POV Atreus
The blacksmith's hammer crashed down with fury upon the glowing metal form. The spirit of the forge coursed through anvil and fire I could feel the metal's structure shifting beneath each strike, knew exactly where to hit and how hard. But with the power of the god of the forge came his nature too his love for his daughter, his burdens. Only now did I begin to understand: when I take a god's power, I also take his soul his emotions, his thoughts, his memories.
I didn't feel that with Hecate. Her power remained distant I simply absorbed it and moved on. But Hephaestus and Demeter... they merged with me completely. And that was what made it hurt most: to feel her love for me, searing into my heart like wounds that were never mine to bear.
The weight of those thoughts and that pain threatened to crush me. I raised the hammer one final time not to strike the metal, but to strike through myself, to pour all my suffering into the steel. Once the forging was complete, I sat nearby and watched the flames dance. You can't run from your reality. No matter how cruel it may be you have to face it. See it clearly. Fearlessly.
A few hours of rest would be enough.
The path between realms opened, and my feet carried me into Athens. The city still bore the scars of its destruction. The Persian navy had landed and laid siege to it but Kratos had slaughtered every last invader, and the Greek army had pushed forward to meet the Persians' land forces. It was in that battle that I defeated Atrox.
By the time I arrived, the city was beginning to stir again. Soldiers and citizens were clearing the chaos, restoring order. Many raised their eyes to me as I passed, watching. I made my way to the fortress, and soon, I found Kratos I had to tell him.
"Atreus. You've been gone a long time. Are you all right?" Kratos asked.
"I needed time. I failed you," I replied.
"What happened?" Kratos stepped closer, and I could feel that he was beginning to sense something.
"Not here. You should come with me," I said.
I was about to open a portal when Kratos stopped me.
"Answer me. Now." His voice hardened, his gaze sharpened into something threatening.
"Come with me you'll see for yourself," I said, opening the portal. Kratos followed without another word.
The moment we stepped through, his eyes took in the state of the world. I had not yet restored life to all the plants only rare places were full of vitality. I had cast out all the darkness, but the wounds it left behind still lingered.
"Where are my wife and daughter?" Kratos asked, his voice steeped in anger.
"Your daughter is with Pandora," I answered. But when it came to his wife I couldn't say it right away. The words were short, but their weight unbearable.
"Dead," Kratos said for me. He saw it in my eyes, in my silence. And then his voice cut through the air, laced with fury:
"You swore to me there was no safer place than this. I left to fight the Persians because you asked me to. If I had stayed they wouldn't have died!"
"I failed you," I admitted. "And I won't claim I'm not to blame. But I will say this someone told Atrox where to find my realm."
"Who?" Kratos asked.
"Someone from Olympus. I don't know how they found out. The realm was hidden perfectly hidden. It's impossible to find unless..."
My eyes dropped to the two blades hanging across Kratos's back. Realization struck me. Why hadn't I seen it before?
"Your blades. They're Ares's, aren't they?"
"Yes. He gave them to me," Kratos replied.
He fell silent. Then he understood.
"I brought them here... didn't I?"
"I'm not certain," I said. "But the odds... are high."
There was another possibility. But the chance that it was her was too small to consider.
"I want to see my daughter," Kratos said. "And then I will destroy every last one of those responsible."His voice was thick with grief. Happiness had been so close only to crumble into dust.
"They're in that house," I said, pointing to the cottage near the old mill.
Kratos turned and walked toward it without another word. I closed my eyes and let out a long, heavy breath.
Kratos has to leave this place or the attack may happen again. This realm barely survived as it is. Soon, I'll hide it somewhere else.
Having given Kratos a moment, I entered the house.
"You need to leave," I said. "This world can't be put in danger again."
"I'll take my daughter with me. To Sparta," he answered calmly.
"That's not safe. She'll be at even greater risk there," I said.
"She nearly died here," Kratos retorted.
He wasn't wrong. And yet I still believed that Greece, right now, was the most dangerous place for her.
"I…" I tried to say something more, but the words caught in my throat. Whatever I said, it wouldn't matter he had already made his choice."Do what you must."
He chose his path. And he alone would bear its consequences.
Opening the path between realms, Kratos left with his daughter returning to Sparta. And I found myself in Athens once again.
Maybe part of me still hoped the flames of war wouldn't reach this city.But I was wrong. Terribly wrong.
My steps led me to a small house the very one where Callista and Nicandros once lived. I hadn't seen them in years. And I never would again.
All that remained were ashes and splinters. I knelt beside the ruins of what used to be a home and stared at its charred remains. In my mind, everything came alive again, as if I'd stepped back into a time when they were still breathing. Under my will, their images returned.
The house stood whole once more. Callista sat at the table, embroidering a handkerchief. In the backyard, Nicandros trained, his movements sharp, already strong. He was becoming a warrior he wanted to be like me.
Echoes of the past reverberated in the present. And then… I saw the truth.
Persian soldiers burst into the house. He grabbed his sword and fought as best he could but he was only human. He slew ten men before he fell, bleeding out. Callista died soon after.
"Sorrow for mortals..." came a voice. "That's what sets you apart from them."
Erynia appeared beside me.
"You were the one who spoke of the Golden Groves, weren't you?" I asked, not turning to look at her.
"No," she replied. "Do you think, if I wanted to, I'd have stayed silent all these years? If I wanted you dead, I would've told them when you were still vulnerable."
Her words rang true. I felt no deception in them. I hadn't accused her but I couldn't trust her fully either.
"What do you want?" I asked, my voice weary as the images of the past dissolved around us.
"Curiosity," Erynia said. "You know... their souls are intact. If you wished, you could bring them back."
Death always comes without warning. No one is ever ready it strikes when you least expect it. In those final seconds, everyone wishes for just a little more time.But once it happens, very few truly want to return. Most souls long to start again to make different choices, to rewrite their fate.
Damypp... my brother. His soul was torn apart by dark magic. By summoning him back, I had condemned him to a terrible fate. Now he is truly gone.
Maybe the dead are meant to remain dead no matter how painful that truth may be.
"I have a request," I said, rising to my feet. "Make sure they reach the Fields of Elysium. And if it's possible… let them meet again in another life. Maybe there, they'll find happiness. Maybe Callista will find love. Maybe Nicandros will grow into the warrior he dreamed of becoming."
"Hm..." Erynia smiled. "You never cease to surprise me, Atreus. Watching you will never grow dull."
With those words, she vanished.