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( PLAYER INFORMATION )
Name: Moth
Contact: dreamscape.circle@gmail.com //![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
ephinea // blooming.dreams @ AIM
Are you over 17?: Yup
Characters in Forest Covered: N/A
( CHARACTER INFORMATION )
Name/Work Name: Kratos Aurion/Gungnir
Canon: Tales of Symphonia
Canon Point: Before the infamous Flanoir scene
AU/CRAU: N/A
Age: Physically 28, chronologically 4000+ (JRPGs why…)
History: Tales of Symphonia & Kratos @ Aselia
Personality:Levelheaded, impassive, knowledgeable, cold. At first glance, all of these could easily describe Kratos Aurion.
When first introduced in the game, it's made clear that he's supposed to be the complete opposite of Lloyd in terms of personality-- the blue oni to Lloyd's red oni, one could say: whereas Lloyd cares too much, Kratos seems to care too little. Under the guise of a paid mercenary, Kratos's only focus is to ensure that his job — accompanying the Chosen on her journey and protecting her from any obstacle — is accomplished. He remains distant and indifferent with his companions, however (with exceptions in some cases, but we'll delve into that later), and pulls no punches with his words. He sugarcoats nothing, saying what's necessary regardless of how bad it hurts another person's fee-fees, and seemingly hardly gives a damn for his other teammates beyond professionalism and keeping them alive. Naturally, this pisses Lloyd off to hell and back, with him going so far as to accuse Kratos of having no feelings whatsoever in a skit… and how.
From a third person's point-of-view, Kratos easily gives off the impression of a know-it-all asshole who only cares about his job more often than not. He keeps everyone at arm's length, not allowing them to see him as anyone other than Kratos the Mysterious Mercenary. While he may be incredibly smart and know quite a bit about subjects that isn't exactly common knowledge (summon spirits and magitechnology, to name a couple), he's also cryptic with his knowledge and avoids sharing where exactly he learned such secrets. And speaking of avoidance: to keep his facade, Kratos dodges any and all sorts of questions directed at his past and reveals next to nothing about himself. This is what draws out his cold attitude the most, and any attempts to inquire about Kratos's motives is met with immediate dismissal, a notable example being when Raine interrogates him for his reasoning on protecting Colette ("Humph… I'm a mercenary. That's how we earn money to live." "In other words, it's just a job?" "That's correct." "That's really all?" "Yes…").
The reasoning behind his distant attitude is made clear once Colette offers her final prayer at the Tower of Salvation: Kratos isn't a wandering mercenary, but something of a "spy" for the Order of Cruxis as well as one of their top dogs. He is actually one of the Four Seraph and Lloyd and co.'s enemy, and from that point onward towards the end, he makes it very clear that he intends to keep it that way.
Alas, not everything is as it seems. Kratos is a walking, talking, breathing (debatable) example of this.
To take a page from Shrek, it's said that a person is much like an onion: they have layers, and you have to peel them away one by one to get to the center. In Kratos's case, one will have to look through 4000 years' worth of layers to truly understand him and his motives. Originally, he was on a quest much like Lloyd's, where he and his companions sought to create a better world that was free of war and discrimination. To keep it brief, several events occurred which led to the "death" of one of his companions and his student, Mithos, turned the temporary splitting of the world into a permanent one while he went mad with grief, as that companion was his older sister. Cruxis, the Church of Martel, and the Journey of Regeneration was created, with Kratos permanently sacrificing his humanity to become a member of the Seraph, and had remained so with his faith in Mithos's methods gradually waning over four millennia. Combine that with the populace of Derris-Kharlan being half-elves turned into soulless angels, and it's hardly a wonder why Kratos developed the attitude he did.
Even so, Kratos remained ever faithful to his old student after his other companion Yuan decided enough was enough… at least, until Mithos presented his concept of the Age of Lifeless Beings to Kratos. It was then that Kratos reached the point Yuan had, extended a big ol' Kratos-esque "Fuck You" to Mithos, and finally fled from Cruxis to seek a way to stop his student. At some point during his search, he meets and rescues a special ranch captive by the name of Anna, whom he would later marry and start a family with. His wife and son, Anna and Lloyd, could be considered his saving grace and the ultimate inspiration for him to continue his mission to stop Mithos. Unfortunately, it all came to an end when the Desians finally caught up to them, putting Kratos in a situation where he had to forcibly kill his wife and watch helplessly as she, his three-year-old son, and his canine companion Noishe, fell over a steep cliff to their supposed deaths. Having lost his piece of paradise in an instant, Kratos became a shell of his former self and returned to Mithos without a fight, no longer having the will to stop him now that his happiness was taken away from him. Fast forward fourteen years, to where he meets a teenage boy bearing his son's name and discovers a grave in his home that belongs to his mother, marked with his wife's name…
After thinking him dead for a decade and a half, Kratos is fiercely protective of Lloyd… in a bit of an unorthodox way, considering he still remains distant with Lloyd despite their relations. As a matter of fact, Kratos's distance is his method of protecting Lloyd. Throughout the game after his reveal at the Tower of Salvation, Kratos takes on the role as a double-agent, ever remaining loyal to Mithos while revealing cryptic information and advice to Lloyd and gathering materials for the Eternal Ring. In order to not regain his trust, Kratos constantly reminds Lloyd that they are supposed to be enemies, regardless of what the latter wishes to believe-- particularly at the Iselia Human Ranch, where he temporarily rejoins the group despite being on opposite sides. He opts for this path rather than rejoining Lloyd fully until the materials are gathered, and that's only because he managed to survive the process of releasing Origin's seal (no thanks to Yuan), which was supposed to kill him-- which is sad because a large part of him actually hoped that he would die from releasing it. As much as it pains him and kills him to make Lloyd hate him, Kratos knows this is something he has to do since the world's — both worlds' — salvation takes precedence over regaining lost time with a son he earnestly believes he abandoned.
And that's really his whole driving force for constantly pushing Lloyd away for the sake of rejoining Sylvarant and Tethe'alla: retribution. Not being able to help his former student before he spiraled into insanity, being pushed into a corner that resulted in him having to murder his wife, watching his son fall to his assumed death while being powerless to stop it, constantly turning his sword against said son in order to keep their positions clear: it hurts Kratos more than he lets on, and while 4000 years of life is more than enough time to learn to effectively mask one's emotions, he still blames himself for these circumstances, even if they were out of his control. Despite his self-loathing, though, Kratos does earnestly love his son and wishes to guide him onto the right path as a true father should, even if it hurts him in the process-- and even if the method is a little extreme, but hey; Lloyd didn't even know they were related for two thirds of the game so he had to make do.
And even after 4000 years of no human contact, Kratos still managed to maintain some semblance of humanity which shows that he's not at all as bad as he makes himself out to be, even if he doesn't believe himself to be human anymore. He still jokes around, albeit dryly ("It's Kratos… What are you doing here?!" "I was just looking at the sky." "Don't lie!" "Hmm… Then how about I was scheming how to get rid of those that are in Lord Yggdrasill's way? Now are you satisfied?"), he still has his berserk buttons ("Feel the pain… Of those inferior beings… As you burn in hell!"), and, in his own unorthodox way, he still cares for others. Even after what happened with Mithos, Kratos was still willing to help Lloyd better his swordsmanship by taking him under his wing as his unofficial student. Even though it was a lesson only meant for those involved with the Church of Martel, Kratos offered to teach Genis the angelic language along with Colette. Even knowing the risks, Kratos was still polite when it came to eating the food cooked by Colette, who recently lost her sense of taste and accidentally made the meal too spicy, or Raine, whose food is plain disgusting anyways ("Ugh! First Aid!"). Even though he purposefully maintains his distance, he still holds a papa wolf's instinct, the most notable example lying in the game's programming: Kratos is programmed to cast a healing arte on Lloyd more often than anyone else. Although not part of the game, another example lies in the official OVA series, where Kratos immediately moves in after Sheena attacks Lloyd, promptly slams the pommel of his sword into her gut, and kicks her away.
In short, as much as he claims otherwise and even though he has fallen far more than he has gotten up, Kratos is still a good man, and underneath all of the ice and shields and layers of bad decisions he puts up is an honest to goodness honorable mentor and true father. Congratulations Kratos, you've earned the title of "King Jerk With a Heart of Gold".
Now for God's sake, man, go and give your son a hug.
Debt:Kratos wants to end Mithos's reign, except he'd rather work on the sidelines as he'd always done and instead leave the job to a group that's already hellbent on stopping Mithos. So really, his debt can be summed up as whatever the Witch can do to aid Lloyd and his group in stopping the leader of Cruxis. From collecting the remainder of the materials needed for the Eternal Ring to just making sure they all get out of the ordeal alive and everything in between: if she can do it, he'll want her to do it regardless of how long he'll be stuck in Koriko. In addition, if/when he finds out that Lloyd is here, Kratos will want to take on Lloyd's debt along with his own so that Lloyd will be set free sooner, if not immediately.
Zelos can take care of his own debt.
Suitability:I will be straight with you: Kratos will fucking hate working for the Witch. He's already worked for one tyrannical leader for 4000 years, working for a different one will not make it any better for him. However, he knows it must be done for the sake of his son Lloyd, so while Kratos holds a visceral distaste for being blackmailed into work, he will hold his tongue and he will work diligently. At the same time, he'll be keeping an eye on Lloyd to ensure that he's working hard and not causing trouble (however difficult it may be, considering how much Lloyd hates him). While he will be papa-wolfing something fierce if his son gets into serious trouble, Kratos is not going to step in for every little thing he gets involved in, especially if it's because Lloyd can't keep his own goddamn mouth shut.
Previous Game Info: N/A
Inventory:- His clothes
- Flamberge (sword)
- Arredoval (shield)
- Cruxis Crystal (plus Key Crest)
- A locket containing a picture of him and his family (wife Anna and beebin Lloyd)
- A couple of apple and orange gels
Abilities, Strengths, and Weaknesses:Ingame, both Kratos and Zelos are the same class so that one could easily replace the other and not ruin the balance of the team, meaning that — like Zelos — Kratos is a magic knight, though their style of fighting is vastly different. In comparison to Zelos's swordplay, which is more graceful and fluid, Kratos is brutish and purposeful with his movements, hitting hard and fast and not caring about appearances. Besides knowing his way around a sword, as expected from a magic knight, Kratos is able to also cast some basic magic, with knowledge in some beginner and mid-level elemental magic as well as some healing spells. This ability is due to him ingesting a magical rock called Aionis — which was necessary for him to complete his transformation as an angel — as regular humans are completely incapable of performing magic.
As one of the Four Seraph of Cruxis, besides his decent array of elemental magic, Kratos is also able to cast powerful light-based 'angelic' spells, with his personal favorite being "Judgment" (to the point where it's actually become a running joke within the franchise and fandom…). He has the ability to fly via a set of blue mana-based wings that he can summon at will and can teleport between two points, though it's never been confirmed if it's simply between Point A and Point B or between Point A and Derris-Kharlan. He has no need to eat or sleep, his sight and hearing are sharpened to insane levels, and his metabolism slowed to a standstill, allowing him to remain at the age of 28 for over 4000 years. All of this, however, is because of his Cruxis Crystal-- take it away from him and he'll likely have his humanity regained and will have to figure out his limits once again.
Kratos is able to hide his emotions well and can seem very cool and collected, even logical and realistic, if not downright cold-- it's a farce for the most part, and inwardly, Kratos is a broken man. Blaming himself for not realizing that Mithos was spiraling towards insanity sooner, having to kill his wife because she turned into a monster, being convinced that his only son was dead at the age of three, having said son later reject him as a father… Kratos has fallen more times than he's gotten up and it'd be a dirty, dirty lie to say it hasn't gotten to him. While not quite to the point of suicidal (though quite close), he is ready to accept death as it comes to him — which would be sooner than expected since he would die if Origin's seal was released, and he's fully aware that Lloyd and co. will need Origin to wield the Eternal Sword — as he believes it's the only way he could redeem his actions.
Also, while he may be the epitome of the Three C's, allow me to leave you with a warning: do not, for any reason, attempt to harm his son. If you do, Martel help you.
( SAMPLE )
Characterization Sample:He honestly can't help but wonder, as he silently adjusts the strap on his mask, how he had fallen so low as to request help from someone who was already as dubious as Mithos, if not more so. The Witch was conniving, and to be so powerful as to take away the ultimate for of identity, his name… in retrospect, this was the stupidest move he's made thus far in his-four thousand-plus-year life, bar none. Even if she promised to locate the remainder of the materials needed for the Eternal Ring, even if she swore that she would assist the group that seeks to stop Mithos while still remaining inconspicuous, even if his son's debt would be mixed in with his own…
As though it were a slap to the face, he remembers: his son. He's here because he's doing this for Lloyd's sake and for Lloyd's freedom. It's a reason that doesn't need a reminder, and it's almost pathetic that he needed it now when it was his driving force from even before he got stuck in this mess. As long as it was for Lloyd, whether he would be grateful or not, Kratos would gladly jump through hoops for the rest of his life to be able to achieve what he couldn't--
A commotion from within breaks him from his thoughts and he's quite sure he heard the familiar sound of flat wood snapping along with glass breaking-- a drunkard likely slammed someone onto a table and broke it in half. Allowing himself a small sigh from his nose, he swiftly moves away from his post at the entrance and enters the building, silently wondering how he didn't manage to catch the commotion from earlier. He wonders if it's because of the lack of his Cruxis Crystal, barring him from his angelic abilities. It was possible since they confiscated that along with the remainder of his belongings (he is still sour about his locket being among the missing). After a beat, he idly wonders if his inability to hear as well as before is because his age is finally catching up to him.
This time, he allows himself a scoff.
Kratos pushes himself through the crowd with his thumb lightly fingering the guard of his sword as a precautionary, shoving the throng of spirits of different shapes and sizes aside until he comes across the perpetrator, with his apparent opponent knocked out and being dragged away by another guard. They give Kratos the signal to move in, and before the spirit can attempt to give chase, Kratos grabs hold of its wrist with bruising force, easily stopping it in its path.
Russet eyes narrow menacingly from painted eye holes, his grip tightening just a touch as he warns the patron with surprising clarity from behind his mask:
"I wouldn't persist if I were you."
Name: Moth
Contact: dreamscape.circle@gmail.com //
Are you over 17?: Yup
Characters in Forest Covered: N/A
( CHARACTER INFORMATION )
Name/Work Name: Kratos Aurion/Gungnir
Canon: Tales of Symphonia
Canon Point: Before the infamous Flanoir scene
AU/CRAU: N/A
Age: Physically 28, chronologically 4000+ (JRPGs why…)
History: Tales of Symphonia & Kratos @ Aselia
Personality:
When first introduced in the game, it's made clear that he's supposed to be the complete opposite of Lloyd in terms of personality-- the blue oni to Lloyd's red oni, one could say: whereas Lloyd cares too much, Kratos seems to care too little. Under the guise of a paid mercenary, Kratos's only focus is to ensure that his job — accompanying the Chosen on her journey and protecting her from any obstacle — is accomplished. He remains distant and indifferent with his companions, however (with exceptions in some cases, but we'll delve into that later), and pulls no punches with his words. He sugarcoats nothing, saying what's necessary regardless of how bad it hurts another person's fee-fees, and seemingly hardly gives a damn for his other teammates beyond professionalism and keeping them alive. Naturally, this pisses Lloyd off to hell and back, with him going so far as to accuse Kratos of having no feelings whatsoever in a skit… and how.
From a third person's point-of-view, Kratos easily gives off the impression of a know-it-all asshole who only cares about his job more often than not. He keeps everyone at arm's length, not allowing them to see him as anyone other than Kratos the Mysterious Mercenary. While he may be incredibly smart and know quite a bit about subjects that isn't exactly common knowledge (summon spirits and magitechnology, to name a couple), he's also cryptic with his knowledge and avoids sharing where exactly he learned such secrets. And speaking of avoidance: to keep his facade, Kratos dodges any and all sorts of questions directed at his past and reveals next to nothing about himself. This is what draws out his cold attitude the most, and any attempts to inquire about Kratos's motives is met with immediate dismissal, a notable example being when Raine interrogates him for his reasoning on protecting Colette ("Humph… I'm a mercenary. That's how we earn money to live." "In other words, it's just a job?" "That's correct." "That's really all?" "Yes…").
The reasoning behind his distant attitude is made clear once Colette offers her final prayer at the Tower of Salvation: Kratos isn't a wandering mercenary, but something of a "spy" for the Order of Cruxis as well as one of their top dogs. He is actually one of the Four Seraph and Lloyd and co.'s enemy, and from that point onward towards the end, he makes it very clear that he intends to keep it that way.
Alas, not everything is as it seems. Kratos is a walking, talking, breathing (debatable) example of this.
To take a page from Shrek, it's said that a person is much like an onion: they have layers, and you have to peel them away one by one to get to the center. In Kratos's case, one will have to look through 4000 years' worth of layers to truly understand him and his motives. Originally, he was on a quest much like Lloyd's, where he and his companions sought to create a better world that was free of war and discrimination. To keep it brief, several events occurred which led to the "death" of one of his companions and his student, Mithos, turned the temporary splitting of the world into a permanent one while he went mad with grief, as that companion was his older sister. Cruxis, the Church of Martel, and the Journey of Regeneration was created, with Kratos permanently sacrificing his humanity to become a member of the Seraph, and had remained so with his faith in Mithos's methods gradually waning over four millennia. Combine that with the populace of Derris-Kharlan being half-elves turned into soulless angels, and it's hardly a wonder why Kratos developed the attitude he did.
Even so, Kratos remained ever faithful to his old student after his other companion Yuan decided enough was enough… at least, until Mithos presented his concept of the Age of Lifeless Beings to Kratos. It was then that Kratos reached the point Yuan had, extended a big ol' Kratos-esque "Fuck You" to Mithos, and finally fled from Cruxis to seek a way to stop his student. At some point during his search, he meets and rescues a special ranch captive by the name of Anna, whom he would later marry and start a family with. His wife and son, Anna and Lloyd, could be considered his saving grace and the ultimate inspiration for him to continue his mission to stop Mithos. Unfortunately, it all came to an end when the Desians finally caught up to them, putting Kratos in a situation where he had to forcibly kill his wife and watch helplessly as she, his three-year-old son, and his canine companion Noishe, fell over a steep cliff to their supposed deaths. Having lost his piece of paradise in an instant, Kratos became a shell of his former self and returned to Mithos without a fight, no longer having the will to stop him now that his happiness was taken away from him. Fast forward fourteen years, to where he meets a teenage boy bearing his son's name and discovers a grave in his home that belongs to his mother, marked with his wife's name…
After thinking him dead for a decade and a half, Kratos is fiercely protective of Lloyd… in a bit of an unorthodox way, considering he still remains distant with Lloyd despite their relations. As a matter of fact, Kratos's distance is his method of protecting Lloyd. Throughout the game after his reveal at the Tower of Salvation, Kratos takes on the role as a double-agent, ever remaining loyal to Mithos while revealing cryptic information and advice to Lloyd and gathering materials for the Eternal Ring. In order to not regain his trust, Kratos constantly reminds Lloyd that they are supposed to be enemies, regardless of what the latter wishes to believe-- particularly at the Iselia Human Ranch, where he temporarily rejoins the group despite being on opposite sides. He opts for this path rather than rejoining Lloyd fully until the materials are gathered, and that's only because he managed to survive the process of releasing Origin's seal (no thanks to Yuan), which was supposed to kill him-- which is sad because a large part of him actually hoped that he would die from releasing it. As much as it pains him and kills him to make Lloyd hate him, Kratos knows this is something he has to do since the world's — both worlds' — salvation takes precedence over regaining lost time with a son he earnestly believes he abandoned.
And that's really his whole driving force for constantly pushing Lloyd away for the sake of rejoining Sylvarant and Tethe'alla: retribution. Not being able to help his former student before he spiraled into insanity, being pushed into a corner that resulted in him having to murder his wife, watching his son fall to his assumed death while being powerless to stop it, constantly turning his sword against said son in order to keep their positions clear: it hurts Kratos more than he lets on, and while 4000 years of life is more than enough time to learn to effectively mask one's emotions, he still blames himself for these circumstances, even if they were out of his control. Despite his self-loathing, though, Kratos does earnestly love his son and wishes to guide him onto the right path as a true father should, even if it hurts him in the process-- and even if the method is a little extreme, but hey; Lloyd didn't even know they were related for two thirds of the game so he had to make do.
And even after 4000 years of no human contact, Kratos still managed to maintain some semblance of humanity which shows that he's not at all as bad as he makes himself out to be, even if he doesn't believe himself to be human anymore. He still jokes around, albeit dryly ("It's Kratos… What are you doing here?!" "I was just looking at the sky." "Don't lie!" "Hmm… Then how about I was scheming how to get rid of those that are in Lord Yggdrasill's way? Now are you satisfied?"), he still has his berserk buttons ("Feel the pain… Of those inferior beings… As you burn in hell!"), and, in his own unorthodox way, he still cares for others. Even after what happened with Mithos, Kratos was still willing to help Lloyd better his swordsmanship by taking him under his wing as his unofficial student. Even though it was a lesson only meant for those involved with the Church of Martel, Kratos offered to teach Genis the angelic language along with Colette. Even knowing the risks, Kratos was still polite when it came to eating the food cooked by Colette, who recently lost her sense of taste and accidentally made the meal too spicy, or Raine, whose food is plain disgusting anyways ("Ugh! First Aid!"). Even though he purposefully maintains his distance, he still holds a papa wolf's instinct, the most notable example lying in the game's programming: Kratos is programmed to cast a healing arte on Lloyd more often than anyone else. Although not part of the game, another example lies in the official OVA series, where Kratos immediately moves in after Sheena attacks Lloyd, promptly slams the pommel of his sword into her gut, and kicks her away.
In short, as much as he claims otherwise and even though he has fallen far more than he has gotten up, Kratos is still a good man, and underneath all of the ice and shields and layers of bad decisions he puts up is an honest to goodness honorable mentor and true father. Congratulations Kratos, you've earned the title of "King Jerk With a Heart of Gold".
Now for God's sake, man, go and give your son a hug.
Debt:
Suitability:
Previous Game Info: N/A
Inventory:
- Flamberge (sword)
- Arredoval (shield)
- Cruxis Crystal (plus Key Crest)
- A locket containing a picture of him and his family (wife Anna and beebin Lloyd)
- A couple of apple and orange gels
Abilities, Strengths, and Weaknesses:
As one of the Four Seraph of Cruxis, besides his decent array of elemental magic, Kratos is also able to cast powerful light-based 'angelic' spells, with his personal favorite being "Judgment" (to the point where it's actually become a running joke within the franchise and fandom…). He has the ability to fly via a set of blue mana-based wings that he can summon at will and can teleport between two points, though it's never been confirmed if it's simply between Point A and Point B or between Point A and Derris-Kharlan. He has no need to eat or sleep, his sight and hearing are sharpened to insane levels, and his metabolism slowed to a standstill, allowing him to remain at the age of 28 for over 4000 years. All of this, however, is because of his Cruxis Crystal-- take it away from him and he'll likely have his humanity regained and will have to figure out his limits once again.
Kratos is able to hide his emotions well and can seem very cool and collected, even logical and realistic, if not downright cold-- it's a farce for the most part, and inwardly, Kratos is a broken man. Blaming himself for not realizing that Mithos was spiraling towards insanity sooner, having to kill his wife because she turned into a monster, being convinced that his only son was dead at the age of three, having said son later reject him as a father… Kratos has fallen more times than he's gotten up and it'd be a dirty, dirty lie to say it hasn't gotten to him. While not quite to the point of suicidal (though quite close), he is ready to accept death as it comes to him — which would be sooner than expected since he would die if Origin's seal was released, and he's fully aware that Lloyd and co. will need Origin to wield the Eternal Sword — as he believes it's the only way he could redeem his actions.
Also, while he may be the epitome of the Three C's, allow me to leave you with a warning: do not, for any reason, attempt to harm his son. If you do, Martel help you.
( SAMPLE )
Characterization Sample:
As though it were a slap to the face, he remembers: his son. He's here because he's doing this for Lloyd's sake and for Lloyd's freedom. It's a reason that doesn't need a reminder, and it's almost pathetic that he needed it now when it was his driving force from even before he got stuck in this mess. As long as it was for Lloyd, whether he would be grateful or not, Kratos would gladly jump through hoops for the rest of his life to be able to achieve what he couldn't--
A commotion from within breaks him from his thoughts and he's quite sure he heard the familiar sound of flat wood snapping along with glass breaking-- a drunkard likely slammed someone onto a table and broke it in half. Allowing himself a small sigh from his nose, he swiftly moves away from his post at the entrance and enters the building, silently wondering how he didn't manage to catch the commotion from earlier. He wonders if it's because of the lack of his Cruxis Crystal, barring him from his angelic abilities. It was possible since they confiscated that along with the remainder of his belongings (he is still sour about his locket being among the missing). After a beat, he idly wonders if his inability to hear as well as before is because his age is finally catching up to him.
This time, he allows himself a scoff.
Kratos pushes himself through the crowd with his thumb lightly fingering the guard of his sword as a precautionary, shoving the throng of spirits of different shapes and sizes aside until he comes across the perpetrator, with his apparent opponent knocked out and being dragged away by another guard. They give Kratos the signal to move in, and before the spirit can attempt to give chase, Kratos grabs hold of its wrist with bruising force, easily stopping it in its path.
Russet eyes narrow menacingly from painted eye holes, his grip tightening just a touch as he warns the patron with surprising clarity from behind his mask:
"I wouldn't persist if I were you."