Chapter 62 - A new discovery

Endless information about the god before him flooded Ryu's mind. Normally, this much info would have crippled him for some time, but after the six months he spent studying reality itself, this amount of simple info was nothing to him. Not only that, he could process all the information his Mangekyo gave him, unlike before.

He saw Thor's life spread out before him. From his birth to this moment. His fights, his dreams, his emotions, and his thoughts over the course of thousands of years were laid bare before Ryu. And honestly? Ryu couldn't help but feel sorry for Thor.

But as Ryu processed the information on Thor, he noticed something. Thor's divinity. What was divinity? It was the root of the gods. Their very being. Thor's contained lightning, thunder, storms, and strength. Those were the building blocks of his entire existence. And then a thought popped up in Ryu's mind. Could he obtain divinity? What would his divinity be? Would he become a god of blacksmithing? Or would he become something else?

"Can I come in?" Thor said after a tense moment, "I have mead". "You would not find me good company," Kratos replied while covering Atreus with his arm. "Oh, I'm sure we'll find lots to talk about," Thor replied in a casual manner. But Ryu read his memories, so he already knew the purpose of the visit. And he was mentally preparing for the upcoming battle.

Kratos motioned for Thor to enter, and the burly man took the invitation. As the two sat and put their weapons on the table, the atmosphere became tense. "You look like a calm and reasonable person... Are you? A calm and reasonable person?" Thor inquired menacingly as he patted Mjolnir with his hand. "If the moment calls for calm," was Kratos' simple reply. "I'd say the moment calls for calm, yeah," Thor replied.

While this conversation was going on, Ryu activated his Mankeyo to see anything that gets close to the house. And sure enough, just as Thor finished speaking an elderly man teleported in front of the wooden house in a storm of ravens. Thinking quickly, Ryu examined him with his other Mangekyo ability. 'I really should name these...' Was Ryu's thoughts as he activated his ability.

"There's an old dude at the door," Ryu informed the duo as he was processing Odin's information. Especially his divinity. His combat skills, magic, knowledge, and experience were very important. But his divinity? That was what interested Ryu. It was a new and critical substance, so Ryu's curiosity didn't alow him to focus on anything else. Odin's divinity was that of wisdom, runes, and magic. Ryu was really curious about what Kratos' divinity held.

Also, due to Odin's lack of reaction, Ryu guessed that the gods can't notice his Mangekyo.

Just as Ryu finished speaking, a knock came from the door and Kratos cautiously signaled to Atreus to open the door. Odin entered the house and immediately stared at Ryu. He was an unknown variable, and Odin didn't like that. "I would introduce myself, but I don't think there's a need for that. I see an unknown face, is he another son of yours?" Odin inquired in a calm voice, though Ryu noticed the watchful look in his eyes.

Seeing Kratos staying silent, Odin moved on. "Back before winter, there were some... Misunderstandings. Now, what you did to his sons? Self-defense. And let's be honest, they were kind of useless. But that doesn't excuse what you did you Baldur. Sure, his mind was gone, but he had 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞." Odin spoke as he sat down at the table's head. Seeing Thor avert his gaze as Odin insulted his dead sons, Ryu felt pity for the god.

Yes, he wasn't a good god by any stretch of the imagination, but it was mainly due to Odin's influence. If given the chance, Ryu thought that there would be a good chance that the god would be able to reform himself.

As the conversation went on, Ryu zoned out as curiosity took hold of him. What he gained from Thor and Odin was incredible. Melania of knowledge, combat skills, wisdom, and so much more in just a few seconds. Not to mention the discovery of divinity. But there was one thing that stood out to him.

Maybe it was all the experience he suddenly gained, but something told him that Kratos was dangerous. 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐲 dangerous. However, that feeling only fueled his curiosity and greed. He wanted to know why he felt like that in front of Kratos, and he wanted that power for himself. Still, he had his personal values to keep. He wouldn't breach Kratos' privacy since he helped him and he may bring him to the best smiths on the planet.

Ryu fought against the temptation until he heard the sound of fingers snapping.

Ryu's gaze quickly focused on a lightning-clad hammer that Thor was about smack into Kratos' chest. But Ryu couldn't let Kratos get hit by an attack like that while he was housing him, so Ryu did the first thing he could think of. He erased the hammer from existence by transforming reality.

After realizing the scale of power he was dealing with, Ryu didn't really see the need to hide his abilities. Sure, they were incredibly powerful, but nothing that could stand against his ability to literally alter reality.

"..." There was an awkward silence as Thor's hand turned empty and his swing hit nothing but air.

"...Hu-" Was all Thor could utter as Kratos slammed his ax into Thor's stomach before continuing the swing and throwing the red-haired god through the house's wall prior to jumping after him. Odin stared at Ryu in shock as he tried to understand what just happened.

"What was that?" Atreus said in a flabbergasted manner. "Well, that's another use of my magic. Remember how I said that advanced enough knowledge can hurt you? If you understand it, you unlock mystical abilities," Ryu replied as he patted Atreus' back.

"W-what was that? What did you do?" Odin spoke with a voice full of curiosity and a hint of worry. He knew full well how powerful Mjolnir was. For someone to get rid of it in an instant, it was something to worry about. And even he, the god of magic, didn't understand what Ryu just did.

"Yeah, 'cause I'll tell the world's most obsessive maniac my secrets. I'll return the hammer, but you two need to go away. I'm guessing Kratos and Atreus won't welcome you in this house after this. Deal?" Ryu questioned while knowing that Odin needed Thor by his side with his hammer.

"...Deal," Odin replied while bearly keeping a straight face. Oh, how he wanted to kidnap Ryu and make him teach him his spells, but he needed to leave a good impression on Atreus. With a snap of his fingers, Ryu made the hammer appear on the table. And with another snap, Thor and Kratos also appeared on opposite sides of the dinner table. Both were beaten and bloodied.

Without saying a word, Odin summoned a flock of ravens that took him and Thor back to Asguard.