Chapter 52 – The Hollow Reaches
The Ravenspire Summit had become a grave of stone and shadow.
Every heartbeat of the mountain trembled through Kratos' bones.
The fissures yawned like wounds across the summit, glowing green veins pulsating in rhythm with Atreus' aura. Dust hung heavy in the air, and fragments of stone floated unnaturally as if defying gravity, drawn toward the boy's pulse.
Kratos stood firm, Leviathan Axe in hand, axes gleaming faintly in the eerie light. Beside him, Atreus' green aura flared violently, tendrils of energy lashing at the Keepers of the Breach that emerged from cracks along the cavern floor and walls.
The Ninth Breath hovered above the widening fissure, its fractured crown shimmering, chains rattling with impatience. "The child awakens fully," it whispered, voice like grinding stone and storm. "But power without mastery is chaos incarnate."
Atreus staggered as a pulse of his own energy radiated outward, throwing Keepers across the summit. He blinked rapidly, catching his breath, chest heaving. "Father… it's too much! I feel it everywhere… the mountain, the void… everything!"
Kratos' eyes narrowed. "Then focus! You control it, or it will destroy everything around you—including yourself."
The Mountain's Hunger
The summit groaned, stone splitting beneath their feet. Each step was uncertain. Dust rained down like ash, and from the fissure below, the black wind of the void rose in violent spirals, reaching toward Atreus' aura.
The Ninth Breath floated closer to the edge, observing. "It hungers," it hissed. "The mountain hungers. The void hungers. And the child is the only tether holding them at bay."
Atreus' green aura flared in response. He raised his hands instinctively, and energy shot outward, forming arcs of light that tore through approaching Keepers. One screamed as its stone form cracked and shattered, another crumbled into dust under the pulse.
Kratos swung the Leviathan Axe with brutal precision, cutting down a wave of Keepers converging from the shadows. "Do not falter, boy! Every second you hesitate, the mountain consumes us!"
The summit shook violently, throwing them both off balance. Dust and shards rained down. Kratos caught Atreus instinctively, grounding him, but the boy's pulse surged uncontrollably, throwing fragments of stone into the void below.
The green veins along the walls flared brighter, spreading outward like the veins of some immense, living creature. The mountain was awakening… responding… and threatening to collapse around them.
The Hollow Reaches Stir
A deep, resonant sound emerged from the fissure below, not bell, not roar, not chant—something older, alive, and intelligent. Shadows writhed along the edges, forming shapes that were only half-real. The Keepers converged faster now, no longer independent—they were extensions of the mountain's will.
Atreus stepped forward, green aura expanding, tendrils lashing out at the Keepers. "Father… it's alive! The mountain itself is alive!"
Kratos' gaze hardened. "Then treat it as such. Do not hesitate. Your pulse is the lever. Use it, control it, do not let it control you."
The fissure widened further. From within, the darkness churned violently, forming vague outlines—walls, columns, skeletal forms, shapes that seemed to shift between realms. One shadow surged upward, reaching toward the summit. The Keepers screamed in response, but did not stop. They moved faster, synchronized, relentless.
Atreus' pulse flared in counter, striking the approaching shadow. For a moment, it recoiled. But the fissure groaned, widening again, stone cracking violently. Dust filled the summit.
Kratos growled, axes swinging in perfect arcs. Frost and steel clashed with shadow and stone. The Keepers reformed, attacking in waves that seemed infinite. Each strike was met with Atreus' green aura, pushing the Keepers back, tearing at the fissure's edges.
"So… the child's will is strong," the Ninth Breath whispered. "But will it be enough to hold the mountain?"
The First Breach
Suddenly, the summit trembled violently. Cracks spread across the stone, widening rapidly. Atreus stumbled, the green aura flaring uncontrollably as the fissure beneath him grew. Shadows poured from the abyss like liquid darkness.
Kratos seized him, grounding him as the mountain quaked. Dust and stone fell into the abyss below. "Do not let it overwhelm you!" Kratos roared.
The Ninth Breath hovered closer, chains rattling. "It tests the child now. The hollow reaches of the mountain stir. Will he bend, or will he break?"
Atreus clenched his fists. His aura expanded, a blinding green storm, striking out at the fissure. Shadows shrieked, Keepers shattered, yet the mountain groaned louder, responding to the pulse.
The void beneath the fissure pulsed, black wind twisting toward Atreus. His aura flared brighter, pushing it back, forming a tenuous barrier. Kratos swung his axe, cutting a path through the Keepers that emerged from the mountain walls.
"Yes… awaken fully," the Ninth Breath whispered. "The child must endure the hollow reaches, or all shall collapse."
The Edge of Control
Atreus staggered, sweat and dust coating him, chest heaving. "Father… it's too much. I… I can feel it, all of it. If I push too hard…"
Kratos' eyes were steel. "Then focus. Bend it. Shape it. Make it yours. You are not the mountain, Atreus. You are the master of the pulse, not its servant."
The fissure groaned, widening faster. Stone walls cracked, pieces falling into the abyss. Keepers attacked from all sides, shadows bending in impossible ways. The green veins along the summit walls pulsed violently, responding to Atreus' aura, bending reality itself.
Atreus' hands glowed, aura flaring in spirals of energy. He raised his gaze to the Ninth Breath. "I… I will control it! I will not let the mountain break!"
The Ninth Breath tilted its fractured crown. "So it chooses… its own path. Very well. Let the hollow reaches test it."
Atreus' pulse surged outward violently, striking the Keepers. The fissure's edges cracked, throwing chunks of stone into the void. Shadows shrieked, twisting violently.
Kratos swung his axe relentlessly, holding the line as Atreus' pulse expanded. Dust, stone, and shadows collided in a storm of chaos. The summit groaned violently, green veins pulsating with the boy's power.
The Hollow Reaches Strike
From the fissure, a massive shape emerged: the hollow reaches of the mountain itself, partially formed, jagged, black stone interwoven with green veins of energy. Its surface rippled with darkness, eyes forming randomly across jagged planes. The Keepers now acted as extensions of its will, attacking with terrifying synchronization.
Kratos swung his Leviathan Axe, striking the nearest wave of Keepers. Atreus' aura flared in response, striking the hollow form itself. The impact caused cracks to race across its surface, but it did not falter.
The Ninth Breath hovered above, watching silently. "The child has power… but the hollow reaches will test the limits of that power. The mountain is patient. It will endure."
Atreus clenched his fists. "Then I will endure with it!"
Green energy flared, forming spikes and waves that tore at the hollow form. The fissure groaned violently. The summit trembled. Shadows shrieked. The Keepers reformed. The battle was no longer between Kratos, Atreus, and the Keepers—it was now against the mountain itself, alive, aware, and hungry.
Kratos gritted his teeth. "Hold fast, boy. Survive. Bend it… or die trying."
Atreus' pulse flared violently again, brighter than ever. The hollow reaches quivered under the assault. The fissure's edges shivered, dust raining down. And above them, the Ninth Breath tilted its fractured crown, chains rattling.
"So it begins… the trial of the hollow reaches. The child's awakening is only the beginning."
The summit trembled violently. Stones and shadows rained down. And in the center of it all, Atreus' aura shone brighter than the green veins themselves—a beacon against the dark, an unbroken pulse defying collapse.