Chapter 9: The Silence
Atreus had transformed into an elephant once more to carry his father back to the city. The beast wasn't the fastest creature he could have become, but with the trunk and strength it made carrying Kratos' unconscious form easier.
Upon arrival to the city he reverted back, and as he hefted his father over his shoulder trudging through the narrow corridors Kratos had chased Set through, he shouted continually for help. It was not long before the human form of Nephthys, goddess of the wind, found them when Atreus buckled under the weight. Kratos had bore the brunt of Set's attacks, but the Egyptian had managed to land a rather deep cut on Atreus' thigh in the battle amongst a few others. His father looked pale, even for his typical complexion. Lips had turned white, and the Greek god's eyes were constantly fluttering as they remained turned up into his skull.
"Please, he needs help. He was attacked, with this," Atreus drew the kris blade Set had wielded from behind his back.
The Egyptian goddess brought her hand down the curved blade's length closely, but dared not touch it.
"This is terrible magic. I feel the hatred on this blade. Come," she quickly uttered as she sloped herself under one of Kratos' shoulders while Atreus lifted the other. Together the pair finished the journey back into the large temple where they sought aid.
Half an hour later, Atreus sat outside the room that a few Egyptian gods were using to try and save his father's life. It had already been six months since he had arrived in this land of Pharaohs, and he had met many of their different deities. He recognized Bast, Nut, and Hapi as they entered the room. Roughly ten minutes ago the god that was truly most needed, Heka, god of magic and medicine, finally joined them in the room. Heka had insisted that Atreus wait outside, as he went about his spells to bring Kratos back from death's brink.
"Atreus?" The young man heard shouted from his left. He turned to look from his seat, and found Freya staring wide eyed in shock.
"What are you doing here?" She gasped as she rushed to close the distance. As Atreus stood, her arms wrapped around him and took him in a warm embrace. The top of her head was even with his now. It had certainly been some time since they first met and the boy stood even with her hip. Before even allowing Atreus the chance to answer her first question she immediately followed up with, "How is your father?"
The young man lightly chuckled, trying to ease the tension. "I've uhh, been here half a year maybe? For the same reason you're here. And uhh… I'm not sure. Set had this weapon, I recognized it from my time out in the east. It had some type of evil magic on it. I don't know how or where Set got it, but it's probably what he used to attack Ra. Actually, you were back here with him, yeah? Did he survive?"
Freya's look grew solemn as she shook her head. "I'm not sure, fully. It looked as if life drained from his body, but then his brother shouted something. They took Ra's body down below the temple. I don't know what they're doing, but maybe they're trying to bring him back? He's surely a powerful god, and I'm not very sure of the rules with death and life here."
She glanced back up to meet Atreus' eyes. "It's so good to see you." The Vanir goddess hugged her adopted son once more. Of Atreus' family, Kratos was certainly not big on warm embraces, Mimir couldn't, so that left only Freya and Angrboða as the two to ever embrace him tightly like this. His long arms wrapped back around the goddess' shoulder as he returned the sentiment.
They sat and spoke after that. Atreus shared that he had come here originally in his mission to find lost giants, but Ra quickly grew to trust him and had filled him in on what was transpiring. Ra knew some number of gods in his homelands had begun to conspire against him. There were traces and airs of unknown magic, so assumedly these traitors were being aided by foreign powers. Atreus remained in Egypt at the behest of Ra and Thoth, and insisted they try to bring Kratos and Freya into the fold for their aid as well. Atreus had grown much stronger in these last five years, but if there truly were this many ill intended gods coordinating here, the giant knew he would need more help. Especially when it came to light that the Egyptian gods were powerless to whatever magic these foreigners held, as shown by Sekhmet's death and Maahes' abduction.
Thoth joined them soon after. "Where were you?" Freya practically accused with a glare.
"I, um, apologies. I know there is much you are probably lacking as far as information goes. I will try to fill in the gaps as best I can. How is Kratos?"
Atreus shook his head as his eyes fell to the floor. "We're not sure. Set had some blade from a really distant land. It had evil magic imbued in it, and my father took a number of wounds from it. They've been in there for an hour now and we've had no word."
Thoth nodded in understanding. "I cannot speak here, but I would not take you from waiting at Kratos' side. I will be in my chambers, seek me out when you are ready. I shall hope for his recovery, and I have faith in Heka's abilities."
As he turned to leave Freya now asked, "Is there any word of Ra?"
Thoth did not turn back around, merely glanced over his shoulder to meet the goddess' stare. "That is a question that will not have answer for a few days, I think."
Another two hours went by as Atreus and Freya made small talk, and nodded off intermittently. Both of them had been exhausted. Atreus had only just started morphing into larger creatures like the elephant in the half year or so, and the process proved to be quite the drain on his energy. Doing so twice in quick succession even more so.
Heka walked out of the room, his human hands splattered with dried blood. "His life is no longer in question, but it will be some time before he wakes I feel. You may both go in and see him now."
The pair thanked him with exasperated relief. The other gods filed out behind him, but Freya managed to grab Bast's shoulder to stop her. "Thank you. I feel you might be the only friend I have down here."
Bast smiled in appreciation and nodded, "Fear not, you can return the kindness by helping me save my son when the spartan is ready. Sadly, I am not my was far greater skilled in healing than the rest of us, but we tried what we could for him."
With that, Atreus and Freya entered the room. It was small, lit with a few candles along two of the walls. Kratos lay unmoving upon a wooden table in its center. The wounds from Set's scythe had already healed, but the kris blade's cuts remained charred and unwilling to bend to the god's powerful healing ability. They had closed somewhat though, thanks to the Egyptian god's abilities.
"I've never seen him like this…" Atreus finally murmured after a few minutes of silence. Were it not for the subtle rising and falling of his chest as he silently breathed, it would appear as if he was a corpse.
"Even when I was younger, up north with you. I was the one that usually needed saving. This must have been how he felt when he brought me to you when I was a boy, unconscious and on the edge of death." Atreus' hand reached out to touch the cool skin of his father's arm.
Freya sat on the small bench beside him, her hands outstretched to take Kratos' in her own. "He'll pull through, he's strong. Kratos is the strongest man I have ever met, in physical and nonphysical strength. I'm just thankful you were there… I'd hate to think what would have happened if you weren't."
"Why did you stay with Ra?" Atreus posed after a few more quiet moments.
The goddess sighed, her head falling ever so slightly. "Your father. He wished for me to stay here. I do not know if it was because of my lack of armor and weapons, or that he didn't trust the other gods here. I didn't have long to decide, and your father's instinct really has yet to lead us wrongly, so I remained. If I had been there, I don't even know what I could have done. My magic doesn't work here. My sword and bow are still up in our room. He probably made the right call… but it still, stings, that he shouted at me to stay behind. I cannot fully explain why. Perhaps because before our coming here, he said we'd face all of this together. I don't know."
Atreus blinked a few times in surprise, "Did you say our room?"
One of Freya's hands left Kratos' as it went to her brow and massaged. "That's what you pull from what I said? Nothing else? Yes we are sharing a room. We thought it best since we are in a foreign land, seemingly surrounded by enemies. That way we could act together in an instant. Also the rooms here are so strange, most of them have no doors? Just an open entryway at all hours? No privacy?"
Atreus smirked. "Well, no, I mean I did hear the rest of what you said. And I've known for a while you had feelings for him. Just surprised is all. My dad seems more…old fashioned, I guess. Like I know we shared one open house growing up, but my parents shared a bed and all."
Freya's head shot to the side to look at the young giant within an instant. "You've known what?"
A light laugh escaped Atreus' lips at that. "Relax, I haven't said anything. That is not a conversation I would want to start with him. He's a good dad don't get me wrong, but emotional confessions and conversations are… mom was always better at those. The few times he's tried offering some help with Angrboða and I..he's always come off, awkwardly. He asked me if I knew enough about wooing a woman? Who even talks like that?" The light hearted nature of their conversation was almost enough to make them forget they each had their hand on a near death Kratos laying silently in their company.
Between Thoth and now Atreus… ugh, I guess I have been too obvious with how I feel. And yet Mimir was taken completely unaware… "Smartest man alive" my ass.
"Your father… is a good person. A truly, unequivocally good person. I've just..been hesitant to say anything. I think your father only looks at me as a partner. We fight together, eat, drink together, and that's where the line is drawn. He still holds your mother dearly in his heart, and has yet to let that go. And I do not wish him to, truly. After the life he's lived, I'm glad he found that kind of love to warm his heart and stick with him all these years. I suppose, I've never felt that kind of love to begin with, so who am I to say how long or not you should hold on to the memories of the departed. Your mother was an incredible woman. I do not wish to ever replace her," she said with a small smile as she looked down upon Kratos' unmoving form.
Atreus sat in silence for a while, taking everything she had said into account. "I think you should tell him."
The warm expression on the goddess' face melted in a second as she looked at him in disbelief. "What? No. I couldn't. He still loves your mother, Atreus, you know how he is. There is no room in there for me. Not for a long while at least, if there ever will be. I don't want to risk upsetting what we have now. I am grateful to just live in his company, and work with him. Yes, I think that's enough for me for now."
Atreus stood now, his brow dropped in irritation. "I do know how he is. He talks all this big talk about thinking before you act. 'A weapon is only as skilled as the mind that uses it. Do not let your anger or emotions control your actions or how you fight.' And then the big idiot jumps head first into danger without thought constantly. He did it with Set tonight, he did it when I stayed with Odin in Asgard, the man constantly doesn't heed his own advice. And I know that's because he's this big man of god with some anger problems, but he regularly doesn't listen to himself. He's a man that acts. He doesn't share, not overly willingly anyways. He barely talks, most of the communication through my childhood was a string of grunts, commands, and short statements. He's better now, but not whole. My mom brought a lot of that out of him. And you wouldn't be replacing her. Kratos had a family before us, he said he told you. He's found love twice now. Who's to say he won't a third time? My mom was just every bit as tough and direct as he was, but it wasn't like that at first. She called him "grumbles" because he so regularly didn't reply with words. I'm sure deep down, he knows how you feel. But if you want to see where you stand, then tell him. He isn't the type that lets things like that ruin what you two have built these last couple years. And if he does, I'll come up there and beat him around a bit myself until he sees sense. I'm pretty sure I could take him now. Things like this, you just gotta try. That's what I did with Angrboða. You can run it through your head a million times but if you don't just come out and say it, you'll never know."
The goddess blinked a few times before she broke her sight from Kratos to look up to the tall, young man's gaze. "You and Angrboða.. You're, together, now?"
A hand shot up to rub the back of the giant's head as he smirked and snorted, "Yeah uhh, I guess you could say that. I don't know, we didn't come right out and say we're together. I told her I love her, and she told me in return. So I guess that means we are..? We aren't really worried about what to formally call what we have, we just have it. I was really nervous telling her too at first, but it was like, the second I told her… all of that melted away. I was shocked I ever felt nervous in the first place, afterwards. I think I would have felt that way even if she turned me down. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm glad she didn't. She's the first person I've loved like that. I love you, dad, Mimir. I practically have three parents now, when most children only have one or two. But Angr… she just gives off this warmth, you know? Even if I'm trekking through the coldest parts of the frigid north, the second I hear her voice, it's as if I'm in the lava pits of Musphelheim."
Freya smiled at the boy turned man as she stood and took him in yet another embrace. "I'm happy for you, truly. You're a very good match, and she's a wonderful person. I'm glad you've found such happiness and love."
Atreus pulled back a bit to lock eyes with the goddess. "You will too. Not to tell a love goddess how to love but, sometimes it helps just getting out of your head. You said you've never really felt love before, which means you've never had love to confess to someone before. Tell him, at the worst, he'll just do one of his signature grunts and nod, and you'll go kill some more trolls or draugr together. You won't ruin anything, you only have the chance to gain something."
Freya raised a hand to run through Atreus' now longer hair with a light laugh. "I miss the days when your father and I would be the ones telling you what to do."