Description[]
The prophecy of Loki depicted his role in Ragnarök and the eventual destruction of Asgard. The first mural sections depicted Loki and his father’s quest to fulfil Laufey’s final wish by spreading her ashes from the highest peak in the realms, effectively reuniting the Guardian with her kin in Jötunheim. The mural depicted several events such as their meetings with Freya, Mimir, Jormungandr and their fights against Baldur and Thor’s sons. It also depicted Faye’s dispute with the Giants over a subject that was unknown to Kratos and Loki until long after.
The second section depicted Loki’s role in Ragnarök during Fimbulwinter, such as his meeting with Angrboda and being gifted the remaining giant souls, his fight with Heimdall, his father’s death at the hands of Thor, and his final submission to Odin’s wishes as Asgard was destroyed by Surtr. The final image depicted Loki travelling on his own with three wolves in tow.
The prophecy accurately predicted Kratos and Atreus' journey right up to the point of Kratos' death, which Kratos averted by making a drastic change in his mentality during the Asgard battle, something which neither the Giants nor the Norns predicted.
Before God of War 2018[]
Like many Jötnar visions, this prophecy was carved out in murals by the Giants, but in order to conceal it from Odin, the murals were hidden in Jötunheim, one mural magically hidden in a chamber inside Jötunheim’s highest peak, and another depicted in murals hidden inside Ironwood, a hidden sanctuary that was believed by outsiders to only be a metaphorical paradise with no fixed location.
After Odin learned of Groa’s vision that depicted Asgard’s destruction and his presumed downfall, Odin killed Groa and plundered her library, gaining access to her knowledge of Ragnarök, but was unable to piece together the entire course of events due to missing crucial details. Believing that the Giants had hidden this information in their realm, Odin negotiated a meeting with the Giants, successfully manipulating both them and Týr into thinking that he was pursuing peace between them and the Aesir.
Upon being allowed into Jötunheim, Odin seemingly managed to get a glimpse of the hidden prophecy depicting Loki and Kratos (who were unknown to him at the time) before the Giants, realising that he had deceived them, banished him from Jötunheim and barred him from ever returning. In retaliation, Odin furiously ordered Thor to kill every Giant he could find in Midgard, and one by one the Jötnar were slaughtered, except for those who had remained in Jötunheim, who had blocked all access to their realm with the help of Týr.
At some point, Faye, out of love for her husband and son, went against the wishes of the giants and destroyed the second section of the Loki mural hidden in the Jötunheim mountain. She did this in an attempt to encourage them to forge their own path without being bound by their prophesized fate.
God of War 2018[]
The hidden remains of Kratos' fated death
Upon reaching Jötunheim, Kratos and Atreus reached the highest peak in all the realms. When inside the chamber, Atreus inadvertently broke the concealment spell, revealing the hidden mural that depicted their entire journey together up to this point. To their shock, they realised that the giants had predicted everything that would happen on their journey, and that Faye was actually a giant, the last giant that Baldur had been sent to track all along, not knowing she was already dead. As Atreus left the chamber excited to finish the journey, Kratos caught a glimpse of what remained of the second mural image, depicting Atreus cradling his lifeless body.
After spreading Faye's ashes across the peak, Atreus revealed to Kratos that the Giants referred to him as 'Loki' on the mural. Kratos realized that this was effectively his identity in the eyes of the giants, as it was the name that Faye originally intended for Atreus upon his birth. Kratos went on to tell Atreus the story of his name, referring to a Spartan Warrior who's bravery and humanity was unlike any Spartan he had ever come across.
God of War Ragnarök[]
Throughout Fimbulwinter, Kratos and Atreus recast their protection staves, knowing full well that Thor and Odin would be looking for them. Due to seeing his prophesized death, Kratos trained Atreus relentlessly in the hope that he would be capable of surviving on his own when the day of reckoning came.
Loki's destiny in Ragnarök
After an argument with Kratos over Ragnarök and Loki's identity, Atreus unknowingly transported himself to Ironwood, where he met Angrboda. There, she showed him the second section of the Loki prophecy. Horrified upon seeing his father's death at Thor's hands and Odin seemingly taking him under his wing, Atreus lost control of his anger and transformed, lashing out at the mural before Angrboda calmed him down. Aghast at the fate that lay before him, Atreus stubbornly denied that the mural was accurate, despite Angrboda insisting that the sooner he accepted that there was nothing he could do to change it, the better he would cope with it. Later, Angrboda gave him a pouch containing the remaining giant souls and their marbles, telling him that it was his responsibility to look after them. However, Atreus later gave them back to her, now saddened at the idea of following Loki's destiny.
In an attempt to prevent Kratos' death, Atreus accepted Odin's invitation to Asgard, much to the horror, of Kratos, Freya, Mimir and the Huldra Brothers. There, Odin showed Atreus the Rift, and the Mask which he believed could open the rift and uncover its secrets. Atreus began working for Odin to translate and complete the Mask, believing that he could use it to prevent Ragnarök and therefore prevent his father's death.
Meanwhile, Kratos sought the Norns in order to find a way into Asgard, but instead, they revealed his fate, that Heimdall intended to kill Atreus, and that Kratos would kill Heimdall, which in turn would start Ragnarök and Kratos would die, just as the Loki Mural depicted. The Norns taunted Kratos and his allies, revealing that fate was actually avoidable, but because he and everyone else were so predictable in their nature, they had no hope of averting the path that was laid out for them.
Despite his attempt to prove the Norns wrong, Kratos encountered Heimdall in Vanaheim and ended up killing him in a fit of rage, Atreus ended up completing the mask for Odin and Kratos became determined to bring down Asgard after Odin murdered Brok, revealing his deception of Tyr. After meeting with Surtr and creating the monster destined to destroy Asgard, Kratos regrouped with his allies outside Tyr's temple, preparing for the assault on Asgard. Knowing that his foretold death was just around the corner, Kratos retired for the night with his mind plagued with worry for Atreus, however, during the night he had one final dream of Faye, who encouraged him to open his heart to the world in order to find the strength to keep living in it.
Averting fate[]
The next morning, Kratos gathered his allies inside the temple, where he gave a harrowing speech, declaring that the only way that they'd win the war is if they sacrificed everything to ensure victory, for that was the cost of vengeance, before leading his allies into battle. However, during a turning point in the chaos, Atreus stopped in his tracks as he witnessed defenseless Midgardian refugees being injured in the crossfire, which filled him with grief. Kratos realized that Odin had deliberately put them on the front lines, to which Atreus weakly echoed Kratos' previous sentiment-'Wars are won by those who are willing to sacrifice everything.'
Horrified by his own words and having a change of heart, Kratos regrouped his allies, much to Atreus' surprise, and told Atreus that he should never sacrifice his compassion for the living, no matter what. He tearfully told Atreus that he had been wrong all this time, that instead of closing his heart, he must open his heart, as that was Faye's wish, and he himself would follow it through. As his allies arrived, Kratos declared that whilst he still intended to stop Odin, he wouldn't sacrifice the lives of innocents, telling his allies to get as many casualties to safety as possible, whilst ordering Freya and her brother to distract Surtr. Freya warned Kratos that this was suicidal as this would force him and Atreus to breach Asgard's wall on their own, but Kratos stubbornly replied that he'd rather die fighting for justice than vengeance.
Whilst Kratos refocused his efforts on saving the trapped Midgardians, Atreus fought alongside Sindri. He was later attacked by Thrúd, who was incensed by his betrayal, angrily dismissing Atreus' claims about Odin not caring for their safety, but she stood down after Sif revealed the truth- that Odin cared nothing for Asgard or his family and he would sacrifice anyone for his goals, using the refugees on the front lines as proof. Since Atreus' allies were busy saving them and distracting Surtr, Thrúd realized the truth of Atreus' words, and allied herself with Kratos and Atreus, hoping to talk sense into her father.
As Kratos, Atreus and Thrúd breached the walls and fought through waves of Einherjar, Thor struck Jormungandr with a fearsome blow, splintering Yggdrasil and sending Jormungandr back in time, removing the serpent from the battlefield. Seeing Kratos with Thrúd, Thor attacked Kratos in a blind frenzy, and the two fought a fierce battle. Kratos eventually gained the upper hand and pinned Thor's hand to the ground, but refused to go for the kill, declaring that they must stop this bloodshed and their destructive ways for the sake of their children. Seeing this, Odin appeared and angrily told Thor to resume the battle, but Thor, having finally realised that Odin cared nothing for his family, cast his hammer aside and refused to attack Kratos.
Odin's downfall[]
Enraged at Thor's defiance, Odin impaled Thor with Gungnir, just as Thrúd and Atreus arrived at the scene. Panicking, Odin tried to blame Thor's death on Kratos, but his manipulations fell flat, forcing him to incapacitate Thrúd and engage Kratos and Atreus in battle. Odin gained the upper hand and magically froze the two in place, but Freya arrived and used her newly craft binding spell on Odin, magically choking him and forcing him to his knees, with Odin only narrowly managing to break free of the spell and shatter the ground beneath him. The group tumbled into Odin's private studies, where Odin made one last ditch attempt to manipulate Atreus, convincing him that his destiny as the Jotnar champion was to put on the mask and gaze into the Rift. However Atreus broke the mask in two and the Rift sealed, and a horrified Odin battled Kratos, Freya and Atreus in a desperate attempt to avert his fate, but was ultimately overpowered. Atreus sealed his soul away in a marble, but Sindri, out of vengeance for Brok's death, took the marble and smashed it to pieces, effectively obliterating Odin's soul.
Trivia[]
- A likely version of Kratos' foretold death during the Asgard battle would have gone as follows:
- Kratos, if staying true to what the Norns perceived to be his true self, would likely be unconcerned with civilian casualties, much like during the Second Titanomachy, and would not only encourage Atreus to close his heart, but wouldn't order Freya and Freyr to slow down Surtr, who would likely carry on smashing everything in his path. As a result of this approach and given her proximity to the Midgardian refugees, it is likely that Thrúd would be caught in the crossfire and killed. Sif would also most definitely be killed in process, either by Kratos in self-defense or by Surtr. Atreus would be deeply saddened at Thrúd's death as well as that of the Midgardians and would likely lose his willingness to fight.
- Consequently, the loss of his wife and only daughter would enrage Thor beyond reason, and Kratos would be unable to talk sense into him. With Atreus in a state of turmoil, Thor and Kratos both fighting to kill each other, along with a mindless Surtr causing havoc around them and likely trying to kill them both, the fight between Kratos and Thor would become much more chaotic, with Kratos finding it much harder to wear Thor down. From here, there are several possibilities:
- Kratos would lose control of his anger and become more aggressive and stronger but also less strategic and sloppy, leading to Thor dealing a fatal blow. One possible reason to support this is that Kratos' focus and strategic counters were key in his victory against Thor, and neglecting these in favor of brute strength and rage would lead to a more unpredictable fight. In the first fight, Thor was excited to see Kratos' anger, egging him on when he activates Spartan Rage, and was pleased when Kratos lost control and hit him hard enough to knock out a tooth, therefore making it arguable that Kratos relying on rage against an enraged Thor would only give Thor a better chance of winning.
- Odin would join the fight and attack Kratos from behind, allowing Thor to finish him off, as Thor and Odin would remain on the same side due to Sif and Thrúd having been killed by Kratos' forces. Since, in the real ending, Odin appears immediately after Thor stands down to berate him for not following orders, it can be argued that he was observing the remainder of the fight from a distance and waiting for a good time to strike without drawing too much attention to himself.
- Due to Atreus' grief and reluctance to fight any longer, Kratos would be too worried for Atreus to fully focus with his fight against Thor, leading to Thor gaining the upper hand and striking a fatal blow. When Baldur attacked Kratos for the 2nd time outside the Jotunheim entrance, Atreus' conflicted relationship with Kratos and refusal to follow his orders led to him getting captured by Baldur, with Kratos only narrowly managing to free him and fend off Baldur at the same time. It could be argued that, if Kratos found himself in a similar situation with Atreus in Asgard with a rampaging Surtr and an enraged Thor hell-bent on killing him, he would be unable to fend off Thor and keep Atreus safe at the same time.
- Either way, Kratos would find himself having to deal with a mindless Surtr, an enraged Thor, Odin, and a conflicted Atreus all at the same time, a situation caused directly out of his decision to fight for vengeance and ignore how much damage was caused in his attempt to stop Odin, echoing the mentality he had when he brought Greece to ruin in his quest to kill Zeus. Kratos would be overwhelmed by this predicament and Thor would eventually strike the killing blow in revenge for his family, and Kratos would end up dying in Atreus' arms. This would also prove the Norns right that Kratos could not change and how this would ultimately result in a death that could have been avoided.
- This outcome would also be reminiscent of Starkaðr's death. Due to Starkaðr's strength, even posing a huge risk to Thor, Odin spread lies about his nature and portrayed him as a cruel monster, which eventually rallied the armies of the Realms against him. Unwilling to cause so much destruction and hoping to clear his name by trial, Starkaðr willingly surrendered during the battle, only for Thor to brutally kill him when his guard was down. Similarly, had Kratos and his forces ignored the deaths of the innocent Midgardians and subsequently caused the deaths of Sif and Thrud, Atreus would have lost his will to fight, Kratos would have been perceived as a monster and Thor would have stayed loyal to Odin. All these factors, caused by Odin's planning, would place Kratos at a severe disadvantage when fighting Thor, allowing Thor to kill him.
- In the shrine that depicts Kratos being a worshipped figure in the Nine Realms, in the background of the final panel, the outlined figures of Thor triumphantly standing over Atreus as he cradles Kratos' dead body are visible. This implies that whilst the Giants prophesized Kratos' death at Thor's hands, Faye painted over the original image to depict what she believed Kratos could be if he didn't allow himself to be bound by fate and opened his heart.
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