Survival in the game world begins with Biochemical 2

Chapter 855 Atreus in Asgard

Asgard, Gladesheim.

Inside Odin's large wooden house.

In the room that originally belonged to Baldr, Atreus sat on the bed, clearly agitated, his hands gripping the claw bow that rested on his lap.

Unlike the storyline of the fifth game, Atreus is now a bit younger, and his first meeting with Odin is not as friendly as in the prologue of the fifth game.

Or rather, quite the opposite, his first meeting with Odin was a life-or-death struggle.

Under these circumstances, he never expected that Odin would take the initiative to find him, who had just returned to Midgard from the Iron Forest, and that Odin would seem to have seen through his worries as if he had foreseen them.

—At that time, Atreus's teleportation location was slightly off when he left the Iron Forest, causing him to end up near Freya's house.

He saw that Charli was suffering terribly from the cold and wanted to help it. At the same time, he also needed to keep warm, so he went into the hut and started a fire.

He had planned to calm things down and then return to Sindri's hut to figure out a solution. However, at that moment, with a flapping of wings, a large flock of crows appeared in the hut, and Odin emerged from among them.

Atreus was taken aback and grabbed his bow, ready to fight. But Odin not only didn't attack him, he didn't even try to force him. Instead, he said to Atreus in a gentle tone, "Let's talk."

Atreus was well aware that with his abilities, he would have little chance of resisting Odin, so he had no choice but to listen to what Odin had to say.

Then Odin expressed his desire for "peace" to Atreus.

Odin claims that he has no hostility toward Kratos and Atreus, and that he transformed into Li You's appearance simply to find a way to reach Jotunheim, not to deceive him intentionally.

Most importantly, Odin claimed that he did not actually want to harm the giants, but only wanted to obtain from them a way to avoid Ragnarok and save the Nine Realms.

However, Atreus, though young, was not stupid; on the contrary, he was very clever.

Although Odin's words seemed earnest and sincere, a little thought reveals that his actions and words do not quite match up.

Therefore, Atreus did not truly believe Odin, and only gave him a perfunctory response.

But how could Odin not see through his perfunctory attitude? Seeing that Atreus clearly did not believe him, Odin played another trump card.

"As far as I know, you're trying to change the prophecy of your father's death, aren't you?"

Atreus was shocked. He couldn't understand how Odin knew about this. Had something happened to Angorboda?
But his panic had already revealed a lot to Odin.

Of course, Odin did not show it, but simply said that as the father of the gods, there was little in the world that could escape his eyes, thus frightening Atreus.

How did Odin actually know this?
Ironically, it was because Atreus had been talking to himself in a state of distraction on his way here that a nearby raven happened to overhear him...

Odin already knew that Atreus was a hybrid of god and giant and possessed unique divine qualities, so he set his sights on him.

Odin then arrived in Midgard at the speed of light.

Odin, feigning profundity, intimidated Atreus, and then, having further grasped the child's inner conflict, said:
"Child, you wouldn't want anything to really happen to your father, would you?"

Atreus fell silent.

“You want to change your father’s fate, and I also want to break the prophecy and change the future. You and I have a basis for cooperation.”

"Come to Asgard. I value your abilities. If we join forces, we can surely turn the tide and avert a devastating future."

Originally, Atreus was determined not to trust Odin, but the bait thrown out by the Allfather of the Gods made it impossible for Atreus not to be tempted.

If the prophecy can be deciphered, then wouldn't my father not have to die?

Furthermore, Atreus also remembered that the prophecy foretold his work for Odin. Since Angorboda said the prophecy was unchangeable and destined to happen, if he went to Odin now and made the subsequent prophecies come true ahead of time, could he forcibly change the content of the prophecy and skip his father's death?

This bold and flexible idea was something the original Atreus could not have conceived of. But in this world, influenced by Li You, he learned a more versatile way of thinking, which led to this idea.

So he finally accepted Odin's invitation and traveled to Asgard via raven teleportation.

It's also worth mentioning that Atreus is currently unaware that Kratos has already left Valhalla with Li You and Tyr; otherwise, perhaps he would have made a different choice.

Unlike the storyline of the fifth game, this time Odin brought Atreus back himself, so he didn't deliberately throw Atreus onto the Eldar Plains outside the walls of Asgard, but instead brought him directly to the door of the big wooden house.

Then he turned away to attend to other matters and ordered Heimdall to receive Atreus.

Although Heimdall, a fanatical follower of Odin, still disliked Atreus, he could not disobey the command given by the Allfather of the Gods and could only take him there and place him in Baldr's former room as Odin had instructed.

And then nothing more was said. Perhaps the two were destined to be enemies. Heimdall still disliked Atreus intensely and refused to give him any further instructions. He slammed the door and left, leaving Atreus alone in the room, restless and uneasy.

At this moment, Atreus couldn't help but feel a little regretful, wondering if he had been too hasty in coming to the enemy's headquarters like this.

If something happens to him here, no one can save him.

But after thinking about it again, he felt that if there was a chance to save his father, he should try it no matter how dangerous it was—he didn't want his father to always be the one saving him in times of crisis, and he wanted to help his father as well.

Amidst these conflicting thoughts, there was a knock on his door.

Atreus was startled. When he opened the door, he saw a red-haired girl who was about his age but much taller and stronger than him.

The girl was wearing combat gear, carrying an iron bar on her back, and staring at him with a fierce look.

"You're Loki? Come with me, your grandfather is waiting for you in his study." The girl said after looking Atreus up and down.

“Grandfather? Then you are…” Atreus was taken aback.

"My name is Slud, Thor's daughter, and one day I will become a Valkyrie!" Although the girl was young, she spoke in a fierce tone, as if she was deliberately imitating someone.

She also appears in the fifth generation, and she is there to find Atreus.

However, she was older then than she is now, and the iron rod no longer had to be carried on her back, but instead hung on her waist, while she could also carry a much heavier machete.

As for now, if Li You were here, he would say that this girl is more like a young girl who has just entered her rebellious phase.

Slud didn't say much to Atreus, explaining that she was busy with her daily "Valkyrie training," so she simply led Atreus to the study door and left, leaving Atreus to enter Odin's study alone.

Odin was waiting for him in his study, just as he had waited for Li You before.

The subsequent events unfolded much like in the game. Odin once again told Atreus that he had been searching for a way to stop Ragnarok and had discovered a clue: a tattered wooden mask.

The mask, which was only about a quarter of its original size, was inscribed with complex and difficult characters, which even Odin, who had an insatiable thirst for knowledge, had never seen before.

But he believes that by collecting all the fragments of the mask, he can glimpse the truth of the world and gain the power to change the future.

Atreus naturally expressed his doubt: "How can you know that once this mask is restored, it will help you find a way to stop Ragnarok?"

Unlike in the game, this is probably because Odin didn't plant any accomplices among Kratos and Li Yu—himself disguised as Tyr—so he didn't tell Atreus everything about the "crack" beneath the study.

He only told Atreus that they lacked trust between them at the moment, and if Atreus wanted to know more about the truth, he would first have to help him decipher the inscription on the mask and find more fragments.

After thinking for a moment, Atreus nodded: "Alright, I'll help you. Let me see the mask."

Even with Odin's composure, a hint of joy appeared on his face when he heard Atreus utter those words. Of course, it's also possible that he simply felt there was no need to hide his emotions from Atreus. In any case, he unhesitatingly presented the tattered mask to Atreus, who, as expected, easily deciphered the inscriptions on the mask.

“From… smoldering earth, and obsidian sparks… and a land untouched by war.”

Odin was overjoyed: "Are you sure that's what it means?"

He had heard that Atreus possessed divine qualities in language, but even in the most optimistic scenario, he never imagined things would go so smoothly!
Odin couldn't sit still any longer and immediately began preparations.

He first gave Atreus the sword of victory "Ingrid," which originally belonged to Frey. It was a divine sword with its own consciousness.

Odin said that this was what Atreus deserved after he had done his part.

Then he summoned Thor and ordered the god of thunder to accompany Atreus to retrieve the remaining fragments of the mask.

Faced with Odin's shouts and arbitrary instructions, Thor remained silent, not even glancing at Atreus, and made some sarcastic remarks as usual.

Odin frowned as he looked at him.

Ever since their son returned from Valhalla, he's been acting strangely. He seems to have something on his mind, and he's been locking himself in his room, and even his wife Sif and daughter Sloth can't get any answers from him.

What's even more frightening is that Saul used to drink whenever he had something on his mind, but this time he didn't touch a drop. He just locked himself up and didn't say a word.

His unusual behavior even alarmed Odin. The father of the gods came before Thor and asked him what had happened in Valhalla.

Thor remained silent, and his gaze toward Odin was somewhat strange.

Finally, Odin couldn't stand him anymore and thought he had suffered some kind of trauma in Valhalla, so he used his own power to seal all of his memories from the time he was in Valhalla—especially the memories related to Li You.

Odin also guessed that Thor's changes were mostly related to Li You.

And so, Thor became like this. He completely gave up thinking, passively accepting everything from the outside world, doing whatever Odin told him to do.

For Odin, this should have been a good thing. However, Thor's excessive passivity led him to lose even the ability to take initiative, which greatly displeased Odin.

So at this moment, Odin reminded Thor: "Get your act together! You're supposed to protect your family, right? Now this is the job you need to do."

"Protect this child, help him find the mask, and bring it back."

Then, Odin used a raven to teleport Atreus and Thor together to Muspelheim, the land of fire.

Even here, Thor remained like a wooden puppet, showing little reaction to anything around him, retaining only his fighting instincts and basic thinking and judgment.

Atreus was also a little worried seeing him like this. Considering that the two of them had been companions along the way, he decided to talk to Thor and see if he could ease the tension.

"Sol? Do you find it hot here? It's much warmer than Midgard."

"Thor, do you know about Surtr's Trials? They're said to be very challenging."

"Thor...you went into Valhalla before, right? I wonder if you've met Li You, or my father?"

Thor did not respond.

“…Alright, it seems you’re not much of a talker.” Atreus sighed helplessly. “How about I tell you a story? I promise you’ve never heard it before.”

"It is about a god-king named Gwyn from another faraway land, and the dynasty he founded."

Atreus had only mentioned it casually, but he didn't expect it to elicit a reaction from Thor.

He turned his head sharply, veins throbbing on his forehead, as if he had remembered something, and stared at Atreus: "What did you just say was the name of that god?"

"...Gwen?"

Atreus: "!?"

……

Meanwhile, in Sindri's cabin.

Li You, Kratos, Tyr, Freya, and the two brothers, Brock and Sindri, gathered here.

On the wooden table in the hall lay the raven feathers that Li You and Freya had brought back, the answer to Atreus's whereabouts.

Kratos stared at the pile of feathers, his face turning ashen.

However, his grim expression wasn't just because he learned his son had gone to Asgard, but also because of the news that Brock and Sindri had brought back.

Since the two dwarf brothers really didn't know where to look for anyone, they came up with a plan and used their special dwarf magic to find the three Norn goddesses—the Norse goddesses of fate.

From them, the two brothers learned of a prophecy that was by no means good news.

The three Norn goddesses told the two brothers that Atreus was in Asgard, and that Heimdall, the gatekeeper of the Rainbow Bridge, was plotting to kill Atreus because of his loyalty to Odin.

If nothing is done, Atreus will be killed by Heimdall, and Kratos, upon learning of this, will do what he does best—kill gods.

Then, Ragnarok will come to the Nine Realms, and everything will come to an end.

The above are basically the original words of the three Norn goddesses. Sindri told Kratos these words and hoped to dissuade him from his impulsive actions.

However, Kratos only heard what concerned him—Atreus was in Asgard, and Heimdall wanted to kill his son.

So it goes without saying what Kratos wants to do.

"...I will do what is necessary."

At this point, even Tyr, who had known Kratos the least, knew that they could not stop Kratos.

Moreover, Brock and Freya chose to support Kratos's decision for different reasons.

Freya considered that they would eventually have to go to war with Odin, so if they could eliminate Heimdall now, they absolutely could not let the opportunity slip by.

As for Brock, well, he simply felt that since there was no other choice, he might as well just do it!
The Tower of God had already devised a way for Kratos to deal with Heimdall: "His senses are his advantage, but we can forge a special weapon..."

However, at this moment, Li You, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

"Kratos, what if I told you I hoped you wouldn't go looking for Heimdall?"

In an instant, everyone looked at him. Kratos frowned even more: "What do you mean?"

Li You glanced around and saw that apart from Tyr, who seemed to be deep in thought, everyone else seemed to have something to say.

Seeing this, he smiled and said, "No, I don't intend to stop you from saving Atreus. However, if our goal is simply to kill Heimdall, then we don't need to go through all that trouble."

"—How about you give this task to me?"

(End of this chapter)