Challenge

After several hours of travel, a giant blocked my path. He was massive broad in the shoulders and towering in height, his muscles bulging with immense power. Each sinew was perfectly etched onto his body like a sculpture brought to life. He loomed over me by at least a head and a half. This was no god. Only one man could fit this description.

Heracles.

"When rumors spread across Greece of a mortal who could slay even the Kraken," he spoke, clenching his fists, his deep voice thick with arrogance, "I was intrigued. I wanted to test that strength for myself. When you entered Athens, I knew it was my chance. I could have challenged you right in the city, but you'd likely have avoided the fight and run off like a coward. And to lay waste to Athens… that would tarnish your glory." He smirked. "Out here, you have nowhere to run."

"Why do you want to fight me?" I asked.

"Because this land has room for only one hero," he replied, without even blinking.

"You seek my death out of vanity?" I asked again, trying to discern what truly drove this man.

"No more words. It's time to fight."

Without another moment's hesitation, he charged. His armor covered only his chest everything else was bare, exposed. With enormous fists ready, he advanced like a furious bull. A right swing I ducked under his arm. A powerful left followed I slipped past it again. He growled and quickened his pace, but still, he couldn't reach me.

"Stop dodging! Fight like a man!" Heracles roared.

Silently, I removed the helmet from my belt and placed it on my head. I leveled my spear, stepped back, and prepared. His next strike came, and I moved like lightning. A short, precise thrust pierced his thigh. Another stab struck the opposite leg. The spear slipped through flesh with ease, leaving crimson trails behind.

Heracles bellowed. His fist, like a warhammer, slammed into the earth ground shook beneath us, and dust filled the air. I had to retreat.

"I admit, you're fast," he growled.

Blood streamed down his legs, but he stood as if nothing had happened. Soon the bleeding stopped, though the wounds remained open.

He leapt and crashed down toward me like a falling boulder. I darted aside, the ground trembling where I'd stood just moments before. Without pause, he lunged forward, arms wide, trying to crush me in a bone-breaking embrace.

I slipped beneath his arm and he barreled past, pivoting sharply with a kick before rushing again. With each passing second, he grew faster, more savage lost in the frenzy of battle.

I couldn't dodge in time. I raised my shield. The impact was monstrous I stayed on my feet, but the next blow, rising from below, launched me into the air. I flew back several meters and crashed into the ground with a thunderous thud.

Before I could rise, he grabbed my leg. In the next instant, he slammed me into the earth, then hurled me aside. My insides trembled.

"Kh…" A clot of blood burst from my mouth, but I forced myself to my feet.

"You're still alive?" Heracles sneered, stepping forward.

My body burned from within. I knew something had broken. But my eyes ignited with a brilliant golden light. With a sharp crack, bones realigned under the weight of my unyielding will. The spear trembled in my grip, surging with power. It pulsed alive, thirsting for blood.

I lunged. A lightning-fast thrust pierced through his armor and struck his chest. At the moment of impact, a shockwave of energy exploded, tearing the air apart with a scream of pain. Heracles was flung backward, clutching his chest, struggling to rise. The blow hadn't killed him, but the damage was horrifying I could see part of his ribs and lung.

He rose. Rage burned in his eyes the desire for my death clear as fire.

Spitting blood, he advanced. The fight entered a new, more brutal phase. I struck with my spear; he answered with fists that felt like Talos himself was pounding me. His monstrous endurance and resilience ignored all pain, all wounds. Blood flowed across the ground his and mine. Our bodies were torn and battered, but neither of us stopped.

We wanted only one thing to destroy each other.

More than once, his fists found their mark. Each blow struck like a battering ram bones cracked and broke, and only sheer will kept my body from falling apart. Without it, I would never have risen again. Only my shield and spear held back his relentless assault. But then, one of his strikes landed squarely on the shaft of my spear. It snapped with a loud crack, splintering under the weight of his merciless power.

Summoning the last of my strength, I raised my shield. Step by step, slowly at first, then faster, I drove my fury into him. Energy coursed through every cell of my body, burning from within. I pushed forward, ramming him through trees until, with a thunderous crash, we smashed into a cliffside. I gave him no time to recover.

Over and over, I slammed my shield into his skull. The blows grew more savage, more unrelenting. I didn't stop until he lay still broken, defeated, drenched in his own blood.

Breathing heavily, I collapsed to my knees before my fallen foe. My body refused to obey me, my muscles trembled with exhaustion, and I had nothing left. But I forced myself to rise. Unclenching my hand, I summoned the remnants of my spear. A shard of the broken shaft, its tip still intact, fell into my palm.

I grabbed Heracles by the head, ready to drive the blade into his skull when an unseen force, like a battering ram, hurled me aside. I flew several meters, crashed into a stone outcrop, and groaned but stood again, ready to fight. My helmet, already dented and twisted, shifted off to the side. I tore it free and cast the remains aside.

But where Heracles had just lain there was nothing.

With a weary grunt, I sank to the ground. I stared up at the sky, unsure how long I lay there, trying to regain my strength. At last, regeneration began to heal my wounds. I rose, unsteady. I picked up the broken pieces of my spear. It was time to test its new ability.

I brought the fragments together. The shaft began to mend, restoring itself to its original form. I lifted my shield battered, dented, but still intact. It had survived. But the helmet… I looked at the twisted metal. It couldn't be repaired.

"Next time, Heracles… no one will save you," I whispered through clenched teeth.

I turned and made my way back to the road I had strayed from. There was no point in hunting him now. Wherever he was it didn't matter. If we crossed paths again, it would end differently.

Eventually, I reached the place where the battle had begun. All my supplies had been destroyed. I had hoped to restore some energy with food, but now I just wanted to collapse and sleep.

Someone was probably watching me. I could almost feel it a foreign presence. Most likely Hermes. He must have saved Heracles. I wasn't yet fast enough to catch him.

I settled under a tree, resting my back against the trunk. I half-closed my eyes and focused on the sounds around me. Since childhood, we had been taught to sleep in such a way that no enemy could ever take us by surprise sleeping with eyes half-open and ears sharp.

I allowed myself a brief rest, just enough for my body to begin recovering. Soon after, I rose again and continued on my way.

All the while, I thought about Heracles' sudden appearance. It hadn't been a coincidence. Olympus had decided to test my strength. The gods had become too arrogant drowning in their own self-importance and indulgence, treating mortals as nothing more than pawns in their games.

As much as I wanted to believe in the good within the gods, there was none left. Only one truth remained:

The gods must be removed from the equation.

When the old order falls, a new one will rise from its ruins. But at what cost? Hundreds of thousands will die and only a handful of survivors will remain when the cataclysm ends.

This is the final chapter of Kratos' tale. His sacrifice stopped the world from being utterly destroyed. But chaos didn't vanish overnight. Humanity would have to crawl its way up from the ashes.

Change everything or let fate run its course?

But I had already interfered.