As the three finally landed on the ledge that led out of the mountain's interior, they began hearing the loud roars of the same dragon that had attacked them earlier. The sound echoed around the stone walls, and mixed into the noise was a familiar voice that carried a very distinct panic.
"AHHHH, GET AWAY, GET AWAY!" The voice that followed was undeniably Sindri's, high-pitched and trembling, which immediately made Atreus panic. Before he could even think properly, he started to run toward the exit of the cave, driven only by the fear of losing their friend.
"Atreus," Kratos said as he grabbed Atreus by the arm, stopping him before he could throw himself directly into danger. Atreus struggled for a brief moment, but Kratos held him firmly, while Zelos stood to the side and looked outward with a more focused expression, already thinking about how much he could salvage from the dragon once they were done.
"It is Sindri, we have to help him," Atreus insisted. His tone was desperate, as if thinking that Sindri would not survive another second. He looked between the two of them, hoping someone would agree and move.
Kratos finally nodded. "Find a safe distance to take your attacks. Zelos, with me," he ordered, and the three began sprinting through the last stretch of the cave. The sunlight at the end grew brighter as they approached, revealing the open side of the mountain. When they stepped out, they saw the huge form of the dragon lowering its claws toward a small figure on the ground. Sindri's blue tunic made it very obvious that it was him.
"Zoltraak," Zelos said as he immediately fired his spell toward the dragon's claw. The strike forced the creature to pull its hand back, while Atreus raced forward and fired several arrows toward the exposed scales around its belly. The arrows bounced off harmlessly, and all they managed to do was irritate the creature even further.
The dragon reared its head and prepared to release a lightning breath. Zelos sensed the charge building inside its throat, so he summoned a large boulder in front of him and hurled it straight into the dragon's open mouth. Right after the boulder flew, Kratos threw his axe, and the axe encased the boulder in ice. The moment the dragon attempted to release the lightning, the breath collided with the frozen rock and triggered a violent internal explosion. The dragon's head jerked backward, and its entire body shook as it fell limp for a moment.
It was not defeated, but it was stunned. Atreus quickly pulled Sindri to safety behind a cluster of rocks. Zelos raised a large barrier over them to protect them from any stray attacks. Kratos and Zelos remained ahead, watching as the dragon struggled back to its feet.
While the dragon recovered, Zelos began chanting a spell he had been wanting to test. Several copies of himself appeared in flickers of light, each taking a position around the dragon. They moved in a formation that encircled the entire beast, and every copy summoned chains made from the crimson bands of cytorrak. The chains hooked onto the dragon's limbs, wings, and neck, and all the clones worked together to yank the dragon downward. The creature struggled, thrashing violently as the bands dug into its scales, but the collective force of the clones overpowered it and held it still.
Kratos saw that Zelos had already taken control of the battle and realized his strength was not needed. With nothing left to do, he walked over to Sindri and Atreus, watching silently as Zelos prepared another spell.
Zelos raised his hand and summoned a large spear of light, which spun rapidly until it resembled a drill. He flew upward and aimed the drill at the dragon's closed mouth. The chains prevented the creature from opening it, and the moment the spinning spear pierced the scales around its jaw, the dragon let out a muffled cry. Zelos continued by summoning more spears of the same light, and they began raining down upon the creature's body. Each impact stuck into the dragon as if pinning it to the very ground beneath it.
Sindri and Atreus watched in silence. Even though both disliked dragons, the sight slowly shifted into something that made them uncomfortable. The sheer number of spears made it clear that Zelos was not holding back even a little. The dragon's body was covered with dozens upon dozens of glowing punctures.
Finally, Zelos summoned a large light sword. With one clean slash, he severed the dragon's head, ending the fight. Its body went still, and the mountain fell quiet again as Zelos floated downward. He landed at the same moment the dragon's severed head dropped beside him, almost in perfect timing.
Without waiting, Zelos summoned an abyss star. This time the spell's formation included the same alchemy symbols he had used to create his five daemons. He knew exactly what he wanted. The head and various parts of the dragon's body were pulled into the magic circle, where they slowly changed shape. The flesh and bone twisted and solidified into a pair of wings and a pair of eyes with draconic features. The whole process glowed with intense energy.
Atreus, Sindri, and Kratos approached him carefully. Zelos continued chanting until the items looked complete. To finish the process, he slit his wrist and let his blood flow over the wings and eyes. The items absorbed his blood and began burning with a bright light. When the glow faded, Zelos lifted them with both hands.
Two fully formed essence items rested in his palms, wings of a dragon god and eyes of a dragon god. He let out a small breath of satisfaction before turning to the group.
"That was quite the battle," Sindri said awkwardly, still unsure how to process what he had just witnessed. Kratos stepped forward and gave a rare comment.
"Good. But if you can end a fight early, end it. Leave no room for mistakes," Kratos said. It was a compliment, and both Zelos and Atreus knew how uncommon such praise was. They could count the number of times he had given compliments on two fingers.
Atreus pointed at the items. "What are those?"
Zelos smiled slightly. "Essence items. One is a set of wings that will allow whoever receives them to summon the wings whenever they want and use them for flight. The other is a pair of eyes, enhanced with my magic so the user can see the world as I do."
The three reacted with surprise. Kratos recovered first. Atreus, however, immediately set his interest on the wings.
"I want the wings. If you are willing to give them," Atreus said. Zelos turned the wings into light, and the light merged gently into Atreus' back. Atreus felt the energy settle behind his shoulders. Zelos then looked at Kratos and offered him the eyes. Kratos hesitated but eventually accepted.
When the merging finished, Kratos opened his eyes and saw the world in a way that was far more detailed than anything he had known. From where he stood, he could see their home as if it were only a short distance away. He saw the subtle movement of the forest, tiny shifts that he normally missed. He also saw the light that he and Atreus emitted, the same kind that Zelos had described before. Their divine presence was visible as faint layers of color.
He looked at Zelos and noticed that Zelos' presence not only glowed brightly but also flickered between different colors, shifting almost constantly. The only other presence that acted like this was Atreus, whose aura shifted between bright gold and blue. Kratos did not understand what the colors meant, and he did not want to think too deeply about it. He closed the eyes of power, switching back to his normal sight.
Meanwhile, Atreus was already floating above the ground. He flapped the newly obtained wings with excitement, lifting himself higher into the air while he tried to maintain balance.