He wanted to rebel, but the power no longer belonged to him.
"Look around you, Spartan." Zeus slowly descended from the sky, his steps heavy, each one seeming to crush Kratos' last hope.
His figure tall and lonely, the white robe fluttering in the bloody wind, the lightning in his eyes solidified into a pale mist, "This is the price of defying the Gods."
Zeus' voice seemed to come from a distant cave.
Carrying a resounding echo.
"You caused all of this! You cursed me with the War God's godhood!"
Kratos knelt on one knee in the ruins of the fountain, the Blade of Chaos stabbed into the ground supporting his body. His muscle fibers were like bowstrings stretched to the limit, every inch of skin covered with dense blood beads—a result of capillaries bursting under divine pressure. Yet he still raised his head, his blood-stained eyes piercing through the swirling dust.
He threw out his Blade of Chaos once again.
However.
This time was even worse than the last.
The moment the Blade of Chaos struck Zeus' chest, instead of a burst of blood, golden sparks exploded. The blade left no mark on the Divine King's white robe but instead cracked Kratos' grip. The moment the Blade of Chaos struck Zeus' chest, golden sparks exploded instead of blood.
The blade left no mark on the Divine King's white robe but instead cracked Kratos' grip. He was now too weak, his frail mortal body unable to wield a blade against the Divine King.
"Do you think these toys can harm me?" Zeus gently blew a breath, sending Kratos flying like being hit by a battering ram, stopping only after crashing through three stone walls.
"The Divine Power I granted you, naturally I can reclaim." He raised his right hand, the Colossus of the Sun God simultaneously raised its left palm, "Now, let me show you true power."
As the giant palm descended, Kratos instinctively rolled to evade. But the speed of a mortal body was too slow—the edge of the bronze palm scraped across his back, instantly peeling away a whole layer of skin.
When he slammed into the ground, the collision of his spine with the stone slab was clearly audible. Blood gushed from his ears, nose, and throat simultaneously, pooling into a small lake amid the rubble.
"Rise, Spartan soul."
Zeus' voice suddenly was very near. In Kratos' blurred vision appeared a pair of thunder-embedded boots, slowly landing less than a foot from his head.
"Where is the might you showed when slaughtering my Temple Guards? Where is the arrogance when you challenged Olympus?" Zeus' voice was full of sarcasm, carrying a sense of self-satisfied vengeance.
Kratos' knuckles twitched. Most of his tendons were already severed, but some force deeper than muscle still drove this shattered body. As he propped up his upper body with his elbow, broken ribs pierced through the chest skin, glaring white in the air.
"For... revenge..." Each word came with blood bubbles, "I could die... a thousand times..."
Zeus suddenly burst into fury. He grabbed Kratos by the throat and lifted him, the pressure of divine power making Kratos' entire skeleton groan under the strain. "Revenge?" The Divine King's face contorted into a terrifying visage, white hair standing on end like Medusa's, "You have no idea what true revenge is!"
He threw Kratos heavily towards the base of the Colossus of the Sun God. The bronze surface dented into a human shape from the impact, with Kratos convulsing like an insect pinned on a specimen board.
Oddly, his consciousness was notably clear at this moment—perhaps the dying brain was bestowing final mercy, and he saw the familiar Olympus Sword forming in Zeus' hand.
"You have betrayed the love I gave you." Zeus gripped Kratos by the throat and raised him high, the pale Divine Eye reflecting the blood-smeared face of the Spartan.
"Open your eyes, Kratos." Zeus' voice rumbled like thunder, "See how you've led your people into the abyss."
Kratos arduously lifted his heavy eyelids, his vision blurred by smudged blood yet still able to see—Zeus' hand holding the Olympus Sword emitted dazzling golden light.
Wherever the sword pointed, the air twisted, and earth tremors.
"No...!" Kratos roared, but his voice was drowned in the hurricane-like energy storm.
Zeus swung his sword.
In an instant.
The violent divine power swept over the entire island like a tsunami, ground cracked, buildings collapsed, and the sky was torn into fragmented storm clouds. Ian stood atop a distant cliff.
His robe flapped in the raging energy storm.
"Hiss, such terrifying magic power, or divine power—indeed, the longer Gods live, the stronger their divine power becomes." Ian could feel the tumultuous divine power in the air.
He cast magic.
Protected himself.
And protected the last remaining civilians in the city. But at the storm's center, countless Spartan Warriors' silhouettes were swallowed by the golden light. Their armor disintegrated under divine might, flesh evaporated in energy, without even leaving a final scream—in just an instant, the once valiant and brave Spartan army turned into drifting ashes scattered across the sky.
Kratos' pupils contracted violently, squeezing out shattered wails from his throat. His warriors, his people, the Spartans he once vowed to lead to glory... Now, all were annihilated by Zeus due to his rebellion.
"This is the price of defying the Gods." Zeus' voice was icy to the core, "Remember their deaths, Kratos—their blood is all on your hands."
Kratos' knuckles trembled with rage, yet his body was long wrecked, even the strength to struggle was stripped away. Zeus basked in his despair, the Olympus Sword in his hand gleamed once more with chilling light.