The darkness was all-encompassing. It was also draining. Kratos felt himself growing weaker, though not in his muscles. Another energy flowed through him. He had become more aware of it after he started wielding the Blades of Chaos. This energy was like his blood, but he could actively control its flow. He could expel it to perform extraordinary feats.
Now, this same energy was seeping out of his body. It was like a pot with a hole at its base. The energy was the fluid trickling out of it. The sensation was unnerving. It left a cold hollowness in its wake, a void where his internal fire should have been.
Nonetheless, Kratos remained confident in his physical power. He could probably punch his way out of this cave. His uncertainty in that claim, however, grew as he walked deeper. At least, he thought he was moving deeper. The oppressive blackness offered no landmarks, no sense of progress. Barring the immediate ten metres around him, Kratos could only see a blanket of darkness.
Right as his instincts began to flare, and a prickling sensation ran up his spine, a shape began to coalesce out of the darkness ahead. It was a statue.
The statue depicted a person. The figure appeared malnourished, its ribs sticking out starkly from its chest and abdomen. It was adorned in a simple cotton attire, much like what Rama might wear. Its eyes were closed in serene meditation. An unkempt, overflowing beard and moustache covered its face, allowing only a pointed nose and thin lips to poke through. Unsurprisingly, the statue had five heads. Four were spread out, facing the cardinal directions, while the fifth faced directly upwards towards the unseen ceiling.
Kratos stopped. He stared at the stone effigy. What now?
He registered a sound from behind him and jolted aside, only to see Saraswati and Ganesh walking up to him. They appeared haggard and moved sluggishly. The drainage seemed to be affecting them more than it was him.
The woman walked up to the statue and tied an amulet made of a red and yellow coloured string around the statue's wrist. The moment she tied the knot, a warm, golden light pulsed from the amulet. The light flowed over the statue like liquid sunshine. The dull grey stone began to change. It softened, its texture shifting from rough rock to living flesh. The pale, lifeless grey gave way to a healthy, sun-kissed complexion.
The figure's chest, once solid stone, expanded with a sharp, ragged gasp. All five mouths opened together. They pulled in air with a sound like wind rushing into a long-sealed tomb. A shudder ran through the body. Then, all five heads coughed in unison. It was a dry, dusty sound that echoed in the silent cave. Slowly, ten eyelids fluttered open.
"How long?" He asked in a voice that was still crackling after years of disuse. Only the head observing the trio spoke.
"Twenty years," Saraswati answered with heavy breaths.
"That is... soon," the Brahma commented. "And if it isn't my favourite nephew."
"My brother would be disappointed," Ganesh commented with a sheepish grin.
"Oh ho?!" Brahma exclaimed, all five faces showing mirth. "So my little joke has finally fallen apart. I never expected Shiva to sire an offspring. Truly, much has changed in twenty years."
His ten eyes then swivelled and locked onto Kratos. The levity in his expression vanished, replaced by a deep, analytical curiosity. He let out an intrigued "Huh."
"And who might this gentleman be?" Brahma asked with an unwavering gaze.
"This is Kratos," Ganesh said, stepping forward slightly. "He comes from a distant land."
Brahma's eyes narrowed slightly at the name. "Kratos... Greek," he mused with a new layer of interest in his symphonic voice. "An intriguing bunch, the Greek gods. How are they, by the way?" He turned to Saraswati and added, "It has been a while since we have explored the lands beyond the chaos."
"They are extinct," Saraswati answered.
"Huh..." he mumbled again with apparent intrigue. "You know," he started. "There is some irony in all of this. If I remember correctly, the Greek primordial deities were overthrown by their children, the Titans. The Titans, in turn, were overthrown by their children, the new gods. Now it seems that history has repeated itself!"
He chuckled and added, "I wonder who leads their Pantheon now."
"They are extinct," Saraswati repeated. Before Brahma could probe further, she nudged her chin towards Kratos, and that simple gesture seemed to answer every subsequent question that Brahma was about to ask.
"Well... I guess that was expected," Brahma reasoned. "Fate tends to be cyclic and repetitive that way. But all those people... I don't know if they deserved that."
Kratos' nails dug into his skin as his palm balled up into a tight fist.
"Anyways," Brahma interjected. "I don't believe that this was a plain social visit. What is it that you require of me?"
Right as Ganesh finished explaining the situation and their approach, Brahma shook just the head observing them and said, "That right there is your problem! A curse or boon once bestowed cannot be taken back. You can only triage it with an auxiliary curse or boon, and that too by the entity that originally bestowed the curse or boon. So, unless you can get your mother or father to change their minds, I don't think there is anyone who can counter what is plaguing our ashen friend here."
"So there isn't a solution..." Ganesh mumbled in defeat.
"I didn't say that," Brahma chastised with a click of his tongue. "If you want to alleviate the damage from a flood, you don't necessarily have to dam the river."
Those arcane words seemingly evoked an immediate epiphany in Saraswati and Ganesh.
Noticing Kratos' blank gaze, Brahma elaborated. "You could plant more greenery along the riverbank."
Evidently, this was still insufficient for Kratos, and so Ganesh chimed in. "Lord Brahma is suggesting that we approach the problem from a broader perspective."
"Sometimes, the solution to a problem isn't always a straight line. And one solution may not necessarily solve all the problems at once," Brahma expounded.
"Take your problem for instance. What is your primary objective? Is it to shed your immortality? Or is it to get rid of the other's nightmares foisted onto you?" Brahma probed.
"If I die, I cannot dream," Kratos declared.
"While I would love to explore that philosophically charged statement," Brahma lauded, "That is the harder of the two problems to solve. Your immortality is tied to the axe, and the axe has chosen you as its wielder. If you want to be rid of it, you need to convince the axe to do so."
"Why can you not wrest the axe out of me?" Kratos argued. "You are as strong as the one who enchanted the axe, are you not?"
"I am," Brahma conceded. "But I cannot do that."
"Why-" Kratos began, but he realised the answer almost immediately. "The dreams, then?"
"I considered it as well," Saraswati expressed. "But dreams are an integral part of what defines a sentient being. It is impossible to rob them of it."
"Impossible for you, maybe," Brahma said with a snort, only to receive a jab in return from his consort.
"Lord Brahma's realm borders upon all the infinite realms that encompass dreams," Ganesh explained silently from Kratos' side.
"What can you even do about it?" Saraswati asked Brahma pointedly.
"I'll just have to swallow his dreams," Brahma explained with a matter-of-fact tone.
Saraswati's brows furrowed as she processed this answer, until they cocked up in shock. "You don't mean."
"Take one of my heads," Brahma instructed Kratos.
""What?!"" Both Ganesh and Kratos exclaimed in unison.
"B-But Lord Brahma-"
"It's fine," Brahma interjected calmly. "It is not a violation. I am not granting him a boon."
"That's not why I'm-"
"I cannot die," Brahma assuaged. "And as you can see, I have enough heads to spare," he followed up with a derisive chuckle.
"That is shrewd of you," Saraswati commented with a faint smile. "Are you certain you want to do this?"
All of Brahma's heads rearranged themselves and looked at his consort. Then, with a serene smile, he said, "I am."
"Now," he directed towards Kratos. "Go ahead, take a head."
With a growl, Kratos walked up to Brahma and grabbed the head closest to him.
"WOAH!" Brahma yelled as Kratos pulled. "What are you doing?!"
"Taking a head," Kratos answered.
"Not with your bare hands, you barbarian!" Brahma chastised. "Use your axe!"
Kratos gestured to his waist, indicating the stark lack of any weapon.
"The axe is a divine weapon," Brahma explained. "Summon it!"
Kratos held out his dominant arm and cocked his palm. Not a moment passed before the sound of metal cutting through the air and colliding against stone echoed all around him. Then with a satisfyingly echoing thunk, the wooden handle landed on his open palm.
"Now," Brahma spoke up. "Do it fast, and make it clean."
___
The return journey was equally as disorienting for Kratos. As his vision cleared, Kratos saw Ganesh across from him. The lad was frozen and wide-eyed, with his gaze fixed on something over Kratos' shoulder.
Following his gaze, Kratos saw a figure leaning against the tree leading into the dense forest with his arm-crossed.
"F-Father-"
"I wish to speak to our guest," Shiva interjected calmly. He nudged his chin towards Kratos and yanked sideways. Understanding the cue, Kratos reached behind his back and retrieved one of Brahma's severed heads. It was tied up like a grisly trophy, crudely secured with a length of rope and a metal hook fashioned for easy carrying.
He placed the head on a tree stump and followed Ganesh away.
Shiva sat crosslegged in front of the detached head. He curled his finger and flicked its forehead.
"Ouch!" The head yelped as it suddenly came to life.
"What are you doing?" Shiva asked.
"Can't you see? I am 'head'ing out," Brahma said while letting out a nervous chuckle. Seeing that his audience wasn't finding the play on words amusing, he dispersed his smile and responded with a tired yet firm gaze.
"I am done," Brahma admitted. "I have spent millions of years in banishment. Living off the bare scraps of information that my wife can smuggle into my prison about the world I CREATED!"
Brahma's eyes turned red with rage, but he quickly gathered his thoughts and calmed himself. "I have had enough. Why? Do you disagree?"
"I do not care what you do," Shiva responded, shaking his head. "Banishment was not foisted on you. It was your choice."
"But-"
"Besides, I am not here to judge your choices," Shiva interjected firmly. "All I care about is the fact that you involved my son in whatever scheme you are plotting in that head of yours."
"I did not involve him. He came to me seeking aid," Brahma corrected. "It was his... choice."
Shiva furrowed his brows and closed his eyes.
"I never thought I would win in a verbal joust against you, old friend," Brahma said with a snort. "You have changed."
"People change," Shiva expressed.
"You are not people," Brahma corrected. "We are not people."
"That is what I once believed," Shiva responded, his voice even and calm. A tranquil smile touched his lips as his gaze became distant. "And for a being who is alone, it is true. To be happy by oneself, one does not need to change."
He paused, his focus returning from some faraway memory to the severed head before him.
"But to be happy with another," Shiva continued, his tone softening slightly, "one needs to be ready to change."
"You would know this, too, if you hadn't voluntarily locked yourself away," Shiva mocked.
"I didn't have a choice," Brahma defended himself.
"Everyone has a choice," Shiva retorted as he stood up to leave.
"I know exactly how you will respond in nine out of ten scenarios," Brahma argued. "If I can manufacture a scenario that falls within those nine out of ten cases, and corner you into making a choice that would separate you from what you loved most dearly, would you still argue that you truly had a choice in that matter?"
Shiva paused. "Yes," he said, his voice firm. "The choice is always there. If I had to choose between what I love most and anything else, I would choose what I love. It is a simple decision." He looked at Brahma's severed head with a stern gaze. "Your choice proves you did not value what you lost as much as you claim."
"My dear friend, you think too much," Shiva followed up with a lighthearted chuckle easing the tension. "Now that you are four heads shorter, I hope you will think less and live more."
___
"Now that our lives have been conjoined, I think it would be beneficial for us to get to know each other," the head expressed as it bounced off of Kratos' thigh with every step.
"No," Kratos responded.
"You do realise that you and I are immortal. Do you wish to be tethered to a stranger for the rest of your life?" the head chortled.
Kratos growled in irritation before placing the head by his bedside. "I will sleep first. Then, we shall talk, head."
"Fine, fine..." the head mumbled. "Go ahead now, go to sleep. Or would you like me to sing you a lullaby?"
"Quiet," Kratos snapped as he lay down and closed his eyes.
___
Kratos awoke after some time. He did not know how long he'd been asleep.
"Two days," the head by his bedside answered, somehow reading his thoughts. "I cannot believe you slept for two whole days! So? How was it?"
"I..." Kratos blurted out in disbelief. "I did not dream."
"Of course!" The head exclaimed half-offended.
"So how about that conversation?" The head probed. "Come on now, don't be shy. All I know is your name and origin. I would love to flesh out your existence beyond those basic facts."
Kratos stood up from his bed and left.
"Hey! Where are you going?! KRATOS! KRA-"
He went about his day, ignoring the disembodied voice that occasionally called out from his chambers. He plainly refused to entertain Brahma's attempts at conversation.
That night, feeling the familiar weight of exhaustion, Kratos returned to his room. He lay down, confident in another night of silent, blissful emptiness. He closed his eyes.
But the peace did not last. The darkness of sleep was soon shattered with the visceral images of Rama's gruesome exploits. The dreams were back.
He jolted awake with a roar, and his body drenched in cold sweat. He snatched the head from his bedside with a vice-grip.
"What is this?" He snarled in a low and dangerous growl. "You said you would stop them!"
The head's eyes opened slowly. There was no surprise, no mirth.
"I am not a tool, Spartan," the head said in an even tone devoid of his earlier humour. "If you wish to enjoy the peace of a dreamless sleep, you must treat me as more than a rock you keep by your bed."
The head paused to let the words sink in. "This is a transaction, plain and simple. You receive your quiet nights. In return, I want to be involved in your daily life. I want to see the world as you do. I want to observe everything. You will carry me with you at all times and let me experience what you experience. Do that, and your nightmares will cease."
"And my name is Brahma," the head added. "You seem to have a penchant for calling people by pronouns or common nouns rather than their names."
Kratos growled before acquiescing, "Fine. As you wish, hea- Brahma."
The head wore a smug smile before declaring, "Your sleep will be payment for your services rendered. The first night was a freebie. Since you didn't entertain me today, your night will be sleepless. Depending on your performance tomorrow, the quality of your sleep will vary."
"And since you won't be sleeping today, it leaves us with more time to get to know each other," the head declared.
"So, Kratos, who are you?"
___
Kratos did not volunteer his entire life's story in one sitting. He did not enjoy talking about his past.
Regardless, he could not delve further than his birth and early years because the head was exceedingly inquisitive about every single detail.
"What is a paidonomoi?" The head asked.
"Drill instructors," Kratos answered.
"What do they do?" He followed up.
"I was just getting to that," Kratos bellowed angrily. "Would you stop interrupting me?"
"It's just all so interesting!" Brahma grumbled.
The moment Kratos let out a sigh of acceptance, the door echoed thrice with equally spaced knocks.
"Guruji," it was Murugan, "I am back."
"Come in," Kratos bellowed, allowing the boy to skip in excitedly.
"I think I've had enough practise with the shield. What do we do-" Murugan halted in front of Kratos' bed and stared at the disembodied head looking up at Kratos.
"What is that?" Murugan blurted out in confusion.
"I'm not a 'what', kid. I'm a 'who'," the head responded. Kratos reached forward and rotated the head so that it would face Murugan. "And I can talk for myself."
"How am I supposed to know whether a lobbed-off head could talk?" Murugan retorted. "So who are you?"
"Brahma," the head answered.
There was silence.
"You're joking," Murugan expressed in disbelief. "Yeah! You're definitely pulling my leg. You're four heads and a body short!"
"That's because I misplaced the other four," the head rebutted sarcastically. "Or was it the other four who misplaced me?"
Murugan scowled and directed an inquisitive gaze at Kratos, "Who is this head, Guruji?"
"Brahma," Kratos answered without pause.
"You're joking!" Murugan repeated.
"I do not care enough to lie, boy," Kratos responded while shaking his head. He picked up the head and tethered it to his belt by the hook. As he walked past, the head gave Murugan a pitying look and expressed, "Ouch..."
It took a moment for Murugan to process the information before a trickle of cold sweat started to run down the back of his neck.
"I just insulted Lord Brahma..." Murugan muttered. "L-Lord Brahma!" He yelled as he burst out of Kratos' quarters and rushed to catch up to the man with the head hanging by his waist.
___
"Once again, Lord Brahma, I apologise profusely for the insults," Murugan repeated as he got down on his knees and banged his forehead against the grass. "I... I was presumptuous, churlish, and-"
"This isn't really necessary," the head interrupted Murugan. "I can understand the cause for scepticism. After all, how could one even imagine a measly head to be the creator of everything?"
Murugan squinted as he tried to interpret the sentence. The boy could sense sarcasm, but he wasn't sure.
"Just ignore the head," Kratos said with an annoyed sigh.
"Hello! Brahma!" The head corrected. "I thought we just had a whole conversation about this!"
"His presence is inconsequential," Kratos continued, ignoring the head's protests. "Let us resume our training."
Murugan nodded and stood with rapt attention. But there was only silence.
"Umm, Guruji?"
Kratos growled and scratched his head, "I am thinking."
"Okay..."
After a moment, Kratos declared, "Resourcefulness."
After a pause, he continued, "Defence is the first step as it teaches you how to manage your energy more efficiently. The next step is resourcefulness. It is very rare that two opposing parties enter a conflict on equal footing. If you are the one with the upper hand, your downfall would be your lack of skill compared to your opponent, or your hubris. On the other hand, if you are the disadvantaged individual... That is where your resourcefulness comes into use."
"So... its about using my environment to build advantage?" Murugan concluded.
"Yes," Kratos affirmed.
"How do we train to build resourcefulness?" Murugan followed up.
"I... Do not know. Yet," Kratos admitted. "We could jump right into the deep end. Explore some combat scenarios against opponents while limiting access to weapons and resources?"
"Are you daft?!" The head butted in. "Are you trying to get yourselves killed? I mean, you obviously won't die, but the kid!"
"No one asked for your opinion, head!" Kratos snapped.
"Yeah? Well, I'm giving it anyway," the head mocked. "What you need to do is break down resourcefulness into its components."
Kratos returned a confused look.
"What does it mean to be resourceful? What is the most important skill to take full advantage of your environment?" The head followed.
"Situational awareness," Kratos answered under his breath.
"There you go! Now, how do you train situational awareness?" The head asked.
Kratos scratched his stubble in thought. "Come. I have an idea."
___
"Why am I blindfolded, Guruji?" Murugan asked as he walked forward with his arm extended outwards.
"Situational awareness training," Kratos explained.
"Don't I need to observe the situation to train?" Murugan responded with a wry chuckle.
A growl escaped from Kratos as he approached Murugan and rotated him clockwise a few times.
"I will undo your blindfolds only for a moment," he explained. "I will then cover your eyes again. You will then be tasked with executing my commands. Your objective will be to remember your surroundings down to the minute details."
"Okay," Murugan nodded.
Kratos loosened the blindfolds and allowed the boy to look around him.
They were currently in a familiar clearing in the forest. This was where they had first fought the Rakshasas in their defence training.
After ten seconds, Kratos brought up the blindfold and covered Murugan's eyes.
"Now walk over to the only tree without any moss on it," Kratos commanded.
Murugan rotated in place a few times and started to scuttle over in the general direction of where the tree was. Unfortunately, he overestimated the distance and collided headfirst into the trunk.
"Ow..." he expressed while rubbing his forehead.
"Go to the shattered boulder," Kratos followed up.
Murugan, once again, rotated in place and walked over to where the rock was supposed to be. But he missed it altogether.
"Umm, it's supposed to be here..." Murugan mumbled.
Kratos approached and undid his blindfold.
"Oh man! I was so close!" Murugan exclaimed, realising that the boulder was just a few metres away. His eyes were immediately covered with the blindfold.
"Go back to the tree," Kratos commanded.
As the boy continued to execute Kratos' commands, the head spoke up, "Quite an interesting training method, not what I would have started with."
"You have a better idea?" Kratos probed.
"Something simpler. Maybe requiring less movement and less-" Murugan hit his head again, "-chances of bodily harm."
"Pain is the best teacher," Kratos responded with a smirk. "The boy will assimilate the lessons learned this way quicker."
"Maybe some insight into why he is doing what he is doing would be beneficial?" The head suggested.
"The boy is no fool," Kratos argued. "He understands the purpose behind the lesson well enough."
"Are you sure?" The head responded. "Maybe he's just doing as he's told because his Guru asked him to do it."
Kratos pondered on the head's reasoning for a moment before calling Murugan over.
"Victory in combat is decided within split seconds. When you get good enough, your instincts can carry you through combat seamlessly. At that instance, you need to allow your mind to function in parallel and determine the right course of action to maintain the advantage. This is the gist behind resourcefulness," Kratos explained.
"The training we are undertaking now is to get your mind to function when your senses are already occupied, which is often the case in combat," Kratos expounded. "Once you can situate yourself perfectly even when preoccupied with an opponent, you can then direct the combat in the way you want it to go."
Noticing Murugan's nod, Kratos let out a satisfied yet faint smile. But then he caught the head nudging his eyes further. Kratos sighed and pulled the blindfold over his own eyes.
"Attack me," Kratos commanded.
Murugan moved without hesitation. The spear materialised in his grasp and jabbed towards Kratos, which Kratos dodged effortlessly.
"H-How?" Murugan blurted out before centring himself and trying again. Kratos dodged and edged forward, causing Murugan to step back to build distance. Kratos jabbed, forcing Murugan to dodge by stepping back again.
Kratos grabbed the spear that was sweeping towards his abdomen and kicked Murugan back once again.
This dance proceeded for a few more exchanges with Murugan being forced back with every move, until he tried to coil back for a forceful jab, only to realise that he had been cornered against the shattered boulder.
Kratos stopped and took off his blindfold.
"Knowing the battlefield like it's the back of your palm is the first step towards building resourcefulness," Kratos concluded. He then looked towards the head, which closed its eyes affirmatively.
___
Murugan was a prodigy. That was a fact. Within the day, he could read the field with his eyes closed, literally.
They moved between different locations of varying geography, and the boy had picked up the skill of situational awareness perfectly.
"What do we do next?" Kratos asked the head.
"Why're you asking me?" The head retorted.
"It is clear that you have a better knack for this than I," Kratos admitted. It was a difficult realisation. But he would be fooling himself if he denied this fact.
"In teaching, maybe," the head retorted with a chuckle. "But my capacity is limited to that alone. I have never personally partaken in any wars or fought against anyone."
"I only asked you the questions needed to arrive at the answer on your own," the head explained. "You are more knowledgeable about the field being taught that I am. All you lack is the skills in pedagogy. To that end, I am open to being used as a sounding board to streamline your process."
Kratos hummed in thought as the boy skipped towards him enthusiastically.
Maybe the head had other uses after all.