Mithra pressed her glowing hands harder against Asura's chest, golden Mantra seeping into the fractured wound.
"Eon is breaking the walls between universes," she said urgently. "He's going to keep coming. You two can't fight him alone."
"We know," Kratos replied flatly.
Asura snorted. "I don't need help."
Mithra shot him a glare sharp enough to cut steel.
"Yes. You do!"
Asura flinched—only slightly.
Atreus turned to Kratos. "Dad… he saved you?"
Kratos' jaw tightened. He looked at Asura for a long moment before answering.
"…He did."
He turned away, throat shifting as he swallowed something bitter.
The Pact Begins
Mithra finished stabilizing Asura. The wound still glowed faintly, but his breathing steadied, fire returning to his eyes.
"We need a plan," she said. "Eon is beyond anything either of you have faced. You can't just… punch him harder."
"That's worked before," Asura muttered.
"Not this time," Atreus said quietly.
Kratos nodded once. "He controls time. We must find where he is vulnerable. Everything has a weakness."
Asura scowled. "I still don't like you."
"The feeling is mutual," Kratos replied.
Elsewhere… The Void Between Worlds
A cosmos of swirling color stretched endlessly in every direction. Shattered fragments of dying realms drifted like icebergs in a cosmic sea.
At its center hovered Eon—a silhouette of radiant fractals, his many eyes alive with shifting constellations.
He spoke softly, yet his voice echoed as though millions spoke in unison.
"Two warriors… mortal, yet burdened with power. Both burned by rage. Both enslaved by family… by grief…"
He raised a slender, clawed hand. Images spiraled into existence: Kratos standing atop Mount Olympus amid fallen gods; Asura roaring as Mantra erupted from his body in pillars of flame.
"Their stories are threads," Eon continued. "Threads… I shall sever."
He gazed outward, beyond the fractures of space and time.
"This universe will be reborn. Free of chaos. Free of suffering. The age of gods… and men… shall end together."
Behind him, stars collapsed into silent black holes as he drifted into the dark.
Back in the Frozen Ruins
Frost clung to the shattered stones. Kratos leaned against a broken pillar, wiping blood from his jaw.
Mithra hovered over Asura, carefully weaving golden energy into his chest. Atreus stood nearby, watching her powers with quiet awe.
Discussion and Doubts
"This god—Eon," Kratos said. "What does he want?"
Mithra met his gaze, fear flickering in her eyes. "He calls himself the Loom of Time. He believes all suffering comes from free will. He wants to collapse every timeline into a single, perfect order."
Asura growled. "Just another monster trying to play god."
"I've heard such words before," Kratos murmured.
Atreus hesitated. "But… if he can control time, how do we even fight him?"
Asura's Rage Awakens
Asura pushed himself upright despite Mithra's grip.
"We fight," he roared. "We tear him apart!"
"Father—NO!" Mithra grabbed his arm. "You saw what happened. Charging in nearly got you killed."
"I won't stand by while he threatens everything!"
The ground trembled as sparks of Mantra flared from his body. Mithra held her ground.
"And you won't protect me by dying for nothing."
Asura froze, breath ragged, eyes blazing.
Kratos' Path
Kratos studied him, then spoke.
"Power alone will not end this. We must understand how he does what he does. He is not limitless."
Asura scowled. "And what—ask him politely?"
"No," Kratos said. "We find his heart. His reason. Even gods fear something."
Atreus spoke hesitantly. "We could search for the source of his power. The place where his timelines intersect. If we destroy that—"
Kratos turned to him, eyes sharp.
"Good. We seek knowledge first. Then we strike."