GOD OF WAR: SHADOWS OF THE NINE
Chapter 152 — The War Dragon's Descent
The fire came like the end of the world.
A tidal inferno poured from the War Dragon's jaws, a storm of molten fury that devoured the night itself. The Black Expanse lit up beneath its glow as the ground cracked and split open under the sheer heat.
Kratos did not move.
The Blades of Chaos whirled in his hands, chains screaming through the air as he spun them faster and faster, fire meeting fire in a violent clash of power.
The flames struck.
For a moment the battlefield vanished inside a blinding storm of red and gold.
Atreus shielded his face as the heat roared past him like a hurricane.
When the fire cleared—
Kratos still stood.
The ground around him had melted into glowing rivers of stone, but the Spartan remained planted in the center of it all, his blades burning brighter than the dragon's flames.
The War Dragon recoiled slightly in the sky.
It had expected ashes.
Instead, it saw resistance.
The First War stood several yards away, arms folded behind his back as he watched with calm fascination.
"Good," he murmured.
The dragon roared again and dove.
Its massive wings shattered the air with each beat, sending shockwaves across the battlefield.
Kratos moved.
He ran directly toward it.
Atreus' eyes widened.
"Father!"
The dragon slammed into the ground like a falling mountain.
Stone exploded outward as its claws tore into the earth.
Kratos leapt.
The Blades of Chaos shot forward, chains wrapping around the beast's horned skull. With a savage roar, Kratos yanked himself upward, landing on the dragon's back as it thrashed violently beneath him.
The creature shrieked, twisting its neck, jaws snapping wildly.
Kratos drove one blade into its scales.
Sparks erupted.
The metal-like hide resisted.
The War Dragon's scales were not ordinary armor.
They were forged from ancient war magic.
Kratos gritted his teeth and plunged the second blade deeper.
This time—
The scale cracked.
Dark blood sprayed across the battlefield.
The dragon howled in fury.
Its massive wings lifted it back into the air, dragging Kratos along its spine as it climbed higher and higher into the storm clouds.
Below, Atreus ran across the broken ground, bow already drawn.
"Hold still!" he shouted upward.
He fired.
Runic arrows streaked through the sky like comets, striking the dragon's wings.
Explosions of blue lightning burst across its joints.
The beast faltered mid-flight.
Kratos saw the opening.
He ripped one blade free and slammed it down again with all his strength.
The dragon roared.
Its wings lost balance.
For a moment—
It began to fall.
But the First War simply lifted one hand.
Shadow chains burst from the ground, latching onto the dragon's body like hooks.
The beast stabilized instantly.
Kratos looked down at the battlefield.
The man stood there calmly, controlling the creature like a puppet.
Kratos growled.
The dragon twisted violently, trying to shake him free.
Its tail lashed through the sky, smashing through a mountain ridge in the distance.
Kratos anchored the chains deeper into the dragon's spine.
"Fall," he growled.
The beast climbed higher instead.
Lightning flashed across the clouds as the War Dragon burst above the storm layer.
The world below shrank.
Kratos stood alone on the monster's back as it roared toward the heavens.
Then—
It rolled.
Kratos nearly lost his grip as the dragon flipped upside down, diving back toward the battlefield in a spiral of death.
Wind tore across his face.
The ground rushed upward like a hammer.
Kratos waited.
Waited—
Then jumped.
The chains of the Blades of Chaos wrapped around the dragon's throat as he fell beside it.
With a violent pull—
He yanked the beast downward.
The dragon crashed into the Black Expanse with a catastrophic explosion.
The earth split open.
Dust and fire erupted into the sky.
Atreus was thrown off his feet by the impact.
When the smoke cleared—
Kratos stood on the dragon's skull.
The beast struggled beneath him, wings twitching, jaws snapping wildly.
Kratos raised the Leviathan Axe.
The dragon's eye widened.
The axe came down.
The blade buried deep into its skull.
The War Dragon's roar turned into a choking scream.
Kratos ripped the axe free and struck again.
And again.
Each blow echoed across the battlefield like thunder.
Finally—
The beast collapsed.
Its massive body trembled once.
Then went still.
Silence returned.
Atreus ran forward, breathing hard.
"You… you killed it."
Kratos pulled the axe free from the dragon's skull.
"Yes."
A slow clap echoed across the battlefield.
The First War approached through the drifting smoke.
"Magnificent."
His silver eyes gleamed with genuine admiration.
"Few beings in existence could have done that."
Kratos stepped off the dragon's corpse.
"You are next."
The man tilted his head slightly.
"Perhaps."
The shadows around him began to rise again, darker and thicker than before.
"But I did not summon the dragon to defeat you."
Atreus frowned.
"Then why?"
The First War's smile returned.
"To measure you."
The ground trembled beneath them.
Deep cracks spread across the Black Expanse like spiderwebs.
Kratos felt it immediately.
Something else was moving beneath the earth.
Something far larger than the dragon.
Atreus whispered, fear creeping into his voice.
"Father…"
The ground split open.
A colossal hand erupted from the earth.
Stone shattered.
Mountains of dirt collapsed as a gigantic figure began to rise.
Not flesh.
Not bone.
A titan forged from ancient war metal.
Its body was covered in glowing runes older than the Nine Realms themselves.
The War Dragon had been a weapon.
This—
This was a war engine.
Atreus stared in disbelief.
"That thing is bigger than a mountain…"
The First War spread his arms proudly.
"The Colossus of Endless War."
The titan's eyes ignited like twin suns.
Kratos stared up at it.
Then he tightened his grip on the axe.
Atreus swallowed hard.
"Father… we can't fight that."
Kratos' voice was calm.
"Yes."
The titan took its first step.
The ground shook like an earthquake.
Kratos stepped forward.
"But we will."
The First War smiled wider than ever.
"This is what I wanted."
The Colossus raised its massive arm.
Runes across its body ignited.
A beam of pure war energy gathered in its palm.
The sky darkened.
The battlefield trembled.
And the true scale of the war finally revealed itself.