Kratos looked at his son. He looked so weak and frail...he could not fail his child a second time.
However that meant he would have to go to Helhiem...armed with the very blades he had sworn never to use again.
Loki, rather than stay away from his new partner, dared to brave the domain of the goddess Freya. Her expression upon seeing him was rather comical, to say the least.
The dragon ignored the herbs and the goddess, and breathed on Atreus. Freya looked ready to throw the animal out, as she didn't particularly like dragons to begin with. So you could imagine everyone's surprise when the area near Atreus' heart glowed slightly and his color went from pale and clammy to a slightly healthier tone.
It was clear to Kratos that the beast was doing whatever it could to keep his son alive. Which meant that only he and Mimir would go to Helhiem.
"Keep him here, dragon," rumbled Kratos.
The dragon's eyes locked on to his and it made an odd crooning sound that Kratos took for agreement. It lay close to Atreus, occasionally breathing on him and keeping that odd glow alive while Kratos went to get the ingredient needed to save his son.
He boarded the boat, wondering what that odd glow on his son was.
As he drew the Blades of Chaos from their hiding space, he realized with a heavy heart his past would never truly be behind him.
Brok practically salivated when he saw the blades, as they were obviously quality weapons.
In Helheim...
Kratos walked through the unholy cold of Helheim, his mission clear.
So he was not expecting to see the ghostly figure of the dragon that was supposed to be keeping his son alive barring his way.
Kratos glared at it.
"Beast, you were supposed to keep my son alive. What happened?" he demanded.
Mimir, even with his limited view from Kratos' belt, saw something the god did not.
"Look closer brother...that is not the same beast. It's much older and the fin is different," said Mimir.
Kratos looked properly, and saw the head was correct. The fin on the left side appeared to be different, as it was manufactured and had a device along the tail that would allow it to work like a normal tailfin.
The ghostly dragon sniffed him, warily keeping him from his destination. Then it got closer to the cloth Kratos had been using to wipe the blood from Atreus' mouth when he fell ill.
The second it smelled that properly, it's eyes widened. It took a deeper sniff, and began to prance about almost playfully in excitement.
That was when it hit him. Atreus had told him of his former dragon partner, the one he had a blood brother bond with.
"Toothless," he called out. The dragon stood almost eye to eye with Kratos, his eyes ancient and intelligent beyond his physical form. The strangest thing was that he could see his son's intelligence behind those eyes.
Rather than bar his way any further, the dragon followed dutifully in the same position Atreus had through their journey.
Kratos confronted the bridge keeper, and killed him for his heart.
The dragon stayed by his side and he was a bit surprised Brok did not comment on the beast's presence.
It vanished back into the frost the moment he passed through the Bifrost's gates...however he did not believe that would be the last he saw of the dragon.
In Freya's cottage...
Atreus looked exhausted, but the glow vanished the moment he woke up.
So you could imagine the boy's shock when his father finally told him something about himself.
He was a god from another land, likely Greece considering his origins.
Atreus was silent in shock and disbelief, his mind racing overtime trying to reconcile what he knew of his father and this new found knowledge.
Then he remembered how Kratos reacted to the mention of the 'Ghost'. He didn't want to believe it, but it was the only explanation he could come to after being given the final piece of the puzzle.
Atreus looked at his father, stunned shock in his eyes as he cautiously asked...
"Father... are you the Ghost the Greek traders spoke of?" he asked carefully. It made far too much sense.
Kratos was silent for a good long moment, the sound of waves and the occasional flap of Loki's wings the only thing they could hear.
"I am," said Kratos, resignation and no small degree of shame in his voice. He fully expected Atreus to reject him, learning he was the crazed man turned god that his son had heard of from strangers.
"What happened?" asked Atreus, honestly surprised he got an answer at all.
Kratos could have very well been made of stone, his expression was that hard to read. Atreus didn't really expect an answer out of him.
Kratos, for the most part, was slightly relieved there was no condemnation in his son's voice, only sympathy. He did not expect it to last.
"I was betrayed, by the very gods I served."
Atreus said nothing, still having trouble processing this.
Atreus was trying to reconcile the fact he was part god and the newfound knowledge of who his father actually was. Kratos was immensely glad of the presence of the two dragons he had initially treated as a burden. Loki's existence in particular seemed to ground Atreus in a way the smaller one could not.
As they attempted to retrieve the black rune, Atreus decided to fiddle with the odd crystal they had gotten from the dead Titan Wing.
The crystal reminded Kratos of the odd glow his son had.
"Boy...why did your chest glow when the dragon breathed on you?"
"My what?" said Atreus startled.
"You had a strange glow around your heart when you were sick after the beast breathed on you, little brother," said Mimir.
Atreus blinked hearing that. He made a crooning sound to Loki, and the dragon breathed on him again. This time he saw what they were talking about. Atreus looked baffled for a few moments, before realization hit him like a brick.
"It must be Toothless' Heart Crystal. It's reacting to the presence of another Night Fury," said Atreus in disbelief.
"Heart Crystal?" said Mimir.
"I didn't know this until much, much later, but all dragons develop a sort of crystal or gem in their bodies that holds the source of their powers and essence," said Atreus. "Before he died, Toothless came and gave me his...my village knew how much he meant to me so they gave me a burial with that crystal. I guess it must have followed me."
Mimir's staring became rather awkward, mostly as this information sank in.
"You became an Indlvarn Rider," said Mimir in disbelief. "I heard tales of it, but I never thought it was an actual thing."
"A what?" said Kratos.
"Indlvarn are riders who's dragons die before them, but pass on their essence to their riders first," said Mimir. "There was an ancient tale of the Dragon King of old. A man so skilled with the creatures that he could tame any he came across and sought to bring a bridge between the two. Unfortunately cruel humans forced him to conceal the beasts in a special realm that not even Odin could find as the information was lost forever. He lead his village to peace and prosperity with all lands. Tyr would likely know more, as he visited the village many times before it was lost to the mists."
Atreus blinked.
"What was the name of the village?"
"I believe it was called New Berk, or something like that. The village worshiped a mighty viking who fathered the king of dragons."
Atreus stared at the head.
"What is it?" demanded Kratos.
"That viking's name...was it Stoick the Vast?" said Atreus slowly.
Mimir blinked.
"I believe so. However it has been many centuries since anyone has seen it, so it's believed lost or destroyed along with the hidden realms," said Mimir.
Kratos took one look at his son's expression and knew. That village was the one Atreus had lead and his son was the reincarnation of this Dragon King.
Atreus was silent, mostly as this was an even bigger shock that he now had to process when they were already pressed for time.
He couldn't even find it in himself to ask Mimir for more stories.
If there was one thing most people agreed on, it was that the Great Chief Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third, was slow to anger.
However once suitably enraged to anger, even his own wife...the most viking of all the women in Berk and one of their most skilled warriors...was terrified of being on the other end of his slow burning rage. The one and only time he had been well and truly riled up to a proper rage...well, the results were not pretty. In fact they became a warning of poking the slumbering dragon chief of Berk.
Those raiders would never dare set foot anywhere near Berk or it's allies after that day.
Hiccup was cold. He was calculating. He used tactics most vikings would consider beneath them despite their efficiency and deadly nature.
His children found strange comfort in the knowledge that anyone who dared to harm them would find themselves on the wrong end of a very pissed off dragon who would not hesitate to burn entire villages to the ground if it meant they were safe.
It also solidified his legend as the Dragon King in such a way that future generations would tell of him (and by extension his father Stoick) for centuries to come.
So when Modi went to kill Loki, his dragon pinned down and unable to properly defend himself as he had already used up his shot limit, well, Atreus' anger rose to the occasion.
Rather than direct it blindly, Atreus focused it to the area near his heart. And it responded. The glow that had been subtle when Loki breathed upon it became visibly brighter and his eyes shifted.
Atreus knew he would only get one shot out of this, as he was still recovering from his recent bout of illness and was too new to know how to properly adjust the power.
An energy deep inside welled, his body covered in red lightning.
And then...he let the blast off right into Modi's face. The demi-god screamed in agony, his divine heritage the only reason he wasn't murdered outright from the blast.
Even Kratos could admit that if he had been hit by it, it would have hurt. Modi, being the coward that he was, fled with his face bleeding and badly scorched.
Kratos freed the dragon, as Atreus almost passed out from the attack. His voice was hoarse as he coughed from shooting an energy blast with little to no defenses to it.
Loki immediately ran to his partner, breathing on him and causing the gem residing in Atreus' body to kick in.
Since Kratos did not have much patience, Atreus got onto Loki's back. The dragon did not complain, despite the cramped conditions.
When they reached the treasure chamber, Atreus' curiosity allowed him to forget the pain for a bit.
His sharp eyes located a very familiar looking sword, as well as a shield.
Considering he could use magic now, Atreus looked at the area where the original pommel was. It was about the same size as the crystal he took from the Titan Wing.
With a little adjustment, the crystal made a perfect fit...and had the added bonus of imbuing the dragon's flame into the blade. Sure it might need a little maintenance, but it was still a better blade than what he had now.
The shield however, was old and in desperate need of repair. Rather than take it as a weapon, he planned to give it to Sindri...on the condition that the dwarf finally had a proper talk with his brother.
To be honest, he was tired of hearing both brothers complain about each other for no real reason. Perhaps this would be incentive for them to finally make up.
He got a good look at a vase near his father. Knowing what he did now, he realized that he was seeing his father as the Ghost...not as the man he knew him today. Kratos unceremoniously shattered the vase. Atreus said nothing...he would have destroyed any reminders of that person as well if given the choice.
The two of them shared a drink of wine from a bottle his father had found. It tasted a bit off in Atreus' opinion, but it was still a sign that Kratos did view him as becoming a proper adult instead of a child that needed to be coddled.
He silently resolved to introduce his father to some proper mead.