Kratos walked outside to see his wife Lysandra having some sort of heart to heart moment with Atreus. He stood at the doorway with his arms crossed. Seconds later he cleared his throat getting both of their attention.

"How long have you been there?" Atreus asks the tattooed man with Lysandra still standing behind him.

"Long enough to hear the tale of your beast form." Kratos replied to the twelve year-old boy, "Clearly you need training if you cannot control it."

"Are you suggesting that he takes the spartan agoge training?" Lysandra raised an eyebrow at her husband.

"Yes."

"Forgive me for speaking out of false turn but I don't think I would want that. I've already been through enough. The training would just bring back the memories of my... father. My only weapon that I'm skilled with is the bow." Atreus says as he looks down at the ground.

Kratos and Lysandra look at the boy, all boys that were born of Sparta need the agoge training to become strong warriors but Atreus was not a child who was born of Sparta. He was different than any other boy. He was abused and tormented by his father his whole life. He lost his family and his home.

"We have no choice boy, this is Spartan law. Everyone has a reason to defend themselves, or to take a life. The men that took your family away are dead now but you got both of them with only luck. If you fought them the way you are now, they would've killed you easily... What would happen if the Persian or Barbarian empire were to destroy Sparta and everyone who resides here, including Lysandra, Me, or Calliope? Would you kill a hundred men or a thousand?"

Atreus looks at his clenched fist and looks up at the Spartan parents, "I would kill them all."

"Then do it for all of Sparta. Fight for all its people, it's children, fight for your family."

Atreus smiles, "Yes, sir."

"Good then, I will talk to the king. To let him know of your presence."

Kratos got ready to head to the king Leonidas's palace with Lysandra, Calliope, and Atreus by his side. They stood in front of the Leonidas's throne breaking words about Atreus taking the agoge training.

"So you wish for this boy to take our training?" Leonidas said to Kratos and his family while he takes a bite out of an apple.

"Yes my king." Lysandra spoke to her king.

"I wouldn't see an issue with that. I'll allow it. For now Atreus will remain with me and no harm will come to the boy. In the afternoon he will be with the rest of the children taking the agoge training."

"Thank you, my king." Calliope replies with a smile as bright as the sun itself.

Afternoon outside of the training grounds in Sparta with Atreus and five more other children the same age as him who wore only red cloaks known asPhoinikis and sandals, while most of their parents began to watch seeing how the training was going to go down as Lysandra, Kratos, and Calliope joined to witness the training. All six of them still in a horizontal line with Atreus on the far right side. Atreus still wore his fleece pants, gambeson skirt, and boots. The scars showing on his body got everyone's attention as well as his pale skin but on the other hand he noticed that a few girls were staring at him, seeing how strong and fit he was.

A young male Spartan wearing a Phoinikis cloak stood in front of them at the center. He instructed Atreus and another child to fight eachother and if they refused, showed fear or cried out during the fight they were going to face punishment with getting whips in the back. Atreus and the other kid got into a battle stance and began to trade punches. The boy tried to punch Atreus in the face but Atreus caught his fist and began to squeeze it as bones made loud cracking noises. Atreus head butted the kid in the face and body slammed the kid to the ground with intense force and punched him in the face three making his opponent go unconscious with a broken nose.

Atreus got off the kid as he growls uncontrollably, he stared at his bloody knuckles. He hands were shaking. The parents were staring in shock as well as the spartan instructor. Even the rest of the children were scared of what he'd done.

Atreus tried to say something but he was afraid and couldn't find the right words, he was starting to get a little scared due to the fact that he actually hurt someone who was his age. He lost control. The spartan teacher grabbed Atreus by his forearm with aggression and tossed his body aside. Two more Spartan soliders approached the boy as lifted him by his forearms as his bare back was revealed. The Spartan instructor brought out a black whip and began to whip Atreus in the back.

It was really painful but Atreus didn't even flinch at all when it made contact with his skin creating marks on his back. He has known pain his entire life, a whip in the back would take a lot more than that to break his spirits. Atreus has been whipped 10 times in a row that it surprised everyone, this kid literally didn't show any signs of pain in his face. The Spartans let go of the boy letting him fall forward on his stomach. Atreus got back up to his feet slowly and looked at everyone's face expressions with his arms folded and looked back at the other Spartan children amd they all know that they wouldn't even last 30 seconds with him, Atreus looked at the spartan instructor, "Give me a challenge."

The instructor nodded to the audience as one Spartan comes forth with shield and spear as he tossed his sword to Atreus but Atreus stabbed his weapon onto the ground, he still didn't want to use weaponry.

The Spartan charged the boy with incredible speed, he thrusts his spear to Atreus. The boy dodges it in time as he jumps in the air to spin and kick the Spartan in the face pretty hard making loose his footing for a moment before he regained position. Atreus lands to the ground on his feet, before he could see where his opponent was the spartan collided his shield with Atreus's face, sending his body to the ground. Blood was dripping off of Atreus's mouth, only to hit the sands. He felt this anger surge within him once again. He got up to his feet and stared at the spartan in the eye. The veins pumping his blood began to surround his body even with his pale skin it was a little tough to see. Atreus growls like an animal, as fires began to surround his forearms and his eye color changed to orange-red. They had now just awakened a deadly beast as Atreus just simply remained still, he wanted the spartan warrior to attack him. The Spartan charged the boy again with his spear in hand. He thrusts it forward to Atreus's shoulder but the sharp metal just broke to pieces when it made contact with Atreus's skin. The Spartan does a barrel roll to his reach his sword, he pulls it off the ground amd turns around to face Atreus who was now 20 feet away from him. Atreus cracked his knuckles as he beganto walk first, then run, and finally run on all fours to the spartan warrior at full speed. Atreus leaps off the ground to the Spartans chest sending them both of the ground. The Spartan's back hits the ground with Atreus still on top of him, Atreus began to beat the Spartan's face with his bare fists. He gave one final strike that broke the Spartan's helmet knocking him out cold in the process. Atreus got off his opponents body and exhales calmly as the flames that surrounded his forearms disappear. His eye color changed back to blue.

Kratos had raised an eyebrow as Leonidas did the same. Lysandra and Calliope just looked with wide eyes.

Kratos talked to Leonidas about taking Atreus back to his home to heal his back wounds. The king allows it.

"The boy does show potential." Leonidas comments to Atreus's abilities.

"Indeed. But he acts like an animal, a beast born of the heart." Kratos replied to his king.

All four of them made it back home in one piece, they were curious about Atreus's transformation. It couldn't been passed down either from his father or mother but they just suggested that it came from his abusive father just from seeing what happened today, he could've gotten that violent nature from him. Atreus just sat on a random chair in silence at the family dinner table.

"That wasn't me, I didn't mean to hurt him that badly."

"Those were the instructions boy, you fight your opponent until he can no longer fight. To be affective in combat, a warrior must not feel for his enemy, you must close your heart to their suffering, close your heart to their desperation."

"I know but he was staring right at me. How could look him in the eyes and continue to hurt him? I'm not whatever it is you think I am. I'm just a simple hunter. Am I human? Am I an animal? Truth is I don't what I am."

"What is it that you are trying to prove, Atreus?"

"That I'm not my father, that man was no human, he was nothing more than a demon. And whatever that transformation was, I'm not going to use it, It will only make me just like him, an animal. But I will only use it if there's a dangerous threat around."

He's not wrong. Atreus only wants to be a better man than his father ever was. They can't make him into something he's not, he doesn't want to be a violent person. He wants to make his own choices.

"Very well." Kratos says to the boy, "You should rest for now."

"Yes sir."

Atreus had been resting for hours, tossing and turning as the memories came back to his dreams. Atreus awoke from his bed gasping, he calms down as he sees Calliope staring at the moon out of her window. He told her she stares at the moon when she has nightmares.

"Nightmare?" Atreus says as Calliope looks back at him with tears streaming down her eyes, "What's wrong?"

Atreus got up from his bed and walked to Calliope he kneels and holds Calliope's hand like how he used to do it with Cassandra, "What was the nightmare about?"

"The nightmare was about you Atreus... Chians were wrapped around your arms, they started to burn your arms... and you cried begging for the pain to stop."

Atreus couldn't help but chuckle at her words, she began to frown at him. What was so funny about that? It was heartbreaking!

"Would you honestly believe that I would cry? You saw me this morning when I was being whipped in the back multiple times. I'm too strong. Nothing can hurt me."

"Everyone cries out through any grievous injury. Mother told me so!"

"It looks like your mother, Lysandra was right but not me, I can't shed a tear and I'm sure Kratos doesn't cry out either. We are the same."

"The two of you may be the same when it comes to enduring pain but you both still have soft spots for us." Calliope replies happily.

Atreus smiles at her, "True. We should go back to sleep, or your mother or father will have my head for making you stay so late."

Calliope giggles at him, "I won't let that happen."