第六章（7）
“Zeus!” Kratos tried to understand what was happening.
“宙斯！”奎托斯试图理解发生了什么。
The tips of the blades sank, no matter how hard he fought to lift them in his own defense.
无论他多么努力地举起双刃自卫，剑尖都垂了下去。
“Yes, I am forced to attend to this matter myself,” Zeus said, striding forward.
“是的，我被迫亲自来收拾这个烂摊子，”宙斯说道，大步向前。
To reach the Blade of Olympus now Kratos would have to shove aside the King of the Gods—and he could barely stagger, so drained had he become from his battle with the Colossus.
现在，要拿到奥林匹斯之剑，奎托斯必须推开众神之王——而他几乎连蹒跚而行都困难，与巨像的战斗让他如此虚弱。
“Athena refused to undo her mistake. Imagine caring for a creature such as yourself.”
“雅典娜拒绝纠正她的错误。想想看，竟然在乎你这样的家伙。”
“Why? Why would you betray me?”
“为什么？你为什么要背叛我？”
“It is you who would betray me! Am I to sit idly by as Olympus is threatened?”
“是你背叛了我！难道我能在奥林匹斯受威胁时袖手旁观吗？”
“Your hands are already stained by the blood of a god. I will not let Ares’ fate be my own.”
“你的双手已沾染神的鲜血。我不会让阿瑞斯的命运成为我的命运。”
Zeus grabbed the Blade of Olympus and drew it from its stony sheath.
宙斯抓住奥林匹斯之剑，将其从石鞘中拔出。
“The gods are petty and pathetic, and your rule is weak.”
“众神渺小又可悲，你的统治软弱无力。”
“I grow tired of this insolence. I am King of Olympus.”
“我厌倦了这种无礼。我是奥林匹斯之王。”
“And it is my way that is the way of the gods. You must vow to forever serve me!”
“我的教条就是众神的教条。你必须发誓永远效忠于我！”
Kratos sneered. With all his strength, he swung the Blades of Athena back and forth in front of him, weaving a curtain of steel as he advanced on the King of the Gods.
奎托斯嗤之以鼻。他用尽全身力气，在身前来回挥舞雅典娜之刃，织成一道钢铁帷幕，向众神之王逼近。
“I serve no one.”
“我谁也不侍奉。”
Zeus raised the Blade of Olympus, batted away his attack with contemptuous ease, and thrust it into Kratos’ face.
宙斯举起奥林匹斯之剑，轻蔑地轻易拨开他的攻击，然后将剑刺向奎托斯的脸。
Kratos did not flinch as the cold metal touched his cheek.
当冰冷的金属触到他的脸颊时，奎托斯没有畏缩。
His arms no longer carried strength enough to use his swords.
他的手臂不再有足够的力量使用他的剑。
He reached out with his empty hand and shoved the blade away.
他伸出空着的手，推开了剑刃。
“Then you leave me no choice.”
“那就是你让我别无选择的了。”
Zeus attacked, the Blade of Olympus slashing through the air—and Kratos’ chest.
宙斯发起攻击，奥林匹斯之剑划破空气——也划破了奎托斯的胸膛。
No armor could have protected flesh from such a powerful blow.
任何盔甲都无法保护血肉之躯免受如此重击。
Pain exploded within him as he staggered back.
他向后退去，剧痛在他体内炸开。
“Submit!” Zeus roared and began advancing, his blade cutting away bits of Kratos with every slash.
“屈服！”宙斯怒吼着开始前进，他的剑刃每一次挥砍都削去奎托斯的一部分。
Kratos was aware of the Spartans watching their god in battle with Zeus.
奎托斯意识到斯巴达人正注视着他们的神与宙斯战斗。
He would not yield because of them.
他不会因为他们而屈服。
He would not yield because he was Kratos, Ghost of Sparta!
他不会屈服，因为他是奎托斯，斯巴达的亡魂！
“I would rather die!” He blocked a thrust from Zeus’ blade but was pressed backward.
“我宁愿死！”他挡住了宙斯剑刃的一次突刺，但被向后逼退。
Zeus doubled the ferocious attack, forcing Kratos into an entirely defensive fight.
宙斯加倍了凶猛的攻击，迫使奎托斯完全陷入防守。
Cuts appeared on his body and massive arms.
伤口出现在他的身体和粗壮的手臂上。
Then Zeus thrust, pushing aside Kratos’ blades as if he brushed away blades of grass.
接着宙斯突刺，拨开奎托斯的双刃，如同拂开草叶。
Kratos toppled backward and grabbed the Blade of Olympus with both hands to prevent it from piercing his chest.
奎托斯向后倒下，双手抓住奥林匹斯之剑，阻止它刺穿自己的胸膛。
“It does not have to end like this,” Zeus said.
“不必以这种方式结束，”宙斯说。
The sneer on Kratos’ face sealed his fate if his words did not.
奎托斯脸上的冷笑，即使不是他的话语，也注定了他的命运。
“A choice from the gods is as useless as the gods themselves.”
“神给予的选择，就如同神本身一样无用。”
Zeus roared in anger.
宙斯愤怒地咆哮。
“Even with your last breath, you continue to defy me?”
“即便到了现在，在你咽下最后一口气的时候，你仍然要继续违抗我吗？”
He thrust forward, driving the tip of the blade through Kratos’ heart.
他向前刺出，将剑尖刺穿了奎托斯的心脏。
For a moment Zeus paused, the blade remaining within.
宙斯停顿了片刻，剑刃仍留在体内。
Then he yanked it free.
然后他猛地把剑抽出。
A pulse of pure light rose from Kratos.
一股纯净的光脉冲从奎托斯身上升起。
Zeus knelt and whispered, “Everything you have known, Kratos, will now suffer because of your sacrilege.”
宙斯跪下低语：“你所熟知的一切，奎托斯，都将因你的亵渎而受苦。”
“You will never be ruler of Olympus. The cycle ends here.”
“你永远无法成为奥林匹斯的统治者。循环于此终结。”
Zeus leaped to his feet, turned, and—using the blade that had defeated the Titans—swung it in a broad arc that sent coruscating blue energy slashing through the nearby brave Spartans.
宙斯起身，转身——用那把击败了泰坦的剑——挥出一道宽阔的弧线，闪耀的蓝色能量随之劈向附近勇敢的斯巴达人。
Dying screams were ripped from their throats.
垂死的尖叫从他们的喉咙中撕裂而出。
Kratos realized that these were merely the first to die by Zeus’ hand.
奎托斯意识到这些仅仅是首批死于宙斯之手的人。
Those Spartans, no matter where they were in Rhodes, would suffer a similar fate as the raging, unstoppable disk of energy sawed through them.
那些斯巴达人，无论他们在罗德岛何处，都将遭受同样的命运，因为那狂暴、不可阻挡的能量圆盘会锯开他们。
“You will pay for this, Zeus. Be certain of that.”
“你会为此付出代价的，宙斯。我保证。”
Zeus towered above him, then began to fade.
宙斯居高临下地看着他，然后开始消散。
Kratos’ vision blurred and turned dark.
奎托斯的视野变得模糊，然后陷入黑暗。

这第六章真长啊，居然发了七层楼

第七章
THE EARTH SHOOK, as if shivering with a tremendous fever.
大地震颤，仿佛因一场巨大的高烧而颤抖。
Giant cracks appeared along entire continents, and small mountains rose as Gaia’s spirit stirred.
巨大的裂缝沿着整个大陆出现，小山丘随着盖亚灵魂的苏醒而隆起。
Formless, of the earth, the earth, and yet lacking in substance, she stretched and began to take note of the world as it had become after the war with the gods.
无形无质——分明是大地自身，却又缺乏实体。她伸展并开始关注这个世界，关注它在众神的战争之后的样子。
The Titanomachy, the Great War she and the rest of the Titans had lost.
泰坦战争，她和其他泰坦们输掉的那场传说大战。
Gaia looked about and saw small changes, but for a Titan they meant little.
盖亚环顾四周，看到了微小的变化，但对一个泰坦来说，这些变化意义不大。
Her focus sharpened and found the mortal whose life she had followed from his earliest days.
她的注意力集中，找到了那个她从其最早日子就追随其生命的凡人。
It had not been apparent why she showed such interest in this mortal until Kratos showed valor and skill in battle as a minor officer in the Spartan army.
起初并不容易看出为什么她对这位凡人如此感兴趣，直到奎托斯在斯巴达军队中作为一名低级军官展现出了过人的勇气和战斗技能。
Eagerly, Gaia had watched his steady rise in the ranks until he became the commander of the most victorious army in the history of that city-state.
盖亚热切地注视着他稳步晋升，直到他成为那个城邦历史上最胜利军队的指挥官。
She had realized then the chance for power had returned, just beyond her grasp, but growing nearer by the instant.
她那时意识到，重拾力量的机会已经到来，恰好在她力所能及之外，但每一刻都在靠近。
For a Titan, time was meaningless, and yet she had to abide since it was so important to the short-lived mortals.
对一个泰坦来说，时间毫无意义，但她必须忍耐，因为它对短命的凡人如此重要。
Worse, time had ceased to have meaning because her physical form had been ripped away, leaving behind only inchoate spirit.
更糟的是，时间已失去意义，因为她的物理形态已被撕裂，只留下未成形的灵魂。
His military career had soared even as his personal life proved tragic, but she saw how the gods played with their mortal pawn, cajoling and promising and manipulating him for their own ends.
他的军事生涯飙升，即使他的个人生活证明是悲剧的，但她看到众神如何玩弄他们的凡人棋子，哄骗、承诺和操纵他为自己的目的。
Her anger had mounted as Zeus entered the drama, but still Gaia could do naught but watch and wait.
她的愤怒随着宙斯进入这场戏剧而升级，但盖亚仍然只能观看和等待。
The gods would make an error that could be seized upon, and the eternal struggle between god and Titan would resume.
众神会犯一个可以被抓住的错误，神与泰坦之间的永恒斗争将再度开启。
For the moment Zeus and the gods might hold the upper hand, but Gaia witnessed how they misunderstood what a deadly weapon they forged in Kratos, their new God of War.
目前宙斯和众神可能占上风，但盖亚目睹了他们如何误解了他们在奎托斯，他们的新战神身上锻造的致命武器。
If they could not appreciate him, she would.
如果他们不能欣赏他，她会。
Gaia stretched and flexed her ghost-limbs, which extended to the core of the world, and now slowly rose to the surface once more as her anger mounted.
盖亚伸展并弯曲她的幽灵肢体，这些肢体延伸到世界的核心，而现在随着她的愤怒增长，再次缓慢升到地表。
She and the other Titans had been banished when Zeus had defeated them, but the opportunity presented itself anew to depose the ungrateful gods.
她和其它泰坦在宙斯击败他们时被放逐，但机会再次出现，以废黜那些忘恩负义的神。
Zeus, of all sitting on Olympus, ought to show remorse at what he had done to his father Cronos, to the other Titans.
宙斯，以及所有坐在奥林匹斯上的神，都应该为他对他父亲克洛诺斯和其他泰坦所做的事表示忏悔。
The Sisters of Fate had decreed the destiny of the gods, and Zeus now failed to appreciate their gift.
命运三女神已经规定了众神的命运，而宙斯现在未能欣赏她们的礼物。
The Sisters had chosen poorly the victor in that war.
女神们在那场传说大战中选择了错误的胜利者。
His betrayal of Kratos and the confusion and ferment building among the gods made this the perfect time to strike.
他对奎托斯的背叛以及众神中建立的混乱和骚动使现在成为完美的打击时机。
But gently at first, not to arouse their attention, slowly she must forge the weapon that first Ares had used, then Athena, and finally Zeus.
但起初要隐秘，不能引起他们的注意，她必须慢慢锻造那个首先阿瑞斯使用，然后是雅典娜，最后由宙斯使用过的武器。
Gaia had watched Kratos throughout his life and knew that now was the time.
盖亚已经观察奎托斯一生，并明白现在就是完美的时刻。
Now.
正是现在。

第八章（1）
"I NOTICED IT only a moment ago," said Lahkesis, excited.
“我刚刚注意到，” 拉克西丝兴奋地说。
"Seldom does a ripple return to the loom like this."
“几乎不会有涟漪能像这样返回到织机。”
She floated upward, her scepter-mounted scythe flashing in the dull light of the Loom Chamber.
她向上漂浮，权杖上的镰刀在命运纺织间的昏暗光线中闪烁。
Her skirts swirled around bare legs, and her upper garb draped down over only one breast, leaving the other exposed in the style of some mortal city-state—the style had caught her fancy, but she misremembered which it was now.
她的裙摆环绕着裸露的双腿，上身衣物只覆盖住一边胸部，另一边则裸露在外，风格模仿了某个凡人城邦——这种风格曾吸引她的兴致，但她现在已记不清是哪一个了。
Perhaps she had used the scythe to slice through their thread of fate and had long since removed them.
也许她曾用这把镰刀切断了他们的命运之线，早已将他们除去。
At moments such as this, she appreciated the freedom such dress gave.
不过在这样的时刻，她很欣赏这种衣着带来的自由。
She swung the scythe back and forth menacingly.
她威胁地来回挥舞着镰刀。
"Someone has evaded their destiny, the destiny we have decreed? Impossible!"
“有人逃避了他们的命运，我们钦定的命运？不可能！”
"No, not that."
“不，不是那样。”
"His fate is sealed, but the circumstances surrounding it are not what I expected."
“他的命运已定，但其中的具体情况却并非我所设定。”
"You made a mistake?" Atropos was amused at her sister's plight.
“你弄错了？” 阿特洛波斯对她妹妹的窘境感到好笑。
"I have told you that you need to cut more carefully, think more fully, and only then begin your work."
“我告诉过你，你需要切割得更仔细，思考得更周全，然后才能开始工作。”
"After all, Clotho spins the fate, I determine the duration, and you are the … executioner."
“毕竟，克洛索纺织命运，我决定其长短，而你则是……行刑者。”
"Really," Lahkesis said, sniffing in disdain.
“真是的，” 拉克西丝说道，轻蔑地哼了一声。
"I enjoy myself."
“我自得其乐。”
"You and Clotho are too earnest and never take any pleasure in your contrivances."
“你和克洛索都太一本正经，从不从你们的谋划中获得任何乐趣。”
"Contrivances? Is that what you call meting out destiny to an entire world filled with mortals and gods?"
“谋划？你就这样称呼给这个充满凡人与神祇的整个世界分配命运的工作吗？”
"You neglected to mention the animals in the forest and the fishes in the ocean," Lahkesis said.
“你忘了提森林里的动物和海洋中的鱼，” 拉克西丝说。
"Only you take pleasure in deciding which of them end up as mortals' dinner." Atropos stroked along a thread of rainbow colors using one of her long talons, as if she caressed a small pet.
“只有你才会乐于决定它们中哪些最终成为凡人的晚餐。” 阿特洛波斯用她的一只长爪抚过一道彩虹色的丝线，仿佛在爱抚一只小宠物。
The black fog that was her legs and feet swirled up around her waist, then settled back as she bestirred herself in this argument with her sister.
那构成她双腿和双脚的黑雾缠绕上升至她的腰间，然后在她与妹妹的这场争论中振作精神时又沉降回去。
"Or as a mortal's lover," Lahkesis said, smirking.
“或者成为凡人的情人，” 拉克西丝笑着说。
"Lest you forget some of my more memorable couplings and their offspring."
“免得你忘记我那些更令人难忘的结合以及它们的后代。”
"Only you could take pride in such things."
“只有你才会为此类事情感到自豪。”
"Forging destiny is serious work, work you need to properly apply yourself to or the world will come crashing down."
“锻造命运是严肃的工作，你需要恰当地投入其中，否则世界将会崩溃。”
"All must fit perfectly."
“一切必须完美契合。”
"The pieces cannot have sharp edges or the threads of our work might be sundered."
“碎片不能有尖锐的棱角，否则我们工作的丝线可能会被割断。”
Lahkesis dismissed such foolishness with a wave of her graceful hand.
拉克西丝优雅地一挥手，驳回了这种蠢话。
She had impossibly strong fingers, as did her sisters, if Atropos' talons or Clotho's bony appendages protruding from the mass of her corpulent body could be described in such a fashion, from their long centuries of toil at the Loom of Fate.
她的手指异常强壮，她的姐妹们也是如此——如果阿特洛波斯的利爪或克洛索那从她臃肿身躯中伸出的骨状附肢可以被称作“手”的话——这都是她们在命运织机前漫长劳作的结果。
But more than simple manipulation went into the tapestries of inevitability they created from moment to moment.
但是，她们每时每刻所编织的、描绘必然性的挂毯，其所包含的远不止简单的操控。
Her sisters did not appreciate the necessity of enjoying one's work and doing more than simply decreeing a death or a war's outcome through valor or cowardice.
她的姐妹们不懂得享受自身工作的必要性，也不懂得去做更多，而非仅仅通过英勇或怯懦来裁定一场死亡或战争的结局。
They controlled the mortals, but the gods proved themselves even more diverting.
她们控制着凡人，但神祇们证明了自己甚至更引人入胜。
"The next thing you'll say you want is to resurrect the Titans," Atropos said.
“接下来你该说你想复活泰坦了，” 阿特洛波斯说。
Lahkesis thought for a moment.
拉克西丝思索了片刻。
"The last war between god and Titan was amusing."
“上一次神与泰坦之间的战争很有趣。”
"It occupied our thoughts and work for some centuries."
“它占据了我们好几个世纪的心思和工作。”

第八章（2）
"But Clotho and I ended it."
“但克洛索和我结束了它。”
"You would have allowed it to linger on."
“你却会任其拖延下去。”
"There is more than personal enjoyment to our duty."
“我们的职责远不止于个人享乐。”
"What more can there be?" Lahkesis asked.
“还能有什么？” 拉克西丝问道。
"Look at the thread that so interested me."
“看看那根让我如此感兴趣的丝线。”
"The one that you mentioned?"
“你提到的那根？”
"Kratos is most fascinating."
“奎托斯极其引人入胜。”
"I know you've looked at it."
“我知道你也查看过它。”
"Don't deny that!"
“别否认！”
"A mortal, a mortal empowered by a god he kills, then a god himself."
“一个凡人，一个被他所杀之神赋予力量的凡人，而后自己成了神。”
"Hmmm," Atropos said, looking over her sister's sloping shoulder and touching the ebon strand that had caused such a commotion.
“嗯，” 阿特洛波斯应道，从她妹妹斜倚的肩头望过去，触碰那根引起如此骚动的乌黑丝线。
The vibrations damped out even as she pressed her thumb talon to the thread of his destiny.
当她将拇指的利爪按在他的命运之线上时，那震动便减弱消失了。
"He is dead."
“他死了。”
"Dying," Lahkesis corrected.
“濒死，” 拉克西丝纠正道。
"He is bound for the Underworld and Hades' ungentle tortures."
“他正前往冥界，迎接哈迪斯的残酷折磨。”
"I should—"
“我应该——”
"You should pay attention to proper work and stop playing with this toy," snapped Atropos.
“你该专注于正经工作，别再戏弄这个玩具了，” 阿特洛波斯厉声说。
"The more you waste your effort on broken mortals such as Kratos, the greater the work Clotho and I must shoulder."
“你在奎托斯这种破碎凡人身上浪费越多精力，克洛索和我就必须承担越多的工作。”
"Kratos is an engrossing god."
“奎托斯是个引人入胜的神。”
"We ordained that he die and he has, but not in the fashion expected."
“我们裁定了他的死亡，他也确实死了，但并非以预期的方式。”
"How diverting!"
“多么有趣！”
"Zeus is becoming more irrational by the day and all the more fun to watch."
“宙斯正日益变得非理性，越发有趣了。”
"Work such as we do is not entertainment."
“像我们这样的工作并非娱乐。”
"It doesn't need to be completely tedious, either," Lahkesis complained.
“但它也不必完全枯燥乏味，” 拉克西丝抱怨道。
"We need diversions from the tawdry, ordinary fate so many mortals endure."
“我们需要从众多凡人所忍受的俗常命运中找点消遣。”
"You sound as if you long for the days of the Great War." Atropos finished a new thread, half smiled in satisfaction at a job competently done, then reached over and touched the thread of fate wrapped around Kratos' destiny.
“听你这么说，仿佛你很渴望传说大战的日子。” 阿特洛波斯完成了一根新线，对圆满完成的工作露出一丝满意的微笑，然后伸手触碰了缠绕在奎托斯命运周围的命运之线。
"Nothing."
“无事发生。”
"He is bound for the Underworld now and good riddance."
“他现在正前往冥界，总算清静了。”
"He distracted you overmuch from your real work."
“他让你从真正的工作上分心太多了。”
"As you say, sister," Lahkesis said.
“如您所说，姐姐，” 拉克西丝说道。
She waited for Atropos to begin a more complex measuring of the fate for a smallish volcano in that boot-shaped peninsula.
她等待着阿特洛波斯开始为那个靴形半岛上一座较小的火山进行更复杂的命运测量。
Lahkesis nodded in approval.
拉克西丝赞许地点了点头。
Many of the destinies ended with the mortals being encased in blocks of lava.
许多命运的结局是凡人被熔岩块包裹。
She swung her crook about, the sharp inner blade coming down—almost—on many of the threads.
她挥舞着她的钩杖，锋利的内刃落下——几乎——触及了许多丝线。
If she did not cut, those in the lava blocks would not die but would remain encased alive.
如果她不切断，那些在熔岩块中的人就不会死，而是会一直活活困在里面。
But which should deserve such fate?
但谁该承受这样的命运呢？
So much planning went into such a disaster.
为了这样一场灾难，需要投入大量的规划。
Mortals' lives had to be plotted out and ended at the precise instant, except those to be saved for more intricate diversions.
凡人的生命必须被精确规划并在特定瞬间终结，除了那些被保留下来用于更复杂消遣的。
Lahkesis wanted to play some with the survivors but knew her sisters would never permit it.
拉克西丝想和幸存者们玩些花样，但知道她的姐妹们绝不会允许。
They always denied her such explorations.
她们总是拒绝她进行此类探索。
Did they consider her their equal?
她们认为她与她们平等吗？
Lahkesis frowned as she wondered about this.
拉克西丝想到这里，皱起了眉头。
Clotho's skill at spinning fate was great, but Atropos?
克洛索纺织命运的技艺固然高超，但阿特洛波斯呢？
All she did was measure the longevity of the mortals.
她所做的不过是度量凡人的寿数。
Anyone could do that.
任何人都能做到。
Let them think as they would.
随她们怎么想吧。
She was more than their equal, doing what they would not—the actual deliverance of souls to Hades.
她远比她们更胜一筹，做着她们不愿做的事——将灵魂送达哈迪斯面前。
Lahkesis stroked the thread still binding Kratos to his fate.
拉克西丝抚摸着那根仍然将奎托斯束缚于其命运的丝线。
When Atropos looked away, again engrossed in her work, Lahkesis plucked it impetuously and let the faint vibration disappear into the Underworld itself.
当阿特洛波斯转开视线，再次沉浸于她的工作时，拉克西丝鲁莽地拨动了它，让那微弱的振动消失在冥界深处。
With a contented sigh, she knew the result would be short-lived, but it gave her a measure of exhilaration to meddle with that which Clotho and Atropos said was pointless.
她满足地叹了口气，知道这结果将是短暂的，但插手于克洛索和阿特洛波斯口中所谓无意义之事，给了她一丝兴奋感。
There could be no doubt as to Kratos' fate.
关于奎托斯的命运，已无可置疑。
But there was no reason it could not also be amusing—even arousing— because it broke the tedium of controlling so many mundane dooms.
但没有理由不让它也变得有趣——甚至刺激——因为它打破了控制如此之多平凡厄运的单调乏味。

怎么干到今天了昨天到底是少一章

第九章（1）
DARKNESS FILLED his universe.
黑暗充斥着他的宇宙。
Kratos fought to move.
奎托斯挣扎着想要移动。
Limbs refused him.
四肢却不听使唤。
A cry built within his throat, only to die in a bloody gurgle.
一声呐喊在他喉中积聚，却最终化作血沫而消亡。
Then he felt tingling across his legs.
接着，他感到双腿一阵刺痛。
The feathery touches turned to stabbing pain that gave him hope that he still lived.
这羽毛般的轻触变成了刺骨的剧痛，反而让他生出了自己还活着的希望。
Then those touches worked to his thighs and his chest and across his face.
随后，那触碰蔓延至他的大腿、胸膛和脸庞。
He blinked open one eye and saw, just before blood blinded him, the dark Hands of Hades rising from the stone flooring beneath him, to engulf him and begin gouging into his inert flesh.
他眨巴着睁开一只眼，在鲜血模糊视线之前，他看到哈迪斯的黑暗之手从他身下的石地升起，将他吞没，并开始啃噬他麻木的肉体。
Wisps of midnight fog touched his arms and legs, burned like fire, then tightened like chains on his appendages.
午夜般的雾气缠绕着他的手臂和双腿，如火焰般灼烧，随后像锁链一样紧紧箍住他的四肢。
More of the smoky tendrils rose from around him and beneath him, clutching his body.
更多烟状的触须从他周围和身下升起，紧紧抓住他的身体。
Where he lay, stone began to dissolve, allowing the Hands to pull him downward.
他所躺之处的石头开始溶解，让那些手得以将他向下拖拽。
He screamed but no words came from his lips as the paving beneath him began to collapse.
他做着尖叫的动作，但当他身下的铺路石开始崩塌时，他发不出任何声音。
Even as he fell into the dark portal to Hades, the black tendrils gripped him more firmly and extracted an infinite amount of agony from him.
即使在他坠入通往冥界的黑暗传送门时，那黑色触须仍更紧地抓住他，从他身上榨取着无尽的痛苦。
Faster and faster the marble beneath his body crumbled and caved in and then he was falling downward at a speed that would have taken away a living mortal’s breath.
他身下的大理石越来越快地碎裂、塌陷，接着他便以足以让活人窒息的速度向下坠落。
Darkness shrouded him.
黑暗笼罩了他。
From below came anguished cries he remembered all too well from his escape from the Underworld before he had fought Ares.
从下方传来痛苦的哭嚎，这声音他再熟悉不过，源自他当年在与阿瑞斯战斗前逃离冥界的经历。
The stench of death filled his nostrils and made his tongue swell.
死亡的恶臭充斥着他的鼻孔，让他的舌头肿胀。
Breath no longer filled his lungs.
呼吸不再能充满他的肺。
Fighting against the hands that clutched cruelly at his flesh, he looked down at his chest and saw … through his body.
他抵抗着残忍抓挠他血肉的手，低头看向自己的胸膛，却看到……一个穿透他身体的洞。
Zeus had reamed out his midsection, leaving behind a hole bigger than his doubled fist.
宙斯剖开了他的腹部，留下了一个比他双拳还大的窟窿。
Kratos knew he was no longer among the living.
奎托斯知道自己不再属于生者。
The black tendrils hardened and dug even farther into his body until he was completely enshrouded.
黑色触须变得坚硬，更深地挖入他的身体，直到他被完全包裹。
And then he fell, sightless, unable to move, robbed of all senses, completely helpless.
接着他向下坠落，目不能视，无法移动，所有感官都被剥夺，完全无助。
But he raged.
但他狂怒不已。
Oh, how he raged!
哦，他是何等的愤怒！
His body might have been stolen from him, but his mind fought against the injustice.
他的身体或许已被夺走，但他的意志却在反抗这不公。
Giving in easily was not locked in any fiber of his being.
轻易屈服绝非他本性中的任何一部分。
Even as he fell he vowed vengeance on Zeus and the very pillars of Olympus.
即使在下坠中，他仍发誓要向宙斯乃至奥林匹斯的根基复仇。
His wrath spilled over and suddenly he was no longer encased in the blackness but dangling above a fiery pit.
他的怒火喷涌而出，突然间，他不再被黑暗包裹，而是悬吊在一个火焰坑洞之上。
Heat seared him and caused sweat intermingled with blood to drip from his flesh.
热浪灼烧着他，汗水和鲜血混合着从他的肉体上滴落。
Groping hands, now flaming, held him, limbs outstretched in midair.
摸索着的手，此刻燃烧着，抓住他，将他的四肢伸展悬在半空。
Every move sent new lances of pain into his body, but still he fought against the restraints.
每一个动作都给他的身体带来新的剧痛，但他仍然反抗着束缚。
Pain gave him focus for his rage.
痛苦让他的愤怒有了焦点。
And then the rage was replaced by hollowness.
随后，愤怒被空虚取代。
His wife stood before him, imploring him, only to fade and be replaced by his dear daughter.
他的妻子站在他面前，恳求着他，随即消散，被他亲爱的女儿所取代。
The physical torture meant nothing to him, but this!
肉体的折磨对他毫无意义，但是这个！
The nightmares Athena and Zeus had promised to eradicate remained even in death!
雅典娜和宙斯承诺会消除的梦魇，即便在死亡中依然存在！
Now he was transported back to the village where Ares had duped him into killing both Lysandra and little Calliope.
此刻，他被带回到了那个村庄，阿瑞斯曾愚弄他，让他在那里杀死了吕珊德拉和小卡莱俄珀。
“No, no,” he gasped out.
“不，不，”他喘息着说道。
The scene turned again.
场景再次变换。
This was hardly more to his liking because he lay flat on his back, the carnage of battle all about.
这并未让他更好受，因为他仰面躺着，周围是战争的屠杀场。
His valiant warriors were dying under the onslaught of the barbarians—and the Barbarian King towered above him, huge war hammer raised and ready to crush him.
他英勇的战士们正在野蛮人的猛攻下死去——而野蛮人国王则巍然屹立在他面前，巨大的战锤高举，准备将他砸碎。
Kratos tried to remain silent, but the words were still ripped from his lips.
奎托斯试图保持沉默，但话语还是被从他的嘴唇中撕扯出来。
“Ares, destroy my enemies and my life is yours!”
“阿瑞斯，消灭我的敌人，我的生命就属于你！”
Those were the words that had placed him in thrall to the God of War for too many years, the pledge that had set his feet on a road of butchery and soulless killing of any who stood against him—against Ares.
就是这些话，让他受制于战神多年，这个誓言让他踏上了一条屠杀之路，无情地杀死任何反对他——反对阿瑞斯的人。

第九章（2）
Kratos wanted it to be different this time, for the Barbarian King to slay him, but the giant of a man stayed his blow and looked back over his shoulder at the sky as the leaden clouds parted and the God of War appeared and …
奎托斯希望这次能有所不同，希望野蛮人国王能杀死他，但这个巨人却停住了手，回头望向天空，此时铅色的云层分开，战神出现并……
… Kratos screamed as the Blades of Chaos seared through his flesh and bonded with the bones of his forearms.
……奎托斯惨叫着，混沌之刃灼烧着他的血肉，与他的前臂骨骼融合。
No longer supine he swung the blades in vicious arcs, ending the Barbarian King’s life and slaughtering the invading army … and his wife.
他不再仰卧，挥舞着刀刃划出凶残的弧线，结束了野蛮人国王的生命，屠杀了入侵的军队……还有他的妻子。
Lysandra sank down, mortally wounded from his mindless slash, and his daughter, his daughter fell, too …
吕珊德拉倒下了，被他无意识的挥砍成致命伤，他的女儿，他的女儿也倒下了……
… and Ares laughed.
……而阿瑞斯笑了。
The God of War towered above the burning Athens, threw his head back, and mocked the gods of Olympus.
战神屹立在燃烧的雅典上空，仰头嘲笑着奥林匹斯的众神。
Fight, Spartan.
战斗吧，斯巴达人。
Kratos knew pain beyond the physical.
奎托斯感受到了超越肉体的痛苦。
That he had learned to endure, but now?
那种痛苦他早已学会忍受，但现在呢？
Now he was plunged once more into the patterns that had blighted his life.
现在他又一次陷入了那毁掉他一生的梦魇中。
He fought to change what he did, but the forces surrounded him like a sea wave to drown him.
他奋力想要改变自己的行为，但力量如海浪般包围着他，要将他淹没。
He knew what was going to happen, hated it, could not stop it …
他知道将要发生什么，并憎恨着它，却无法阻止……
The sharp command caused Ares to whirl about, his flaming beard sending out sparks, and his long golden hair whipping like a war pennant …
那尖锐的命令让阿瑞斯猛地转身，他火焰般的胡须迸发出火花，长长的金发如战旗般飘扬……
… allowing Kratos to reach out and seize a handful of the Barbarian King’s greasy hair with such force his neck cracked.
……让奎托斯得以伸出手，一把抓住野蛮人国王油腻的头发，力道之大甚至让他的脖子发出了脆响。
The studded war hammer in the Barbarian King’s grip dripped blood.
野蛮人国王手中那镶钉的战锤滴着血。
Kratos focused on that.
奎托斯紧盯着它。
It had to be his blood this time.
这次必须是他的血。
This time!
这次！
Knowing what would happen if he prevailed tore him apart inside more than Zeus’ thrust with the Blade of Olympus ever could.
明知获胜后的后果，这内心的撕裂感比宙斯用奥林匹斯之剑刺穿他还要痛苦。
But the giant was only stunned.
但那巨人只是被击晕了。
The scene played out once more in his mind—in this reality of death—and he was powerless to stop it.
这场景在他脑海中——在这死亡的现实中——再次上演，他却无力阻止。
His hands shook with the effort to release the giant to finish his death stroke.
他的双手因努力想要放开那巨人、让他完成致命一击而颤抖。
But Kratos kept his grip and smashed the warrior’s head repeatedly into a boulder until the mica embedded in it glistened bright red with the fighter’s blood.
但奎托斯却紧紧抓住，反复将那战士的头砸向一块巨石，直到嵌入石中的云母因那战士的鲜血而闪烁着亮红色。
Kratos panted with effort and rose, hobbling about amid the carnage.
奎托斯费力地喘着气，站起身来，在尸横遍野中蹒跚而行。
Blood up to his ankles was not as fearsome or frightful as the blood that would be on his hands when he killed his wife and child—unless he forsook victory now.
没及脚踝的鲜血，远不及他亲手杀死妻女时将染上的鲜血那么可怕——除非他现在放弃胜利。
But what a choice!
但这是何等艰难的选择！
All his life he had conquered.
他一生都在征服。
Victory for Sparta had been paramount in his thoughts and deeds, but if he died here, now, Sparta would lose.
斯巴达的胜利曾是他思想和行动中的至高准则，但如果他此刻死在这里，斯巴达就会失败。
And he would win a personal victory.
而他将赢得个人的胜利。
He would not be tricked into killing his own family.
他不会受骗杀死自己的家人。
Kratos used the blades now welded to his bones as canes to stagger away, knowing his defection meant defeat for Sparta.
奎托斯用那如今焊接在他骨头上的双刃作为拐杖，踉跄着离开，明知他的背叛意味着斯巴达的失败。
His life meant nothing, but his honor!
他的生命微不足道，但他的荣誉！
Abandoning his comrades-in-arms was the worst a warrior could do.
抛弃战友是战士所能做的最恶劣之事。
Almost the worst.
几乎是。
Kratos had endured the one thing that was worse.
奎托斯曾忍受过更糟糕的事。
His family.
他的家人。
Dead at his feet, by his hand, because he had agreed to this reckless alliance with Ares to avoid defeat.
倒在他的脚下，死于他手，只因他当初为了避免失败而同意与阿瑞斯进行那鲁莽的联盟。
He would be branded a coward, but his wife’s and daughter’s lives meant more to him.
他会被打上懦夫的烙印，但他妻子和女儿的生命对他更重要。
Now.
现在。
The Barbarian King stirred.
野蛮人国王动了。
He was not dead.
他没有死。
Kratos knew what would happen in his future if he killed the giant.
奎托斯知道如果杀了这个巨人，他的未来将会如何。
The king must live and triumph on the field of battle, but the Blades of Chaos lifted, as if by their own volition, and swung out in a fearsome arc.
国王必须活着并在战场上获胜，但混沌之刃却仿佛自行其是般抬起，划出一道可怕的弧线。
With a scissors action, Kratos lopped off the Barbarian King’s head.
随着一个剪刀式的动作，奎托斯砍下了野蛮人国王的头颅。
It rolled away in the gore and mud, a startled look forever etched on the face.
头颅在血污和泥泞中滚开，脸上永远刻着惊愕的表情。
The sudden swirl, as if he had been caught in a waterspout, disoriented him.
突然的旋转，仿佛他被卷入了水龙卷，让他失去了方向感。

第九章（3）
Kratos wiped away blood from his eyes and cried out in despair at his failure to see his wife and child sprawled on the stone altar, partially dismembered by his fearsome hacks and slashes.
奎托斯擦去眼中的鲜血，绝望地哭喊起来，因为他看到妻女瘫倒在石祭坛上，被他可怕的劈砍部分肢解。
The blood pooled away from their faces, and Kratos looked down and saw his own face reflected in their blood.
鲜血从她们脸上流下汇成血泊，奎托斯低头看去，在血泊中看到了自己脸的倒影。
He recognized it, and yet he did not.
他认得它，却又认不出。
It was another Ghost of Sparta peering back.
那是另一个斯巴达的亡魂在回望着他。
This one had not fully realized the depths of his failure and loss.
这个亡魂还未完全意识到他失败与失去的深度。
“No!” He cried out and …
“不！”他哭喊着，然后……
“You must kill Ares,” Athena said urgently.
“你必须杀死阿瑞斯，”雅典娜急切地说。
“The existence of Olympus depends on it.”
“奥林匹斯的存亡皆系于此。”
“Your very fate depends on his death at your hand.”
“你自身的命运也取决于他是否死于你手。”
“Athena,” Kratos grated out, fury building anew.
“雅典娜，”奎托斯咬牙切齿地说，怒火再次升腾。
He reached for her, but she seemed to melt before his eyes, her flesh flowing, changing, becoming a lovely naked beauty with hair flowing like a golden river, beckoning to him to join her.
他伸手抓向她，但她似乎在他眼前融化了，她的肉体流动、变化，变成了一个可爱的裸体美人，头发如金色河流般流淌，引诱着他加入她。
Her lips parted and she spoke to him alone.
她双唇微启，只对他一人说话。
Kratos, you are not meant to die here.
奎托斯，你命不该绝于此。
Death, even under Hades’ horrific dominance, was preferable, but he couldn’t turn back now.
死亡，即使在哈迪斯的恐怖统治下，也更为可取，但他现在无法回头。
He had lost once more.
他又一次失败了。
In his victory over the Barbarian King he had lost everything—and now his punishment was to know it and be unable to alter his past, his present, or his future suffering.
在他战胜野蛮人国王的胜利中，他失去了一切——而现在，他的惩罚就是明知如此，却无法改变他的过去、现在，或未来的苦难。
A hurricane blew past the beauteous woman’s nude body, and once more Kratos faced Ares.
飓风吹过那美艳女子的裸体，奎托斯再次面对阿瑞斯。
The God of War raised his arm for the death stroke.
战神举起手臂，准备施以致命一击。
Kratos was so close he could smell the god’s sweat and blood and excitement at the impending kill.
奎托斯离得如此之近，甚至可以闻到那神祇的汗水、鲜血以及对即将到来的杀戮的兴奋。
His sword lashed out and …
他的剑猛刺而出，然后……
… a blade drove upward into Ares’ throat.
……一把刀向上刺入阿瑞斯的喉咙。
The God of War’s eyes went wide with shock.
战神震惊地睁大了双眼。
His streaming hair flapped about in the hurricane winds and he sank to the ground …
他飘扬的长发在飓风中飞舞，他沉向地面……
… and Zeus screeched in insane fury.
……宙斯则发出疯狂的怒吼。
Like a rabid dog his mouth was flecked with foam, and he snarled and snapped and leaned forward, driving the Blade of Olympus deeper into Kratos’ chest.
他像条疯狗一样嘴角冒着白沫，咆哮着，身体前倾，将奥林匹斯之剑更深地刺入奎托斯的胸膛。
The pain ripped a new scream of fury from Kratos and …
剧痛从奎托斯口中撕扯出又一声狂怒的尖叫，然后……
… Lysandra, eyeless and sockets dripping dark blood, stood behind Zeus.
……吕珊德拉，没有眼睛，眼窝滴着黑血，站在宙斯身后。
Calliope clung to her tattered, dirty skirts, and the child spoke …
卡莱俄珀抓着她破烂肮脏的裙摆，那孩子说道……
This is not the end.
这还不是结束。
The torment all about him disappeared as if fog drifted in to hide it, but his pain remained to remind him he dangled over the Underworld, bait for Hades and his eternity of tortures.
他周围所有的折磨都消失了，仿佛雾气飘入将其隐藏，但他的痛苦依然存在，提醒着他正悬在冥界之上，是献给哈迪斯及其永恒折磨的诱饵。
Kratos could never expect mercy from Zeus’ brother.
奎托斯从不指望宙斯的兄弟会发慈悲。
He wished for death, then realized the fiery fog, the intense darkness, the parade of visions of his family’s death, had faded from sight.
他祈求死亡，随后意识到那炽热的雾气、浓重的黑暗、以及他家人死亡景象的巡游，都已从视线中消失。
A distant scent came to his nostrils that was not blood or death, but fresh earth.
一丝遥远的气息传入他的鼻孔，不是血腥或死亡，而是新鲜的泥土气息。
Kratos muttered, “Who are you?” He hardly dared to think that Hades would be the god to relieve him of his suffering.
奎托斯喃喃道：“你是谁？”他几乎不敢想象哈迪斯会是那个解除他痛苦的神。
Hades delighted in devising new tortures, not relieving old ones.
哈迪斯乐于设计新的折磨，而非解除旧的。
He caught his breath as a huge face moved from the fog without dimension or color and took shape before him.
他屏住呼吸，一张巨大的脸从无形无色的雾气中浮现，在他面前成形。
At first he thought it was another hallucination, his imagination giving a face to a huge plain of dried mud.
起初他以为又是幻觉，是他的想象给一片巨大的干涸泥原安上了一张脸。
Brown and cracked, the face developed eyes and a flat nose and a mouth so wide that it might swallow half the world.
棕色而龟裂的脸上，逐渐显现出眼睛、一个扁平的鼻子和一张宽大得足以吞下半个世界的嘴。
Back and forth the face moved as the features hardened.
随着五官变得坚硬，那张脸来回移动着。

第九章（4）
“I am the Titan Gaia, ever-present mother of the earth.”
“我是泰坦盖亚，永在的大地之母。”
“I have watched you become a powerful warrior, and I have been with you through all the events of your life.”
“我注视着你成为一名强大的战士，陪伴你经历了生命中的所有事件。”
“But I can no longer simply watch.”
“但我不能再仅仅是注视了。”
Kratos gasped as he felt his lungs fill with air and his heart begin to beat once more, each throb an effort, a new agony, but also a hint that life had not been entirely sucked from him through his descent into Hades.
奎托斯喘息着，感到空气再次充满他的肺，心脏再次开始跳动，每一次搏动都是一种努力，一种新的痛苦，但也暗示着生命并未因他坠入冥界而被完全吸走。
“We will help you defeat Zeus,” Gaia said.
“我们会帮助你击败宙斯，”盖亚说。
He closed his eyes and was whirled about into the void.
他闭上眼睛，被卷入虚空之中。
He sensed rather than saw Gaia—and other Titans.
他感觉到而非看到盖亚——以及其他泰坦。
Gaia lacked substance, reduced only to spirit.
盖亚缺乏实体，仅余精魂。
Cronos crept through the Desert of Lost Souls with Pandora’s Temple still strapped to his back, and the others were similarly imprisoned.
克洛诺斯背负着潘多拉神殿，爬行在迷失灵魂的沙漠中，其他泰坦也同样被囚禁着。
Hyperion and Rhea and Themis.
许珀里翁、瑞亚和忒弥斯。
Iapetus, forever doomed to Tartarus, and Mnemosyne beside her still pool of limpid water.
伊阿珀托斯，永远被放逐到塔耳塔洛斯，以及摩涅莫绪涅在她那清澈宁静的水池边。
Kratos reached out to her for the aid she could give.
奎托斯向她伸出手，寻求她所能给予的帮助。
If he had to be dead, let him drink from Lethe to forget his past.
如果他必须死，就让他饮下忘川之水，忘记他的过去。
“Death is an escape, Kratos.”
“死亡是一种逃避，奎托斯。”
“You are a warrior of Sparta, not a coward.”
“你是斯巴达的战士，不是懦夫。”
“Only a coward accepts death.”
“只有懦夫才会接受死亡。”
Kratos kept his eyes screwed tightly shut, and still he saw the other Titans, all banished by Zeus after losing the Titanomachy, the lot of them staring at him as if he were still God of War.
奎托斯紧闭双眼，却依然看到其他泰坦，他们在泰坦战争失败后被宙斯全部流放，此刻都凝视着他，仿佛他仍是战神。
“I am no coward,” he said.
“我不是懦夫，”他说。
“But I have suffered loss too great to bear.”
“但我遭受的损失太大，无法承受。”
“Reflect on your strengths, not your weakness.”
“反思你的力量，而非你的弱点。”
“All have that within them they deny or do not wish to confront directly.”
“所有人内心都有他们否认或不愿直接面对的东西。”
“Through constant victory, you ignored those parts of you that truly made you a man.”
“通过不断的胜利，你忽略了那些真正使你成为一个‘人’的部分。”
“I have lost them, by my own hand I lost them!”
“我失去了她们，是因我自己的双手而失去了她们！”
“Do you allow the gods to use you like a slave?”
“你允许众神像使用奴隶一样利用你吗？”
“Is that the Kratos who became God of War?”
“那是成为战神的奎托斯吗？”
“Is that the Kratos who vanquished those who opposed him?”
“那是击败所有反对者的奎托斯吗？”
Kratos felt the desolation even more acutely.
奎托斯更尖锐地感受到了那种荒芜。
“I alone cannot win against Zeus.”
“我独自一人无法战胜宙斯。”
The revelation struck him as powerfully as the Barbarian King’s hammer.
这个启示如同野蛮人国王的战锤一样重重地打击了他。
“You do not have to fight alone any longer, Kratos,” the Titan said in a low voice that still rang like a bell and filled him with a touch of renewed confidence.
“你不再需要独自战斗了，奎托斯，”那泰坦低声说道，声音却仍洪亮如钟，让他心中重新充满了一丝信心。
“You will have more than an army of mortals striving with you.”
“与你并肩作战的将远不止一支凡人军队。”
“The Titans will aid you as you aid us.”
“泰坦会帮助你，就像你帮助我们一样。”
Kratos felt the undercurrent of power and promise in Gaia’s words, but also there was a touch of desperation that he shared.
奎托斯感受到盖亚话语中潜藏的力量和承诺，但也有一丝他同样体会到的绝望。
“You must fight.”
“你必须战斗。”
“I will show you the way to the Sisters of Fate.”
“我会指引你前往命运三女神所在之处。”
“Only with their power will you defeat Zeus.”
“只有借助她们的力量，你才能击败宙斯。”
Kratos screamed in pain and opened his eyes, looking down at the hole that Zeus had cut completely through his belly with the Blade of Olympus.
奎托斯痛苦地尖叫着睁开眼睛，低头看着宙斯用奥林匹斯之剑在他腹部切出的那个穿透的洞。
As he watched, the wound healed and the pain receded—but the memory of what he had endured after falling into Hades remained and formed a steel core in his soul.
在他注视下，伤口愈合了，疼痛也减退了——但坠入冥界后所承受的一切记忆依然存在，并在他灵魂中形成了一个钢铁核心。
He struggled in the grip of the Hands but felt their hold weakening as he healed.
他在那些手的抓握中挣扎，但随着他伤势痊愈，他感到它们的抓握力在减弱。
A sudden spasm seized him, causing him to arch his back and thrash about as he became aware of his heartbeat and his lungs struggling like a bellows and blood pounding through his temples again.
一阵突然的痉挛攫住了他，使他弓起背，剧烈扭动，因为他意识到了自己的心跳，他的肺像风箱一样挣扎着，血液再次冲击着他的太阳穴。
His hands ached and his arms and legs quivered with life.
他的双手疼痛，手臂和双腿因生命而颤抖。
“Ahhh!” The exultation escaped his lips as he knew that he lived once more.
“啊！”狂喜从他唇边逸出，因为他知道自己再次活过来了。
Then he was falling, tumbling head-over-heels, the fiery mist all around filled with hands reaching for him.
接着他又开始坠落，头朝下翻滚着，周围炽热的雾气中充满了伸向他的手。
Fingernails raked at his flesh and clutched at his ankles but, no longer dead, he fought back.
指甲抓挠着他的肉，紧抓着他的脚踝，但他不再是个死人，他反击了。
His meaty fists struck out and hit the thin arms trying to grab him.
他粗壮的拳头挥出，击打那些试图抓住他的纤细手臂。

第九章（5）
Twisting and kicking, he freed himself and fell but this time in such a way that he could draw the Blades of Athena and use them as grappling hooks against the side of a cliff formed of ocher rock.
他扭动、踢打，挣脱了束缚并继续坠落，但这次他得以拔出雅典娜之刃，将其用作抓钩，钩住一面赭石形成的悬崖壁。
Kratos grunted as the shock of his descent ceased suddenly when the blades cut into the rock.
当双刃切入岩石，下坠的冲击骤然停止时，奎托斯哼了一声。
Belly-first, he slammed hard into the face of the cliff, but instead of feeling pain he took heart in the fact that the gaping hole in his midriff cut by Zeus was no longer there.
腹部先着地，他重重地撞在崖面上，但相比于感到疼痛，他更因宙斯在他腹部切出的那个大洞已不复存在而振作。
He kicked against the cliff until his toes found purchase, and he began climbing.
他用脚抵住悬崖，直到脚趾找到立足点，然后开始攀登。
Slowly at first and then with greater speed as he built the rhythm, he pulled free one blade and swung it high above his head to penetrate the rock.
起初很慢，随后随着节奏的建立越来越快，他拔出一把剑刃，高高举过头顶，砸入岩石中。
His mighty shoulders took the strain of lifting his weight upward until he could free the other sword and then cast it above the first.
他强健的肩膀承受着将整个身体向上拉的拉力，直到他能拔出另一把剑，然后将其砸在第一把剑的上方。
The flow of muscle and the smell of the world around him invigorated Kratos.
肌肉的流动和周围世界的气息让奎托斯精神振奋。
His despair at being cast again into the Underworld vanished as determination replaced the memory of the ugly visions he had endured.
他再次被抛入冥界的绝望消失了，决心取代了他所忍受的那些丑陋景象的记忆。
His heart beat rhythmically and sent blood pounding through his veins.
他的心脏有节奏地跳动着，将血液泵入他的血管。
Seldom had he felt this way.
他很少有这样的感觉。
Victory after a difficult battle approached the feeling, but what he experienced now was life, not dealing out death.
一场恶战后的胜利接近这种感觉，但他现在体验到的是生命，而不是终结生命。
Purpose firmed within his breast as he considered how Gaia now aided him against Zeus.
当他想到盖亚现在如何帮助他对抗宙斯时，目标在他胸中变得坚定。
High above he saw a faint hole opening to the sky.
在高处，他看到一个通向天空的微弱洞口。
Smoke drifted across the opening, and he knew this way would lead him back to Rhodes.
烟雾飘过洞口，他知道这条路将引他回到罗德岛。
As hope flared that he would quickly be free of the Underworld and Hades’ deathly grasp once more, the hands that had clawed at him before sprang from the rocks and again attempted to hold him, to pull him down, to fling him into the abyss toward the River Styx at the bottom of the impossibly deep chasm.
当他心中燃起能迅速再次摆脱冥界和哈迪斯死亡掌控的希望时，之前抓挠过他的手又从岩石中冒了出来，再次试图抓住他，把他拉下去，将他抛向那深不可测的深渊底部——通往冥河的深渊。
Kratos let out a cry that tightened his belly and coordinated his struggles to go higher.
奎托斯发出一声呐喊，收紧腹部，协调着挣扎向上爬去。
He alternated climbing, using the swords, with hacking at the hands, severing them at the wrists and elbows.
他交替进行着用剑攀登和劈砍那些手，从手腕和手肘处将它们斩断。
He kicked at some trying to clutch his ankles, then cut faster at ones sprouting above him to block his exit.
他踢开一些试图抓住他脚踝的手，然后更快地砍向那些在他上方冒出、阻挡他去路的手。
All that he had seen and endured in his fall toward the realm of Hades fueled his ascent now.
他在坠向冥界领域时所看到和忍受的一切，此刻都为他攀登注入了力量。
He sliced with more power, climbed with greater speed, and then, using a hand gripping his ankle as a stepping-stone, propelled himself upward.
他以更强的力量劈砍，以更快的速度攀登，然后，利用一只抓住他脚踝的手作为垫脚石，将自己向上推进。
The hand trailed behind, feebly drawing him backward.
那只手拖在后面，无力地将他向后拉。
Crossing his blades, he drew back hard.
他交叉双刃，用力向后一拉。
The hand was scissored cleanly from its arm, and he erupted upward to fall onto the lip of the hole.
那只手被干净利落地从手臂上剪断，他向上猛冲，落在了洞口的边缘。
It was the work of a moment to pry loose the severed hand still clinging to his ankle.
他瞬间就撬开了仍紧抓着他脚踝的断手。
As he stood, a wind whirled about him, driving him to his knees.
当他站起时，一阵旋风裹住了他，迫使他跪倒在地。
Faster the tornado spun as the bits of rock and paving stone sailed past his head to fall into the hole.
龙卷风旋转得越来越快，碎石和铺路石从他头顶飞过，落入洞中。
He looked down as the debris fit itself together perfectly and sealed the opening.
他低头看去，只见那些碎片完美地结合在一起，封住了洞口。
As suddenly as the wind had begun, it died.
风如同乍起时一样，突然停息了。
Kratos stood and looked around Rhodes.
奎托斯站起身，环顾罗德岛。
Everywhere buildings burned, but his eyes were not for the destruction of an enemy city but for the bodies of brave Spartan warriors slain by Zeus using the Blade of Olympus.
到处建筑都在燃烧，但他的目光并非关注敌方城市的毁灭，而是寻找那些被宙斯用奥林匹斯之剑杀死的勇敢斯巴达战士的尸体。
He moved to a nearby soldier and saw that the man had been blasted by the powerful weapon.
他走到附近一名士兵旁，看到那人被那强大的武器炸死了。
Another soldier had been killed in a similar fashion.
另一名士兵也以类似的方式被杀。
And another and another.
一个又一个。
Then Kratos stopped beside a battered soldier who stirred.
然后奎托斯在一个遍体鳞伤、尚有动静的士兵身边停下。
The man’s eyes flickered open and fixed on him.
那人的眼睛眨了眨，睁开了，锁定在他身上。
A smile came to his lips as he looked up and saw Kratos.
他抬头看到奎托斯，嘴角露出了一丝微笑。
The young soldier said, “My lord! I knew you could not be killed.”
年轻的士兵说：“大人！我知道您是不会被杀的。”
“I never lost faith.”
“我从未失去信心。”
Kratos gripped him by the front of his armor and pulled him upright.
奎托斯抓住他胸前的盔甲，把他拉了起来。
“Return to Sparta and prepare for battle.”
“回斯巴达去，准备战斗。”
“But our brothers are dead!” The young soldier’s face was covered with blood and dirt, and myriad wounds on his arms and legs made standing difficult, but he rose proudly before his commander.
“但我们的兄弟们都死了！”年轻士兵的脸上满是血污，手臂和腿上的无数伤口让他站立困难，但他仍骄傲地在他的指挥官面前站直。
“Spartans never surrender.”
“斯巴达人永不投降。”
“You can still hold a sword.”
“你还能握剑。”
“Do as your god commands!” Kratos reached out and gripped the soldier by the cuirass, then pushed him back to emphasize his orders.
“按你的神命令的去做！”奎托斯伸手抓住士兵的胸甲，然后把他推开以强调他的命令。
“And what of you, my lord?”
“那您呢，大人？”
They both turned as the sound of heavy wings beating against the air came from above.
两人同时转身，听到上方传来沉重的翅膀拍击空气的声音。
A few yards away a fiery-winged Pegasus came to a landing, hooves scraping across the stone.
几码外，一匹燃烧着火焰翅膀的天马降落下来，蹄子刮擦着石头。
Its wings stroked downward a final time and then folded as the creature patiently awaited its rider.
它的翅膀最后向下扇动了一次，然后收拢，这生物耐心地等待着它的骑手。
Another gift from his new allies.
来自他新盟友的另一份礼物。
“I am going after Zeus.”
“我去追宙斯。”
Kratos turned from the young soldier and mounted the fiery steed.
奎托斯转身离开年轻的士兵，骑上那燃烧的骏马。
With a powerful surge, Pegasus became airborne with its rider securely astride.
随着一股强大的冲力，天马载着稳稳骑在上面的骑手腾空而起。

第十章
"THEY MEDDLE AGAIN!"
"他们又在插手了！"
Atropos complained.
阿特洛波斯抱怨道。
She crossed her arms and tapped her long talons in pique.
她交叉双臂，愠怒地轻敲着她的长爪。
"How dare they challenge their fate?"
"他们怎敢挑战自己的命运？"
"Yes," agreed Lahkesis, "the fate we decreed for them."
"是啊，"拉克西丝表示同意，"那由我们为他们钦定的命运。"
She settled back, looking pensive.
她向后靠去，看起来若有所思。
As her sister angrily tapped her long fingernails, so she ran her hand up and down the scepter that ended in the scythe used to cut the threads of destiny.
当她的姐姐愤怒地轻敲长指甲时，她则用手上下摩挲着那柄末端连着用于切断命运之线的镰刀的权杖。
It took considerable effort on her part not to give in to her own impatience.
她费了相当大的劲才克制住自己的不耐烦。
Then she pushed aside such rash behavior and thought more deeply.
随后，她将这种鲁莽的念头搁置一旁，更深入地思考起来。
"Perhaps it is not such a bad thing for the Titans to challenge the gods again."
"也许泰坦再次挑战众神并非坏事。"
"We settled this matter centuries ago."
"我们在几个世纪前就解决了这件事。"
"I won't have my work undone."
"我不会让我做的工作白费。"
"Why not, dear sister?"
"为什么不呢，亲爱的姐姐？"
"The world has become complacent."
"这个世界已经变得自满。"
"I would call it boring."
"我甚至可以说它无聊。"
"This could add spice to an otherwise bland meal."
"这可以给原本平淡的一餐增添点趣味。"
"Meals, spice, I don't understand you at times, Lahkesis."
"餐点，趣味……拉克西丝，有时候我真不理解你。"
"We decided the matter of supremacy of god over Titan."
"我们已经裁定了神高于泰坦的统治地位。"
"There is no second chance."
"没有第二次机会。"
"Because it has never occurred before doesn't mean it shouldn't now," Lahkesis pointed out.
"因为以前从未发生过，并不意味着现在也不应该发生，"拉克西丝指出。
They toyed with the lives of mortals, gods, and Titans and always decided in the same way, eon after eon.
她们玩弄着凡人、神和泰坦的生命，却永世都以同样的方式做出裁决。
There ought to be some variation to give a moment's thrill to their ceaseless work.
总该有些变化，给她们这永无止境的工作带来片刻的刺激。
"What has gotten into you?"
"你到底是哪根筋搭错了？"
Atropos demanded.
阿特洛波斯质问道。
"Do I need to consult Clotho?"
"需要我请教克洛索吗？"
"She would agree with me that we have reached a final decision."
"她会同意我的看法，我们已经做出了最终裁决。"
"Yes, yes, the Titans were banished and the gods rose to Olympus, triumphant."
"是，是，泰坦被放逐，众神登上奥林匹斯山，赢得了胜利。"
"It hasn't been the same with Cronos and Gaia and the others in exile."
"自从克洛诺斯、盖亚和其他泰坦被流放后，一切就都不一样了。"
"Nothing stays the same."
"没有什么是一成不变的。"
Atropos tugged on a thread and ended a life.
阿特洛波斯拉扯一根丝线，终结了一个生命。
Lahkesis stifled a yawn.
拉克西丝忍住了一个哈欠。
She almost pointed out to her sister that Kratos had avoided the fate they had set for him but held back the tasty tidbit.
她几乎要向姐姐指出奎托斯已经避开了她们为他设定的命运，但还是忍住了这个有趣的小秘密。
If Atropos and Clotho were going to be such drudges, it wasn't her fault.
如果阿特洛波斯和克洛索要这么墨守成规，那可不是她的错。
She could have a bit of fun with the mortal turned god and finally returned to mortal.
她大可以跟这个由凡人变成神、最终又变回凡人的家伙找点乐子。
Such delicious fate!
多么有趣的命运啊！
"You need to attend your chores more closely, Lahkesis."
"你需要更专注于你的职责，拉克西丝。"
Atropos rolled up the thread into a tight ball, let it rest in her palm for a moment, and then it whooshed out of sight.
阿特洛波斯将丝线卷成一个紧实的小球，让它在她掌心停留片刻，然后嗖地一下消失了。
Atropos might enjoy such petty displays but Lahkesis longed for more—and she would get it.
阿特洛波斯或许喜欢这种小把戏，但拉克西丝渴望更多——而且她会得到的。
Reaching out, she found the thread controlling Hades' destiny.
她伸出手，找到了控制哈迪斯命运的那根丝线。
A few tugs and a little stroke along the thread produced the effect she desired.
几次拉扯和轻轻的抚摸沿着丝线传递，产生了她想要的效果。
The Lord of the Underworld was roused now and feeling the effects of a wellspring he did not even acknowledge.
冥界之主现在被惊动了，并感受到一股他甚至未曾察觉的源泉所产生的影响。
He was only the first of the gods that Lahkesis touched, since their fate was so exciting to manipulate.
他只是拉克西丝触碰的第一个神，因为操纵祂们的命运是如此令人兴奋。
"This is wrong."
"这是不对的。"
"Clotho must weave new destinies."
"克洛索必须编织新的命运。"
"We cannot—"
"我们不能——"
"Oh, Atropos, you remember what gifts they brought."
"哦，阿特洛波斯，你记得他们带来的礼物吧。"
"Why, Poseidon alone heaped riches up to the sky in an attempt to sway us."
"哎呀，光是波塞冬一个人献上的财宝就堆到了天上，试图动摇我们。"
Lahkesis chuckled.
拉克西丝轻声笑了。
"When the gods triumphed, he thought his tribute had bought the day for them."
"当众神获胜时，他还以为是他进献的贡品为他们赢得了胜利。"
"He is a foolish god."
"他是个愚蠢的神。"
"I never liked him, with that seaweed beard and bad manners."
"我从来不喜欢他，留着那海藻似的胡子，还举止粗鲁。"
"Is Zeus better?"
"宙斯就好些吗？"
"His beard is spun from clouds and storms," Lahkesis said.
"他的胡子是由云和风暴纺成的，"拉克西丝说。
She cared little what the gods' beards looked like, though Kratos' was fetching.
她并不在乎神祇们的胡子什么样，尽管奎托斯的胡子很引人注目。
The small, neat triangle of a beard offset his strong-boned cheeks, and the darkness contrasted with the bone-white of his skin and shaved head.
那小巧整齐的三角形胡子衬托着他骨骼强壮的脸颊，深色的胡子与他骨白色的皮肤和剃光的头形成了鲜明的对比。
"It was a nice touch having the oracle of the village forever stain Kratos' flesh with the bone ash from his dead wife and child."
"让村里的先知用他死去的妻女的骨灰永远玷污奎托斯的皮肤，这真是妙笔。"
（楼主注：鉴于《战神：升天》是2013年发售的，这时候这个老巫婆应该还没被设定为提西福涅）
"Kratos?"
"奎托斯？"
"You have real work to finish," Atropos said.
"你还有正经工作要完成，"阿特洛波斯说。
"We decided his fate."
"我们已经决定了他的命运。"
"By now he ought to be safely in Hades' embrace."
"此刻他本该安然待在哈迪斯的怀抱里了。"
"Yes, by now he ought to be in the Underworld."
"是啊，此刻他本该在冥界了。"
Atropos returned to her measuring of destiny for what would seem a chance meeting between Dionysus on the isle of Laconia and the king's daughter, Carya.
阿特洛波斯回去继续度量命运，这次是为了拉科尼亚岛上狄俄尼索斯与国王的女儿卡里亚之间一次看似偶然的相遇。
A smile curled her lips at the potential for a thrilling love affair, but Lahkesis rested her agile fingers on a particular strand.
想到可能发生一段刺激的恋情，她嘴角泛起一丝微笑，但拉克西丝灵巧的手指却搭在了一根特定的丝线上。
An ebony-black strand.
一根乌木般漆黑的丝线。
Kratos'.
奎托斯的。
It wouldn't hurt the scheme of things if she toyed with him awhile longer.
再多玩弄他一会儿，对大局也无妨。
After all, he was only mortal, even if he could provide such a diversion.
毕竟，他不过是个凡人，即使他能提供这样的消遣。
There would be ample opportunity for her to weave a new destiny for him and then return him to the fate decreed by Atropos and Clotho.
她有充足的机会为他编织新的命运，然后再将他送回到阿特洛波斯和克洛索钦定的命运轨道上。
Lahkesis chuckled as she worked.
拉克西丝一边忙活着，一边轻声笑了起来。

第十一章
"YOU ARE MEDDLING!"raged Hades.
"***手干涉！"哈迪斯怒吼道。
"He was almost in my grasp and you let him go—again!"
"他几乎已落入我手，你却让他跑了——又一次！"
"I did nothing but send him to the Underworld," Zeus said, frowning.
"我除了将他送入冥界，什么也没做，"宙斯皱着眉头说。
Was someone meddling?
是有人在插手吗？
Athena?
雅典娜？
She knew better than to go against his wishes, though where Kratos was concerned, he felt a growing knot of skepticism.
她应该清楚违背他意愿的后果，尽管在奎托斯这件事上，他感到越来越多的疑虑。
Zeus looked up when Hades growled deep in his throat, more animal than god.
当哈迪斯从喉咙深处发出咆哮，听起来更像野兽而非神祇时，宙斯抬起了头。
He found his brother's ire increasingly difficult to tolerate.
他发现自己越来越难以忍受这位兄弟的怒火。
He fingered the Blade of Olympus resting against his throne and considered how quickly this problem might be removed.
他抚摸着靠在王座旁的奥林匹斯之剑，思忖着能多快解决掉这个麻烦。
A quick slash and Hades would follow Ares into the sky, dissipated and no longer annoying.
快速一挥，哈迪斯就会步阿瑞斯的后尘，消散于天际，不再烦人。
But he had decreed that one god could not slay another, so that he had to turn Kratos mortal again before running him through with the Blade of Olympus.
但他曾颁布神谕，禁止神祇互相残杀，因此他必须先让奎托斯变回凡人，才能用奥林匹斯之剑刺穿他。
Thus far, Zeus had enforced this edict and had agreed with Athena that it applied to all gods, the Lord of Olympus included.
迄今为止，宙斯一直执行着这条法令，并同意雅典娜的看法，即其适用于所有神祇，包括奥林匹斯之主本人。
Still, Hades was unbearable.
尽管如此，哈迪斯还是令人难以忍受。
"You rescued him."
"你救了他。"
"How else could he avoid the fall to the banks of the River Styx?"
"不然他怎能逃脱坠入斯提克斯河岸边的结局？"
"I vow that he never arrived."
"我发誓他根本就没到达那里。"
"He does not lack for work," Zeus said, his hand resting on the Blade of Olympus again.
"他可不缺活干，"宙斯说道，手再次搭上了奥林匹斯之剑。
The power within it thrilled him and reminded him of the final battle against the Titans.
剑中蕴含的力量让他激动，也让他想起了对抗泰坦的最后一战。
With that memory came an anger that knew no bounds.
伴随着这段记忆而来的是无边怒火。
Cronos had not suffered enough.
克洛诺斯受的苦还不够。
Zeus had chained Pandora's Temple to his father's back and forced him to crawl endlessly through the Desert of Lost Souls.
宙斯将潘多拉神殿锁在他父亲的背上，迫使他在迷失灵魂的沙漠中无尽地爬行。
After Kratos had killed Ares, it had been such a pleasure to banish Cronos to Tartarus for still more torture.
在奎托斯杀死阿瑞斯之后，将克洛诺斯放逐到塔耳塔洛斯承受更多折磨，曾是如此令人愉悦。
He could revisit that decision, perhaps dangle a bit of hope out to Cronos that he would no longer suffer, then find a punishment even worse than Tartarus.
他可以重新考虑那个决定，或许给克洛诺斯一丝不再受苦的希望，然后再找一个比塔耳塔洛斯更可怕的惩罚。
To give hope and then snatch it away was the worst—the best!—of all tortures.
给予希望再将其夺走，是所有折磨中最残忍——也是最妙的一招！
"You mean all the Spartans you sent to my realm?"
"你是指你要将所有的斯巴达人送到我的界域？"
Hades stroked his long, sooty beard.
哈迪斯捋着他那长长的、乌黑的胡子。
"Many will be crossing the River Styx," Zeus said.
"还会有很多人要渡过冥河，"宙斯说。
He wished Hades would leave so he could ponder the matter of Cronos.
他希望哈迪斯离开，好让他仔细考虑克洛诺斯的事。
The renewed energy in the Blade of Olympus reminded him of the Titanomachy and the greatest day for the Olympian gods.
奥林匹斯之剑中重新涌动的力量，让他想起了泰坦战争以及奥林匹斯众神最辉煌的日子。
His greatest day of victory.
那是他取得最伟大胜利的日子。
Since then, there had been nothing but petty squabbles among the gods to mediate, and the more serious matter of Ares wanting to kill his father to sit on this very throne had occupied too much of his time.
自那以后，除了调解神祇间琐碎的争吵，就是阿瑞斯企图弑父以登上这个王座这件更严重的事，耗费了他太多时间。
Zeus had thought manipulating Athena to offer Kratos the God of War's throne would have returned peace to Olympus.
宙斯原以为操纵雅典娜将战神之位交给奎托斯，能换来奥林匹斯的和平。
If anything, it had made discourse impossible and battle inevitable.
结果却适得其反，不仅对话无法进行，战斗也变得不可避免。
"You can send all the armies in all the cities to me and it won't be enough, brother," Hades said.
"你可以把所有城邦的所有军队都送给我，但那也还不够，兄弟，"哈迪斯说。
"Twice! Twice Kratos has cheated his fate."
"两次！奎托斯已经两次欺瞒了他的命运。"
"Cheated his fate," Zeus murmured.
"欺瞒了他的命运，"宙斯低语道。
"That is impossible."
"那不可能。"
"The Sisters of Fate do not make mistakes."
"命运三女神从不出错。"
"They favored us against the Titans."
"她们曾眷顾我们，让我们对抗泰坦。"
"How can they favor Kratos, a mortal upstart, against us?"
"她们怎么可能眷顾奎托斯这个被擢升的凡人来对抗我们？"
"They can't!"
"她们不可能！"
"It is your intervention that has rescued him."
"是你的干预救了他。"
"I know it."
我知道是你。
"You know nothing," Zeus said coldly.
"你什么都不知道，"宙斯冷冷地说。
"I am sovereign in my realm yet you meddle in my affairs."
"我在我的界域是至高无上的，你却来干涉我的事务。"
"Kratos is mine, and you stole him away."
"奎托斯是我的，你却把他偷走了。"
"Twice!"
"两次！"
Hades puffed out his chest and allowed fires to glow in his coal-like eyes.
哈迪斯挺起胸膛，让火焰在他煤块般的眼中燃烧。
Smoke curled away from his body to the point that Zeus almost sent a lightning bolt to give reason for such behavior.
烟雾从他身上缭绕升起，以至于宙斯几乎要掷出一道闪电来教训他这行为。
"Return to your domain, and let me deal with Kratos and matters of greater import in Olympus."
"回你的地盘去，让我来处理奎托斯和奥林匹斯更重要的事务。"
"You order me away like some scullery maid?"
"你像使唤洗碗婢女一样命令我离开？"
"I am your brother, Zeus."
"我是你的兄弟，宙斯。"
"You cannot—"
"你不能——"
Hades stepped back and glared as the Sky Father stood and grew until his head brushed the dome of his throne room.
哈迪斯后退一步，怒视着天父站起身，身形增长直到头触及了神殿的穹顶。
His eyes flashed like deadly beacons, and he fought to keep from violating his own decree against one god killing another.
宙斯的眼睛如同致命的灯塔般闪烁着，他强忍着不违反自己定下的神祇不得互相残杀的法令。
Hades read the message in his brother's eyes.
哈迪斯读懂了他兄弟眼中的讯息。
Zeus almost laughed when the Lord of the Underworld backed away, then bowed deeply.
当冥界之主后退并深鞠一躬时，宙斯几乎要笑出来。
"You have your own concerns," Hades said.
"您有您自己要操心的事，"哈迪斯说。
He looked up, and his submissive attitude evaporated like fog in the morning sun.
他抬起头，那顺从的态度如晨雾般消散了。
"Don't meddle with mine!"
"别来插手我的事！"
Hades stormed away.
哈迪斯怒气冲冲地离开了。
Zeus took a step forward, arm cocked back to unleash a lightning bolt, but stayed his hand when he saw Hermes at the doorway, watching intently.
宙斯向前迈了一步，手臂后扬准备掷出闪电，但看到赫尔墨斯在门口专注地看着时，他停住了手。
The Messenger of the Gods retreated, then let his winged sandals lift him away.
这位众神的使者向后退去，然后让他带翼的凉鞋带着他飞走了。
Zeus started to order Hermes to return, then sat heavily on his throne.
宙斯刚要命令赫尔墨斯回来，却又重重地坐回了王座。
"Kratos," he said, his fury growing.
"奎托斯，"他说，怒火不断升腾。
"This is your doing."
"这都是你干的好事。"
"You will never return to Olympus to sit on this throne."
"你永远别想再回到奥林匹斯，坐上这个王座。"
"On my throne!"
"这是我的王座！"
Zeus then released his lightning bolt and blew a huge hole in the wall.
宙斯随即释放出闪电箭，在墙上炸开了一个大洞。
Shards of stone and precious gems cascaded down, leaving behind a dusty cloud.
碎石和宝石的碎片如雨般落下，留下滚滚烟尘。
With a huge intake of air, Zeus exhaled and blew it away in a furious windstorm, then sank back on his throne in a dark choler.
宙斯深吸一口气，然后呼出，掀起一阵狂暴的旋风将烟尘吹散，随后带着阴郁的怒火沉坐回他的王座。

第十二章
THE PEGASUS FLAPPED furiously to gain altitude, giving Kratos the chance to see the destruction that had been meted out to Rhodes.
天马猛烈扇动翅膀以攀升高度，让奎托斯得以看清罗德岛所遭受的破坏。
A coldness gripped his heart.
一阵寒意攫住了他的心。
His army had fought well.
他的军队曾英勇作战。
But it would take more than their strength to stand against the Blade of Olympus.
但要想对抗奥林匹斯之剑，仅凭他们的力量是远远不够的。
The fires burning across the city caused huge curtains of choking, greasy black smoke to rise, but the Pegasus constantly banked to avoid the worst clouds.
全城燃烧的火焰产生了令人窒息、油腻的黑色浓烟，如巨大幕布般升起，但天马不断倾斜飞行以避开最浓的烟云。
Kratos saw the slaughtered army that had tried so unsuccessfully to defend Rhodes; then the flying horse spiraled upward enough for him to look directly down into the harbor.
奎托斯看到了那支试图保卫罗德岛却惨遭屠戮的军队；接着，飞马盘旋上升，使他能直接俯视港口。
Kratos reveled in the sight of the bronze Colossus stretched out beneath water made so murky with shed blood that it was difficult to make out the statue’s form.
奎托斯欣慰地看到那青铜巨像倒卧在水下，水因倾泻的鲜血而变得如此浑浊，难以辨清雕像的形态。
But he saw the severed left hand.
但他看到了被切断的左手。
The stump still radiated a dull red heat, but the head had been blown off and the bronze torso was crisscrossed with deep dents and more than one substantial gash.
残肢仍散发着暗红色的余热，但头部已被炸飞，青铜躯干上布满了深深的凹痕和不止一道巨大的裂口。
Kratos reached over his shoulder and touched the Blades of Athena sheathed at his back.
奎托斯伸手过肩，触碰了背在身后的雅典娜之刃。
Those trusty swords had done great damage to the Colossus, but the real injury had come from the Blade of Olympus.
那些可靠的剑对巨像造成了巨大伤害，但真正的创伤来自奥林匹斯之剑。
Kratos’ hands shook as he thought how Zeus had duped him into draining his godly powers into that blade.
想到宙斯如何欺骗他将自己的神力注入那柄剑中，奎托斯的双手不禁颤抖。
The Sky Father’s words rang mockingly in Kratos’ ears: Wield this weapon and all on Olympus will see you for who you are.
天父的话语在奎托斯耳边嘲弄般地回响：挥舞此武器，奥林匹斯众神将看清你的真面目。
Kratos could only wonder if Athena had approved.
奎托斯只能猜想雅典娜是否知情。
She had lied to him as egregiously as Zeus had.
她欺骗他的程度与宙斯一样恶劣。
Was she laughing at him for assuming the eagle that had stolen his power and infused it into the Colossus was her totem?
她是否在嘲笑他，因为他曾以为偷走他力量并注入巨像的那只鹰是她的图腾？
He knew now that Zeus had been responsible.
他现在知道那是宙斯所为。
But Athena had to have known.
但雅典娜必定知情。
His strong knees pressed into the flying horse’s shoulders, guiding the Pegasus away from Rhodes and toward Olympus.
他有力的膝盖紧抵飞马的肩部，引导天马离开罗德岛，朝向奥林匹斯山飞去。
Distance still cloaked the immense peak in mist, but he imagined the outline.
这个距离下，迷雾仍笼罩着那巨大的山峰，但他能想象出其轮廓。
Atop the peak stretched the palaces of the gods, and the one on the highest elevation, the finest, the most opulent, belonged to Zeus.
山顶上延伸着众神的宫殿，而在最高处、最精美、最奢华的那座，属于宙斯。
He would storm that palace and kill Zeus, no matter that the King of the Gods held the Blade of Olympus still infused with his own energy.
他将猛攻那座宫殿，杀死宙斯，无论众神之王是否仍持有注满他自身神力的奥林匹斯之剑。
Kratos’ anger choked him and made him sure he could defeat any god, even Zeus.
奎托斯的怒火让他窒息，也让他确信自己能击败任何神，甚至是宙斯。
"They will all fear me for what they’ve done."
"他们将为他们的所作所为而畏惧我。"
His lips drew back into a thin slash.
他的嘴唇向后咧开，形成一道细长的缝。
The powerful horse’s wings began to flare.
强健的马翼开始张开。
Before, the feathers along the trailing edges of the wings had emitted sparks, but now long streamers of fire exploded from the entire surface and swept back to leave a fiery outline in the sky.
此前，只有翼后缘的羽毛迸发火花，但现在整个翼面都爆发出长长的火焰飘带，向后扫去，在天空中留下火焰勾勒出的轮廓。
"Faster," Kratos urged the Pegasus.
"再快点，"奎托斯催促天马。
He hunched over and gripped the mane with a ferocity that caused the Pegasus to neigh loudly.
他弓起身，凶狠地抓住鬃毛，使得天马大声嘶鸣起来。
The winged steed spiraled higher and then struck out away from Olympus.
带翼的骏马盘旋得更高，然后突然转向远离奥林匹斯山的方向。
The more Kratos tried to force the Pegasus toward Olympus, the more the horse resisted.
奎托斯越是试图强迫天马飞向奥林匹斯山，这马就越是抗拒。
As a bird sheds feathers, the winged horse spewed additional sparks from its wings as its agitation grew.
如同鸟儿掉毛一般，随着这匹飞马烦躁加剧，它的双翼喷出更多火花。
"To Olympus," Kratos ordered.
"去奥林匹斯山，"奎托斯命令道。
"I must face Zeus!"
"我必须面对宙斯！"
The Pegasus refused to yield to his powerful direction.
天马拒绝服从他强有力的指令。
"You defy the God of War?"
"你胆敢违抗战神？"
He pressed his knees hard into the animal’s flanks to coerce its obedience, but he froze when the air began to boil about him.
他用膝盖狠狠顶住马的侧腹以迫使它服从，但当周围的空气开始如沸腾般涌动时，他僵住了。
The sensation was like that he had felt while suspended high above the Underworld.
这种感觉与他高悬于冥界之上时所感受到的相似。
And the voice speaking to him was instantly recognizable.
而那对他说话的声音也立刻被辨认出来。
"You are no longer a god, Kratos," boomed Gaia’s resonant voice.
"你不再是神了，奎托斯，"盖亚洪亮的声音响起。
"Zeus, Olympus, and the blade that holds all your power will forevermore be out of reach."
"宙斯、奥林匹斯山，以及那柄容纳了你全部力量的剑，将从此遥不可及。"
"Your only hope is to find the Sisters of Fate and the Island of Creation and travel back through time to the moment Zeus betrayed you, for only then will he be truly vulnerable."
"你唯一的希望是找到命运三女神和创造之岛，穿越时间回到宙斯背叛你的那一刻，因为只有那时他才会真正暴露出弱点。"
He settled down astride the Pegasus and glowered.
他在天马背上坐稳，怒容满面。
Zeus would suffer for his treachery.
宙斯将因他的背叛而受苦。
Kratos would make certain of that—but what did Gaia mean about the Sisters of Fate and returning to the instant that Zeus had driven the Blade of Olympus through him?
奎托斯将确保这一点——但盖亚所说的命运三女神和回到宙斯用奥林匹斯之剑刺穿他的那一刻是什么意思？
Kratos touched the livid scar on his chest where the blade had penetrated and ripped a huge hole—and remembered how that wound had healed before he fought his way out of Hades and back to Rhodes.
奎托斯触摸着胸口那处青黑色的伤疤，那是剑刃穿透并撕开一个大洞的地方——他记起这伤口在他一路奋战冲出冥界回到罗德岛之前就已愈合。
To heal him as she had done showed Gaia’s power.
如她所为那般治愈他，显示了盖亚的力量。
She had done more than heal the wound.
她所做的远不止治愈伤口。
She had afforded him the chance to escape Hades’ clutches once again.
她给予了他再次逃脱哈迪斯魔掌的机会。
He would not waste such a gift.
他不会浪费这样的馈赠。
He stared ahead as the Pegasus flew with a steady, powerful beat of the wings.
他凝视前方，天马以稳定而有力的节奏扇动着翅膀飞行。
Kratos had no idea where the winged horse was taking him, but he knew it would not be a destination easily reached.
奎托斯不知道这匹飞马要带他去往何方，但他知道那绝不会是一个轻易就能到达的目的地。
As his mind considered possible dangers, three griffins appeared in the air behind him.
正当他思忖着可能遇到的危险时，三只狮鹫出现在他身后的空中。

第十三章（1）
ATROPOS STARED at the vast tapestry that was the world's destiny, but she didn't see the clever knots or intricate warp and woof that she and her sisters had created.
阿特洛波斯凝视着那幅描绘世界命运的巨幅织锦，但她看到的并非她和姐妹们编织的巧妙绳结或错综复杂的经纬线。
What Lahkesis said bothered her.
拉克西丝的话困扰着她。
Lahkesis was always unsettled and unsettling, never getting down to the serious work of choosing the ultimate destinies for those most deserving.
拉克西丝总是躁动不安，也令人不安，从未认真投入到为那些最应得之人选定终极命运的严肃工作中。
Still, what her sister had said caused Atropos to think more carefully about Kratos.
尽管如此，她妹妹的话还是让阿特洛波斯更仔细地思考起奎托斯。
Nothing about his fate had worked out precisely the way she or her sisters had intended.
关于他的命运，没有一件事是完全按照她或她的姐妹们所预想的那样发展的。
More than once she had checked the strength of the thread binding the Ghost of Sparta to his fate, only to find fraying along the sides.
她不止一次检查过将斯巴达亡魂束缚于其命运的丝线的强度，却只发现边缘处有磨损。
Repairing those small imperfections had done nothing to alter his fate, of course, but it had changed the path to his eventual death.
修复这些微小的瑕疵当然并未改变他的命运，但却改变了他通往最终死亡的道路。
"How long should I make his life before allowing Lahkesis to snip the thread?" she murmured.
"我该让他的生命延续多久，才允许拉克西丝剪断这根线呢？"她喃喃自语。
Atropos knew she was better at details than either Clotho or Lahkesis.
阿特洛波斯知道自己在细节上比克洛索或拉克西丝都更擅长。
Clotho viewed the whole and understood what was necessary to achieve their goals, while Lahkesis showed too much impetuosity for decent fates to play out according to plan.
克洛索纵观全局，明白需要什么来实现她们的目标，而拉克西丝则过于冲动，难以让恰当的命运按计划展开。
But Atropos knew she had to contribute the small points for the most detailed of the destinies.
但阿特洛波斯知道，她必须为最精细的命运贡献那些细微之处。
She was a tactician, and both her sisters were strategists.
她是个战术家，而她的两个姐妹都是战略家。
This had satisfied her until Lahkesis had taken such an interest in the mortal Kratos and had apprenticed him to Ares.
这曾让她感到满足，直到拉克西丝对凡人奎托斯产生了如此浓厚的兴趣，并让他拜在阿瑞斯门下。
Atropos could only think that Lahkesis had wanted Kratos to become God of War and further disturb the serenity of Olympus.
阿特洛波斯只能认为，拉克西丝是想让奎托斯成为战神，进一步扰乱奥林匹斯的宁静。
The gods and goddesses had become too complacent in recent centuries and had come to believe the Sisters of Fate were their allies.
近几个世纪以来，众神变得过于自满，并开始认为命运三女神是他们的盟友。
She sniffed.
她轻哼一声。
She and her sisters did not take sides.
她和她的姐妹们并不偏袒任何一方。
Letting the gods triumph over the Titans had nothing to do with the merits of one side played against the deficiencies of the other.
让众神战胜泰坦，与一方的优点对抗另一方的缺陷毫无关系。
But what was it that Lahkesis saw in this Kratos?
但拉克西丝究竟在这个奎托斯身上看到了什么？
Atropos wound a few more strands around his thread of destiny to strengthen it and make his fate more certain.
阿特洛波斯在他的命运之线周围又多绕了几股线以加固它，让他的命运更加确定。
Sloppy work got them nowhere, not that her sister cared.
粗糙的工作对她们毫无益处，尽管她的妹妹并不在乎。
She favored chaos over definite conclusions.
相比于确定的结局，她更偏爱混乱。
She watched the way the thread vibrated and expertly interpreted the countering shakes and quivers needed to produce an outcome more in keeping with the Sisters of Fate's overall view of the world.
她观察着丝线的振动方式，并熟练地解读着那些为产生更符合命运三女神整体世界观的结果所需的反向震动和颤动。
Removing Kratos might be necessary, though he had avoided such fate and had climbed out of the Underworld.
除掉奎托斯或许是必要的，尽管他逃脱了这样的命运，并从冥界爬了出来。
Again.
又一次。
Atropos frowned at that.
阿特洛波斯对此皱起了眉头。
She carefully examined the first escape from Hades' clutches and saw that Zeus had intervened on Kratos' behalf.
她仔细检查了第一次从哈迪斯魔掌中逃脱的经历，发现是宙斯为奎托斯进行了干预。
"The gravedigger," she said.
"那个掘墓人，"她说。
"An appropriate disguise and not lacking in irony."
"一个合适的伪装，且不乏讽刺意味。"
Without Zeus' aid, Kratos would have been forever consigned to some dark, dangerous corner of the Underworld.
没有宙斯的帮助，奎托斯早已被永远放逐到冥界某个黑暗危险的角落。
From the way Hades acted when Kratos' name was even mentioned, he would have consigned the Spartan to Tartarus.
从哈迪斯仅仅听到奎托斯名字时的反应来看，他本会把那个斯巴达人打入塔耳塔洛斯。
This thought produced an even more intense frown to crease her face.
这个想法让她眉头锁得更紧，脸上皱纹更深。
Kratos imprisoned and tortured where so many of the Titans had been sent.
奎托斯被囚禁和折磨的地方，正是许多泰坦被送去之处。
That would not have been a good decision.
那本不会是一个好决定。
Had Zeus realized this and saved Kratos because of it, or had the Sky Father simply acted from short-term petty motives?
是宙斯意识到了这一点因而救了奎托斯，还是天父仅仅是出于短视的琐碎动机而行动？
Killing Ares had been paramount.
杀死阿瑞斯曾是首要任务。
Zeus would not go against his own edict and allow one god to kill another, but Kratos had not been a god then.
宙斯不会违背自己的法令允许神祇相残，但奎托斯当时并非神。
What more perfect instrument for the old God of War's destruction than to use the weapon he had so carefully forged?
还有什么工具——用于摧毁老战神的工具——比他自己精心锻造的武器更完美呢？
Ares' mistake had been in forcing Kratos to kill his wife and daughter.
阿瑞斯的错误在于强迫奎托斯杀死他的妻女。
Rather than temper the steel of his mighty sword arm, it had broken him for use by the god.
这非但没有锤炼他强大的臂膀，反而击垮了他，使其为其余众神所用。
A very costly mistake.
一个代价极其惨重的错误。