The Dying Realm
Silver dunes rolled beneath a black sky, where dying stars flickered like embers in a dying hearth.
Kratos stood silent, surveying the alien wasteland with eyes that had seen too many battlefields.
Mithra tended to Asura, who lay slumped against a collapsed pillar, blood still leaking from the stumps of his severed arms. Atreus hovered nearby, clutching his bow, wide-eyed both focused and exhausted.
A silence hung over them all—thick and heavy.
Accusations in the Dust
Asura stirred, teeth clenched, veins pulsing along his temple. He fixed Kratos with a burning stare.
Asura (hoarse, trembling): "…This is your fault."
Kratos turned toward him slowly, voice low.
Kratos (quiet): "Choose your next words carefully."
Asura rose unsteadily to his knees, crimson mist swirling around his wounds.
Asura (snarling): "We should have attacked Eon with everything we had the second we saw him! But you wanted to wait. To plan. That's how time slips away. That's how I lost my daughter once. I won't risk it again!"
Kratos' jaw tightened, a muscle ticking in his cheek.
Kratos: "And charging headlong blindly into death cost me my wife. My child. I will not let my son die because you can't control your rage."
Asura staggered to his feet, eyes blazing.
Asura (roaring): "Your hesitation is what's killing us! While you brood and THINK, he's rewriting reality! You want to watch that happen again? I DON'T!"
Kratos stepped closer, looming over Asura.
Kratos (growling): "I will not stand by while you become the monster I once was. I've seen where your path leads. I will not let Atreus—or Mithra—pay the price for YOUR rage!"
The Clash of Titans
Asura's eyes widened, fury boiling over.
Asura (shouting): "Don't you DARE speak of my DAUGHTER!!"
He lunged forward, headbutting Kratos square in the face. Kratos staggered back, blood spurting from his nose. A moment later, Kratos retaliated, driving his fist into Asura's gut with bone-cracking force.
Despite missing his arms, Asura's entire body radiated raw Mantra. He slammed his forehead into Kratos' chest, sending the Spartan skidding backward across the sands.
Kratos roared, lifting the Leviathan Axe and swinging it. Asura twisted his body, channeling a pulse of crimson energy from his shoulder stumps that deflected the blade in a burst of sparks.
Atreus and Mithra cried out.
Atreus: "STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!"
Mithra: "PLEASE…DON'T KILL EACH OTHER!"
Mithra threw herself between them, golden barriers flickering—but was shoved aside as the two warriors collided again.
The Draw
They traded brutal strikes—Kratos hammering blows with his fists and axe handle, Asura using violent knees, kicks, and surges of pure Mantra energy. Sand exploded around them with every impact.
Finally, both staggered back, chests heaving, bleeding heavily. Kratos' cheek was split open. Asura dripped blood from a gash along his scalp.
Kratos lowered his axe slightly, eyes still blazing.
Kratos (breathing hard): "That is…Enough."
Asura wiped blood from his mouth with the stump of his arm, eyes narrowed.
Asura (panting): "…This is pointless."
Kratos said nothing. Slowly, he turned his back on Asura, facing the silver dunes.
Asura glared after him, chest heaving, then finally sank to his knees again, trembling with rage and exhaustion.
Mithra dropped beside her father, voice shaking.
Mithra: "Father, please. Kratos isn't your enemy."
Asura (snarling): "Then why does he act like one? While the real enemy still laughs at us?"
Mithra (desperate): "That's exactly what Eon wants. He's turning you against each other."
Asura (low, bitter): "Eon doesn't need tricks. He could crush us anytime he wished. And if I ever rely on that Spartan… it'll already be too late."
(Mithra lowered her head, tears threatening to fall.)
Atreus stepped closer to Kratos, voice steadier, colder.
Atreus: "He's wrong about one thing. It's not too late… unless you both keep wasting time. Every moment you fight each other, Eon grows stronger."
(Kratos stared into the distance, jaw tight.)
Kratos (quietly): "And we will lose everything… if we remain enemies.
"Atreus (firmly): "Then stop acting like enemies. Find a way. Or Eon wins without lifting a finger."
(Kratos' fists clenched, his voice edged with anger.)
Kratos: "Even if we find a path… Asura will break it. He cannot change. He will destroy everything… and I will not watch it happen. Not again."
(But he did not turn. Neither did Asura. Both stood apart, the alien wind howling between them.)