Origin
Kratos is alive 4,000 years before the beginning of Tales of Symphonia takes place. He was the only human amongst a group of half-elves led by Mithos Yggdrasil. They ended the Derris-Kharlan war together and formed a pact with the god-like spirit, Origin, a summon spirit that is considered the King of all Summon Spirits. Mithos made a pact with the spirit and he wished for the creation of the Eternal Sword, a blade capable of granting the wishes of its wielders. Mithos used it to split the world into two, creating a symbiotic relationship between the two worlds now called Sylvarant and Tethe’alla. As one thrives, the other starts to wither. Despite ending the war, they were betrayed by the humans, and one killed Mithos’ sister, Martel. This drove Mithos made and he established the order of Cruxis and thus he transformed Kratos and Yuan, the other companion, into angels. Mithos wished to create a world where all beings were the same, believing it to be his sister’s wish. Kratos and Yuan would aid Mithos in his plans.
When Kratos found out the plans were to end free will, Kratos came down to one of the worlds, one called Sylvarant. He met a human woman that was used as a test subject to create cruxis crystals, gems used to grant users superhuman powers, but at the cost of another’s life or the subject becomes a monster. Together, they ended falling in love and having a child. They were pursued by Cruxis as Kratos though there must be another way to save everyone, rid the world of discrimination, and reunite the two worlds.
A Desian grand cardinal named Kvar would end up catching the family and removed Anna’s exsphere (Cruxis crystal) which caused her to transform into a monster. She attacked their son and Kratos was forced to kill her. She returned to her human form but she, their son, Lloyd, and pet tumbled down a cliff, Kratos would follow in an attempt to find them. He found nothing but bodies, some of which he slayed in rage, and he believed his family to be dead. Kratos, losing all will to live, would end up returning to Mithos to aid him once more.
Major Story Arcs
Tales of Symphonia
17 years later, when a crystal in the Iselia temple begins to shine, Mithos sends Kratos to the temple to protect the human, Colette Brunel, along her journey of regeneration, a myth Mithos started in an attempt to find a new body for his sister, Martel. Kratos joins them under the guise of a simple mercenary. He is then hired by Colette’s grandmother to protect her. Kratos then helps her group and trains Lloyd, unknowing that Kratos is his father. Kratos and the group would travel Sylvarant, destroying Desian ranches, and fighting the spirits that withhold the power of mana control and the elements to progress Colette’s “transformation” into an angel. When they reach the Tower of Salvation, Kratos goes on ahead with Colette to bring her to Remiel, an angel of Cruxis. The team is revealed to the fact that their journey was a way to transform Colette into a true angel, where she gives up her memories and soul. She would become a doll for Martel. Kratos is then revealed to be an angel of Cruxis and the team battles him. Kratos effortlessly defeats the team before Mithos himself arrives. Colette’s team is then saved by a group called the Renegades, a team led by Yuan, Mithos and Kratos’ old partner that helped end the Derris-Kharlan war.
Kratos is seen again atop the Fooji Mountains, and this is where his connection to Yuan becomes apparent. Kratos once again appears later in the town of Sybak to offer advice on how to cure Colette of her illness and return her to normal from her doll like state. Kratos once again encounters the group before they sever the final mana link and warns them not to do it. They do it anyway and the Great Mana Tree goes berserk and starts ravaging across the world. Kratos joins them once more to help destroy the Great Mana Tree. He encounters them once more at the gate of the city of angels and he reveals his status as one of the Four Seraphim, the name that Mithos, Martel, Yuan, and Kratos were called when they ended the Derris Kharlan war. Kratos once again battles the party and the fight ends when angels are summoned. This creates a further question of what Kratos’ true motives are.
Kratos is approached by Yuan and he tells him he can meet his son Lloyd, even though he has, unbeknownst to Lloyd. Lloyd meets Kratos at the Dwarf forger known as Altessa’s house. Yuan reveals Kratos’ connection to Lloyd and this causes Lloyd to go into denial. Yuan is prepared to kill Lloyd and Kratos leaps in front of the blast and is rendered unconscious. Mithos, under a disguise, reveals himself as the leader of Cruxis and he disables everyone in the current situation. Kratos is later seen in the snow city of Flanoir, where he explains to Lloyd what happened to his mother. Kratos appears to group after they manage to defeat Mithos. He then tells Lloyd and the group on how to reunite the two worlds.
Kratos then travels through the Torrent Forest in the city of Heimdall. He awaits for the group and when they arrive, Kratos offers to reveal the seal of Origin, but Lloyd must defeat him. Despite Kratos’ angelic enhancements and his own physical prowess and skill, Lloyd’s increases in power and skill have grown to where he could defeat Kratos. Kratos awaits the death blow, but Lloyd chooses to spare him. Kratos then uses up his remaining mana to open Origin’s seal. Yuan ends up appearing and saves Kratos’ life.
Kratos goes to Lloyd’s adoptive father’s house, a dwarf named Dirk, and awaits for his arrival when the angelic planet of Derris-Kharlan appears in the sky. In order to save the world, Lloyd is given an ice blade called the Vorpal sword, that is forged by Dirk. Kratos gives Lloyd his own personal sword, the Flamberge, which come to be known together as the Material blade. The Eternal Sword ends up fusing with those blades. Upon Mithos’ defeat and death, a new Great Mana Tree is established and dubbed the Great Kharlan Tree when Lloyd uses the Eternal Sword to fuse the worlds back together. Kratos is last seen taking the angelic planet of Derris-Kharlan up into space by using the fragments of what was left of the Tower of Salvation into the depths of space where Kratos will remain with for all of eternity.
Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Kratos returns in a limited role where is still seen guarding Derris Kharlan.
Powers and Abilities
Kratos’ power extends from his Cruxis Crystal. This grants him superhuman capabilities. His strength enables him to send people flying several fight, strike hard enough to severely damage beings capable of falling from heights that would kill a person. He himself has the durability to fall from lethal heights without any injury. He was also capable of physically striking and locking swords with Yuan, who himself wields a giant two sided bladed that is larger than most full grown men with one hand. Kratos is also seen striking with superhuman speed. He is capable of landing multiple slashes to multiple opponents and it gives off the appearance of him performing just one. He can also move faster than the human eye can follow in short bursts, as Kratos has covered and blocked attacks from enemies before they can even register his presence in the vicinity. He is also incredibly agile, capable of performing complicated acrobatics, but Kratos focuses more on his power than agility.Kratos’ Cruxis Crystal also makes him immortal. He has lived for over 4000 years. The Cruxis Crystal allows Kratos to infuse his sword with his own energy and thus allows him to fire energy waves from his sword or enhance his sword’s slicing capabilities. Another ability the advanced Cruxis crystals offer is that the wielder can alter their appearance at will. Kratos has never displayed this ability, but Mithos has. Thanks to his Cruxis Crystal, Kratos can summon blue angelic wings that enable him to fly.
Since Kratos was a human, he was originally unable to perform magic and thus could not become an angel. He was given the Aionis stone, and upon ingestion, he gained the ability to perform magical spells. Kratos can perform low to moderate level spells of fire, earth, and wind. He can perform moderate level healing spells. And due to the angelic nature of his crystal, Kratos knows the powerful angelic spell, judgement. A spell that is capable of raining energy pillars from the sky that can disintegrate beings as durable as dragons into nothingness.
Aside from his abilities, Kratos is an incredible combatant. Due to his 4,000 years of fighting, he has been considered to be one of the most dangerous beings in his universe. He is capable of taking on teams of adept combatants with his swordsman skills. He is also a skilled dagger user, but prefers his sword. On top of his physical skills, Kratos is incredibly intelligent as he managed to keep his own agenda under wraps from his earthly friends and even his own leader, who has known him for over 4,000 years.
Other Versions
Due to the success of the video games, Kratos appears in the Tales of Symphonia OVA in Japan that follows the story of the video game.