Chapter 2 2
Kratos woke up like he had been dragged back from somewhere far away.
His body jerked violently, a sharp breath tearing through his chest as he gasped for air. For a few seconds, he couldn’t see anything clearly. The world around him felt distant, like he was still half trapped in whatever nightmare had just held him.
“What…could have happened?”
His voice came out hoarse, slowly his vision steadied.
“Oh…I’m still here…alive” he muttered.
Kratos pushed himself up slightly, his arms shaking as he leaned against one of the crates he fell through. His head throbbed painfully, like something had forced its way inside and refused to leave.
Then the vision came back; the battlefield and the voice.
“Arcus…”
Kratos squeezed his eyes shut, gripping his head tightly.
“No… no, that wasn’t real.It couldn’t be real. It had to be a dream. A bad one” he refused to admit it.
He had seen strange things before, people dying, war, hunger but nothing like what she saw. Nothing that felt so… alive.
Slowly, he lowered his hands, that’s when he felt it. Then, he remembered “Oh, the amulet” he whispered.
It hung around his neck.
His heart skipped a beat “No…”
His fingers moved quickly, grabbing it like it might disappear if he hesitated.
“I didn’t put this on…”
He was sure of it, Kratos pulled at it and pulled harder but the chain didn’t snap, the clasp didn’t loosen; it didn’t even shift.
“What the heck is this?”
Panic flickered in his chest.
“Come off…” He yanked again, harder this time.
Instead, the amulet pulsed. Kratos flinched as a faint vibration ran through his fingers, like it had responded to him.
He immediately let go, stepping back as if it had burned him “No…”
His breathing was ragged “This isn’t normal.”
Nothing about this was normal.
Kratos turned away, running a hand through his hair as he tried to steady himself.
“Think… just think…”
Maybe someone had put it on him while he was unconscious. Kratos took a step forward and then stopped. A sound reached him like footsteps but it was faint and distant.
He frowned “Who’s out this late?”
He held his breath, focusing as the footsteps grew clearer and closer, then he heard voices.
“I told you, we should’ve taken more.” “We already got enough, idiot. Don’t push it”
Kratos’s eyes widened slightly.
“How am I hearing that?”
They were far in fact, too far from him, there was no way he should be able to hear them clearly.
“No…no, this is getting worse…” He took a slow step back, then a scream tore through the night. Kratos flinched hard, his head snapping toward the direction instantly. It was a woman’s voice and it was close, her voice sounded fearful like she needed help.
“Not your problem” he muttered to himself.
That was the rule, the only rule. Get involved, you get hurt and that's how the streets worked, that's how people like him survived. His fists clenched, at this point, he should walk away and ignore it but his body didn’t listen, before he could stop himself; He moved fast and Kratos’s eyes widened in shock as the ground rushed beneath him like he had been pushed forward by something unseen.
“What?!” He barely had time to react but then suddenly he stopped right in the middle of a narrow street.
His breath caught in his throat, almost dry and coughed slightly and as quietly as possible.
Three men stood ahead.
A woman pressed against the wall behind them, fear written all over her face, It was exactly what he heard.
Kratos just stood there, trying to process what had just happened.
“I… how did I get here…?” he stuttered.
The men turned toward him. One of them laughed and clapped “Well, look at this”
Another stepped forward slightly, eyeing Kratos up and down.
“A stray decided to be brave tonight.”
Kratos swallowed.
He didn’t even feel close to brave. If anything, his body felt like it was on edge like something inside him was ready to snap.
“Leave her alone” he said finally.
His voice wasn’t strong but it was steady and bold enough. The men exchanged looks then one of them smirked.
“Or what, loser?”
Kratos didn’t answer, not because he was ready for a fight but because he didn’t know and that was the truth.
He had no plan. No strength and no idea what he was doing.
The man pushed forward suddenly, swinging his fist toward Kratos’s face. Everything slowed like it was in a slo-mo just as it is in the movies. Kratos saw it and his body moved on its own.
A small shift, the punch missed.
The man stumbled slightly.
Kratos blinked “Wow… “ he exclaimed.
He didn’t understand.
He hadn’t even thought about dodging the punch.
It just…happened.
The man growled, turning back toward him.
“You think this is a joke?!”
He swung again and Kratos moved again, effortlessly. Like his body already knew what to do.
Panic rose in his chest.
“I didn’t… Do It” he stammered.
His hand moved like a reflex, a simple push and that’s all it was supposed to be.
But the moment his hand connected, the man flew backward like someone electrocuted and was thrown by shock.
His body slammed into the ground with a loud crack.
Silence followed instantly.
The other two men froze.
Kratos stared at his hand like it didn’t belong to him.
“But I… didn’t…” That wasn’t normal neither was it human.
The two men backed away slowly.
“What the hell are you?”
“I didn’t mean to do that…” Kratos muttered, shaking his head.
They didn’t wait their turn, they immediately turned and ran.
Kratos didn’t chase them because he couldn’t. He just stood there, frozen.
The woman slowly stepped away from the wall, her breathing shaky.
“Th-thank you…” she said.
Kratos didn’t respond immediately.
“I didn’t do anything” he said finally.
She stared at him, confused.
“You saved me”.
Kratos shook his head again.
“No… something’s wrong.”
He stepped back slightly.
“I don’t know what’s happening to me.”
The woman hesitated, then nodded slowly.
“…You should leave,” she said quietly. “People will come back.”
Kratos didn’t argue.
He just nodded.
“Go” he said to her. She didn’t waste time, she ran as fast as she could.
And just like that, Kratos was alone again. The silence returned but it didn’t feel the same, it felt… heavier.
Like something was watching him.
Kratos exhaled slowly.
“I need to get rid of this…”
His hand moved toward the amulet again but before he could touch it, he saw a figure stood at the end of the street, watching.
Kratos’s felt a weird sting, he said “Who...”
The man didn’t move immediately. He simply stood there, like he had always been there.
Kratos clenched his fists.
“Who are you?” he demanded. “What did you do to me?!”
The man finally stepped forward, he looked calm and unbothered.
“What you’re feeling” he said quietly “was always there.”
Kratos frowned “That’s not true”.
“It is” he answered, confidently.
Kratos shook his head.
“No. I wasn’t like this.”
The man’s gaze shifted briefly to the amulet.
“You were” he paused and then continued “You just hadn’t awakened yet”
Kratos’s jaw tightened.
“I don’t understand”
“You’re not supposed to” the man replied.
That answer only made things worse.
“Then explain it!” Kratos snapped.
The man was silent for a moment.
Then, he said “The amulet”.
Kratos instinctively touched it “You know what this is?”
“Yes” the man responded.
“Then take it off me!”
Kratos grabbed it again, pulling hard.
It didn’t move.
“It won’t come off!” the man proclaimed.
“I know” Kratos stared at him.
“What do you mean you know?”
“Because it’s not meant to come off”.
Kratos’s breathing grew uneven.
“What kind of answer is that?!”
The man stepped closer.
“It didn’t attach itself to you by accident” Kratos’s heart pounded “I didn’t choose anything”
“No” the man said “But it chose you” he added.
Kratos swallowed “Why?” He asked almost quietly.
The man looked at him for a long moment, then said quietly “Wrong question”.
Kratos frowned.
“Then what’s the right one?”
The man turned slightly, as if preparing to leave.
“The right question is” He paused, then glanced back “Why did it wait… until now?”
Kratos was shocked “Wait for what?”
But the man didn’t answer.
Instead, he stepped back into the darkness.
“Hey… wait!” Kratos shouted “Don’t disappear!”
The man stopped briefly, then said one last thing “Make sure to stay alive”
And then—He was gone, just like that.
Kratos stood there, frozen, confused, angry and afraid.
His hand slowly rose to the amulet again, it pulsed faintly and then he heard a whisper right beside his ear.
“Run…”
Kratos’s eyes widened “What?”
Then, he heard footsteps, not far this time but many, heavy and coming fast.
Kratos turned sharply toward the sound and for the first time that night…
He understood something clearly: This wasn’t over.
It was just beginning.
