Chapter 8 - Death, The Destroyer of Worlds

Then again, Athena provides the Champion of Sparta an item before going to Death's Domain. Matthaios would wake up in the gates of it with a new weapon in his grasp, getting up to resume his path on locating his sister Calliope and the Goddess of Ghosts, Melinoe. He has the Scourge of Erinys within him, and now he began walking his way into the Domain of Death.

He encounters the Cursed Remains trying to halt him, and when he tries to charge his way in and hit them, they deform into pieces. This annoyed Matthaios, enraged enough to come up with his attacks as he lets out the Scourge of Erinys to assault these bone warriors. After destroying the formation of the cursed and undead swordsmen, he kept on running.

Screaming his sister's name, the girl was hiding from the Champion of Sparta. She thinks that he is after her, and she would face her demise once he had a glimpse of her inside the Death's Domain, getting killed twice. But still, she wasn't safe from the threats inside the Domain of Death as a mysterious figure had abducted him.

Her screaming was heard and Matthaios tracked it down, making his way in by running as fast as he can. He found Calliope in the hands of a Gorgon, tackling it by charging for the beast to release the Spartan girl. He then used the Blades of Athena to choke out and decapitate the Gorgon, succeeding in his brutal intentions with the monster.

Calliope wasn't still safe, she still felt that Matthaios would kill him with the Blades of Athena. She kept on running until she reaches for the temple's dead end, and she was about to fall when the Demi-god gripped her wrists. Using his pure strength, he lifted her back into the temple to save her from falling. Calliope was indeed frightened from it, but his brother was there to console her.

"You are safe now, sister…" Matthaios kneeled in front of her, holding her shoulders.

"Unhand me!" Calliope was still crying in fear.

His eyes glowed brighter, and his hands did the same thing. He held Calliope's head, washing her traumatic experiences off with the brotherly love he has. He wished that he had a sibling by his side since his days of training, and discovering that he has one makes him show his kind-hearted viewpoint.

Calliope gets rid of her vision of seeing her father in Matthaios, asking who is he. "Are you here to save me?"

"I sure am… Sister." Matthaios smiled brightly, knowing that she is now comfortable towards seeing him.

"Is our father coming to save me?" She asked if Kratos is coming back.

"Our father is dead…" He told her that the Ghost of Sparta is not coming back.

"…But why?" Calliope asks why is he not returning.

"He killed the Gods… And the rest was history." Matthaios revealed that he is the one who killed the Olympian Gods.

"Oh…" Calliope doesn't believe it, but her brother is the only one she could trust at this point.

"Come with me, there's still left for me to do." Matthaios gets up and offers a hand on his sister to come with him.

Calliope took his hand, getting herself guided by her brother Matthaios. He still has to find Zagreus' sister Melinoe in Death's Domain, and as he goes deep inside the place for the dead, the more it gives him the challenge to deal with.

"Fear no beasts, Calliope. We're almost there." He could feel that his sister is being feeble.

Soon as they reach the Suicide Bluffs, a bloomy woman was sitting on the cliff. She was weakened, dreadful, and filled with sorrow. There is a sole reason, and that is the death of her lover, Thanatos. She still mourns throughout the years of his death in the hands of the Ghost of Sparta, and when she felt the presence similar to him, she couldn't do anything but to brood.

After she confessed to the God of Death, she found out that he was dead. It made her sniffle, and she couldn't do anything but to repeat the same thing over and over again. It doesn't change the fact that Thanatos is no more, and only a few Primordial Gods were remaining.

"Stay here, Calliope. You are unharmed here." Matthaios began climbing the bluffs to reach out for Melinoe.

Calliope followed what she was told, watching his brother going to Melinoe while recuperating from the trauma she is experiencing. Soon as Matthaios gets into the Suicide Bluffs, the Goddess of Ghosts stopped on crying. "Leave… There is nothing to see here."

"Melinoe… Your brother sent me here." The Champion of Sparta puts his blades at the back of his armor.

"I have dissociated from my brother after the death of the one that I truly loved… Now he is gone, so is my burning desire." She kept on sitting at the cliff, and tears were still streaming down her eyes.

"I apologize… On behalf of my father." He stood behind Melinoe.

"That doesn't change anything, Champion of Sparta." She knew who he is since he shares the same presence with the Ghost of Sparta.

Dead silence is upon them until Athena gets into the mind of the Champion of Sparta then again. Telling him to kill the Goddess of Ghosts. "She hides inevitable prowess, Matthaios. This is your chance to wipe her out."

"I am not so sure, Athena… She is weakened. She could barely stand." He refuses to murder Melinoe.

The Goddess of Ghosts heard him mentioning Athena which made her stand up to hit the Demi-god, but she failed on landing a proper scratch on him. She was about to lose balance, but he caught him in his grasp. She hits his chest with her fists, but it was too light to release her frustrations.

A part of him tells that she should die, but the other one tells him that she could be saved. It is her lowest point, and he couldn't even withstand on how she turned out to be. His deep hatred was replaced with genuine concern, but he doesn't know who and what to follow.

"Release me…" Melinoe wanted to end her suffering.

"I can't." He doesn't want to.

"The girl…" She looked at Calliope who is down below.

"Your brother sent her here." After telling her that Zagreus sent Calliope in the Death's Domain, Aphrodite was the one who made her presence inside his mind.

"Free her from her suffering, my son… Like what you did to your sister." She ordered him to save Melinoe, contradicting what Athena wants.

"Yes, mother." His hands glowed again after touching Melinoe's head, his eyes began changing colors as he uses his powers inherited from Aphrodite.

Though he was still learning how to use it, he succeeds in showing its hints from utilizing it on the Goddess of Ghosts. She is now starting to forget the death of Thanatos and move on from it, considering that the Spartan Demi-god is doing it out of love and affection since she also has a clue that his mother is the Goddess of Love herself.

"You are not beyond saving, Melinoe." Matthaios caressed her cheeks, washing the darkness that covers her thoughts somehow.

"W-What are you doing?" She tries to resist it, but she is giving in from how strong he is when it comes to cheering her up.

"Saving you from your demise." He gleamed, speaking out in an alluring tone.

"Don't make me fall into it, Champion of Sparta." She finally grinned after years of mourning, looking up to the Champion of Sparta.

"I'm sorry, Athena..." The Demi-god pulled Melinoe closer, brushing her hair using his fingers.

Melinoe never felt like this after the withering of Thanatos, and she did not expect that the son of the Ghost of Sparta would stop her from succumbing. It doesn't matter how she hates Kratos now, but what matters to her right now is she considers Matthaios as her savior.

This angered the Goddess of Wisdom, but the Goddess of Love felt so proud that her son is with someone. Athena couldn't do anything but to witness Melinoe and Matthaios showing affection to each other, and the fact that he followed his mother's commands angered her.

"You have disappointed me for the last time, Matthaios." Athena couldn't control her temper anymore.

"Let them be, Athena… Look." Aphrodite smirks as Melinoe and her son began kissing each other.

Melinoe swayed gracefully while kissing the Champion of Sparta, and Matthaios held her waist whilst returning the kiss. And after pulling away, Melinoe sniffled once again. The fear of being left out is upon her. "I know you're not going to be here for so long…"

"I have to... But I'm damned enough to ensure you that I'll return." He promised that he will come back for her.

"You have to make an oath…" Melinoe sets a vow to make sure that he is going to return in one piece.

"And what is it, my love?" He asked while embracing her.

"Your sister has to stay with me." She wanted Calliope to stay by her side or she would be lonesome as usual.

"Make sure that she would be safe by your side… I can't bear to lose someone." He showed his deepest fears and one of them is losing someone.

"Of course, I know how it feels. But thanks to you, I feel lighter and such." Melinoe admitted that the burden inside her has now subsided.

"Did it work?" Matthaios asked if his powers worked on her.

"It did." She confirms it with a smile on her face.

"I'm glad." He also put out a smile.

"You must leave now and walk on your path, Champion of Sparta." Melinoe pulls away from his grasp before Matthaios steps at the Suicide Bluffs down to tell something towards Calliope.

He kneeled in front of his sister again, sighing before speaking it out. "I'm sorry, but you are staying here. Melinoe would take care of you just like what Zagreus did. Although he cursed you…"

"You're leaving me to her?" Calliope is bothered by second thoughts.

"You have to remember that I am returning here for her and you. I still have to talk to the Gods." Matthaios gets up, telling her to go to Melinoe.

"Promise that?" She wanted to know if the Goddess of Ghosts could be trusted.

"She is saddened at this moment… A company would be nice." He looked at Melinoe who is now making her way to the temple.

Calliope decides to stay at the Death's Domain with Melinoe, hugging her brother for the last time before he leaves. "Father would be so proud of you, brother."

"I hope so… Now go," Matthaios tells her to follow Melinoe.

Calliope giggled, heading to the temple where she is staying. Melinoe was now joyful than ever, and it is something unusual for her to acquire. The Champion of Sparta kept the smile while walking away, and he is glad that he finally found somebody to love. He looked at the temple for the last time and the silhouette of Melinoe and Calliope playing together could be seen.

There is a reason for him to smile before exiting Suicide Bluffs, going to the portal to find himself in Mount Olympus. He started climbing Mount Olympus, and it might have taken a while for him to go to the top, but the exhaustion bothered him a little.

After a lengthy climb, he finds himself at the top. Athena and Aphrodite are arguing once again because of his remarks, and he was the one who thought of stopping them. "Are you serious? In front of me?"

"You do not own my son, Athena. Let him be!" Aphrodite wishes Matthaios to follow his heart and do what he wants.

"Without guidance, he would become a monster by himself." Athena defends her side by providing him a proper direction upon his mission.

"You sure are making a monster out of him!" Aphrodite steps in front of her son, staring at Athena sternly.

"It is not my intention to take charge of him, Aphrodite. I am doing this for his good." The Goddess of Wisdom protects what her point is.

"You should refrain from being manipulative!" Before Aphrodite could even release her anger, Matthaios stops her with an embrace.

"I am doing alright, mother. There is no reason for you to be enraged." Matthaios tells his mother that she shouldn't be so mean-spirited towards Athena.

"Your son is right, perhaps we should move on." Athena walked inside the newly-constructed Chamber meant for her, holding a container that has Ambrosia in it.

Aphrodite was rubbing her son's hair when Athena comes out from her Chamber, deciding to make her Demi-god status as official. Matthaios pulls away from his mother's touch to see the Ambrosia on Athena's hands, asking what is the purpose of it. "The Ambrosia… For whom is that for?"

"You." Athena offers the Ambrosia at Matthaios for him to intake.

"How are you so sure of it, Athena? He is not ready." Aphrodite doesn't want her son to become immortal yet.

"He is." Athena insists, and Matthaios finally drinks it.

A shining aura surrounds his body, indicating that he is now an immortal and an official Demi-god. After drinking it, Matthaios' complexion becomes livelier compared to his rageful demeanor. Aphrodite was delighted to see her son ascending as a tangible Demi-god.

"You are now proclaimed as one of ours, Champion of Sparta." Athena smiled from seeing Matthaios being an official Demi-god.

"You are truly a gift coming from the Gods, my son." Aphrodite couldn't help but shed tears from seeing her son reaching a whole new level.

"You may now return to Sparta." Athena dismisses the Demi-god, allowing him to go back to where he grew up and continue serving them.

Matthaios waved goodbye at Aphrodite and Athena, leaving Mount Olympus to return and resume where he left off in the city-state of Sparta.

To be continued…