Prophecy of Loki

The Prophecy of Loki was a mural carved by the Jotnar that depicted the role of Atreus, known to the giants as Loki, in Ragnarok and the destruction of Asgard. It foretold the journey of Kratos and his son with uncanny accuracy, right up to the moment of Kratos' death at the hands of Thor. That ending was the one part of the prophecy that did not come to pass, averted when Kratos made a profound change in himself during the battle for Asgard.

What the mural depicted#

The prophecy was set down in two sections. The first depicted Loki and his father on their quest to fulfill Faye's final wish, spreading her ashes from the highest peak in all the realms to reunite her with her kin in Jotunheim. It showed their meetings with Freya, Mimir, and Jormungandr, their fights against Baldur and Thor's sons, and Faye's dispute with the giants over a matter that remained unknown to Kratos and Loki until long after.

The second section depicted Loki's role in Ragnarok during Fimbulwinter: his meeting with Angrboda and the giant souls he was given, 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 last image showed Loki traveling on alone with three wolves at his side.

Hidden from Odin#

Like many Jotnar visions, the prophecy was carved into murals, but to conceal it from Odin the giants hid it well. One mural was concealed by magic in a chamber inside Jotunheim's highest peak, and another was hidden within Ironwood, a sanctuary outsiders believed to be only a metaphorical paradise with no fixed location.

After Odin learned that the seeress Groa had glimpsed Asgard's destruction and his own downfall, he killed her and plundered her library, gaining a partial knowledge of Ragnarok but missing crucial details. Believing the giants held the rest, he tricked both them and Tyr into arranging a meeting under the pretense of peace. He managed a glimpse of the hidden mural depicting Loki and Kratos before the giants realized his deceit and banished him forever. In retaliation he ordered Thor to slaughter every giant in Midgard, sparing only those who sealed themselves in Jotunheim with Tyr's help. Out of love for her husband and son, Faye later defied her own people and destroyed the second section hidden in the mountain, hoping to free her family to forge their own path.

The revelation at the peak#

Upon reaching the highest peak with his father, Atreus inadvertently broke the concealment spell, revealing the hidden mural that depicted their entire journey together. They saw with shock that the giants had predicted everything, and that Faye herself had been a giant, the last one Baldur had been sent to find, never knowing she was already dead. As Atreus left the chamber, Kratos glimpsed what remained of the second image: Atreus cradling his lifeless body.

After spreading Faye's ashes, Atreus revealed that the giants had named him Loki on the mural, the name Faye had originally intended for him at birth. Kratos told his son the story of the name, of a Spartan warrior whose bravery and humanity were unlike any he had ever known.

Atreus and the second mural#

Throughout the years of Fimbulwinter, Kratos trained Atreus relentlessly, hoping the boy could survive on his own when the foretold day came. After an argument over Ragnarok and Loki's identity, Atreus unknowingly transported himself to Ironwood, where Angrboda showed him the surviving second section of the prophecy. Horrified to see his father's death and Odin seemingly taking him under his wing, Atreus lost control of his anger and lashed out at the mural before Angrboda calmed him. He stubbornly denied that the mural was accurate, though she insisted that accepting it would help him bear it.

Determined to prevent his father's death, Atreus accepted Odin's invitation to Asgard, where Odin showed him the Rift and the Mask he believed could open it. Atreus began working to complete the Mask, believing it might let him prevent Ragnarok and so save his father. Meanwhile Kratos sought the Norns, who revealed his fate but mocked him, saying it was avoidable in principle yet certain in practice because he and his allies were too predictable to escape it.

Averting fate#

The prophecy held true through every step until the battle for Asgard. Kratos killed Heimdall as foretold, Atreus completed the Mask, and Ragnarok began. But during the final battle, when Atreus witnessed defenseless Midgardian refugees caught in the crossfire and weakly echoed Kratos' own words that wars are won by those willing to sacrifice everything, Kratos was struck by horror at what he had become. He told his son never to sacrifice his compassion for the living, admitting he had been wrong to counsel him to close his heart, for Faye's true wish had been the opposite.

Choosing to fight for justice rather than vengeance, Kratos refused the killing blow against Thor and survived the battle, while it was Odin, not Kratos, whom a grieving Atreus would ultimately cradle and put to rest. The giants and the Norns had foreseen everything but this, a man changing his own nature. Faye, it was understood, had painted over the original death image herself, depicting not the fate the giants foretold but what she believed Kratos could become if he refused to be bound by it.