Santa Monica Studio hasn't revealed much about God of War's upcoming sequel, but one thing is all too clear: Ragnarok is coming. The Norse apocalypse sees characters from across Norse mythology go to their final battle in what's known as the twilight of the gods. Some famous characters mutually mortally wound one another. Some get eaten by giant monsters. Some, surprisingly, survive.

The series' version of the Ragnarok prophecy as revealed in Jotunheim at the end of 2018's God of War created a tidal wave of speculation about the next game's plot, with many believing that Atreus will kill Kratos in the next game. Before trying to fit Kratos and Atreus into the picture, however, the best shot fans have at piecing together the next game is breaking down just who kills who in the Ragnarok of Norse mythology. Here's how the Norse apocalypse plays out, and what it might mean for the plot of God of War's Ragnarok sequel.

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Versions Of Ragnarok

god of war mimir

There are few written accounts of the Ragnarok of Norse mythology. Much of what is understood about Ragnarok comes from Snorri Sturluson, a 13th century Icelandic scholar and politician who wrote about Norse mythology years after Iceland had converted to Christianity. Most of the rest comes from the Poetic Edda, a collection of earlier anonymous Norse poems.

This narrow range of sources might make it harder to understand what the religious beliefs of ancient Scandinavians actually looked like in practice, but it also makes Snorri's Edda and the Poetic Edda very likely to be the main sources used by Santa Monica Studio when devising its version of Ragnarok, and the versions the storytellers understand their game's plot will be compared to. Here's who kills who in these accounts of Ragnarok.

The Deaths

Odin and Fenrir

Although there are slight variations, Snorri's version of Ragnarok and the version in the Poetic Edda largely depict the same events. Baldur dies when Loki tricks the blind god Hodr into killing him with a spear made from mistletoe, Baldur's one weakness. Hodr is then killed by Vali, one of Baldur's brothers. For his part in Baldur's death, Loki is bound in the entrails of one of his own children while a snake drips venom on his face. Loki's wife collects the venom in a bowl to ease his suffering, but when the bowl overflows Loki's writhing causes earthquakes across the world.

At the end of a three-year long winter known as Fimbulwinter, Ragnarok itself begins. The wolves Skoll and Hati who chase the sun and moon across the sky catch up with their prey, swallowing them. Fenrir then breaks free from his bindings, as does Loki, who joins the fray captaining a ship manned by jotnar and made from the toenails and fingernails of the dead. The jotnar of Muspelheim, led by Surtr, invade Asgard, and the Aesir Heimdall blows the Gjallarhorn to call the Norse gods to their final battle.

During that final battle, Odin will fight Fenrir accompanied by human champions from Valhalla. Fenrir devours Odin, but Vidar, the Norse god of vengeance, then slays the wolf. At the same time, Tyr will be battling another giant canine, Garmr, the guardian of Hel's gate. Tyr and Garmr mutually mortally wound each other.

Heimdall and Loki also fight to the death, each sustaining mortal wounds. This becomes something of a running theme. Thor and the World Serpent fight each other. Thor manages to kill the World Serpent, but only makes it another nine steps before succumbing to the creature's venom. Freya and Surtr also kill one another.

In some versions a few gods survive or are resurrected, and oversee a reborn world. Brothers Vidar and Vali live, Hodr and Baldur return from the dead, and Thor's sons Magni and Modi take up their father's hammer. God of War fans know that Magni and Modi were already killed by Kratos and Atreus in the last game, but how Kratos and Atreus will fit into the Rangarok prophecy remains to be seen.

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The Implications For God of War

The premise of Ragnarok is already slightly different in God of War. While Loki, AKA Atreus, is involved in Baldur's death, it is Kratos who delivers the killing blow, not Hodr. As a result, Hodr is not killed by Vali in revenge. It seems likely, however, that Odin and Thor's fates will play out in a similar way to the mythology. Mimir already explains that the World Serpent seen in the Lake of Nine is actually from the future, where his battle with Thor during Ragnarok shook the tree of life hard enough to send him back in time to await their battle once again. Allusions are also made to Fenrir, and the prophecy that he will one day devour Odin.

The time travel element introduced with the World Serpent, however, opens up a world of possibilities. It's possible that many of the mutual mortal blows seen in the mythology will be explained by that time travel plotline. Thor might kill the older World Serpent players met in the first game, for example, before the younger World Serpent poisons him and is sent back in time. It's even possible that the rebirth of the world will be interpreted as the surviving Aesir being sent back to the original birth of the Nine Realms.

The fact that Atreus is younger than many of Loki's children from the World Serpent to Fenrir hints that Atreus too might get sent back in time at the start of the next game, adding to the game's unique interpretation of Ragnarok. It's possible that an older version of Atreus is already imprisoned by the time 2018's God of War begins, and will break free at the start of the next game.

God of War is about cycles - cycles of patricide, revenge, civilizations, and pantheons. Ragnarok could be the perfect mythological event to explore that theme, where eon-long feuds end in mutual destruction for so many major characters. Whether Santa Monica Studio will depict all of the mutual mortal wounds seen in Norse mythology remains to be seen, but God of War's Ragnarok sequel has the potential to be one of the most interesting - and strange - modern interpretations of Norse mythology.

A sequel to God of War is in development.

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