"Here," Ryu commented as he healed Kratos with a wave of his hand, transforming his body to its peak state. Even old scars were washed away.
"..." Kratos stared at his body as he examined it for any defects. "Thank you for what you did with Thor. Your help is appreciated," Kratos replied in a monotone voice, though Ryu could sense the sincerity in his words.
"No problem. After all, you're letting me stay here until Brok and Sindri come here," Ryu spoke. Although there was no change in Kratos' expression, Ryu saw a hint of approval in his eyes.
"They'll be back, won't they?" Atreus questioned. "Yeah. Odin's worried sick of this Ragnarok shit, and now that I'm here he certainly won't give up. He'll bring Heimdall next since Thor's a lot weaker without his hammer" Ryu explained. "You speak with certainty. As if you know his next move," Kratos spoke as he looked at Ryu with a gaze that piercedthrough him.
"...Damn, you're sharp. It's another one of my abilities. That reminds me, can I ask for a favor?" Ryu inquired while looking at Kratos. "Depends on the favor," Kratos answered.
"Basically, the ability I used on Odin allowed me to find out and learn various things about him. I'd like to use it to copy your combat experience, gain information on your abilities and so forth. It won't cause you any harm, you won't even feel it, so can I?" Ryu spoke bluntly.
Kratos felt conflicted. On one hand, he was a very private person. But on the other hand, he owed Ryu. Not only did Ryu renovate his house, he completely healed him of any old wounds an scars. But most importantly, he protected Atreus from Odin while he was busy with Thor. And Kratos had a gut feeling it wouldn't be the last time Ryu helped them.
"...If it causes me no harm, then go ahead," Kratos replied after a bit of hesitation. It wasn't an easy decision, but Kratos thought of it as an investment. With Ragnarok coming ever closer, he wanted to make sure Atreus was in good company.
"Nice. Alright, give me a second," Ryu said as he activated Rikai, the name he gave to his all-knowing ability. Information regarding Kratos flooded into Ryu's brain. His memories, his experiences, his abilities, his knowledge, and information about his divinity all became known to Ryu.
"Holy shit, no wonder you looked so powerful! Thanks!" Ryu exclaimed as he looked over Kratos' memories. Kratos replied with a simple grunt, but Ryu could tell he was a little proud to be praised in front of his son. Before all, Kratos was a father now. Ryu felt what Kratos felt towards Atreus, so he knew that the God of War will stop at nothing to ensure his son's safety and well-being.
"Alright, I gotta go process some things. Call me when the blacksmiths arrive, OK?" Ryu said as he went to his room. As Ryu sat on his bed, he began to focus on Kratos' Thor's and Odin's divinity. He tried to figure out what it was exactly.
Divinity was a frightening thing. If powerful enough, it could allow gods to perform amazing miracles and strengthen them to unimaginable degrees. But divinity is a double-edged sword. just as a god grew stronger if the subject of his divinity grew, so was he weakened if his divinity weakened.
For instance, a god of magic would turn powerless in a universe like Ryu's that didn't have it. A god of war would be stronger during a time of conflict, and a god of wisdom would be more powerful as the civilization that worshiped him advanced.
Of course, that isn't the only way for a god to get stronger. There's also a mix of potential, training, and understanding of your divinity that makes a god powerful, but those methods don't come close to simply existing in a place where the concept of your divinity is strongly represented.
Divinity suited its owner. A pacifist couldn't become a god of war. An idiot couldn't become a god of wisdom, and so forth. Of course, once one turned into a god and gained divinity, a god could change aspects of himself and his divinity would stay the same. That's how you get gods like Kratos. While he doesn't want war and tries his best to live quietly with minimal violence, his divinity is still that of war. As such, the more chaotic the world gets, the stronger he gets.
And due to the nine realms experiencing, well, Ragnarok, he was practically unstoppable. But that didn't matter to Ryu, all he wanted was to meet the two blacksmiths that made Kratos' axe. When Ryu examined it, he found it weird. It was made from extremely high-quality ingredients, sure, but there were some things he couldn't understand.
For instance, Rikai told him that the axe was forged with the roots of a glacier, the sound of frostbite, and the whisper of a snowflake. What the actual hell were those things? Ryu understood the very fabric of reality, but these imaginary concepts were beyond him. After all, those things shouldn't be able to exist. Was Ryu's understanding too shallow, or was Ryu looking at the whole situation wrong? No matter how you put it, Ryu was beyond intrigued.
Just as Ryu was deep in thought, a knock sounded on his door. It was Atreus. "Sindri's here. We're moving to his and Brok's house since it's hidden from Odin. Also, I asked him and he doesn't mind exchanging tips with you. Actually, he's kinda excited," Atreus said. Though Ryu noticed some uneasiness in his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Ryu said as he got up. "I just feel bad. you made this amazing house for us, and we're not even going to use it..." Atreus spoke with some guilt in his voice. "Don't worry. You did notice I made it in a split second, right? It took practically zero effort so no harm done," Ryu chuckled.
"I guess... We should get going, father and Sindri are waiting," Atreus spoke as he walked away. "Finally, I'll get to know what the hell are the roots of a glacier!" Ryu spoke with excitement as he followed the teenager god.