The Abyss blinked at me

(Chains of Olympus Rewrite)

5 years into his service to the gods, Persians attack Greece and Kratos defends his homeland against the Invasion under the charge of Athena. After driving the Invaders back, Kratos receives a vision from Athena attempting to warn him, but it is quickly cut off as the sun disappears. Now Kratos has to fight off a horde of living nightmares manifesting from an endless black fog.

The Ghost of Sparta was nearly enveloped by the black fog, until a small figure drove them away with a blast of light. The small figure in question looks almost exactly like Kratos’ deceased daughter, Calliope. Kratos tries to reach out to her in melancholic desperation, but she runs away, Kratos giving chase after his shock fades.

Kratos chases his “daughter” throughout the city until they reach a massive structure that looks as if it almost crashed into the ground. Inside the temple, Kratos is haunted by the melody of his daughter’s flute echoing through the halls. He was almost driven to the brink of madness until A woman drenched in red and orange light appeared before him, she called herself Eos - Bringer of the Dawn.

She informs Kratos that her brother Helios has been taken by Phobetor - The New master of Dreams, and all the Olympians have been lulled into a never-ending sleep. Few gods are awake to rule, so the world has been plunged into chaos.

Eos requests that Kratos use the Primordial Fire within the temple to release the Fire Drakons in exchange for a favor. 

Once the Fire Drakons began to burn once more the temple glowed with blinding light, Kratos realizes he’s on the sun and tried to rein in the burning beasts, but his hands burned the second he touched the reins.

Just then Eos appears in front of Kratos and pulls reins of the Fire Drakons pulling the Sun Chariot to the sky driving back the horde of nightmares that enveloped the cities. Once they reached the heavens Eos informed Kratos that her brother was taken to the Underworld and he would need to get there in order to save him. Kratos argued why she could not have gone there herself, replying that as a goddess of light she had no power in the sunless realm. Kratos reluctantly agrees to the request in hopes that Eos would convince the other gods to free him from his suffering. 

Eos contacts Hermes, one of the few gods still awake, and transports Kratos to the Underworld where he arrives on the shores of the River Acheron where he meets a soul which at first glance reminds him of an old friend from his Spartan days.

After short greetings the soul offers to be Kratos' guide to Phobetor, just then a blaring sound is heard and all souls on the shore gather to a dock. In the distance a gigantic boat appeared with a titanic figure at the helm; the guide refers to the figure as Charon, The Ferryman. Just before the boat was about to dock the guide cast a spell on Kratos to conceal his identity as a living, but once the shade cast the spell Kratos felt himself getting weak. Once they got onto the ferry they were accompanied by dozens, possibly hundreds of other souls each with blank or unmoving expressions.

The journey lasted for what seemed like days and during the trek Kratos fell into a slumber, in his dreams he saw his wife and child slaughtered by his own hand. It wasn't only them, his mother and his brother were among the bodies that were felled by his blades. As he breathes erratically, he can hear a voice taunting him from the dream's darkness, calling him a brute, a savage, a monster.

Just as the boat docks Kratos wakes up, he looks around and realizes that he and the guide are the only ones left on the vessel. The Guide and Kratos looked out past the dock and the only thing that could be made out was sand, nothing but swirling sand. The guide tells Kratos that this is Desert of Dreams; the section of the underworld where Phobetor has taken over. As the two arrive they are assaulted by a plethora of lesser Oneiroi and living nightmares which they must rip through to make it to the Ebon Citadel, Phobetor’s greatest fortress.

After barely surviving, they encounter an old man, sticking out amongst the almost infinite gold with wings of gray sand. He told the two traveler’s that Phobetor cannot be killed so they need something to contain him. Just then the elder began to dissolve into the sand but before he completely disappeared he left them with a small piece of advice,that they must confront the darkness in order to wake up. 

Once the old man left a glowing amulet took his place, Kratos grabbed the jewel and the two continued on. After fighting through even more nightmares they reached the top of the citadel.

Once the two got to the top and opened the doors, they witnessed Phobetor: an amalgamation of screaming black faces forming a vaguely human shape, exactly wht a god of nightmares would look like. There, he was siphoning the energy of a tortured Helios.

The nightmare god had his back turned to them but the second Kratos and The Guide entered the room he lunged at them both with terrifying speed. Kratos used his blades to slice the spectator but it was pointless the creature mended every attack. It was then that Kratos realized that the amulet could be used to harm the god. As the spartan brought the nightmare to his knees, he used the amulet to imprison the horrible spector. After it was done, the Guide that had followed Kratos for most of his journey; began to laugh in an ominous way, calling Kratos the Great Tool of Sparta as the drkness left from Phobetor entered the soul's body. Kratos was then transported to a field surrounding by glowing golden sand, there he heard the song, the same one that had been haunting him, only now it was sounded more comforting.  

Because of Phobetor's great acquisition of power, the Desert of Dreams had exapanded into parts of Elysium, and so, Phantasos transported Kratos to a little Oasis, and there Kratos was shocked to see the one thing he though he never see again: his daughter, Calliope. The two of them embraced in a hug, and for a short while, the Ghost of Sparta felt joy. Unfortunately for Kratos, this Joy was short-lived, Calliope began to wince in pain, her being fading in and out of existence as the sand grows ever closer. Just then, a woman drenched in warm inviting light appears before Kratos and his daughter, this was Makaria, first born of Hades and Persephone, Goddess of Blessed and Peaceful death, and Queen of Elysium. The goddess had informed Kratos who his "Old Spartan friend" really was: Phantasos, Master of Illusions, and the mastermind behind this whole conundrum.

Makaria explained everthing. Wanting the power to control the waking world, Phantasos manipulated Phobetor into overthrowing their brother Morpheus and seizing control of the Desert of Dreams. By consuming the power of his brother had taken, Phantasos’ power grew exponentially, allo him to lull the gods into a deep almost unending slumber. Now Phantasos had the power of the dream realm, the sun itself, and the Ghost of Sparta in his grasp. Now he wishes to let the Desert of Dreams consume everything until he and only he was the supreme god.

Kratos had to come to an impossible crossroad of descisions: stay in this fleeting paradise with his daughter forever while another mad god tries to take over the world, or leave Calliope, again. He didn't have a choice, but in his mind, in that moment, he chose to leave her. It took all of his strength to pry his daughter away, as she cried and begged him not to, but it was the only way. With tears in both eyes, the mighty and powerful Ghost of Sparta hugged his daughter one last time. Makaria gently extended her hand and Calliope went with her to Elysium.

Kratos made his way back to the citadel, agrier now than ever before. As he entered the building Phantasos tried to keep up the illusion of Kratos' spartan friend but it was pointless, the ghost of sparta usd the amulet to reveal Phantasos' true form, a cloud of smoke with shifting masks for faces, he threw daggers at Kratos in retaliation.

The illusion master used Kratos’ worst nightmares as weapons, visions of his wife and child berated him until he was brought to the floor. Only through his sheer rage was Kratos able to break through the illusions, and attack Phantasos.

Their fight broke Phobetor’s castle and brought them to the Desert of Dreams and Phantasos hid within the flowing sands, mocking the Spartan. Only after the dream god dared to say that Calliope deserved to die was Kratos able to grab Phantasos and pummel him into the ground. As The Ghost of Sparta pulled out the amulet, Phantasos, using all of his power, cursed the man with eternal nightmares, and just before the Illusion Master was sucked into the amulet, he berated the now broken warrior, telling him that his suffering shall never end.

Once the two Oneiroi were imprisoned within the amulet, the gigantic sandstorm that enveloped the desert began to settle and the elder from earlier appeared in the center where the citadel once stood, and and the swirling sands of the storm coelesed around the man showing the form of a gray figure with enormous wings, revealing himself to be Morpheus, the God of Dreams, he thanked Kratos for relieving him of his brothers, but it fell on deaf ears. Kratos begged the god of dreams to free him of his curse, but unfortunately it was impossible. Morpheus explained that Phantasos had his own power combined with Phobetor's and the power of the sun, nothing can remove Kratos' curse not even Morpheus.

Keeping his own promise to the gods, Kratos returns Helios to the temple. But he is left with the knowledge that he we never be free, forever plagued with visions of his family.

When the Gigantes attacked the Mountain of the Gods, many imagined it to be a mindless attack, instigated by barbarians, but it was far from such a thing. The assault was led by three brothers, mirrors of the Three Kings, each armed with enough power to turn the lands of said kings upsidedown.

Porphyrion: The Ruin of Zeus, the Dark Thunderer, King of the Giants, he has gone by many titles, many of which are deserved, yet over the centuries his resolve has faded. He's been betrayed, abandoned, and has been without a champion for years. This has rendered his soul as a spirit forced to wander the mortal world, after all he can't enter the underworld after Hades' put a curse on the Gigantes. Although he has found some solace with the few beings that can see and commincate with him.

He, like many of the giants is considered Zeus' opposite and equal. The power he wields, which many call Dark Lightning is some sort of electrokinetic energy that can withstand, absorb and redirect lightning. There are other possible powers, every champion has a different style.

He was a better king and father than Zeus could ever be, and that made the thunderdick pissed. They HATE each other but for different reasons.

Weapon: Gauntlets that can channel and control Dark Lightning (think Atlas gauntlets combined with Titanstone Knuckles)

Polybotes: Poseidon's Boiler, The Storm Burner, Lord of the Earth's blood. He was one of few beings who could stand in the way of Poseidon's temper tantrums, although he is not as strong as he used to be. The battle between Polybotes and Poseidon shook the oceans, and the rage the giant unleashed on the god of the seas has left burns that have never healed, but eventually Poseidon was able to trap Polybotes' underneath the ocean floor in the deepest part of the sea. Though his body was destroyed his esscence lived on in in the undersea volcanoes, and the champions he choose often have personnal grudges against Poseidon, including a certain king who the sea god hates with a passion.

While most of his abilities center around heat; such as the abilites of lava control, and to create fires so hot they burn even underwater, he is also able to control water and storms too. Such powers seem to act as neutralizer's to Poseidon powers, after all the god of the seas is someone who depends on unleashing devastating attacks on his enemies.

Where Poseidon was seen as a god whose emotions controlled his judgement, Polybotes was often seen as stern and collected, like an unbreaking undersea mountain, but when he allows his emotions to be free, you will know.

Weapon: A pitch-black trident made from Phelegethon Steel, metal that is infused with the power of the river of fire. Hot to the touch, only Polybotes and his chosen can wield it.

Alcyoneus: Bane of Hades, He who gives way for the fallen, The First Necromancer. The youngest of the three giant brothers, Alcyoneus is a shinging light to many beings, and many see him as the greatest of the giants, which unfortunatly has gone to his head.... frequently. He was a frequent believer in "death is not the end" concept, often raising ghosts and spirits from the underworld and removing their restrictions to certain realms, much to the dismay of Hades. Before his body was destroyed, he was the one who managed to cast a spell that allowed the other Gigantes to live on as spirits in the mortal world, the ability of choosing champions abilities is another story. He and his champions are seen as those who can bring light to the darkest of places.

Alcyoneus is often considered the Bane of Hades, this may be for a number of reasons:

1. He has a habit of raising the bodies and spirits of the dead from the Underworld.

2. He can access the Underworld without using the gates (Like Hades, Persephone, and Thanatos)

3. He essentially can't die, he can survive fatal injuries like they're nothing, (although he remains a spirit after the Gigantomachy) and

4. Darkness powers and magic of the night have almost no affect on him, he can also create light so powerful the could drive even the strongest children of Erebus away.

Compared to his brothers, he is seen as more of a carefree trickster and troublemaker, probaly since his goals center around "liberating" souls from the underworld. Although he is often seen as an optomistic and suprisingly happy, even if it's often morbid.

Weapon: Staff made from some ancient material, and engraved with symbols from the Golden Age

I've had this idea for a while now; what if the Giants that attacked Mt. Olympus almost suceeded but they were defeated they're bodies were destroyed/imprisoned and they chose champions to fight back against the gods.

Here, the Giants themselves are NOT the direct children of Gaea and Tartarus or Ouranos, it's more like how Gaea sees all beings as her children/grandchildren (also some of these primordials may have aided).

Giants, as a group, have been around since the Golden Age and come in a variety of types (like nymphs), they also posessed great power. Not quite on the level of the gods, but with the magic given to the Giants leading the charge on Olympus, the Dodekatheon feared them. Rather than just mindless beasts created from rock and earth, these "Gigantes" as they were dubbed, wielded powers that could knock the gods off their thrones, which they almost did. But like so many revolutions that would come later, this fight for freedom was silenced by the gods.

Each of the Olympians fought one the Gigantes until they either, killed them, or imprisoned their bodies beneath earth, mountains or even under the ocean.

Yet despite the gods' propaganda, the fight never ended.

Over the decades the giants would influence mortals with particular hatred for the gods and bestow upon them powers to fight back against Olympus, the first few centuries they just gave some mortals a one-up or two so they can fight back against the gods, but as the centuries turned to millenia, the Giants realized these little nudges weren't really stopping Olympus, so the Giants gifted their champions slivers of their magic, bestowing these "Champions" great power. Throughout history, these champions have been fighting back against the gods, constantly trying to push back the rule of Olympus, but the power of the gods is great and the fates of these champions often end in tradgedy and death. But they aren't alone.

As the centuries marched on the gods turned their gaze away from the other mortal races and focused solely on humanity, leaving races like centaurs, satyrs, etc. neglected or worse. Many groups turned to the Giants and began to help them in a secret rebellion against Olympus. Now, champions are seen as great heroes to everyone but the gods, their followers, and their spoiled children.

I watched Blood of Zeus when it first came out in 2020 and the pandemic kept us trapped in our caves. I really liked the first season, mainly because it’s one of the few media outlets for Greek Mythology that isn’t wildly inaccurate, awkward, or just plain bad. It also set up a lot of interesting possible plotlines, and when the trailer for season 2 came out last month my hopes for those stories could not have been higher. I watched season 2 twice and… I have some notes (unfortunately)