31 Falling

"What is the matter, boy?" Kratos' rough voice reverberates through the vast entrance of the dungeon. Those tiki torches impaled on the wall provide some light as the gods traverse the smooth slabs of steps.

Ripping himself from deep thought and uncertainty, Atreus looks up at his father with pursed lips. He had been confused by something since leaving the pub several minutes earlier, "Father, did you see that silver-haired girl before we left the pub? The one you warned me to stay away from," The boy asks.

Kratos nods, "Only for a moment... Why do you ask?" he responds.

Atreus returns a nod, furrowing his brows as he looks to the descending steps before him, "What color were her eyes?" he asks yet another strange question.

The Greek God hums, the cogs in his brain bringing the image of that strange girl to the forefront of his mind. Kratos has not thought of the woman since meeting her during their first visit to the pub, but the God still remembers the disgust he had felt upon seeing her, "...I believe they were silver like her hair," he responds after some thought.

Atreus raises his brows suddenly, "Ah! So I was right!" he exclaims with a smile, relieved by the fact that he is indeed not going insane.

The Gods reach that narrow and dark entrance set into the stone wall, and soon their footsteps echo on another stone set of stairs, "What are you getting at, Atreus?" Kratos asks, still confused as to why the subject was even brought up.

The boy walks before his father down the long set of stairs, and he glances back, "Her eyes were violet when I saw her earlier. I probably sound crazy, but... I know what I saw" Atreus responds.

"I believe you, boy. You do well to tell me these things," Kratos says.

Mimir's thick accent suddenly flows through the narrow space in a chuckle, "It appears that you were right the first time you saw her, Brother... She is surely hiding something," he says.

Kratos hums in response as his boots meet the smooth stone of the first floor, "Leave it for later... It is time to test the boy's powers," he says.

---

Flesh rips from a sharp blade, and explosions follow each strike as black dust and magic stones fall to the bedrock. Atreus spins and dances fluidly through a pack of black dog monsters known as Hellhounds. That double-sided spear is held tight in the boy's small hands, the blades reduced to a blur as Atreus lops off heads. Strangely, the small Jötnar's lips curl to a smirk as he moves.

Suddenly, the boy spins, taking a step away from the remaining two Hellhounds. Atreus' unblinking eyes take in every small movement of the monsters, 'The left is tensing his back legs, it's probably going to lunge. The right's throat is swelling, I'm guessing it's going to do that stupid fire attack,' the thought zips through the boy's mind in less than a second.

Suddenly, one of the snarling monsters lunges towards the boy. Atreus grunts, spinning his body and the spear simultaneously. The Hellhound's teeth snap on thin air, and before it has time to realize its mistake, a cold blade pierces the dog's skull. The Hellhound explodes into that black dust, and Atreus looks to the last remaining monster with focused eyes.

Jagged teeth reveal themselves to the boy as that Hellhound opens its jaw. An orange-red light glows dimly at the back of it's throat, and in response, Atreus bolts towards the monster with the spear held tight. Suddenly, that orange light grows and a bright flame rockets from the Hellhound's mouth. A grunt echos, and the boy flies through the air in a front flip. A bead of sweat forms on the little giant's forehead as his face comes within inches of the flying flame. His feet meet the bedrock soon after and all in one motion, the boy grits his teeth as he slings the spear overhead until it slices clean through the Hellhound's head.

The final explosion echos between the walls of bedrock and Atreus wipes a hand across his forehead, "Phuuu... That was fun," he says with a smile as that spear is still held in his hand. Suddenly, he glances behind him, "See! I told you, Father!" he exclaims to a certain tattooed man.

Kratos hums as he picks up a magic stone and stuffs it into that grey knapsack. He glances at Atreus as his fingers touch the cold surface of the final magic stone, "Yes, you were right..." he responds, "...I saw the concentration of a seasoned warrior. You will obviously need much more training, but you've been fighting a true spartan soldier."

A toothy grin forms on Atreus' face, "Thank you, Father!... I feel like I'm much better with this spear now too. What do you think?" he asks.

The Greek God nods, glancing at the spear before his eyes return to the boy, "You seemed... Comfortable. If I had to guess, I think it's due to that power. It is called 'Child of Sparta', correct?" he inquires with furrowed brows.

Atreus nods, "That's what I was thinking!" he exclaims. Suddenly, the boy sheathes the spear on his back and the blade nearly reaches his ankles. He struggles for a moment as his small hands reach for The Blades of Kindling.

Kratos scoffs as he watches his son struggle, "Stop," he commands. Atreus follows his father's instructions, dropping his hands to his side with a huff, "How do you even get those blades off your back? I have mine the same way and I can't even reach them," he asks with furrowed brows.

The Greek God hums, spinning his finger in the air as he stands before his son, "...Your arms are not long enough. You will grow into it..." he says as Atreus spins until his back is facing the man. Kratos takes those blades from the boy's back and reaches over his shoulder to offer them to Atreus. The Jötun takes the blades, and his father stands silent as he stares at that spear on the boy's back. He pulls the weapon from a small clip, "...I will carry this spear until you need it again. You will injure yourself by carrying a weapon too big for you on your back."

Atreus nods, turning and staring down at those purple blades. He looks to his father suddenly with pursed lips, "Father, can I try using these blades? I think I should at least be able to use them without hurting myself with that Spartan power," he says.

Kratos places that spear on his back along with his other weapons, humming as he stares at the dim purple light permeating from the blades, "You may... Be careful to not become dependant upon your powers though. They will make you stronger, but they will not compensate for ignorance," he responds.

"Yes, Father…" Atreus says, his eyes drifting to the blades, "So… How do you throw them?" He asks.

Kratos hums, "You have thrown a knife before, no?" The God steps up to his son, guiding the boy's arm up and over his head, "…The most powerful throws will use your entire body, and even the ground you stand on…" Kratos points to the boy's feet before returning a finger to his raised arm, "… As for accuracy, that will depend on your release time."

The Greek God steps back, raising his own fist, "Bring the blade down before you…" he brings his arm down slowly, opening his fist as it reaches the level of his chest, "…And release. You will need to become comfortable with the movement before you see acceptable results."

Atreus nods in response, bending his knees with his arm still held above him, "…From my feet to my arm, and then release…" The boy mutters, lowering and raising the purple blade slowly. He takes a deep breath and holds it. Small muscles tense throughout Atreus' body as he launches the blade forward a few feet. Metal clangs loudly against the bedrock as the chain sags from the boy's hand, and an awkward silence follows.

"Oh… I saw that going differently in my head," Atreus says with a chuckle.

Suddenly, the bedrock beneath the boy's feet shakes, a crack spreading along the area. Atreus stumbles forward as the shaking continues, and that single crack suddenly branches off all around his position. Atreus' eyes widen as his vision darts to Kratos, his lips quivering fear, "Father, help!" he reaches a hand out as the bedrock gives.

Kratos moves towards him son with haste, losing his balance on the falling bedrock. He reaches a hand out as he watches Atreus disappear in the midst of the falling rubble, "Atreus!"

—-

Question for you beautiful people:

So I was thinking of doing a little side series with Kratos fighting different people from different anime, video games, mythology, or anything else with strong characters( example: Goku, Naruto, saitama, etc.) Of course, it won't have any relation to this story, but I thought it would be fun to write. Would anyone be interested?