God of War: Daughter of War

Flurry, Pandora, and Atreus stood around the large platform that the Light was coming out of, marveling at the sight of the realm being restored as the rest of the dark elf growth seemed to disappear entirely, while their father thrust the hand that held the Bifrost into the beam, something that caused him to disappear into it. Neither of the sisters were surprised or even worried by this development, as Freya had told them that to restore the Bifrost one had to 'step into the Light', so this had to be what she meant, especially since she seemed to genuinely wanted to help them with their quest. Since Flurry was sure there was no treachery involved in this, and that the goddess' desire to aid the family had been true, she didn't bother to rush over to the beam since she was sure that their father would return to them in due time. With that in mind she stood at the ready with her bow while Pandora held her halberd in the same manner, something that caused their brother to do the same thing, even though he really didn't want to fight anymore dark elves than what they had slain so far.

Sure enough it wasn't long before angry dark elves started to swarm the area and attack them, annoyed that they had the nerve to destroy what had been strangling the Light, though as one flew close to them Flurry loosed an arrow right into it's heart, killing it before it could even get close to them, while opening the way for Pandora to strike another as Atreus picked his targets with care.

"You know, I was hoping that we wouldn't have to fight more dark elves." Atreus commented, loosing an arrow into the side of one of their enemies as he noticed that one of their foes got close to Flurry, not that it mattered since his sister drew their father's axe and hacked the dark elf in question apart before it had a chance to fight her.

"That would be nice, but you have to remember that we just destroyed who knows how many years of work in the span of a few moments." Flurry remarked, where she spun around and brought the axe down into another dark elf's neck, removing his head before he had a chance to move out of the area, while at the same time Pandora split another foe in half as their brother watched them for a moment, "Naturally Svartaljofurr and his forces are going to be annoyed with us and will want to take us out so they can resume corrupting the temple, not to mention the Light... I only hope they learn that anyone they send to us will end up dead and that they back off to avoid wiping out their entire race."

"Plus they are emboldened by the fact that father has stepped into the Light, so they think they stand a chance." Pandora added, where she spun her weapon around, parrying an incoming attack before using one of her chakrams to cut into the chest of her opponent, something that surprised the dark elf in question as he fell back onto the ground, lifeless due to the fact that she struck to kill, just like her sister did.

Flurry nodded as they focused on the enemies that were around them and took them down, she and Pandora killing most of the dark elves without much pause while Atreus did his best to aid his sisters, just like he did when their father was with them, before stopping as they found that there was a break in the amount of enemies coming at them. They discovered that it was a pattern, Svartaljofurr would send a group at them every now and then, usually between ten to thirty minutes between each one, and the siblings would, in turn, end all of the dark elves before they realized what was going on. After the fifth time Flurry found that the Dark Elf King was watching them and even loosed an arrow that intentionally missed him, as she was showing him her aim and that she could take him out if she so desired, which caused him to back off to a safer area for a time. Other than that there was nothing more for them to do than to just wait for their father to be done with the Light, so for the time being both Flurry and Pandora relaxed while Atreus stood near the beam, as if staring at it would cause their father to emerge sooner than they were expecting.

When the time turned from minutes and became an hour the sisters found that their brother started to pace whenever they weren't being bothered by the dark elves, who just seemed to be throwing their lives away as Flurry used her magic to place all of the dead bodies into a number of piles around the pillar.

"You know he's probably abandoned us, right?" Atreus commented, because after the third hour of standing around he had to assume the worst, somehow their father was no longer in the area and they were stuck in Alfheim, though as he added another body to one of the piles, as the dark elves were somehow lighter than he thought, while his sisters stopped and just looked at him for a moment.

"Brother, you couldn't be more wrong. Father cares about his family, that includes all three of us, and he would literally go to the end of the world or Nine Realms for us." Flurry replied, though while she could understand some of her brother's new annoyance over the issue, since he was new to everything and kept jumping at shadows, she thought he was being simply overreacting to what was going on, all while pulling out three apples, tossing one to Pandora before handing another to her annoyed brother, "Trust me, he'll be back in no time."

Despite her words Atreus just continued to pace around the area when they had time to relax, growing more frustrated by what was going on with the Light, where the hours stretched on as the siblings dealt with more groups of dark elves, even though Svartaljofurr had departed from the area. Every now and then Atreus did something stupid, he'd run his hand over the edge of the beam of energy and back away whenever he touched it, flinching in pain despite the fact that no harm was done to his hand or fingers, like he was searching for something specific. The hours continued to pass and the sisters were forced to take up shifts to make sure they didn't reveal that they were gods, beings who could go without sleep if they really wanted to, to their brother, though when he rested they found that he was annoyed and that when it was his turn to watch for the dark elves he was still annoyed. If Flurry was being honest she was getting ticked off with her brother for constantly assuming that their father had abandoned them and that they were wasting their time, especially when he caught the axe as she threw it at one of their foes and smashed it into the face of her target.

When nearly a full day had passed Flurry and Pandora could see that Atreus was at a breaking point as he approached the Light and forced his hands into it without caring about his own safety, only for them to pause as he pulled out their father like it was nothing, who was holding a filled Bifrost.

"Atreus?! What is going on? What have you done?" Kratos inquired, where Flurry could instantly tell that their father had no idea that he had been inside the Light for nearly a day, even though it had gotten them what they needed, and it was easy to see that Atreus was totally annoyed by what was going on.

"I saved you, while my sisters did nothing! I waited and waited, but you wouldn't come out... so I pulled you out." Atreus said, though in the next moment he got up and walked over to the last dark elf he had taken out and retrieved his arrows, while at the same time Kratos got up and glanced around the area, finding that things had definitely changed since he entered the Light, which both interested and confused him somewhat, "You've been gone a whole day... I hope you got what you needed from the Light."

"...Yes, I did." Kratos replied, as it was clear that he had learned something while he was inside the Light, while at the same he glanced down at his hand and focused on the Bifrost, which was now filled with a glorious light, before Flurry handed him the Leviathan Axe so he'd be ready in case more dark elves showed up, "Flurry, what happened exactly?"

"Best guess? The Light, or someone whose been watching us, had something to show you and kept you contained until the message was delivered... a message Atreus interrupted, obviously." Flurry answered, though if what had happened was someone speaking to her father she had to assume that her brother might have been right in his assumption that it was Faye, while keeping her voice low so only their father could hear what she had to say, "As you see we've been fighting dark elves since you stepped into the Light... I think Svartaljofurr might attack us soon, after all of the soldiers we've taken out during our wait."

Kratos nodded and indicated that it was time to get moving, where he had Atreus hold out his bow so he could quickly run the Bifrost over his enchanted bowstring, causing him to ask his son if he remembered what Freya had said when she used the blue arrows and found that Atreus did know the word. Such a thing meant that he could switch between his normal arrows or empowering them with the Light, allowing him to loose a light arrow into the crystal that was across the gap that was in front of them, forming a new bridge for them to walk on so they could leave the temple. Both Flurry and Pandora had a feeling that they would be using the blue arrows quite a lot, because they had passed by a fair number of the blue crystals before this point and knew there would be more in the future for them to deal with. They also realized an important fact, Atreus was in a bad mood and no longer cared about this place, calling it 'stupid' as all four of them quickly dropped into an area on the other side of the bridge, allowing Kratos to pick up a light crystal to move it.

One slot opened the way to a stone chest with a new rune inside it, granting them more power in the process, before he lifted the crystal and hauled it over to the second slot, allowing him to make a walkway for them to use to get closer to the exit, since it was now time to return to Midgard. Such a thing allowed them to return to the area that was below the area that the Light rested in, where they dealt with a couple of nightmares that were hanging out there, along with some bits of growth that revealed a wooden chest for Kratos to smash open and loot. There was a pair of bridges nearby, one they had to ignite on their own, that allowed them to break another set of cores that destroyed the last big growth in the area, all while revealing another crystal that could be used to make another bridge that was linked to the upper area. With that in mind they climbed up a fractured portion of the wall and returned to the platform that all of the dead elves were on, a fact that allowed Atreus to loose another arrow as he ignited a new walkway for them to use, where Kratos walked over it as all of his children followed after him.

None of them were surprised by more dark elves coming at them, in fact they were expecting it at this point, but the four warriors dealt with the incoming enemies before reaching the other side of the bridge, where they found a blocked door with a few more dark elves, not that it mattered since Flurry dealt with them as Kratos and Pandora looted a golden chest that was to the right.

Flurry found that the way to move forward was to knock down the light crystal that was above the magical door, which did knock out the blockage as Kratos caught the crystal, since they might need it later on, like the slot that was right in front of them that powered up a tablet in light letters that Atreus should be interested in. Oddly enough her brother seemed more annoyed by the stop to translate the tablet, where it seemed to be on the Light, maybe written by the light elves, but he had no desire to speak about it as he shut his journal and continued up the stairs to their right. Kratos huffed as he pulled the crystal out of the slot and followed after his son, who just seemed annoyed that he was doing such a thing, but it was a good thing as everyone found two more slots for the crystal could be placed in, right in front of the other side of the blue door they had spotted earlier. The slot that was opposite of the door not only revealed another runic chest for them to loot, which for some reason annoyed Atreus, but also granted them a way to target three more cores to access the second slot that created a short walkway for one to reach a sandbowl, allowing Kratos to boost Atreus up there.

The experienced trio could tell that he wasn't into this as he traced a rune into the sand and stabbed it, which allowed him to unlock the door, though as they departed they found elves dressed in white robes floated by them and returned to the temple, leaving them to return to the temple's exterior.

"And there goes Svartaljofurr." Flurry commented, where she spotted the Dark Elf King without delay and found that he just hovered in the air for a moment, his wings fluttering as they kept him afloat, before he flew down into the area that was right below the lake they split open earlier, "Down into the area that we'll have to retrace our steps through, since the boat is on the other side of this mess."

"What? You don't want to fly us over to the boat?" Atreus remarked, almost like he was offended by the fact that she had wings and refused to use them to benefit them in their quest, despite the fact that there was next to nothing she could do in this situation, since she was sure the light and dark elves would be offended if they left this open.

"Come on brother, where's your sense of adventure?" Pandora asked, where they stepped onto the lift as their father just turned the crank, allowing them to descend into the depths once more, only to find that the lights had gone out and that a number of cells were now open, meaning they would have to be on their guard again.

Such a thing revealed that the Bifrost doubled as a light for them, as it came on as they entered the darkened area, and a wooden chest for Kratos to smash open, though as they entered the underground area everyone found that the ceiling was in the middle of closing. Of course that meant that they would be without light, but that wasn't a problem thanks to the Bifrost, allowing them to retrace their steps through the rest of the area, though it also meant that they would have to fight a couple of enemies, such as a pair of revenants that decided to come after them. Shockingly enough the pair were far too easy for them to take out, and that was before using the new arrows to stun their enemies, so the family was able to clear the area before continuing deeper into the now darkened underground area. In order to move forward they had to find a light crystal, as there was a slot for it, and Pandora pointed out a bridge crystal for her brother to activate, though when Kratos found a moveable crystal they discovered that the removal of it opened some cells for the draugr to attack, a fact that ended with the family swiftly bringing them down.

Atreus, for the most part, was more of an annoyance when he wasn't fighting, because he constantly attacked their father with words by questioning if he should be doing things, like lugging the crystal to the slot because it would prevent him from defending himself if something attacked them, but Kratos brushed his words off as the sisters did the same.

The bridge that formed from powering that crystal allowed them to reach the bridge that could be lowered and raised due to a wheel, though instead of worrying about using that they returned to where the sandbowl was resting, but before it could be used they found that Svartaljofurr tried to ambush them by targeting Kratos. He, in turn, found that their foe just tried to used the handle of his weapon to strangle him or break his neck, but he was able to use his strength to break free of the hold and then slam the Dark Elf King into the floor, causing the figure to huff as he found that all four of his foes had their weapons at the ready. What they discovered was that Svartaljofurr's attacks were either thrusts or he'd spin for a moment to try and distract them while using his weapon, and the only power he seemed to have was in his spear, as he could strike the ground and release a burst of darkness that shrouded the area. None of them were fazed by the tactic as Kratos quickly raised the Bifrost and dispelled the shroud, opening the way for Flurry to slash into his sides, Pandora just struck him in the chest with the edge of her halberd, and Atreus jumped onto their foe's back and stabbed him a couple of times before he got off to loose an arrow into his back.

Kratos brought the battle to an end by punching Svartaljofurr into the air as he grabbed onto the handle of his weapon for a second and then slammed him into the ground, hard enough to force him to let go of his spear, which he used to stab the Dark Elf King in the chest, causing the elf to cough up blood and utter a short broken statement in his language before perishing.

"No... that can't be... he said that we 'made a grave mistake'." Atreus said, though it seemed like his rude attitude had gone away for the time being, as if saddened by the Dark Elf King's passing, even if he had been an enemy, where he found that Flurry gripped the spear's handle before gently removing it from the fallen elf's body, "What are you going to do with that?"

"Collect it, obviously... hm, I think I'll call it the 'Blinding Spear'." Flurry remarked, as it only made sense for her to collect the weapon of such a powerful figure and not let it fall into the hands of the fallen king's enemies, since they'd likely break it if they got their hands on it, causing her to slip it into her bag as she told herself to make an area for it when they had a chance to rest.

Kratos said nothing to that, since Flurry really loved to collect new or unique weapons and he wasn't about to stop her, to which he and Pandora collected the shadowy crest that had appeared on the ground, another talisman to be exact, and a green gem that seemed to have a power for Atreus. Such a thing told them that there were multiple gems for them to find while they explored the Nine Realms, though this one seemed to have the power to summon a spectral wolf to attack their foes, or those the wielder were facing when the power was used. With that done they approached the sandbowl and had Atreus trace the rune into the material, though when he asked if they had helped the right side, showing his confusion on the issue, Kratos admitted that they really had no idea, since no one among them had any idea what triggered the war and no one knew if aiding the light elves indirectly had been the right thing to do. All Kratos knew on this matter was that they had been told the truth, they had been able to fill the Bifrost with the power to defeat the Black Breath, and had gained a new power for his bow in the process, so it was worth involving themselves for the sake of being able to complete Faye's last wishes.

Of course that only brought about the return of Atreus' annoying side as he claimed that the only reason his father even bothered to talk to him was because he wanted something translated, causing his sisters to sigh as they returned to the surface so Flurry could spread her wings and take off as the trio used the boat to depart from the area.

"So, was she in the Light?" Atreus asked, because he figured that he could get an answer on that, since it would explain why his father would remain stuck and trapped for so long, while at the same time he discovered that his sisters focused on him for a moment.

"No, Faye was not there." Kratos admitted, in fact Flurry's explanation was, as always, spot on, as it had felt like someone had a message for him and he suspected that it was to make sure he and Atreus actually bonded more than they had done in the past, something he intended to fix in the future.

"I doubt you would even care if she was in there." Atreus stated, the annoyed look on his face returning as he stood up and faced his father, who brought them to a stop as he noticed a stern glare being sent his way, something that caused him to back down a little in the process.

"Mind your tongue, boy. Until our journey is finished, we must remain focused... if this is how you wish to mourn Faye's passing, then so be it, but leave us to our own." Kratos replied, at first appearing to be angry with his son, or at least to the extent that he showed Atreus during their years in the safety of their woods, before calming down as he focused on just staring off into the distance, and something else that had to be said, "Do not mistake our silence for lack of grief."

"I... I..." Atreus started to say, though in that moment he noticed that he really didn't know the others as much as he had thought at first, as his father and his sisters were saddened by his mother's passing, as his father seemed to be looking off into the distance, while Pandora rubbed her left arm for a moment with a sad look on her face as Flurry rubbed her eyes for a few seconds, "I'm sorry... I didn't know."

"Nor did we expect you to. After all, you don't know our ways." Flurry said, though while part of her wanted to be angry at her brother, for his outburst and desire to verbally attack their father like that, she decided to let it slide this time, since he was still mourning Faye's passing.

Kratos nodded as he got them underway once more, where he told them that he had felt only moments pass while he was in the Light, causing Atreus to smile as he took comfort in that information, while at the same time Flurry had to wonder what would happen to them when they returned to Midgard and faced the Black Breath.