Kratos x Reader

Thirty-Two

As cold shiver chased through your body. It was the coldest of shivers and the worst pain you had ever felt in your entire life.

It felt as if ice was growing inside of you, only to break free to the outside.

Breathing became hard and you had to choke for air. With a suffocated gasp, you rose form your slumber and reached into the air, hoping for something to get a hold onto.

What was this pain?

Was this how death felt like?

Tears began to drip down your cheeks as the feeling tightened around your chest. It felt painful, almost as if the air you were breathing was on fire.

Gods, never before you had felt such pain.

Blinded by the pain, you stretched and gasped for air. But there was nothing to hold onto, nothing to support yourself while suffering through this feeling of ripping apart.

You twitched and twirled on the ground, silent screams left your lips.

As it grew and began to feel unbearable, a hand suddenly grabbed yours. Struck by surprise, you screamed and ripped your eyes wide open. The feeling of a warm hand stroked over your arm and traveled down, until the warmth reached your face and stroked your cheek.

It was a huge hand, harsh but also gentle.

With a shaky breath, you tried to focus your eyes.

"K-Kratos?", you asked, your voice barely a whisper.

His face appeared in the dark, hugged by a soft shimmer of candles. He looked concerned, obviously noticing the pain that you were in.

His touches were soft, almost too soft and gentle to be from him. But there was something else too. A shimmer in his eyes.

Was that... mistrust?

Sceptical, you frowned and pulled back.

"Are you alright?", Kratos asked.

His voice was so deep, it send shivers through your throbbing body. It eased the pain for a moment, making you feel at ease.

But the relief quickly faded as the wave of pain washed over you again. This time, it was so much harder it forced tears through your eyes. A sharp scream escaped you, so loud it made the walls tremble.

"I- I... Ugh! Pain- Why is it so painful?!", your voice was shaking.

"Stay calm. Can you suppress it? With magic or your abilities?"

With tears in your eyes, you shook your head. The pain strapped you to the ground, almost like a higher power that was sitting on your chest to kill you.

"N-no! No magic."

With a displeased sound, Kratos put something next to you and began to prepare a soft spot to rest.

Carefully, he picked you up and placed you into a soft sea of cushions. With two fingers, he gently wiped a strand of your (H/C) hair out of your face.

Then, he turned away and picked the thing up that he had with him and placed it next to you.

Another wave of pain overcame you.

What was that?

Why did your body react to this thing?

Shaking, you forced yourself to turn your head and opened an eye. A cold shiver crawled down your spine.

The urge to vomit rose and tied your throat together. Suddenly, your eyes rolled back and an unholy pain overcame you. Struck by surprise, you screamed and twisted on the ground. Your voice was dull in your own ears.

"(Y/N)?", Kratos grabbed you, trying to face you to look him in the eyes.

But you couldn't.

Tears made it impossible to see. They drowned the world in pain and misery. A twitching went through your body, every muscle cramped.

It was as painful as hell, as painful as sin.

"K-Kratos...", your voice was barely a whisper. "Put- put it back..! Put the sin back to the sinner!"

A cough shook your chest. Blood was slipping out of between your lips. It drew a line, danced over your collarbone and disappeared between the pillows.

At loss for words, Kratos wiped away the sweat on your tears.

"Speak no riddles!", he cursed and tried keep your body from twisting your own neck till it snapped.

"The- the c-creature! Sin! I- I am- Urgh!", another flow of blood interrupted you, painting a picture of promised death and pain onto the fabric of your clothing.

"No!", with haste, Kratos grabbed the copy of you that he had lay next to you.

Its head moved, eyes as white and empty as a world of snow. Something was dripping out of its mouth. It was as thick as honey and as dark as sin.

Was that blood?

With a head full of questions, Kratos tried to wipe the black essence away, but it stuck to his fingers like a parasite to its host.

At that moment he was so surprised, he dropped the creature.

It didn't fall deep, but directly onto you. A curse escaped him, he tried to reach out, but it was too late.

The thing crashed into you, eyes wide open. But before it could bury your trembling body it stopped mid air.

Magic awoke. It was so powerful, it pushed Kratos away.

With an angry scream, he fell back, tearing up the floor tiles.

A loud, shrill scream left those weird lips. It was so loud, it made his ears bleed and curved the light. Time seemed to stop.

Light danced before his eyes and as he wanted to jump up again, he fell. Darkness crawled into his eyes, his brain felt empty yet filled with heat and pain.

With an angry scream, Kratos squeezed his eyes together and tried to crawl over the floor. Sharp pieces of stone were digging into his skin, but he kept on. Blood covered him, dripped down his arms and legs.

There was this invisible force punching him away. It was burning through his bones, sending thunder and froze blood.

Pressing his teeth together, he send his anger out into the world. The light that was coming from the creature was getting brighter. The scream filled his head.

His mind went blank as the consciousness left his body. Feeling as alive as a corpse, he fell to the ground, barley able to raise his head.

"(Y/N)...", he whispered.