[New Fic/GOW] 1 - Death of Olympus and the Greek Gods

The Godslayer's Hell

[Synopsis: What would happen when Zeus and all of the other Olympian Gods who fell to Kratos, in their final breaths, exhausted all their power and very souls to curse Kratos to wander for all eternity, with no chance of ever genuinely finding peace? The Answer? No one could ever know nor understand...]

[A/N: This is basically a recap of Kratos's life from birth to the end of the Saga where he slaughters the Olympic Gods and dooms all of Greece due to his actions, of course, much of this comes from the Wiki]

Kratos...the Ghost of Sparta, the God of War, Champion and Slave of the Greek Gods.., a Demi-God that grew to become a fully-fledged God of War.

Kratos has never had an easy life, as he was trained in the ways of a Spartan from Birth, he fought and lived for battle until he finally met his match, and in his dying moments, he cried out to the Gods, hoping they could turn the tides of the battle, and in his desperation, one answered his call, Ares, the God of War.

Ares gave Kratos what he needed to win the battle and to repay him, Kratos committed countless atrocities and deeds in Ares's name.

For a time, it seemed, his only tether to humanity was his beloved family, yet even they grew horrified by him, to the point where his wife Lysandra would state outright that he cared nothing for Sparta's glory, but for his own. He would not listen to her, and continued his rampage, blindly following the will of Ares in his pursuit of more bloodshed and infamy, yet this took a tragic turn when the God tricked him into killing his wife and child, all to destroy what little humanity he had left. Branded the "Ghost of Sparta" for this terrible deed, the ashes of his wife and child would remain fused to his skin forever.

Completely undone by the killing of his wife and child, Kratos became a constantly-suicidal and greatly-bereaved wreck of a man beloved by none yet known to all. Devoting himself to the other Gods of Olympus in a desperate attempt to rid himself of his memories, Kratos would hang on to the small glimmer of hope that perhaps he would one day be able to redeem himself. Yet no matter how many enemies he'd slaughter or how many lives he would save, the Gods would continue to put labor upon labor onto Kratos' shoulders, forcing him to endure the pain of his memories for ten long years of servitude.

Maddened by his memories and unable to find a moment of peace, Kratos would develop a deep-seated hatred of the Gods, and especially Ares in particular, for toying with his life.

Though Kratos would eventually defeat Ares and claim the throne of the "God of War" for his own, his resentment of the other Gods remained strong.

Although Kratos had been appointed the God of War to replace Ares, the memories of his past lingered. One day, he received a vision of his mother, Callisto, being held captive in the Temple of Poseidon in Atlantis. Kratos knew it wasn't an ordinary dream, and as such, he traveled to Poseidon’s Temple.

During his voyage, Athena appeared and tried to prevent Kratos from carrying out his mission, saying that everything Kratos saw was only a dream, but her plea fell on deaf ears. When almost to his destination, the ship was attacked and destroyed by Scylla, a monster sent by Poseidon, and Kratos crashes into the mainland of Atlantis.

After successfully driving Scylla away, Kratos makes his way to the Temple of Poseidon and came across his mother lying on a bed, weakened and frail. Callisto told her approaching son that she had missed him. At first, Kratos assumed that it was a trick by the Gods due to thinking that his mother was dead, but she assured him that it was truly her.

After he closely examined her, Kratos realized that it was indeed his mother to which he was shocked to see her again. Surprised by this revelation, Kratos became furious, asking her who his father was and why Callisto had been lying about him for the death of his long-lost brother, Deimos.

Callisto replied that Kratos' father forbade her to speak of that, but before she could tell who Kratos' real father was, she turned into a massive creature and attacked Kratos. Kratos was forced to fight his transformed mother, and after being seriously injured, Callisto returned to her original form. Before she succumbed to her injuries, she thanked Kratos for freeing her from the curse and asked him to save Deimos.

To open the gate to the Domain of Death, Kratos needed a key called the Skull of Keres which, according to Callisto, is stored in the city of Sparta, Kratos' birthplace. Angry that the Gods had once again caused him to lose another of his family members, Kratos embarked on a journey to save his brother.

On the way to Sparta, Scylla once again appeared and attacked Kratos, who fell into the depths of the Methana Volcano. There he met the Titan Thera, who was imprisoned in the Methana Volcano by Poseidon. Thera asked Kratos to save him, or otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to escape.

For this reason, Kratos stabs the Blades of Athena into Thera's chest and gains the strength of Thera's Bane, a power that can imbue burning coals into the Blades of Athena and use them to destroy the closed doors on the Methana Volcano. By doing so, Thera is now free from the chains that bind him. Kratos harnesses the power of Thera's Bane to battle a multitude of armored enemies and smash through various doors that impeded him.

After a long and dangerous journey, which included killing Scylla who once again interferes in his efforts to escape, Kratos managed to escape the Methana Volcano right when the mountain erupted, drowning the city of Atlantis and the entirety of Poseidon's Temple.

Crashed far away to the Island of Crete, Kratos reaches Athena's Temple and vents his anger on Athena who had not told him that Deimos was still alive. Athena replied that Kratos still doesn't fully understand, and she asks Kratos to cease his mission, but upon hearing this, Kratos becomes furious and destroys the Statue of Athena, before he continued the journey to the city of Sparta.

On the way, he once again met with the same Grave Digger who previously helped him escape the Underworld. The Grave Digger talks about how Kratos has made a mistake by sinking Atlantis, and how Kratos would be unable to find Deimos. Just like Athena, he also asked Kratos to stop his quest.

However, Kratos did not care about the words of the Grave Digger, but after this encounter, he would soon find his journey once again hampered. In the mountains of Aroania, he saw Erinys, the daughter of Thanatos, who was threatening the life of a Spartan while asking for the whereabouts of the Ghost of Sparta.

Sent by Thanatos after the city of Atlantis sank, Erinys is assigned to stop Kratos from reaching the Domain of Death. When the Spartan soldier admits that he does not understand Kratos' whereabouts, Erinys immediately slams him and stabbed him, leaving him to die on a rock.

Kratos honors the death of the Spartan warrior and goes to Erinys who appears to have killed another group of Spartan warriors. The two of them engaged in a fight, during which Kratos managed to tear both of her wings. However, Erinys' wings grew back and she transformed into a giant armored bird monster, forcing Kratos to use the power of Thera's Bane, stab it into her armor, and kill her.

After Erinys' death, Kratos finally made it to the city of Sparta. There, he took a secret path through the dungeon to enter the Temple of Ares. After reaching a loyal subordinate of Ares who was locked up, Kratos arrived at Ares' Temple which is now in the process of being converted into something strange and mysterious.

In order to get the Skull of Keres which is the key to the gate of the Domain of Death, Kratos must first confront the shadows of his past. And now with the key in his hand, Kratos knows that he must return to the sinking city of Atlantis. However, Kratos' journey back to the city of Atlantis is not easy.

He had met Thanatos who asked him to stand down and immediately sent his troops when Kratos refused. Dealing with King Midas, the King who has the ability to turn everything he touches into gold, Kratos used him as a bridge for him to cross the lava; until finally he reached the ocean where a huge whirlpool had formed as a result of the destruction of Atlantis.

The huge whirlpool and the lightning overhead shook the ship Kratos was on and dumps him in the city, where he is warned by Poseidon through one of his broken statues that he would make Kratos pay for the destruction of Atlantis.

While Kratos was looking for the gate of the Domain of Death, Athena once again appeared to ask him to stop his search for Deimos, telling him that Deimos was a threat to Olympus before she apologized to him. Hearing Athena's apology, Kratos immediately recalled the day when Deimos was taken from him.

At that time, before leaving Kratos, Athena also apologized. Her voice and manner of speaking matched Athena's apology at that moment, and because of that, Kratos realized that Athena was the one who took Deimos away from him. Enraged, Kratos asks why Athena didn't save Deimos then, but she didn’t answer.

Kratos warned Athena not to hinder his efforts in rescuing Deimos. Following this, he went to open the gates of the Domain of Death using the Skull of Keres. Kratos arrives in the Domain of Death, a dark realm that lies between the lands of the living and the world of the dead, a purgatory ruled by Thanatos that even Gods do not dare to enter.

Walking further, Kratos enters the Temple of Thanatos and for the first time, he reunites with Deimos. Kratos immediately frees Deimos, but Deimos isn't happy with the arrival of his brother. He blamed Kratos for not helping him when he needed it the most, and for that, he attacked Kratos.

Deimos is shown to be a tough opponent, dropping Kratos from a great height and beating him without stopping until Kratos' was left bloodied and wounded. However, Kratos never retaliated against his brother. In the middle of this fight, Thanatos grabbed Deimos and carried him away.

Barely able to stand as a result of Deimos' beating, Kratos follows Thanatos to a cliff and quickly saves Deimos. After reuniting, Kratos and Deimos join forces to face Thanatos. Thanatos talks about how the Oracle's predictions did come true, a 'marked warrior' will bring destruction to Olympus, however, Athena and Ares mistook Deimos for the warrior.

Kratos is the one referred to by the Oracle as the 'marked warrior' and is supposed to be brought to the Domain of Death. However, none of that mattered anymore, because Thanatos had a plan- to kill them both. After engaging in a fierce fight, Thanatos turned into a giant monster resembling a dragon, but Deimos manages to stab Thanatos in the eye.

However, Thanatos fought back by crushing him and throwing his body aside, instantly killing Deimos. Deimos' death culminated in more anger as Kratos immediately exerted all his strength to kill Thanatos. Kratos then took his brother's lifeless body to an already empty grave prepared by none other than the Grave Digger, telling his brother that he was free now.

He once again attempts to kill himself by jumping the cliff, but immediately stops by asking himself what he has done and what he is now. The Grave Digger answers that Kratos had become "Death, the Destroyer of Worlds" before mysteriously disappearing. Athena attempts to elevate Kratos to full Godhood, only to have the Spartan stop her from doing so.

Kratos then returns to Olympus stating the Gods will pay for what they have done. As Kratos leaves, Athena quietly asks Kratos to forgive her before calling him “brother", marking the first time Athena acknowledges that they are siblings. Later, the Grave Digger is shown laying Callisto to her grave, saying "Now, only one remains".

A third grave is seen, implied to have been dug for Kratos.

Back to Kratos, he could be found on his throne, wearing his newly-forged armor, furious and determined to exact vengeance on the Gods of Olympus. Kratos, driven by his rage and the loss of his brother and mother, leads the Spartans into a vicious battle to take over the city of Rhodes.

Since the death of his brother Deimos, Kratos has isolated himself from the other Gods and spent most of his time helping Sparta in conquering Greece. He, along together with the Spartan Army carried out an attack on a city, and this action angered the Gods, so in the midst of the struggle, Kratos is attacked by Argos, the pet of Zeus' wife, Hera.

They two had a mighty battle, but Argos fled several times, but Kratos luckily manages to catch up to him by pushing him into a big ditch, where Argos was killed at the hands of a mysterious Assassin. When approached, the Assassin doesn't say anything and runs away, forcing Kratos to chase after him.

But in his pursuit, he is repeatedly hampered by Hades' forces, making him believe that the Assassin is Hades, trying to ruin his reputation as the God of War. Kratos believes that all of this could make sense, considering the fact that he had killed Hades' wife, Persephone.

After successfully eliminating Hades' troops, Kratos' pursuit was stopped by Ceryx, the son of Hermes, who allowed the Assassin to escape. By order of Zeus, Ceryx asks Kratos to stop his pursuit.

But Kratos doesn't care and immediately confronted Ceryx. While fighting him, Ceryx ultimately dies at Kratos' hands, and Kratos soon realizes that Zeus will not remain silent on this deed. And so, the Assassin was never seen again after this.

[A/N: Jeez, that was just the first game]

Kratos didn't care about his misdeeds and he continues Sparta's war campaign. He ordered his army to attack Rhodes, the major Greek port city.

Athena begs Kratos to stop, because the Gods of Olympus have started to get angry with him for his destructive behavior, and she would no longer be able to protect him.

But once again, Kratos ignored her warning, telling her he didn’t need her protection before he descended to Earth, where he helps his Spartan Army destroy the city of Rhodes. In the middle of the battle, an eagle suddenly appears and drains a portion of Kratos’ godly power, reducing him to normal human size, which the Spartan believes is Athena’s doing. This power is then bestowed on the Colossus of Rhodes, bringing it to life and making it fight against Kratos and his Spartan Army.

Even so, Kratos still possessed most of his godly power, allowing him to defeat the enemies before him with little effort. However, he had a hard time dealing with the Colossus, due to its sheer size and titanic strength. As a result, Zeus bestows Kratos with the Blade of Olympus, the very weapon that the had used to end the Titanomachy.

Kratos asked why Zeus was helping him, to which Zeus replied that what he did was for the good of Olympus. Kratos, not caring about Zeus’ cryptic answer, went to get the Blade of Olympus. He drained his remaining godly power into the Blade, rendering him mortal once more but allowing him to effectively battle the Colossus.

With this, he started destroying the Colossus' foundations from within, and in the end, succeeded in conquering the animated statue. Kratos shouted into the sky, asking if the Gods needed any more proof than this to see that they could not stop him, not noticing the Colossus collapsing behind him.

The giant statue’s hand fell and crushed him, destroying his armor and knocking the Blade of Olympus away from him. Mortally injured without the power of the Gods, Kratos knew his only hope for survival lay with the Blade. He slowly stumbled his way toward the Blade of Olympus, trying to retrieve it. However, before he made it to the Blade, the same eagle that took his powers appeared and revealed itself as Zeus.

Zeus had planned all of this from the beginning, deliberately making Kratos sacrifice his godly power into the Blade in order to force Kratos to surrender and submit to him. He was afraid that Kratos would try to kill him as he had done to Ares.

Feeling betrayed, an angry Kratos refuses to submit, claiming that the choices the Gods gave were as useless as the Gods themselves. Zeus then impales Kratos with the Blade of Olympus. After leaving Kratos to die, Zeus uses the power of the Blade of Olympus to kill everyone present in the battle of Rhodes. Horrified and enraged, Kratos swore revenge against Zeus for his betrayal before dying.

Because of his death, Kratos is dragged down into the Underworld once again. As he is pulled into Hades’ depths, he receives a visit from the Titaness Gaia. As she appeared before him, Gaia explains that she had watched over Kratos his entire life. She asks Kratos to help the Titans escape their confinement in exchange for helping him take his revenge against Zeus.

Gaia informed him that the only way to defeat Zeus is to use the power of the Sisters of Fate, who have the power to alter the fate of every God, Beast, or Titan. Only with that power can Kratos change his fate.

Refusing to die, Kratos agreed to help Gaia, who healed his wounds before he began attacking the Underworld's hands that ensnared him and managed to climb out of the Underworld once again. Rising from the dead for a second time, he found himself back in the city of Rhodes.

Kratos commands the last Spartan warrior to return to Sparta and prepare for battle. He then rode the Pegasus prepared by Gaia and headed for Olympus to seek his revenge. However, partway there, Gaia informs Kratos that he can no longer enter Olympus, due to him not being a God anymore. Instead, Gaia orders Kratos to find the Sisters of Fate and use their power to travel back in time to the moment where Zeus betrayed him.

That way, Kratos can take the Blade of Olympus and use it to kill Zeus. And so, he set out for the Island of Creation, where the Sisters of Fate reside. When passing through the ice mountains which is the place Titan Typhon was imprisoned, Pegasus was crushed under Typhon's hand, leaving Kratos no other choice but to find a way to free him. He ventured across the mountains and coincidentally encountered Prometheus.

Prometheus is seen being chained and his body torn apart by an eagle, having been imprisoned by Zeus after being caught stealing the Primordial Fire and giving it to mortals. As a punishment for his actions, Prometheus was tied up on the rocks to then have his organs eaten by a giant eagle and at night, they would grow back to be eaten again the next day. Prometheus begged Kratos to free him from his torture.

Kratos steals Typhon's Bane from Typhon and uses it to break the chains that held Prometheus, dropping him into the Primordial Fire and burning him alive, freeing him from his endless torment. The ashes of Prometheus gave Kratos the strength of the Titans.

Using that power, Kratos knocked Typhon’s hand away and released Pegasus, continuing his journey to the Island of Creation. But as he made his way towards the island, a swarm of Griffins attacked the moment they saw Pegasus, forcing Kratos to fend them off. When Kratos was about to arrive at the Island of Creation, a Griffin succeeded in weakening Pegasus and he is forced to make a death-defying leap towards the Island of Creation.

Luckily, he was saved by using the Blades of Athena to latch onto the rocks and climb onto solid ground. To reach the Palace of Fates, Kratos had to use the Steeds of Time. Exploring the Island of Creation, Kratos asked Gaia's reason for helping him, and Gaia told him about the Great War that made the Titans hold a grudge against Zeus to this day.

Armed with this knowledge, Kratos reaches the Steeds of Time and realized that in order to control the horses, a special key, kept by Theseus, was needed. For that, he went to find the key and encountered Theseus, who immediately laughed out loud when he learned of Kratos' intention to kill Zeus.

Theseus knew that Kratos no longer has the powers of a God, so he challenges him to a fight, thinking he will easily beat Kratos. But quickly thereafter, Kratos' power frightened Theseus and he summoned a hoard of monsters to fight for him. Kratos used Typhon's Bane to force Theseus down and then kill him by crushing his head with the Horse Keeper’s door.

After Theseus' death, Kratos takes the Horse Keeper's Key attached to the door and uses it to move the Steeds of Time, bringing the Island of Creation closer to the Palace of Fates. During this journey, he was warned by a statue of Lahkesis, one of the Sisters of Fate, that Kratos' fate has been shaped and cannot be changed, but Kratos doesn't listen and destroys the statue, before then continuing his journey through a swamp, where he reunited with Alrik, the Barbarian King.

It is revealed that Alrik escaped Hades' torment and went on a long journey headed for the Island of Creation for two reasons, to change his fate and to further get revenge on Kratos. For that, the two of them once again engaged in a fierce battle and Alrik summons the souls of the dead, including the soul of the Boat Captain Kratos had killed over thirteen years prior.

However, in the end, Kratos manages to eliminate his enemies, seize Alrik's Barbarian Hammer, and use it to crush his skull, killing him once more. Continuing the journey to the Palace of Fates, he must face Cerberus and obtain the Golden Fleece from him, an enchanted armor that he later used to kill Euryale, Medusa's sister, and take her head.

While he was there, Kratos also met Perseus, his half-brother, trapped in the bathhouse. Perseus wished to see the Fates in order to resurrect his wife, Andromeda. However, he became trapped in the bathhouse instead. Thinking the arrival of Kratos is a trial given to him by the Fates, Perseus challenges Kratos to a duel, hoping the Sisters of Fate would witness it and give him a chance to revive his wife. Or if not, at least he would be known as the person who managed to kill the Ghost of Sparta.

But in fact, Perseus is no match for Kratos, and although he can make himself invisible with Hades’ helmet, Kratos easily attacked and then threw him into a large hook, impaling and killing him. Taking Perseus' Shield, Kratos uses it to open access to the lowlands, where he realized that to reach the Palace of Fates, he had to cross a great chasm. Before he could cross, he was accosted by Icarus, now an old man who at this point had lost his sanity.

This happened because previously, Icarus had died and entered the Underworld, where he was tortured relentlessly until he lost his sanity. After spending dozens of years repairing his wings, he finally managed to escape from the Underworld and tried to reach the Sisters of Fate to change his destiny.

During this meeting, Icarus tries to stop Kratos' attempts to find the Sisters of Fate, saying that it was a trial he was given, rambling on about how Kratos will not make it across the great chasm, while he himself will succeed by using its wings. Hearing this, Kratos plans to use Icarus' wings to cross the great abyss, but Icarus resisted and both of them fell into the abyss.

Kratos struggles briefly with Icarus and tore off both of his wings, letting him fall once more into the Underworld, while he managed to fly to safety by landing on Atlas.

On his way back to the surface, Kratos broke some of the chains that bound Atlas' body, lightening some of the burden and catching the Titan’s attention. Noticing Kratos' presence, Atlas became furious, considering Kratos was the one who chained his body to the Earth when facing Persephone. Atlas tries to crush Kratos but then stops his attempts after learning that Kratos is now the enemy of Zeus, and he even plans to change his destiny for the sake of killing the God.

After telling Kratos how Zeus created the Blade of Olympus during the Great War and used it to drive the Titans into the depths of Tartarus, Atlas gives Kratos some of his powers and brings him back to the surface. Using Icarus' wings, Kratos arrives at the Palace of Fates.

There, he forced two scholars to read incantations and sacrifice themselves as a condition for meeting the Sisters of Fate, before they met an ordinary soldier trying to reach the Sisters of Fate himself, forcing Kratos to confront him in a very dimly lit room. Kratos managed to defeat him and throw him out of the window, only to discover that it was the Last Spartan.

When Kratos demands to know why the soldier did not return to Sparta, the Last Spartan told him that Sparta has been destroyed and that Zeus was responsible. After killing Kratos, Zeus came to the city of Sparta and destroyed it. The Spartan people called out for Kratos to help them, but he never came.

This left the Last Spartan no choice but to take a long journey to the Palace of Fates to reach the Sisters of Fate and change the fate of the city and Sparta. Before breathing his last breath, the Spartan soldier placed his hope on Kratos. The death of the Spartan warrior enrages Kratos, who calls Zeus a coward and demanded he come down and face him. Amidst this despair, the Kraken came up from behind and grabbed Kratos. The Spartan struggled against the beast’s grip but proved unable to free himself as the Kraken began crushing him.

At that moment, Kratos experienced a vision of Sparta in ruins, where he would see Lysandra (Gaia in disguise) standing on a hill. Kratos apologized to his wife and begged her to forgive him. Gaia encourages him to continue the struggle, for if Kratos surrenders, then Zeus will send his soul to Hades to be tortured for eternity.

Furthermore, Gaia informs him that the Titans want Kratos to lead them in battle against the Gods of Olympus, before empowering him with an even stronger Rage of the Titans. With mounting anger, Kratos manages to free himself from the Kraken’s grip and kill it.

Using the Phoenix that he freed from the Phoenix Chamber, Kratos finally reaches the main shrine of the Sisters of Fate. Kratos enters the shrine and encounters one of the Sisters, Lahkesis. Lahkesis him tells that destiny can only be shaped by the Sisters of Fate, and that Kratos was never fated to kill Zeus.

In fact, Kratos' presence there was also part of the destiny created by the Sisters of Fate. Refusing to believe Lahkesis, Kratos retorted that his destiny was formed because of his own doing, threatening to kill her if Lahkesis did not let him pass, getting the two involved in a fight.

When Kratos almost succeeded in defeating her, Lahkesis summons her sister, Atropos, who then takes Kratos to the past, to his battle with Ares. Atropos tries to destroy the Blade of the Gods, the sword Kratos used to kill Ares, so that Kratos would die at the God of War’s hand, but this effort is quickly thwarted by Kratos, and the two return to the present in the Temple of Lahkesis. Lahkesis is annoyed by this failed attempt and attacks Kratos once again, only now being assisted by Atropos from behind the room’s mirrors.

After a long and fierce battle, Kratos managed to trap Lahkesis and Atropos in the mirror and destroys it, imprisoning them forever. Kratos then continued his journey to meet the last Sister of Fate, Clotho. Due to her gigantic, misshapen body being covered in a multitude of arms, Kratos first had to pin her many limbs down in order to climb up and reach her head, before he impaled her through her skull and killed her.

The deaths of the Fates gave Kratos a chance to change his destiny by using the Mirror of Destiny located in the Loom Chamber. He returns to the time when Zeus betrayed him, and, having regained his godly powers, immediately attacked Zeus as he was killing the Kratos from the past.

Zeus was surprised by Kratos' presence and assumed that the Sisters of Fate had helped him, but while pulling the Blade of Olympus, Kratos informed that the Sisters of Fate were dead. This made Zeus realize that he had underestimated Kratos and immediately attacked him.

The two of them engaged in a battle in the sky and landed on the Summit of Sacrifice, where Rhea had given her children to Cronos for him to consume. It was also here that Rhea saved baby Zeus' life by tricking Cronos into eating a stone. In his full god form, Zeus summons an army of Sirens and throws thunderbolts, but Kratos manages to fight back by paralyzing him with the Sirens’ screams.

Kratos then impaled Zeus' hand with the Blade of Olympus, causing him to shrink back to normal size. In a very intense battle, Zeus seized the Blade of Olympus from Kratos, but the Spartan soon reclaimed it before stabbing and throwing Zeus into a pillar.

Kratos attempted to knock the pillar onto Zeus, but Zeus managed to destroy it and this time, he used the power of his lightning to weaken Kratos. Feigning defeat, Kratos claimed to surrender to Zeus and dropped the Blade of Olympus, begging Zeus to kill him and release him from his suffering. Zeus returned to human size and picks up the Blade of Olympus, saying he would end the Spartan’s life, but that his torment was just about to begin.

However, Kratos quickly dodged the incoming attack and overpowered Zeus once more. When Zeus fell powerless, Kratos took the Blade of Olympus and prepared to deliver the finishing blow. But his attempt to kill Zeus was thwarted by Athena, who suddenly appeared and blocked the attack, begging Kratos to stop.

Zeus took advantage of this situation and tried to escape, claiming that Kratos had started a war that he couldn’t win. Before Zeus escaped, Kratos made one last effort to kill him, pushing Athena away and charging at Zeus. But when Kratos thrust his sword forward, Athena jumped in front of it, taking the blow meant for her father.

Zeus managed to escape, while Kratos, horrified by what he had done, asked why Athena sacrificed herself. Athena replied that she had done it for the safety of Olympus. Furthermore, Athena revealed that the reason Zeus wanted to kill Kratos was because he was afraid that what happened to his father would happen again.

Ouranus was killed by Cronos; Cronos was overthrown by, Zeus; and now, Zeus feared being killed by his own son: Kratos. Zeus' main intention was to break the cycle of patricide. Kratos was shocked by this sudden revelation, and before taking her last breath, Athena begs Kratos to stop seeking revenge, warning him that all the Gods of Olympus would unite against him and that if Zeus died, the world would be destroyed.

At this point, Kratos had succumbed to his madness, and he vowed that if all of Olympus would stand against him, then all of Olympus would die, before Athena passed away. After this, he used the Fates’ Loom Chamber once again and traveled back in time to the Great War. Kratos brings the Titans with him to the present day in Ryder to face the gods.

Meanwhile, Zeus, still injured from his fight with Kratos, held a meeting with the other Gods to join forces to face the Ghost of Sparta. At that instant, Mount Olympus started to shake and when the Gods looked down, they saw a very terrible sight: the Titans were climbing up the mountain with Kratos on Gaia's shoulders. Armed with the Blade of Olympus, he shouted at his father, declaring that his son had come back and that the end of Olympus was at hand.

---

One by one Kratos killed the Gods and Titans alike, as the Titans also ended up betraying him.

No one and nothing seemed capable of stopping Kratos's rampage and those that tried, fell by his hands.

Unfortunately, most of these deaths were preventable, since Kratos's quarrel was with Zeus and the other Major Gods.

First, he killed Posiodon, then Hades, Helios, Hermes, Hercules, and Hera, leaving only Gaia and Zeus.

After a very fierce battle, Kratos managed to stab Zeus and pierce Gaia's heart with the Blade of Olympus, killing both of them simultaneously. Waking up on the destroyed peak of Olympus, Kratos pulls the Blade of Olympus from Zeus' body, tossing it aside before walking away.

However, Zeus’ spirit suddenly emerged and attacked Kratos, draining his remaining strength which fills him with fear. Trapped inside of his own mind and tormented by all of the memories of his past, Kratos was convinced by the spirit of Pandora to confront his past and forgive himself.

Finally, he dove into a pool of blood to confront his demons using the power of hope. And by using this same power, Kratos returned to his physical form, regained his godly powers, and, no longer needing the Blades of Exile, mercilessly beat Zeus to death, finally achieving the vengeance he had sought.

The death of Zeus plunged the world into total chaos. Kratos stood atop the cliff, looking out at the horizon, and realized what he had done. Athena then came to congratulate him and said that humanity was now ready to hear her message.

Kratos was left confused, as her message would seem to be worthless to a world that had been utterly destroyed. Whatever her intentions, Athena asked Kratos to give up the power he claimed from Pandora's Box, but Kratos told her that the Box was empty.

Athena then explained that after the Great War ended, Zeus housed all the evil forces of fear, greed, and hatred in Pandora's Box. But as a form of prevention whenever the Box was opened, Athena inserted the most powerful weapon ever, the Power of Hope, into Pandora's Box. Hearing Kratos insist that Pandora's Box had nothing in it, Athena reconsidered what had happened.

She then realized that when Kratos opened Pandora's Box for the first time, the evil power housed within it came out and spread throughout the Greek World, infecting the Gods of Olympus and turning them into individuals filled with greed, hatred, and fear.

That's why ever since Ares was killed, Zeus was always filled with fear and became so obsessed with killing Kratos. All that time, Athena thought the Power of Hope that she had placed inside Pandora's Box had never come out, and that the reason Kratos could kill Ares was because the evils had entered Kratos' body, but she was wrong.

While the evils transformed the Gods of Olympus into beings filled with greed, hatred, and fear, the Power of Hope that Athena put in the Box came out and hid within Kratos, allowing him to kill Ares. But the Power of Hope was buried deep within Kratos, trapped under his guilt.

After Pandora led him to forgive himself for his past, the Power of Hope that was in Kratos came out, allowing him to kill Zeus. Athena asked Kratos once more to return the Power to her. But Kratos, overwhelmed by grief over Pandora's death and the destruction of the world caused by his selfishness, refused to return it. Instead, he took the Blade of Olympus and used it to impale himself, horrifying Athena.

As a result, the Power of Hope was released into the world, so that humanity would be able to endure the destruction and rebuild without relying on the Gods. Athena became furious, and she chastised Kratos, claiming that the mortals wouldn’t know what to do with it.

She then told Kratos that she was disappointed with him, only to be met with a mocking grin and a weak chuckle from the Spartan. Athena pulled the Blade of Olympus out of Kratos’ body and tossed it aside before disappearing and leaving him to die. Kratos collapsed as his blood continued to pool around him.

However, Kratos did not die, being cursed to be unable to end his own life.

But, little did he know, that was only a side effect of a much more potent curse, in the final moments of every God he slew, a curse powered by their very souls and the 'Evils' of the world formed a Curse so powerful that it would cause the Ghost of Sparta to suffer for all Eternity and never know peace, till some fateful day he finds a way to die or becomes strong enough to break his curse.

What would come first? The end of everything and even time itself, or, the death of Kratos?