Helping Hand :Kratos Tributes:: Rest

Moonlight filtered in from the hole in the ceiling of Kratos’ personal cavern, casting a silver light across the area. Kratos, having been up for a few hours of the night already, just couldn’t fall asleep, despite his best efforts. He simply felt…strange. He wasn’t sure what it was, whether it was meeting Bakara earlier that day and allowing her into his home for a while, or the unknown feeling in his gut as he had laid down to sleep. It had been an unusual day for sure.

Kratos normally wouldn’t allow anyone into his caves under the premises of simply “doing him a favor” out of the goodness of their heart. Such a thing was unnatural, in no survival situation would anyone do something for such a reason. He certainly wouldn’t do that, anyway.

But, despite his instincts screaming at him to push her away, he’d allowed her to help him gather supplies to make his personal cavern a more hospitable place to stay. Not only that, he’d given her permission to return! In the moment it seemed like a decent thing to do, seeing how fascinated she had been with his cavern system, but now that he was given time to think it over, he wasn’t so sure about doing such a thing. Well, the logical part of him was like that, anyway. His emotions were a different story however, but he normally was able to shove them down in favor of what his instincts had to say. Emotions never helped anyone stay alive out here in the wild, that’s for sure. But logic and instincts did, and Kratos wasn’t one to take risks in favor of putting his livelihood on the line, simply to make himself more likable to another.

Which is why he felt so conflicted right now, sitting here, trying to fall asleep but failing miserably. He just felt uneasy, and it made him anxious. And anxiety has never done anyone any good.

 

Kratos sighed, lifting his head off the bedding he’d laid out for himself earlier that day, looking up at the hole in the ceiling he’d widened with the help of the tools Bakara had fetched for him. The sky was clear, not a cloud in sight to block the moonlight from reaching the land below. The sound of water droplets splashing into puddles inside the main caverns echoed into his chamber, soothing his senses. Everything around him was just…calm. So why did he feel so damn uneasy?

Kratos laid his head back down against the bedding, resigning himself to just close his eyes and attempt to fall asleep again. This time, sleep came much easier to him.

He knew he was asleep, dreaming, but couldn’t help but feel afraid, a feeling he knew all too well. He couldn’t make out much in the haze of sleep, but he could tell something was wrong. Angry red splotches morphed in and out of his vision, his senses heightening and the feathers on his back standing up. Someone was nearby, someone…evil. Wrong. Forgotten.

 

As soon as these feelings began to become borderline overwhelming for Kratos in this state, something soothing suddenly overtook him. Flashes of bright light began to cut through the darkness, and he could’ve sworn he heard something cry out in agony, just before the feelings of dread dissipated completely. The haze around his vision lifted, revealing a place Kratos was unfamiliar with.

He stood in the middle of a grassland field, one drenched in dew and blue moonlight, stars twinkling in the clear sky above. A few sparse trees and shrubs grew throughout the area, but they gave off a strange vibe. Something supernatural.

 

“Kratos!”

 

An echoed voice called out to him. It startled Kratos, causing him to look around for the owner of the voice.

 

“Hello?” Kratos’ voice was equally as echoed, but at least he knew it had a source. A body. A personification.

 

“Kratos! Look up!”

 

The voice, now a bit more clear, requested his attention above. Kratos quickly obeyed, left in awe at the sight before him.

 

Chunks of earth and architecture floated in place in the sky, gently drifting about, no real destination in mind. Artifacts were scattered around the empty spaces, ranging from things Kratos had both never seen and was incredibly familiar with.

But the highlight of them all, the one thing that stood out from everything else, was a sandy-colored gryph, one he knew all too well the look of.

 

“Bakara?” Kratos called out, receiving a distorted chuckle from the other.

 

“Join me! I want to show you something.” Bakara paddled her legs in the air, and as if she were in water, began to move around, motioning for Kratos to do the same.

 

Apprehensively, Kratos pushed himself off the ground in a small leap, but instead of falling right back down to the ground, he gracefully and slowly descended, in awe once his feet finally touched the soft grass beneath him.

 

“Don’t be afraid, just jump!” Bakara’s voice called from farther away. Looking up, Kratos spotted her performing aerial maneuvers, as if she were trying to coax him into following.

 

Kratos swallowed the lump in his throat and leapt, expecting to slowly float back down to earth, but instead he began to ascend into the sky. He flailed his legs at the lack of solid ground beneath him, twisting around and trying to catch his balance. He bumped into a chunk of earth floating nearby, bouncing off of it and floating off in a new direction. He began to panic, wondering if he’d just continue to float away until he was far from any semblance of familiarity. He flinched hard as a gentle but firm touch righted his position, stopping his momentum.

Kratos didn’t have to turn his head to know it was Bakara, partially because of the literal eyes on the back of his head, but also because who the hell else would it be? There wasn’t another soul in this barren dreamland that he had seen, leaving Bakara to be the only logical answer.

 

“Like this.” Bakara’s voice sounded deeper than he’d remembered, but he figured it was simply the state of consciousness they were in.

 

Kratos turned around cautiously, watching as Bakara showed him how to maneuver in the air properly, and how to propel himself around in such a floaty environment. Kratos quickly picked up on the movements, albeit not very gracefully, earning a grin from Bakara. A wicked grin, something unusual for such a soft-natured gryph.

 

Bakara began to float onwards, slipping through the air with ease, leaving Kratos to flounder after her. Bakara would occasionally stop and turn to face Kratos, waiting for him to almost catch up, before rocketing off in a new direction. Kratos struggled to keep up, but he somehow managed.

As the two continued, swerving through fields of artifacts and pieces of structures, Kratos began to feel that uneasy feeling return. He brushed it off as being inept at controlling himself midair, and for once ignoring his instincts telling him to wake up.

 

Once Bakara finally stopped, Kratos floated to her side, awaiting a response from the gryph. She simply looked onward, forcing Kratos to follow her gaze with his own eyes. He froze in place as soon as he saw what they had stopped over.

 

The field below, once dreamlike and pleasant, was now stained a dark crimson, littered with the bodies of unidentifiable beings. The air around him grew thick, making it hard to breathe. He stared on in horror, watching as the trees contorted into wicked, leafless, claw-like structures, reaching up into their airspace and seeming to tear at the sky around them. Screams suddenly rang out, sounding from every direction in numerous magnitudes. Kratos flinched, closing his eyes and wincing at the piercing sound. He shook his head, trying to fall back to the real world, but with no success. Suddenly, a voice spoke to him, one so familiar yet so alien.

 

“Do you see it?”

 

Kratos opened his eyes as the screaming died down to a low hum, looking around to find Bakara had disappeared from his side. Instead, a much more twisted version of the gryph had taken her place, feathers tattered, extrmedies lengthened to sickening measures, talons curled and sharpened, while her flesh seemed to be melted off in places, exposing the withered bone beneath.

Kratos gasped, kicking his legs in an attempt to distance himself from the monstrosity, but wherever he turned it seemed to follow.

 

“I know you see it too, Kratos. You can’t escape the inevitable.” The voice that called to him sounded not just from the monster he saw, but from everywhere. It was an awful, grating voice, one that sounded whole but broken, as if it were both one and many.

 

“What? See what?!” Kratos’ voice sounded much more fearful than he’d like to show, but he knew he couldn’t stop it. This was a whole new level of horrifying.

 

“Your fate.” Kratos was suddenly struck from behind, but when he turned around there was nothing that could’ve hit him. His back now stung, but he chose to ignore it.

 

“My fate? What the hell does that mean?” Kratos called out, realizing he’d lost track of the monster when he had turned to investigate his injury.

 

Another strike, this time to the side. This one was harder, so hard Kratos was sure it would’ve cracked a rib if he weren’t dreaming. It knocked the breath out of his lungs, leaving him gasping.

 

“You have chosen your path. Now you must fulfill it.”

 

Kratos gasped for air, between the blow to his side and the heavy air he felt like he was drowning.

 

Before he could speak again, however, something pierced the red veil of terror that had shrouded the area. A bright blue light sliced through the darkness, flowing over the land below and dissolving the bodies that lay in the field. The crimson color fled from the land, returning to its bright blue aura as it was previously. The beast tormenting Kratos once again showed itself, still taking Bakara’s distorted form. It turned to the sky above, both watching as the stars shifted aside for the moon to take its place between them, stars swirling and forming a new body.

 

Kratos watched in pure awe as what could only be described as Nokt herself lowered her celestial head, beaming a rod of pure light energy onto the monstrosity tormenting her realm. As the being was absorbed into the beam, it began shifting its form, repairing itself with the aid of Nokt’s energy.

 

“Who are you? Are you Nokt?” Kratos asked breathlessly.

 

The being turned its head, the full light of the moon that made up its face illuminating Kratos’ features. It seemed to analyze him for a moment, before answering.

 

“I am that which you address as Nokt. I am the blessing of the night, the guardian of the dream realm.” The being spoke in the same manner as the monster, but in a much more soothing way. Her voice still sounded from all around him, but it was much less harsh.

 

“What was that…thing? Those bodies, I saw them, and why Bakara? Why did it take her form?” Kratos had so many questions, but wasn’t sure if there’d be enough time in his life to figure out the answers.

 

“That was the incarnation of chaos. An unnamed force who has set themselves out to change the fate of your mortal world. It invades the minds of the living, attacking them with horrific imagery and tormenting morals, and, as you’ve experienced, invading my realm to drag them to theirs.”

The stars around Nokt shined brighter with emotion. Kratos struggled to find his words. Why him? Of all the living beings to target, why had he been chosen by this…thing?

 

“I can sense your dilemma. This otherworldly being targets those who have a weakness. A low point in their lives, one that can allow beings such as this one to latch on and take hold. I cannot let it hurt my children, especially in my realm. It hasn’t showed itself here for a long while, until recently. It has been getting bolder. My powers have been strained as of late, trying to defend against this being. I do not know how long I can continue like this, but I will do everything in my power to keep it at bay.” Nokt’s voice was full of sorrow.

 

Suddenly, the energy engulfing Bakara’s form dissipated, revealing a newly restored depiction of the gryph.

 

“Kratos?”

 

Her voice was louder this time, less echoey. The world around Kratos suddenly seemed to distort, shifting away and into darkness. Nokt smiled upon him as the dream realm faded from his vision.

 

“Kratos? You there?”

 

Kratos woke with a start, quickly trying to regain his bearings. He was safe, in his cavern, lying on his bedding. Bakara was just outside his room, calling out for him. The memories of his dream began to flood back, forcing him to inspect his back and flank. There were no injuries or soreness, despite what he had felt in his dream. He blinked the sleep from his eyes as Bakara called out again.

 

“Kratos, it’s nearly morning, if you don’t come out I’m going to assume I’m talking to no one and that you’re not here.”

 

Kratos sighed and squeezed through the crack in the wall, emerging to see Bakara standing before him. He tried his best to repress the memories of his dream, and the way she had looked in that realm. It couldn’t have been real. It was just a stupid dream!

 

Kratos remembered the things that Nokt had said. Well, what he assumed was Nokt, if it was even real. That being, targeting weak individuals, latching onto their minds and transforming them into its minions. He could only guess as to why it needed these individuals.

 

“Hello? Earth to Kratos!” Bakara snapped Kratos out of his thoughts by waving a wing in front of his face, trying to get his attention.

 

“Sorry, weird dream.” Kratos replied absentmindedly. Bakara froze.

 

“...you too?” Her voice caught Kratos by surprise. It was low and timid, a stark contrast to what he knew the gryph was typically like.

 

“What do you mean?” Kratos inquired. Bakara tapped her talons on the stone floor, nervously looking around as she sorted her thoughts.

 

“Well, I was dreaming that…I don’t know, I was in a strange place. In that dream, I could fly. Well, not like I can now, it was more like floating.” Bakara explained. It was Kratos’ turn to be speechless. He hadn’t even told Bakara about his dream’s details yet, and she already had the setting spot on, albeit in terms of her own dream.

 

“And…you were there. Not in a weird way, just…there. You wanted to show me something. When I followed, something happened. I don’t really want to remember it, to be honest. It was awful.” Bakara got quiet again.

 

“Me too.” It was all Kratos could say in the moment.

Bakara looked up at him skeptically.

 

“No, really. Mine was the same, or at least scarily similar. I…I think I met god? Nokt anyway, she saved me. From something…otherworldly. Something evil.” Kratos explained.

Bakara stared in shock at him, jaw slightly open.

 

“I met some sort of being too. Not something like Nokt, though. This one said it was nameless. It was on a mission, and I managed to wake up before hearing the rest of its speech. But from what I experienced, it didn’t have good intentions.” Bakara sounded afraid, but Kratos reassured her it was merely a dream, nothing more. Not that he entirely believed that himself, but if it kept their emotions in check, then it would be fine.

 

“So, why are you here? Just wanting to wander around and inspect stone walls again?” Kratos poked fun at Bakara, which seemed to cheer her up.

 

“Oh, not exactly, I was wondering if you’d like to accompany me to some ruins nearby? I read about them in some books from the library last night, when I went back home.” Bakara asked.

 

Kratos thought for a moment, knowing he had more important things to do than wander around some strange ruins all day, but in the end he agreed.

 

“Shall we be off then?” Kratos asked.

 

“Oh, it says they’re only really worth seeing at night, so I was hoping we could wait until dusk to set out.” Bakara explained. Kratos sighed, but said yes anyway.

 

Kratos

2766 words-54

Extra stryx-3

Tribute-4

Flockmate-4

Personal-3

Total= 68 AP

 

Bakara

2154 words-42

Extra stryx-3

Flockmate-4

Total= 49 AP