So, before we get into this next chapter (currently the biggest one I've written yet) I have to say thank you. In less than a month this story has quickly become my highest rated story. So thank you for liking this story of mine, and reviewing every chapter. It feels good to see people enjoy things I make. I've taken enough of your time, so enjoy the story.
Forewarning, God of War plays fast and loose with some of the gods in Greek myth so it's hard to get a grasp on where things stand in that franchise. I will expand on this more in the author's note below, but for now thank you and enjoy.
New York
The building was massive, easily touching the sky above them. As he approached, Kratos could feel the power emanating from it, how could he have possibly missed it? Yes, this was the home of the gods, there was no doubt in his mind.
"Are ya sure about this brother?" Mimir spoke up, "We can still back out now."
"I have made up my mind, Atreus is out of my reach and we must find him. Only the gods have the power or knowledge to find him." Kratos was loath to admit it, but the gods were his best chance at finding Atreus. Their very power lent them a considerable edge Kratos lacked, and between his crumbling pride and his son he knew which to choose.
"If you're sure about this, I'm right there with ya brother, not that I can go anywhere else, but I'd still stick with ya even if I could." Kratos grunted his approval, having someone like Mimir with him would be invaluable for what was ahead of him.
Kratos walked towards the building, many of the men and women around him gave him no mind and simply let him walk up to the door. Some however carefully watched him, keeping an eye on him for the gods perhaps? He didn't know, they did not approach him or interact, just watched.
As he entered, he couldn't help but notice the change of air around him. The outside was warm, inside felt noticeably more temperate, more magic from the gods he assumed. The room he entered was sparse with people, some sat on chairs, others stood and talked.
"Not what I was expecting, I thought there'd be more columns and marble." Kratos somewhat agreed, the gods were big appreciators of art, vanity was aplenty on Olympus. This felt rather tame.
Kratos continued to move forward, sitting behind a desk was a man dressed in white garbs and blue bottoms reading a book with what appeared to be a ring on the cover. The man himself was large, not like Kratos who had built muscles over centuries of fighting, but more rotund and fat from years of not fighting. His ashy grey hair denoted his age, but there was something about him that Kratos couldn't quite understand. He appeared mortal, but his gut told him otherwise. He brushed it aside, the man was not the focus of his journey.
"Where are the gods?"
The man looked up at him, brow raised before getting a better look at him, "There are no gods here," He spoke lazily, clearly uninterested in Kratos.
"I was told they were here, tell me where I can find them." Kratos asked once again, patience running thin.
"There are no gods here." The man repeated, looking back at his book.
Kratos grabbed his axe, "Um, brother, I don't think threats are the best option here," He raised his axe, and planted it into the wooden desk, creating a sharp crack as the blade bit into the wood.
The man slowly looked up from his book, "Where…are…they?" Kratos bit out.
The man pressed something behind his desk, and a door to Kratos' left opened, "Go inside, press the button marked 600, it will take you there." Kratos nodded, summoning his axe back into its holster and leaving towards the door.
"You didn't have to do that, I'm sure we could have come to an understanding."
"He was being stubborn, and I cannot allow anyone to delay us from reaching Atreus." Kratos entered the small room, in front of him were hundreds of buttons with numbers.
"The top one brother," Kratos did as Mimir said, the room lurched and he could feel himself move. He was alert at first, but quickly realized that nothing was a threat and relaxed only a little.
"So, how are we going to do this?" Mimir asked.
"I ask them where Atreus is, then we leave."
"Brother, you can't just do that, you may be one of them but you aren't one of them. Whatever is happening here has to be dealt with by a deft touch, look, let me handle the talking. I am a diplomat afterall, I can steer us away from any unnecessary provocations." Kratos thought for a moment, perhaps he was being too hasty, letting his worry of Atreus cloud his actions. If the gods recognized him and started a fight, he could handle it. But if they didn't remember him, it would avoid a fight he was hesitant to have.
"Fine, we shall do things your way," Finally the room stopped shaking, and the door opened.
Kratos stepped out and gazed upon Olympus, the grand design and vanity that was missing from before had finally reared its head. The buildings were articulately carved, each were made with the most illustrious marble Kratos had seen, no detail was left wanting.
"Well, they certainly know how to impress." Mimir spoke as Kratos walked across Olympus for the first time in a lifetime.
Things were…a lot different than what he remembered. Olympus once had been sectioned between each of the gods who ruled over it, each taking as much land as their influence allowed them. This however was different. Olympus reflected much of the way the city below it did, but with less metal boxes crowding the roads. As he walked, Kratos could feel the power of Olympus flow around him, the emanations of the pantheon were clear to him more than it was down below. Around him were many minor gods, some he recognized, some he didn't. Almost all of them looked much different than what he remembered from his time, but it had been a lifetime since then. He certainly did not look the same either.
"Care to sit by the fire?" Kratos was taken out of his thoughts when he heard a voice beside him.
He looked to his left, nobody stood directly beside him, but he did notice a soft orange glow farther into a park in the direction the voice came from. He followed the glow, finally reaching it he found a young woman, tending the flame. She looked only a bit older than Atreus, with auburn hair and eyes that could match the vibrancy of fire. The feeling coming from this woman felt…comfortable.
"Welcome," She said as she stoked the flame once more, it gave off a gentle and warm glow, "Would you like a s'more? They're quite delicious." She held up a piece of food, two pieces of bread with a soft white puff in between.
"I have business with the gods," Kratos said, declining the offer.
"Shame, they're quite good, not very healthy though," The woman bit into the treat, a smile quickly forming, "But we gods do not need to worry much about calories, don't we?"
Kratos was immediately defensive, of course this young woman was a god. He remembered when Zeus would change his form to mask himself as an old gravedigger many years ago. This was no different.
"Who are you?" The girl chuckled at his question, finishing the treat.
"More and more these days people seem to be asking that question, I don't really mind to be honest, but I thought to one such as yourself it would be obvious." The young woman stood up, wiping away the crumbs. She wore robes that covered her head to toe, all but her face. Unlike the gods, it was not flashy or gaudy, it was basic, something he could imagine any young woman wearing back in Greece.
"My name is Hestia, I am pleased to make your acquaintance." He heard of the name before, very seldomly however. He had never interacted with the goddess of the hearth, too busy with wars or revenge to ever make time for her. "And you? Why does a demi-god with the scent of a god walk with the guardian of the well and knowledge?" Hestia walked around Kratos, looking at Mimir.
"Guardian of the well and knowledge? That's quite the title, your majesty, but I don't believe I remember earning it." Kratos raised Mimir up as Hestia returned to face Kratos.
"Interesting, what is your name?" Hestia looked at Kratos, he thought for a moment if he should reveal it or not. But decided that trying to keep it hidden would be more counterproductive than anything, if he was remembered then it would be best to know now.
"I am Kratos, I am here to ask the god's help in finding my son." Hestia looked at him, examining his face, before relenting.
"You seek to find a wayward son? Few of my kin seemed to care much about their children once born, at least until recently, it is admirable of you." Hestia motioned him to follow, and so he did.
"Forgive me your majesty, but why exactly did you call us here?" Mimir asked.
"I wished to gauge you, nothing more or less, to see if you were a threat to my siblings." Kratos would at least be thankful she was honest, but he was still apprehensive.
"Why would you think that?"
Hestia looked at his weapons strapped to his back, and then back to him, "Call it a hunch, I sensed the power of a strong god appear not too long ago, and then you came in here after threatening the doorman. If it was anyone other than me who caught the alert, I would not be surprised to see you cast off Olympus no faster than any of Apollo's poems."
Apollo? Kratos never heard of the name, best to ask later, "It has been…a long time since I stepped onto Olympus, lifetimes ago." In this, Kratos was being sincere.
"You do have the stench of the old world on you, quite musty if I do say so. What brought you and yours here?" The two of them made their way out of the park, ahead he could see the grand halls of Olympus, where Zeus and his council once convened.
"We came by accident, faulty tools lead us astray," Kratos was sure to keep it somewhat vague, no need to let her know too much.
"That must be one faulty tool," Hestia chuckled, "And Mimir? How did that happen?"
"Well it's a long story filled with lots of fights, and monsters, but let's just say Kratos is quite the helpful hand." Mimir remembered the first time he met Kratos, the day he died and was resurrected by Freya, good times.
"Must be a wonderful story, you must tell me sometime." Silence fell over the three, before Hestia continued, "Kratos, if you do not mind, I have another question for you."
"What is it?"
"What is your domain?" Kratos stopped and looked at Hestia, who was looking deep into him.
"My domain?" It was a strange question to ask, especially now.
"All gods can feel one another's domain, from the most primordial of domains such as time, to the most vague domains such as the atmosphere, but you…it feels familiar and different at the same time." Ah, so that explained the feelings he was getting from the goddess. The hearth was the heart of the home, comfort naturally emanated from it, so it would do the same with her too.
"I am the god of war," His answer was quick, he was not too proud of his title, for it was a burden he carried.
"A god of war? I have been around Athena and Ares for millennia, what I feel around them is much different." Hestia stopped, in front of them were the doors to Olympus' council room, "When I speak with Athena, I feel the cold calculus of war, planning and strategizing, the anticipation of the fight ahead. When I speak with Ares, I feel the rage and bloodlust of battle, the thrill of defeating ones enemies. But when I speak with you, I feel these two and more, I feel remorse and regret."
Kratos thought for a moment, these words defined much of his feelings now, remorse and regret of his actions when he was younger and didn't care to understand.
"There is much I am not proud of, much I wish to not speak of." Kratos told her, Hestia seemed to understand.
"I see, and you, Mimir? Do you see this in Kratos as well?" Hestia turned to the head.
"He has confided in me, and I can speak to this as well." Although he didn't have a neck, Mimir tried to nod.
Hestia contemplated for a moment, before looking at Kratos' eyes again. She stared at him for a long moment, before nodding. "I see in you so much Kratos, pain and loss have its claws in you, you are afraid to lose your son. I will help you." Kratos nodded in thanks.
"Thank you your majesty," Mimir spoke as well.
Kratos made a step forward, but was stopped by Hestia, "A few words of advice, much has changed since the last time you have visited Olympus, whenever that may be. Even though our war has been won, there are still many frayed nerves coming from it. I hope you have a way with words."
"That's where I come in your majesty, fortunately I am the smooth talker of this duo." Mimir boasted, and Kratos could only grunt.
Hestia giggled, "Such a fine way with words. Very well, you have passed my assessment." Hestia walked in front of them and gently pushed the humongous doors open.
Inside was a large council room with thrones, and immediately he could hear shouting. "You were too careless! I expected this from Ares, but not you!" Kratos exhaled, letting out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding out. Ahead of him, Hestia walked into the throne room casually, it was now that Kratos finally realized the scale of the room.
The gods sat upon massive thrones, all of them could easily tower over some on the biggest amphitheaters of Greece, the gods themselves were as large as the thrones they sat on. Each was different, suited for the god it held. He recognized a few immediately, in the center sat his father Zeus, and the queen Hera, he could not forget the authority that reeked from them. All of them sat in a circle around a brazier that burned.
To the right of the room he recognized many gods, but not by looks. To Zeus' left was Poseidon, his famous trident in hand as always. Next Athena, who wore her armor with pride and dignity. Beside her was Hephaestus, he was shocked to see the fallen god have his own throne on Olympus and not be sequestered to the underworld. Following the god of the forge was a new god he had not seen, she wore basic huntsman garb, with a bow laid at her side, all practicality with no waste. The ire of Zeus' anger was directed at the next god, one he had no recollection of. But his radiance reminded him of Helios, god of the sun, but he did not get that feeling from this new god. Furthest to the right was Hades, no longer a demonic figure but a pale and muscular man with raven black hair and jewels on his fingers.
Next to Hera was the insufferable Hermes, who to this day still wore a smirk that annoyed Kratos to no end. Beside him was the ever beautiful Aphrodite, who was more interested in herself than the conversation happening in front of her, like always. To her right was a goddess he hadn't seen in a long time, Demeter, the mother of Persephone. Times of his fight with Persephone haunted him, and seeing Demeter only brought them back up. Another new god sat on a throne beside Demeter, he was a fat man with a glass of wine in hand, however when he drank from the glass it turned to water. Lastly, on the far end, was the god he least wished to see again. Ares may have looked different from when Kratos killed him, but he could feel the rage bubble inside him. Standing in his presence was laborious to say the least.
"Keep yourself together, brother, we'll be out of this in no time." Mimir whispered to him. Ahead of them, Hestia approached the bickering king.
"I resent that," Ares spoke up, but was quickly met by Zeus' glare, "Just sayin', I would never have thought to give one of my twerps my blessing without earning it." Ares shrugged, quick to return to sharpening another one of his weapons.
"Loathe I to admit it, Ares has a point, it was needlessly risky to hand over the Prophecy of the Nine to an untested child of yours, Apollo." Athena looked to the now named Apollo, who could only rub his head.
"It was a calculated risk, I admit-" Apollo's words set off a crackle of thunder from Zeus.
"A calculated risk?! We were nearly outdone by Gaea, were it not for my son and Poseidons, we would not be having this conversation. Twice we owe our continued existence to Percy Jackson." Poseidon seemed to beam with pride at Zeus' statement.
"Excuse me, it was my daughter who lulled Gaea to sleep, thank you very much." Aphrodite spoke up in the middle of doing her hair.
"I think you seem to forget it was my son who-" Hephaestus went to talk but was silenced by Zeus slamming a bolt of lighting to the ground. The crack was deafening, silence followed.
"We are not here to gloat about our children!" It was then that Zeus finally took notice of Hestia and Kratos, patiently waiting by the fire.
"Hestia," Zeus nodded to the goddess and looked at Kratos, the king lingered on him for a moment before turning back towards her, "We are currently in meeting, sister, is there something you wish to ask of us?"
"Not I, but him," Hestia motioned to Kratos, who stood with Mimir facing the king. Zeus pondered it for a moment, and nodded.
Zeus turned to the god named Apollo, "We will continue this discussion later, your punishment will be decided upon then," Done with that conversation, he turned back to Kratos, "And who are you?" All eyes fell before Kratos and Mimir.
"I am Kratos."
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance your majesty, I am Mimir, the smartest man alive! I speak for us both when I say thank you for giving us a moment of your long immortal time," Zeus didn't seem too impressed with the boasting.
"What does a Norse god have to do with a wayward son of mine?" Zeus asked as leaned back into his throne, clearly interested in the duo.
"You know?" Kratos looked to Zeus, who in turn looked somewhat offended.
"I can sense some part of me in you, my divine energy courses through your veins like a flowing river. You are a demi-god, but have reached the heights of a minor god, I would be impressed if I knew who you were. I seem to lack any memory of you." Was this real? Did Zeus truly not know of the son that killed him on Olympus so many years ago?
"I was born long ago, during the time of Olympus' reign in Greece." Zeus raised his brow.
"You're a Spartan aren't you? I'd recognize that marking from anywhere, a certified Spartan! You don't see many of those these days." Ares laughed and clapped his hands together, Kratos paid him no mind.
"Is that true?" Zeus asked, Kratos nodded.
Not to miss a beat, Mimir chimed in, "My friend here comes from the very heart of Spartan culture! Aye, he was part of some of the largest battles against the barbarian hordes that attacked Greece!" Kratos didn't elaborate, he didn't feel the need to honestly.
"Ah, that takes me back!" Ares laughed, it was spine chilling for Kratos to see the man who ruined his life sitting before him enjoying himself. But Kratos steeled his nerves once again and stayed calm.
"Aren't we to hear a plea, can we get to that?" Hera rolled her eyes, clearly not interested in this conversation like her husband and son.
"Yes, I would like to adjourn this meeting, many fallen demi-gods need to be processed and this meeting is delaying that." Hades joined the queen in wishing to expedite the process.
Zeus relented, whatever curiosity he had for his surprise-son now gone, "Very well, Kratos, why are you here?"
"We seek to find his son, your majesty, we were on a hunting trip when we were split. Kratos here is not privy to this, er, unfamiliar land, so cannot find his son without help." Mimir once again became the mediator between Kratos and the gods.
"A small ask, I suppose. Perhaps you should look in the camp. Most demi-gods end up there."
"This camp doesn't happen to be Camp Half-Blood, does it?" The coordinates on the hellhound's collar spoke of a Camp Half-Blood, so the two were likely connected.
"That is its name, it is where all our Greek children are meant to train and grow to become better fighters. Perhaps you can find your child there. If that is all, we shall adjourn this meeting." None of the gods objected to it, and so once again Zeus slammed his bolt down, announcing the end of their meeting.
Many simply vanished, off to their domains perhaps, some simply walked off, "Hestia, will you guide Kratos to camp?" Zeus asked his sister, who was tending to the hearth in the middle of the room.
"Of course, I shall see his journey safe." Hestia did a small bow, before Zeus himself vanished.
"The gods are…different than I remember." Kratos spoke aloud, while their vanity and aloofness to the mortals seemingly remained, they seemed to have been humbled too. Perhaps the work of the gods' children? This Percy Jackson?
"Things have changed, Spartan, even gods may grow." Kratos turned to Hestia, who finally moved away from the hearth and was ready to guide him to his destination. Kratos has much to think about, but not now, he nodded and stowed Mimir on his belt and left with Hestia.
As they exited the throne room, a waiting Apollo - no the size of a building - stood by the door tapping his foot. Was he waiting for them? At the sight of Kratos and Hestia, he beamed a warm smile, "Ah, there you are. Here I was wishing the fates spare me fathers wrath, and low and behold I have a savior!" Apollo clasped both his hands onto Kratos' shoulders, who in turn grunted his disapproval.
"Zeus is not unwarranted in his anger with you Apollo," Hestia chimed in to Kratos' side.
"Father simply wishes a scapegoat, and who are we to deny him?" Apollo mocked, yet he relented on Kratos after seeing a deep frown.
"I do not know you, I am not your savior." Kratos told him, Apollo could only guffaw.
"That's impossible, everyone knows me! I am Apollo! God of the Sun, Prophecy, Healing, Archery - and most importantly - Poetry!" This was the sun god? Not Helios?
"And what of Helios?" He remembered saving the sun god during his capture by the titan Atlus… and eventually removing his head when they last met.
"You must be old if you still remember him! He hasn't commanded the sun since we moved to Rome, that was a couple thousand years ago. He's since faded, so many of his duties fell to other gods so the mortals simply forgot about him."
"I…see." Faded? A god? He could not think that it was possible to simply stop existing, just because mortals forgot about a god.
"You two weren't close, were you?" Apollo asked hesitantly, did he fear he touched a nerve? Perhaps it would if this new sun god knew of his saving and killing of his predecessor. But he was ignorant, much like his kin was of Kratos himself.
"We were acquaintances once, but that was long ago. If that is all, I wish to go find my son now." Kratos turned to Hestia.
"I'll let you do your thing, I myself have some last minute preparations to make for whatever punishment father has for me. Don't be a stranger Kratos!" The sun god vanished, leaving Hestia and Kratos alone.
Before him, Hestia extended her hand, waiting, "Take my hand, and I shall take you to the camp. Be sure, I will help you find your son."
Kratos hesitated, not yet reaching out, "Why do you continue to help? You do not know me, you have no reason to go out of your way for me." It was an issue scratching the back of his mind since they met some minutes ago. Why go out of the way for him?
"Because I can sense you care about your family strongly, I find that to be the best reason to help. Now come, let us find your son." Kratos looked down to her extended hand. Coming to reason, he grabbed her hand and the two vanished.
Ok so assuming most of you have played or watched the original God of War trilogy, you'd know that many gods make small appearances, or outright don't get any screen time, or are simply replaced by another god. This is true for Apollo, who has only been mentioned in weapons, some alt skins, but most importantly has been replaced by Helios in the franchise. Yet somehow Artemis makes one quick appearance as a holographic face in GoW 1 and as a weapon. Demeter is only mentioned in books (her daughter appears in one of the spin off games), but her powers are given to Hera, yet while researching (read: looking at A LOT of Fandom wiki's) some of the books are contradictory to the games. So suffice to say that God of War plays fast and loose with how their interpretation of Greek myth works. So I've cobbled together some explanations. I have no idea when or if I will expand on these in writing, but here's how it works.
God of War takes place post-Titanomachy, many gods have taken form but in the grand scheme of Greek myth is relatively early in their power. Despite Artemis' brief appearance, I have made it so that Kratos (and the plot of the original franchise) takes place before the twins' birth. Does that fit neatly into Greek myth? Idk. But it's a quick solution to a problem that would probably take hours of reading article after article to deduce when and where Artemis and Apollo started showing up in Greek myth and compare that to BOTH God of War and Percy Jackson's writing (which are both very long).
Ok enough rambling, I was going to make these about 2k words per chapter but since writing these have absolutely ballooned in length. Already this chapter is about 4k words long (my longest chapter so far) so I'll end it here. Thank you for reading.