God of War: Daughter of War

As Kratos and his children returned to the dining chamber, and he started to undo a crystalline lock, Atreus coughed for a few moments, causing them to wonder if his sickness was indeed returning, but he stated that he was fine and that he was fit enough to continue on the journey. Atreus did, however, remark on the fact that Magni didn't come back to life, which Mimir found to be interesting since the Aesir had their own way of traveling to Valhalla, with no Valkyrie escort or without being processed at the gates of Helheim, but for the most part they focused on the path. They did discover a stone chest to loot and a harmless rift that Kratos pulled a bag of dust out of as they moved through the passage that was on the other side of the lock, which allowed them to make sure Atreus was fine, since he was still coughing every now and then while huffing, showing them that the fight with Magni and Modi must have taken a lot out of him. The end of the passage brought the family to a large area of the castle that Thamur's other hand had fallen near, since this one didn't have the ring that they had used previously, plus there were some devices that they hadn't seen before as Kratos spotted the way out.

Mimir explained that fishermen would bring their fish into this place and then use the contraption to send some of it directly into the Jarl's kitchen, allowing the rest to be sorted and sold accordingly, though as he said that Pandora spotted a lock on the contraption and broke it with one of her chakrams. Kratos then found an area that he could launch Atreus up into and, once his son was on the moveable lift that Pandora had freed, he moved over to the nearby wheel and turned it, allowing the lift to return to where it was originally, where he froze it's gears in place. With that done Atreus sent down a chain so all three of them could climb up and join him, or two since Flurry just jumped the gap with ease, before they joined him on the lift so Kratos could recall the axe, allowing the lift to return to where Atreus had gotten on it originally. Following that they looted a wooden chest before Kratos unlocked a third crystalline lock, allowing the family to enter an area they had been in before and allowed them to figure out how to get back to their boat with ease.

As they did so Atreus had to wonder what his mother would say if she saw them now, where Kratos told him that Faye would no doubt tell him that he had come a long way, that he had progressed and was growing into a fine young man, causing the boy to smile, as it was a nice thing to hear from their father.

"So, before we go, should we check out the other crystalline lock?" Atreus asked, because there was one near the ring that had opened the way for them to even get to the chisel, where his father looked at it for a few seconds before walking over to it, as he had the key and didn't feel like coming back at a later time.

The passage on the other side of the lock had another triptych, this one about Thamur, where Atreus quickly wrote down all of the new information before discovering that there was more to the passage than he originally thought, especially with a lift at the very end. Interestingly enough there happened to be a magical barrier just before the lift, one Flurry noted was designed to keep something in, like they were entering a prison, and the lift quickly brought them down to an area that, at first, appeared to be a library of some sort, complete with a Yggdrasil door. As they checked out the area, looting a wooden chest and a stone chest for their contents, Flurry found an opening that could bring them to a decent sized area that was like a fighting arena, with a floating winged figure in the center that seemed to be sleeping. This came as a surprise to Mimir as Kratos lifted his head to give him a view, as it was one of the nine Valkyries, and if they were in the flesh like this than they were formidable foes, far more than Magni and Modi could ever hope to be, and he cautioned them to think about this before blindly rushing into battle.

After thinking about it for a few moments Kratos beckoned for everyone to follow him as he returned to the lift, allowing the family to return to the surface, something that confused Atreus since he was sure they could take her out, especially after dealing with Magni and Modi.

"You, Atreus, are still suffering from the last major battle... better that we leave and let you rest, and maybe experience a few lesser battles, before worrying about a Valkyrie." Kratos stated, as his son's condition was worrying, he was coughing every now and then, just like when he was coming down with the sickness that they had dealt with other the years, and it made him want to make sure Atreus didn't collapse at the worst possible moment, "We will return for the Valkyrie when I am sure that you can handle such a battle."

While it was clear that Atreus wasn't too happy about this, he did agree with his father this time around, he needed to get a grip on what he was feeling and not be a burden to the family again, to which he joined them as they departed from the secret prison and returned to the boat. Mimir knew that this would have been the time to tell Kratos and his children the next step that they had to take, tracking down the fabled 'Black Rune of Jotunheim', but he agreed that it would be best to do something easier to ease Atreus down from his high of seeing a god fall in battle. Once they returned to the boat the first place they decided to stop was right across from the area that they found the boat in, right in front of the two statues that had brought them to where Thamur's body was resting, because there was another landing across the way and that would give them a short area to explore. Flurry, of course, returned to the air as her family used the boat, though what worried her right now was the fact that they had no idea where Baldur was, which meant that Freya's rune was working like a charm, but it worried her that he might swoop down on his dragon and attack them while their defenses were down, as he had one based on the sounds they had heard when he visited their home.

The area that Kratos brought them to had some sap clusters in some tough stones, though when Atreus used an arrow on one of them he removed the blockage with a single detonation, allowing them to climb up the wall that had been behind the material and continue to check out the area. While the others climbed Flurry found another Yggdrasil Dew, which were crystalline dew that grew from the various roots they passed by and acted like the runes the family found in the various chests, giving everyone a bit more power for whatever else they might fight. She hadn't said too much on them in the past, but their father knew that the bits of dew existed and was leaving them for her to collect so he could focus on moving the boat through the water, to which she landed by the others as they explored the rocky area they had climbed up to. Such a thing allowed them to see that there was a rift up here and more to the path that seemed to head into a cave, though for the time being they focused on the tear in reality, since it likely had some enemies for them to fight.

Sure enough two powerful Hel-Walkers emerged from the rift, as their armor and weapons seemed to be partly covered in ice and likely held the power of frost, something Flurry was able to confirm as one sent out a wave of frost that she used her magic to cancel out. With that in mind Kratos knew he couldn't use his axe, it did next to nothing against enemies like this, something that caused him to rely on his powerful fists, along with Atreus' arrows and spiritual wolves, Pandora's halberd, and whatever weapon Flurry decided to use. This time around she decided to stick to her sickle staff, since it had been some time since she had used it in battle, where Atreus found that his sister spun it around and slashed into her foe like she had been using this weapon for a really long time, longer than the time they had been living in the Woods. While she dealt with that Hel-Walker, jumping over the ice waves that were sent at her and cancelled out blasts that came flying at her, they dealt with the other one that had emerged from the rift, allowing Atreus some time to calm down and regain himself, causing the coughing he had been experiencing lately to disappear in no time.

When both of the empowered Hel-Walkers were taken care of, and Kratos was sure that no more were coming out of the rift, he approached the tear and thrust his hand into it, allowing him to pull out another pouch of realm dust that he gave to Flurry before they pressed through a large stone door and entered an area that happened to be where a dragon was chained up.

"Woah, another dragon." Atreus commented, where he found that this one looked somewhat similar to Hraelzyr, while at the same time also being somewhat different at the same time, though as they entered the area Kratos held Mimir up so he could see the creature, instead of forcing him to wait until he turned to face it.

"Ah, Fafnir... you know, I always wondered what happened to him." Mimir remarked, causing the family to glance at him for a moment, because they knew that Fafnir was a dwarf, Sindri had sent them to recover a whetstone that he had taken from another realm, so it was interesting to discover that the figure in question was now a dragon, "I know what you are thinking, 'but this is a dragon and Fafnir is a dwarf', and you would be correct in thinking such a thing... either he crossed a Vanir god or goddess he shouldn't have, on account of stealing so many artifacts and was likely cursed for it, or one of the items he stole was cursed and transformed him into a dragon. I think I heard of a mirror that could do that, once upon a time, but if it exists Fafnir likely lost it... somewhere in his vast hoard."

Flurry looked at the area and found that the chains were magical in nature, fueled by three rune stones that were likely scattered throughout this area, though they also served as locks for the twisted magical masks, a final line of defense to keep a spell in place, meaning they would have to smash the runes and then break the mask to free Fafnir. The area that was between the entrance and the open area that Fafnir was standing on, where he couldn't move from as they watched him bite into his chains in a vain attempt to break them, happened to have some draugr walking around, no doubt those who had been slain by the dragon in the past. Flurry also found that when they started to move down into the lower part of the opening that Fafnir opened his mouth and loosed a beam of lightning down on them, forcing her to shield them with a barrier before they were harmed, even though this allowed them to know that he didn't appreciate their presence in the slightest. She suspected that he viewed them as thieves, just like everyone else who came into this place before the opening was covered by water, and if that was true he was going to attack them repeatedly, until he figured out that they were going to free him from his dark bindings.

With that in mind she decided to focus on keeping Fafnir's lightning breath out of the area they were exploring, allowing her father to move up the left side of the area and discovered one of the rune stones, this one looking more elegant since it was larger than the ones they were used to smashing. Of course that didn't stop Kratos from tearing into the stone with his axe, smashing it to rubble in a matter of seconds, allowing them to confirm that it had been one of their targets as Flurry found that one of the rune symbols had faded, causing the family to continue their search. The second rune stone was located in a small opening that was closer to the entrance, also on the left side of the area, and after breaking it Kratos climbed up the wall and entered a room that happened to be near the entrance, allowing them to locate a stone chest that they looted with ease. In addition to that there was a stone tablet for Atreus to translate and add to his journal, which appeared to be one last message from Fafnir before he fully transformed into his new form, telling people to get lost and how he adored his new mirror, which seemed to confirm that the mirror might be responsible for his transformation.

When they crossed over to the other side of the ravine, as that was what Fafnir called this place, they discovered a Traveler after climbing up another wall, this one wearing a yellow colored version of the normal armor, only for Kratos to find that the warrior didn't have any new abilities or powers to show them. With that in mind he smashed through the armor, which gave Flurry more pieces to collect since they were vital to forming some armor, or even just adding them to her collection, before using the Traveler's greatsword to split him in half, just like he had done to the last few they had fought. After that he made sure to smash the rune stone that was in the area and Flurry reported that the lock on the gate that was protecting the mask was gone, meaning all they had to do was break the mask, plus she discovered that Fafnir seemed passive, as if realizing that he was going to be freed soon. Sure enough this time around Fafnir remained still as he watched them approach the device that was keeping him chained to this area, where Kratos confirmed that there was nothing else to worry about before he allowed Atreus to stab the mask with his knife, breaking the final lock in a matter of seconds.

Such a thing caused the magic to dispel and the collar around Fafnir's neck to come undone, where he glared down at the family for a few seconds before turning around so he could spread his wings and take off, flying off into the distance while Flurry discovered a pouch that appeared out of thin air.

"It would seem that he appreciates the gesture, since he's rewarding us." Flurry said, pulling out a large scale that held some power in it, like the other enchantment items they had collected so far, along with what appeared to be a crystalline tear that was white with a yellow core, a 'Dragon's Tear' when she thought about it, an item they might be able to use in the future.

As Kratos nodded, and moved out to loot the couple of wooden chests they had ignored to focus on freeing Fafnir, Flurry and Atreus looked around the anchor that the runes and magic had been linked to, just in case there might be something placed near the dragon to calm him down.

"Hey Flurry, check this out." Atreus said, where Flurry glanced over to the area that he was looking in, since they separated the area under Fafnir into two smaller sections to speed things along, and discovered that her brother had found a golden mirror that had ebony inlay resting on the ground, which he was now holding before he flinched as if he had been zapped or something.

"Are you okay?" Flurry asked, while at the same time magically wrapping the mirror in cloth before it hit the ground, since it was an artifact of some importance, causing her to stash it inside her bag as she started to look over her brother's left hand for a few seconds, where she found that nothing was physically wrong with him, "Well, I don't see anything wrong with you... just be careful, since the mirror was likely cursed in some manner and touching it like that could have done something to your body."

"Thanks, but... I feel fine." Atreus replied, though he wasn't sure what his sister was getting worried over, as he wasn't like Fafnir, so if he was 'cursed' by the mirror he was positive that it would do nothing to him, causing him to walk back over to the entrance so they could join their family.

As they left the ravine that Fafnir had been chained in Flurry told her father and Pandora about the mirror zapping Atreus, because she was slightly worried about him and she made sure to tell them when her brother was further away, where the pair glanced at the boy before deciding that they would also keep a closer eye on him. Following that they used the boat to move across the lake, where Kratos docked near one of the Realm Towers and found that a few nightmares were in the area, easy targets for Atreus to deal with while he and the others supervised him, mostly to make sure the illness and coughing were finally gone. Such a thing allowed them to see that he was able to hold his own and that he seemed fine, which was a good thing to see since all three of them had been worried that the coughing would have worsened or that he would have started to show signs of the potential curse. Since he was fine Kratos knew that once they were done with this area that they could return to their main objective, as it truly didn't seem like Atreus was trying to trick them into thinking that he was ready to go when he really wasn't, though for the time being he focused on their enemies.

After dealing with the nightmares the family found a rotating device that, when turned enough, opened the way for them to open a silver chest, after Atreus stabbed it's mask, before locating a way to climb up to where a runic chest they had opened was located and then spotted a side path that had a rope line. That brought them to where another triptych was located, along with a revenant that Kratos punched in the face, allowing him to dominate her focus while his children did what they did best, provided support while ensuring that Atreus was able to grow and adapt as well. Atreus' arrows simply stunned the figure and allowed their father to bring it down in no time, allowing them to turn towards the shrine and see that it was of the Giant known as Thrym, a frost Giant who stole Mjolnir from Thor, until the god in question stole it back and killed everyone at the end, a common fate for the Giants. After that they jumped over a short gap and climbed up to the other side of the Realm Tower the dock had been near, letting them break open another silver chest for it's goods before focusing on opening the tower's gate to reach the braziers on the other side.

On the other side they discovered one of the yellow armored Travelers, which wasn't much of a threat when they used the tactics they had used against the that had been in Fafnir's ravine, so it didn't take the family long to bring down the new Traveler and collect the fragments of his armor, plus the other resources he happened to have on him.

"Atreus, since it appears that you were correct, that the illness was not returning, it is time for us to track down the Travel Rune and continue with our quest." Kratos stated, something that caused his son to smile while Flurry and Pandora stood there, showing their brother that they were happy to be on their way, which caused him to focus on the individual that could tell them that information, "Mimir, what do we do next?"

"Now that we have the chisel, and can carve the Travel Rune into the special gate, we need to track down the fabled 'Black Rune of Jotenheim', and fortunately Jormungandr filled me in." Mimir replied, which was good to know, especially the fact that World Serpent was willing to aid them so much, causing everyone to listen closely to what he had to tell them, since there was no telling where he might have the four of them go to get their prize, "Apparently the Giants had entrusted the secret to Tyr, which would be a problem for us since he's dead... however, I do know that Tyr had a secret vault and that he supposedly built it somewhere on his temple."

"You know, I have seen a door on the lower level of the temple... maybe that's where we'll find the Travel Rune?" Flurry commented, as she had seen it a few times since they roused Jormungandr from his rest, the second time around anyway, and if that was what Mimir was talking about she was sure she could lead the others to where it was located.

Mimir confirmed that information, he was told that the vault likely held the rune, causing Kratos to turn towards the Door of Yggdrasil and use their Key on it without delay, allowing them to enter the Realm Between Realms for a short while before stepping out in Brok's main workspace. From there Flurry headed outside and the others followed after her, since she had seen it the most out of all of them, and she had committed it to memory since it had a crystalline lock on it, which they could now open thanks to the piece of Thamur's chisel they had claimed earlier. Fortunately the lock and door was near a dock, so if they had come by boat it would have been easy for them to do things that way as well, causing Kratos to use the chisel and break open the lock, opening the way for the family to enter a large chamber that seemed to be the entrance of the vault. Flurry found that there was a sandbowl in the middle of the area, meaning there was a riddle that they had to solve so they could descend into the depths, to where they would find the Black Rune, and there happened to be a damaged triptych on one wall, one of Tyr that was missing the middle panel for some reason.

While they approached the sandbowl, however, Flurry sensed that something was coming and silently prepared her magic once more, where she found that Atreus must have gotten tired of translating things and wanted to teach their father how to translate and read what he could read, and, just as she expected, they were attacked by Modi, who rained lightning down on them that was stopped by her barrier.

"Again? This magic stuff is getting annoying!" Modi stated, where he thrust his mace at them and found that the barrier just stopped the lightning that was coming out of it from touching the family, while at the same time Kratos readied his weapon, as he knew that Flurry could open the barrier at some point so he could deal with the annoying god, "Well, that doesn't matter too much... you four have utterly ruined EVERYTHING! I earned that fucking hammer, poured my blood, sweat, and tears into working hard to prove that I was worthy of it and that Magni wasn't... and now... now everyone is going to assume that I only got it because he's dead! I'll be a joke!"

"Please, someone like you doesn't deserve to wield a weapon like Mjolnir." Flurry remarked, because they had heard of the powerful hammer many times from Faye, and she was sure that Mimir could tell them more that even she didn't know about, and right now she didn't think someone like Modi was worthy enough to wield it.

"It doesn't matter what you think... I've told uncle about what you've done and it's only a matter of time until he tells both father and grandfather. Your lives are over." Modi replied, where he seemed like he had the perfect plan to make sure he wasn't a laughing stock back in Asgard, even though Pandora doubted that people would actually think less of him for knowing when to retreat from an unwinnable battle, before he pointed his shield at them, "You, tattooed man, I'm going to take your head with that axe of yours and present it to the All-Father... father will likely smash the skinny girl so he can vent his anger over losing one of his sons... but you two, the half-breed freak and you abomination of nature, I'll present you as gifts to the All-Father, to be used however he wishes. Just ask the head what will happen next, he knows more than anyone else what his former boss is capable of... though I might need to break the boy's legs and both your wings and your horn, just to make things easier on myself."

As Flurry, Kratos, and Pandora thought about what to say next the unthinkable happened as Atreus raged, as in he let out a scream of anger, showing that he didn't like how Modi was talking about how his family would be harmed, and Flurry was sure that she saw the flames of her father's rage for a second before he collapsed into a heap.

"Wow, he must be stupid... oh well, makes capturing him and transporting him that much easier." Modi commented with a light chuckle, showing them that he thought this was funny, though at the same time Kratos glanced at Flurry for a bit and she nodded as she altered the barrier, surprising Modi as something different happened.

Kratos tapped into his own rage as he literally walked out of the barrier, thanks to an opening that Flurry created for him, and marched his way through the incoming lightning, as if it meant nothing to him, before he grabbed the mace, tore it from Modi's hand, and struck him with his weapon so he dropped the shield, before he delivered a powerful punch to his chest that sent him out into the Lake of Nine.

"This is bad, this isn't the normal sickness we've dealt with in the past... he's awakening." Pandora remarked, as they knew that there was a chance that by not telling Atreus that he was a god might do this, that his rage would awaken his own godhood and put him into this state, but they had been hoping that he would have matured more before they reached this point.

"Quick, we have to get him to Freya's. She's his only hope right now." Mimir stated, as he understood what Pandora was talking about, he knew that Atreus was a god since his father was a god and his sisters were goddesses, of what he was still trying to figure out, and this meant his godly nature was now clashing with his mortal nature since he had been raised as a mortal, and he knew only Freya could help them now.

Kratos nodded as he lifted his son before they departed from the vault's entrance, as he could only hope that Freya was able to offer them some assistance and cure Atreus of what was currently happening to him, all while Flurry could only wonder what might happen to the family next.