Amulet of Uroborus

“	Stolen from the Oracle Aletheia by the Prophet Castor, this Amulet's gem can show the life and death of an object.	”
–Description

The Amulet of Uroborus is an item used by Kratos in God of War: Ascension. It is a golden amulet built around a blue-green gem that can manipulate time in a variety of ways.

In Ancient Greece

The Amulet does not exist in Mythology, but Ouroboros is an ancient Greek symbol, used specially in alchemy.

The symbol is a serpent or dragon that bites its own tail. It represents eternity, evolution (turning back to itself), movement, continuity, self-fertilization and, consequently, eternal return.

God of War: Ascension

The Amulet belonged to Oracle Aletheia, but was stolen by the false prophet Castor and his brother Pollux. The brothers used its powers against Kratos, but he defeated them before claiming the amulet for himself. He tried to heal the mortally wounded Aletheia with it, but she told him that it couldn't heal her wounds, thus leaving her to die peacefully, but not before telling Kratos the plans of the Furies and the way to the Statue of Apollo. With the ability to decay buildings or rebuild them, Kratos used the amulet to solve many puzzles through the game, including on the island of Delos to reconstruct a structure previously destroyed by Alecto.

After Kratos was captured by the Furies, the Amulet of Uroborus was held by Megaera. Following his escape from the Prison of the Damned, Kratos killed Megaera and reclaimed the Amulet for his use.

Gameplay

By manipulating time and space, the Amulet of Uroborus is capable of rebuilding enormous structures, such as the Statue of Apollo and large sections of the Hecatonchires. When activated, the area being rebuilt glows green. When using it to rebuild something that was previously broken, Kratos must get close to the object he wants to heal/decay until a green glow appears above his head. When the Amulet is active, Kratos can make broken pieces of structures float in the correct places for him to proceed, or reverse the space to solve puzzles in different ways (such as in the broken water wheel.

In the first demo of the game, Kratos needed to stay in a green circle to manipulate the object with the Amulet.

The Amulet can also be used in combat: if the green beam hits an enemy, they will be slowed down (smaller enemies will also levitate) for a few seconds, therefore leaving it open to combos. This power is especially useful when used against big enemies, like Elemental Talos (when they're not invincible): if they are slowed down a moment before they perform a strong attack, the attack will be canceled and they'll be left open to combos from Kratos for a short time. Some bosses can also be slowed down, but their attacks won't be canceled.

Orb Costs

• Level 1 - n/a
• Level 2 - 5,000 Orbs

Attacks

Level 1

• Certain Destiny - Hold Down L1 and press O to Target objects. Then Hold down L2 and move R Analog - Right to heal, and Left to decay objects.
• Certain Destiny (Air) - Kratos shoots out a blast of energy that decays enemies.

Level 2

• Increased Area of Effect
• Decreased Cool-down Time

Gallery

manipulation time

gorgon trapped

Trivia

• The Amulet of Uroborus is similar to the Amulet of the Fates from God of War II, as both have temporal abilitys with a green beam.
• It was formerly known as the Life Cycle.
• The Amulet makes an appearance in the Rise of the Warrior webseries, under the name of Gem of Uruborus.
• As stated above, the symbol of Ouroboros is a serpent that bites its own tail. It makes sense that it's kept in Dephi, location of the most important Oracle Temple in Greece and where the most famous serpent of Greek Mythology, Python, was killed and was still much worshiped.
• The giant snake structures in Delphi were made to travel through many points of it until all of them would finally get to the Tower of Delphi. There, each mechanical serpent would bite a lever like structure and then spin it, spinning all around the tower, which is circular, until finally getting to the top of it. The way they do this is very similar to Ouroboros itself and it's probably another reference from the game.
• Based on Castor and Pollux's use of the Amulet of Uroborus, it can also make the user teleport, heal people/animals, shoot an energy time beam, and manipulate the ages of living things. Kratos's inability to use these powers are likely a matter of game balance, but in-universe, he probably lacks the intimate magical knowledge to use the amulet's more advanced abilities. 

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