(Eon regarded them in silence for a long moment. Then, a faint smirk curled across his face, his many eyes glimmering with dark amusement.)
Eon (soft, almost pleased): "Yes… show me. Show me the defiance that built your legends. Break yourselves against eternity."
(His voice rippled through the Nexus like a cruel hymn. The battle was far from over—but in that moment, Kratos and Asura stood unbroken, ready to defy even the cosmos itself.)
The battlefield trembled beneath Eon's will.
(Kratos writhed on the floor, his armor crushing into his chest, his weapons fused into the ground like anchors. His muscles strained as Spartan Rage lit across his body in searing fire, but the weight refused to lift.)
(Asura screamed, his new arms pulled wide apart, locked in a grotesque stretch by blue cosmic chains. Veins bulged across his temple as he fought to reel them back in, pain tearing through his body with every pulse of dust and light.)
(Atreus and Mithra could only watch, horror flooding their faces.)
Asura (roaring through agony): "If you're that strong… THEN KILL US! Why play games?!"
(Eon loomed above, countless eyes gleaming like fractured suns. His lips curled in cruel amusement.)
Eon: "Because your pain is the sweetest price. Every scream, every gasp—payment for the ruin you have carved across creation. You were never warriors. You were experiments. My experiments. And now, I enjoy the results."
(Kratos spat blood, forcing himself to rise against the crushing weight.)
Kratos (snarling): "We are no one's rats."
(Eon's grin widened, his aura pressing heavier, suffocating them all.)
The Breaking Point
(Mithra fell to her knees, trembling. Her father's agony echoed through her chest like a wound of her own.)
Mithra (desperate): "No… not again… I won't lose him again!"
(She reached inward, to the memory of the fragments—the sparks that had burned against her skin, the unstable light that had danced along Kratos' axe and Asura's teeth. She felt it now, not outside, but inside her veins: a storm begging to be freed.)
(Atreus staggered to her side, bow shaking in his hands. His eyes burned with frustration.)
Atreus (hoarse): "I can't… even land a shot. I'm useless here."
(Mithra turned, grabbing his trembling hand in both of hers. Her golden aura spilled over him like firelight.)
Mithra (urgent, fierce): "No—you're the bridge. Between gods and men, between worlds. You hold the threads together. You're not useless, Atreus—you're the key."
(Atreus stared at her, wide-eyed, the doubt in his chest colliding with the fire in her gaze.)
Atreus (gritting his teeth): "…Then let's do it together."
The Resonance Awakens
(They clasped hands
Mithra's mantra ignited, pure and golden, her hair lifting in a radiant halo.
Atreus' runes flared emerald, threads of Yggdrasil magic weaving through hers.)
(The fragments' sparks erupted, swirling around them in a dance of flame and frost, stitching their powers into one.
The air rang like a cosmic chord, harmonious and terrifying.
Light exploded outward.)
(Eon's eyes widened as the chains binding Kratos and Asura cracked, then shattered into dust at Mithra's touch.)
(Mithra's voice rang across the throne room.)
Mithra (calm, resolute):
"I am Mantra. I am Cosmos. Your power—our power—will follow your will no longer."
Mithra's golden light dimmed as she steadied her breath, the weight of two fallen warriors pressing on her heart. In the silence that followed, a memory rose—Iselia's trembling smile, fading into sparks.
Her voice quivered in Mithra's mind, "Please… release us… from this monster's grasp…"
Mithra's eyes burned as she whispered under her breath, unheard by the others:
"Iselia… I will not let your death be in vain. You gave everything so we could stand here. I swear… this vile creature will pay."
A single tear slid down her cheek, but her resolve only hardened.
Eon's Rage
(The release rocked the chamber. Kratos rose, fire blazing across his broken armor. Asura staggered upright, his arms blazing like newborn stars.)
(For the first time, Eon's composure faltered. His smile fractured. His countless eyes narrowed into slits of fury.)
Eon (snarling, voice distorting):
"You DARE—break free of ME?!"
(His aura convulsed, the realm itself buckling as he descended from his throne. Cosmic flames roared around him, his voice twisting into a scream.)
Eon (roaring):
"IMPOSSIBLE! My design is flawless! I AM THE LOOM! YOU ARE THREADS TO BE CUT!
YOU DIRTY INSECTS—YOU ARE NOTHING!!"
(The throne behind him shattered into shards of collapsing starlight, constellations breaking apart as if the cosmos itself recoiled from his fury.)
(He struck like a storm. Blades of collapsing suns slashed at Mithra, who raised her hands in defiance. Golden shields burst one after another under the assault.)
(Her final barrier clashed with Eon's blade of cosmic flame—light against entropy. The chamber shook as if existence itself threatened to split.)
(But her breath hitched. Her aura sputtered. She was not yet in full control of this power. The golden barrier fractured, light spilling in shards.)
Mithra (strained):
"His power… it's—too much…"
Kratos charged in, slamming the Leviathan Axe against Eon's strike. Cosmic fire collided with eternal frost, the shockwave hurling stars from their orbit.
Kratos (straining, teeth bared):
"Stand firm, girl! Do not falter!"
Mithra trembled, her light flickering as Eon's strength bore down on them both. Her eyes squeezed shut—on the brink of breaking.
Then Asura roared, throwing himself between them, fists blazing as he caught Eon's second strike mid-swing. Sparks of mantra and starlight sprayed in every direction.
Asura: "YOU ARE NOT TOUCHING MY DAUGHTER!!"
Atreus darted to Mithra's side, drawing his bow, arrows glowing with their shared resonance.
Atreus (urgent):
"I've got her! Focus on him!"
Freed for an instant, Kratos twisted, his Blades of Chaos igniting in cosmic flame. He hacked and struck at Eon relentlessly, forcing the god to shift his focus.
Eon (furious, broken):
"No… NO! You are not order—you are ANARCHY! I will unmake you ALL!"
But for the first time, his voice carried something else.
Fear.