14. The Palace of the Fates

A great battle is about to take place in front of the palace doors so you may
want to level up your Cronos' Rage or Atlas Quake since they will help out a
bunch. You'll likely notice the --GREEN CHEST-- and --BLUE CHEST-- on the
sidewalls of the palace. Don't use them for now unless you really need them.
Find the switch below the right side of the ramp that leads up to the palace
doors and pull the switch to lower the ramp. The gate will seal off and Beast
Lords will appear and blow their horns to summon two Cyclops Berserkers.

Now, keep in mind that once a Cyclops falls, the Beast Lords will always try to
blow their horn to summon more Cyclops Berserkers. You must stop them from
blowing those horns or you will have to deal with a whole bunch of Cyclops
Berserkers before the Beast Lords fall. Lay out a Cronos' Rage electrical orb
to hit one Beast Lord then turn and hit the other one at the beginning as they
blow their horns and you will not have to fight any Berserkers. Keep in mind
that once the Beast Lords have gotten well enough into their horn blow, the
animation cannot be stopped and the Berserker will be summoned. Constantly
pull the Beast Lords off of the Berserkers and use Atlas Quake and Cronos' Rage
to overflow the Beast Lords with damage and keep them from blowing their horns.
This battle can very easily get out of control and cause major damage to
Kratos, but stay aggressive with your magic mixed with Rage of the Titans and
you shouldn't have to fight any Berserkers. Fireball Fiends will appear along
the side of the wall, but try to stay focused on the Beast Lords the most.
Move behind a Cyclops Berserker or grab a Beast Lord if a fireball is about to
hit Kratos. If you can manage to stop both of the Beast Lords at the beginning
all you to do is grab the Beast Lords to death to easily win the battle.

Once the battle has ended, find the lever on the right side of the wall. The
lever looks different from the others that you have used before, so keep that
in mind. Pull the lever to the left and notice how the gate up above rotates
to the side. Grab one of the other levers that moves out of the wall on the
right before it moves back into the wall and keep pulling or pushing lever
after lever until an entrance without a gate is exposed. The ramp that went
under the ground will surface once again to allow entry. Walk inside of the
circular room through the door once an open doorway is revealed.

The doorway will seal off from behind as you walk toward the middle of the
room. Notice the switch. Walk over to the --GREEN CHEST-- and the --RED
CHEST-- on the right side and open at least the red one. Walk over to the
switch and pull it to make the wall rotate. This will also summon Dark Nymphs
and make spikes pop out of the floor. Make sure to watch for the spikes to
appear below the different sections of the floor then jump away from that
section before getting impaled. The Dark Nymphs will try to keep you glued
down with webbing so be prepared to struggle to break free. Grabbing them can
both help you out and make you get hit since Kratos is invincible during the
animation but not afterward. Don't even try to open the red chest spread
around the many alcoves right now. Wait for the space with the cracked wall on
the right side of the back of the room to be open then run over to it and pull
the wall outward to stop the room from turning and the spikes from surfacing.
Walk over to the --3 RED CHESTS-- on the left side of the room and open them
and be sure to grab the **CRANK HANDLE** near a red chest on the left side.

Enter the newly opened hall. Go up the staircase to the left of the --GREEN
CHEST-- in the center of the hall. Find the --RED CHEST-- to the left and the
--BLUE CHEST-- to the right then continue down the corridor ahead. Walk out
into the open area for a cutscene that will show Kratos' ultimate destination.
There are many things to do in this one little area. There are two doors: one
that requires the Key of Ram and another that requires the Warrior's Skull.
There is also a carving of Boreas next to a horn, a platform that is protected
by some flame pillars, and a ladder. Climb the ladder first of all.

As you can see, there is a Fate Statue with a flashing green stone and a crank
without the handle at the top of the ladder. Place the Crank Handle that you
got from the room below on the crank. Turn the lever clockwise to make the
flame pillars down below stop for a brief second. Right after letting go of
the lever, use the Amulet of the Fates to slow time then quickly slide down the
ladder and glide over to the platform that was protected by the flame pillars.

Walk over to the alcove on the right as you land to find an --UNMARKED CHEST--
containing a ++PHOENIX FEATHER (19/?)++. The flames will automatically shut
off once you've passed them when time resumes. Fly over to the entrance on the
left side and run down the corridor. Save your game at the save point then hop
along the raised portion of the floor at the other end.

You will run across an upward draft rising from a vent. Walk to the back of
the corridor and find the switch against the back right wall. Pull the switch
to make the gate near the updraft lower. It will start to close again very
quickly. In order to get past the gate, run back to the rising draft and have
Kratos quickly glide in place. Right when his head gets near the ceiling,
glide toward the closing gate in the small open section at the top of the gate
in order to get through. This may take a few tries. Kratos will just barely
make it.

On the other side, begin to walk down the corridor and a few Hounds will
attack. Kick through them and run further down the corridor. Guardians and
more Hounds will attack in the room ahead. Grab the handle of the door below
the carving and open it. Walk into the next area and you will find a --GREEN
CHEST-- and a --BLUE CHEST-- on each side of the doorway ahead. Break the
wooden structure holding the block to make the block fall. Push the block
through the doorway ahead.

Auditorium of Lahkesis

The door to the side has a ram head, but it is not the same door that requires
the Key of the Ram. Walk up to the book and examine it to find out that Kratos
is not able to decipher the information therein. Push/Kick the block you got
from the previous room down the pathway on the right side. Push the block into
the room with the translator in the distance. Walk over to the translator and
grab him then place him to the side. As you can see, he was sitting on a
pressure plate that held the door open. Push the block onto the pressure
plate. Now you're free to pick up the translator and take him back to the book
in the center of the area.

The only problem is that while carrying the translator, you will need to
protect him from the many enemies that spawn along the way, as the on-screen
phrase will tell you. The translator's life bar is in the upper right hand
corner of the screen and he is very weak, so make sure to keep the enemies away
from him at all cost. Place the translator on the floor every time a wave of
enemies appear and defeat all enemies before grabbing the translator again.

The first wave of enemies is not too bad - it consists of Guardians and Hounds.
Use your Athena's Blades to easily keep them away. Cyclone of Chaos (L1 + [])
works very well especially while on the narrow portion of the walkway. The
second wave will spawn once you take the translator to the middle of the
walkway. A few Satyrs and Guardians will appear. Try not to use up all of
your magic just yet, and save your Rage of the Titans if you have some. Use
the Icarus Ascension (L1 + X) to take the Satyrs to the air and deal with them
above when only a few enemies remain.

The third and final wave of enemies will appear once you take the translator to
the platform with the book. The third wave consists of High Priests, Hounds,
and Guardians. Stay near the book and keep the enemies away by whatever means
you can come up with. Use Rage of the Titans and Atlas Quake to keep them away
from the translator. It's best to save the Atlas Quake for when all the
enemies pile up around the translator. The main enemies you really need to go
after are the High Priests. Keep in mind that you will still need to chase
down the High Priests - they will come to you sometimes, but not all the time.

Once the battle ends, it will appear as if the translator has forgotten the
words judging by his phrase, so you will be forced to walk toward him and make
him remember the words by pressing the R1 button. As Kratos holds the man, you
will have to persuade the translator to read the words by tapping the O button
when prompted. A cutscene will play after Kratos is through administering his
persuasion. Walk over to the door with the glowing centerpiece and you will
receive the **KEY OF THE RAM**.

Lift up the door with the glowing centerpiece to see a --GREEN CHEST-- against
the wall. Run around the corner and follow the corridor up ahead. Lift open
the gate at the end of the hall to enter the area with the updraft that helped
you to move through the closing gate. Return to the save point past the raised
pillars at the end of this hall and save your game. Rush out to the big open
area that you first came to when you entered the Palace of the Fates. Hop over
the first few platforms and find the door with the ram heads. Use the Key of
the Ram to unlock the door then slide it open.

Walk to the --REPLENISHER CHEST-- up ahead. You may notice the spikes on the
wall to the side. Walk down the corridor to the right and a cutscene will
begin once you near the pathway at the end. Sentries will appear and the
spiked wall on the far end will start to move down the corridor. Quickly fight
off the Sentries and Undead Legionnaires to stop the wall from moving. These
enemies are basically pushovers so use Cyclone of Chaos (L1 + []) with the
Athena's Blades to quickly plow through them. Once the spiked wall starts to
move close to the other, start to use Atlas Quake to kill off the enemies
faster. The wall will not compact instantly once it gets close to the other;
it will stay in place for a few seconds then suddenly clash together with the
other spiked wall. There are tons of enemies during this battle, so it will
get close to smashing you and you will need to resort to magic or Rage of the
Titans.