Chapter 11 11

The space between Kratos and Karthik didn’t just feel tense, it felt like something invisible had already chosen how this moment would end and everyone else was just catching up to it.

Kratos’s breathing wasn’t steady anymore. He tried to control it, slow it down, keep it normal but every inhale felt too sharp, every exhale too shallow. His chest tightened with each passing second, not from fear alone, but from something deeper; something was reacting inside him.

“You shouldn’t be here” Kratos said, his voice lower than before, strained but steady enough to hold.

Karthik didn’t stop walking “I’ve always been here” he replied.

Behind Kratos, Santius let out a weak, almost amused chuckle, still slumped against the broken wall “Told you” he muttered under his breath.

Kratos ignored him completely. His focus stayed locked on Karthik, watching every step, every movement, every shift in posture. There was no wasted motion in the man’s approach.

“You said you wanted me” Kratos continued.

“I did” Karthik answered.

A brief pause and then “But I don’t need you to come anymore”.

Kratos frowned slightly “What does that mean?”

Karthik’s gaze lowered, not to Kratos’s face but to his chest.

“To be precise” he said “I need what’s already awakening”.

Kratos instinctively took a step back, the amulet reacted instantly. The warmth from earlier was gone and was replaced by something sharper and hotter, it felt unstable.

“Don’t come closer” Kratos warned, his voice tightening.

Karthik stopped, not because he had to but because he chose to “Do you feel it?” Karthik asked.

Kratos didn’t answer but his silence was loud enough.

“You do” Karthik continued, tilting his head slightly, studying him “It’s not reacting to me…” A slight shift in his expression “it’s recognizing me”.

Kratos’s heart slammed hard against his ribs. That didn’t make sense. Behind him, Santius spoke again, quieter this time “I think you should run”.

Kratos didn’t move, because the worst part? Something inside him didn’t want to. A sudden crash echoed deeper in the base and sounded closer than before.

Lyra’s voice cut through the air, sharp and urgent “KRATOS!”

That snapped him. Kratos’s head turned slightly toward the sound and Karthik moved without no warning. One second he was standing across the room and the next—He was right in front of Kratos.

Kratos barely had time to react because he was faster, like a flash of light. Karthik’s hand slammed against his chest, a grip directly over the amulet.

Kratos gasped, pain exploded through him instantly but it wasn’t physical, It went deeper, like something inside him had just been grabbed.

“No!” Kratos choked, his hands instinctively grabbing at Karthik’s wrist, trying to pull him off but it didn’t work.

Karthik’s grip didn’t move, it didn’t loosen and didn’t even shift “Wake up” Karthik said quietly.

Kratos’s vision shattered into fragments like glass cracking from the inside.

Images slammed into him: Fire, screams, a sky torn open like it had been ripped apart. Something massive was chained, breathing and waiting.

His body lifted slightly off the ground, his feet barely touching “Stop!” Kratos forced out, his voice breaking under the strain.

But Karthik didn’t stop, the amulet flared violently and light didn’t spill out but darkness did and that wasn’t him.

Karthik froze just for a fraction of a second. Then, he smiled softly, like someone finally seeing something they had been searching for “There you are” he said quietly.

Kratos screamed and everything exploded. The force tore through the chamber, stone cracked, walls shattered and the air itself seemed to rip apart under the pressure.

Karthik was thrown back, not far, but enough to break contact. Kratos hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the air out of him completely and silence followed. Dust filled the space slowly, drifting through the air in uneven clouds.

Kratos laid there for a moment, gasping, trying to breathe, trying to think. His body felt… off. When the dust began to settle, Karthik was gone.

The wall behind where he had been standing was completely destroyed.

Santius laid nearby, unconscious, unmoving. Kratos pushed himself up slowly, his arms shaking slightly as he rose to his knees. His breathing was uneven and his hands weren’t steady.

“What did he do to me?” he whispered.

Footsteps rushed in. Lyra dropped beside him immediately “Kratos!”

He didn’t respond because he couldn't. His eyes were still locked forward and unfocused.

“Hey, look at me” Lyra said, grabbing his face gently, forcing his attention back.

Slowly…His gaze cleared “What did he do?” he repeated.

Zephyr stepped in, scanning the room quickly. His eyes landed on the broken wall, then shifted to the exposed passage leading deeper towards the core.

His expression hardened “He didn’t take anything” Zephyr said, and he paused and then continued “He woke it up”.

Kratos’s chest tightened instantly and then from deep within the base, something answered. A low, distant sound that felt alive.

Kratos froze because this time, It wasn’t just the base reacting but something below them was responding directly to him and it was getting closer.