Chapter 23

When Kratos opens the door, Atreus rushes out, it seems he was worried, but he doesn't know how to show it to his father.

"I-I..." He stammers and cringes looking down.

Kratos just walks by him and looks at him from the corner of his eye. "Pack your things, we're leaving."

"I thought I was not ready," Atreus smirks.

"You're not. But we have no choice." Kratos says from his room.

"Nat?" Takae looks at me.

"Ugh. I offered to travel with them, in exchange to teach Atreus magic." I roll my eyes to hide a blush as she beams at me.

"It's gonna be a LONG trip!" Atreus exclaim as we exit the house.

"Brat, here." I throw him a talisman. "Stab that in the floor when you guys either need help or when you're camping or passing the night," I say to him, as I grab Takae's waist, and with a wave towards Kratos we disappear.

"Really Nat?" Takae deadpans at me with an eyebrow raised.

"What? It's enough that we're going to spend the nights with them, mostly." I smirk. "And... Well, I'd like to spend time with you as we explore around." I smile.

"Hmm... Good idea." She says as she grabs me from my behind. "But that's not all, is it? If it was just to go the mountain we could go in your chariot or something, what are you not telling me~"

She punctuates each word with a squeeze.

"Mn~" I try to hold my moans. Damn it, she's winning! "Well... Do you promise to not get angry?" I smile innocently at her, grabbing her wrists and bringing her hands to mine.

"I'll try." She smiles at me and interlocks her fingers with mine. "What is it?"

"Well... What do you know about the Ragnarok? and I can feel the All-father atop the mountain. We need another God to keep 'im busy." I grin weakly when I see her hackles rise.

"So... We are just using them?" She asks with her voice neutral. Too neutral. Damn, she's good.

"Ah, nope? I mean, yes but no! We're gonna help them, you know! And they want to go there as well, so we may as well help each other. And I am gonna teach Atreus magic, isn't that wonderful? Hahahaha!" I start sweating as her eyes pierce mine.

-snort- "Hehehe, you're too cute, Nat!" She smiles as she hugs me and buries her face in my hair. "I won't be angry by any of your decisions. I love you, you know? And I am pretty sure you know better than I do at probably everything. Besides, I understand not wanting to interrupt their journey. It's for Atreus' mom after all. I was talking with him, he is full of insecurities."

"Ah... Hehe, I love you too!" I smile brightly. "Alright then, let's just explore the surroundings, Atreus will call us sooner or later." I grab her hand as I start skipping in a random direction.

"You don't seem to like Norse Gods, why's that?" Takae asks as we jump on a tree.

"Hmm... Back in Scandinavia, the crow-feeder waged war with everyone he could for knowledge. He killed many friends, and gods, he even tried to blackmail me. Hmpf. I called him Fjölnir." I say briefly looking towards the mountain. "The Concealer was not a good man or a good god. He's greedy and jealous, his temper was short and he killed people just by breathing in his direction. Do you think Loki is a liar? Loki is the maiden of honor compared with Odin." -sigh- "Luckily he couldn't do anything to me, I was the champion of the gods after all. Their will on earth so to say, the Gods on my world couldn't easily touch it, many steps had to be done to be able to interact with the earth."

I suddenly spun mid-air and dodge an arrow from a bandit. Before I could land I throw a dagger at him, penetrating his forehead.

Takae makes short work of the other bandits.

"However they could interact and touch their own dimensions. Valhalla, and their nine realms. Midgard was not the earth, something small and similar, linked but not the earth itself. And many suffered because of him. Look, at the end of the day, many Gods and many pantheons were shit. And are still shit, I can feel the malevolence of Odin from here, and he's not restricted at all, that's what has me nervous. How strong he is? Can I deal with him? Are you in danger? Does he know how to use the feather? So, yep, I'll use Kratos as much as I can." I stop to sigh and run a hand through my hair, before I could continue Takae kisses me on the cheek stopping my rant.

"Calm down." She says with a grin as she turns around and we keep walking around. "The mountain is beautiful... Ignoring the zombies and the bandits. And, I trust you." She smirks as she looks at me.

"Thanks." I grin at her, raising my revolver to the side, blowing three draugrs with my mini-suns.

"Huh, does that shoot suns?" She asks in wonder.

"Yes! This is my Sun-Ra revolver!" I say proudly. "I won against Ra and made him bless my revolver, Hephaestus made it. One of the few Gods of the Greek pantheon that has any worth."

"You know, Nat. I want to hear that story, but I'm hungry." She says with a sad smile.

"Hm? You haven't checked in the bracelet I gave you? Focus your energy on it and open your mind to it." I slowly coach her.

"Oh!" She exclaims, and as she waves her hand, a bowl of rice appears on her hands. "Oooooh!"

"Well, well, well, what do we 'ave 'ere boys?" The voice of a man sounds from the bushes, as other twelve men appear from our sides.

"Just two fine pieces of meat!" Answers one of the bandits. They never learn.

"Just eat calmly," I wink towards Takae as I walk towards the bandits, stretching my arms.

"Ohohoho, you wanna try me first, girl? Get the other!" He shouts to the group that surrounds us.

I merely smile, I suddenly lower my right arm that I was stretching high. From my arm, a chain of waves surrounded Takae and in an instant, a crack sounds as it hit every single bandit surrounding her severing their legs.

I keep walking, slowly towards the only three bandits left, the one who shouted and the two beside him.

"Ah! Stop, stop! I am sorry! I didn't know, I was coerced, forgive me please." I just keep walking, my hand suddenly rotates, and the chain of waves surround them.

"You fucking bitch!" They scream and rush towards me with swords pointed at me.

I merely close my fist, and the waves tear their bodies to pieces.

"Hmm... I was going to offer you beef cubes with the rice but..." I awkwardly grin.

"Oh, you have some!?" She smiles at me, and appears in front of me, totally ignoring the bloody remains around us.

"Sure." ... Does she not care about the sliced humans around us? Has she changed?

"Oh?" a bell rings. "That's Atreus. Hm, are they camping already?" I look at the sky. Well, it's getting dark.

"Alright, grab my hand," I say and close my eyes, feeling on the bell.

Takae eats her everything in a flash and then she stands beside me, hand in hand. We suddenly open our eyes and appear in front of Atreus.

"Yo!" I wave at him and Kratos. "Hmm" I look around. A blue dwarf? A broken bridge? "You guys had fun huh?" I smile.

"Oi, what's this? More customers? At least they don't look like cock-suckin' son of bitches like you." The blue dwarf grunts at Kratos.

"What's your name, blue dwarf?" I grin at him. "Hello, guys," Takae says beside me as she smiles at Kratos and Atreus. Ah, how cute, she has a little bit of rice on her cheek. I walk towards her and take it from her face, bringing it to my lips. She looks at me, her face reddening and I turn around with a spring on my feet.

"My name is Brok, remember that. I am the best blacksmith in the world!" He said smacking his chest.

"Didn't you say your brother was one too? And that he worked with the axe as well?" Atreus exposes Brok ruthlessly.

"Bah, nonsense. I always had all the skill, he just knows how to wash the metal." He grunts and looks at me. "You don't even have weapons, how do you survive? Magic?"

"Hm?" I tilt my head. "You can't work on my weapons, your skill is probably too low for it," I smirk at him, as Excalibur appears on my hand. "Here," I say as I throw the weapon at him.

"What is this...?" The dwarf is stunned by the beauty of the weapon.

Before he could go crazy with it, the weapon disappears. "See? All my weapons are at their limit already. Not even the world-famous Brok could do anything about it."

"Ey now lass, come 'ere." He demands waving his arms. "I have to see that weapon again."

"Hmm..." I tap my chin with a finger and look around. Takae is talking with Atreus, but their focus is on the dwarf and me. Kratos is setting the fireplace and cutting a trunk.

"Fine," I say as I wave my hand, and another sword appears. Brok's face filled with expectations fell but not completely. After all, Galatine is still a marvelous sword. Not Excalibur, but very good too. "You can check this one until we leave. Its name is Galatine, forever sharp." I grin at him.

Brok just grunts at me, and with reverence picks up the sword and turns around grumbling but also happy. Good, he got the message. I do not trust him enough to allow him to check on Excalibur.

"Alright, I have raw bull here, can you cook it? Meanwhile, I'll teach Atreus." I say towards Kratos as I wave my hand and raw meat appears on a blanket.

"Hm. Good." His voice rumbles.

"Alright, come here. I might as well teach you too, Takae." I smile at both of them.

"Yes!" Atreus punches the sky, his clothes are dirty and I can smell the dry tears on his coat. Hm.

I wave my hand in front of me, as energy surrounds it. The effects are immediate, as the ground shifts and cleans itself. The floor is clean and soft now. Even if it's just stone.

"Wow!" Atreus exclaims.

"Hmm. Tis' nothing." I dismiss his awe. "Listen brat. And Takae." I grin as they both sit in front of me.

"Hey, I am not a brat." Atreus corrects me. Brattily.

"Yes, you are. You stop being a brat until I say so." I show him my tongue playfully. "Brat! Brat! Brat!"

"Hmpf. What would you know, you like women, you're the weird one." He grumbles and crosses his arms with a hateful look on his face, uh. Too much?

"Atreus!" Kratos's angry voice reproaches his kid. "If your teacher says you're a brat, then you're a brat. And never, ever, mock someone for what they like if it doesn't hurt others." He levels a glare at Atreus as he cuts the meat.

Visibly cowed, Atreus looks at me and the imperiously Takae with an angry eyebrow and flinches once more. "I'm sorry." He mumbles looking down.

Takae ruffles his hair with a smile. "It's okay, Nat knows how to get under the skin of everybody. She's annoying like that."

"Yep, I am just that unlucky." I tease and wink at Takae. "Now... The first lesson, magic is alive. What does this mean?" I ask towards Atreus.

"Eh? Alive?" He tilts his head. "How can the magic be alive?"

I grin and look at Takae, maybe she has an answer.

"Maybe not alive but sentient? It feels and knows things?" She furrows her eyebrows as she looks at me with a thoughtful look.

"Hm. Almost. Behold." I grin and raise one hand to chest level, and then I point towards the sky. From my finger, an aura emerges, and a little white ball appears above my finger.

"The sentience of magic depends on the strength of the caster. There are two elements to it. The first is the place where you are casting magic. Things like leylines, a magical environment, or even if a place is blessed and the type of blessing. And the second is the nature of the caster. Are you a god? A mortal? Are you blessed? Do you have something to boost your magic? How long have you been using magic, is your body changed enough because of magic? Everything and more makes your magic yours." I explain, everyone is focused on my voice, even Brok and Kratos. Only that Kratos used a little bit more force than necessary when I said the word god. I smirk, I see.

"See this white ball? That's the essence of my magic. The part that's alive, sentient. It feels, it helps me, and it's also me yet not." I gesture at my little white ball, as two eyes and a mouth appeared on it, as it started bouncing on my finger.

"Magic has two sources, the world and you. For example, where we are magic is abundant in the air, the ground, and even the trees and animals- Yes brat?" I ask as he raised one hand, cute.

"What do you mean he's you and not you?" He asks still looking at my aura with awe.

"The essence of magic is normally something immaterial that resides in the soul of the magic casters. You control your magic, you control your movements. And yet, instinct exist does it not? You breathe the air of the world and you have feelings, which you cannot control. I am sure you have felt things like 'Oh something bad is going to happen that way or similar gut feelings. That is the essence. The essence of magic is the essence of your soul. You can sharpen and train your instincts, just like you can your soul and your essence. The only difference is that magic is metaphysical." I smile as my little soul essence climbs my hair and jumps on my head.

"It's part of my soul. Not unlike a child, but it's still me. My gut feeling in magic. I know it's weird and difficult to wrap your head around the concept. But you'll understand later, I am telling you this soon to help you understand if you feel changes or different things now that you will start learning magic." I gently smile at Atreus as I wave my hand and two decks of cards appear.

"We're gonna start with something simple. I know you know a little bit of magic, but your foundation is spotty." I lightly touch the decks and the cards fly around. One deck flies around Takae and one around Atreus. 42 cards surrounding them.

"Close your eyes, and don't move. Try to feel the cards with your magic, and order them from one to forty-two." I say as I send them a little bit of my aura, to jumpstart their sensing.

"Sensing mana and different energy levels are one of the most important things I'll teach you, it will help you survive, sense the difference in the strength of your enemies, their weak points, and even feel traps and magical artifacts. And more. For now, feel." I smile when Takae breaths low and long, she's already trying to meditate. Good.

I clap my hands and two bubbles appear around them, to isolate them from noise.

"Well, need a hand, Kratos?" I smirk towards him as he keeps sending looks my way and Atreus. He's one overprotective dad ain't he?

"... No." He grunts and turns around to keep working on the meat.

Hmm... I look towards Brok, he jumps and hides with the sword. Oh well. I might as well train a little bit then, they will take longer than an hour. I stretch a little bit, jumping up and down as I follow with my arms. Crouching slightly my feet apart, I shake my head a little bit. I exhale slowly. Steam leaving my mouth.

"Fuuu..." I tense my muscles. "Ha!" I shout at the same time that my coiled muscles extend, I appear instantly five meters from where I was in one of the poses of my kata. Another inhalation and exhalation, and I appear another five meters in another pose.

I repeat this for every kata I have, good that I have seven hundred seventy-seven forms. I was the one who popularized that number, after all.

My mind expands, my muscles grow, and my soul sings. I am getting stronger.

My Lord created a body without limits for a future goddess, and when I absorbed the feather of Ishmallah I could feel for an instant the vastness of not having a limit. I am not even a drop in an ocean.

Momoyo... A little girl of eighteen years almost defeated me. Me who has been fighting for almost eight thousand years. How shameful.

Is my birth world so weak? I was the strongest after all. Yet all around me, I feel the strength of things.

I can feel at least fifty presences on this world stronger than me. Hm... Did they stop hiding or I am sensing better now?

I suddenly stop moving, my feet stopping at the face of the intruder, who dared enter the circle while I was training.

"Kratos," I say as I lower my leg. "you didn't even flinch." I grin at him.

"Hmpf. You would be a terrible teacher if you couldn't control yourself." He grunts. "Atreus is shaking."

"Hmm..." I hum as we walk towards Atreus. He is shaking, Takae is just sweating a little bit.

"Different beings react differently when they sense their magic for the first time. The first thing is that you look at your soul. With all the impurities it has. No one is truly a pure soul. He's just a kid, but if he's your descendant then he is not entirely human. This is him looking at himself, not that he would know what that means. Or anything about himself really. Imagine a big mirror where instead of your reflection all you see is a painting of your life, all jumbled up." I shrug at his look. "He's okay, that's normal. Look at Takae, she's not shaking but sweating a lot. She's twice blessed. So not entirely mortal either." I rub my chin as I nod.

"For now, just let them be, they're close to ending. After that, we'll eat and let them rest for today. Look, they're ordering the cards unconsciously. That's a good sign." I grin and pat his shoulder as I walk past him and look at Brok.

"So, what do you think of Galatine," I smirk at his angry look.

"I tried to nick the edge." He reveals with an angry look. "You were truthful. The edge is inviolable. The enchantments are... Hard to see. I can feel them but I can't see them. The material is weird too..." he sighs and looks at me. "Ay, you were speaking truth lass, I can't do anything to this weapon. And probably can't do anything to the others. Where did you get it?" He asks.

"Hm. It belonged to a friend, he died. I took it." I shrug. "Like 50% of the weapons I have." I grin at him.

"And the other fifty?" He mulls as he keeps looking at the sword and pinching and hammering at it, maybe he'll learn something about it.

"Spoils of battle." I laugh.

"Hm. Do you know how to wield them?" He asks with a grumble.

"Of course, I know how to use every single one of my weapons to perfection." I nod as I cross my arms. "Why?"

"So... What's your true weapon?" He looks at me sharply.

"Oooh, you're a smart one," I smirk. "Well, perhaps I'll show it to you one day."

Suddenly I turn around, feeling the shackles of Takae leaving her body.

I wave my hand and the bubble surrounding her falls, she stretches her hand and grabs the perfectly ordered deck of cards. Opens her eyes and looks at me with a smile. "I did it."

"Hehe, good job my love." I hug her and give her a chaste kiss. "What did you see?"

"Ah. Maybe we can wait for Atreus? He may like to hear it, perhaps he'll feel a sense of companionship or something? That's something good for a kid his age." She mulls it around.

"Hm. Okay. He's almost done I believe, his shaking is almost over."

"Shaking?" Takae asks a little alert.

"Hm. Yep, he shook and you sweated. In fact, ugh." I smell her a little bit. But it's too much.

Stepping away from her, I point at her with my hand, and energy envelopes her, cleaning her completely. Even her clothes are good as new.

"There." I grin satisfied, only to be bopped in the nose by an unamused Takae.

"Hmpf. I didn't know you disliked my sweat." She snarks at me.

"Well, I love it. But only if we sweat together. Or if it's a natural sweat, slowly. I guess, but that sweat was filled with your impurities, it's disgusting." I nod at her, completely unapologetic.

"Ugh. Fine, you win." She rolls her eyes.

"Say, you want a weapon or something? Talking with Brok made me think... I have too many weapons, perhaps you want to learn to use one." I hum.

"Hmm... I want boots. Bladed boots." She cheers as she looks at me.

"I don't have that." I deadpan at her. Only to recoil at the disappointment in her eyes. "Ah! Brok and I can make them!"

"Don't put me in your love-troubles lass!" Broks voice breaks the clearing.

"Shut up little blue, listen, you follow my design and that and I'll let you see Excalibur. In fact, I'll give you a weapon that's not fully upgraded, to tinker around."

"Hehe, good job girl." He sends a thumbs up at Takae. Who smirks at me.

Ah! "Ah!".

"Hehehehe, come on Nat. You know I'll never be disappointed in you. I am just playing around." She kisses me.

"Uuuuh. Fine. I guess I'll better comply with my words then." I say as Atreus opens his eyes.

I wave my hand and the bubble disappears, he grabs the deck of cards and starts to see them one by one.

"Haha! I did it!" He exclaims jumping around.

"You can keep the cards," I smirk at him as I ruffle his hair. "Let's have dinner, I'll teach you a little bit more after that and we'll go to sleep."