Life in Asgard was not hard at all for Atreus. He didn't really like his uncle, that was for sure. Something about Thor just unsettled him and although he truly had no reasons to distrust him, he still did. But even then, he still had good conversations with him and had no trouble asking him different things to try and remember about his life. So far, no memories were coming back to him, no matter how much he liked the palace, the food and the way he was treated. He truly felt like a God there even if he felt weak at the same time.

He spent most of his time reading. There were many books hidden in a room Thor had told him not to go to, but he soon found a way to sneak in. Both Thor and Odin were away a lot so he had more than enough time to go read and leave before anyone found out about it. He didn't know why they didn't want him to read, the books he found were really interesting and he actually learned some new languages by looking at foreign symbols and trying to translate them in his head.

The garden out of the palace was beautiful, there were many flowers planted, all of different shapes and colors. Large trees loomed over and from where he stood it would seem as if the leaves could actually caress the clouds passing by. The air felt pure and the biting cold was not as harsh when he walked below the shining sun.

His life there was more or less perfect, but Atreus couldn't shake off the insecurity he felt and a twinge of fear coursing through his veins.

He had no reason to fear anyone in there. Both Thor and Odin were always willing to answer his questions and to tell him more about his father and cousins. But something was missing, something wasn't right.

Maybe he hoped to find some sort of truth in the words he read and the languages he translated. Maybe, and just maybe, he would finally be able to let himself settle down into this life.

But something was not right and he hated the fact that he really couldn't say why. He wondered if it was okay for him to doubt what had been said about what happened to him, maybe that would be ungrateful, or maybe that would be plain mean. Was he a bad person for not fully believing the voices of the men who have given him everything?

"I wish I was like you, you know?" The boy looked up at a bird standing on the wind's stool. It crooked it's head and stared at the child who sighed and looked away "Yeah...Look who am I talking to…" He chuckled and shook his head before getting up from his seat to put the book in his hands away. It made no sense to try and continue reading since he was totally distracted and unfocused with his own words.

"Who?"

Atreus stopped dead in his tracks when a voice resonated through his head. Was he hearing things again? He quickly turned around, but couldn't find the source.

"Up here."

The child frowned before looking at the bird again "Are you...talking to me?"

"Who else would I be talking to? You're quite uneducated, child."

"Holy shit…" Atreus whispered before rushing over to the window, the bird quickly flapped it's wings around.

"Distance! I know how you humans are!"

"I-I'm so so sorry!" The boy took a step back "I...Just...I never really talked to birds before. I mean, it's not normal, you know?"

"And how would you know? Aren't you supposed not to remember anything?"

"How do you know that?" Atreus whispered.

"I'm a bird, not a troll. I'm not mindless."

"Sorry…" Why the Hel did he keep on apologizing? "This is so cool, though." He couldn't help but smile some. The bird looked exasperated. Or was it just his mind playing tricks on him? "I really am a God, huh?"

"Not from this realm, that is for sure. Who are you?"

"What...Do you mean?" The child's shoulders tensed up at that, his heart filling up with dread "I'm family...I was born in Asgard."

"I have lived here for a long time, much longer than your lifespan and I have never seen you before, child."

Atreus' heart skipped a beat "I-I'm Baldur's son."

"The man who cannot be killed never had offspring." It declared and Atreus took a deep breath to try and keep himself focused "I should know. I have taught my own babies how to fly from this same palace."

"Thor told me I'm Baldur's son, and Odin's grandson. He told me-"

"And you believed that fat and sarcastic bastard?" The bird looked deep into his eyes and the child knew that it would have raised it's eyebrow at him if it could "You are not from Asgard, child. That is all I came here to say."

"I knew it…" Atreus muttered before biting his lower lip. He then rubbed his face "What should I-Hey! Where are you?" He then climbed onto the window and watched as the animal flew away, not sparing him a last glance.

"We are locked in now, brother. There's no going back." Mimir spoke as the Travelling Room was filled with many strings of lights signaling it was moving to connect with the real tower.

"Not for now. Not until I have my son. I will only leave with him." Kratos muttered, his Blade of Chaos already being grasped tightly by strong hands.

"Of course, brother. I wouldn't have it any other way. But I sure hope you are aware that we will find Odin and Thor there. And that will not be pretty. I also hope you know what you will say to your child once you see him. I am sure those bastards have either lied to him or…"

"Or?" The God breathed heavily, already imagining the answer.

"...Or tortured him. Knowing them, both options are coherent. I can only imagine what will happen to Asgard if they went for the second one, aye?"

"Are you asking me to do it, head?" In spite of how painful the situation was, he actually sounded a bit amused.

"Oh, definitely. I have committed sins, brother. Don't get me wrong. But I know them better than anyone else, even better than Feya, and trust me when I tell you that all of Asgard deserves to fall. Or get better Gods. Or maybe none at all. I believe that real would be prosperous if only Freya was around."

"I do not care. But I will kill Odin and Thor with my bare hands if I have to. They have crossed my path and have taken Atreus. It is not something I'm willing to forgive."

"And it's best you don't. The world will shake when that happens. But it will be for the better. They have only done terrible things, brother. Forgiveness is not an option, it hasn't been for centuries now." Just then, the door to Asgard was finally available and Mimir sighed "We're here. How are you going to do this?"

"I will look for my son and kill anyone who interferes."

"Oh, so the same as always." He joked and Kratos slapped him a bit to make him shut up.

Asgard was a lot like Midgard, as far as he could see. It wasn't like Muspelheim with it's fire burning the soil or Nifelheim with it's deadly mist. There were trees, lakes, flowers, ruins and Hel Walkers alongside other creatures. He was glad about that. He knew how to walk through Midgard, he guessed Asgard would be the same.

"Where's the palace, head?" He then grunted as he lifted Mimir in his hand after he had killed some enemies.

"It's on the other side of those big mountains. You will have to cross the forest, and go into the mountain to walk through. It is not as long as it seems and once you get that side, you will see a marvelous garden, big and plump. That's the palace's. It's the only thing Odin kept from Freya. She worked hard on it for many years and he's never wanted to take it down."

"Hm." Kratos nodded before he put the head back to his belt and setting forth to the mountains.

This time, without his child.

Odin and Thor had left the palace days ago and since then they hadn't returned. They had told him that they had some business to get to, considering they were the only Gods left in Midgard. But Atreus no longer believed in their stories or excuses.

He wanted to escape now that he could. Why would they lie to him if not for ill reasons? There was no way that he was safe with them, and it was only a matter of time before something slipped and he would end up confessing what he knew. But he also understood that travelling was dangerous, and that if they were to find him then they could actually kill him in just a second.

He has seen how strong they were and how much stronger they could be. So he decided to keep quiet for now, to try and gather more information before making a move. But truth was, he was defenseless against them and against the danger that plagued the realm. He has seen the Hel Walkers around the mountains, he has seen from far away many Nightmares lurking around. He didn't know how to fight, and if he's ever done it before, then it was lost in the deep lakes of his mind.

For now, he would cooperate, he would stay inside and he would do as he was told. The only thing that would actually save him was himself since he clearly was all alone in this.

"Do you talk too?" He suddenly asked a small pigeon that was standing on top of an old structure in there. By the looks of it, Atreus guessed it had been some sort of door before, but not it was just a strange stone boulder with strange markings laying on the green grass. He waited patiently but when he heard nothing in his head, he sighed and lowered his head to continue looking at his arm. He wondered why he had those tattoos in them, he knew what they meant, but they really made no sense to him and they weren't helping him remember.

He looked up at the sky just as a big cloud was slowly covering the sun and then quickly looked away at the mountains since the light was still strong enough to make his eyes burn and water a little bit.

He had no plans at the moment and he hated it. He wished he could just ask those men about it, he wished it was a big lie and that he was their family. That would make things easier for him, but at the same time it never stopped feeling so wrong.

He didn't think he ever felt as lonely as he did in that single moment.

"He's here." A voice said through his head and he quickly stood up, making himself a little dizzy, and stared at the pigeon who's head was tilted as he looked at him.

"Who's here?" He decided to ask, hoping it wasn't Thor. But the animal just set to fly away as a loud sound tore through the calm atmosphere.

Atreus took some steps back and quickly tried to find something to defend himself with. He couldn't assume that he wasn't being attacked and he had to act rapidly.

He grabbed a small rock laying around and then faced the end of the garden again. There was a large fence covered with many plants and leaves that kept him from seeing what was happening on the other side. But it was the side of the mountains, and though he couldn't see much of them, he often saw enough to know of the beasts that lived there and haunted the place.

He gulped and raised his hand, trying to prepare himself in case he would need to actually throw his rock. He could almost laugh at himself if it wasn't for the fact that he was so nervous.

The fence tore apart as fire suddenly melted the edges. A loud roar of war echoed through the trees and Atreus' breath hitched in his throat.

A big man, not as big as Thor but still much larger than Atreus, stepped from the flames. He was bald, but the most distinct part of him were the ref tattoos on his body and face as well as the white of his skin. He looked dangerous, but for some reason the boy dropped the rock.

If this man came to attack him, he knew he would instantly die.

But why did he feel the tattooed man was not here to harm him?

"Atreus…" A single whisper came out if those lips and the boy looked into the man's eyes.

A million questions raced through his mind yet at the same time he felt as if his head was completely blank and unresponsive.

He looked away from the other for a moment to look at where he had come from. The fire was slowly dying down, showing Atreus the path he had taken to get to the garden.

"You made quite a mess." He then commented "Uncle won't be happy." What was he even saying? Playing along with the supposedly lies be had been fed?

"Atreus." The man frowned and the boy gulped.

"Grandfather won't be either. He really likes this garden, you know?" He added "I heard grandma built it for him."

"Atreus, I-"

"I don't know who you are." He then whispered, his voice growing weaker "I don't know what's happening anymore. But if you're going to kill me...Just do it."

"I would never kill you."

"Then why are you here?! How do you know my name?!" He wondered why he yelled, his best guess was that it happened out of fear.

"Because I'm the one who named you." He spoke, hands shaking more than ever before.

"Right…" He took a deep breath and tried to dry his sweaty palms on his white tunic "...you came here out of nowhere and then broke through the fence. You know my name, you know me." He then closed his eyes tightly "But apparently everyone seems to know me. I just can't remember anything!"

"'Calm mind' and 'fast hand'." The stranger suddenly said and Atreus opened his eyes, his hand quickly covering his tattoos.

"What?"

"'Calm mind' and 'fast hand'. Isn't that what they say? What they're supposed to mean?"

The child bit his lip hard enough to draw blood but he didn't seem to care, instead he slowly nodded his head and looked at the other was a large amount of urgency in his eyes.

"Please...Tell me who I am."