5 Almost Smiling
A blue streak zips through a cave, followed by another, and another. Three goblins, little green creatures with jagged teeth and red eyes are pierced through the chest. They scream collectively, and a blue light shines through their mouths until they explode into that familiar black smoke. Atreus kneels on the ground, standing and sighing. He looks behind him at Kratos, who stands off to the side with his arms folded before him.
Kratos nods, "Good. Take your time and always remember what I've said before... Accuracy over speed," he says, dropping his arms to his side and stepping towards his son.
Atreus nods, "Yes, father," he says. The boy walks along with his father, staring down at the stone floor.
"Brother, may I speak with you about something?" Mimir asks as his thick accent echos through the cave.
Kratos hums, his eyes roaming the smooth stone walls of the cave and the crystals studding the ceiling like the night sky, "Go on," he says.
"Well, Let me ask you something first: what do you think of this... Dungeon?" Mimir says.
Kratos rubs his goatee for a moment, "It is... Strange," he says.
"That's all? I guess I can't expect a deep analysis from you, " Mimir chuckles at his own words, "Well, I'm convinced now, this 'dungeon' is alive, brother. With the eerie feeling of someone watching us, and the monsters being puked from the very walls of the cave, I believe this entire structure is one living entity."
Kratos pauses, glancing down at Atreus who still has his eyes locked to the floor, "Boy? you have nothing to say about this?" Kratos says, but Atreus seems to be distracted with his thoughts, still walking on auto-pilot, "Atreus," Kratos says a bit louder than before.
Atreus jumps, "Oh, uh... yeah?" he says, staring up at Kratos with raised brows.
Kratos furrows his brows and halts his steps, "What is wrong with you, boy?" he says.
Atreus stops ahead of his father and turns, "Nothing... Why? Were we talking about something?" he asks with raised brows.
"The head was speaking of the dungeon. Did you not hear?" Kratos asks.
"Oh, yeah," Atreus says, "I think it's alive too, I still have that weird feeling that someone is watching us... Like they're waiting for something."
A dull silence falls, and Kratos stares at his son. He nods, moving his legs forward. The situation is dropped for now, but Kratos makes a note in his mind to keep an eye on Atreus. His son had been distracted like this before, and each time it had led to a mistake in the heat of battle. Though he suspects the reason is much different this time, Kratos knows it will lead to the same outcome if left untreated.
"Anyway, I wanted to mention something else, brother," Mimir speaks to break the silence as Kratos and Atreus walk through the cave, "I believe that woman had said we were on the 15th floor before, and with how many levels we have scoured since then, I reckon we are on the-"
"The 1st floor," Atreus interjects.
"Yes, laddy, the 1st floor. That means we should be close to the top now... And with those people that we saw earlier, I believe there will be an actual civilization here," Mimir says.
Atreus' lips curl and he begins to skip along the floor of the cave, "I've only ever seen a few people in my life. I can't wait to see what a city is like," he says.
"Calm yourself, boy. Where there are people, there is treachery... Remember that," Kratos says.
"Yes, father. It's just... After living in the forest for so long and exploring a world filled with things trying to kill me, it will be nice to be around other people," Atreus says, his skips reduced to his previous walking pace.
"Yes, I imagine it will be," Mimir responds with a chuckle.
The bright crystals shine down on the gods as they travel through the first floor of the dungeon. Along the way, they encounter a few monsters that pose little problem to the experienced duo. Kratos stands to the side during these battles as he did before, helping Atreus learn to fight without the help of his father.
Kratos watches as Atreus uses his bow to down most enemies with an incredible aim, each arrow meeting the center of the target, and some piercing between the eyes of goblins and Kobolds alike. Though a goblin manages to slip through Atreus' aim, and with newfound strength, the boy's foot slams into the goblin's chest, causing the little green creature to slide across the stone floor. Atreus bolts to the goblin and a small knife plunges into the monster's eye, causing a blood-curdling screech to slam into Atreus' ears. It explodes into that familiar black smoke, leaving behind one of those magic crystals.
Atreus picks up the magic crystal and studies it for a moment. He turns to his father with furrowed brows, "Father, should we be collecting these crystals? Every monster has dropped at least one," he asks.
Kratos hums from the side, walking up to his son. He holds his hand out in silence and Atreus places the crystal in his father's hand, "We will keep them for now… They may be useful," Kratos says.
Atreus nods, and Kratos stuffs the crystal into a small bag on his waist, a bag that once carried something all too important to the godly duo. Kratos rubs his fingers against the exquisite stitching in a reminiscent manner, quickly stopping himself as the reminiscing turns to distasteful memories. Mimir sees this from the corner of his eye, and his earlier worry for the Ghost of Sparta grows.
The gods continue through the cave in silence, with Atreus slaying monsters with ease along the way. The boy had always had no problem dealing with monsters, but now it's almost as if something else is driving him, another person, or the wish to please that person. Either way, Atreus finds it easier to finish each battle, his arrows hit their target easier, and he moves more swiftly around the small monsters.
Kratos notices his son's total concentration during these battles and feels a well of pride rise in himself, though he would never let the boy know that. He knows how much a single compliment can balloon a person's ego, causing them to make a mistake.
The trio continues their trek through the cave, and Kratos sees a staircase leading into the wall before him, "That's the staircase! I wonder how many people are in this city?" Atreus says, jogging ahead to the bottom of the stairs.
"This dungeon seems to be controlled, so I would imagine there are quite a few wankers here," Mimir chimes in as Kratos steps up the first stair.
"What do you mean, head?" Kratos' rugged voice echos loudly through the confined space of the staircase.
"Well, you've seen it yourself, Brother. The monsters come from the very walls of the dungeon, almost as if the structure births them. Why does it not spit them out endlessly?" Mimir says.
Kratos hums, "I see," he says in deep thought. This dungeon is strange, and Kratos dreads the idea of meeting the strange people that would control this space. He had been in cities before only to massacre monsters, demons, and humans alike with no discrimination.
The wafting silence of the cave takes over as the duo travel up the long set of stairs. Minutes pass, and the small hall of stairs opens up to a massive hole extending up at least a few hundred feet. A gentle set of rising stairs loop the walls of the round room, with small flames flickering from torches studded along the stairs. Atreus' fingers get cold, and he rubs his hands together, "Wow," his wonderlust words echo through the massive room made of stone as his eyes scan each step and stone.
"Keep moving, boy," Kratos says as he looks back from up the stairs at his son who seems to be distracted by the incredible structure of the room.
"Oh, yeah," Atreus says, jogging up the stairs to join his father.
With another set of stairs before them, this one being much, much longer, Mimir and Atreus have a conversation to break the numbing silence. Mimir tells the story of Surtr, a fire giant that was born at the beginning of the ages in Norse mythology, his only reason to live being to destroy Asgard, the home of the Aesir gods. He sits upon his throne in Musphelheim, sharpening his fiery sword for eternity, forever waiting for his fateful day: Ragnorok.
Atreus listens to the story with new fervor, he had heard the story of Surtr before, but with Mimir being the storyteller he is, Atreus finds himself loving the story more than the first time.
As they travel, boots to stone, the trio passes some people heading in the opposite direction from them. Atreus greets each one of them as if they are his friends, and some greet back with the same energy. However, some look at him with disgust as if he had just insulted them. These people had thoughts of taking advantage of the clearly naive teenage boy, only to meet the terrifying gaze of his father.
The trio finally reaches the top of the stairs after nearly an hour, and Atreus seems to be bubbling with energy as he skips along from the top platform of the stairs to the massive door in front.
"Slow down, boy," Kratos rumbles, and Atreus does as his father says, stopping and turning to wait for Kratos. Atreus stares up at Kratos with a wide smile, "I'm excited to meet new people," he says.
"I see that," Kratos responds, walking forward to the bright yellow light leaking from the door. Something strange happens as he stares at the overflowing excitement leaking from Atreus, an ex-general, God of war, and slayer of gods and humans alike seems to almost be... smiling.
