God of War: Daughter of War

With the restoration of Jotunheim's Realm Tower the family headed into Tyr's Temple and made their way to the console that would allow Kratos to use the Travel Rune they had acquired previously to head to the realm of the Giants, though as they entered the area Flurry stopped them in their tracks.

"We're missing the crystal from Jotunheim, which enables Realm Travel... Tyr's final safety measure no doubt." Flurry said, as the restoration of the Realm Tower had caused a portion of the floor to move and revealed that the crystals could be stored in a safe area in case something happened to the tower associated with the realm in question, though Jotunheim's was missing at the moment, "I could look through the loot from Tyr's Vault, see if he stored the crystal in there, but that could take some time... time we don't have... or we use the method he used, a pair of Bifrost Eyes."

"Just so you know, Odin took my other eye to prevent me from traveling, in the event I was actually freed... but I did see both Brok and Sindri exploring the mountains after that point." Mimir remarked, as he knew that the family would no doubt use his eyes to open the way to Jotunheim, hence why he mentioned the most likely people who might know where Odin had placed his other eye, since their only options were to either let Flurry waste time or talk to the dwarves.

Kratos decided to head back to the workshop and see if the dwarves knew anything, since they seemed to be the key to a fair number of things related to this quest, and when they entered the area in question he was able to see that the pair was taking a break, at least until they approached their table.

"Hey guys, quick question: do you know where we can find Mimir's other eye?" Atreus asked, because if they said yes that meant they could track it down easily enough, claim it, and then open the way to Jotunheim before Baldur knew what was going on, or at least that was his hope on the matter.

"Oh... um, that's..." Sindri started to say, though they could tell that he was having problems even talking about this, like he was focusing too much on the imagery of what he and his brother were being asked, and his brother even raised one of his eyebrows for a moment as he forced himself to calm down, "Sorry... As a matter of fact, Odin asked me to... he wanted me to build a... he showed it to me, you see, and I... declined..."

In that moment Sindri rushed over to the flames and threw up inside it, like the mere idea of remembering what Odin did with Mimir's eye was enough to cripple him for a time, something that caused his brother to sigh as he turned his focus back to the family.

"You know, it was around that same time that Odin came around lookin' for me to build a statue with some sort of hidden compartment." Brok stated, which was good information for the family to obtain, since it meant that Odin had moved the eye at some point and made the search that much harder for them, since the All-Father had likely commissioned a large number of statues to hide the eye from Mimir's allies, "Now, with that not being a weapon... and the Aesir being a bunch of pock-speckled cockers... I too saw fit to decline... not that it matters, since I know he had it made all the same. It's the statue of Thor out there, flashing his sack to the lake."

"The statue that Jormungandr ate... which means it might still be inside his stomach." Pandora said, as this complicated things slightly, since there wasn't a good way to go inside him and see if they could find the statue before it was totally devoured by the insides of his body, while at the same time the comment of the statue being inside the snake ended up making Sindri throw up again.

As they departed from the workshop, however, Mimir told them that he was willing to speak to the World Serpent again, in fact he was prepared and fully aware of what to saw this time, so they wouldn't have the mix up like last time, causing the family to use the lift to reach the horn. Once they were on the level that the horn was on Kratos made absolutely sure that Mimir was ready and the head confirmed that he was, to which he raised Mimir to the mouth piece and let him blow into it again, where the others watched as Jormungandr made his way towards them. As soon as he came to a stop Mimir started to talk in the language of the Giants, where it sounded like he was mentioning their quest and the fact that they needed to get something from the statue the serpent had eaten the last time they called upon him. The massive serpent didn't need to wait before giving them a response, rather he said something as he started to move backwards, though this time the family found that he seemed to be moving like he was going to rest his head in the lake.

"Um, he thinks the statue might still be in his stomach... and, well, he's open to letting you row inside his mouth to take a look for it. By the by, he's not thrilled about the idea." Mimir said, which Flurry was able to confirm, the World Serpent was resting his head in the water and opened his mouth so they could head inside, an interesting turn of events in her mind, before Mimir considered something before they started to move, "Also, since Flurry will likely be staying outside since flying into Jormungandr's stomach might be a bad idea, the World Serpent has agreed to open his mouth again once you find what you're looking for... we just need to make a way to communicate or let her know that it's time to tell the serpent to open his mouth again."

"Plus I can keep an eye out for Baldur." Flurry added, though while she knew that Atreus would be a little saddened by the fact that they had to do this leg of the journey without her, a first in quite a long time, she knew this was the best thing for all of them, because if their pursuer found them it would only cause problems, to which she weaved her magic into a blue gem that was split into two, one half falling into her father's hand, "Go get that eye. I'll make sure Baldur doesn't bother you and the others."

Kratos nodded and handed the gem segment to Pandora, who would protect it until it needed to be used, before the trio headed down to the boat once more and headed off to Jormungandr's mouth, all while Flurry remained in the air as she glanced all over the lake, keeping an eye out for Baldur. It didn't take them long to enter the World Serpent's mouth, which caused the massive snake to close his jaw once he was sure they were safe enough, allowing her to simply float there as she thought about everything that had happened so far and what certain things meant. She was certain that mistletoe was the key to Baldur's curse, hence why Freya destroyed them once she realized what they were and likely figured out that her son was hunting her new friends, to make sure he remained safe and sound for some reason other than her wanting to keep her son alive. It was hard to determine what that 'something else' might be, especially since Mimir was unable to speak on what he knew about Baldur and his weakness, meaning she might have to break the spell with the arrowhead in her brother's quiver, even though she was sure that Baldur would want to fight even after the curse was broken.

As she thought about that, however, she felt something coming and found that it was Baldur, having jumped at her once he realized that she was the only one left in the area, causing her to catch him and hurl him into one of the nearby rock walls, before floating down to where the god had come to a stop.

"I had a feeling that I would find one of you here, since you seem to adore this big snake." Baldur remarked, which was fair in Flurry's mind, they had done quite a bit with Jormungandr in mind since the start of their quest, asking him for aid and now searching his stomach for something he had eaten, before the figure glanced around for a moment, "Tell me, where's the rest of your family?"

"Close at hand. You won't find them until they're ready to be seen again." Flurry replied, where she shifted her stance for a moment as she focused on the god that was in front of her, this time holding none of her weapons at the ready, showing her foe that she was willing to humor him.

Baldur frowned for a moment before leaping into the air as he rushed towards her again, where Flurry shifted her stance to let him go flying by her, though she did follow him down to the bridge he landed on and raised her hands, showing him that she was definitely going to fight him. As Flurry expected Baldur went on the offensive, throwing punches and kicks at her as if she happened to be the problem that was plaguing his life right now, and her family very well could be since he wasn't in the mood to share information with them, hence why she remained on the defensive. Such a thing meant blocking each of her foe's attacks and parrying them, while at the same time setting up a moving barrier around them to keep the damage that came from two gods fighting contained in a single space, only this time it was fully powered to make sure nothing was torn apart by their clash. Flurry also found that Baldur wasn't even annoyed by her decision, rather he enjoyed fighting her and enjoyed being on the receiving end of her attacks, especially since her punches and kicks actually dealt damage to him, despite the fact that his curse was still up.

She knew what this was, her power as the Goddess of Death was bypassing the power of the curse, even though the curse remained and ensured that Baldur remained alive, but Baldur, of course, only cared about the fact that she could make him feel pain, when no one else could, hence why he continued to attack her with everything he had.

As she thought about that fact Flurry shifted her stance for a moment and moved into a series of blows as she delivered a couple of kicks and punches to her foe's body, pushing Baldur backwards before uppercutting him into the lake, though she knew it wouldn't be long before he returned. Sure enough he leapt out of the water and rushed at her without wasting time, where she held her hand out and caught the punch that was coming her way, shaking the air in the process, which was the moment that she brought him close and planted her knee in his chest. As he fell backwards Flurry found that the gem half she carried seemed to be glowing, causing her to toss it into the air as it produced a bright light that caught Jormungandr's eye and caused him to open his mouth so her father could row out with Atreus and Pandora on the vessel. The moment her family found that Baldur was present Flurry made a brief motion of the fallen giant corpse, grabbed onto Baldur's head, and then flashed up into the air before rushing over to Thamur's corpse, where she hurled him down at the ground and caused a small crater to form around him.

Sure enough her father knew what she meant, as he and her siblings stepped out of the Door that was nearby, though they weren't along as Freya picked now, of all times, to appear in the area, something that caused Baldur to focus on his mother instantly, which was when Flurry magically chained him to the ground.

"What is this? Why can't I break them?" Baldur asked, because from what he could tell the chains were far stronger than he was assuming they would be, in fact he remembered feeling something akin to this before this point, causing him to look at Flurry for a few seconds.

"That, Baldur, is Flurry's magic. Alicorn magic!" Mimir replied, as it was the only thing that made sense when he considered what they were seeing, especially when he considered the information that Tyr had given him when he asked about the race during one of their conversations.

"Yes, it is. Now tell me, Baldur... would you like to be relieved of your curse?" Flurry inquired, something that caught the god by surprise, while at the same time Freya stiffened, like she couldn't imagine that someone could have figured out how to undo the spell she had put on her son.

"You can't do that! If you remove the spell he'll die!" Freya stated, because this was what she had been hoping to avoid, the death of her son, and after seeing that the family had found some mistletoe, prepared and sharpened into arrowheads, she had been worried that they were going to end up being the death of her son.

"Freya, I understand your concern, but I'm only breaking the spell... there are some questions I would like Mimir to weigh in on, and I can't ask him with your enchantment on him." Flurry remarked, showing Freya that she knew that the two spells were linked to each other, so if one broke the spell she was sure that the enchantment to keep Mimir quiet would break as well, and if that was the case she needed to ask him a few things to break something else.

Baldur stared at her for a moment before nodding his head, where Flurry held her hand out and the mistletoe arrowhead in her brother's quiver strap came off, the material healing itself thanks to her magic, though as soon as the object was in her hand she stabbed Baldur in the shoulder, allowing them to watch as the magical runes on his body glowed before the light shattered and faded.

"What... I can feel this?!" Baldur said, where there was a sense of happiness to his voice as he realized that the pain was still there, despite Flurry backing away from him, and when the arrowhead was removed he discovered a refreshing change, as the pain remained after the item was taken away, showing him that the spell was fully broken as the chains released him so he could explore what he was feeling, "I... I can feel the chill in the air! It's gone... the curse is finally gone!"

"That's right, mistletoe was the key all along... it's all coming back to me now." Mimir added, where Kratos pulled him out so he could see what was going on, all while Freya just sank to her knees and hung her head low, as if she really thought that this was going to be the end for her son and didn't want to watch it happen, "Now then, Flurry, what was it you wanted to know that would cause you to break Baldur's invulnerability?"

"We've spoken of Ragnarok before, about how it will come to pass, no matter what happens, and that Fimbulwinter is the prelude to that terrible event... but what causes Fimbulwinter to start?" Flurry asked, because she had a feeling that she really couldn't shake, like the answer was right in front of them and one misstep could have brought about the eventual end of the Nine Realms, and talking with Mimir was the best way to see if her suspicions were true or not, "What sort of event triggers the prelude to Ragnarok? Did you learn anything during your time with Odin?"

"Yes, actually: Baldur's death is the key to starting Fimbulwinter... Odin said so himself, after discovering that the Giants had foretold such a thing." Mimir replied, something that caused everyone to pause for a moment, even Baldur, who was in the middle of celebrating his newfound freedom, since there was another level to the spell than what everyone had known, Freya was protecting both her son and the Nine Realms by using that spell on Baldur, "Of course that's supposed to happen in a hundred winters or so... or so Odin said."

"What?! I... my death causes the destruction of the Nine Realms?" Baldur said, where he looked down at the dead runes that were on his arms, a reminder of the power that had been part of his life for such a long time, before letting out a sigh as he sat down, not even caring that he was sitting in the snow right now, "Father knew I would die, yet he continued to send me out on missions... knowing that somewhere out there was something that would break my invulnerability and take my life... and yet he never cared! I've seen him and Heimdall around Asgard, preparing for Ragnarok as if it was right around the corner, like it was a day away or something... he didn't care at all, did he?"

"Baldur, I know you don't want to listen to me, but Odin cares about no one but himself... I'm sure he loved you once upon a time, just as he loved Freya, but his thirst for knowledge has driven him to do unthinkable things." Mimir remarked, he knew that fact better than anyone, as he had brokered the peace that Freya sought and knew of the price that had come from such a thing, especially with his own imprisonment despite being such a trusted advisor to the All-Father.

"Son..." Freya started to say, though as she stepped forward for a moment she found that Baldur swung his arm at her, as he still hated her with every fiber of his being, but at the same time Flurry could tell that his fire had dimmed somewhat, now that he knew that the person he had spent his life trying to please had known he would fail him and die, and didn't tell him anything about his fate.

"Stop... just stop... I..." Baldur said, where it was clear that he was still trying to come to terms with everything he had just learned while listening to the others talk, especially with the fact that his mother did, in fact, care about him and didn't want him to die, especially since it meant that his death would bring about the prelude to Ragnarok.

"You need time to think, to compose yourself, and sort out your feelings... go, make your journey of self discovery," Flurry stated, as she knew what she was seeing rather well, Baldur was conflicted and needed to search his feelings for how he truly felt, though at the same time she held out her sickles for a moment as the warrior raised an eyebrow, likely wondering what she was going to do, "and how about I sweeten things for you? Make peace with your mother, in whatever manner you two can manage, and I'll fight you whenever you want... I have more weapons and skills than what you have seen so far."

Baldur looked at her for a few seconds before leaping into the air and heading off towards whatever area he wanted to spent his time in, while at the same time Freya sighed as Kratos made sure she was alright, though as that happened Flurry found that it was starting to snow, only the snow felt stranger than normal, causing her to frown for a moment.

"Father... we should get to Jotunheim... I have a feeling that there's more to the Giant's prophecy than what we've been told so far." Flurry said, as it felt like she might have started Fimbulwinter on accident, though there was a chance that she was just imagining things and the snow meant nothing, but she wanted to be sure and that meant heading into Jotunheim, both to fulfill Faye's last wish and to see if the Giant's left any information for them.

Kratos knew what Flurry was hoping to find, that the prophecy specifically meant Baldur's death and not the death of his invulnerability, especially since she was the Goddess of Death and her magic could have easily changed things for the worse, causing him to tell Freya that they would be back as he and his children set off to complete their quest, and to see if Flurry had accidentally set Fimbulwinter in motion or was just imagining things.