Growing Into It

"Urgg" Atreus groans in a deeper voice than usual, leaning up from the cold and hard ground.

"Are you okay, boy?" Kratos kneels beside his son, brows furrowed as he studies Atreus' pained expression.

Atreus hisses, putting a hand to his head, "...Yeah, I think so," he says. His squinted eyes roam to his surroundings, scanning a massive cave-like room. Atreus' eyes widen, a wall of rainbow-coloured crystals entering his vision, "Father… Where are we?" his words trail off to a whisper, an echo still reverberating as if the boy screamed.

Atreus stands, and Kratos does the same, his eyes scanning Atreus from top to bottom, "I do not know, but... What has happened to you, boy?" he asks.

With furrowed brows, Atreus studies his own body. He notices that his fur garb is extremely tight on his body now and his bow now fits snug across his chest. Also, the distance from his eyes to the ground seems to be much larger. Atreus looks up at his father and his jaw hangs, "I don't know... Father, you look... younger," he says.

Kratos hums, lifting his hand to his goatee, "...Yes, it seems we've both seen... Changes," he says.

"Eh, sorry to burst your bubble brother, but you may want to look behind you," Mimir chimes in.

Kratos grunts, doing as Mimir suggests. Just as Atreus had witnessed before, Kratos sees the massive wall of crystal, extending all the way up to the high ceiling of the cave-like room. Kratos stares at the wall for a moment, studying it to find a massive silhouette encased behind the rainbow-coloured crystal. The silhouette seems to be a humanoid creature with it's head missing, and Kratos feels energy behind that wall as he stares, forboding energy that gathers slowly, waiting to unleash itself.

"What is that?" Atreus asks in a distracted voice, stepping in front of Kratos. A dull silence falls, and Atreus sags his head, turning to face his father with worried eyes, "Father, what is happening?" he says.

Kratos keeps his eyes on that silhouette, "I... Do not know," his words echo through the massive room, "Head?"

Mimir hums, and his glowing eyes scan the part of the room that he can see, "...I really am stubbed on this one, lads. Maybe if we explore more? I dunno, brother... I do apologize for that," he says.

"Do not worry yourself, head," Kratos responds.

"Of course, brother. It's just, ya know... The whole smartest man alive thing..." Mimir says.

Atreus walks around Kratos, bending down to look at Mimir, "Mimir, I know you don't know what's happening, but do you know..." He lifts his arms, looking down at his body, "...Why I'm bigger?"

Mimir chuckles, "Ah, I just had this conversation with your old man. You remember the story of the battle between Jormungander and Thor, don't you laddy?" he asks.

"Yeah, of course..." Atreus says when his eyes suddenly widen and he gasps, "...Have we been sent back in time? Then... Wouldn't I be smaller, not bigger?"

"Eh, I'm not exactly sure about that. It is definitely clear that the concept of aging has been thrown out of wack for both you and your old man though... Time is a weird thing, isn't it?" Mimir says.

Atreus chuckles, "That's for sure. I do like this though, I've always wondered if I would get bigger," he says in an excited voice.

"Everyone grows with age, laddy. Well, except for those two crazy wankers that call themselves blacksmiths," Mimir says. He and Atreus both have a laugh at that.

Kratos turns, facing Atreus as his eyes roam the walls to find two passageways and what seems to be stone slides leading up to holes in the wall, "We need to find a way out," he says. The tattood man turns his head back and forth between the two passageways before grunting, "This way."

"Okay," Atreus says, skipping along in front of his father as they head towards the large passageway. The dull silence and damp air create a dour atmosphere, but these gods have seen worse conditions, much worse. Kratos and Atreus enter the passageway and find a gentle staircase leading up.

Boots to stone create a rhythmic echo of pats, and the silence subsides some. Minutes pass and the trio reach the top of the stairs which reveals another cave-like room, this one more of a labyrinth than a room itself. At the end of the rocky room, another passageway is concealed in darkness. Kratos and Atreus stand at the top of the stairs, their eyes roaming to jagged rocks jutting from the walls and moisture dripping from the ceiling.

"Do you feel that, lads?" Mimir's thick accent suddenly fills the room.

Atreus steps forward, his eyes settling on the dark passageway, "Yeah, it's almost as if this place is... alive," he says.

Kratos grunts shortly, "Impossible."

Atreus turns and stares at his father, "Do you not feel it, father? It's like the walls are watching us. It's creepy," his words echo through the damp silence.

Kratos hums, stepping forward and past his son, "It does not matter... Keep moving," his words contradict the rapid and cautious movement of his eyes.

"Brother, I agree with the lad. I understand that you want to stay on track, but we should caution ourselves," Mimir says, his words filled with concern for Kratos' mind. He could not see the Greek God's face in the wild tunnel of space, but Kratos' fearful muttering had reminded him of their first visit to Helheim. Kratos had seen a vision of his father, Zeus, and that was the first instance Mimir had seen the man truly disturbed.

"Do not lecture me on caution, head," Kratos says.

Mimir sighs, "Sorry, brother," he opts to drop the subject altogether.

The pats of steps to stone echo through the cave, and the gods near the middle of the room. Suddenly, a guttural howl comes from the passageway before them. Kratos stares forward, drawing the leviathan axe from his back quick, "Ready yourself, boy," he says.

Atreus holds the bow in his hands, his brows furrowing as he notices the bow fits his stature now. His lips curl as he recalls what his mother had told him when she gave him the bow, "I've grown into it. Just like you said," Atreus mutters to himself, his eyes growing hot as he stares at the ground.

A dull silence falls as Atreus raises his eyes to the passageway, and his father stands before him with his legs wide in a battle stance. Heavy footsteps vibrate the ground below the father and son duo and Atreus raises the bow, pulling an arrow from his quiver and nocking it tight against his cheek.

The culprit of the disturbance reveals itself as it walks out from the darkness and Kratos is reminded of his life in Greece. A minotaur stands tall in the opening with bulging muscles concealed under its brown fur, steam rolling from its cow head as it huffs hard. In its hands, an axe made from jagged stone is gripped tightly. Kratos stares at the minotaur and it stares back, puffing its chest out. This isn't the first time Kratos has encountered this monster, and the ones before were definitely bigger.

The minotaur steps heavy towards Kratos, raising the axe above its head and releasing a beastly cry. The axe barrels down towards Kratos' head, a single step to the side quickly making the attack miss. Dust and rubble fly as the axe slams into the ground, and a bolt of yellow electricity zips towards the minotaur.

The dust settles and the minotaur picks up the axe from the ground. An arrow juts from its shoulder, and the beast's red eyes train onto the boy standing to the side. Atreus looses another electrified arrow and another. The arrows meet their target and the Minotaur begins to seize up, the electricity seeming to finally have taken its effect.

Kratos yells, his leviathan axe slicing through the beast's leg like butter. A thud echos, the minotaur's body meeting the hard ground below. Kratos steps up beside the shaking minotaur and raises his axe. He grits his teeth and swings, flesh squelching as the minotaurs head is separated from its body.

A moment passes, and the minotaur's body explodes into a cloud of black smoke. Kratos stands with his axe hanging from his grip, staring down at something shiny left behind by the minotaurs vanished body. He picks up a purple crystal small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, inspecting it with furrowed brows, "What is this?" mutters Kratos.

"Why did the body disappear like that?" Atreus steps up beside his father, his eyes moving from the dissipating black smoke to the crystal in Kratos' hand, "What is that?" he asks, just as confused as the one holding the strange drop.

"I do not know," Kratos says while still staring at the crystal. He sheathes the leviathan axe on his back and reaches around his waist. Mimir stares at the crystal as Kratos holds the Celtic faerie up to it, "What is this, head?" Kratos asks.

Mimir hums and notices something within the translucent crystal, a strange swirling energy glowing dimly, "I dunno, Brother. It seems to be some kind of magic crystal... This was left behind by that beast?" Mimir asks.

"Yeah... It's body just went poof. It's weird," Atreus says, staring at the black stain left behind on the stone floor.

"That is quite strange, laddy... I apologize for my lack of knowledge lately, we seem to be in a completely different place than before. I don't want to admit it, but I suspect we've been sent to a different dimension altogether," Mimir says.

"That's possible?" Atreus asks.

"Aye... I've never heard of it happening before, but time and space are fickle things that bow to no one... not even gods," Mimir's words leave the trio in silence for a moment, which is quickly broken by heavy stomps coming from that dark passageway.

"It seems we've got company," says Mimir as he's replaced to his usual spot.