Kratos's Arc

Chapter 8 of 11

Zeus wanted proof of loyalty. Kratos had cleared himself of the Titan whispers, but the king's court still watched him sideways. Word had spread that Kratos trusted Kronos, the Titan who ate his own children. His enforcers murmured. Even Bia, his own sister, had gone quiet at the gate. Kratos knew the truth would not settle on its own. He had to face it in front of them all. He climbed to the gold-and-marble palace and called for open court. Zeus sat above him, lightning idle in his fist. Bia stood at Kratos's shoulder, arms crossed. Nike came too, summoned by the king. Nike was Kratos's brother, the Minor God of Victory, and he had refused Kratos once already. He entered fast, chin high, ready to win any argument thrown at him. "You knelt to Kronos," Nike said. "You carried his words. My banner stands with Zeus. Why should I stand with a Titan's errand boy?" Kratos did not raise his voice. "I bound Kronos tighter than any chain. Come and see for yourselves." He led them down to the great bronze archway that opened to Tartarus. Red fire glowed in the seams of the stone. Kratos called into the dark. Kronos answered, chained, old, his beard white as ash. "Tell them," Kratos said. "Tell them what you asked of me." Kronos looked at Nike, then at Bia. "I asked him to carry an apology. Not a key. I want no rescue." He paused. "I swallowed my own children. I was a jerk. He gave me a way to make one thing right. Nothing more." Bia signed sharp and fast. *He speaks true. The disc bound him. Zeus accepted it.* Her hands stopped. Then she added one word, blunt. *Trust him.* Nike stared at the chained Titan. The fire lit his face. "You want peace," he said slowly. "Not the throne back." "The throne beat me," Kronos said. "I stopped chasing it." Nike turned to Kratos. Old memory flickered in his eyes—a shoulder gripped once, a single word, "good." "You never explain yourself. You just act. But this time you brought me here to see." He was quiet. "That's new." "I need you seen beside me," Kratos said. "Not under Zeus. Under me. As an equal to Bia." Nike glanced at his sister. Bia met his eyes and nodded once. That settled it more than any speech. Nike drew a breath. "One condition. When I win for you, you say it out loud." "I will," Kratos said. Nike clasped his brother's arm. The tension in the court broke like a snapped rope. Bia and Nike stood on one side now, one banner between them. But three siblings were not four. Zelus still served the war god, and Zelus had not come. Now Kratos had one brother left to win—the one who would not walk into any room where Bia already stood.