God of War: a Change in Destiny

Chapter 1: The Action

Mount Olympus, After the Defeat of the Titans…

Kratos stood upon the ledge, gazing down at the ruin of what had once been mankind. Without Zeus, the sky was free to torment the earth with continual storms of lightning. Without Poseidon the seas were raging and sinking vessels upon them. Without Gaia and Hera, the earth was free to overgrow and destroy cities. Without Boreas and the other Wind Gods, storms ravaged everywhere. Mortal blood was being spilt by that which was once controlled by the Gods.

All of mankind was dying before Kratos, and he had caused it with his act of vengeance. But he did not care for this, since he had only cared for Sparta, and before that, his family, both of which were lost to him long ago. "Gaze upon the destruction you have wrought, Ghost of Sparta. Look upon what you have created in your lust for Godly blood." Athena's Ghost spoke behind him.

"I have no need for your petty words, Athena. You are the last one who should speak, for you were imbedded with the sin of Greed. You wish to use the power I wield for your own evil intent." Kratos spoke, never looking back at her. "That power was placed in the chest by me, Kratos! IT BELONGS TO ME!" Athena yelled as she lunged at the pale man. He merely stepped to the side, causing her to plunge off the cliff, falling down towards the chaos below.

The Ghost of Sparta sighed and turned around, walking back into the ruins of the once mighty city of the Gods. He made his way through the familiar halls until he reached his destination: the Chambers of the God of War.

Inside it was strangely untouched. While the halls and passages were scorched and crumbling, his former chambers remained whole. The throne stood at the far end of the hall, near the Mystic Waters pool he had received prayers from. He walked towards it before turning left towards where his armors and trophies were collected.

The room was fairly large. It held all his weapons from the past, excluding those he used against Ares, seeing how they were taken back by their respective owners once he had become a God, and his weapons from his quest to the Sisters of Fate. But all else was here: the head of Medusa, the Arms of Sparta, and various other weaponry. He stopped in front of a suit of armor he hadn't seen since his last fight as an honourable Spartan.

The battle against the Barbarian Horde…

*Flashback, 20 years prior…*

Kratos, dressed in his proud black, silver and red armor, unsheathed his sword as he sat upon Kalias, his trusted white horse. "We must not stop! The Glory of Sparta will be spread across the world!" he yelled to his troops. "We are the greatest soldiers under Mount Olympus! We will show no mercy, for we are Spartans!" the ten thousand warriors cheered at his words. "Let us fight these Barbarians and give them a taste of our blades! Today we will win, or we will die honourably, my brothers!" He turned Kalias towards their enemy.

One word set off the events that would lead to his downfall. "Charge!"

The Spartan army ran towards their opposing force, the Barbarians following suite.

Kratos sliced at the throat of the first Barbarian, before leaping off Kalias and cutting down another.

The battle had not lasted very long. The Spartan soldiers fell faster than the Barbarians, and Kratos soon found himself at the mercy of the Barbarian King. He had only two options…

The Ghost of Sparta shook himself from that thought. 'No… even if I could return to that time and prevent all that from happening- wait… I could!' he thought to himself. 'I could return to that time and prevent all of this, the destruction of the Earth, from happening!' the idea made Kratos give a true smile for the first time in nearly three decades.

The man quickly removed the armor from its rack and put it on. He glanced down at himself, surprised that it still fit him after all these years before collecting all his weaponry and magic and moving out of his old chambers and into the ruined Hall of Zeus. From there Kratos reached into his magic, grasping hold of the Power of the Fates and teleporting himself through time, back to before he left Sparta to confront the Barbarians.

The city of Sparta, twenty years prior…

Kratos opened his eyes and found himself standing in front of his old home's doorway. He then looked down at his hands to see that he was now in his body before he was infused with the ashes of his family. He also still wore the armor from his service in Sparta and he kept the Blades of Exile on his back. "Kratos?" he heard a feminine voice call from behind.

The Spartan turned to see his beloved wife standing there with a smile on her face. "You seem troubled, my beloved." Kratos shook his head. "Nay, I am merely in thought." Lysandra smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Indeed?" she moved towards him and rubbed his arm affectionately. "And what could possibly trouble the mighty General Kratos?" she teased.

Being a general of Sparta was a wealthy position indeed. Kratos and his family lived near the palace of King Leonidas, in a mansion with a large garden and many servants. "I know of my true heritage." He told her. "And I doubt that you would believe my words." Lysandra smirked again. "I think you doubt my trust, beloved." Normally, wealthy Spartans were placed in arranged weddings, much like Kratos and his wife, rarely the two participants of such a wedding would truly ever love each other. Kratos and Lysandra were part of the lucky few to truly find love in one another.

The general sighed and planted a kiss upon her lips. "Thank you, for caring, my love, but I must leave at once. An army cannot fight without its leader." He said before exiting their home.

Kratos made his way through the busy streets of Sparta, towards the Northern Gate where his troops were waiting. He wondered how he was going to explain to his surviving men where he got the Blades of Exile from. Once he reached the Northern Gate he saw his one hundred legions ready for battle.

He nodded at the captain of his ranks, Captain Danasios, to give the order to follow as Kratos mounted his white stallion, Kalias. The army headed North, towards the Barbaric lands.

A few weeks later…

The army had travelled towards the Lowlands where Kratos' scouts had reported seeing them. They appeared to have been preparing for war, and in Sparta's best interest, Kratos decided to attack the possible threat first.

He sat on Kalias before his mighty army, ready to give his speech once again, but this time it would be different.

"Brothers of Sparta!" he started. "On this day, a lot of blood shall be spilt! We must fight like the warriors we are! Those Barbarians threaten our great city of Sparta and they outnumber us as well! Fight to your greatest extent, and I will aid you all! I am your General, Kratos of Sparta! I say we fight until we achieve glory, or a glorious death! But today, let us hope we gain glory instead, so our brothers in Sparta will not have to fight these Barbarians! Charge!"

With the order, Kratos and his men ran forward to face their opponent.

Once again the battle lasted mere ours, but this time, in the Spartan's favour. Kratos had unleashed his power the moment Kalias collapsed, unleashing the power of the Blades of Exile, the Barbarians watched in surprise and horror as the Spartan General sliced down their soldiers with his two chained blades and the magic power they held.

As Kratos dealt with the mass of Barbarians, his troops merely picked off those who were retreating or those who tried to overwhelm their great leader. In the end a small amount of the once massive Barbarian army managed to escape the carnage, but some of those died by Spartan arrows.

Once the rage of battle had worn off Kratos had ordered a body count on the Spartan dead. They had counted about fifty dead Spartans, which greatly pleased the General. He looked to his surviving army. "Brothers, you have all fought well on this day! Rest for the night, we shall return to Sparta at dawn." He ordered as he went to set up his tent after burying Kalias.

The Spartans feasted in their glory and held a moment of silence for the fifty Spartans who had died honourably in the battle.

Two weeks after the battle…

The citizens of Sparta greeted the returning army with a large celebration. King Leonidas himself had once again thanked the soldiers for what they had done. "General Kratos, you and your men have once again protected our city, and in return we thank you all for your sacrifice." He had said to the General.

Soon after the speech Kratos had returned to his home where Calliope and Lysandra were waiting for him. "Daddy!" the little girl exclaimed as she ran up to hug her father. Kratos picked her up onto his hip and kissed his wife. "Greetings, child. I hope you have been well during the past month?" he spoke to his daughter he actually hadn't seen since the fiasco with Hades' wife and the world pillar.

Calliope nodded happily to her father as they sat down in the family hall. The room was large with many chairs and a few tables in it. A fireplace was situated in the centre of the room as well. The little girl started telling her father about what happened to her during the past two weeks, about her new friends and all other things.

Meanwhile upon Olympus…

Ares growled angrily as he watched the man who was supposed to be his pawn, Kratos, happily spend time with his family. 'How did he obtain such powerful weaponry? Those blades are even more powerful than the Blades of Chaos!' the God of War thought angrily. 'This could be a problem..'

Athena watched with a smile from her own chambers as Kratos and his family conversed. 'Well done, Kratos. You have undone all the deeds that caused the world's downfall and kept your family in the process… I will see you soon, God of War…' Athena thought to herself, knowing what was to happen in the coming weeks.