set Deimos free, only to be attacked by him, as Deimos blamed Kratos for not helping him when in dire need. Witnessing the battle from close by, Thanatos intervened and snatched Deimos. Barely able to stand from his fight with Deimos, Kratos followed Thanatos to the Suicide Bluffs and quickly rescued Deimos from falling to his death.
After being reunited and reconciling their differences, the Spartan brothers took arms and joined forces against Thanatos. The God of Death taunted the brothers, recalling the oracle's prophecy that a "marked warrior" was destined to destroy Olympus. He comments that Zeus, Ares, and Athena chose the wrong "marked warrior" that day: it was Kratos who should have been taken away, not Deimos. Thanatos then said that it didn't matter anymore and that nothing Kratos does is of his own choosing. Kratos shouted that no one, not even the gods decide his fate, to which Thanatos laughed and said the gods decide, and the Sisters of Fate make it so, further commenting that Kratos was nothing but a pawn in a game that he didn't know was being played. In a climactic battle, Thanatos took Deimos' life, only to have an enraged Kratos take his in return. Kratos then took the lifeless body of his brother to his grave.
After putting Deimos in a grave dug by the enigmatic Grave Digger, Kratos stated that his brother was now free. He once again attempted to kill himself at the bluffs, but ultimately relented, asking himself what he had become. The Grave Digger, who had been close by, prophetically answered "Death, the Destroyer of Worlds" before vanishing. Athena then pleaded with Kratos to forgive her, and offered to empower him to full Godhood, but saw her pleas ignored, as Kratos promised her that the Gods would pay for their actions.
Kratos began to isolate himself from the other Gods and spent most of his time assisting Sparta in its conquest of Greece. During a siege on an unknown city, he was attacked by Argos, Hera's pet. Before he could defeat the beast, however, an unknown Assassin killed it in his stead, apparently trying to destroy his reputation on Olympus. Kratos pursued the Assassin but saw his progress halted by the minions of Hades, causing him to believe that the Assassin was Hades in disguise (this notion is further supported by the fact that Hades already resented Kratos for the death of his wife Persephone). The God of War continued his pursuit, only to be stopped by Ceryx, a messenger of the Gods, who allowed the Assassin to escape. On Zeus' orders, Ceryx told Kratos to cease his pursuit. Providing no valid reason, Ceryx only managed to infuriate the God of War. Kratos killed the messenger on the spot, instantly realizing that Zeus would not stand for this action.
When Kratos sent his Spartan soldiers to conquer Rhodes, Athena implored him to stop, as the other Gods grew weary of his destructive behavior. Kratos, as usual, ignored her warning and instead plunged down to the Earth, aiding his army in further destroying the city. An eagle soon appeared and robbed Kratos of his immense size and a significant chunk of his godhood powers, reducing him to the size of an ordinary human. Despite this, he retained some of his god powers, enabling him to easily defeat the warriors of Rhodes. The eagle imbued Kratos' god powers into the Colossus of Rhodes, which was then brought to life.
Kratos fought a long and arduous battle with the giant until Zeus offered help in the form of the Blade of Olympus, which he himself used to end the Titan War. Infusing the remainder of his god powers and immortality into the blade, Kratos defeated the Colossus. As he shouted to the heavens, the statue's falling hand crushed him, knocking the Blade of Olympus out of his grasp. Severely wounded, and stripped of all of his powers, Kratos knew his only hope of survival lay with the Blade. Limping towards it, the eagle soon reappeared and revealed itself to be Zeus in disguise (Kratos originally believed Athena was responsible). Zeus informed Kratos that he didn't want to suffer the same fate as Ares, and demanded that Kratos surrender and serve him forever. However, when Kratos refused, Zeus attacked and killed him by driving the Blade into his abdomen. Zeus would then proceed to use the Blade's power to kill everyone else present during the battle of Rhodes, most notably most of the Spartan warriors, much to Kratos' horror. In his dying breath, Kratos swore that Zeus would pay for his treachery.
Changing His Fate
Kratos was dragged down by the arms of the Underworld. The Titan Gaia, who had been watching him his entire life, saved Kratos, sealed his wound, and gave him the strength to escape death once again. Kratos, who still has some god powers, manage to fight his way out from the Underworld, resurrecting back to life, he instructed the last surviving soldier to return to Sparta and prepare for battle.
Kratos then took Pegasus, a gift from Gaia, and attempted to fly back to Olympus so he could exact his revenge, but discovered that he could no longer enter Olympus, as he was no longer a God. Instead, Gaia instructed Pegasus and Kratos to seek out the Sisters of Fate. She informed him that the Sisters had the power to travel back in time, which he could use to reclaim back his god powers, his status as god, the Blade of Olympus and take his revenge on Zeus. Kratos first traveled to Typhon's lair, where he met with Prometheus, who begged him to release him from his torment in the Fires of Olympus. Kratos, after stealing Typhon's Bane from the Titan, used it to break Prometheus' last chain, sending him down into the flames, burning him alive and finally releasing him. His ashes granted him the power of the Titans.
Kratos then made his way to the Island of Creation, where the Pegasus was attacked by a pack of Griffins. After defeating the undead soldier who led the pack of griffins, Kratos made a death defying leap off of Pegasus and onto the Island. As he continued his journey, he questioned Gaia over her reason for aiding him. Gaia then tells him the story of the Titanomachy and how the Olympians betrayed her and overthrew the Titans. Armed with this knowledge, Kratos continued his quest and soon encountered Theseus, who guarded the Steeds of Time. Theseus laughed and mocked Kratos' quest to destroy Zeus and challenged him to a fight, wanting to see who was the greatest warrior in all of Greece. Theseus was defeated after Kratos skewered him with his own spear and repeatedly slammed the door shut on his head. Kratos then used the Horse Keeper's Key to gain control of the steeds, moving the temple of the Sisters of fate closer and connecting the two together.
Kratos made his way through the Bog of the Forgotten where he encountered an undead foe from his past, Alrik the Barbarian King. Having escaped Hades' torment, he traveled to the Island of Creation for two reasons: to change his fate and exact revenge on Kratos. They engaged in a fierce duel, with Alrik summoning the souls of the dead (including the Captain) with his mighty hammer. Eventually, these souls were either destroyed (again, including the Captain) or absorbed by Alrik, using them to increase his size. Ultimately, Kratos shrunk the king back down, seized Alrik's hammer and used it to crush his skull, killing him once more. Looking upon Alrik's corpse, memories of Kratos' past came back to haunt him, but he pressed on anyway.
Entering Euryale's temple, he obtained the Golden Fleece from a wounded soldier (whom he then sacrificed by throwing his body under a cog, jamming it), which could deflect enemy attacks. Kratos used this weapon to defeat a nearby Cerberus and, eventually, Euryale herself. Enraged at Kratos for decapitating her sister Medusa, Euryale fought with great ferocity but was defeated when Kratos pulled her own head off as well. With the Gorgon sister's death, Kratos used Head of Euryale to turn his enemies into stone. Progressing further, he soon came across another statue of Athena, who implored him not to trust Gaia and to cease his quest for vengeance. As usual, Kratos ignored her warnings and pressed on.
Soon afterward, Kratos encountered his half-brother Perseus, who was on a quest to save his beloved Andromeda from Hades. Perseus challenged the Ghost of Sparta to a fight, believing it would prove his worth to the Sisters of Fate and allow him to rescue Andromeda; or, if not that, would at least allow him to "bathe in the glory of being the one to bring down the mighty Kratos". However, Perseus was no match for Kratos, who made short work of the legendary Greek hero by breaking all of his equipment and impaling him on a large hook. Kratos then took his shield and used it to enter the Courtyard of Atropos. Reaching the Great Chasm, he was confronted by an elderly Icarus, who had by this point lost his sanity.
Icarus tries to get Kratos to stop his quest, rambling on about how it is "MY TEST!!!" while telling him that he would never make it across the chasm. Annoyed, Kratos tries to push him aside, but this does not deter Icarus. He continues to get in Kratos' way and yell about the futility of his quest, telling the Ghost of Sparta that "THIS IS MY TEST" and that only he can fly across the chasm and receive an audience with the Sisters of Fate. Kratos takes hold of his throat and declares "I will make it to the Sisters of Fate and I will use your wings to do so." Icarus tackles Kratos, causing them both to fall off the ledge and plummet to Underworld. Their fight continued as they fell, but ended when Kratos ripped off Icarus' Wings and drop-kicked him down in the Underworld, sealing his fate. However, Kratos managed to fly to safety by landing on Atlas.
Gaia then told him that he needed to return to the surface, prompting Kratos to travel across Atlas' body and destroy part of his chains. This relieved some of the Titan's burden but called attention to Kratos' presence. He scolded Kratos for having the nerve to show his face to him again, after what he had done. Intent on crushing the former God for his imprisonment, Atlas ultimately ceased his attempt to kill Kratos when he revealed that he was now an enemy of Zeus, and sought to change his fate in order to destroy the King of the Gods. Atlas told Kratos more about the Great War and how it ended when Zeus created the Blade of Olympus. Atlas gave Kratos some of his power and lifted him back to the surface, where he continued his journey into the Palace of Fates.
There, he took two scholars hostage and forced them to read an incantation that Kratos himself could not read before ultimately sacrificing them both. Soon afterwards, he encountered the last remaining Spartan warrior, only this time shrouded in darkness. With neither of them aware of who they were facing, both warriors engaged in battle, intending to reaching the Sisters themselves.
Eventually, the Last Spartan fell prey to Kratos' Blades as they tumbled out of the stained glass window into the light, revealing their identities to each other. The Spartan warrior informed Kratos of the fact that Zeus had destroyed Sparta before succumbing to his wounds, causing Kratos to be overtaken with anger and shout to the Heavens. Blinded by rage, he was then attacked by the Kraken, providing little resistance as it proceeded to strangle him. Held firm in its grasp, Kratos then saw an astral projection of his wife, which was actually Gaia in disguise, encouraging him to go on and tell him that Hades will torment him for all eternity if he dies. She told Kratos that the Titans wanted him to lead them into battle before empowering him with the Rage of the Titans. Kratos, ultimately regaining his will to live, engaged the Kraken in battle and killed it. Then, using the Phoenix, he made his way to the Sister's main stronghold.
Kratos entered the Sister's throne room and met with Lahkesis, who told him that the Fates decided upon the destinies of all, and how it was she who allowed him to come as far as he did. She then proclaimed that it was not his destiny to kill Zeus. By this point, Kratos had no interest in negotiation, telling her that they no longer had any control over his destiny, ultimately threatening to kill her if she did not let him pass. This enraged Lakhesis, who then engaged the Ghost of Sparta in battle. Kratos almost immediately gained the upper hand and inflicted heavy damage on Lakhesis, infuriating her even further. She summoned her sister Atropos, who took Kratos back in time to his battle with Ares, attempting to destroy the Blade of the Gods so that his past and present self would cease to exist. Kratos subdued her before teleporting himself back to the present. Lakhesis grew ever more frustrated and engaged once more, only now with Atropos in tow. After a long and hard battle, he trapped them both in a time mirror and shattered it, imprisoning them for good. Kratos then proceeded on to Clotho, who implored him not to go forward with his manipulation of fate. Kratos, having pinned all of Clotho's lower body parts to the ground, ascended to the top platform and impaled her with one of her own instruments, instantly killing her. Kratos then took control of his own life thread in the Loom Chamber, proceeding back in time to the point where Zeus betrayed him.
Once there, Kratos, now having claimed his full godly powers and abilities back, becoming a full god once again, immediately charged at Zeus and tackled him. Shocked by Kratos' sudden reappearance, Zeus assumed that the Sisters of Fate had helped him somehow But as Kratos pulled the Blade of Olympus out of his past self, he claimed that all three Sisters are dead. Zeus then commented that he had underestimated Kratos, but that he would not do so again. Both men charged at each other, engaging in a vicious battle through the skies before landing on the Summit of Sacrifice, where Zeus soon reappeared in his full God form. Zeus summoned an army of sirens to aid him while hurling lightning bolts at Kratos, only for the Ghost of Sparta to use the sirens to paralyze Zeus and plunge the Blade of Olympus into his oversized hand. Infuriated, Zeus elected to shrink back down to mortal size and engage Kratos directly. The God eventually manages to take the Blade away from Kratos, only to lose it once more as Kratos drives the blade into Zeus' abdomen and throws him against a nearby set of standing rocks. Zeus soon manages to swipe the Blade of Olympus out of Kratos' hands a second time but loses it again when Kratos impales Zeus with the blade and throws him against another set of standing rocks. The Ghost of Sparta then ascends the structure and drops the top slab onto Zeus, greatly infuriating the God. Zeus, having had enough, reverts to his full Olympian size and unleashes a powerful lightning storm on Kratos. Yielding defeat, Kratos put down the Blade of Olympus and asked the King of Gods to release him from his torment, to which Zeus responded: "I will release you from your life, my son, but your torment is just beginning" before moving in to kill the Spartan.
However, this is revealed to have been a trick by Kratos, who then deflected the blow, slammed Zeus' head against a nearby rock before pinning Zeus down with his Blades. Taking the Blade of Olympus back, Kratos furiously drove it into Zeus' abdomen, intending to kill Zeus in the same way he had killed Kratos in Rhodes. Athena appeared moments later and charged at Kratos, begging him to stop. Zeus then took advantage of the situation and tried to flee, but this did not escape Kratos' notice. The enraged Spartan made one final attempt on his life, only for Athena to jump in the way and take the blow herself. A distraught Kratos asked Athena why she sacrificed herself, to which she replied: "to save Olympus". She further revealed to Kratos that Zeus is his father and that his actions were driven by fear. Zeus' intention was to finally break the cycle of patricide by killing Kratos, whom he now recognized as the "Marked Warrior" destined to bring about the final destruction of Olympus.
Athena begged Kratos to forfeit his quest for revenge, warning him that all of Olympus would unite against him and that should he succeed in killing Zeus, the world would be destroyed. By this point, Kratos' sanity and compassion for others had been completely drained, and he vowed to destroy all of the Gods along with anyone else who stood in his way. Traveling back in time to the Titanomachy, he brought the Titans with him to the present and led them forth to Mount Olympus to confront the Gods one last time. Meanwhile, a badly weakened Zeus calls forth a meeting of the Gods (although only Poseidon, Hades, Hermes, and Helios are present), urging them to put aside their differences and unite against their common enemy, Kratos. Moments later, Mount Olympus begins to tremble as the Gods look down in horror at the ascending Titans, who are now accompanied by Kratos. The Ghost of Sparta yells out to his father, declaring that the reign of the Olympians is now over.
The Second Great War
Zeus immediately ordered his fellow Olympians, along with his demigod son Hercules, to attack Kratos and his Titan allies, although Zeus himself opted to stay out of the fray for the time being as he was still recovering from his last battle with Kratos. The Olympians initially had the upper hand, however, as Hades successfully dislodged several Titans with his claws, while Poseidon shot down from Olympus like a torpedo and struck a death blow through Epimetheus' chest, sending the Titan to his grave. Moments later, Poseidon resurfaced within a colossal watery construct in his image, spawning several Hippocampi to aid him in battle. With Poseidon as their greatest threat, having already decimated numerous Titans and now going after Gaia herself, Kratos engaged the God of the Sea in a vicious battle. Kratos freed Gaia from Poseidon's Hippocampi, allowing her to grab the Sea God and slam him into the mountain. With Poseidon pinned down, Kratos moved in to attack. The enraged Spartan pounded Poseidon with his blades, while the God tried to defend himself with his trident. Eventually, Kratos shattered the massive rock formation on Poseidon's chest, exposing his weak spot.
Poseidon broke free of Gaia's grasp by attacking her with more Hippocampi. However, the Spartan quickly broke Poseidon's hold over Gaia, allowing her to throw a devastating punch which sent Kratos on a collision course with the god of the sea, knocking him out of his watery construct and onto a nearby cliff. Kratos grabbed Poseidon and threw him against the rocks, watching as his water construct disintegrated and collapsed into the sea. As the Ghost of Sparta moved in to finish him off, Poseidon told Kratos that no matter how many gods fall, there would always be another to stand against him. Unfazed, Kratos retorted that any god who gets in his way will meet the same fate. Poseidon, realizing just how insane and vengeful Kratos has become, warned him to relent, stating that the death of Olympus would mean the end of the (Greek) world. Kratos, again, is unfazed, and coldly responds: "Then prepare for YOUR death, Poseidon". Kratos then grabbed Poseidon by his neck and battered him uncontrollably, slamming his uncle's head against the rocks before throwing him against a large boulder. In desperation, a visibly terrified Poseidon attempted to crawl away and escape back into the sea, but Kratos easily caught up with him, gouged his eyes out, and snapped his neck before tossing his corpse off the mountain. With Poseidon's death, the seas unleashed a cataclysmic flood that engulfed all of Greece, drowning almost all of the Greeks, save for those on Olympia and other mountaintop locations.
The Spartan climbed back onto Gaia's hand and they both continued onward to Zeus' pavilion, where the King of the Gods angrily anticipated Kratos' arrival. Gaia wrapped her palm around Zeus' platform, trapping him there as an eager Kratos jumped down from Gaia's hand to confront Zeus. The enraged Spartan taunted the King of the Gods, reminding him that with Athena's death, there was no one left to protect him. In response, Zeus told Kratos that Athena died because of his blind rage, asking him how far he was willing to go to sate his need for vengeance. Kratos then boasted that neither the Sisters of Fate nor the gates of Hades could stop him, ultimately declaring that Zeus would not live to see the next sunrise. As Kratos and Gaia prepared to attack, Zeus summoned a massive bolt of lightning which he used to knock both Kratos and Gaia off of the mountain, in the hopes they would fall into the River Styx below. The resulting blast tore off a portion of Gaia's arm, causing her to struggle to maintain her grip. Kratos urged Gaia to help him as he too was losing his grip, but the Titan refused, claiming that doing so would cause both of them to fall off the mountain. Kratos reminded her of why she saved him from death, to which Gaia replied that he was nothing more than a pawn whom they no longer needed, as the Titans had finally reached Zeus.
Betrayed yet again, Kratos plummeted from the mountain and found himself stranded in the Underworld once more. Contemplating his life as he lurched through the River Styx and its caverns, he resolved to escape Hades and destroy Zeus once and for all. After being drained of nearly all of his power by the dead souls of the River Styx, he met the ghost of Athena, who claimed to have reached a "higher existence" and offered to help Kratos exact his revenge on Zeus. Suspicious of this turn of events, Kratos demanded to know why she had such a sudden change of heart as she died protecting Zeus. Athena then explained to Kratos how she saw truths where she did not before, and to regain his trust, she transformed Kratos' ruined blades into the Blades of Exile, which would help him survive the Underworld and the foes that awaited him. She then instructs him to find and extinguish the Flame of Olympus, claiming that it is the source of Zeus' power.
Kratos made his way through the Underworld, meeting lost souls, stealing Apollo's bow from Peirithous by burning him alive, and encountering The Judges, who decided that Kratos was not yet ready for the afterlife before urging him to proceed forward. Along the way, he would encounter a statue of Pandora, which called out to Kratos. Initially mistaking its voice for Calliope's, he soon realized that it was someone else and tried to walk away. Before he could, the voice claimed to know all about Kratos, telling him that everybody on Olympus was terrified of him, to which Kratos replied: "there are reasons for that". Pandora tried to tell him more, but she was interrupted by the voice of Hades, who mocked Kratos. The Spartan ordered Hades to reveal himself, only for the God of the Underworld to reply that Kratos was too impatient and that soon enough, they would have their time to play. Descending deeper into the depths of the Underworld, he encountered a despairing Hephaestus, the Craftsman of Olympus as well as the God of Volcanoes and Fire, who blamed Kratos for his exile to the Underworld as well as the disappearance of his daughter Pandora. Despite his grievances, however, Hephaestus was passive and did not attack Kratos, even offering him helpful information about the secrets of Olympus, his adopted daughter Pandora, and Zeus.
Progressing further into Hades' kingdom, Kratos occasionally found mysterious notes that he silently acknowledged as being from various people in his past. He eventually found and entered Hades' Palace, using the coffin-wed body of Persephone that Hades had restored to open a pathway into a dark room where he would encounter the Lord of the Underworld himself. Once there, Hades recounted his grievances against the Ghost of Sparta, blaming him for the deaths of Athena, Poseidon, and especially his beloved queen Persephone (seemingly unaware of or indifferent to her hatred for him, and her plot to destroy the world) before telling the Spartan that he would make him suffer for all of the pain he has caused him. Emerging from the darkness, Hades tried to rip Kratos' soul out of his body and absorb it, but was unsuccessful. As the room lit up, Kratos immediately engaged the God of the Underworld, viciously tearing off and destroying chunks of his flesh before he could reacquire them and heal himself. As the battle wore on, Kratos used his blades to carve up Hades' neck in an attempt to remove his helmet, which only enraged the Underworld God further. Hades responded by tearing open a crevice in the ground, hoping to pull Kratos into the River Styx. However, Kratos intercepted Hades' claw with one of his blades, ensnaring the two weapons together and initiating a tug of war. With his other blade still free, Kratos continued to fend off Hades' attacks and damage him even more as the enraged god promised Kratos that his death would only be the beginning of his suffering. The Ghost of Sparta continued to have the upper hand, damaging Hades to the point where he could easily fire his other blade and use it to form a noose around Hades' neck. Kratos proceeded to slam his uncle's head into the roof until his helmet was finally dislodged, robbing him of his Claws and causing him to plummet into the River Styx in the process.
The Underworld God was not finished, however, drastically increasing his size and emerging from the River Styx in a last ditch effort to destroy his enemy once and for all. Using Hades' own claws against him, Kratos further weakened the God of the Underworld and attached the claws to his now exposed, damaged skull, ripping the soul right out of his body, killing him. Hades' death caused all of the souls in the Underworld to run rampant, tearing a giant hole in his abdomen which Kratos used to escape the area. Now in possession of Hades' soul, Kratos gained the ability to swim through the River Styx unharmed and use the Hyperion Gate at will.
Kratos once again emerged in Hephaestus' lair. The Smith God then asked Kratos if Hades was truly dead, to which Kratos responded in the affirmative. Hephaestus laughed in approval, claiming that Hades deserved to suffer but thought his death was impossible. Imparting more information to the Ghost of Sparta, Kratos bade farewell to Hephaestus and used a Hyperion Gate to escape from the Underworld.
Back on Mount Olympus, on the outskirts of the city of Olympia, Helios rode by on his chariot and threw some fireballs at Kratos, prompting him to give chase. In the process, he encountered a struggling Gaia, who was amazed by his survival and asked Kratos to help her. Remembering Gaia's earlier betrayal, he adamantly refused to help her, instead severing her arm as she desperately asked Kratos if she meant nothing to him. The Ghost of Sparta retorted in a show of cruel irony it was, in fact, Gaia who was the pawn, his pawn while telling a pleading Gaia that the war against Zeus was "his war" and not hers. Kratos then destroyed the root of Gaia's hand with the Blade of Olympus, sending a screaming Gaia plummeting to her presumed death. Later, he finds Helios engaged in a battle with the Titan Perses. Using a nearby catapult, he knocked the Sun God into Perses' grasp. The Titan then crushed him in his hand and threw him across the city. The Spartan proceeded to hunt Helios down and finish him off.
He eventually found Helios, but the badly injured Sun God summoned a phalanx of shield-carrying soldiers to shelter him from Kratos' onslaught. The Spartan took control of a nearby Cyclops and used it to eliminate the phalanx completely. With no other options left, Helios tried to trick Kratos into sparing his life with a promise that he would repay him in full. Although suspicious, Kratos considered the offer and asked Helios where he could find the Flame of Olympus. Helios refused to provide a straight answer, instead warning him of the futility of his quest, to which Kratos responds "of all the lives you should worry about Helios, mine is not one of them". With his guard lowered, Helios attempted to blind Kratos with a beam of sunlight. Although this momentarily stunned him, Kratos blocked out the sunlight long enough to make his way back to Helios and begin stomping his head. The Sun God soon relented and told Kratos that in order to receive the Flame's power, he must step into the Flame itself. However, Kratos immediately knew that this was a lie, as Hephaestus had already told him that the Flame is lethal to both mortals and Gods alike. Helios tries in vain to dissuade Kratos from believing the Smith God, calling him a "freak that has fallen from the graces of Olympus", but Kratos responds that this is exactly why he believed the Smith God in the first place. Having run out of options, Helios resigned himself to his fate, although he remained defiant to the end, telling the Spartan that his death would not lead him to Zeus, to which Kratos disagrees.
The Spartan then grabbed the Sun God and pulled his head off with his bare hands, causing the sun to be permanently veiled by dark clouds and rain storms. Although Helios was now dead, his head could still emit intense sunlight, and Kratos used it as a lantern to light his way through the dark caverns of Mount Olympus. Perses attacked the Spartan on his way up the mountain (presumably to avenge Gaia), forcing Kratos to kill him.
As Kratos reached the Labyrinth, he was confronted by Hermes, who joyously teased and mocked the Spartan warrior both for his past failures and the foolishness of his current vendetta against Zeus. Kratos attempted to ignore Hermes at first, believing him to be nothing more than a "fly from the ass of Zeus", but Hermes continued to provoke him, stating that the only reason he doesn't provide chase is because he knows he will never catch him, before speeding his way up the Chain of Balance away from Kratos. The Ghost of Sparta slowly ascended the Chain of Balance until he reached a chamber containing Pandora's Box. Surprised to see the box, Athena soon appeared and told him that there is a dormant, unused power inside that he will need to defeat Zeus, although the box was inaccessible due to it being sealed off and engulfed by the Flame of Olympus. Athena further explained that in order to quell the Flame, he would need the box's namesake, Pandora herself.
Hermes reappeared the moment Athena departed and provoked Kratos into chasing him. Along the way, Hermes childishly mocked and belittled Kratos for his lack of speed and his perceived stupidity. Although he was reasonably successful in providing chase, Hermes soon found a narrow chain leading to the head of a large statue which Kratos could reach. Hermes sped across the large chasm and made his way to the top of the statue, telling Kratos to "keep up". Greatly underestimating the mortal, Hermes was soon knocked from his perch and severely weakened after Kratos used a nearby catapult to destroy the statue. He also used his blades to attach himself to the catapult fodder, using it to close in on Hermes.
After the statue collapsed, Kratos noticed a leftover blood trail and used it to corner a now defenseless Hermes. The Spartan made short work of the Speed God, who then bitterly insulted him for his lack of honor and the terrible things he has done. Kratos then grabbed Hermes and sliced off one of his legs, watching as the humiliated God attempted to squirm away before slowly approaching him and brutally cutting off his half-brother's other leg. The loss of both of Hermes' legs resulted in his death and caused a deadly plague to spread across the land, affecting all human, animal, and plant life. Kratos took Hermes' boots, using them to traverse wide chasms and proceed further into the halls of Olympus.
Eventually arriving in an empty forum, Kratos encountered a drunken Hera, who ordered his half-brother Hercules to destroy him as she watched from above. Hercules expressed resentment towards Kratos, claiming that Zeus had always favored him before stating his desire to kill Kratos (calling it his 13th and final labor) and claim the God of War throne for himself. Kratos told Hercules that his aspirations are a waste of time since the reign of Olympus is coming to an end. Hercules replied "we will see about that" before ordering his legions to attack Kratos. Easily besting his undead warriors, Hercules himself joined the fray, using the Cestus he acquired from his conquest of the Nemean Lion to fight Kratos while ordering his legions to swarm him, allowing Hercules a clean hit. After a long and brutal fight, Kratos grabbed Hercules and carried him to the beds of spikes lining the forum walls, throwing him into them and tearing off all of his armor. This only served to provoke Hercules, who then killed all of his legions with an earthquake punch and engaged Kratos one on one. As the fight went on, Hercules grew increasingly impatient and clanged both of his Cestus together, temporarily stunning Kratos. Hercules took this opportunity to brag to Hera about his impending victory, only for Kratos to attack him from behind and take Cestus away from him. Now with no weapons, Hercules tried to best his half-brother using his bare hands and legendary strength, hurling portions of the forum wall at Kratos and eventually lifting the floor out from underneath him in the hopes of causing the Ghost of Sparta to fall to his death. Kratos used the Cestus to climb back up onto the platform before punching it back down on top of Hercules, trapping him underneath. Kratos proceeded to beat his half-brother to death with the Cestus, mutilating and completely destroying his face until the floor beneath them broke, causing them both to plummet to the sewers underground.
Later, he encountered a radiant Aphrodite and her handmaidens in the goddess' chamber. Aphrodite did not seem to care about Kratos' war on Olympus and asked the Spartan to have sex with her. After some initial hesitation, Kratos indulged Aphrodite before using the nearby Hyperion Gate to visit Hephaestus, who sarcastically asked Kratos if his wife "had conquered another God of War". Kratos did not answer his question, telling him that it is a matter between Hephaestus and his wife, before questioning the Smith God on the whereabouts of Pandora. Hephaestus, knowing full well what Kratos intends to do with Pandora, demanded that he stay away from her, telling him that it's his fault that she is imprisoned in the Labyrinth and the reason that Hephaestus was exiled to Hades. Kratos insists that he has never wronged Hephaestus, but the Smith God tells him that by opening Pandora's box in his quest to destroy Ares, Zeus became infected with Fear and surmised that Hephaestus was hiding something from him. Zeus tortured the Smith God until he confessed to the creation of Pandora, a key to the box which had taken on a life of its own, with Hephaestus loving her as if she was his own daughter. Zeus took Pandora away from him and banished Hephaestus to Hades. Seemingly unmoved, Kratos insisted that he will stop at nothing to obtain his revenge. Hephaestus then decided that the only way to stop Kratos would be to send him on a suicide mission. To this end, he asked Kratos to retrieve the Omphalos stone (unbeknownst to Kratos, it was contained in the belly of the Titan Cronos), promising to make him a special weapon with it.
Having journeyed through Tartarus, he found the severed hand of Gaia resting in the palm of Cronos, who immediately accused Kratos of murdering Gaia. Blaming him for the torment he now suffers in Tartarus (Zeus banished Cronos thereafter Kratos conquered the Temple of Pandora), Cronos attempted to kill the Ghost of Sparta. Initially attempting to crush Kratos between his fingers, the Spartan used Helios' head to temporarily blind Cronos and escape death. Landing on Cronos' arm, he went unnoticed by the Titan until he scaled his arm and destroys a massive pimple. Cronos made several more attempts to flatten Kratos with his hand, only to have one of his fingernails dislodged, causing great pain to the Titan. After scaling Cronos' hand, Kratos once again blinded the Titan before making his way to the belt that kept Pandora's Temple chained to his back. Kratos opened the belt and attempted to remove the crystal nail holding Pandora's Temple in place before Cronos grabbed him and attempted to smash Kratos between his palms. Kratos survived, however, by plunging the Blade of Olympus into one of his palms, eventually making his way to Cronos' shoulder joint. After using a skinless Cyclops to damage Cronos further, the Titan decided to eat Kratos, who then took the Omphalos stone from his stomach and used the Blade of Olympus to escape, spilling the Titan's entrails in the process. Cronos begged the Spartan to leave, as he now had what he came for.
However, Kratos ignored his pleas and once again made his way to Cronos' belt, dislodging the nail and driving it into Cronos' chin. Now in tremendous pain, Cronos called Kratos a "coward" who "murders his own kin". Kratos then stabbed his grandfather in the forehead with a completely charged Blade of Olympus, killing him.
The corpse of Cronos collapsed just above Hephaestus' lair, and Kratos angrily accused the Smith God of sending him on a suicide mission. Hephaestus pleaded innocence, claiming that he knew Kratos could handle himself, before taking the Omphalos stone and forging the Nemesis Whip. Hephaestus then tried to electrocute Kratos with his Ring in a final attempt to kill him, shouting "Here is your retribution!". Kratos managed to shake off the effect and kill Hephaestus by impaling him on his own anvil. In his dying words, the Smith God begged Kratos to spare his daughter, as well as begging for Pandora's forgiveness, after which he passed away. However, Kratos appeared to bear no ill will towards Hephaestus as he knew the sentiment behind his betrayal, as he later told Pandora that Hephaestus had done what any father should: protecting the life of his child.
Using the Nemesis Whip to make his way through the Gardens of Olympus, he encountered a depressed and drunken Hera once more. Blaming Kratos for the deterioration of her garden along with all other forms of life on Earth, she ineffectually struck him but was easily pushed aside. She then taunted Kratos by telling him that his simple mind would never find a way out of the garden, although he eventually did. Deeper into the garden, Kratos encountered Hera one more time, and she continued to express her hatred for him because of what he was doing to the planet. Kratos tried to ignore her and continue on until she called Pandora a "little whore", causing him to choke her and brutally snap Hera's neck. Her death caused all plant life to wither and die.
Kratos returned to the Labyrinth and met an imprisoned Daedalus, who was the Labyrinth's main architect. Zeus promised him that he would have his son Icarus back once he completed the Labyrinth, but instead imprisoned him in one of the Labyrinth's traps. Nevertheless, Daedalus continued to delude himself into believing that Icarus was still alive and that Zeus would come through. His hopes were ultimately crushed when Kratos revealed that Icarus was dead (although the Spartan neglected to mention that he was the one who killed him by ripping off his wings and allowing him to fall into Hades), causing Daedalus to sob uncontrollably. Soon afterward, and despite Daedalus' pleas, Kratos pulled a lever in order to progress, ultimately setting off a trap that killed the poor inventor. Moments later, he rescued Pandora from the Labyrinth and took her with him. Initially believing her to be nothing more than an object, she reminded Kratos so much of his daughter that he grew to care for her as his own child. With Pandora in his possession, he had one final task ahead of him: neutralize the Three Judges. To this end, he travels back to the (now completely abandoned) Underworld and severed the Chain of Balance, destroying the Three Judges in the process. Making his way back up to the Flame's chamber, he raised the Labyrinth so that Pandora's box could be accessed. At this point, Kratos began to have second thoughts and refused to let Pandora sacrifice her life. Pandora resisted, telling Kratos that she did not want to be treated as a child and that she needed to embrace her destiny, only to be interrupted and apprehended by Zeus himself.
Kratos ordered Zeus to let go of Pandora, only for the King of the Gods to refuse and berate him over his apparent obsession with Pandora, referring to her as an "object". Zeus told Kratos that he should not confuse Pandora with his own flesh and blood, but mused that he already had. He cited the destruction of Olympus and the world as proof of Kratos' need for atonement before expressing absolute horror at his son's actions, telling him to look around at what he has done. Kratos, in turn, snarled that he only saw what he had come to destroy. Zeus then expressed regret over taking pity on Kratos, calling it the "greatest mistake" he had ever made, before telling Kratos that taking pity on Pandora would be his greatest mistake. Kratos angrily insisted that it had nothing to do with her, with Zeus replying that it had everything to do with her. The increasingly agitated Spartan once again ordered Zeus to put her down, to which he responds by callously tossing her aside. Father and son engaged in battle once more as Olympus continued to crumble around them. Meanwhile, Pandora tried to run into the Flame, intent on pacifying it, although Kratos attempted to stop her. However, Zeus inadvertently provoked Kratos into letting her go by stating that he should not fail her like he failed his family, causing Kratos to attack Zeus in a fit of extreme rage.
Kratos then opened the Box once again, only to discover that it was empty. Zeus then mocked him for "another stunning failure" and went outside to recover, while Kratos' fury boiled even further. Outside, father and son met again on the pavilion. Zeus, overlooking the destruction his son caused, mused that he would have a lot of work to do after defeating Kratos, who urged his father to face him in combat, stating "it is time to end this", to which Zeus agrees. But before either could claim victory, the platform suddenly began to tremble as a reawakened Gaia grabbed hold of the pavilion. Kratos expressed shock at her survival, only for Gaia to blame the Ghost of Sparta for the destruction of her planet (not realizing that Kratos and Gaia shared the same goal of destroying the gods, and that the destruction he caused would have happened anyway). She attempted to crush the pavilion between her hands, declaring that father and son would die together. Seeing no other exit, Zeus and Kratos were forced to enter the wound on Gaia's chest (still present from her battle with Poseidon) and dueled near Gaia's heart, sucking the life out of it. Kratos managed to kill both Zeus and Gaia by simultaneously impaling both with the Blade of Olympus.
Awakening amidst the cracked earth, Kratos tried to leave, but Zeus' still active spirit, consumed by some lasting hatred for his infidel son and empowered by Fear, attacked Kratos, draining him of his willpower and anger, and instead of filling him with fear and loss, bringing him to the verge of death. Trapped inside his own mind and tortured by his memories, Kratos was aided by the spirit of Pandora, who helped him abolish the various torments of his soul. With her help, Kratos finally forgave himself for killing his family and Athena before he dove into The Pool of Blood and confronted his inner demons in the form of his slain victims. Overcoming these hurdles with the power Hope, Kratos returned to the physical world and with a stronger resolve, regaining back his god powers and his will, he managed to free himself from Zeus' choking grip. He then furiously attacked Zeus' spirit, ultimately forcing it back into his own body, temporarily resurrecting a weakened Zeus.
Kratos then realized that Zeus was now so weak that he no longer needed the Blades to kill him. The Spartan cast his weapons aside and charged at Zeus, who attempted to hold Kratos back. However, he easily broke through Zeus' defenses and slammed him against a rock, causing black smoke (presumably Fear) to escape from Zeus' mouth. Kratos then furiously beat Zeus to death with his bare hands, thus finally fulfilling his goals of revenge and signifying the end of the Olympians' reign once and for all (Ironically, in doing this final act, Kratos has inadvertently fuffiled Ares' wishes of defeating Zeus and ending the Olympian rule). The chains around Kratos' arms loosened as Zeus' body exploded, plunging the world into complete chaos. With the reign of Olympus now over, Kratos looked out over the horizon and finally came to realize just what he had done.
Arriving to congratulate Kratos, Athena asked him to turn over the power he claimed from Pandora's Box, stating that mankind was now ready to hear her message. Kratos responded that the world now stands in ruin, and therefore whatever message she has is now useless. Athena once again told him to give her what he found in Pandora's box, only for Kratos to tell her that the box was empty. However, Athena saw the power in his eyes and told him that she was the one who put the powers of Hope inside the box. Kratos reflected that Pandora had died in vain, only to serve his need for vengeance. He was consumed with grief over her death, as well as the death of the world around him.
Athena ordered Kratos to return the power he had obtained, as she believed it rightfully belonged to her. For now that the world was cleansed by chaos, she would rebuild it under her rule, using the power of hope. She then quickly came to realize, however, that when Kratos first opened the box to kill Ares, the evils were released and infected the gods of Olympus, whereas she initially believed that all of the evils went into Kratos. As the evils took hold of the gods, the power of hope instead infused itself into Kratos. Buried underneath all of the years of guilt, anger, and need for revenge, Hope was finally released when Kratos learned to forgive his past deeds, thus releasing its power. Kratos, wracked with guilt over the world's destruction and realizing that he had nowhere else to go and nothing left to live for, committed suicide by impaling himself with the Blade of Olympus. As a result, the power of Hope was inadvertently released into the mortal world, angering Athena. The Goddess told him how disappointed she is, to which he merely responded with a tiny smirk and a faint laugh. She then pulled the Blade out of Kratos' body and disappeared, leaving a heavily breathing Kratos to die. The wounded Spartan then laid himself down, laughing softly as he lowered his head down the ground, and slept in a pool of his own blood, his breathing echoing throughout the end, seemingly ready in letting death grab his soul.
A New Beginning
Over a century after the destruction of Olympus, Kratos lives a secluded life in the Northlands, the realm of the Norse gods. It is revealed that the chaos caused by Kratos only destroyed the Greek World instead of the entire planet, and different mythologies are separated by location (but within each location contains a differing cosmology). After 75 years of solitude he met Faye, a fierce warrior from a sundered realm, and engaged each other in battle. The fight was brief as they shared world weariness and soon after got to know one another and eventually fall in love. Ten years later they build a house in the Wildwoods and Kratos divulges his past to his wife and hides the blades in the basement, still being unable to be rid of them. Kratos forbade Atreus from ever going down into the basement because he wanted to keep the blades (and his past) hidden from Atreus. Twenty-two years pass as Faye gives birth to a son named Atreus, although she initially wanted to name him Loki. The boy was raised mainly by Faye, who taught him how to hunt and how to read the Nordic language, among other things. Per Faye's request, Kratos never took Atreus hunting since the boy was constantly sick. When Faye spoke about the Aesir Gods, Kratos decided to listen to her stories.
In an effort to practice control, Kratos would often "test" himself by venturing into the woods in search of enemies. While Faye thought Kratos was looking to pick fights, Kratos was actually seeking to control his rage by not fighting and only defending and deflecting attacks until his enemies tire themselves out. It is implied he failed repeatedly until, in one instance, he encountered wolves and succeeded in fending them off. However, trolls appeared and were able to push Kratos to the point he lost control and he slaughtered the trolls with ease, causing Kratos great anger with himself. Kratos would continue to "test" himself, resulting in him not being home very often. This led Atreus to believe Kratos does not care about him or Faye.
Kratos rarely instructed Atreus to perform any chores since he was always away and did not know how healthy Atreus was. Instead, he reinforced Faye's instructions such as when Faye told Atreus to cut some firewood, Kratos (after forcing it out of Atreus) enforced the decision and told Atreus to pull his weight.
The Marked Trees
A couple of years later, Faye died due to unexplained reasons and requested that her family take her cremated ashes to the highest peak in the Nine Realms. She also wished that Kratos would take her place in raising their son, although he did not believe he could do it without her. Before their journey began, Kratos cut down all of the trees around their home that were marked with Faye's yellow handprint which had, unbeknownst to Kratos, sheltered them from the wrath of the Norse gods. This was for Atreus to venture into the dangerous land of the Norse gods with his father's support. Kratos wanted to be sure that his son was ready for the long adventure waiting for them, so he tested him in hunting a deer. With a few mistakes, Atreus did manage to prove himself, but they were intercepted by an aggressive troll. While the two survived the attack, Atreus would show his aggressive tendencies by continuing to stab the already dead troll, with Kratos determining him not to be ready.
As they went back to their house, a stranger suddenly knocked on their door, demanding that Kratos show himself. The strange man would then demand him for answers while taunting him of his past, something he did not anticipate. The argument would then spawn an aggressive fight, with the stranger showing unexpected great power. But Kratos would be the supposed victor when he snapped the man's neck after an exhausting battle.
Knowing that the dangers of the outside world will inevitably come, Kratos changed his mind and he and Atreus began their journey.
Path to the Mountain
During their trip to the highest mountain, they met a dwarf named Brok, who mentions that he and his brother are the forgers of the axe that Kratos possesses. The dwarf offers improvements to the axe as well as other weapons, armor, and equipment the two carry.
Atreus found tracks of a boar, deciding to hunt again. When he did wound the creature, the boy chased after it, where they found the boar heavily injured and under the care of a mysterious woman. The woman, going by the Witch of the Woods, brought them back to her home to heal the boar who is named Hildisvíni. While she sent Atreus to gather some supplies, she told Kratos in secret about his godly heritage, knowing that his son is unaware of his father's and his own true nature. She warns the former god of the danger he has put the two in, as the Norse gods will be very hostile towards them as a result. The Witch proceeded to open a portal leading them to their destination, wishing them luck on the way out.
As they made their way to the Lake of Nine, they found a rune saying, "Sacrifice your arms to the center of the water, awaken again the cradle of the world". Kratos decided to the throw his Leviathan Axe to the lake, in compliance. Though a moment passed as if nothing had changed, marked by a delay in the axe's return, the lake erupted into heavy drifts and waves. From the epicenter of the waves emerged Jörmungandr, the World Serpent. As the serpent began to slumber again, Kratos and Atreus realize that its awakening had dropped the lake's water, bringing them closer towards more concise destinations.
They find a large mechanism with a bridge attached to it named Temple of Týr and decided to look around, also finding Brok again, who happens to set up shop in the massive area.
Exploring once more, they meet Sindri, Brok's brother and owner of the other half of the two's brand, who was curious as to why Kratos is in possession of the Leviathan Axe as it was created specifically for Faye. Atreus explains how the mother had already passed away and decides to help the two in creating improvements to their armor and weaponry, like Brok.
They travel closer to the peak of the mountain afterward, albeit while intercepting some enemies like an Ogre. Kratos and Atreus find themselves halted when there appears to be Black Breath blocking their way up the mountain. The Witch unexpectedly shows up in front of the two again, explaining how the only way to cast it away is by using the Light of Alfheim. She then takes them back to Tyr's Temple, commanding Kratos to have the contraption functioning again. There she takes them to the Realm Travel Room, the only place in all the nine realms one can use to travel between said realms. Using a Bifröst, they move the temple's bridge platform to the Alfheim gate, transporting them to Alfheim.
The Light of Alfheim
As they arrive, the Witch for reasons unknown is magically and violently pulled out of Alfheim, but not before telling Kratos to use the Bifrost to obtain the Light. Continuing on, Atreus notices how the realm is in constant warfare between the Dark Elves and the Light Elves. As the duo make their way across Alfheim, the Dark Elves and their leader Svartáljǫfurr try to kill Kratos and Atreus. After fighting their way through countless members of Dark Elves, they make it to the central chamber of the Light of Alfeim. After they arrive there, Kratos gives the axe to Atreus, and then steps into the Light to absorb the Light of Alfheim into the Bifrost, which clearly causes him pain. While he's inside the light, Kratos follows Faye's ashes and he has auditory visions of how Atreus resents him for not being a loving father. In the vision, he arrives on the bridge of Jötunheim and he sees Faye in the distance. Before he is able to reach her, Kratos is then pulled out of the light by Atreus. Kratos then angrily scolds Atreus, and he then he realises how long he's been in the light. Atreus is clearly angry and scared, and lashes out at Kratos, who numbly takes the intense response. Kratos then infuses the Talon Bow with Light of Alfheim, and with the newfound power the duo kills the Dark Elf King and the light is won back over to the Light Elves. While heading back to Tyr's Temple, Atreus angrily accuses Kratos of not loving Faye- Kratos argues that they simply have different ways of grieving, and they reconcile.
Inside the Mountain
After returning to Midgard the duo make their back to the Mountrain and dispel the Black Breath. They enter the Mountain and they defeat more creatures, bonding more as father and son while doing so. Soon after the duo make their way to the top of the Mountain, they fare interrupted by Sindri being attacked by Hræzlyr, a dragon living in the mountain. Kratos manages to kills the dragon with the help of Atreus, and the grateful Sindri gives Atreus branded mistletoe arrows, and also infuses lightning into the Talon Bow. The pair use the new arrows to get to the top of the mountain. Before they reach the very summit, Kratos and Atreus encounter the mysterious man who attacked their house earlier, along with two other men, talking to a man in a tree. By eavesdropping on them, they find out that the man is the god Baldur, and that they are looking for Kratos and Atreus. The men leave, and the duo learn that the man in the tree is Mimir. Mimir informs them that Faye's ashes were meant to be scattered in Jötunheim, as the highest peak in all the realms was actually there, not in Midgard. Mimir tells Kratos to cut off his head, and while Atreus is away, he tells Kratos that he should reveal his godlihood to his son- Kratos doesn't react well. With Mimir's head, the duo then return to the Witches' Woods. For some reason, the Witch becomes infuriated when she sees Atreus's mistletoe arrows, and orders him to discard them and replace them with her own. Afterwards, they both help her revive Mimir's head. Upon resurrectioon, Mimir accidentally reveals the witch to be Freya, the previous of Vanir gods and Odin's former wife. Kratos gets angry with her for not telling him about her godly identity and he leaves quickly without thanking her.
Kratos and Atreus make their way back to the Lake of Nine. After Mimir tells them to go to the horn Kratos and Atreus encountered earlier, Kratos holds Mimir's head to the horn, who blows into it. This summons the World Serpent, who immediately devours the statue of Thor next to the Muspelheim gate. Mimiir explains this is because the serpent hates Thor. Mimir then speaks in Jormungandur's dead language to see if he recognizes him. He figures out that the serpent mistook Kratos and Atreus of being friends of Thor, until Mimir assures him that they are no friends of Thor. Mimir confides that he has never spoken the giants tongue sober. Jormungandur tells Mimir how to get to Jotunheim- first, they must retrieve Thamur's Chisel, then learn the Black Rune with which they can enter the gateway on the Summit. After the conversation, the serpent realigns the bridge to help them reach Thamur's chisel. While on their way to Thamur's corpse, Mimir tells the story of Odin and Freya's marriage, which was concocted by himself in order to bring peace between the Aesir and Vanir gods. After the death of Odin's first love, the giantess Fjörgyn and mother to Thor, Odin felt heartbroken and Mimir noticed this. He created a treaty which would give Odin a wife- the goddess Freya. Freya agreed to marry Odin, and him her, not only because of her fertile beauty, but also her expanded knowledge in Vanir magic, something Odin felt intrigued in learning. Freya regretted the marriage when Odin's obsession with Jotunheim got in the way again, and Odin betrayed her and stole her magic knowledge.
Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir make it to the dead Stone Mason's body. But Mimir tells them that they will have to climb up to his hammer and smash the ice, as their weapons nor Thor's hammer can demolish it. Kratos and Atreus climb up to the hammer and detach the chains allowing the hammer to fall and smash the almost impenetrable ice. After defeating more enemies, the trio overhears voices of the demigods Modi and Magni. They're just about to retrieve part of his chisel when Magni appears who was battling an ogre, snapping his neck, until he notices the duo. Magni tells them to surrender, but Kratos refuses, to which Magni draws his weapon and prepare himself for battle. Kratos tells Atreus to flee as he will most likely get killed. But Modi appears and a fight ensues. The gods use the snow-blind to gain the advantage, during which Kratos asks of why do they hunt them and what does Odin want. Magni replies he doesn't know and he doesn't care, Modi decides to taunt Atreus mostly referring to his deceased mother in order for him to lose control of his actions. Despite the taunts, Atreus manages to stay calm with his father's words. While Magni distracts Kratos, Modi taunts the boy again this time causing the boy to lose control and charge wildly against the god. Kratos breaks his defense and kills Magni causing Modi to back away from Kratos in fear and cowardice. Atreus, still angered over the insults recklessly shoots arrows at him before showing early signs of sickness again.
The Sickness
Kratos and Atreus journey back over to Tyr's Temple to retrieve the Black Rune and they're about to activate the sandbowl when Modi ambushes the duo pinning Kratos down under lightning. He says that he'll only earn his father's hammer cause Magni's dead and he said that he'll be a joke as he lived under his brother's shadow for most of his life. Atreus tells him to stop, only for Modi to spur another insult about Faye, causing the boy to charge at him, only for Modi to knock him aside and continue electrocuting his father. Atreus shrugs off the attack and says he doesn't know anything about his mother, Modi says that he'll be his new brother and will get to know him real soon, right after he finishes killing Kratos. This causes Atreus to activate his Spartan Rage for the first time, before collapsing. Upon seeing his son, Kratos struggles to get up and activate his Spartan Rage with a frightened Modi to walk back in terror. Kratos disarms Modi before knocking him into a wall with Modi running away in terror crying. Mimir suggests that Kratos takes Atreus back to Freya for help. As they enter the Witch's cave, an unknown person blows into the horn to call the World Serpent. At first, Freya refuses to help Kratos due to his resentment towards deities, but when Kratos tells her the situation, Freya changes her mind and lets them in. Freya tells Kratos that this is no ordinary illness because of his son's true nature lying within him. To cure the illness, Freya instructs Kratos to retrieve the Bridgekeeper's Heart in Helheim, but not after telling him that his Leviathan Axe will be useless as the enemies there will be immune to frost as well as warning him that to never travel on the Bridge of the Dead as it is a one-way ticket into Helheim. Freya ensures Kratos that the boy is not his past, but his son and that he needs his father and she gives him the travel rune to Helheim. Kratos rushes home via boat to retrieve his Blades of Chaos (which have been there for 50 years) while being goaded and taunted by Athena about his past that he'll always and forever, will be, a monster. While Kratos is aware of this, he tells Athena that he is no longer her monster. Kratos journeys over to Tyr's temple to activate the travel room to Helheim where Mimir tells him that no one, not even the gods can survive the cold in Helheim, and notices that Helheim is too overpopulated as the worthy are supposed to go into Valhalla. Kratos eventually reaches the bridge where Mimir suggest he cause trouble as he is very good at it, he steps into the light where the troll notices him and the two have an intense fight with the troll gaining an upper hand when Kratos manages to kill the beast and retrieve his heart. Just as Kratos was about to leave, he encounters an illusion of Zeus. Mimir is surprised that Zeus was his father. Confused, Kratos asks Mimir on how he is here. Mimir reminds to never go beyond the bridge.
As Kratos journeys back to Midgard, Mimir pieces the relationship Kratos had with Athena, his fire blades, Zeus being his father, and the ash-white skin, he realizes he is hanging on the hip by none other than the Ghost of Sparta himself. Kratos coldly tells him to not call him that, with Mimir saying that the Greek pantheon had it coming to them. Mimir also tells Kratos to tell Atreus of his godly heritage, but Kratos refuses to do so, with Mimir stating that Atreus will eventually have to be told his true nature soon, but Kratos drops the subject.
The Truth
Back in Midgard, Kratos returns to Freya's stronghold where Freya too had a son, and that he disappeared many years ago and vows herself to learn from her past mistakes with Kratos concluding that he must know the truth. Atreus recovers successfully and continues on the journey. As they are about to leave the grotto, Kratos notices Atreus acting quiet, and knows that he overheard his talk with Freya, he tells his father that he said he was cursed, he thought that he was weak because he wasn't like his father, and along the journey, everything was different for him. Kratos tells him he doesn't know everything, Atreus is aware of this, but knows the truth. Kratos instead tells him that he's a god from another land far away, when he came to Norway, he chose to live as a man, but the truth is that he was born a deity, as well as Atreus. Atreus asks his father if he can turn into an animal, but Kratos assures him that he can't as he does not know of his future god-like powers. Atreus is excited that he is a god and asks his father if Faye was a god as well. Kratos tells his son, that she was mortal, but was aware of his true nature. When the boy asks of why his father waited so long to tell him, Kratos comforts Atreus saying that he hoped to spare him, that being a god can be a lifetime of anguish and tragedy, which is the curse. Atreus, however, doesn't feel like a god, but in time, both father and son will learn. Atreus is still unsure if he could turn into a wolf, but Kratos is welcome to be surprised, Mimir adds that every god is unique such as a faculty for languages especially for one so young.
They return to Tyr's Temple and activate the sandbowl which lowers then down to Tyr's Vault. After getting past the first trap, Kratos and Atreus discover a room where they encounter many traps and relics Tyr has collected from many different lands, including Greece.
Kratos notices a vase with leftover Lemnian wine from the Greek island of Lemnos and takes a sniff of it, which seems to give him some level of calmness and nostalgia. But as he puts it back, he then notices a terracotta vase with an image of him covered in blood and with the Blades of Chaos on his hands. Kratos, seeing as he is not being watched, takes the vase and observes his image with visible regret and sorrow on his face. When Atreus questions him on what he found, he breaks the vase and tells his son to focus on their mission. Unknown to him, Atreus had already taken note of Kratos image on a piece of the broken vase on the floor.
Upon lowering the Black Rune, Kratos gets caught in a trap in which he tells Atreus to match the puzzles on the wall to match them, but this didn't stop at all as the floor started lifting them up to a ceiling of spikes, to which Atreus sacrifices his mother's knife to break the chain. As they are about to retrieve the Black Rune, Kratos gives Atreus a second knife, from which he told him that he crafted it with a mix of metals from his homeland and the metals from the norse world, he also shares to his son that the power of a warrior comes from within, but only when tempered by emotions, as being a god has a greater responsibility. As they are leaving, Kratos gives Atreus a drink of the wine from the vase he took earlier before drinking some himself explaining the origins of the wine.
Over time, Atreus starts to become arrogant and cocky after learning of his godhood which deeply concerns Kratos. Mimir asks Atreus if he's ready to see Jötunheim, Atreus adds that while he's excited, he's sad that the journey is almost over. Sindri quickly catches their attention. Kratos coldly tells Atreus not to tell him about their quest and that he's a god and that it's a personal quest, to which the dwarf adds that he knows a thing or two about family matters. Atreus, whines about the fact that Sindri talks about Brok all the time and how Brok is better than he is. So he tells Sindri to stop talking about it out of spite, leaving the dwarf hurt. When Kratos asks his son of the way he spoke to the dwarf, Atreus explains that he's fed up of all the talk about him and his brother. Kratos agrees, that while they are annoying, there was no need to make him an enemy and that it was unnecessary and unkind, to which Atreus scoffs at when he said that his mother wasn't a god when Kratos said that Faye would disagree, to which later, Atreus asks if he could carry his mothers ashes, to which Kratos refuses due to speaking ill of her, and reminding him that he will not dishonor her.
After entering the mountain, they once again encounter Modi, who's been beaten mercilessly into a bloody pulp by his father, saying that his father blamed him for leaving Magni to die. Atreus, threatens him to back off, or he'll pick up where his father left off. Modi tries to attack, but is too injured to do so, Atreus looks back at his father, in which he answers that Modi isn't worth killing due to his battered state. Atreus said that he should take back for all the insults Modi said about his mother. Kratos refuses to let him kill the god, but Atreus reminds him that they're gods and they can do whatever they want, in which Modi spurs one last insult about Faye, before being stabbed in the neck. Kratos tries to restrain him, but it falls on deaf ears, Atreus says that his knife is much better than his mother's, before kicking Modi down a ravine. Kratos reprimands him that his recklessness and arrogant nature will make him a target, reminding him that he taught him to kill, but only in defense of himself, never as an indulgence. When Atreus asks what's the difference, Kratos tells him that there are consequences in killing gods. Atreus yells of how he knows such a thing, and Kratos warns him to watch his attitude.
Back in Helheim
After reaching the summit, Kratos activates the portal to Jötunheim with the newly acquired chisel and are about to enter when Baldur ambushes the duo with him gaining the upper hand. Kratos tells his son to cross the bridge, but Atreus ignores his father's orders and shoots Baldur several times before being knocked aside. Baldur explains that the boy has the brains now with Kratos being a nuisance. Kratos manages to block Baldur's attack and knock him into the portal, causing it to collapse. Kratos tells his son to leave, with Baldur agreeing he'd do the same. Atreus charges at the god, but Kratos restrains him saying he's not ready, in which Atreus responds by shoving his father away and shooting him with one of his arrows. He charges at Baldur again and stabs him in the shoulder, but Baldur, being invincible, shrugs off the attack and drives the knife into Atreus before taking him with him. Kratos follows behind and lands on Baldur's dragon. After a brief scuffle, Baldur manages to knock Kratos off, with Kratos landing safely onto the temple bridge. Kratos runs towards the temple with Brok asking of who activated the bridge. Kratos catches up to Baldur, saying that the portal is locked into Asgard, and it'll be over for him when the entire weight of as Asgard will descend upon him. Kratos knocks Baldur aside and instead locks in Helheim. Kratos, Atreus, and Baldur fall into Helheim getting sucked in far that they fly over the Bridge of the Damned. Kratos angrily scolds his son and manages him to keep him in line again. They start their journey back to Midgard with Mimir saying that the boat is the only way back and will take them halfway back to the Temple bridge. As they journey back, they encounter Baldur once again, but this time, he encounters a flashback to when he first got his power of invulnerability. It's also revealed that his mother is none other than Freya herself. Freya cast a spell on him to prevent him from dying, however, this also made Baldur not feel anything, from food, temperature, women, etcetera Baldur tearfully regrets not killing Freya and is left to mourn. Kratos and Atreus eventually make it to the boat where they set sail back to the temple bridge. But the boat gets stuck halfway across so Kratos finally lets Atreus help him get it unstuck. Mimir says that even though they will make it back to Midgard in one piece, he tells them that there's no other way to Jötunheim.
As they get near the bridge, both father and son notice Zeus before they encounter a younger version of Kratos killing Zeus. Atreus tells him to focus as the boat is near the bridge and about to collapse because of the fires surrounding it had caused the boat to burn. After crash landing in the Realm Travel Room, they find the missing panel about Tyr traveling, to other lands including Greece. Mimir then realizes that there's another way to Jötunheim by making a key and the secret to unveiling the missing Jötunheim gate as Odin never gave up hope. On their way back to Midgard, Kratos asks Mimir of Baldur's vulnerability, Mimir says that there's none at all, as he's invulnerable to threats: physical or magical. All three realize that Mimir was bewitched, during the reanimating process, Freya bewitched Mimir so that he wouldn't tell the duo that mistletoe is the key to Baldur's invulnerability, forcing to him to mechnically repeat the phrase "invulernable to all threats, physical or magical" whenever he tries to speak of Baldur's weakness. After showing Brok the picture of making the key, he refuses to do so, as he tends to make weapons of war, not tools. Sindri shows up and the brothers reconcile and together, they make a key for them. When Atreus asks why the rune looks different, Sindri explains that it had to be reforged.
Tyr's Secret and The Truth Revealed
Going down to the lower part of the temple, Kratos activates the door beneath the travel room where they find that the travel stone to Jötunheim is on the floor, but realize the room is upside down and could be flipped. After avoiding many traps and fighting enemies, they manage to break the chains holding the temple in place and Kratos was able to flip the temple and manages to recover the travel stone. Mimir explains that Tyr used the travel rune to follow his own path, hence why he was able to travel to other lands, in the realm between realms. After making it into the void, the travel stone embeds the duo with protection as Kratos leaps into the void. After landing without any side effects, Atreus notices the missing Jötunheim tower was in the realm between realms all long. They enter the tower and insert the stone into a pedestal where it absorbs all the stone's energy. After fighting countless waves of enemies, Kratos opens the door and find themselves back in Midgard. With the tower restored, the duo plus Mimir lock Jötunheim in, but Mimir realizes that the travel crystal is missing. Mimir explains that they need his other eye to get to the realm.
Without hesitation, they ask Brok and Sindri about it, but Sindri was unable to finish his part because of his germophobia, so Brok says that they stored Mimir's other eye in a vault in a statue of Thor; that which the World Serpent had eaten. Kratos suggests the only way to retrieve it is by going inside the Serpent's belly. They make haste towards the horn where Mimir calls the serpent once again and asks if they could travel inside his stomach to retrieve his missing eye. The serpent agrees and Kratos and Atreus row into the belly of the beast and manage to retrieve Mimir's other eye. As they leave, however, a rumbling sound could be heard from the outside. Kratos and Atreus are thrown out of the serpent's mouth as it falls back unconscious.
While Atreus wonders who hurt the serpent, Freya appears and says that she is looking for her son, saying that the woods and fields call his name. Kratos and Atreus keep their distance, as she is Baldur's mother after all. When Freya asks of why Atreus is standing so far from her, Baldur appears from the icy river and says that hurting the World Serpent would bring them out in the open. Baldur quickly notices his mother and Freya knows he's still angry and that how he feels hasn't changed. Baldur cuts her off mid-sentence saying that he doesn't need her to understand anything at all. Before Baldur could inflict damage on her, Kratos understands that even if he kills her, he will never find peace. Baldur says that he'll deal with him once he's done killing Freya, but Kratos pushes him back, which escalates into a fight with Freya trying to stop it by restraining both Kratos and Baldur. A few seconds into the fight, Freya restrains Kratos with Atreus attempting to free him. Baldur advises Atreus to step aside, but Atreus instead stands in front to protect his father, to which Baldur punches Atreus, only for the mistletoe arrow strapped to his quiver piercing his hand. Kratos, free from his bonds, tends to Atreus, to his surprise, is alright and not suffering any wounds. Baldur is astonished by the arrow and starts to feel excitement upon the broken spell, before being restrained by Freya again, this time, in control of the reanimated corpse of Thamur. The corpse moves them to a new location. Atreus asks of how the mistletoe arrow broke the spell, Kratos adds that he can be killed.
Freya assures them that she can reason with him, but Kratos says that he means to kill her, to which Freya adds that she doesn't care and will protect him. A second fight ensures with the now vulnerable Baldur gleaming out to feel pain again. Midway through the fight, Kratos stuns Baldur, but Freya blocks their path to him, but Kratos lifts the hand with ease and notices the crystal, and orders his son to shoot it at the exact timing, in which he does. As round three progresses, Freya summons cursed brood made from Vanir magic called legion to attack. As Kratos stuns Baldur, the reanimated giant, under the control of Freya, uses his chisel to separate the two, in which Baldur yells out he will kill her as he proceeds to climb the chisel with Kratos and Atreus hot on their trail. A short scuffle breaks out on top of the chisel before Thamur tumbles them off onto his hand. In a stranglehold, Baldur tells them he wants to thank them for breaking the curse that has inflicted upon him and will rejoice soon. Kratos activates his Spartan Rage once again and breaks free with Atreus close behind. Another fight endures with Kratos and Atreus gaining the upper hand. Near the end of the fight, Kratos uses his Blades of Chaos to stun him before stunning him more with a series of close-by frontal attacks. Kratos beats Baldur relentlessly before Thamur uses his freeze breath in an attempt to freeze Kratos and Atreus. Atreus then calls the now conscious World Serpent, to separate Freya and Thamur, an act that astonished and impressed even Kratos. Kratos attempts to kill Baldur, but Atreus reminds him he is beaten. Kratos reminds Baldur in return to not come near them nor touch Freya again, in Freya says that she doesn't need protection and the two leave for mother and son to settle things out. Baldur explains that no matter where he goes or what he says, she will never stop interfering with his life. Freya explains that she was only trying to protect him. But Baldur says that she still needs to pay for the lifetime she stole from him. Freya explains that she has paid many times and if seeing herself dead will make things better, she lets Baldur strangle her. But Kratos interferes with Baldur saying that he could have walked away, in which Kratos quotes Zeus and explains that they must be better, before snapping his neck killing him at last. Freya is devastated upon seeing her son's lifeless body and threatens Kratos to use all of her power to curse him. Atreus explains that he saved her life. But Freya is unfazed and calls Kratos an animal by passing his cruelty and rage, that he will never change. Kratos says that she does not know him well enough. Does Freya add that she does, but does Atreus?
Kratos tells Atreus to listen close and informs him that he is from Sparta and how he made an oath to a god that cost him his soul. He killed many who were deserving and many who were not, and adds that he killed his father. Atreus is shocked upon learning that was his father killing his grandfather and asks of how this always ends, with children killing their parents since their gods. But Kratos assures him that they "will be the gods [they] choose to be, not those who have been". Freya leaves in silence afterward, with Baldur in her arms. Mimir asks if they're the bad guys now, Kratos says that might be true, but she could never make that choice. Atreus asks why Freya threatened his father even though she loathed the Aesir, Mimir states that they killed her son and that the death of a child is something that a parent cannot get over. But he assures him that Freya will get over her son's death over time and that Kratos did the right thing.
They start the journey back to Tyr's Temple where Mimir explains Hrimthur's story. He adopted the guise of a mortal and promised the Aesir that if he can finish building the wall around Asgard within two years and finish it, he would be allowed to meet with Freya, and if not, they will owe him nothing. Odin was suspicious of the stranger but agreed to do as he asked. Using his father's knowledge of stone masonry, Hrimthur finished the wall, much to Odin's frustration. He met with Freya and whispered something in her ear. As he was about to leave Asgard, Thor was waiting for him. The giant realizes he'd been double-crossed, but he did not care, as his plan was complete. Mimir suspects that Hrimthur added a weak spot in Asgard's walls and passed this knowledge to Freya.
Jotunheim at last
After arriving at the Realm Travel Room, Kratos locks in Jötunheim and orders Atreus by giving him Mimir's head and positioning it into the beam and straight onto the door finally unlocking Jötunheim. Before Kratos and Atreus can finish their journey, Mimir says that they should leave him here, as he doesn't want a decomposing head ruining the father-son moment. Before Kratos could say anything, Brok and Sindri show up impressed and how they wanted to see this, Mimir at first refused, but knowing there would be no other way, he allowed the dwarfs to watch him. Kratos passes the head to Sindri, who passed to his brother and father and son make their way into the realm, with Mimir telling them to hurry back. Kratos and Atreus finally reach the giant's fingers, with Kratos unraveling his bandages saying that he has no more to hide. Kratos finally gives Atreus the bag of his mothers ashes.
They make their way into a vast room where they encounter statues of giants, possibly the few remaining giants escaping Midgard. As they are leaving the room, Atreus touches the wall which crumbles around them and seeing a mural depiction of his mother with a bunch of giants, their meeting with the World Serpent for the first time, as well as the dragon in the mountain, the stonemason, and their fight with Baldur. Atreus realizes that the giants prophesied their journey. Kratos tells him that their journey is his story and that he's not the only parent with secrets making Atreus realize that she was a giant too. When Atreus asks why she didn't tell them, Kratos explains that she sent them here knowing she would find this and that she would've had good reasons. Kratos deduces that Baldur was never sent to find him, and he was tracking Faye all along, not knowing she was only ashes. Atreus, with a full set of confidence, says she hasn't been wrong yet and so close to the end, with Kratos looking at a plaque of Atreus holding a dead body screaming in agony. (most likely depicting his death, though this is yet to be true as there are inconsistencies with this body and Kratos.) Kratos and Atreus reach the top, noticing all the dead giants. Atreus hands over the bag full of ashes to his father, but Kratos says that they will do it together and calls him a son. After spreading her ashes, Atreus voices his confusion over his name on the wall, saying the Giants called him 'Loki'. Kratos explained that was the name Faye wanted to call him when he was born and was probably the one she used when speaking of him with her people. When Atreus asks why Kratos says they will find out some other day.
As the two leave, Atreus asks of why he wanted to be called that name. Kratos tells him he was named after a compassionate spartan soldier who filled the lives of everyone with joy and happiness. Atreus is impressed and tells him he actually told a good story and that Mimir missed it. As they near the travel room, Atreus understand that they should go home, but they could prove themselves useful by exploring some more and defeating corrupted Valkyries. As they enter the room, Mimir is glad to see them and adds that he reached his limit for dwarven charm. As they are heading back to Midgard, Mimir warns them that Fimbulwinter-the great winter that precedes Ragnarok is upon them as it was not supposed to happen for a couple of hundred years and that Kratos may have accelerated the events.
As they arrive home, Atreus says that he will sleep through winter. Kratos tells him to get some rest, with Atreus adding that he is way ahead of them, in which Atreus has a vision of Thor showing up at their house when Fimbulwinter ends. When they wake up, Atreus felt like this was real, at first Kratos isn't disturbed by this, but when Atreus reminds him again, he assures his son that they will worry about it tomorrow.
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