Chapter 84 – The Abyss Awakens
The collapse began as a whisper.
A faint rumble beneath the plateau, subtle enough to be mistaken for distant thunder. But Kratos felt the change instantly—the shift in the stone, the tremor in the air, the drop in pressure that always came before a realm tore itself apart.
Atreus felt it too. The threads between his fingers flickered violently, pulsing with unstable fracture energy. His breath shortened.
Xenara's glyphs dimmed.
Then the whisper turned into a scream.
The entire plateau lurched downward, stone grinding against itself. Pillars shattered. Fractures tore wide enough for streams of raw shadow to burst upward like geysers. The Nine intensified their assault, their laughter echoing through the hollow sky.
The commander stood at the center of the carnage, blade raised, armor trembling with the power of the collapsing realm. Its red eyes burned brighter, focused entirely on Kratos and Atreus.
"It feeds on the destruction," Xenara gasped. "The more the realm breaks, the stronger it gets!"
Kratos didn't hesitate. He rushed forward, splitting the distance with brutal speed. His fist slammed into the ground just before the commander reached Atreus, frost erupting in a jagged surge that forced the construct back.
The commander merely sank its blade into the ice and absorbed the impact.
Atreus steadied his bow. "They're adapting faster!"
"Yes," Xenara muttered. "And the plateau cannot survive another surge like that."
The rifts widened, spilling more shadow beings across the terrain. Their forms jittered unnaturally, as if reality itself struggled to define them. They crawled, slithered, and stalked toward the trio with relentless, silent hunger.
Atreus swallowed hard.
"I count—"
He fired an arrow. Two shadows crumpled.
"—too many."
Kratos gripped his axe. "Then we break their line before they overwhelm us."
The plateau groaned.
Chunks of terrain ripped themselves free, suspended midair before sinking into the abyss below. Parts of the ancient battlefield dissolved into floating debris platforms of stone, forcing Kratos and Atreus to constantly adjust their footing.
Xenara spread her arms wide, trying to stabilize the collapsing terrain. "I can anchor sections for a few minutes, maybe less. But you must thin their numbers before the realm folds completely!"
Kratos launched himself into the nearest cluster of constructs. His axe carved through the shadows, frost freezing their limbs before shattering them. He pivoted, shoulder-ramming another and sending it flying into the abyss.
But as soon as they fell, more rose.
Always more.
Atreus fired rapid threads that lashed around shadow bodies before yanking them downward. Each impact made the fracture inside him shudder violently, as though trying to rip itself free.
His knees bent, breath shallow, fingers trembling.
"No—no, hold—"
He steadied the next shot.
The fracture pushed back harder.
"You're shaking," Xenara warned. "You're fighting it too aggressively."
Atreus gritted his teeth. "If I don't fight it, I lose control."
"Control does not mean suppression. Redirect it!"
Another tremor shook the land.
A massive shadow titan—formed from broken stone and void—rose from a new rift behind them, towering high enough that its head nearly scraped the distorted sky. Its roar sent a wave of crushing force across the plateau.
Atreus staggered. Xenara fell to one knee.
Kratos planted his feet and lowered his stance, holding firm even as the force pushed him back inches at a time. With an explosive roar of his own, he hurled the Leviathan Axe toward the titan.
The axe tore through layers of shadow, embedding itself deep into the titan's chest. Frost exploded outward, but the titan simply slammed its fists into the ground, unleashing another shockwave.
The plateau split in half.
Kratos slid toward the crack.
Atreus fired a thread, anchoring it to his father's wrist, pulling with everything he had. Kratos dug his boots into the stone, stopping mere inches from the drop.
"For now!" Atreus yelled. "Stay with me!"
Kratos retrieved the axe with a motion that cracked the air.
They regrouped.
Xenara rose again, glyphs rotating at high speed around her hands. "I'll slow the titan—the commander is your priority!"
Kratos nodded once.
Atreus nodded too, despite his breathing still ragged.
The commander stepped forward, blade humming with void power.
"Endure. Break. Fall."
Kratos answered with action.
He sprinted toward the commander, dodging slashes of shadow energy. The creature's blade twisted into a trident shape mid-swing. Kratos ducked under it, axe rising to cut across its torso—but the commander dissolved into smoke, reforming behind him.
Atreus shouted, "Father—!"
Kratos turned just as the blade came down. He blocked with the axe, sparks flying, frost clashing with void. The impact shook the ground so violently that both were pushed apart.
The titan roared again from behind them.
Xenara unleashed a barrage of shimmering glyphs, each one detonating on impact. The titan staggered but did not fall.
Atreus felt the fracture pulse again.
Release me. Destroy them all. Tear the realm apart to survive.
"No…" he whispered harshly.
But as another wave of shadow constructs rushed forward, a fissure within him widened. Threads spiraled wildly around his fingers, uncontrolled and unpredictable.
Kratos saw it instantly.
"Atreus."
His tone was firm, grounding.
"Breathe."
Atreus forced the air in and out of his lungs. "I'm trying… but it's too strong."
"Then anchor it."
Kratos stepped beside him, holding the moment steady with sheer presence.
"You are not alone. Anchor it to your purpose."
Atreus closed his eyes—just long enough to quiet the fracture's screaming.
He opened them again. Clearer. Focused.
And he fired.
The arrow's thread didn't explode recklessly into the battlefield this time—it curved around Kratos, wrapped around shards of floating stone, spiraled downward, then shot upward again, weaving into a controlled trap.
Kratos understood instantly.
He charged toward the commander, driving it toward the threads. The commander tried to slip into smoke again, but Atreus tightened the pattern, forcing the shadows into solid form.
The trap snapped shut.
Kratos brought the axe down like a falling star.
The commander staggered, armor fracturing. Red energy leaked from the cracks in its helm.
But it wasn't defeated.
Not yet.
With a guttural roar of its own, it erupted in a shockwave that tore apart Atreus's threads. The blast sent the boy flying backward.
Kratos pivoted instantly, sprinting toward him.
Atreus spun across the ground and slid dangerously close to a fissure, stopping just short of the edge. He pushed himself up on shaking knees.
"I'm okay," he breathed. "I'm okay—"
The fracture pulsed angrily, punishing him for restraint.
Kratos reached him, helping him stand. "You anchored it. Good."
Atreus nodded weakly.
But the titan was still advancing.
The commander was still adapting.
The rifts were still widening.
And the plateau's collapse reached its breaking point.
Xenara's voice rang out, alarmed and breathless:
"Kratos! Atreus! The realm barrier is failing! If we don't escape now—this entire fragment will fall into the Void!"
The titan slammed its fist into the ground again.
A massive chunk of terrain fell away.
The commander crouched, eyes burning.
The rifts spewed a final wave of constructs.
And beneath their feet…
the stone began to sink.
Atreus's breath caught.
"Father—this whole place is breaking apart!"
Kratos raised his axe.
"Then we carve a path out."
Xenara's glyphs circled above, forming a shimmering escape sigil—small, unstable, flickering.
"It won't stay open long!" she shouted. "Reach it or be lost with the realm!"
The commander roared.
The titan advanced.
The rifts exploded.
The escape sigil opened.
And Kratos stepped forward with iron resolve.
"Atreus."
"Yeah?"
"Stay with me."
Always.
Together, they charged toward survival—
through the shadows
through falling stone
through collapsing reality—
as the first realm of the Nine began its final descent into the Void.