Introduction
By defeating Ares, Kratos, a once-mortal warrior, became the new God of War. However, Kratos soon found himself alone on Olympus, shunned by his fellow gods.
Original story
God of War II takes place shortly after the events of God of War: Ghost of Sparta, but over 13 years after the events of God of War. Kratos has become the new God of War after defeating Ares, but unfortunately, he is not accepted by the other gods due to his cruel treatment of the other Greek states. Kratos is still haunted by memories of his past deeds while working under Ares. He finds the only way out is by leading and helping his Spartan army conquer Greece. Athena begs Kratos to stop, telling him that she cannot protect him from the wrath of Olympus for much longer and that he should not turn his back on her because it was she who made him a god. Kratos replies that he owes her nothing and goes to the Battle of Rhodes to help his Spartan army.
Kratos joins the fight as a god and begins to destroy the city of Rhodes. Shortly after, Kratos notices an eagle that Kratos believes is Athena in disguise. The bird steals his godlike stature from him and injects it into the Colossus of Rhodes, bringing it back to life to kill Kratos.
After a long struggle with a giant golden statue that rages across the city, Zeus offers Kratos the Blade of Olympus, which Zeus himself used to win the great war between the gods and the Titans. At Zeus's behest, Kratos imbues the blade with his divine powers, rendering him mortal, but enabling him to destroy the Colossus from within. However, Kratos soon finds himself mortally wounded after being crushed by the statue's severed hand.
Kratos realizes that he must reclaim the Blade of Olympus to save himself. As he slowly rises and walks towards the sword, Zeus reveals himself as an eagle who stole his powers and betrays Kratos so that he will not suffer the same fate as Ares. Zeus demands that he surrender, but when Kratos refuses, Zeus then stabs him in the stomach with the Blade of Olympus and kills him after he refuses to serve the gods forever, wiping out all of the Spartan and Rhodesian soldiers.
However, when Kratos is dragged towards an eternal torment in the Underworld, he is saved by Gaia, the mother of the Titans and the franchise's narrator, who proposes an alliance. Kratos, still possessing some of his remaining powers, escapes the Underworld, and Gaia urges him to find the Sisters of Fate in order to change his past, regain his godlike powers, as well as his position as the "God of War" and then prevent his betrayal and kill Zeus. She then helps Kratos ride the magical horse Pegasus to cross the distance between the sisters.
After being diverted to a mountain that houses the Titan Typhon and the former Titan Prometheus, Kratos and Pegasus begin flying towards the Island of Creation, but are again attacked by the Griffins and Ravens with the help of the Dark Rider. The Dark Rider manages to crash into the Pegasus, sending the horse plummeting to its death, but Kratos counterattacks by jumping onto the Dark Griffin, the Dark Rider with the Spear of Destiny, and killing the Dark Griffin by inserting the spear into it. While Kratos dives towards the Island of Creation.
As he explores the island, Kratos asks Gaia why she is helping him. Gaia then tells the story of Zeus and how Cronus, Zeus' father, ate all of his children to prevent a prophecy that one of his children would rebel against him, and how Rhea, Zeus' mother, saved her child and sent him there. The island was actually Gaia, the Titaness mother of Earth and Zeus' grandmother, and Gaia raised Zeus until he became a man and sought revenge on Cronus and all of the Titans. Kratos then encounters the likes of his cousin and a demigod named Theseus, whom he kills and obtains the key to the Horse Guard and the Horses of Time (a gift to the Sisters of Fate from Cronus in an attempt to change his fate) from Perseus. Kratos' half-brother and the demigod he brutally kills and takes his reflective shield to progress, the captain of the ship at the beginning of God of War, and the barbarian king he beheaded in the original God of War, taking the barbarian hammer from. Kratos also encounters a disheartened and crazed Icarus, who takes his wings from him, and the Gorgon Queen Urial, who beheads him and obtains Urial's head from him.
Kratos lands on the Titan Atlas underground and attempts to communicate with him. At first, Atlas is enraged by the sight of the Spartan and refuses to help Kratos, as he has been eager to crush humans for his new imprisonment since their last meeting in God of War: Chains of Olympus. However, Kratos manages to convince Atlas to help him so that he can change his fate and kill Zeus. Atlas, intrigued by Kratos's goal, tells him about the creation of the Blade of Olympus: With the Great War between the gods and the Titans looming, Zeus soon created a powerful weapon called the Blade of Olympus to end the Great War and banish the Titans to the depths of Tartarus. When the Titans were defeated by the gods, they were punished and humiliated, and they seek Kratos' help in seeking revenge. Accepting the offer, he grants Kratos a new power, the Atlas Tremor, and helps him return to the surface so he can continue his quest. Upon reaching the surface, he kills the Kraken and reawakens the Phoenix to fly to the Temple of Destiny, using his desire for revenge on Zeus and the knowledge he gained from one of his fellow soldiers about how Zeus destroyed Sparta as an act of rage to help him continue his quest. Finally reaching the throne room, Kratos expresses his firm desire to change his fate and that of Zeus, the king of the Olympian gods, after which the sisters deny him passage. Kratos is then confronted by Laxus.
After a terrifying battle, Kratos witnesses the presence of Atropos' middle sister from within the defeated Lahexis, transporting Kratos back in time to the very moment of his battle with Ares. Kratos, intending to cut his own life short by destroying the Blade of the Gods, intervenes by defending the Blade of the Gods, thus preserving it as it was originally. He soon defeats Atropos before traveling back to the present while trapping Atropos in a mirror. Fighting Lahexis and Atropos simultaneously, Kratos manages to stab both sisters with his blades and destroy the mirror they are trapped in. Thus, imprisoning both sisters forever.
Kratos then goes after the remaining sister, Clotho, who is defending the Loom of Fate, which rules the lives of humans and gods alike. By pinning Clotho's hands to the ground, Kratos manages to swing her skull with a giant blade-like pendulum, killing her. With the defeat of the three Sisters of Fate, Kratos allows himself to take control of the Loom and his own destiny. Kratos, who eventually regains his powers and becomes the God of War once again, returns to his death at the hands of Zeus on Rhodes, rescues his past self, and steals the Blade of Olympus from Zeus, provoking a long battle with the king. Of the Gods At the end of the fight, Zeus stuns Kratos with a powerful lightning storm, after which Kratos falsely declares his surrender. When Zeus is about to kill Kratos, Kratos deflects the blow with an energy blast and pins Zeus' hands to the rock with Athena's blades. Kratos then grabs the Blade of Olympus and begins to drive it into Zeus' chest, just as Zeus stabbed him.
Before he can finish, Athena arrives and defends Zeus, but Kratos is angered by her betrayal and interference as Athena declares her intention to protect Olympus. A severely wounded Zeus tries to escape, stating that since Kratos started the war, he probably can't win as the Sisters of Fate had already predicted his victory. However, Kratos breaks free from the defending Athena and goes to Zeus with the Blade of Olympus, but Athena sacrifices herself by impaling herself on the blade and flees to Zeus. A stunned Kratos asks her why she did this as the dying goddess reveals that Zeus' actions are to break the cycle of parricide, as another new son begins to kill his father, which goes back to Cronus killing Uranus and Cronus killing Zeus. Before he could kill him, Zeus hoped to break the cycle – thus confirming that Kratos was actually Zeus' own son, which reveals that Kratos was a demigod just before he became a full god after slaughtering Ares, and he begs him to surrender in his quest for revenge.
After a moment of apparent shock and shame, Kratos blacks out and groans that he has no father. Athena dies in Kratos' arms, saying that all the gods on Olympus will reject Kratos and defend Zeus until Olympus triumphs. She says that even if Kratos wants to kill Zeus, Zeus is Olympus. Kratos then vows to punish Zeus and any god who denies him his revenge, saying that their time is up. When Gaia speaks to Kratos and reminds him that she has the power to control time, Athena's body soon explodes.
Kratos returns to weaving as the room collapses around him and he is once again transported back in time to the great war of the gods and titans. He contacts Gaia and she announces that the titans have been waiting for him and Kratos then explains that they can win the great war in his time.
Result
As a defeated Zeus encourages his gods to help him kill the rogue Kratos, every Titan that has ever existed is returned to Kratos' time in their original form (due to Kratos going back in time to when all the Titans were at their strongest. To give Kratos his best chance at winning), angry and vengeful they climb Mount Olympus to kill Zeus and the gods. Kratos leads them, declaring to Zeus, "Zeus! Your son is back, I will bring the destruction of Olympus!!!", thus leading directly into the events of God of War III.
