"What kind of abilities do you think I will get?" Atreus asked Zelos. They were now paddling steadily in the calm river, moving the boat towards the massive structure of Tyr's Temple.
They were on a mission to retrieve the Black Rune, the key that they needed to travel to Jotunheim.
Mimir was walking on the deck of the boat, quietly listening to the conversation, as he was clearly incredibly interested in what Zelos's answer regarding the boy's potential would be.
"Hmmm, here. Let me show you what you will be able to do if you learn to control your anger properly," Zelos said.
He stopped paddling for a moment and reached out. He touched the back of Atreus and forcibly activated his transformation.
Zelos did this by transferring a specific frequency of divine rage that he could control at will. It was just like the rage Kratos possessed, but Zelos had refined it.
He poured this energy into Atreu's, and Atreus was partially transformed without any problems. The boy gasped as his bones shifted rapidly.
His head then turned into the head of a wolf, complete with gray fur and golden eyes, which surprised Mimir once again as he watched the sudden transfiguration.
"This is what you will be capable of. You have seen Father get angry, right? You notice the fire that comes out of his body.
Then suddenly, he would be empowered and stronger than before, but he would only yell and strike. It is a divine energy that controls his own divinity. I call this energy Divine Rage.
Now, I believe you will reach a state where you do not need to use Divine Rage as a catalyst, and you will be able to transform freely," Zelos said.
Atreus turned to look at the reflective surface of a magical mirror that Mimir had quickly conjured in front of him. Atreus saw his reflection.
His head is now an awolf's head, snarling and panting, while his body is still his normal human body.
"Whoa, do you have these abilities?" Atreus asked. His voice sounded guttural and strange coming from the wolf's mouth.
As he spoke, Zelos cut off his Divine Rage's supply to Atreus. This action directly cut off the transformation Zelos had kick-started, and Atreus's face morphed back into a human form in a matter of seconds.
"Of course, but my Divine Rage works differently than yours or Father's. Every god is very unique in their own divinity.
There are also the minor divinities that I cannot detect on you yet, as only you yourself could detect this when you mature," Zelos said and explained the nuances of godhood to Atreus.
"Maybe this is the reason why I hear voices in Alfheim and in the mountain. It is one of my godly abilities," Atreus said towards Zelos, trying to connect the dots.
"No, that is part of our Jotunn nature. I could also hear those voices. The Jotunn could communicate with the very essence of someone or something, which allowed Jotunns to develop magic that even Odin wanted to have desperately. But I think your penchant for language is one of your godly abilities," Zelos explained.
This statement noticeably made Atreus look a little bit sadder. He looked down at his hands, feeling underwhelming compared to the feats of strength he had seen.
"Does that mean I will not be able to become as strong as you or Father? Is it that all I got is the language kind?" Atreus said.
This question made both Mimir and Zelos look offended on his behalf.
"Excuse me, little laddie, but language carries a lot more power than what you are describing. It is the foundation of all civilization and magic," Mimir said, as he defended Atreus's godly powers with the passion of a scholar.
"That is correct. Knowledge is passed down from language, and not everyone can understand languages as fluently or instinctively as you. The Runes that would lead us to Jotunheim need an understanding of language on a level that even I could never reach. Without you, we cannot open the path," Zelos added to the statement of Mimir to boost his brother's confidence.
This made Atreus look surprised. He had not considered his utility in that manner.
"I never expected that both of you would be passionate about languages," Atreus said towards Zelos and Mimir with a small smile.
"A scholar is forever a scholar. Some gods, even brilliant ones, fail to progress because of their lack of language understanding. Even the All-Father has an unhealthy obsession that he cannot progress on due to his limited understanding of the ancient tongues," Mimir said.
Mimir was about to talk more about Odin's failures, but Kratos intervened abruptly.
"Enough talk. Save it for later, as we have work to do," Kratos said.
Due to their discussion, the three did not notice that Kratos had already led them to the dock. They had arrived at the entrance of the vault, where they would collect the Black Rune that they would need to enter Jotunheim.
The four then unboarded the boat. Mimir walked in front with Kratos, as he was much more familiar with the structure of Tyr's Temple than Kratos, Zelos, and Atreus. He was doing his job as a guide, pointing out the architecture. Atreus walked beside Zelos, his mind still on the earlier lesson.
"Can you teach me how to control my Divine Rage?" Atreus said towards Zelos.
Zelos couldn't help but cringe inwardly at the name.
'I really want to call it Spartan Rage, as that is what it truly is. But I think I am already suspicious enough as it is,' Zelos thought to himself.
The name "Divine Rage" was just a placeholder he used to ensure that Kratos would not ask any difficult questions about how Zelos knew about the specific combat techniques of Sparta.
At this point, Kratos had not yet talked about his homeland or his training.
"You can control it by acknowledging there is something to rage about in the first place. You need a trigger. Like if your enemy is the Aesir, you could imagine the deaths of countless Jotunn on their hands. Atreus, you would be able to connect to that pain a lot more easily than I," Zelos said. He started teaching Atreus techniques to maintain his constant anger and fuel his power.
"If that does not work, make up a scenario in your head. Imagine Father and me being killed in front of you. Imagine a scene where you were made to watch us die helplessly. Repeat it, playing in your head over and over again. Something that is repeated enough would be seen as true by your mind eventually," Zelos said towards Atreus.
Atreus immediately started following Zelos's advice. He began imagining Zelos and Kratos dying at the hands of Thor and Baldur.
In the scenario in Atreus's head, the gods had used a dirty trick to catch Zelos and his father off guard. The vision made Atreus even angrier, his fists clenching tight.
Then, a little bit of fire started appearing outside of Atreus's body. However, it was so small and flickering that it would not even power the transformation of Atreus into a small insect, let alone a wolf.
"Alright, it is clearly not working yet. The rage is there, but the direction is wrong. How about you start visualizing yourself transforming into the animal you want to become? Create a full, vivid visual in your mind. I forgot that this is an extension of magic, and magic is visualization. If you cannot clearly visualize something, you will not be able to use it," Zelos said towards Atreus.
Atreus nodded and closed his eyes to focus on the image of the wolf as they both followed Mimir and Kratos back into the depths of the temple.