Chapter 53 – The Pulse of the Abyss
The summit had become a tomb of stone and shadow.
Every heartbeat of the mountain reverberated through Kratos' chest, rattling his bones, shaking the ground beneath them.
Atreus stood at the center of the fractured stone, aura blazing like a storm of molten green. His pulse radiated outward, pushing back the Keepers that emerged from every crack and crevice. But the Hollow Reaches were alive now. Not just the mountain. The void beneath it. The fissures that ran like veins through the summit. All of it pulsed with intent, reacting to the boy's awakening energy.
Kratos' axes glimmered faintly in the eerie green light. Every movement he made was deliberate, precise, cutting down the Keepers that pressed too close. Yet for every one he destroyed, two more emerged, faster, smarter, coordinated.
The Ninth Breath hovered above the widening fissure, crown fractured and glowing faintly, chains rattling. Its voice came like grinding stone across the summit. "The child awakens fully… but the abyss tests all who dare its depth."
Atreus' chest heaved. "Father… I can feel it! The fissures, the mountain, the void… even the abyss below is alive!"
Kratos' jaw tightened. "Then master it! Focus, boy! Bend it to your will, or it will break you!"
The Abyss Surges
The fissure beneath the summit widened, black wind rising like smoke, curling toward Atreus. The Hollow Reaches groaned, stone walls shaking violently. Shadows slithered upward, taking semi-formed shapes—half Keepers, half monstrous entities, all moving with impossible speed.
Atreus' aura flared violently, spikes of green energy shooting outward. One shadow collided with it, shrieking as it shattered into shards of black stone. Another Keeper lunged, limbs bending at impossible angles, but Atreus struck again, his pulse like a blade of light cutting through the darkness.
Kratos swung his Leviathan Axe, frost lashing outward, striking multiple Keepers at once. The impact sent chunks of stone raining into the abyss, but the fissure groaned louder, responding to the pulse.
The Ninth Breath tilted its crown, chains rattling. "Yes… the child bends the abyss… but can he endure its hunger?"
Atreus gritted his teeth, aura flaring brighter. "I won't let it consume me! I am not… I will not be!"
The Hollow Reaches Strike
The summit trembled violently. Stone cracked beneath their feet, falling into the abyss below. Shadows surged from fissures, Keepers reforming faster than they could be destroyed. From the void below, a massive form rose, jagged, black, interwoven with green veins of energy. The Hollow Reaches itself had taken shape—a monstrous, semi-sentient construct of mountain and void.
Kratos swung his axes relentlessly, cutting through Keepers that emerged from its body. "Hold fast, boy! Survive this wave!"
Atreus' aura flared into a storm of green energy. He raised his hands, and the pulse radiated outward, striking the Hollow Reaches. Chunks of black stone crumbled, fissures quivered, but the mass writhed, unyielding.
"The child resists… impressive," the Ninth Breath hissed. "But the abyss tests all who awaken. Will he bend… or break?"
Atreus' chest pulsed violently. He staggered, energy crackling uncontrollably. "I… I can't stop it! It's inside me! Everywhere!"
Kratos stepped in front, axes at the ready. "Then master it! Focus! Make it yours!"
The First Collapse
The mountain groaned like a wounded beast. Cracks spread like lightning, debris falling into the abyss below. The Hollow Reaches surged upward, tendrils of black stone interweaving with shadows, attacking from multiple directions.
Atreus' pulse flared, green energy radiating in waves. The Keepers screeched, scattering, some destroyed outright. But the Hollow Reaches responded, shifting and twisting its form, attacking relentlessly.
Kratos swung his axes, cutting through the swarm. Each strike was precise, every blow timed with Atreus' pulses. Together, they created a rhythm, a counter to the chaos of the summit. But even as they fought, the fissure beneath them widened, the abyss surging, the Hollow Reaches adapting.
"Yes… yes… awaken fully, child," the Ninth Breath whispered. "Let the abyss test your pulse, your blood, your will."
Atreus clenched his fists, aura flaring into a blinding storm. "I… I won't fail! I will not let it win!"
The Pulse Within
The green energy radiated from Atreus' chest, flowing outward in spirals and waves. The Hollow Reaches shrieked, stone cracking, shadows writhing violently. The fissure groaned, threatening to swallow the summit entirely.
Kratos' axes struck again and again, holding back the tide of Keepers. He glanced at Atreus, who now radiated a blinding, almost tangible pulse. The boy's power was no longer just energy—it was a force shaping the mountain, bending reality.
"Interesting," the Ninth Breath whispered, tilting its crown. "The child's pulse is no longer just reaction… it is creation. But creation comes with cost."
Atreus' hands shook, aura flaring. He looked down at the fissure, at the abyss below, at the Hollow Reaches attempting to consume the summit. "I… I can do this. I have to do this!"
Kratos placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "Then do it, boy. Bend it… or break it on your terms."
The Abyss Responds
The Hollow Reaches surged upward, a towering mass of jagged stone and shadow, green veins glowing violently. Tendrils lashed toward Atreus, the void pulling at him, trying to consume his pulse.
The boy's aura exploded outward, a blinding storm of energy that collided with the hollow form. The mountain trembled violently, shards of stone and dust raining down. Keepers shrieked, some shattering under the force.
The fissure widened more aggressively, but Atreus' pulse held it back, shaping the flow, bending the abyss to his will. Kratos swung with precision, cutting through the last wave of Keepers, leaving only the Hollow Reaches towering above.
The Ninth Breath tilted its crown, almost contemplative. "So… the child bends the abyss itself. Impressive. But the hollow reaches have only begun their test."
Atreus' chest heaved, aura still blazing, hands trembling. "I… I won't stop. I can't… I won't."
Kratos tightened his grip on the Leviathan Axe. "Then endure. Survive. Master it. Only then will the abyss release its hunger."
End of Chapter 53
The summit now lay in ruin, shattered stone and shattered shadows mingling. Atreus' pulse dominated the battlefield, bending the Hollow Reaches, holding the fissure at bay. The Ninth Breath hovered above, watching intently, chains rattling in anticipation.
The mountain had tested them, and the abyss had responded—but the boy had endured, shaping its chaos rather than succumbing. Yet both knew this was only the beginning. The Hollow Reaches would strike again, stronger, smarter, deadlier.
Kratos and Atreus stood together on the fractured summit, green light and shadows swirling around them, aware that the true trial—the abyss within the mountain, and the abyss within themselves—had only just begun.