第三十一章（4）
The words shocked Jason.
这话震惊了伊阿宋。
His eyes went wide and his mouth tried to form words.
他眼睛睁大，嘴巴试图说出话来。
He clutched at his severed limb with his good hand.
他用完好的手抓住断肢。
Blood oozed around his fingers.
血从他指间渗出。
“You cannot mean this,” Jason said.
“你应该不是这个意思，”伊阿宋说。
“The ram that bore that fleece was slaughtered in tribute to Zeus.”
“献出那羊毛的公羊，它被宰杀的原因是用来祭祀宙斯。”
“Just as Zeus will be slaughtered in tribute to me.”
“就像宙斯将被宰杀来祭祀我一样。”
Kratos slowly rotated the fleece so that it shone like a small golden sun.
奎托斯慢慢转动羊毛，使它像一个小金太阳一样闪耀。
“The fleece is a holy relic.
“这羊毛是神圣的遗物。
You cannot pervert it to your needs, God of War,” Jason said.
你不能为你的需求而亵渎它，战神，”伊阿宋说。
“I am not the God of War!”
“我不是战神！”
Kratos bellowed.
奎托斯吼道。
“The Sisters of Fate will grant me a different destiny—one that sees Zeus dead!
“命运姐妹将赐予我不同的命运——一个让宙斯死去的命运！
Never again will I sit upon the throne of the God of War!”
我绝不会再坐上战神的宝座！”
“It is my fate the Sisters will amend.
“命运姐妹要修正的是我的命运。
Why else would they block the path with a magic that only my fleece could destroy?” Jason said, his voice stronger.
否则她们为何要用只有我的羊毛才能破解的魔法挡住去路？”伊阿宋说道，声音更坚定了。
“My Argonauts and I dared a dragon and treachery to steal it away from Aeëtes of Colchis.
“我和我的阿尔戈英雄们曾冒犯巨龙与背叛，从科尔基斯的埃厄忒斯那里偷来它。
It is mine!”
它是我的！”
Jason made a clumsy grab for it.
伊阿宋笨拙地伸手去抓。
Kratos stepped away and let the Argonaut fall past him, landing on his knees, propped up on his good arm, on the sandy ground.
奎托斯退开，让这位阿尔戈英雄从他身边跌过，双膝跪在沙地上，用那只完好的手臂支撑着。
Jason looked up, imploring Kratos for mercy.
伊阿宋抬起头，恳求奎托斯的怜悯。
He knew nothing of the man he beseeched if he thought charity or even a spark of compassion burned anywhere in his tortured soul.
如果他以为在他所恳求之人那受尽折磨的灵魂里还存在任何慈善或哪怕一丝同情，那他对这个人就一无所知。
“I must possess it to reach the Sisters of Fate!”
“我必须拥有它才能到达命运姐妹那里！”
Kratos stepped away from the man as he struggled to his feet.
当伊阿宋挣扎着站起来时，奎托斯从他身边走开。
He had no cause to bandy words further with Jason.
他没有理由再与伊阿宋斗嘴。
“My fate must be changed.
“我的命运必须改变。
The fleece will gain me entry and be my gift to them to change my destiny.”
这羊毛将为我赢得入场券，并作为我改变命运的礼物献给她们。”
Jason’s jaw tightened and a hardness came to his aspect.
伊阿宋下巴紧绷，面容变得强硬。
His remaining hand tightened into a fist so hard that his fingernails cut into his callused flesh and caused drops to fall into the thirsty sand of the arena floor.
他剩余的手紧握成拳，指甲掐入长满老茧的肉里，导致血滴滴入竞技场干渴的沙地。
Kratos touched the spot on his chest where Zeus had run him through with the Blade of Olympus.
奎托斯摸了摸胸口被宙斯用奥林匹斯之剑刺穿的地方。
If his resolve had ever faded in his quest to reach the Sisters, this memory had renewed his determination.
如果他在寻求命运姐妹的路上决心曾有过动摇，这段记忆也重新坚定了他。
Zeus would die at his hand.
宙斯将死在他手上。
“Medea.”
“美狄亚。”
A small catch came to Jason’s voice.
伊阿宋的声音微微哽咽。
“She was my lover, my all.
“她是我的爱人，我的一切。
She was a witch and the only woman who ever truly loved me.”
她是个女巫，也是唯一真正爱过我的女人。”
Jason straightened.
伊阿宋挺直身子。
“She killed her brother to aid in the theft of the Golden Fleece.
“她为了帮助偷取金羊毛杀死了她的兄弟。
She convinced my uncle’s daughters to murder and eat him when Pelias thought to betray me because of a false oracle’s prophecy.”
当珀利阿斯因一个虚假神谕的预言而企图背叛我时，她说服我叔叔的女儿们谋杀并吃掉了他。”
Kratos lowered the fleece and held it at his side, watching the Argonaut closely.
奎托斯放下羊毛，将其持在身侧，密切注视着这位阿尔戈英雄。
“Medea convinced my cousins that the murder of my uncle and devouring the chopped-up pieces would rejuvenate him from serious illness.”
“美狄亚说服我的堂姐妹们，谋杀我的叔叔并吃掉切碎的肉块能让他从重病中恢复青春。”
Jason’s lip curled.
伊阿宋嘴唇扭曲。
“He—they—deserved their fate.”
“他——她们——罪有应得。”
“So why do you wish the Sisters of Fate to change it?
“那你为何希望命运姐妹改变它？
You have changed your mind?”
你改变主意了？”
“Never!
“绝不！
Medea did this for me and I forsook her.
美狄亚为我做了这些，而我却抛弃了她。
I pushed her aside for the daughter of King Creon.
我为科林斯国王克瑞翁的女儿而将她推开。
Creusa was to be my bride, but Medea sent her a wedding robe that burst into flame that none could extinguish, which consumed her on our wedding day.”
格劳刻本应是我的新娘，但美狄亚送给她一件长袍，那长袍燃起无人能扑灭的火焰，在我们婚礼那天将她吞噬了。”
Jason squared off as he faced Kratos.
伊阿宋面对奎托斯，摆出对峙的姿势。
“After she cut the throats of our children she fled to Athens.”
“在她割断我们孩子们的喉咙后，她逃往了雅典。”
Jason paused, ground his teeth together, then said, “I would have her back.
伊阿宋停顿了一下，磨着牙，然后说：“我想让她回来。
I want the Sisters of Fate to return me to Medea’s bed.”
我希望命运姐妹把我送回美狄亚的床榻。”
“To kill her?”
“去杀了她？”
“No!
“不！
I was a fool to believe Creusa could love me more.
我曾愚蠢地相信格劳刻能更爱我。
I miss my children, and Medea haunts my dreams, her smile, the soft touch—”
我想念我的孩子们，美狄亚萦绕在我的梦中，她的微笑，那温柔的触碰——”
Jason reached behind, drew a wickedly sharp dagger, and launched himself at Kratos.
伊阿宋伸手到背后，抽出一把极其锋利的匕首，扑向奎托斯。
Years of fierce battle had honed Kratos’ reactions.
多年的激战磨练了奎托斯的反应。
The gleam of the blade that should have driven deep into his chest missed by a hairbreadth.
本该深深刺入他胸膛的刀锋以毫厘之差错过。
He reached out and caught Jason by the throat, squeezed, and then heaved, lifting the Argonaut off his feet.
他伸手抓住伊阿宋的喉咙，挤压，然后猛举，将这位阿尔戈英雄提离地面。
Jason stabbed out with the dagger, but it was a feeble attempt.
伊阿宋用匕首刺出，但这只是徒劳的尝试。
Kratos’ powerful grip turned the blade around and drove it into Jason’s heart.
奎托斯强大的握力扭转了刀刃，将其刺入伊阿宋的心脏。
When the man stopped struggling, Kratos cast him aside.
当这个人停止挣扎时，奎托斯将他扔到一边。
“It is best to die in combat,” he said by way of obituary for the dead hero.
“最好死于战斗，”他作为对这位死去的英雄的悼词说道。
He lifted the fleece and spread it across his shoulders in a golden display.
他举起羊毛，将其披在肩上，展示着金色的光芒。

第三十二章（1）
ATROPOS MANIPULATED her projected image to twice her real height and looked down her nose at the god.
阿特洛波斯操纵着她的投影，使其达到真实身高的两倍，用居高临下的目光看着面前的神祇。
She wanted more fear in him, but there was only a curious eagerness, or perhaps it was anticipation.
她希望从他身上看到更多恐惧，但那里只有一种好奇的急切，或者说是期待。
With a single pluck on the thread that bound Hermes to her loom, she could change his destiny, but he did not look as if he worried about his own fate.
只需拨动一下将赫尔墨斯系于她织机上的命运线，她就能改变他的命运，但他看起来并不担心自己的命运。
Yet he did.
然而他确实是担心的。
Otherwise, why would he be on his knees in the Egyptian desert to petition the Sisters of Fate?
否则，他为何要跪在埃及的沙漠里向命运姐妹请愿？
Atropos looked around, wondering if Lahkesis and Clotho would come to see the god and make him grovel.
阿特洛波斯环顾四周，想知道拉克西丝和克洛索是否会来看这位神祇，让他卑躬屈膝。
Lahkesis enjoyed venturing away from the Island of Creation through her projections, but Clotho was loath to do so, preferring to remain in her chamber, both in body and in spirit.
拉克西丝喜欢通过投影离开创世之岛去冒险，但克洛索则不情愿这样做，她更喜欢身心都留在自己的房间里。
She was a little uneasy ever since she had learned that Lahkesis had sent forth the Warrior of Destiny and Kratos had vanquished him so easily.
自从得知拉克西丝派出了宿命战士而被奎托斯如此轻易地击败后，她就有些不安。
Oh, it had been a hard-fought aerial battle but the griffin the Warrior had ridden was an inferior mount; it should have been far more agile in midair than the Pegasus Kratos had used to reach the Island of Creation.
哦，那曾是一场激烈的空战，但宿命战士所骑的狮鹫是劣等坐骑；他本应得到一匹比奎托斯用来抵达创世之岛的天马在空中更加灵活的坐骑。
What had Lahkesis been thinking?
拉克西丝当时在想什么？
“You know my plea, sister,” Hermes said, bowing deeply.
“您知道我的恳求，姐妹，”赫尔墨斯说道，深深鞠躬。
The wings on his sandals whirred softly, keeping his feet just above the desert sands as if he was too good to walk where camels did.
他凉鞋上的翅膀轻柔地嗡嗡作响，使他的双脚刚好悬在沙漠之上，仿佛他高贵到不愿走在骆驼行走的地方。
Atropos found her ire rising, and she had no idea why.
阿特洛波斯感到怒火升腾而起，却不知为何。
She considered grounding him by clipping his winged sandals to teach a lesson in humility.
她考虑剪掉他的飞翼凉鞋让他落地，给他一个谦逊的教训。
She held the power over the Olympians.
她掌握着支配奥林匹斯众神的力量。
She held power over the entire world!
她掌握着支配整个世界的力量！
Hadn't she, with her sisters, brought down the Titans in the Great War?
难道不是她和她的姐妹们在传说大战中击败了泰坦吗？
The Olympians and Zeus in particular owed them for the position and power they had enjoyed ever since.
奥林匹斯众神，尤其是宙斯，为他们自此享有的地位和权力而欠她们一个天大的人情。
“I cannot change your destiny, god of Olympus,” she said pompously.
“我不会改变你的命运，奥林匹斯的神，”她傲慢地说。
She wanted him to become more nervous and perhaps offer her great tribute as Cronos had done in the past.
她想让他更紧张些，或许会像克洛诺斯过去所做的那样，向她献上厚礼。
Gifts given in fear were always so interesting, reflecting on the thoughts of the giver.
在恐惧中献出的礼物总是如此有趣，反映了赠与者的心思。
“Rather, I will not.
“更确切地说，是我不愿。
It is not my pleasure to change what has already been spun so lovingly.”
改变已经精心纺织好的命运，并非我的乐事。”
“Your choices confuse me, sister,” Hermes said.
“您的选择让我困惑，姐妹，”赫尔墨斯说。
“They are not meant to be understood by mere gods.”
“它们本就不是让区区神祇所能理解的。”
“Why do you allow Kratos to possess the Golden Fleece?”
“您为何允许奎托斯拥有金羊毛？”
“He doesn't.
“他没有。
Jason is attempting to reach us with that bribe, as if we had any use for the Golden Fleece.”
伊阿宋正试图用那个进行贿赂从而接近我们，好像我们对金羊毛有什么用似的。”
“If you do not accept Kratos' gift of the Golden Fleece—”
“如果您不接受奎托斯献上的金羊毛——”
“Jason brings the fleece, not Kratos.
“是伊阿宋带着羊毛，不是奎托斯。
Kratos has been thwarted in his attempt to reach the Palace of the Fates.
奎托斯试图抵达命运宫殿的行动已被挫败。
We do not permit mortals—or gods—to enter the palace unless we deem it their destiny.”
我们不允许凡人——或神祇——进入宫殿，除非我们认定那是他们的命运。”
“Not so, sister,” Hermes said.
“并非如此，姐妹，”赫尔墨斯说。
Now he became more confident, and this perplexed her.
现在他变得更加自信，这让她困惑。
It irritated her even further.
这更激怒了她。
Too much slid along a string of fate bouncing and bobbing in unexpected directions.
有太多事情沿着命运之线滑动，以意想不到的方向弹跳起伏。
The outcome would be the same, of course, but those ripples gave too much unpredictability to allow her peace of mind.
结果当然会是一样的，但那些涟漪带来了太多的不确定性，让她无法安心。
Lahkesis would relish it.
拉克西丝会乐在其中。
Atropos wanted only to restore order.
阿特洛波斯只想要恢复秩序。
“I am aware of every gift I have ever given a mortal.”
“我清楚我赐予凡人的每一件礼物。”
“What's your point, Hermes?”
“你想说什么，赫尔墨斯？”
The winged Messenger of the Gods stared boldly—too boldly—at her in open defiance.
这位带翼的诸神信使大胆地——过于大胆地——盯着她，公然违抗。
Had she and her sisters pushed Hermes too far?
她和她的姐妹们是否把赫尔墨斯逼得太紧了？
Allowing Zeus to cast Hermes from Olympus had left the messenger god with nothing to lose.
允许宙斯将赫尔墨斯逐出奥林匹斯，使得这位信使神已无所失去。
She felt some of that cold determination in Kratos.
她感受到了些许曾经在奎托斯身上感受到的那种冷酷的决心。
What more could be done to him that the Sisters of Fate had not already decreed?
命运姐妹还能对他施加什么尚未裁决的命运呢？
His fate was sealed as surely as if they had affixed a blob of wax to him and used their signet rings to display an imprint on his forehead.
他的命运已被注定，就如同她们将一团蜡固定在他身上，并用她们的印章戒指在他额头上留下印记一样确凿。
“I gave the ram to Phrixus and Helle, who flew—”
“我把公羊赐给了佛里克索斯和赫勒，他们骑着它飞——”
“Yes, yes, we decided that Helle would tumble to her death.”
“是，是，我们判定赫勒会坠亡。”
Atropos chuckled at the memory.
阿特洛波斯回忆起来轻声笑了。
None of the Sisters had foreseen that the mortals would name the narrow channel where Helle died after her.
三姐妹中无人预见到凡人会用赫勒的名字命名她坠亡的那条狭窄海峡。
“Phrixus appreciated my gift.
“佛里克索斯很感激我的礼物。
The ram had both reason and speech—and possessed the Golden Fleece.
那公羊既有理性又会说话——并且拥有金羊毛。
It was one of my finer gifts.”
那是我较好的礼物之一。”
“I know this, Hermes.
“我知道这些，赫尔墨斯。
You waste my time.
你在浪费我的时间。
Now leave.”
现在离开。”
Atropos found the thread she had been spinning with such care.
阿特洛波斯找到了她一直精心纺织的那根线。

第三十二章（2）
“Every gift I have ever given,” Hermes said more forcefully, “is forever linked to me.”
“我赐予的每一件礼物，”赫尔墨斯更用力地说，“都永远与我相连。”
“Hermes,” Atropos said, tiring of his reminiscences.
“赫尔墨斯，”阿特洛波斯说，对他的回忆感到厌倦。
“Your charities are of no interest to me.”
“我对你的善举毫无兴趣。”
His face hardened.
他的脸沉了下来。
“There is always more to my deeds.
“我的行为总有更深的意义。
Do I not learn secrets and then divulge them?
难道我不是知晓秘密然后将其泄露吗？
I knew when Jason killed the dragon and stole the fleece.”
我知道伊阿宋何时杀了龙并偷走了羊毛。”
Atropos glared at him.
阿特洛波斯怒视着他。
Then she felt a coldness build within that was both unexpected and unusual.
然后她感到一股寒意在内心中升起，这既出乎意料又非同寻常。
She controlled the fate of others, but now her own destiny slipped and slid in directions not of her choosing.
她控制着别人的命运，但现在她自己的命运却滑向并非她选择的方向。
She knew that Hermes spoke the truth.
她知道赫尔墨斯说的是实话。
“Jason embarked on another quest, this time to offer the Golden Fleece to you as tribute so you would change his fate.”
“伊阿宋开始了另一项寻求，这次是将金羊毛作为贡品献给您，以便您改变他的命运。”
Hermes pressed on with what Atropos did not want to hear.
赫尔墨斯继续说着阿特洛波斯不想听的话。
“Jason is dead and Kratos possesses the Golden Fleece.”
“伊阿宋死了，奎托斯拥有了金羊毛。”
“He can enter the Temple of Euryale,” Atropos said, shocked.
“也就是说他能进入欧律阿勒的神殿了，”阿特洛波斯震惊地说。
“Kratos has powerful allies.”
“奎托斯有强大的盟友。”
Gaia! sprang instantly to Atropos' mind.
盖亚！阿特洛波斯脑中立刻闪现这个名字。
“Iris,” Hermes said.
“是伊里斯，”赫尔墨斯说。
“The Goddess of the Rainbow aids him.
“彩虹女神在帮助他。
I am sure of it.”
我确信这一点。”
“Iris?” Atropos was brought back from her speculations about the Titans plotting once more to gain ascendancy over the gods.
“伊里斯？”阿特洛波斯的思绪被从关于泰坦们再次夺取神权的密谋统治中拉了回来。
She knew Gaia's interest in Kratos, but had Iris somehow escaped her destiny?
她知道盖亚对奎托斯的兴趣，但伊里斯是否以某种方式逃脱了她的命运？
Atropos felt true fear.
阿特洛波斯感到了真正的恐惧。
She had meddled and might have brought ruin down on herself through lack of skill.
她插手干涉，却可能因技艺不精而给自己招致毁灭。
How she wished she had Lahkesis' talents for such disregard of destinies they had all agreed upon.
她多么希望自己拥有拉克西丝那种才能，能如此无视她们共同商定的命运。
This had to be made right, and when it was, she would go back to her work of measuring and leave Lahkesis to her tiny diversions.
这事必须纠正，等纠正之后，她就回去做她的测量工作，让拉克西丝自己去搞她那些小消遣。
A new, colder thought came to her.
一个更新的、更冰冷的念头涌上她的心头。
What if Lahkesis had countered her minor tweaks of Kratos' fate, changing the warp and woof of his thread for her own purposes?
如果拉克西丝为了她自己的目的，反而利用了她对奎托斯命运的小小改动，改变了他命运线的经纬呢？
Those purposes might not have Atropos' best interests at heart.
那些目的可能并非真心为阿特洛波斯着想。
After all, she had become excited at the idea of meddling so that she determined destiny rather than all three Sisters of Fate.
毕竟，她曾对插手干涉、由自己而非命运三姐妹共同决定命运的想法感到兴奋。
What if Lahkesis had decided two sisters might be better?
如果拉克西丝认为只有两姐妹可能更好呢？
Atropos never argued with Clotho, and she had never known Lahkesis to, either.
阿特洛波斯从未与克洛索争执，她也从不知道拉克西丝这样做过。
But she and Lahkesis?
但她和拉克西丝呢？
They had moments of bitter dispute, although not lately.
她们有过激烈争执的时刻，尽管最近没有。
Had this lull in their contention been a clever plan of Lahkesis' to lull her into—
她们争执的这段平静期，是否是拉克西丝麻痹她的巧妙计划——
Atropos swelled to four times her normal size.
阿特洛波斯膨胀到正常大小的四倍。
The projection dwarfed Hermes now as she tried to conceal her agitation.
投影使赫尔墨斯显得矮小，同时她试图掩饰自己的激动不安。
“Who else can provide such accurate information but another Messenger of the Gods?
“除了另一位诸神信使，还有谁能提供如此准确的信息？
She has designs on Zeus.”
她对宙斯有所图谋。”
“His throne?
“他的王座？
She will never be accepted as Queen of the Gods, sitting on Zeus' throne.”
她永远不会成为众神的女王，坐上宙斯的宝座。”
“Oh, no, not that.
“哦，不，不是那个。
Iris is subtler.
伊里斯更狡猾。
She thinks to supplant Hera as Zeus' wife.
她想取代赫拉成为宙斯的妻子。
From his side she would manipulate and direct to gain the power she seeks.
在他身边，她就能操纵和引导，以获得她所追求的权力。
Zeus is a god of immense loves and hates and does nothing by half measure, often responding with emotion rather than reason.
宙斯是个爱憎极其分明的神，做事从不半途而废，常常凭情感而非理性行事。
Iris has his counsel in the guise of bringing him news from across the mortal world.
伊里斯以向他传递凡人世界消息为伪装，获取他的信任。
She brings him lies!”
她带给他谎言！”
Hermes was flushed now.
赫尔墨斯此刻脸涨得通红。
His wings beat frantically now, lifting him many feet above the tiled floor as his passion grew.
他的翅膀疯狂拍打，随着他情绪激动，将他提升到铺砖地面许多英尺之上。
“We have not decreed that,” Atropos said.
“我们并未如此裁定，”阿特洛波斯说。
She dropped the complex weave and the distant Nile overflowed its banks, sweeping away thousands, all requiring her expert measurement.
她放下了复杂的编织，远方的尼罗河随即泛滥决堤，冲走了成千上万的人，所有这些都需要她专业的测量。
Forgotten for the moment, she left those threads of fate and sought the ones for Zeus, Hera, and Iris.
她暂时忘却了其它一切，留下那些命运线，转而去寻找宙斯、赫拉和伊里斯的命运线。
No reworking revealed itself, but Lahkesis was always changing her work once she became bored.
没有发现任何改动的痕迹，但拉克西丝一旦感到无聊，就总是改变她的工作。
And Clotho was the subtlest of the Sisters.
而克洛索是姐妹中最精妙的。
She could have worked in a strand that Atropos might never find without shredding the entire thread.
她可能编入了一股阿特洛波斯若不撕碎整根线就永远找不到的丝线。
The Sisters of Fate had not decreed such an upheaval in Olympus.
命运姐妹并未裁定奥林匹斯发生如此剧变。
But had one of the Sisters?
但是否是其中一位姐妹（私自裁定）呢？
Atropos stared at Hermes and wondered.
阿特洛波斯盯着赫尔墨斯，心生疑惑。
Had Lahkesis become tired of her role as only one of the three Sisters of Fate?
拉克西丝是否已经厌倦了她只是命运三姐妹之一的角色？
Did she have ambitions to become the Sister of Fate?
她是否有野心成为唯一的命运女神？

第三十三章（1）
KRATOS STOOD BEFORE the Gorgon Gate, its eyes emitting the deadly green beams that would permanently turn him to stone.
奎托斯站在戈尔贡之门前，门上的眼睛放射出致命的绿色光束，会将人永久变为石头。
His return through the ruins had been quick because a burning need rose within him.
他快速穿过废墟返回，因为内心升起了燃烧的渴望。
If Jason had sought the Sisters of Fate, other heroes might also come to beg them for a different destiny.
如果伊阿宋曾寻求命运姐妹，其他英雄可能也会来乞求她们改变命运。
His need lay paramount.
他的需求至高无上。
He had killed Ares, the God of War.
他已杀死了战神阿瑞斯。
Now he intended to kill the very King of the Gods.
现在他意图杀死众神之王本人。
Kratos touched the spot on his chest where the sword had penetrated and left his entrails dangling.
奎托斯摸了摸胸口被剑刺穿、肠子流出的地方。
He looked at the Gorgon Gate and sneered.
他看着戈尔贡之门，发出冷笑。
He touched the Golden Fleece adorning his shoulders, magical tingles passing into him.
他触碰着装饰在肩上的金羊毛，魔法般的刺痛感传入体内。
Before it had been only a cape.
此前它只是一件斗篷。
Now glowing plates adhered to his armor.
现在发光的甲片附着在他的盔甲上。
The Gorgon's eyes fixed on him.
戈尔贡的眼睛锁定了他。
The heat and stark power staggered him, but the golden armor bolstered his ability to fend off even the most severe blow.
那热量和强大的力量让他踉跄，但金色盔甲增强了他抵御甚至最猛烈攻击的能力。
He advanced, the Barbarian King's war hammer in his right hand.
他前进，右手握着野蛮人之王的战锤。
Torrents of energy poured around him, as if he were a seaside rock and a mighty storm's waves crashed against him.
能量的洪流倾泻在他周围，仿佛他是海边礁石，而猛烈的风暴浪潮拍打着他。
Like that rock, he did not bend or yield.
如同那礁石，他没有弯曲或屈服。
Grunting, he swung the hammer as hard as he could against the face of the stone Gorgon.
他哼了一声，用尽全力将锤子砸向石质戈尔贡的脸。
It exploded into a million pieces.
它炸成了无数碎片。
Kratos let out a bellow of triumph, then rushed into the Temple of Euryale.
奎托斯发出胜利的吼叫，然后冲进了欧律阿勒的神殿。
He began to explore, finding only desultory guards to block his way.
他开始探索，只发现些散漫的守卫阻挡他的去路。
He heard scraping sounds.
他听到刮擦声。
Drawing his swords, he rounded a thick pillar to see a wizened soldier yanking hard at a handle on a winch.
他拔出双剑，绕过一个粗大的柱子，看到一个干瘪的士兵正用力拉扯绞盘上的手柄。
The soldier looked up and grinned, revealing gaps between teeth so blackened with rot as to be useless.
士兵抬起头咧嘴一笑，露出牙齿间因腐烂变黑而无用的缝隙。
The flesh was pulled drum-tight on his face, and his eyes burned with fanatic fire.
他脸上的皮肤紧绷如鼓皮，眼中燃烧着狂热的火焰。
He yanked hard and pulled the wooden handle out of the winch, staggering back.
他用力猛拉，将木制手柄从绞盘中拔出，踉跄着后退。
"You'll never reach the Sisters of Fate, Ghost of Sparta.
“你永远到不了命运姐妹那里，斯巴达的亡魂。
It is my fate.”
这是我的命运。”
On spindly legs more bone than muscle he ran away to vanish around a pillar, cackling maniacally the entire distance.
他用细长得骨头多过肌肉的腿跑开，消失在一根柱子后面，一路发出疯狂的咯咯笑声。
Kratos studied the winch and saw it controlled an elevator that would have lowered him into the bowels of the temple.
奎托斯检查了绞盘，发现它控制着一个能将他降入神殿深处的升降机。
Lacking the handle, he had two choices.
没有了手柄，他有两个选择。
He could track down the emaciated soldier and take the handle from him, or he could find another way down, for such had to be the direction he needed to travel.
他可以找到那个枯瘦的士兵，把把手从他手里夺过来，或者他可以找到另一条下去的路，因为这必定是他需要前进的方向。
Why else would the old soldier in his battered, blood-encrusted armor try to keep him from the lower levels unless that way truly led to the Sisters of Fate?
如果那条路并不通向命运姐妹，那个穿着破旧、血迹斑斑盔甲的老兵为何要阻止他前往下层？
Stalking about finally revealed a small hole in the ancient stone flooring that Kratos enlarged with several swift blows from Alrik's war hammer.
四处搜寻后，终于在古老的石地板上发现一个小洞，奎托斯用阿利克的战锤快速几下将其扩大。
Debris fell to the floor far below.
碎屑落到下方远处的地板上。
He shoved his head down into the hole to look about and saw a strange iron cage spanning the length of one wall—but stranger yet were the spinning blades with serrated edges that rolled back and forth along channels mounted in the ceiling.
他把头伸进洞里四处张望，看到一个奇怪的铁笼横跨一面墙的长度——但更奇怪的是那些带有锯齿边缘的旋转刀刃，它们沿着安装在天花板的轨道来回滚动。
The drop was too far to the floor, even for Kratos, but if he could reach a wall and climb down, he could continue his search.
即使对奎托斯来说，到地面的落差也太大了，但如果他能到达一面墙并爬下去，他就能继续搜索。
To do that, he had to cross the ceiling laden with spinning wheels of death.
要做到这一点，他必须穿过布满死亡旋转轮的天花板。
Any of the rotating, laterally moving wheels would sever an arm or legs—or head—if he made even an incautious move.
只要他稍有不慎，任何一个旋转、横向移动的轮子都会切断他的手臂、腿——或者头。
Without hesitating, Kratos swung down, using the Blades of Athena to grapple into the stone ceiling.
奎托斯毫不犹豫地荡下，用雅典娜之刃勾住石质天花板。
He fell into a rhythm that allowed him to swing forward, pull free his sword, and then reach for a new, secure anchor in the ceiling, but this almost caused his death.
他陷入了一种节奏，使他能向前摆动，拔出剑，然后寻找天花板上新的牢固锚点，但这几乎导致他丧命。
His path crossed that of whirling saw blades that came racing from the walls, following tracks on the ceiling.
他的路径与从墙壁疾驰而来、沿着天花板轨道运行的旋转锯刃相交。
Kratos was forced to time his progress across to match the accelerating speeds of multiple saw blades.
奎托斯被迫加速他的前进，以匹配多个锯刃加速的速度。
When he had almost reached the far wall, he was forced to use his sword to block a saw blade spinning directly at him.
当他几乎到达远端的墙壁时，他不得不用剑挡住一个直接向他旋转而来的锯刃。
The impact wrenched his hand free.
冲击力使他一只手脱开。
He dangled by one arm as the blade whipped past.
当锯刃呼啸而过时，他单臂悬吊着。
It took several seconds for him to recover his senses; then he saw the blade had reached the end of its channel and was coming back at even greater speed.
他花了几秒钟才恢复意识；然后他看到锯刃到达了轨道的尽头，正以更快的速度返回。
Wrenching himself about, he thrust his sword into the ceiling, got a firm anchor, and swung out of the way at the last possible instant.
他猛地扭动身体，将剑刺入天花板，获得牢固的锚点，在最后一刻荡开。
Kicking hard, he swung to and fro, then shot outward in an arc that caused him to smash into the wall.
他用力踢腿，来回摆动，然后沿弧线向外射出，撞在墙上。
Quick reflexes brought his swords about and into the stone.
敏捷的反应使他挥动双剑刺入石头。
From here it was the work of a moment to lower himself to the floor.
从这里降到地面只是片刻之功。
"It's a trap. A trap," came the weak moan from inside the iron cage along the wall to his left.
“是个陷阱。陷阱，”从他左边墙边的铁笼里传来微弱的呻吟声。

第三十三章（2）
Kratos examined the mechanism and frowned.
奎托斯检查了机关，皱起眉头。
The decrepit soldier who had stolen the handle had been impaled on spikes mounted on a vertical wall that traversed the interior of the long iron cage.
那个偷走手柄的衰弱士兵被钉在长铁笼内部垂直墙上安装的尖刺上。
"A lever," the skewered man whispered hoarsely.
“一个杠杆，”被串起来的人嘶哑地低语。
"Be quick or be dead … like me."
“快点，否则就会死……像我一样。”
The soldier shook spasmodically, then fell lax.
士兵痉挛地抖动了一下，然后松弛下来。
Kratos wondered for a brief moment how much of his life the soldier had wasted in attempting to change what the Fates had meted out for him, but before he could wallow any deeper in that pool of thought, Kratos forced his mind back to the task at hand.
奎托斯短暂地想了一下，这个士兵为了试图改变命运为他安排的结局浪费了多少生命，但在他更深地陷入这种思绪之前，奎托斯强迫自己将注意力拉回手头的任务。
Carefully he examined the structure that lay before him.
他仔细检查了面前的结构。
The warning given seemed accurate.
那人给出的警告似乎是准确的。
He bent his back to pull the external lever, which drew back the piston mounted with the spikes and the impaled body enough to enter the cage.
他弯下腰拉动外部杠杆，使装有尖刺和穿刺尸体的活塞向后缩回足够进入笼子的空间。
He released the lever and watched how the mechanism worked.
他松开杠杆，观察机关的运作方式。
A second lever along the rails worried Kratos.
轨道旁的第二个杠杆让奎托斯担忧。
He walked farther, peered around, and saw a stone grate.
他走得更远，环视四周，看到了一个石栅。
He moved the lever twice more, watching and counting.
他又移动了两次杠杆，观察并计数。
On the third pull, he stepped in front; the piston began moving behind him.
在第三次拉动时，他走到前面；活塞开始在他身后移动。
Stride long, Kratos went to the second lever in a nook beside the cage.
奎托斯大步走到笼子旁边一个角落里的第二个杠杆处。
He judged distances, counted duration for how long he had before the piston rammed the spikes into him, then drew back this lever.
他判断着距离，计算着活塞将尖刺撞向他之前还有多少时间，然后拉回了这个杠杆。
A heavy door opened beyond the end of the grating at the far end of the cage.
在笼子远端栅格尽头，一扇沉重的门打开了。
By now the piston was speeding up as it came down the interior of the cage.
此时活塞在笼子内部移动时正在加速。
Kratos gripped the edge of the grating, which was at the end of a steel tunnel, and heaved.
奎托斯抓住钢制隧道尽头的栅格边缘，用力抬起。
The grating moved ponderously.
栅格缓慢地移动。
He applied every ounce of his immense strength and lifted it in time to avoid being impaled as the soldier had been, but he saw the doorway ahead closing.
他使出全身巨大的力气及时抬起了它，避免了像士兵那样被刺穿，但他看到前面的门正在关闭。
He dived forward through the door at the last possible instant.
他在最后一刻向前扑出门外。
He hit the floor fifteen feet below, rolled, and came to his feet, alert.
他落在十五英尺下的地板上，翻滚，然后警觉地站起。
All around the immense chamber rose stone pillars.
巨大的房间四周矗立着石柱。
Sea-green marble floors stretched about, but what drew him was a solitary pedestal in the center of the chamber.
海绿色大理石地板向四周延伸，但吸引他的是房间中央一个孤立的基座。
On it, open, lay a book.
上面摊开放着一本书。
Rubble surrounded the pedestal.
基座周围是碎石。
When he kicked at the debris to get closer, dust rose and shards scattered.
当他踢开碎屑想靠近时，灰尘扬起，碎片四溅。
Kratos stared at a petrified hand amid the debris.
奎托斯凝视着碎屑中一只石化的手。
A single stone finger pointed up at him.
一根石指指向他。
His foot came down and ground the hand into dust.
他的脚落下，将手碾成粉末。
He saw words on the book's open page.
他看到书摊开那一页上的字。
They had been written in blood.
它们是用血写成的。
I AM ALL THAT REMAINS … I KNOW NOW THAT I WILL NEVER REACH THE SISTERS …
我是仅存的一个……我现在知道我永远到不了姐妹那里……
Kratos had reached out to turn the page when he heard the awesome sound of breaking stone.
奎托斯伸手想去翻页，这时他听到了石头破碎的可怕声音。
He looked up as a pillar collapsed toward him.
他抬头一看，一根柱子正向他倒塌下来。
Flying behind it came a huge Gorgon, snakes on its head a-wiggle and its reptilian tail whipping about like a monstrous flail.
柱子后面飞出一只巨大的戈尔贡，头上的蛇扭动着，爬行动物般的尾巴像巨大的连枷一样甩动。
Stubby arms reached for him as pendulous teats bobbed about.
粗短的手臂伸向他，悬垂的乳房晃动着。
Amid the destruction of the column Kratos was forced to jump straight up or be crushed as that deadly tail turned the pedestal and book into dust with a single powerful smash.
在柱子倒塌的过程中，奎托斯被迫直跳起来，否则就会被压碎，而那致命的尾巴一次强有力的猛击就将基座和书变成了粉末。
He stumbled away, reaching for the war hammer.
他踉跄着退开，伸手去拿战锤。
By the time he regained his balance, he faced the towering monster, which hissed at him.
当他恢复平衡时，他面对着这个高耸的、对他发出嘶嘶声的怪物。
Euryale, queen of serpents.
欧律阿勒，蛇群女王。

第三十三章（3）
"Kratosss. Murderer of my children.
“奎托斯斯斯。杀害我孩子们的凶手。
（楼主：这几个s应该是模拟蛇的嘶嘶声，我真不知道怎么翻译好了）
You are surprised I know you?
你惊讶我知道你？
Yes, I am aware of the misery you have brought my brood."
是的，我知道你带给我的后代们的痛苦。”
Her attack was blindingly quick for such a huge creature.
对于如此巨大的生物来说，她的攻击快得简直令人眼花缭乱。
She swept her tail around, forcing Kratos to jump over it, then tried to freeze him with her gaze.
她甩动尾巴，迫使奎托斯跳过去，然后试图用目光冻结他。
He landed on one knee and lifted the Golden Fleece, deflecting the deadly stare.
他单膝跪地，举起金羊毛，偏转了致命的凝视。
"You will die, Kratos.
“你会死在这里，奎托斯。
Ruthlessly cutting down my line, your hands still wear their blood.
你曾无情地砍杀我的血脉，你的双手仍沾着它们的血。
Praise to the Sisters, for on this day, Kratos, you will meet your end!"
赞美命运姐妹，因为就在今天，奎托斯，你将迎来末日！”
Kratos had no time to bandy words.
奎托斯没时间斗嘴。
He swung the war hammer and smashed Euryale in the chest, knocking the monster back.
他挥舞战锤，猛击欧律阿勒的胸部，将这怪物击退。
He swung the hammer around in time to block the swish of the tail.
他及时挥动锤子挡住了尾巴的呼啸一击。
The sting in his hands told him that if the blow from the powerful tail had connected, he would have been broken into small pieces.
手上的刺痛告诉他，如果被那强有力的尾巴击中，他会被打成碎片。
He drove the heavy hammer into her flesh but failed to elicit so much as a twitch of pain.
他将重锤砸进她的肉里，却未能引起哪怕一丝疼痛的抽搐。
Euryale was driven by fury and beyond sensation.
欧律阿勒被愤怒驱使，这行动已经超越了感官的束缚。
Except, perhaps, the sensation of pleasure she would take at Kratos' death.
或许，她在奎托斯死亡时会感受到快感。
As she flopped on her stomach, she swung the tail about, then brought it high for an overhead blow.
当她腹部着地趴下时，她甩动尾巴，然后将其高举过顶准备砸下。
Kratos saw how the Gorgon queen fought and abandoned the war hammer in favor of his razor-edged swords.
奎托斯看清了戈尔贡女王的战斗方式，于是放弃战锤，改用他锋利的双剑。
This almost cost his life.
这几乎让他丧命。
The deadly beams from her eyes caressed his left arm.
她眼中致命的光束拂过他的左臂。
He screamed in pain before it began turning numb.
在手臂开始麻木之前，他痛苦地尖叫。
With an involuntary twist, he got his arm free, only to have his leg caught in the petrifying gaze.
他不自觉地一扭，挣脱了手臂，却让腿陷入了石化的凝视中。
Instinct took over.
本能接管了一切。
He somersaulted twice and came up behind a pillar that afforded a momentary barrier to the Gorgon's weapon.
他翻了两个筋斗，来到一根柱子后面，这为阻挡戈尔贡的武器提供了片刻屏障。
Rubbing his arm furiously produced needles of sensation.
用力揉搓手臂产生了针刺般的感觉。
He flexed his hand and found he had restored its use, but he had no time to treat his leg similarly.
他活动了一下手，发现恢复了功能，但他没有时间同样处理他的腿。
The Gorgon slithered around, seeking him out.
戈尔贡滑行着绕过来，寻找他。
Rather than continue to run, as Euryale undoubtedly expected him to do with his injuries, he drew his swords and once more somersaulted—straight at her.
他没有继续逃跑——欧律阿勒无疑期望他带着伤这样做——而是拔出双剑，再次翻着筋斗直冲向她。
He rolled under her twin death beams and came to his feet, ready to strike.
他在她那两道死亡光束下翻滚，然后站起身来，准备攻击。
His leg betrayed him and he lost his balance.
他的腿不听使唤，他失去了平衡。
The Gorgon hissed in victory, but Kratos never surrendered.
戈尔贡发出胜利的嘶嘶声，但奎托斯永不投降。
His left leg scraping across the floor, stone on stone, he came to a kneeling position at arm's length.
他的左腿刮擦着地板，石头磨着石头，他来到一臂远的距离，呈跪姿。
As he slashed at Euryale's flesh, for the first time he drew blood, inflicted true pain, brought about a reaction that lifted his lip in a sneer.
当他劈砍欧律阿勒的血肉时，他第一次让她流血，造成了真正的痛苦，引来了反应，使他嘴角扬起冷笑。
He had seen it before in battle when an overly confident foe first engaged him in combat.
他以前在战斗中也见过，一个过度自信的敌人第一次与他交战。
First came the overweening belief that Kratos would prove an easy foe, that his reputation was the stuff of legends and not reality.
首先是他们狂妄地相信奎托斯会是个容易对付的敌人，认为他的名声只是传说而非现实。
If the enemy survived long enough, that hubris turned to uncertainty.
如果敌人存活得足够久，那种傲慢就会变成不确定。
He read that in Euryale now.
他现在在欧律阿勒身上看到了这一点。
For now the thought of her own death flickered behind her eyes.
因为此刻，她自己死亡的念头在她眼中闪烁。
Kratos blocked another stone-creating gaze with the fleece, then pressed forward with his slashing swords.
奎托斯用羊毛挡住了另一次石化凝视，然后用他的双剑不断劈砍，以此向前推进。
Euryale backed away and curled her sinuous body around one of the thick stone columns.
欧律阿勒向后退去，将她柔韧的身体蜷绕在一根粗大的石柱上。
Casting out his swords like harpoons, he embedded them in Euryale's shoulder and back.
他将双剑像鱼叉一样抛出，嵌入欧律阿勒的肩膀和背部。
The Gorgon jerked in an attempt to free herself, but Kratos was implacable.
戈尔贡猛地一挣试图摆脱，但奎托斯毫不留情。
Heaving, he yanked as hard as he could.
他用尽全力猛拉。
Euryale refused to release her grip.
欧律阿勒拒绝松开她的缠绕。
Kratos increased the power of his yank.
奎托斯增加了拉扯的力量。
Something had to give—and it did.
必须有什么让步——而它确实让步了。
The stone column collapsed and fell atop Euryale.
石柱倒塌下来，压在欧律阿勒身上。
Kratos did not give her an instant to recover.
奎托斯没有给她丝毫恢复的时间。
Weapons driving into flesh, he hacked out huge gobbets and produced another shriek, this time of pain and utter fear.
武器插入血肉，他砍出大块大块的肉，引来了另一声尖叫，这次是痛苦和彻底的恐惧。
Spartan training had always told Kratos that it was not enough to defeat an opponent physically.
斯巴达的训练一直告诉奎托斯，仅在肉体上击败对手是不够的。
True victory came in breaking the foe's will to fight.
真正的胜利在于粉碎敌人战斗的意志。
Kratos recognized that Euryale had one final attack locked in her.
奎托斯意识到欧律阿勒还藏着最后一击。
As she unleashed her gaze, he used the fleece to deflect the Gorgon's attack, leaving her helpless on the floor.
当她释放出凝视时，他用羊毛偏转了戈尔贡的攻击，让她无助地倒在地板上。
But only for a moment was she writhing.
但她只扭动了一会儿。
Kratos leaped high in the air and came down on her back, using his stone leg as a pile driver, away from the feeble light dancing in her eyes now.
奎托斯高高跃起，落在她的背上，用他那条石腿像打桩机一样砸下，避开了她眼中正在闪烁的微弱光芒。
The weight snapped her spine.
重量折断了她的脊柱。

第三十三章（4）
Kratos jerked off her head, held it up, then sent it sailing across the chamber.
奎托斯猛地把她的头扯下，举起来，然后让它飞过房间。
It hit the floor and bounced, then rolled and stopped, faceup, once deadly eyes now fogging over as Hades claimed his due.
它撞到地板弹起，然后滚动着停下，面朝上，曾经致命的眼睛已经变得模糊，因为哈迪斯来索取他应得之物了。
He dropped to the floor, leg outstretched and tingling.
他落到地板上，将腿伸直，这条腿上传来刺痛。
Making the effort to rub circulation back into his flesh soon brought back full use of the leg.
奎托斯努力揉搓让血液回流，很快腿的全部功能恢复了。
He stood, tested it, and found it once more sturdy under him.
他站起来，测试了一下，发现它再次能稳健地支撑他。
Kratos felt no triumph that Euryale had died.
欧律阿勒死了，奎托斯并未感到胜利。
She was only an impediment to locating the Sisters of Fate and forcing them to return him to the moment that Zeus had so treacherously slain him.
她只是一个障碍，一个确定命运姐妹位置并迫使她们将他送回宙斯用阴谋杀死他的那一刻的障碍。
As he stood, part of the wall began to shimmer and shake, then disappear.
当他站起来时，一部分墙壁开始闪烁、震动，然后消失。
Kratos did not need to be told that Euryale had guarded this passageway and her death opened it to him.
无需被任何人告知，奎托斯立即目标，欧律阿勒守护着这条通道，她的死亡为他打开了它。
He entered a passage that soon opened out into a wide boggy area, which he ignored.
他进入一条通道，很快就通向一片宽阔的沼泽地带，他无视了它。
His gaze fixed on a spire in the distance that might have been the twin of the Temple of Euryale —but he saw the difference immediately.
他的目光固定在远处的一座尖塔上，那可能是欧律阿勒神殿的姊妹建筑——但他立刻看出了不同。
The tower glistened with life.
那座塔闪耀着生命的光辉。
With fate.
闪耀着命运的光辉。
He imagined he saw threads running from the top of the tower, radiating outward in all directions, though this might have been a trick of light.
他想象自己看到丝线从塔顶延伸出来，向四面八方辐射，尽管这可能是一种障眼法。
Having killed Euryale, he had to press on.
杀死了欧律阿勒，他必须继续前进。
The sky-ripping spire was the obvious destination.
那高耸入云的尖塔是显而易见的目的地。
As he started forward, he slowed, then stopped to look into the sky.
当他开始前进时，他放慢速度，然后停下来望向天空。
The heavy overcast hid the sun, and a sulfur stench filled the air.
厚重的阴云遮蔽了太阳，空气中弥漫着硫磺的恶臭。
Kratos sniffed, turning until he located the direction of the strongest odor.
奎托斯嗅了嗅，转身直到定位到气味最强烈的方向。
A boulder whistled through the air and crashed into a wall to his right.
一块巨石呼啸着划过空中，撞在他右边的一堵墙上。
For a moment he could not make out what attacked him; then he saw the pile of rocks ahead move, rise, and hurl another rock the size of a man's head at him.
一时间他无法辨认是什么攻击了他；然后他看到前面那堆石头移动、升起，并向他投掷来另一块人头大小的石头。
Kratos sneered.
奎托斯嗤之以鼻。
For every obstacle he overcame, the Sisters fated him to contend with another.
每当他克服一个障碍，命运姐妹就注定他要面对另一个。
His war cry announced that he was more determined to prevail than they were to stop him.
他的战吼宣告，他取胜的决心比她们阻止他的决心更坚定。
The rock Minotaur's belly glowed with the light of flaming magma as it drew itself up to a height five times that of Kratos.
岩石米诺陶洛斯的腹部闪耀着炽热岩浆的光芒，它站起身来，身高足有奎托斯的五倍。
Lumpy, rocky appendages groped for him, hands that were more boulder than finger.
疙疙瘩瘩的岩石附肢向他摸索过来，那手更像是巨石而非手指。
From its joints glowed molten rock, and immense horns on its head jerked back and forth as the monster tossed its head, as if unable to see its victim.
它的关节处发出熔岩的光芒，巨大的头角在怪物甩头时来回晃动，仿佛看不见它的受害者。
Then it fell heavily, causing the ground to shake so hard Kratos was thrown down.
然后它重重地落下，引起地面剧烈震动，奎托斯被震倒在地。
The rock Minotaur pounded its massive arms repeatedly on the ground.
岩石米诺陶洛斯用它巨大的手臂反复捶打地面。
Every blow produced a new quake impossible to stand against.
每一次捶打都引发新的、无法抵抗的地震。
Bounced up and down, Kratos knew the creature had to either attack him directly or tire from this ground-shaking attack.
奎托斯上下弹跳着，迫使这生物要么直接攻击他，要么因维持震地攻击而疲惫。
The rock Minotaur foolishly chose to attack.
岩石米诺陶洛斯愚蠢地选择了攻击。
As it reared up, thinking to fall forward and crush him under its ponderous weight, Kratos got his feet under him and jumped straight up into the air.
当它后仰立起，想着向前倒下用其沉重的重量压碎他时，奎托斯站稳脚跟，垂直跳入空中。
The Blades of Athena bounced off rocky limbs, but he had no easy target on the arms or legs.
雅典娜之刃从岩石肢体上弹开，但他在手臂或腿上找不到容易攻击的目标。
As he soared high, he whipped the swords about and came down just in front of the stony head with red, glowing rock-melt eyes.
当他高高跃起时，他挥动双剑，落在石质头部的前方，那头部有着红色、发光的熔岩眼睛。
Both blades drove deep into the rock Minotaur's head.
双剑深深刺入岩石米诺陶洛斯的头部。
It roared in pain and began to spin about.
它痛苦地咆哮，并开始旋转。
Its abnormally long arms, covered with sharp shards of stone, were the spokes of a wheel rotating around its axis.
它异常长的手臂覆盖着尖锐的石片，像轮辐一样围绕其轴心旋转。
Kratos jumped again, leaping over first one and then the other deadly arm.
奎托斯再次跳跃，先跃过一条致命的手臂，然后是另一条。
As long as the rock Minotaur spun in this crazy, dizzying attack, he could not attack directly.
只要岩石米诺陶洛斯继续这种疯狂、令人眩晕的旋转攻击，他就无法直接攻击。
If he backed off, the pounding would create earthquakes that would knock him from his feet.
如果他后退，那捶打会引发地震，将他震倒在地。
Kratos kept jumping, waiting, biding his time.
奎托斯不断跳跃、等待、伺机而动。
The horned head thrust in his direction with every rotation, but the arms presented the most danger.
带角的头每次旋转都刺向他的方向，但手臂构成的危险最大。
When he got the rhythm, Kratos landed on one arm, then launched himself upward to again attack with his swords.
他逐渐掌握了节奏，于是落在一条手臂上，然后向上跃起再次用双剑攻击。
One sank deep into flesh beneath the rocky hide.
一剑深深刺入岩石外皮下的血肉。
The other rebounded off a stone horn atop the Minotaur's head.
另一剑从米诺陶洛斯头顶的石角上弹开。
The combination of deep wound with stunning blow interrupted the rock Minotaur's attack for a brief instant.
深伤口与眩晕打击的结合短暂地打断了岩石米诺陶洛斯的攻击。
Kratos sprang.
奎托斯猛扑过去。
His swords raked across the rock Minotaur's throat and caused it to rear back, further exposing its belly.
他的双剑划过岩石米诺陶洛斯的喉咙，使它向后仰，进一步暴露了腹部。
Swift cuts opened wounds on the monster's underside.
快速的劈砍在怪物的下侧切开了伤口。
Rather than bleeding, it leaked molten rock.
它没有流血，而是渗出了熔岩。
The bright rivers pouring from the Minotaur's innards glowed red-hot and then trickled in orange rivers as lava leaked out and cooled.
从米诺陶洛斯内脏涌出的明亮河流发出红热的光芒，然后随着熔岩流出后冷却，变成橙色的细流。
Kratos landed hard only feet from the rock Minotaur's belly, the heat searing his flesh and causing rivers of sweat to blind him.
奎托斯重重落在离岩石米诺陶洛斯腹部仅几英尺的地方，热量灼烧着他的皮肤，汗水如注使他视线模糊。
When new gobbets of molten rock sprayed outward, sizzling and hissing past Kratos, he drove forward as hard and fast as he could to stab with both swords.
当新的熔岩块向外喷溅，嘶嘶作响地掠过奎托斯时，他竭尽全力、尽可能快地向前冲，用双剑刺去。
The Minotaur reared up, more lava oozing from the new cuts in its body.
米诺陶洛斯向后仰起，更多熔岩从它身上的新伤口渗出。
With two powerful slashes, Kratos bored through the belly and meted out still more punishment.
奎托斯两次强有力的劈砍，穿透了腹部，施加了更多的痛苦。
As the Minotaur bellowed in pain, its guts leaking out in gouts of magma, Kratos jumped, landed on the heaving shoulders, and used his swords to hack and slash until he found the most vulnerable point.
当米诺陶洛斯痛苦地吼叫，内脏如岩浆般涌出时，奎托斯跳起，落在它起伏的肩膀上，用双剑劈砍，直到找到最脆弱的地方。
He shoved both blades deep.
他将双剑深深插入。
The rock Minotaur shuddered, began glowing between the armor plates covering its back, then crashed facedown.
岩石米诺陶洛斯颤抖起来，覆盖其背部的甲板之间开始发光，然后面朝下轰然倒地。
Kratos stood panting from the exertion, but he did not look at the fallen creature.
奎托斯站着，因用力而喘息，但他没有看那倒下的生物。
He looked past it to the spire rising in the misty distance.
他望向它后面，远处迷雾中升起的尖塔。
He was near his goal.
他接近了他的目标。
He felt it.
他感觉到了。
The Sisters of Fate would have to grant his request so he could kill Zeus.
命运姐妹将不得不答应他的请求，这样他就能杀死宙斯。
If they didn't, he would kill them and then slay the King of the Gods.
如果她们不答应，他就杀了她们，然后再宰了众神之王。

第三十四章
“THE THRONE SITS empty.
“王座空悬。
That is not a good thing,” Poseidon said, his voice rumbling until it filled Zeus’ private quarters.
这可不是好事，”波塞冬说道，他的声音轰鸣，回荡在宙斯的私人居室中。
“We must replace the God of War soon.”
“我们必须尽快更换战神。”
“It pains me to agree but I must with my watery brother,” Hades said, “You make a grave mistake if you do not replace Ares.”
“我虽不情愿，但必须同意我如海一般的兄弟，”哈迪斯说，“如果你不填补阿瑞斯的空缺，就是犯下了严重错误。”
“You mean that I should replace Kratos,” Zeus said.
“你的意思是我应该接替奎托斯，”宙斯说。
He pulled a thunderbolt down and ran it up and down his fingers, then caught the lightning between thumb and forefinger as he looked up to his brothers.
他引下一道雷霆，在指间来回滚动，然后用拇指和食指捏住闪电，抬头看向他的兄弟们。
Both drew back, fearing Zeus would unleash his thunderbolt against them.
两人都向后退缩，害怕宙斯会向他们释放雷霆。
This flash of fear pleased Zeus.
这瞬间的恐惧取悦了宙斯。
There had been too much dissension between the gods and goddesses he could not turn to his own machinations.
诸神之间有太多纷争，他无法将其转化为自己的图谋。
Such rebellion could get out of hand.
这种反叛可能会失控。
“I will not allow disobedience.
“我不会允许违抗。
That is why I killed Kratos.
这就是我杀死奎托斯的原因。
He defied me.”
他蔑视我。”
Zeus billowed up and expanded, forcing both his brothers back to make room.
宙斯鼓胀变大，迫使他的两个兄弟后退让出空间。
“I will not permit that.”
“我绝不允许那样。”
“You allow too much,” grumbled Hades.
“你太纵容了，”哈迪斯抱怨道。
“Hermes.
“赫尔墨斯。
Look at how he defied you.”
看看他是怎么违抗你的。”
“I banished him.”
“我放逐了他。”
“You should send him to my kingdom,” Hades said, a smile pulling back his lips in what looked more like a rictus.
“你该把他送到我的界域来，”哈迪斯说，嘴角咧开一个更像狞笑的表情。
“I know how to handle such disobedience.”
“我知道如何处置这种违逆。”
“Your edict, Zeus, your foolish edict prevents one god from killing another.
“你的敕令，宙斯，你那愚蠢的敕令阻止了神祇相互残杀。
You had to trick Kratos into draining his godly powers before you killed him.”
你不得不欺骗奎托斯耗尽他的神力，然后才杀了他。”
“Kratos was too powerful, otherwise,” Hades said.
“否则奎托斯就太强大了，”哈迪斯说。
“He was not!”
“他才不！”
Zeus leaped to his feet from the couch where he reclined and towered above Hades, who fought to hide his unease.
宙斯从躺着的长椅上跃起，居高临下地俯视着哈迪斯，后者努力掩饰着他的不安。
“I could have slain the God of War at any time.
“我随时都能杀死战神。
I am the King of Olympus, not that upstart.
我是奥林匹斯之王，不是那个被擢升的家伙。
I made him a god and he defied me.”
我使他成神，他却违抗我。”
“I meant that your edict of one god killing another forced you to turn him mortal again,” Hades said.
“我的意思是，你那禁止神祇相残的敕令迫使你把他变回凡人，”哈迪斯说。
“Do not patronize me, brother.”
“别对我摆出居高临下的样子，兄弟。”
“Be quiet, both of you.
“都安静。
There is trouble in Olympus.
奥林匹斯有麻烦了。
Look around and you can see it at every turn,” Poseidon said.
看看四周，处处可见，”波塞冬说。
“I will order all to get along,” Zeus said.
“我会命令所有人都和睦相处，”宙斯说。
“That will certainly work,” Hades said.
“那肯定管用，”哈迪斯说。
“It will work as well as elevating Kratos to Ares’ throne.”
“就像提拔奎托斯坐上阿瑞斯的王座一样管用。”
“You dare mock me, Hades?”
“你胆敢嘲笑我，哈迪斯？”
Zeus’ beard flashed with constant lightning now, and he held a thunderbolt in both hands.
宙斯的胡须正持续闪烁着雷电，他双手各握着一道雷霆。
“Are you so blind you cannot see what our brother Poseidon is saying?” Hades shot back.
“你就这么瞎，看不出我们的兄弟波塞冬在说什么吗？”哈迪斯反驳道。
“Olympus is only an insult away from open war.
“奥林匹斯离公开的内战只差一次侮辱。
A civil war among the gods.
一场诸神间的内战。
I return to the Underworld to find peace!”
我想图个清静还得回冥界！”
“You are too close to the problem, Zeus,” Poseidon said.
“你离问题太近了，宙斯，”波塞冬说。
“A new God of War,” Zeus said more thoughtfully, dropping again to his couch.
“一位新的战神，”宙斯更为沉思地说，再次坐回他的长椅。
“That would be a good thing.
“那会是件好事。
But who?”
但选谁呢？”
He pursed his lips as he considered potential warriors.
他抿着嘴唇，考虑着可能的战士人选。
“Athena would never agree,” Hades said.
“雅典娜绝不会同意，”哈迪斯说。
“She is a cunning bitch.
“她是个狡猾的**。
Tricky.”
诡计多端。”
Poseidon glared.
波塞冬怒目而视。
“Someone must be brought to the throne, as you did Kratos.
“必须有人被推上王座，就像你对奎托斯做的那样。
But you must choose more wisely,” Hades said.
但你必须更明智地选择，”哈迪斯说。
“Someone from the Elysian Fields seems a poor choice.
“来自至福乐土的人选似乎不妥。
Who, being content in the afterlife, would desire constant strife?”
谁在心满意足的死后，还会渴望无尽的纷争呢？”
“Someone from Tartarus?” mused Zeus.
“来自塔耳塔洛斯的人？”宙斯沉思道。
“Why not a mortal hero?
“为何不选一个凡人英雄？
Would not my son Hercules be worthy of ascending?”
我的儿子赫拉克勒斯难道不配晋升吗？”
The trio began an argument that grew increasingly heated as each suggestion was met with dual disapproval.
三兄弟开始争论起来，每项建议都遭到另外两人的反对，争论愈演愈烈。
Watching from behind a tapestry, Hermes saw that they would never agree.
隐藏在挂毯后窥视的赫尔墨斯看出他们永远无法达成一致。
The three brothers had fought over too many other matters in the past, but if someone else suggested a logical, reasonable mortal to elevate to the throne of God of War, Hades, Poseidon, and even Zeus would greet this suggestion with approval.
这三兄弟过去已在太多别的事情上争执不休，但如果由其他人提出一个合乎逻辑、合情合理的凡人来晋升战神王座，哈迪斯、波塞冬，甚至宙斯都会赞同这个提议。
And a reprieve from banishment.
而他也能暂缓被放逐的命运。
Hermes slipped away, clutching a magic helmet.
赫尔墨斯溜走了，手里紧握着一顶魔法头盔。
He knew exactly which hero to champion to be Kratos’ successor to the God of War’s throne.
他清楚地知道该举荐哪位英雄成为奎托斯的继任者，坐上战神的宝座。

第三十五章（1）
“LET THE RAGE of the Titans fuel your blades, Kratos,” came Gaia’s warning.
“让泰坦之怒为充盈你的剑刃，奎托斯，”传来了盖亚的警告。
Kratos did not need such advice.
奎托斯不需要这样的建议。
He had faced wraiths before, and the ones guarding the entrance to the Great Hall of Atropos were no true barrier to one of his fighting prowess.
他以前面对过怨灵，而那些守卫阿特洛波斯大殿入口的怨灵，对他这样的战斗技艺而言并非真正的障碍。
They floated atop a black fog rather than walking on mortal legs, slender bodies elongating as they surged to attack with arms like whips.
它们漂浮在黑雾之上，而非用凡人的腿行走，纤细的身体在它们挥舞鞭子般的手臂猛攻时伸长。
Sparks exploded from the tips of those deadly, seeking arms, but he quickly parried as if they were metal swords.
致命的、探寻的手臂尖端爆出火花，但他当它们是金属剑刃一般迅速格挡。
With several quick cuts, he brought the keening wraiths upright, where they were easily defeated with devastating cuts from his swords.
几次快速劈砍，他将哀嚎的怨灵打得直立起来，这让它们轻易地被他的剑以毁灭性的切割击败。
But he realized Gaia's suggestion had merit when several wraiths closed in on him.
但当数个怨灵逼近他时，他意识到盖亚的建议有其道理。
Singly, they were quickly vanquished, but as a phalanx they proved mightier opponents.
单打独斗时，它们很快就会被消灭，但结成阵型时，它们被证明并不好对付。
The Rage of the Titans blasted forth.
泰坦之怒爆发而出。
Kratos laughed without humor as he cut down one wraith after another, dispatching the final one with little sense of satisfaction at a job well done.
奎托斯毫无幽默感地笑着，砍倒一个又一个怨灵，解决掉最后一个时，对任务顺利完成几乎没有满足感。
He was a warrior; they were his enemy.
他是战士；它们是他的敌人。
He had defeated them and that was as it should be.
他击败了它们，事情本该如此。
He turned toward the Great Hall when he heard a distant cry.
他转向大殿，这时听到远处一声叫喊。
“Who's there? Help me. I'm trapped.”
“谁在那儿？救救我。我被困住了。”
At the sound of the voice, Kratos touched the Golden Fleece.
听到这声音，奎托斯触碰了一下金羊毛。
This potent defense against spells had been gained following an earlier plea for aid.
这件对抗魔法的强效防御物，是在先前一次求助后获得的。
Jason had been a small impediment to reaching the Sisters of Fate, but he had given up the fleece and thereby aided Kratos.
伊阿宋曾是抵达命运姐妹路上的一个小小阻碍，但他放弃了羊毛，从而帮助了奎托斯。
（楼主：《放弃》）
Another seeking the Sisters, another failing to reach them, might provide yet another useful trinket that would guarantee Kratos' success.
另一个寻求命运姐妹且未能抵达她们的人，或许能提供另一件有用的小玩意儿，以确保奎托斯的成功。
He entered the temple and looked around the high, vaulted area.
他进入神殿，环顾高耸、拱顶的区域。
Empty at first, it now held two bearded men dressed in thigh-length togas.
起初空无一物，现在却出现了两个留着胡子、穿着及膝长袍的男子。
In one hand they each held a knife and in the other a scroll.
他们每人一手持刀，另一手握着一卷卷轴。
“I seek the Sisters of Fate,” Kratos said.
“我寻求命运姐妹，”奎托斯说。
“You are not wanted,” the nearer man said.
“你不受欢迎，”较近的那个男子说。
“We are the High Priests of the Sisters.”
“我们是命运姐妹的高阶祭司。”
He lowered the knife in his right hand and brought forward the scroll, now glowing with a faint greenish light.
他放低右手的刀，递出那卷正散发着微弱绿光的卷轴。
Kratos did not hesitate.
奎托斯没有犹豫。
Such a gesture could only be the precursor to an attack.
这样的姿态只会是攻击的前兆。
His swords swung in a high arc that ended on the High Priest's knife.
他的双剑划出一道高高的弧线，落在高阶祭司的刀上。
The sun-bright flare dazzled his eyes, but Kratos fought by feel, by sound and smell and a sense honed in battle that transcended mere physical hints.
太阳般明亮的光芒令他目眩，但奎托斯靠感觉、声音、气味以及在战斗中磨练出的、超越纯粹物理提示的直觉来战斗。
He pressed forward and felt the High Priest give way.
他向前压迫，感到高阶祭司向后退让。
Behind him the second priest closed for an attack with his short dagger.
在他身后，第二个祭司手持短匕首逼近准备攻击。
Kratos bent the man before him back off balance, then moved swiftly to kick out one leg and drive him down to the floor.
奎托斯将面前的男子逼得向后失去平衡，然后迅速移动，踢出一腿将他击倒在地。
The High Priest looked at him swiftly without expression.
高阶祭司面无表情地看着他。
Then a nimbus of energy boiled from the priest's hands and sent Kratos staggering.
接着一股能量光晕从祭司手中沸腾而出，让奎托斯踉跄后退。
The High Priest stood and prepared another that Kratos knew he could not endure.
高阶祭司站起身，准备起另一个奎托斯知道自己无法承受的攻击。
He reached down within himself and felt the white burning star of the Cronos Rage building.
他深入自己内心，感觉到克洛诺斯之怒那白色燃烧的星点正在积聚。
Focusing it, Kratos released the blast at the same instant the priest launched his attack.
注意力集中于它，奎托斯在祭司发动攻击的同一时刻释放了冲击波。
The clouds of magic collided, roiled about, turning black and ugly and … disappeared.
魔法云团碰撞、翻滚，变得漆黑丑陋然后……消失了。
The High Priest looked at his hands in disbelief, and Kratos knew why.
高阶祭司难以置信地看着自己的双手，奎托斯知道原因。
He was drained of all energy, and the priest had to share this enervation.
他耗尽了所有能量，而祭司必然也陷入了同样的虚弱。
Four quick steps forward brought Kratos face-to-face with the priest.
快速四步向前，奎托斯与祭司面对面。
Before he could even draw the ceremonial dagger sheathed at his wide leather belt holding his robes together, the High Priest died.
他甚至还没来得及拔出那别在束袍宽皮带上的仪式匕首，高阶祭司就死了。
Kratos punched hard and caught the priest in the throat.
奎托斯重拳击中祭司的喉咙。
He dropped to his knees, then fell to his side.
他跪倒在地，然后侧身倒下。
Kratos had no time to recover his strength.
奎托斯没有时间恢复力气。
Another priest storming forth from his rear proved more difficult for Kratos to fight.
另一个从他身后冲来的祭司被证明更难对付。
Instead of using his weapons, he drew forth the Golden Fleece in time to deflect a shock wave of green energy.
他没有使用武器，而是及时抽出金羊毛，偏转了一道绿色能量冲击波。
He swung about, still holding high the fleece.
他转过身，仍然高举着羊毛。
Step by step, he forced back the High Priest.
他一步一步地将高阶祭司逼退。
Once the man tried to cut him with the knife, but the short weapon depended more on magical power, now robbed by the Golden Fleece, than length.
有一次那人试图用刀砍他，但这短武器更依赖魔法力量而非长度，而此刻这力量已被金羊毛剥夺。
Grunting to coordinate his power in both leg and arm, Kratos exploded forward and knocked the High Priest down.
奎托斯咕哝着协调腿和手臂的力量，猛冲向前击倒了高阶祭司。
The knife flew from the priest's hand, and the scroll was half pinned under his body.
刀从祭司手中飞出，卷轴半压在他的身下。
A fist to the face stunned the High Priest.
一记重拳打在脸上使高阶祭司晕眩。
A second ended his life.
第二拳结束了他的生命。
He might as well have been hit by a steel-plated maul.
他简直像是被包钢的大锤击中。

第三十五章（2）
Kratos went to pick up the scroll, but it turned to greasy ash with the High Priest's death.
奎托斯想去捡起卷轴，但它随着高阶祭司的死亡化作了油腻的灰烬。
Stepping away, he knew he had alerted Atropos, if not all three of the Sisters of Fate, with these two deaths.
离开时，他知道即使没有惊动命运三姐妹全体，这两次死亡也必然会引起阿特洛波斯的警觉。
The Sisters had to rely heavily on their priests for defense and to keep away petitioners begging for alteration of their fate.
命运姐妹必须严重依赖她们的祭司进行防御，并阻挡乞求改变命运的请愿者。
Kratos sneered.
奎托斯嗤之以鼻。
Men like him.
像他这样的人。
He crossed the Great Hall and scaled a ladder mounted in the wall.
他穿过大殿，爬上了墙上的梯子。
The Sisters had to realize he had penetrated this far into their domain.
命运姐妹必须意识到他已深入她们的领域至此。
From his encounter with Lahkesis' statue, he knew he was not going to be a guest welcomed by any of the Sisters of Fate, and killing two of their High Priests would set them to redoing his fate in an even less agreeable fashion.
从他与拉克西丝雕像的遭遇来看，自己不会受到任何命运女神的欢迎，而杀死两位高阶祭司会让她们以更不愉快的方式重写他的命运。
Reaching an open area, he paused to study a stone bridge stretching across a courtyard far below.
到达一个开阔区域，他停下来研究下方远处庭院中延伸的一座石桥。
A stone head with eyes emitting what had to be deadly beams guarded the way across.
一个石质头颅，眼睛放射着必是致命光束的东西，守卫着通道。
“Up here. Help!”
“在上面。救命！”
Kratos craned his neck around to see the temple walls soaring even higher from this point.
奎托斯伸长脖子环顾，看到神殿的墙壁从这一点起更加高耸。
Whoever begged for his aid was up there.
无论是谁在乞求他的帮助，那人肯定在那上面。
He saw an arched doorway to his left and entered, emerging onto a large terrace looking down onto the rumps of the Steeds of Time.
他看到左边有一个拱形门口，便走了进去，出现在一个可以俯瞰时序骏马臀部的大露台上。
Seeing no way to advance, Kratos walked the length of the terrace, found a ramp leading downward, and carefully trod it.
看到无路可进，奎托斯沿着露台走，找到一道向下的斜坡，小心翼翼地踩上去。
The stones were loose and slippery from seawater.
石头因海水而松动湿滑。
He came to an immense door a dozen times his height and almost as wide.
他来到一扇巨大的门前，门有他十几倍高，宽度也几乎一样。
From beyond he heard cursing, probably from the man who had begged for his aid.
从门后他听到咒骂声，很可能来自那个曾乞求他帮助的人。
Planting his feet firmly, Kratos grabbed a handle fastened along the base of the door and lifted with all his might.
奎托斯双脚站稳，抓住固定在门底部的把手，用尽全力向上抬。
Even this was almost not enough to budge the ponderous weight, but it began to yield slowly, then with a sudden surge shot upward to stand fully open.
即使这样也几乎不足以撼动这沉重的门，但它开始慢慢让步，然后突然猛地向上弹起，完全敞开。
An army could have marched through, but Kratos saw only a shallow bath, tiled in sea greens and bright blues.
一支军队都能行进通过这道门，但奎托斯只看到一个浅水池，铺着海绿色和亮蓝色的瓷砖。
He stepped forward.
他向前走去。
He looked over his shoulder at the grating noise.
他回头看向那刺耳的噪音。
The door plummeted from above to once more close.
门从上方坠落，再次关闭。
“No!” came the cry of a warrior splashing through the pool.
“不！”一个战士溅着水花穿过池子，哭喊道。
He pushed past Kratos, armor clanking.
他推开奎托斯走过，盔甲铿锵作响。
A shield slung on his back hid his identity as he bent forward, pounding his fists on the closed door.
背上的盾牌掩盖了他的身份，他向前弯着腰，用拳头捶打着关闭的门。
“That door was my only escape!”
“那扇门是我唯一的逃生之路！”
The warrior leaned against the door, his shield gleaming and a golden helmet held in one hand.
战士倚靠着门，盾牌闪闪发光，一手握着一顶金色头盔。
“I have faced test after test in search of the Sisters, and now you have dashed it all away!
“我为寻找命运姐妹面对了一个又一个考验，现在你却把这一切都毁了！
You certainly do not live up to your reputation, Ghost of Sparta.”
你肯定配不上你的名声，斯巴达的亡魂。”
“Nor do you live up to yours, Perseus.
“你也配不上你的名声，珀尔修斯。
A great hero trapped in a tiled natatorium filled with perfumed water?”
一个伟大的英雄被困在铺着瓷砖、充满香水的泳池里？”
Kratos laughed harshly.
奎托斯刺耳地笑道。
“Trapped so completely you cry out to any who enters Atropos' realm for help?”
“被困得如此彻底，以至于向任何进入阿特洛波斯界域的人呼喊求救？”
Perseus pressed his hand against the door, ran it along the cool metal, and then turned to face Kratos.
珀尔修斯将手按在门上，沿着冰冷的金属滑动，然后转身面对奎托斯。
Their eyes locked.
他们的目光锁定在一起。
Kratos saw resolve harden in the hero who had fought the Graeae, a trio of powerful witches.
奎托斯看到这位曾与强大的三女巫格里埃战斗的英雄决心变得坚定。
Perseus had fought Gorgons and killed the monster that King Cepheus had tried to appease with human sacrifice.
珀尔修斯曾与戈尔贡战斗，并杀死了克普斯国王试图以人祭安抚的怪物。
For all his deeds he looked ordinary to Kratos, but then the Ghost of Sparta was used to those soldiers of his own army.
尽管有这些事迹，他在奎托斯看来却很普通，但斯巴达的亡魂早已习惯了自己军队里的那些士兵。
Spartans were a breed apart.
斯巴达人是与众不同的。
Perseus walked down the steps to the edge of the pool, studying Kratos closely.
珀尔修斯走下台阶来到池边，仔细打量着奎托斯。
He lithely jumped into the pool and sent ripples running from where he stood calf-deep in the limpid water.
他轻盈地跳进池中，从他站立处——清澈的水深及小腿——荡开涟漪。
“But perhaps this is a test,” Perseus said thoughtfully.
“但也许这是个考验，”珀尔修斯沉思着说。
He threw his head back as if petitioning the gods of Olympus.
他仰起头，仿佛在向奥林匹斯众神请愿。
“Are you watching me, sisters?
“你们在看着我吗，姐妹们？
Give me a sign!
给我一个征兆！
Am I, the great Perseus, to kill this fallen god to receive an audience with you?
我，伟大的珀尔修斯，是否要杀死这个堕落的神祇才能获得与你们会面的机会？
Will that allow me to bring back my love from the grasp of Hades himself?”
那能让我从哈迪斯本人手中带回我的爱人吗？”
“You fool yourself if you think the Sisters of Fate will grant you a boon for such a suicidal act.”
“如果你认为命运姐妹会因这种自杀行为而赐福于你，那是在自欺欺人。”
“I have dared much and will dare more to win back Andromeda!
“我曾冒过大险，并愿冒更大风险赢回安德洛墨达！
She will again share my bed.
她将再次与我同床。
She and I have a love that powers the music of the spheres!”
她与我的爱能驱动天球之乐！”
Perseus reached to his belt and drew out a sling.
珀尔修斯伸手到腰间，抽出一个投石索。
He spun it in lazy circles, the faint whispering noise it made almost masked by the sloshing water in the pool.
他懒洋洋地旋转着它，发出的微弱嘶嘶声几乎被池中晃荡的水声掩盖。
“But you know nothing of love, do you, Ghost of Sparta?”
“但你根本不懂爱，是吗，斯巴达的亡魂？”

第三十五章（3）
Kratos tensed at the taunt.
这嘲弄让奎托斯绷紧了身体。
In single combat angering your foe so that he no longer thought as he battled was a time-honored tactic, but this barb stung.
在单挑中激怒对手使其失去理智是历史悠久的战术，但这句刺人的话确实伤人。
Perseus must know how Kratos had killed his own beloved Lysandra and his daughter at Ares' behest.
珀尔修斯一定知道奎托斯是如何应阿瑞斯之命杀死了自己心爱的吕珊德拉和女儿。
Kratos drew the Blades of Athena.
奎托斯拔出了雅典娜之刃。
“Your weapons will not serve you this time, Kratos.”
“这次你的武器帮不了你，奎托斯。”
Perseus lifted the helmet.
珀尔修斯举起那头盗。
“Hermes has given me this helmet.”
“赫尔墨斯给了我这个头盔。”
“Hermes? He dares come to the lair of the Sisters of Fate?”
“赫尔墨斯？他敢来命运姐妹的巢穴？”
“He has aided me in the past.
“他过去曾帮助过我。
Unlike other false gods of Olympus, he knows his loyal worshippers.”
与奥林匹斯其他伪神不同，他认得他忠实的信徒。”
“Hermes is a fool with pretensions to greatness.”
“赫尔墨斯是个妄自尊大的傻瓜。”
Kratos seethed at this.
奎托斯对此感到愤怒。
“If I cannot gain an audience with the Sisters, at least I can bathe in the glory of being the one who brought down the mighty Kratos, the slayer of gods.”
“如果我无法获得命运姐妹的接见，至少我能沉浸在击倒强大的奎托斯、这位弑神者的荣耀之中。”
Perseus settled the helmet given him by Hermes on his head.
珀尔修斯将赫尔墨斯给他的头盔戴在头上。
Kratos sneered as the hero vanished, his visage now entrusted to godly enshrouding magicks.
奎托斯在这位英雄消失时发出冷笑，他的形体被托付给了神级的隐匿魔法。
“Although I hardly think a Harpy's fool such as yourself deserves such praise.”
“尽管我认为你这种像哈耳庇厄一样愚蠢的傻瓜配不上这样的赞誉。”
Perseus laughed with real joy at the possibility that the Sisters would receive his sacrifice and grant him an audience.
珀尔修斯想到命运姐妹可能接受他的祭品并接见他，发出了由衷的欢笑。
The hero's disappearance under the helmet did nothing to slow Kratos' reaction as a rock suddenly appeared, flying directly at his head.
英雄在头盔下的消失并未减缓奎托斯的反应，一块石头突然出现，直飞向他的头部。
He twisted aside violently, the sharp stone whizzing past his face to crash into the door behind him.
他猛地扭身躲开，尖锐的石头呼啸着擦过他的脸，撞在他身后的门上。
The stone had been hurled with such force that it remained embedded in the bronze door.
投掷石头的力量如此之大，以至于它嵌在了青铜门里。
Kratos waded out farther into the pool, looking for any sign of Perseus.
奎托斯涉水向池中更深走去，试图寻找珀尔修斯的任何踪迹。
Through pure instinct, Kratos brought up both swords to deflect another missile.
纯粹出于本能，奎托斯举起双剑挡开了另一个投掷物。
He spun and slashed—at nothing.
他旋转劈砍——却砍了个空。
“Wrong!” Perseus cried.
“错了！”珀尔修斯喊道。
“I am over here!”
“我在这儿！”
Kratos attacked where the voice had come from, farther toward the center of the pool.
奎托斯向声音传来的方向，更靠近池中心的地方攻击。
Again his blades found thin air.
他的刀刃再次扑空。
He stood stock-still and let his ears rather than his eyes tell him where Perseus was.
他一动不动地站着，让耳朵而不是眼睛告诉他珀尔修斯的位置。
The sighing of the leather sling warned him of another stone coming toward him.
皮制投石索的叹息声警告他又一块石头正朝他飞来。
Kratos bent, let the missile pass him harmlessly, and looked for the ripples in the pool where Perseus stood.
奎托斯弯腰，让投掷物无害地掠过，并寻找珀尔修斯站立处池中的涟漪。
He might be invisible but he left tracks, even if they were liquid and evanescent.
他可能隐形了，但他留下了踪迹，即使那是液体且转瞬即逝的。
A mighty slash with his blades brought the result Kratos sought.
一记有力的劈砍带来了奎托斯寻求的结果。
He felt one edge dig into flesh and heard Perseus cry out in pain.
他感觉到一刃切入血肉，并听到珀尔修斯痛苦地叫喊。
Blood billowed in the crystal-clear water.
鲜血在晶莹剔透的水中涌出。
Using both instinct and cold logic, Kratos followed where Perseus' retreat must lie and attacked there.
运用本能和冷静的逻辑，奎托斯沿着珀尔修斯必定撤退的路线追击并在那里攻击。
Again his blade chopped at a struggling human.
他的刀刃再次砍中了一个挣扎的人。
Perseus tried to use the sling again, but Kratos savagely thrust and cut one leather cord.
珀尔修斯试图再次使用投石索，但奎托斯野蛮地刺出并切断了一根皮绳。
The end flopped away from the invisible warrior and floated for a moment on the water, then sank.
断端从隐形的战士手中脱落，在水面上漂浮片刻，然后沉了下去。
This victory in robbing Perseus of his sling also took away Kratos' advantage of hearing the sling's whine as Perseus swung it.
这次胜利剥夺了珀尔修斯的投石索，也带走了奎托斯通过听投石索挥舞时的呼啸声而获得的优势。
Now the hero depended entirely on silent shield and blade.
现在这位英雄完全依赖无声的盾和剑。
Kratos saw the dual ripples moving in a V toward him, then ducked and thrust as if he could see Perseus' shield.
奎托斯看到双重的涟漪呈V字形向他移动，然后低头猛刺，仿佛他能看见珀尔修斯的盾牌。
The impact of his blade rattled all the way up to his shoulder as he miscalculated and drove his sword directly into that shield.
当他误判并将剑直接刺入那盾牌时，刀刃的冲击力一路震到他的肩膀。
But Kratos recovered quickly with a wide slashing arc that produced more blood in the water.
但奎托斯迅速恢复，以一记宽阔的劈砍弧线在水中造成了更多鲜血。
He watched as the trickle of blood moved away.
他注视着那缕血迹移开。
In his mind Kratos pictured Perseus retreating, his back exposed.
在奎托斯脑海中，他描绘出珀尔修斯撤退、背部暴露的画面。
Reaching Perseus would be difficult; Kratos reached down inside himself and coaxed the white point of energy that launched the Cronos Rage into a smolder.
接近珀尔修斯会很困难；奎托斯深入自己内心，引导着那能引发克洛诺斯之怒的白色能量点，使其阴燃。
But try as he might, he could not generate more than a tiny speck from it.
但无论他如何努力，也只能从中产生微小的火星。
He had exhausted himself using it against the High Priest.
他在对抗高阶祭司时已耗尽了它。

第三十五章（4）
That did not prevent Kratos from releasing the Cronos Rage, feeble though it was.
但这并未阻止奎托斯释放克洛诺斯之怒，尽管它很微弱。
The shock wave radiated outward, and Kratos was instantly thankful he had not unleashed the full power of the Rage.
冲击波向外辐射，奎托斯立刻庆幸自己没有释放怒火的全部力量。
Knee-deep in the water, he felt a sudden tingling shock that spread throughout the pool, momentarily stunning him.
齐膝深的水中，他感到一阵突然的刺痛感传遍整个池子，暂时震晕了他。
But if it unsettled him, it caught Perseus entirely unawares.
但如果这让他不适，那它将会让珀尔修斯完全猝不及防。
The hero screamed and thrashed about in the pool, causing a commotion impossible to miss.
这位英雄尖叫着在池中剧烈挣扎，引起了不可能被忽视的骚动。
With a mighty leap, Kratos shot from the water and brought both swords down in a double-handed thrust.
随着有力的一跃，奎托斯从水中射出，双手持剑向下猛刺。
If he had misjudged the hero, he would die.
如果他误判了英雄的位置，死的将会是他。
Both swords found fleshy berth in Perseus' shoulders.
但双剑都在珀尔修斯肩膀上的血肉找到了归宿。
The hero vented a huge scream of pain.
英雄爆发出巨大而痛苦的尖叫。
Kratos drew back and saw that the impact had knocked the helmet from Perseus' head.
奎托斯收回剑，看到冲击力将头盔从珀尔修斯头上震落。
His opponent was no longer invisible.
他的对手不再隐形。
That did not mean Perseus was helpless.
这并不意味着珀尔修斯无助。
He swung his shield about like a discus and forced Kratos to retreat.
他像掷铁饼一样挥舞盾牌，迫使奎托斯后退。
Moving in the water slowed both their steps, but Kratos was not as severely wounded.
在水中移动减慢了两人的步伐，但奎托斯受的伤没那么重。
No matter that the shield resisted his every sword thrust, Kratos had other weapons.
尽管盾牌抵挡了他的每一次剑刺，奎托斯还有其他武器。
Kratos was momentarily dazzled when Perseus swung the shield about and reflected light into his eyes.
当珀尔修斯挥动盾牌将光线反射到他眼中时，奎托斯暂时目眩。
Something magnified the brilliance until it was as if he stared into Helios' chariot pulling the sun behind it.
某种东西放大了这光芒，他仿佛正盯着赫利俄斯拉着太阳的战车。
Kratos squinted and then blinked furiously in time to recover.
奎托斯眯起眼，然后猛烈眨眼及时恢复。
As Perseus pressed an attack, trying to use the edge of his shield to slip under Kratos' neck and decapitate him, Kratos unlimbered his war hammer from its magical satchel at his back.
当珀尔修斯加紧攻击，试图用盾牌边缘滑入奎托斯颈部将其斩首时，奎托斯从背后的魔法行囊中取出了他的战锤。
The mighty killing tool rose high and crashed down on Perseus.
这强大的杀戮工具高高举起，猛砸在珀尔修斯身上。
The shield might protect against the Blades of Athena, but such a crushing attack could never be turned aside.
盾牌或许能抵挡雅典娜之刃，但如此粉碎性的攻击绝不可能被挡开。
The hammer blow drove Perseus to his knees in the water.
锤击将珀尔修斯打得跪倒在水里。
As Perseus fell, momentarily exposed, Kratos reached out and grabbed the son of Zeus and Danaë by the throat.
当珀尔修斯倒下、陷入片刻的暴露时，奎托斯伸手抓住了这位宙斯与达那厄之子的喉咙。
A swift twist and he shoved the hero's head underwater.
迅速一扭，他将英雄的头按入水下。
At first, noisy bubbles rose.
起初，气泡喧闹的升起。
They slowed.
它们变慢了。
Then Kratos yanked his foe out of the water, swung him about, and ripped the shield from his weakened grasp.
然后奎托斯将对手拽出水面，甩动他，从他无力的手中扯下盾牌。
Perseus sputtered and tried feebly to fight.
珀尔修斯语无伦次，虚弱地试图反抗。
Kratos growled deep in his throat, lifted, and heaved Perseus with all his strength out the far end of the pool area.
奎托斯喉咙深处发出低吼，举起并用尽全力将珀尔修斯扔出池区的远端。
Perseus screamed in agony as his spine was snared by a massive hook dangling from a chain.
珀尔修斯痛苦地尖叫，他的脊柱被一条链子上悬挂的巨大钩子贯穿。
He twitched, then sagged.
他抽搐着，然后瘫软下去。
His weight caused the hook to rattle and clank lower out of sight.
他的重量使钩子哐当作响地降低，消失不见。
Kratos went to the edge of the pool, climbed up on a tiled lip, and jumped.
奎托斯走到池边，爬上瓷砖边缘，然后跳起。
His fingers closed on the chain, and then he let himself down to the terrace below where he had looked out over the Steeds of Time.
他的手指抓住链条，然后让自己降落到下方的露台，这是他曾眺望时序骏马的地方。
Kratos kicked away from the chain and stared for a moment at Perseus, limp and lifeless on the hook.
奎托斯蹬离链条，凝视了珀尔修斯片刻，后者在钩子上软绵绵的，毫无生气。
“You will be with your lover now,” Kratos said.
“你现在将和你的爱人在一起了，”奎托斯说。
“Both of you will be under Hades' watchful gaze for eternity.”
“你们俩都将永远处于哈迪斯的注视之下。”
He turned and walked away without a glance backward.
他转身走开，没有回头看一眼。
He had to find the Sisters of Fate.
他必须找到命运姐妹。
If Perseus was the best they could do to prevent him from demanding an audience, Zeus was as good as dead.
如果珀尔修斯是她们阻止他要求会面的最佳手段，那么宙斯死定了。

第三十六章
“YOU WERE FOOLISH, Atropos. Foolish!”
“你真是太愚蠢了，阿特洛波斯。太愚蠢了！”
Lahkesis stormed about the Chamber of the Loom, then came to a halt and stared at her sister in disbelief.
拉克西丝在命运纺织间里怒气冲冲地踱步，然后停下脚步，难以置信地瞪着她的姐妹。
“We should tell Clotho.”
“我们应该告诉克洛索。”
“No! No, don't tell her.
“不！不，别告诉她。
This is not as serious as you make it seem.”
事情没你说得那么严重。”
Atropos' long, black boneless fingers played over the skein of fates she held.
阿特洛波斯那长长的、无骨的黑色手指在她握着的命运线团上抚弄着。
Dozens of the threads ran in all directions, some colored, others plain gray and white and black.
数十根线伸向各个方向，有些是彩色的，其他则是朴素的灰色、白色和黑色。
There were so many ways of determining a mortal's destiny that she had codified them long since.
决定凡人命运的方式非常多，她早已将其系统化。
Black resulted in utter despair and eventual death, usually through suicide.
黑色意味着彻底的绝望和最终的死亡，通常是通过自杀。
White provided the optimistic mortal a chance to laugh at the fate meted out, but the end was seldom different from that of the gray thread.
白色代表乐观的凡人有一个机会去嘲笑被安排的命运，但结局很少与灰色线有所不同。
The grays were those with lackluster lives, daily toil leading to little fulfillment or enjoyment of life and even less once they crossed the River Styx and were adjudged by Hades' three assessors, Aeacus, Minos, and Rhadamanthys.
灰色是那些生活平淡无奇的人，每日辛劳却几乎得不到满足或生活乐趣，而他们渡过冥河、面对哈迪斯的三位审判官——埃阿科斯、米诺斯和拉达曼迪斯——的裁决时，境遇就更不堪了。
The more brightly colored threads she left to Lahkesis and Clotho.
那些颜色更鲜艳的线，她则留给拉克西丝和克洛索处理。
Their fates were unusual and often annoyed her with their complexity.
他们的命运非同寻常，其复杂性常常惹恼她。
“You planned this?” Lahkesis sounded skeptical.
“这是你计划好的？”拉克西丝的语气充满怀疑。
“Cut here,” Atropos said, her long talon marking a spot on a thick skein.
“从这里剪断，”阿特洛波斯说道，用她的长爪子在一条粗线团上标出一个点。
After Lahkesis had done so, Atropos said, “See how easily removed problems are?
拉克西丝照做后，阿特洛波斯说：“看到问题多容易解决了吗？
You are the one who claims to enjoy a diversion.
你才是那个声称喜欢找点乐子的人。
What do you fear from Kratos?”
你怕奎托斯什么？”
“Nothing.
“没什么。
I fear no mortal, no god!
我不惧怕任何凡人，任何神！
Why should I?
我为什么要怕？
We are the Sisters of Fate.
我们是命运姐妹。
I end their miserable lives.”
我终结他们可悲的生命。”
Lahkesis brought her scythe down on another skein of threads.
拉克西丝将她的镰刀挥向另一束线团。
They snapped about, then evaporated.
它们噼啪断裂，随后蒸发消失。
“An entire country, Lahkesis.
“一整个国家，拉克西丝。
We have just eliminated the population of an entire country.
我们刚刚抹去了整个国家的人口。
There is no reason to fear a single mortal, even if he had been a god.”
没有理由去害怕一个区区凡人，即使他曾是神。”
Atropos sounded more confident than she was, but they were in control of all fate.
阿特洛波斯听起来比她实际更有信心，毕竟她们掌控着所有命运。
“You are not giving up on your little pet, are you?” Atropos pressed.
“你还没放弃你的小宠物，是吧？”阿特洛波斯紧逼着问。
“The Spear of Destiny?
“宿命之矛？
You told the Warrior to stop Kratos.”
你命令宿命战士去阻止奎托斯。”
Lahkesis glared, then said, “This is why we must end his life now.”
拉克西丝怒目而视，然后说：“这就是为什么我们必须现在就了结他的性命。”
“The Warrior handled the spear too gingerly.
“那战士用矛太过小心翼翼。
He was afraid of the weapon.
他害怕那武器。
I read it in his thread.”
我从他的命运线里读出来的。”
“You know more than I thought, sister,” Lahkesis said.
“你知道的比我想的要多，姐姐，”拉克西丝说。
“I am not without talent or intelligence,” Atropos said haughtily.
“我并非没有天赋或才智，”阿特洛波斯傲慢地说。
“And neither are you.
“你也一样。
Come, sister, let us deal with Kratos together and enjoy his struggle before we end his worthless life.”
来吧，妹妹，让我们一同处理奎托斯，在结束他那毫无价值的生命之前，好好享受他的挣扎。”
“How do we control him?
“我们如何控制他？
His thread has become increasingly slack.
他的命运线已变得越来越松弛。
Look.
看。
Tug on Kratos' thread and you do not pull him this way or that to influence his quietus.”
拉扯奎托斯的命运线，你无法这样那样地牵动他，影响他的死期。”
“He will eventually come to the end of his thread, the conclusion to his fate.
“他最终会走到他命运线的尽头，他命运的终点。
It will be as we have decided.”
那将如我们所裁决的那样。”
“Until then, we cannot control him.
“在那之前，我们无法控制他。
Gaia laughs!”
盖亚在嘲笑我们！”
“Determine her fate anew,” Atropos said.
“重新裁定她的命运，”阿特洛波斯说。
“I have followed Kratos,” Lahkesis said, “through the bowels of your temple.
“我一直在追踪奎托斯，”拉克西丝说，“穿过你神庙的深处。
He sent Perseus to the Underworld.
他把珀尔修斯送去了冥界。
If such a mighty warrior had no chance against Kratos, who will?
如果这样一位强大的战士都敌不过奎托斯，那谁能？
Especially if he possesses the Spear of Destiny?”
尤其如果他拥有宿命之矛的话？”
“He doesn't,” Atropos insisted.
“他没有，”阿特洛波斯坚持道。
“He can't or he would have already made good on his threat to kill Zeus.”
“他不可能有，否则他早已经将他要杀死宙斯的言论变成事实了。”
Lahkesis turned thoughtful as she considered all her unimaginative sister said.
拉克西丝思考着她那缺乏想象力的姐妹所说的一切，变得若有所思。
Nodding slowly, she said, “Even if Kratos has the Spear of Destiny, he cannot know how to use it.
她缓缓点头，说道：“即使奎托斯拥有宿命之矛，他也不可能知道如何使用它。
But it must be retrieved.
但它必须被收回。
It cannot remain in his possession.
不能留在他的手里。
It cannot!”
绝不能！”
“It won't,” Atropos promised.
“它不会的，”阿特洛波斯保证道。

第三十七章（1）
KRATOS HAD GOTTEN a fair look at the islands now pulled together by the Steeds of Time and saw that the way inward would take him toward the immense spire.
奎托斯看清了那些被时序骏马拉拢聚集的岛屿，看到通往内部的路径将引他走向那巨大的尖塔。
He did not doubt that this was the lair of the Sisters of Fate since it commanded both sky and earth from its lofty pinnacle.
他毫不怀疑这就是命运姐妹的巢穴，因为它那高耸的顶峰统御着天空与大地。
He made his way through the maze of rooms and finally came out on a path leading inward.
他穿行于迷宫般的房间，最终走上了一条通向内部的小径。
The stench of decay hung heavily in the air, convincing him this was the proper path.
空气中弥漫着浓重的腐烂恶臭，让他确信这是正确的路径。
Jason and Perseus had both perished trying to find their way to the Sisters.
伊阿宋和珀尔修斯都殒命于寻找命运姐妹的路上。
Kratos felt no triumph that he had bested them and now had the goal in sight.
奎托斯对于击败他们并目标在望并未感到胜利的喜悦。
At a trot he set off through the swampy region, slowly climbing and finally reaching an open area where Harpies fed off one another in a gory buffet.
他小跑着穿过沼泽地带，缓慢攀爬，最终到达一片开阔地，那里哈耳庇厄们正在一场血腥的自助餐中互相啃食。
He stopped and saw what had drawn them to this spot in the first place.
他停下脚步，看到了最初吸引它们来到此地的缘由。
A huge griffin had smashed into the ground and spread its guts in all directions.
一只巨大的狮鹫猛撞在地面上，内脏溅得到处都是。
But this was not just any griffin.
但这并非普通的狮鹫。
Blazing with actinic light was the spear that the aerial rider had tried to use against Kratos.
闪耀着强光的是那位空中骑手曾试图用来对抗奎托斯的长矛。
Its power drew him.
它的力量吸引着他。
He whipped his war hammer about as the creatures moved from considering one another a meal to choosing him.
当这些生物从视彼此为餐食转向选择他时，他挥舞起战锤。
He crushed first one and then another as he made his way to the dead griffin.
他砸碎一个又一个，向死去的狮鹫走去。
The crystalline spear glistened as if it had been dipped in liquid light.
水晶长矛闪闪发光，仿佛浸过液态的光。
Kratos reached out and gripped the spear's thick shaft, then yanked it free of the griffin's body.
奎托斯伸手抓住长矛粗壮的柄，然后猛力将其从狮鹫体内拔出。
The coruscating light forced him to look away.
闪耀的光芒迫使他移开视线。
The spear burned at his hand, but he did not release it.
长矛灼烫着他的手，但他没有松开。
Lifting it high over his head gave him a chance to examine it.
将其高举过头顶，他得以仔细端详。
In places he could see through the transparent crystal, but other points in the interior were milky with light.
有些地方他能看透透明的水晶，但内部其他点却因光线而显得乳白。
Still other sections, more like splinters, blazed with the purplish blue light that had drawn him to the weapon.
还有其他部分，更像碎片，燃烧着那曾将他吸引至此武器的紫蓝色光芒。
He spun it about.
他旋转着它。
Lightweight, quickly pointed, easily used to stab or defend, the spear held his attention—and he knew that it was a potent weapon if he could find how best to use it.
重量轻，出矛快，易于刺击或防御，这长矛吸引了他的注意力——而且他知道，如果他能找到最佳使用方法，这将是一件强大的武器。
Kratos whirled it about and stashed it away as he made his way deeper into the swampy land, but he quickly came out on the brink of a precipice falling hundreds of feet down into the sea.
奎托斯旋转了一下长矛并将其收好，然后深入沼泽地带，但他很快来到一处悬崖边缘，下方数百英尺是大海。
The way across seemed obvious, but Kratos had learned this meant danger.
跨越之路似乎显而易见，但奎托斯已明白这意味着危险。
A broken roadway stretched over the deep chasm, the sections of stone paving separated by gaps.
一条破碎的道路延伸过深邃的裂谷，石铺路段被裂隙隔开。
He walked to the edge of the roadway, stepped out—and almost perished.
他走到道路边缘，踏上去——几乎丧命。
The road tilted swiftly under his weight.
道路在他的重量下迅速倾斜。
He lost his balance and slid downward and would have plunged to his death if it had not been for his quick reflexes.
他失去平衡向下滑去，若非反应迅速，早已坠落身亡。
The swords lashed out as grappling hooks and affixed themselves into the side of the cliff.
双剑如钩爪般甩出，固定在悬崖一侧。
The roadway dropped all the way from under him but he swung back, hit the cliff face, and then hastily scaled it.
道路从他脚下完全脱落，但他向后荡回，撞在崖面上，然后匆忙向上攀爬。
By the time he reached the top of the escarpment once more, the roadway had returned.
当他再次回到悬崖顶时，道路已经复原。
It tilted but did not fall.
它倾斜着但没有坠落。
If one segment tilted in such a fashion, he saw no reason to doubt that all would.
如果仅仅是一段路如此倾斜，他认为没有理由怀疑其他路段也会这样。
To cross to the far side required more than speed and balance.
要到达对岸，仅靠速度和平衡是不够的。
Kratos concentrated and called forth the magic of the Amulet of the Fates.
奎托斯集中精神，唤醒了命运护身符的魔力。
The world boiled around him in a thick green stew as time slowed.
时间减慢，世界在他周围如浓稠的绿色炖汤般沸腾。
He stepped onto the tilting road and then tried to sprint for the far side.
他踏上倾斜的道路，然后试图向对岸冲刺。
His legs gave way beneath him, forcing him to reach down to keep from falling.
他的双腿在身下发软，迫使他伸手以防摔倒。
Use of the amulet sucked his power quickly.
使用护身符迅速消耗着他的力量。
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to stand.
他咬紧牙关，强迫自己站直。
The greenish fog about him began to thin.
他周围的绿色雾气开始变薄。
His gut tightened as he forced himself to send more energy into the amulet.
他强迫自己向护身符输送更多能量时，腹部收紧。
Then he took a step.
然后他迈出一步。
And another.
又一步。
Determination kept the Ghost of Sparta moving.
决心驱使着斯巴达的亡魂前进。
He would conquer!
他必将征服！
Just as he came within a dozen feet of the other side, the spell controlled by the Amulet of the Fates wavered and began to abate.
就在他离对岸还有十几英尺时，由命运护身符控制的法术开始动摇并减弱。
Roadway tilting beneath his feet, Kratos abandoned use of the amulet, jumped, and barely caught the edge of the cliff as the roadway skewed away from his feet.
道路在脚下倾斜，奎托斯停止使用护身符，纵身一跃，在道路从他脚下歪斜开去的瞬间，勉强抓住了悬崖的边缘。
He dangled above a chasm that would kill him should he fall.
他悬在一个若坠落必死无疑的深渊之上。
A grunt, a heave, and he stood on the proper side of the segmented road.
一声闷哼，一次用力，他站到了分段道路的正确一侧。
The trail led forward.
小径向前延伸。
His distance-devouring stride began gobbling the terrain as he ran, fast and sure he headed in the right direction to the Sisters of Fate.
他奔跑着，那吞噬距离的大步开始吞没地形，快速而确信地朝着命运姐妹的正确方向前进。
The jungle vegetation arched above him, forming a close tunnel.
丛林植被在他头顶弯拱，形成一条狭窄的隧道。
At times he had to duck and push through small openings, but he persisted and came to the far side of the island.
有时他不得不低头挤过小洞口，但他坚持着来到了岛屿的另一端。
In the distance he saw what had to be his destination on the Island of Fate.
远处，他看到了必定是他在命运岛上目的地的建筑。
Again he was faced with a road across a chasm so vast he could not see the bottom.
他再次面对一条横跨裂谷的道路，裂谷是如此深邃，望不见底。
The Steeds of Time might have pulled the islands together, but the sections were a poor fit.
时序骏马或许将岛屿拉拢在一起，但各部分衔接得很差。
This road, however, lacked only a segment here and there.
然而，这条路只是零星缺失了一些路段。
From the way the arches supported the road from below, he saw no possibility for a trap to be engineered into the bridge-work.
从拱形结构从下方支撑道路的方式来看，他认为桥体工程中不可能设有陷阱。
He strode out onto the broad, uneven paving and had gone only a quarter of the way across when he heard the wings flapping furiously.
他大步踏上宽阔不平的路面，刚走了四分之一，就听到翅膀猛烈拍打的声音。

第三十七章（2）
Kratos turned in a full circle, looking to the sky for any sign of Harpies.
奎托斯转了一圈，望向天空寻找哈耳庇厄的踪迹。
He hated the flying hags and would not mind working off some of the rage that had built within his breast by pulling off a few wings and then casting the flightless, still-living bodies into the great chasm to their deaths.
他憎恨那些飞行的妖妇，并且不介意通过扯下几只翅膀，然后将那些失去飞行能力、仍活着的躯体扔进大裂谷摔死，来发泄一些积聚在胸中的怒火。
There was nothing in the sky, but he heard distinct flapping of wings followed by a feeble scraping as if talons tore at the bridge's stone base.
天空中空无一物，但他清晰地听到翅膀拍打声，接着是微弱的刮擦声，仿佛利爪在撕扯桥的石头基底。
Kratos reached for his war hammer as an emaciated, ancient man crawled over the edge, but he held back a killing blow when he saw long, elegant wings seared onto the man's back.
奎托斯伸手去拿战锤，这时一个枯瘦、年迈的男子从边缘爬了过来，但当他看到修长优雅的翅膀被灼焊在男子背上时，他收住了致命一击。
Kratos held out his own forearms and looked where Ares had welded the chains from the Blades of Chaos into his living flesh.
奎托斯伸出自己的前臂，看着阿瑞斯将混沌之刃的锁链焊接进他活生生血肉的地方。
Had something similar been done to this poor wight?
这可怜的家伙也遭受了类似的事情吗？
“Go back. Go back, warrior. There is no passage here.”
“回去。回去，战士。此路不通。”
Kratos looked at the man.
奎托斯看着这个人。
“I can reach that distant spire on this path.”
“我能通过这条路到达远处的尖塔。”
“Never! It isn't possible.
“绝无可能！那不可能。
You will never make it across.
你永远无法穿越。
You think you can, but you cannot.”
你以为你能，但你做不到。”
Kratos brushed past the man.
奎托斯从这人身边擦身而过。
“I know you cannot make it,” the man insisted.
“我知道你做不到，”这人坚持道。
Kratos looked from the distant spire where the Sisters of Fate must have their lair to the man.
奎托斯目光从命运姐妹巢穴所在的遥远尖塔转向这个人。
The burns on his hands and face were now obvious.
他手上和脸上的烧伤现在能看的很明显。
The wings had melted in places but were still functional.
翅膀有些地方融化了，但仍然能用。
With a single backhand swat, Kratos knocked the annoying pest away.
奎托斯一记反手挥击，打飞了这个恼人的害虫。
“Do you not know who I am?”
“你难道不知道我是谁？”
“Why should I care?”
“我为何要在乎？”
The man looked incredulous.
这人一脸难以置信。
“Have you not heard of Icarus?
“你难道没听说过伊卡洛斯吗？
Of my father, Daedalus, and the marvelous creation he made so that I might escape from Crete?”
没听说过我的父亲代达罗斯，以及他为了让我逃离克里特岛而制造的奇妙造物吗？”
The man turned and spread his wings, flapping them hard enough to create a small turbulent gust of air intended to blind Kratos.
这人转身展开翅膀，用力拍打，制造出一股意在迷住奎托斯眼睛的小湍流。
Kratos pushed him away as he tried to crowd close once more.
当这人试图再次靠近时，奎托斯把他推开。
He saw that the wings had been magically fused to Icarus' shoulder blades in such a way that scar tissue surrounded the base.
他看到翅膀被魔法熔接在伊卡洛斯的肩胛骨上，基部周围都是疤痕组织。
The wings fluttered about, once more trying to disconcert Kratos.
翅膀扑扇着，再次试图扰乱奎托斯。
Despite their lack of spread, the wings were powerful.
尽管展开度不足，翅膀却很有力。
“It is my fate to make it across.
“成功跨越是我的命运。
None other!”
而非他人！”
Kratos studied the stone roadway.
奎托斯审视着石路。
He could make it, no matter what Icarus said.
不管伊卡洛斯说什么，他都能成功。
He started to cross.
他开始穿越。