Universal DOOM

by ImpulsiveWeaver

After being cast away by Samuel Hayden, the Doom Slayer winds up on an adventure through multiple universes and meeting those who have their own issues with the denizens of Hell. Crossover between Doom (2016) and any horror/supernatural movies/books/stories that I include. Feel free to request any movie, book, or franchise you want to see. Cover art by JakeBurner on DeviantArt!

28. God of War

A/N: Yes indeed! It is me! I am back and ready for more! Please enjoy! I own nothing!

...

Freya moved about her abode with a solemn intensity, gathering essentials that she deemed necessary for her journey. She was alone in her small home, and despite that being commonplace in the past, the silence now threatened to swallow her whole. She had wept this morning, just as she had the morning before, and the morning before that. She had wept every morning for nearly the past week, ever since Baldur…

Freya stopped by her shelf of herbs and placed a hand on the wall for support, afraid that the sudden wave of grief accompanying his name would cause her to collapse. Her breathing became labored, and fresh tears began to form in her eyes as memories of that day came rushing back to her. That man…that monster…had taken her most prized possession from her, even ordering his own offspring to assist him in killing hers. Freya closed her eyes as the scene played in her mind once more.

…

She couldn't breathe.

She couldn't breathe, and her vision was fading.

She was dying.

He was killing her.

She knew that at least.

But it was alright.

It was alright because she was letting him do it. If this was what it took to make him whole, then she was willing to die. She would die a thousand times over for him. He was her son, the brightest light remaining in her abysmal life. And if she died, she would do so knowing that he was still alive. That alone gave her comfort as he strangled the life from her.

"I lo—I…love…you," she managed to choke out as she closed her eyes. It was alright.

Suddenly, her lungs filled with air, bringing her a combination of relief and confusion. Had he released her? Had he forgiven her? A small flame of hope ignited in her chest at the thought, and she cracked open her eyes in the hope of seeing the light of a son's forgiveness. What she saw instead filled her with horror as Baldur's struggling form was held back by the man that had nearly killed him mere moments ago. It had only been by her pleading that he had stayed his blades, but gazing upon his ashen form now, Freya could see that his intent had returned. There was no stopping him this time.

"Why…? Why do you even care?" Baldur choked out as the man's massive arm forced his airway shut. "You could've…walked away!"

"The cycle ends here," Kratos said bitterly. Freya's vision was still bleary, but a look at Kratos's face told a story of grim resolution, as though he knew what had to be done but regretted it all the same.

"We must be better than this."

His hands moved then, and a loud crack echoed throughout the landscape. Freya would've screamed if not for her injuries as her son's body collapsed to the ground, his neck broken.

"Snow…"

…

Freya's eyes snapped open, emerging from the painful memory. It burned within her, but in a way, she was thankful that it did. That had been the final sin, and now the seeds of vengeance had taken root within her. Vengeance against Odin, vengeance against the Aesir, and especially vengeance against the man that had taken her son from her. Her entire life, Freya had been forced to give up everything that she held dear: her home…her people…her own flesh and blood…

Now, there was nothing left. There was nothing more that Freya had, and after all this time, she decided that payment was due.

And yet, despite the storm that raged within her, Freya remembered the young boy, Atreus. He couldn't have been older than twelve winters, and she still held a resolute memory at the way he had looked at her. She recalled how she had found comfort in his innocent smile, and how his deep blue eyes reminded her so much of Baldur's when he was at that age. The boy had been the one to stop his father when he had nearly killed Baldur the first time, and it had been at his frightened alarm that Kratos had saved Freya's life at the expense of her son.

In the short time that she had known him, Freya had allowed herself to find a small sense of peace when she was with the boy. Her own son had rejected her long ago, and though she knew it was ridiculous, she had fantasized about atoning for her mistakes and starting anew with Atreus. Though she knew that she could never be the boy's true mother, she had seen how she partially filled the gaping hole in his heart, and how he in turn filled the hole in hers. And even through her grief as she carried Baldur's dead body away, she had seen how distraught he had been at seeing her rage against him.

Freya closed her eyes once more as the conflicting emotions whirled about within her. She knew that she could never forgive Kratos for taking her son from her, but a small voice persistently reminded her that he had given Baldur a chance to walk away. That same small voice also insisted that he would've been forced to kill Baldur eventually, as it was likely the unstable god would not have abandoned his quest to see them dead. And even still, the image of him speaking so sincerely with his son about what it meant to be a god refused to be banished. Freya squeezed her eyes shut even further and let her head fall into her hands, desperately willing her erratic thoughts to wane.

Suddenly, the woods began to shift restlessly. The animals, the plants, even the wind itself began to move about, as though they were warning of some extreme danger. In shock, Freya opened her eyes and listened hard to what they had to say, but their message made no sense to her. They seemed to speak of a threat, a vile plague of sorts. Something coming to Midgard from a realm beyond. Freya struggled to make out what realm it was that the threat originated from, but the words used to describe it matched no realm that Freya knew of. At first, Freya thought she heard the name 'Hel', but the woods were not speaking of the Hel she knew. Their description was alien to her.

Freya shook her head in confusion and tried to listen further, but she suddenly felt the fabric of Midgard tear apart through her magic, the barrier between the nine realms suddenly shearing and letting in a dark and ominous force that chilled Freya to the bone. The woods screamed in response, sharing in the agony of the barrier between worlds as it was torn away. She stood frozen for a moment, then hurriedly began to gather her things once more. Whatever had just forced its way into Midgard, it was not friendly, and though Freya knew that it was not near her home at the moment, that it would likely not be satisfied until it consumed the entire realm. She had to move.

Now.

…

Kratos heard Mimir gasp at his hip, but no clarification was needed. He had felt it too. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. A glance down to Atreus showed that the boy had felt it too. Something this potent was nearly impossible to miss.

"What was that?" Atreus asked nervously, looking around and scouting for any enemies that may have been nearby.

"Nothing good, I'm afraid," Mimir said ominously.

"This is the threat you spoke of before, head?" Kratos asked. "From the realm between realms?"

"Yes," Mimir said. "But now that it's here, I can feel it, brother. Whatever this is, it's from a realm far unlike any of the nine. It's dark and twisted and vile...and it's hungry."

"Hungry?" Atreus asked. "Hungry for what?"

"This realm and everything in it, lad. And I doubt it will stop there…"

"Can we defeat it?" Kratos interjected, focusing only on the problem at hand.

"I don't know, brother. Whatever this thing is, it's beyond even my knowledge. I'm afraid the only way to learn more about this is to see it with my own eyes."

"Then we are leaving." Kratos said resolutely. "From where is its origin?"

Mimir seemed hesitant to answer but sighed and gave a direction.

…

Freya pulled the string tight on the small drawstring sack and fastened it to her belt. She was now ready for departure, everything she needed tucked securely into the small bag. She was planning to travel light, hoping to get as far away from the source of the vile invasion as possible. Ideally, she would need to find a way to leave Midgard, but Odin had ensured that such a feat was impossible for her. Regardless, she knew she could not stay here. Her home was saturated with Vanir magic, and despite the protection it offered, Freya could tell that the invading force was gravitating this way, likely drawn to the magic itself.

No, she needed to escape. If she wanted a chance to reclaim her Valkyrie wings, then she had to buy more time. Unfortunately, time was something she seemed to quickly be running out of.

Suddenly, another shift rippled through the already damaged fabric of Midgard, but Freya noticed that it was far smaller than the initial tear. She frowned as her magic picked up the nature of this new entity. While it did not possess the stench of ill intent, it was still overwhelming in its insistence to enter the realm of Midgard. It was like the light of Alfheim, incredibly potent and yet ambiguous in its nature. It was also close, very close.

In fact, it was so close that Freya felt as though it was right…

A loud crashing noise suddenly resounded from outside of her home, and Freya's eyes snapped to the nearby window as a flash of blue light filtered through the air and bathed the interior of her house in its glow. The light faded almost as quickly as it arrived.

Freya waited a beat, then quickly crossed the floor of the room and opened the door to the outside. Her eyes darted around looking for the source of the light and the noise, then fell upon a figure standing just outside her garden.

The first thing Freya noticed about the figure was that its form was covered in a set of dark green armor. Its make was nothing like Freya had ever seen before, the material not appearing to be of any metal that existed in the nine realms. The second thing Freya noticed about the armor was that it was incredibly damaged. The green finish had been chipped away in multiple places, and a myriad of dents and scratches ran all across its frame. A look at the helmet told her that the visor was damaged as well, with one long crack running from the top to the bottom of the faceplate. Whatever this figure was, it had likely seen better days.

Despite not being able to see anything beneath the suit, Freya knew that there was no ordinary mortal creature hiding behind that mask. Her magic revealed that the life force of this creature was incredibly strong. It was nearly on par with the gods themselves, and yet, it still seemed different somehow. Freya couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew that there was more to this creature than just its appearance.

The figure glanced around her garden, seemingly getting its bearings, then noticed her for the first time, and Freya inadvertently stiffened under the weight of its gaze. It looked at her not with open hostility, but with a general wariness, almost as though it could sense her power as well. For a moment, neither of them said a word, then a strange voice came from inside the armor.

"Hello," the voice said. "I am VEGA. I am not the man within this armor, but rather, an artificial intelligence unit that exists as a part of the suit. You may address this man as the Doom Slayer."

Freya was put off by the voice. It sounded alien to her. Though she understood the words that were being said, the voice itself sounded cold and clean, as though each sentence had been carefully constructed. The sound itself was also off-putting, as it sounded as though this 'VEGA' was speaking through a hollow metal tube. Freya did not respond immediately to its voice, her mind still registering the sight before her.

The voice suddenly spoke once more.

"¿Español?" the voice ventured, and Freya frowned in confusion. That was a word she did not understand.

"Nihongo?" the voice asked again.

"Ελληνικά?"

The voice continued to speak words that Freya did not recognize, and she was just about to interrupt when the voice said something that caught her attention.

"Dǫnsk tunga?"

Freya's eyes widened in response. That was the name of the language of Seiður, the language of her Vanir magic. Freya then realized what the voice had been saying. It had mistaken her silence for lack of understanding, so it had been cycling through different languages in an attempt to find one that she understood.

"I understand you," Freya said, nodding toward the figure, who had yet to take its armored gaze off of her. "Though very few have distinct knowledge of the language of magic. Who are you?"

"As previously stated, I am VEGA, an artificial intelligence that resides within this armor."

There was a slight pause, then the voice spoke again.

"This 'language of magic' you refer to appears to be synonymous with a language I know as Icelandic. A visual inspection of your attire and symbolism further solidifies my theory, as it would seem to be derivative of Old Norse culture."

Freya frowned in confusion.

Artificial intelligence...?

Icelandic...?

Old Norse...?

The more information this 'intelligence' provided, the more questions that spawned in Freya's mind. Realizing that there were things more important than that at the moment, Freya took a deep breath and composed herself. Whatever this creature and his 'intelligence' were, they had arrived mere minutes after the dark invasion had. That could not have been a coincidence. She needed to know more.

"Perhaps you should come inside," Freya said, opening her door and beckoning to the figure in the damaged armor. "I believe we have much to discuss."

...

Freya listened intently as VEGA told his story, the Doom Slayer remaining entirely quiet throughout. According to his tale, the two of them had been traveling across realms at random without a means to control their destination. The realms they had traversed were not of the nine that Freya knew, but she had not been shocked to learn of their existence. There were ancient myths and legends that referred to realms beyond their own, and more and more so had they been proven true as of late. Freya's mind briefly flitted to one example in particular, a god who had come from a land far beyond Midgard.

Looking at the Doom Slayer now, Freya bitterly noticed that he bore a striking resemblance to the god she had referred to, both having nothing to say and ever distrustful of others. She could see it in the way that the Slayer eyed her. Somehow, he knew of her godhood, even though she had not even mentioned her name or lineage since his arrival. He seemed to see right through her. Did he also know of her own bitter flame of vengeance she felt? She would not be surprised if he did.

"You are sure that you aren't a god?" she asked, looking at the Doom Slayer through his visor.

The armored figure eyed her, then shook his head in response. The answer only spawned more questions in Freya's mind. If he was not a god, then what was this powerful aura that he emanated from his very soul? He was immortal, of that she was sure at least. But her knowledge did not extend far beyond that, and the Slayer was likely unwilling to share more about it with her. She found it to be slightly irritating, but she decided not to press further. There were more important things to deal with at the moment.

"Your arrival cannot be by chance," Freya said with a shake of her head. "Something dark and vile has torn the fabric of Midgard, and it too is not of any of the other realms I know of. Perhaps you know of its origins?"

"I am afraid that the Praetor Suit is limited in its scanning capabilities," VEGA replied. "And due to the lack of interfaceable technology in this dimension, I cannot detect this invading force that you speak of. Your description implies that it could possibly be the demonic forces of Hell, but we will need to visit the site of this invasion to know for sure."

Freya glanced once more over the damaged armor that the Slayer was adorned in, then nodded slowly.

"If this force and these 'demons' you speak of are one and the same, then tell me, VEGA, how large is this threat to Midgard?"

"That is dependent upon the size of the invading force," VEGA replied calmly. "but if left unchecked, your dimension of Midgard will be completely consumed. Of this, there is no doubt. The only variable I am uncertain of is how long it would take."

Freya was speechless. These demons that VEGA spoke of, they truly possessed so much power that they could overrun all of Midgard? Certainly, they would encounter resistance from the reavers and draugr?

Freya shook her head of those thoughts. Now was not the time to dwell on that. Looking at the Slayer's form now, Freya could see that he had grown restless at the mention of the demons, and despite the state of his equipment, Freya could feel his growing desire to face these invaders.

"Very well," she said at last, walking over to her window and beckoning for the Slayer to follow. Looking to the east, Freya pointed to a small mountain in the distance.

"The source of this malicious force is at the base of that mountain. Go there, and you will find what you seek. But whatever you're planning to do, you will need to act fast. The woods whisper of the corruption spreading from the invasion's source."

The Doom Slayer gave Freya another glance from behind his cracked visor, then promptly exited her home without a word, breaking into a run across the landscape and towards the mountain she had indicated. Freya watched as his form disappeared into the trees, then looked down for a moment in contemplation.

This invasion that VEGA spoke of, if it truly was as powerful as he claimed, then Freya was sure that Kratos and his son would find their way to it as well. Over the time that she had known him, Freya had discovered that he had an affinity for getting in the middle of things. Freya clenched her fist bitterly at the thought of him but shook her head and returned to her work. The conflict within her would have to be addressed at a later date.

…

Atreus looked about with an air of curiosity and wariness as he walked down the path. Kratos strode alongside, his face the mask of determination and focus that it always was. Sparing a glance to his father's demeanor, Atreus had to give him credit. Every time Kratos reminded him to focus on the task at hand, he had not done so hypocritically, as his father was nothing if not one hundred percent focused on what he was doing. Still, Atreus thought he could do to lighten up just a little bit, as wearing a determined scowl all the time had to be exhausting.

As usual, Atreus's curiosity grew large enough to break the silence.

"Father? This force that we are moving toward…Mimir already said that they aren't from the nine realms. Could they maybe be from where you came from? The land of Sparta?"

Kratos was silent for a moment. Atreus knew he was pushing against the limits of what his father was willing to tell him about his homeland, but he felt like now was a good time to pry just a little.

"No," Kratos finally said. "I do not think so."

"How can you tell? Do things from your old home have a distinctive feeling to them? Can you tell when they are close?"

"That is enough, Atreus. Focus on what lies ahead of us," Kratos said with finality. His voice was firm, but it did not hold the hint of anger that it used to when Atreus asked about his past. That was definitely a step in the right direction, and Atreus felt the beginnings of a grin worm its way to his face as he nodded in response.

"Yes sir," he replied. Taking a few steps ahead so that Kratos couldn't see his satisfied expression. The last thing Atreus wanted was for Kratos to know of his eagerness to learn more about Sparta.

Suddenly, Atreus heard a faint rustling coming from the foliage behind them, and he stiffened and slowed his steps in response, but Kratos placed a hand on his back and urged him forward.

"Do not stop," his father whispered urgently, just loud enough so Atreus could barely hear. "Ready your bow."

Atreus wordlessly complied, and he attempted to shrug his bow from his shoulders as nonchalantly as possible so as not to tip off whatever was following them. He continued walking, and for a few moments, no sound was heard save for their footfalls on the path. Then the sound of the rustling reached Atreus's ears once more, and with blinding speed, Kratos whirled around and smoothly hurled his axe towards the sound. The axe disappeared into the foliage, and Atreus suddenly heard a blood-curdling shriek from someplace that he could not see. The scream was not like any he had heard before, and he likened it to the sound of steam erupting violently from an enclosed space. Whole, yet raspy at the same time.

Kratos held out his hand, and the axe returned at his silent call. With the axe, a body tumbled out of the foliage and onto the path, its form nearly ripped in half from the axe's blade. Its form twitched for a few moments, then fell completely still.

Atreus stood tensely for a few moments, an arrow already half drawn in his bow. When the figure still did not move, the two of them slowly began to approach the downed creature. When Atreus got a closer look, he saw that the creature was large, looking to be a bit larger than the average draugr that they fought, but as Atreus inspected its features, he learned quickly that this was no draugr.

The creature's hairless skin was a deep orange-red, and long sharp claws extended from its hands in a malicious and vile manner. Its feet were horribly distorted, looking like they could have perhaps belonged to a human once, but had been warped nearly beyond recognition. The creature had fallen on its front, and Atreus could see that a number of sharp spikes protruded from the its back, adding even more of a fear factor to its already sinister appearance.

His curiosity getting the better of him, Atreus leaned down to get a closer look at the creature's face, bending into a squat to see more of just what exactly his father had killed.

"Atreus…" Kratos warned, but his voice had come too late. Glowing red eyes met Atreus's vision, accompanied by a long and sharp set of vile teeth. It was the face of nightmares, and Atreus quickly righted himself and took a step back and away from the body.

"What is this thing?" he asked warily. "I've never seen anything like this before. Have you?"

Kratos stared at the body for a long moment, but Atreus saw no recognition in his father's eyes.

"No. I have not."

"Might I have a look?" came Mimir's voice from Kratos's hip, and the man grunted once before lifting the reanimated head so that he could catch a closer look.

Atreus watched as Mimir's golden gaze examined the corpse, then he let out a sigh.

"Mimir?" Atreus asked. "Do you recognize this thing?"

"Afraid not, little brother," the head said dejectedly. "Whatever this thing is, it is not of the nine realms. This serves to only prove my worries correct."

Suddenly, the corpse at their feet began to disintegrate into flames. Rapidly, the embers consumed the creature's body, and in the span of a few seconds, all that remained of the creature was a small patch of ash.

"Well…that's interesting," Mimir mused at the sight.

Kratos returned Mimir to his hip, then looked to Atreus.

"We must keep moving. There are likely to be more nearby."

The words had just barely left his mouth before Atreus heard the sounds of battle over the nearby hill. Without a word, the two of them climbed the small crest and looked over the top into the valley below.

When Atreus looked down, he saw a sizeable number, fifteen or twenty at least, of creatures just like the one Kratos had just killed. The horde of creatures had surrounded an ogre, and though the beast towered above them, the creatures did not seem frightened. The hulking ogre roared at them angrily, its language furious and indignant. Inspecting one of the creatures, Atreus noticed that in life, they moved in a very slouched manner, giving the illusion that they were smaller than they actually were. Due to their posture, the creatures moved around mostly bipedally, but they were very agile, and were skirting just beyond the ogre's reach with a high amount of dexterity.

"Hvað ertu að gera í skóginum mínum?!" the ogre bellowed.

"Boy, what is it saying?" Kratos inquired.

"He's wants to know what they're doing in his...swamp?—no wait…his woods," Atreus clarified. "Sorry, it doesn't quite translate completely."

Kratos said nothing, watching closely as the foul creatures circled the ogre, looking for an opening in its defenses. Suddenly, as though through some unspoken command, the smaller creatures all summoned some sort of magical fire to their claws. Before the ogre had time to react, the creatures flung the fireballs at the beast's form. When the projectiles struck the ogre's hide, they exploded, leaving the skin charred and blistered in their wake. The ogre roared in pain to the open sky, and as if by some unspoken command, the creatures all fell upon the ogre all at once, their sharpened claws digging deep into the larger beast's exposed skin.

The ogre roared once more in agony and swatted at the creatures as they swarmed all over its hulking form, and though the creatures were much faster than their opponent, the ogre still managed to crush a few with its massive limbs. Superior numbers prevailed however, and after sustaining many fatal wounds, the ogre fell, its body covered in lacerations from the claws of the nightmarish beasts. Though the ogre was obviously dead, the creatures still attacked its form, hacking at its limbs and deepening the gouges.

"What are they doing?" Atreus asked, his eyes wide in horror at the gruesome sight. Kratos said nothing in response.

After a few more moments of gore, the creatures pulled at the disfigured limbs, tearing some arms and legs from the ogre's lifeless body. With a small amount of fighting amongst themselves, the creatures all grabbed hold of the pieces of meat and began dragging them away, with most of the creatures lugging the bulk of the ogre's torso.

"They are taking the body with them?" Atreus asked. "Are they gonna eat it or something?"

"No," Kratos said. "Their intent is not for food. It serves another purpose to them."

"Hmmmm, the mystery deepens…" came Mimir's voice. "I suggest following them to find out, yeah?"

Kratos grunted in agreement and motioned for Atreus to remain low and move quietly. The young boy nodded in response, and together they clandestinely followed the creatures into the woods.

…

Atreus kept a close eye on maintaining distance from the creatures. Following them had not been difficult by any means, as the thick blood trails left by the ogre's body may has well have been a light in the sky by how obvious they were. As it turned out, the creatures did not move far before they reached their destination, and Kratos and Atreus hid in the surrounding undergrowth as the creatures dragged the ogre's corpse into a small clearing.

Looking further into the clearing, Atreus became sick to his stomach at the sight of corpses just like the ogre's piled all around. Guts and innards littered the ground in the clearing, their combined blood splattered haphazardly in all directions. It looked nothing short of a massacre, but Atreus's gaze froze on what it was that laid in the center of the clearing itself. There, casting everything in an ominous red glow, stood what looked like a large plant at first, but as Atreus looked closer, he saw that the 'plant' was constructed entirely out of flesh and bone. There was no mistaking the slippery red look of the meat that made up the disgusting thing, and Atreus could see several skulls poking out of the plant itself.

Hovering above the plant and pulsing with a mysterious red energy sat a transparent sphere. The sphere itself did not appear to be solid, but rather constructed out of the swirling red energy emanating from the plant itself. Around the meat plant, more of the creatures gathered, obviously making the meat plant their center of attention.

"What is that thing?" Atreus nearly gagged out in a whisper.

"Let me see," Mimir prompted, and Kratos once again removed the head from his hip so as to give Mimir a better look.

The head was silent for a moment as he took in the sight of the meat plant, and Atreus grew more and more worried with every moment that passed.

"That's magic unlike any I've ever seen before," Mimir finally said, his voice carrying a tone of awed bewilderment. "Every single part of it just screams of spite, brothers. Its power is nigh overwhelming."

Kratos grunted and wordlessly returned Mimir to his hip.

"Look at the trees and the grass," Atreus whispered, pointing to the edges where long tendrils extended from the meat plant towards the foliage all around it. Where the tendrils meet the other plants, they seemed to be toxic, as the closest trees and bushes all had withered and died.

"It's killing everything off," Atreus said. The stench of rotting flesh finally reached his nostrils, and Atreus covered his mouth and face in an attempt not to retch.

In the field, the creatures all suddenly raised their heads in alarm, and Atreus's blood ran cold with worry that he had given away their position. Thankfully, something else had seemed to garner their attention, and the horde immediately took off to the left of where Kratos and Atreus were hiding.

"Where are they going?"

"I do not know," Kratos said.

"Perhaps we should find out?" Mimir offered.

Deciding to return to the meat plant later, Atreus tracked the direction the creatures had taken. Their footprints were distinct from any other beast that Atreus had ever seen, so he had little trouble following their trail as he eagerly led his father. In truth, Atreus was just glad to be away from that god-awful stench that had permeated the entire clearing where the meat plant sat. He dreaded the thought of having to return. As they continued, Atreus noticed that they were entering the foothills, recognizing the rocky terrain that signaled they were close to the mountain.

Shortly, the sounds of violence reached Atreus's ears once more, and with a quick glance at his father, the boy hurried his pace, clamoring up onto one of the massive boulders nearby to gaze at the commotion on the other side. Kratos climbed up beside him.

Looking down, Atreus saw the creatures swarming around something that he couldn't quite see at first, but his eyes shot open when he recognized a large pair of wings on the unknown form.

"Father! It's a Valkyrie!" Atreus said in awe.

"Hmm," Kratos grunted, acknowledging that his son was indeed correct.

"These invaders must be trying to bestow upon her the same fate as that poor ogre," Mimir said, more to himself than anyone else.

As Atreus looked back down into the battleground below, he saw that despite their overwhelming numbers against the winged spirit, the nightmarish creatures were losing the fight. Atreus did not know the name of the Valkyrie that was battling the creatures below, but he and Kratos had already fought against two other Valkyries on their journey, and though the father and son had triumphed both times, Atreus knew from firsthand experience that a Valkyrie was no pushover. As he watched, the Valkyrie darted with blinding speed between the creatures, screeching all the while as she slashed at them with her wings. In twos and threes, the creatures fell, their own dying screams of agony combining with the Valkyrie's battle cry into a macabre chorus of death and chaos. Many of the creatures attempted to summon their strange magic fire to hit the Valkyrie from a distance, but she had proven too fast for them, and their trajectories missed wide with each attempt to hit her.

Feeling satisfied, Atreus saw no victory in sight for the creatures, and he was about to voice his opinion out loud when a loud cracking noise came from the trees on the other side of the foliage. Then suddenly, a new kind of monstrous beast jumped into the fray, and Atreus looked on with a mixture of awe and fear at the newcomer. The beast was incredibly large, standing taller and wider than even Kratos did, and Atreus saw that the monster's body held an extremely muscular girth, and its threatening stature only increased when Atreus saw that its face. Similar to the smaller creatures around it, the monster's teeth were flared, though in contrast, Atreus noticed that the monster's hide was that of a blackish-purple compared to the orangish-red of the smaller creatures. With a roar that Atreus defined as a deeper and scarier version of the smaller creatures', the monster charged the Valkyrie as well, its gargantuan fists coated in the same magical fire that the smaller creatures wielded.

"That monster is one of the invaders! Just like the smaller ones!" Atreus said nervously as he watched the scene unfold below. The Valkyrie was forced to switch tactics as the monster lunged for her, as despite the large beast's impressive size, it was still very agile. While the darkened monster attempted to get in close to the Valkyrie, the smaller creatures hung back and launched their fireballs at her, forcing her to stay mobile.

"They're working together!" Atreus whispered.

"Very loosely, but yes," Kratos murmured, his eyes narrowing at the battle.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Atreus asked, and Kratos wordlessly pointed down at the larger beast in response.

Following his father's gesture, Atreus saw that while the two kinds of monsters did seem to be working together, they did not seem to care much for each other's safety. As the larger creature attempted to strike the Valkyrie, it paid little mind to any of the smaller creatures, and those who happened to be in its way were trodden underfoot by its massive bulk.

"They're feral…" Atreus whispered. "They don't care about each other, and if one of them gets in the way…"

"Then they are treated as an obstacle, nothing more," Kratos finished.

As he spoke, the Valkyrie dodged a charge and flew into the air. Once she had gained some altitude, the warrior of Valhalla fell into a tight spin, launching gilded feathers in every direction as she did so. Atreus knew from experience that getting hit by one of those feathers was the equivalent of being impaled by a spear, and as he watched, many feathers struck home, staggering the smaller creatures if not downright killing them.

As the fallen creatures burned up like the one they had killed earlier, Atreus saw the larger beast give an enraged roar. Five feathers protruded from its skin, and though inky blood seeped from the wounds, the beast did not seem deterred. It faced the Valkyrie again despite its dwindling number of allies.

Suddenly, a bright beam of red light burst from the foliage on Atreus's right and struck the monster square in the back. The beam was obviously powerful, and the monster's upper torso exploded from the impact, scattering its still intact arms and head in separate directions. There was a lull for just a moment as Valkyrie and monster alike turned in surprise to the source of a beam, then another figure exploded into the clearing and engaged the remaining smaller creatures with a strange two-handed sword that Atreus did not recognize.

The figure was clad in a strange set of green armor, and though Atreus could not know for sure, it looked like it could be a human underneath. Taking note of the rather damaged state of the armor, Atreus then focused on the weird sword that the stranger wielded. Its hilt was large and blocky, and though its blade wasn't very long, the stranger seemed to be having no trouble cutting through the smaller creatures with the weapon.

Each time the stranger began to cut through the creatures, the sword in his hands roared metallically, confusing Atreus even further.

"Father? Who is that? And what is that weird sword he's using?"

"I do not know," Kratos replied, and Atreus could tell from his father's tone of voice that this strange man in the suit was an enigma to him as well.

At Mimir's request, Kratos shifted the head so that he could see, and after a brief moment of wordlessness, Mimir spoke to them over the carnage happening on the battlefield below.

"Oh brothers, if I'm right, and I usually am, then we might just be in for a treat!"

"What do you mean? Do you know who this is?" Atreus asked eagerly as the strange man sliced the head off of another creature.

"Aye, lad. I just might, but let's wait until that battle down there simmers down a little bit, yeah?"

"Head…" Kratos warned.

"Trust me, brother. This story can't be told until the battle is over."

"Well then, what about his sword?" Atreus asked. "It's so different from all the other kinds I've seen."

"Aye, that's because it's not exactly a sword, lad!" Mimir said excitedly. "See how the edge of the blade rotates up and down its length?"

Atreus turned down to the scene and saw that Mimir was right. The edge of the blade was constantly rotating about its bulk, and when it roared, the blade rotated faster, cutting through the creatures easily when it came in contact with them.

"So, it's not a sword at all? It's a…saw?"

"I believe so!" Mimir chirped, his enthusiasm having grown since he had laid eyes on the stranger. "Though I must admit, even I have never seen a saw like that before."

Down below, the stranger was sawing through the last of the creatures when the Valkyrie seemingly awoke from her stunned state and targeted him. Being trapped in a physical form brewed feral insanity in the mind of a Valkyrie, causing them to see each living creature as an enemy, and as of now, the stranger was the only creature left that she could see. With a scream, she charged toward the stranger's exposed back, her wings poised to impale him.

"Watch out!" Atreus cried out before he could stop himself.

"Boy!" Kratos seethed, enraged that Atreus had given away their position. But Atreus didn't care at the moment, his attention completely on the stranger as the Valkyrie closed in. As she thrust a sharpened wing towards the stranger's back, the armored figure suddenly whirled around…

…and caught it.

Atreus's eyes boggled. The man beneath that suit had just stopped a Valkyrie's charge with his bare hands. The only other person alive that could do that was…

Atreus glanced sidelong at his father, seeing the man's usual scowl deepening at the sight of the figure's feat of strength.

Atreus turned back in time to see the stranger pull the Valkyrie close by her wing and throw her viciously to the ground. The Valkyrie shrieked and tried to right herself, but the figure stomped down on her neck with a heavily armored boot, stifling her attempt.

With his boot still firmly planted on the Valkyrie's neck, the figure grabbed hold of the Valkyrie's nearest wing and violently ripped it free from her body. The Valkyrie bellowed in agony as the appendage was torn from her, but the stranger did not let up, discarding the wing and repeating the process with the other. The Valkyrie twitched once, then fell still. Silence reigned throughout the clearing once more.

"He's strong, like you!" Atreus whispered excitedly to his father, who silenced him with a look.

The stranger looked down at the Valkyrie for a moment, then turned its gaze upward and looked directly at where Atreus and his father were hidden, immediately letting the two of them know that he was aware of their presence.

"Well, brothers. I think we best go introduce ourselves," Mimir said. "It's not like he doesn't know we're here."

Kratos stared down at the figure, his eyes wary and distrustful, and he made no attempt to move.

"Just trust me on this," Mimir said. "You're going to want to meet this man."

…

As Kratos and Atreus approached the man standing beside the dead Valkyrie, an incorporeal spirit emerged from the now wingless corpse. Just like the others before, the Valkyrie had now been freed from her physical form, and as a result, her mind was no longer corrupted.

The Valkyrie's spirit looked down upon the stranger, who turned his helmeted head to look at her without losing Kratos and Atreus from his view.

"You…have freed me," the Valkyrie said, her transparent form showing gratitude as she hovered above her physical corpse.

"I recognize that voice. Is that you, Geirdriful?" Mimir asked as their group reached the figure and the Valkyrie.

"Mimir?" she asked, turning at the sound of her name. "Are you with this warrior? By the gods…what happened to you?"

"Had to pay my dues," Mimir said with a wistful chuckle. "There used to be quite a bit more of me, didn't there?"

"Mimir, I…I don't remember what happened," Geirdriful said, shaking her head. "How I became like this…"

The winged woman looked from Kratos and Atreus to the stranger, then shook her head.

"I think I remember…the queen. She…locked me away?"

"Sigrun…" Mimir murmured.

"I…I must go," Geirdriful said with a shake of her head. "I have to find her. I must remember."

She turned once more to the armored stranger.

"You have my gratitude for freeing me, stranger. I will not forget this."

No voice spoke from behind the cracked visor, but the figure still nodded once in acknowledgement. With that, Geirdriful's spiritual form dissipated, leaving Atreus and his father to get a closer look at the stranger for the first time.

At first, silence reigned throughout the clearing, neither party saying anything as they sized each other up. At last, Mimir cleared his throat.

"Well then, brother. Perhaps some introductions are in order?"

"Who are you?" Kratos demanded, his distrust fully displayed on his face. Atreus understood his father's reaction, as he also had his suspicions of this strange figure as well. There were few things in the nine realms that were strong enough to halt a Valkyrie's charge like that, and there was only one type of life among those that possessed a human appearance.

Gods.

"Hello," came an unexpected voice from the armor. "The dismembered head tied to your belt is indeed correct. Introductions are a wise course of action."

Atreus spared a glance between the figure and his father, raising an eyebrow as to gauge the reactions between the two. The atmosphere had suddenly become quite…interesting.

…

Atreus listened enthusiastically as VEGA continued his story. So far, his assumptions had been proven correct. This armored figure, the Doom Slayer as he was apparently called, had arrived not long ago in Midgard, having traveled from a realm outside any of the nine realms Atreus knew of. Apparently, they had been traveling randomly between realms in the hope that they'd return to their own by sheer luck. It was a feat that VEGA had deemed highly unlikely, but it remained their only option at the moment.

In addition, VEGA explained that they had come to the foothills for the same reason Kratos and Atreus did. The invading force had alerted all of Midgard when it had arrived, and they had come to inspect the source. Atreus tried to organize the information that VEGA was giving him all at once, but he realized that he needed to write this down if he was going to retain it all. Hastily pulling his notebook from his pouch, Atreus furiously began writing in his journal a list of things that VEGA had told them:

-The Doom Slayer is really strong, just like father! VEGA says that he isn't a god, but he doesn't agree that the Slayer is entirely human either. That's too bad. I think that if he was a god, then he'd be one of the good ones like us!

-Apparently, VEGA isn't a spirit. He calls himself an 'artificial intelligence'. I don't know what that means, but he says that if I have trouble understanding to think of him like Mimir. He can't do anything except talk at the moment, but he's really smart and knows a lot of information.

-These creatures that are invading our realm, VEGA calls them 'demons'. He says that they come from a realm called 'Hell', but apparently a different Hel than the one that we've been to. He says that their version of Hell is really hot and covered with molten rock, so it's definitely not the same one as ours.

-The smaller demons that killed the ogre are called 'Imps'. They like to hunt in packs since they aren't very strong by themselves. And the big darker one we saw was called a 'Hell Knight'. VEGA says that there are way more varieties of demon besides those two, and he says that some are even bigger than the hell knights! I wonder if these bigger demons he talks about are as big as the trolls are…

-That meat plant we saw before, VEGA calls it a 'gore nest'. He says it acts like a bridge between Hell and Midgard and allows the demons to continue coming here. Maybe if we destroy the gore nest, then the demons can't come into Midgard anymore!

Atreus frowned at one question that burned brighter than the numerous others swirling around in his mind.

"Wait…VEGA? How did you and the Doom Slayer know where to look for the source of the invasion? The only way we were able to find it was because of Mimir."

"The Praetor Suit possesses a very rudimentary scanning system that allows me to detect the presence of the demons if they are close by," VEGA said simply. "However, we received a heading from a woman residing in the woods not far from here."

Atreus's heart skipped a beat, and he shared a quick glance with his father before anxiously speaking again.

"A woman, do you mean Freya? The woman that lives in a cottage under a massive turtle?"

"Yes, I believe they are one and the same," VEGA responded. "Unless, of course, it is common practice in this dimension to reside under large beasts."

Atreus's mind whirled, his thoughts erratic at the news. They had spoken to Freya? Was she still mad at them? Did she tell the Doom Slayer about them? Would he try to kill them if he knew who they were?

Atreus met his father's eye, who shook his head to discourage his son's train of thought.

"Focus now, Atreus," Kratos said before turning back to the Doom Slayer. It was obvious by his posture that he still did not fully trust these newcomers, but at the moment, a begrudging alliance was better than no alliance at all.

"If this invasion can be quelled by destroying the gore nest, then we must do so," Kratos rumbled.

The Doom Slayer agreed with a small nod of his head, and a minute later, their newly formed party marched back in the direction of the gore nest. Atreus looked over their group as they walked and attempted to lighten the mood a small amount.

"Two gods, a sort-of god, a severed head, and a spirit are all walking down a trail. That sort of sounds like the beginning of a joke that you would make, Mimir!"

Kratos immediately snapped a sharp gaze to Atreus, and the child quickly realized his blunder, as he had just accidentally given away the fact of their godhood to the Doom Slayer. He looked over at the Slayer and apprehensively fingered his bowstring, but the armored man made no comment and continued to walk down the forest path. VEGA however, seemed to notice the tense atmosphere that had suddenly befallen their group.

"Both of your heart rates have increased, is something the matter?"

His words took Atreus off guard. How did VEGA know how fast his heart was beating? What kind of magic told him that?

"Uh not really, but aren't you worried about the fact that we're gods?" Atreus ventured.

"Boy!" Kratos hissed, and Atreus wisely stopped talking as VEGA answered his question.

"I am not surprised by your statement, Atreus, and I do not believe the Doom Slayer is either. Your life signs are significantly stronger than that of a normal human, making your nature clear to me upon our first meeting."

Atreus frowned, and Kratos did too, though the father's expression was more in anger than confusion.

"And just what else are our "life signs" telling you, spirit?" Kratos asked in a dangerously low tone.

"I am able to discern your hesitation to trust both the Doom Slayer and me," VEGA replied. "While your apprehension is understandable, I must inform you that it is misplaced. We arrived in this dimension only through an act of chance, and we only remain here because of the threat the demons pose to your realm."

"And what do you seek to gain from offering us aid?" Kratos said irritably. "Do not expect us to reward you for your efforts."

"My scans indicate that your dimension houses very powerful magic, Kratos," VEGA replied, his tone remaining level and relaxed despite Kratos's accusations. "If the demons were to gain access and harness that power, then our dimension would suffer for it as well. It behooves us to remain here and see that the threat is eliminated. In addition, it is also a morally and ethically sound decision to assist others."

"And if we do not require your assistance?"

The Doom Slayer turned his visor to glare at Kratos, and Atreus almost could almost see the intensity arc in the air between them. They stopped walking for a moment, and Atreus nervously assumed the worst before the Doom Slayer broke his gaze and continued marching ahead of them, breaking the tension.

"Perhaps you do not," VEGA replied from the Praetor Suit, his voice as cordial as ever. "But we will give it nonetheless."

Atreus fell in step next to Kratos, who continued to eye the Doom Slayer walking ahead of them.

"You ever heard the saying about "gift horses", brother?" Mimir asked from his hip.

Kratos grunted in response but said nothing.

"Father," Atreus said. "Do you remember what you told me back when I was rude to Sindri?" Atreus asked.

Kratos looked down to meet his son's gaze.

"You told me that it served nothing to make an enemy of him, and that I was being needless and unkind. I feel like the same thing is happening here. It serves us no purpose to antagonize them."

"Have I taught you nothing, boy?" Kratos said, keeping his voice level. "The trust of another is earned, not freely given, and they have done nothing to earn our trust."

Atreus paused for a moment in consideration, then spoke again, his voice barely a whisper in the hope that VEGA and the Slayer couldn't hear.

"But we don't have to trust them. Remember what VEGA said? They're only staying until they kill all the demons, then they'll leave. Since we were going to kill demons anyway, we aren't changing our plan because of them. We'll work together to finish our mission, and if they reveal some secret motive instead of leaving, then we'll know that they're bad people and we can fight them then. But for now, let's just try to get along with them."

Kratos's gaze lingered on his son for a moment, then he gave a grunt of reluctant agreement and returned his gaze to the Slayer's back, his shoulders relaxing ever so slightly.

"Well, color me impressed, lad!" Mimir said from Kratos's hip. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that that vat of wise council was dispensed by none other than Týr himself!"

Atreus felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips at the compliment.

"Thanks, Mimir," he said. "I just thought it was pointless to waste our energy fighting each other instead of focusing on what's important."

"Aye, and just that proves my point, little brother! Do you think such a profound thought would ever even cross the mind of Odin or his big, butchering, bloodlusted bastard of a son?"

"I guess not," Atreus said with a brief consideration.

"Exactly, and that is what it means to be better, lad. Wouldn't you agree, brother?"

Atreus saw Kratos nod almost imperceptibly in response.

"Your mother would be proud," he said simply.

At this, Atreus couldn't help but smile. Though they had been more recent of late, a compliment from his father was something he rarely received, and he took a moment to bask in the feeling as they continued walking.

As they drew closer to the clearing that the gore next resided in, the stench of rotting flesh began to fill Atreus's nose once more. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, which Kratos seemed to notice.

"Breathe normally, boy. Your sense of smell will acclimate to the stench."

"Yes sir," Atreus said, attempting to ease the putrid air into his lungs in the hope of mitigating the abhorrent odor. Looking ahead, Atreus saw that they were close, with the red hue from the gore nest beginning to fill the air along with the smell.

They rounded the final corner, and Atreus saw the nest appear in his vision, the sight still as unpleasant as it had been when he'd last seen it.

"So, we destroy that thing and it will stop the demons from coming over?" he asked hopefully.

"Correct," VEGA replied. "I advise you to be ready, however. A gore nest is by all means a living organism. Each one possesses a reflexive response that will siphon more demons from hell when it is destroyed."

Kratos grunted and removed the Leviathan Axe from its holster on his back. Atreus followed his lead, unshouldering his bow and nocking an arrow into the string. Together, the group walked unchallenged into the clearing, as all of the patrolling demons had left their posts to fight the Valkyrie, and were now dead. Their group was alone.

"How will you destroy it?" Kratos asked as the Slayer strode toward the glowing nest.

The Slayer said nothing, but suddenly reached forward and drove a gauntleted fist into what appeared to be a flesh sac on the side of the gore nest. The sac ruptured and sprayed dark fluids everywhere, but the Slayer paid no attention and ripped something free from where his hand had gone in, and as Atreus looked, he saw that the Slayer was holding some kind of heart in his palm.

Suddenly, the gore nest began to convulse, and a nightmarish screech sounded from someplace on it that Atreus couldn't see. He made to cover his ears at its piercing shriek, but there was no need, as the gore nest suddenly ruptured, pieces of meat and bone flying in all directions as the construct tore itself apart.

Atreus suddenly heard a series of noises all around him, and he whirled around to see bright flashes of light pepper the open clearing. The flashes of light quickly faded, and in their place, a horde of imps took shape. They screeched their terrible screech as their eyes landed on the group, and Atreus reflexively lifted his bow and fired, the arrow arcing through the air and embedding itself in the throat of the nearest demon.

Blood spewed from the imp's neck as it collapsed, and the other imps immediately took action without even looking at their fallen comrade. Some immediately charged forward to get in close, and others stayed back and began summoning fire to their claws.

"Atreus!" Kratos called, but Atreus already knew what he was going to say. They had fought enough battles together that his actions had become second nature, and he obediently took up a position that placed Kratos between himself and the feral creatures, but still allowed him to keep a clear line of sight so that he could fire upon them with his bow.

Behind him, the Doom Slayer took up a similar position to his father, giving Atreus a line of defense from both sides as the horde of imps advanced upon them. Keeping his field of vision wide, Atreus fired arrow after arrow as his father and the Doom Slayer engaged the demons. His knowledge as a warrior had grown rapidly, and Atreus immediately loosed arrows towards any demons that attempted to flank them, effectively keeping the horde from overwhelming the small party.

Atreus heard a series of loud banging noises, and he spared a quick glance to see that the Doom Slayer had produced some sort of weapon in his hands. Unlike his strange saw from before, this one appeared to be made of two metal cylinders attached to a wooden stock. Atreus had no idea what to make of the thing, but each time the Slayer pointed it at an imp, it would kick in his hands and a flash of light would burst from the end. The flash didn't travel far, but each imp he fired it at would suddenly become extremely injured by some invisible force. Entire body parts nearly evaporated each time the machine kicked in the Slayer's hands, and though Atreus was curious as to the strange weapon's nature, he could not find a time to inspect it further, as his focus remained on picking off imps with his bow.

Out of the corner of his eye, Atreus suddenly noticed more flashes of light, each one heralding the arrival of more demons. Atreus fired an arrow in the direction as the light faded, hoping to drop the demon just as it spawned. Though his arrow hit its mark, Atreus's eyes widened in surprise as a lumbering monster of a demon appeared instead of more imps. This one was larger than the hell knights that Atreus had already seen, and unlike the muscular form that they possessed, this one rounder and fatter with thick slabs of armor barely containing its blubbery form.

Three of these new demons had spawned around them, and Atreus saw that unlike the imps and hell knights, these demons actually wielded weapons in the form of two massive cannons in place of their hands and forearms. It was a chilling sight to see, as if being the size of an ogre wasn't enough, these demons were actually armed.

"Watch out! These are a kind I've never seen before!" Atreus yelled, firing another arrow to try and hit one of these creatures through the eye. His arrow missed by no more than a few inches, and the fatter demon's thick skin stopped the arrow from piercing too deeply, serving no purpose other than to annoy the new demon and have it set its malicious gaze upon Atreus.

"These demons are classified as mancubi," VEGA's voice said, his patient tone somehow carrying over the sounds of battle. "Their internal organs are highly flammable, therefore I advise severing the feed tube to the flamethrowers located on their arms, as the volatile gas will cause an explosion if allowed to diffuse."

"Okay...but what is a flamethrower?! I don't know what that is!"

Atreus paused as the Doom Slayer suddenly charged the mancubus closest to him, and the demon growled and aimed its arm cannons at him in response, a stream of fire suddenly bursting from the end of the cannons and enveloping the Slayer in a scorching blaze.

"Oh…" Atreus gaped, the answer to his question blatantly staring him in the face. Before his eyes, the Doom Slayer emerged from the column of flames, his armor smoking but looking no worse than it did already. Leaping up, the Slayer landed on one of the demon's enormous arms and grasped a tube that ran from the arm cannon to a port on the mancubus's back. With a heave, the Slayer popped the seal, and the end of the tube came free from the cannon. A hissing noise filled the air as the gas within blew free, and the Slayer had barely enough time to leap away before the mancubus exploded, its grotesque innards flying everywhere.

"Boy!"

Ateus shook himself free from his stupor to the sound of his name, and he turned to see Kratos barreling through the remaining imps towards one of the remaining mancubi, who turned and readied its arm cannons to intercept him.

"Your bow!"

Thankful to have known him long enough to decipher what he meant, Atreus nocked an arrow and focused on the words he needed to say. Channeling the power infused in the bowstring, Atreus bellowed a command:

"Þruma!"

Electricity coursed across the bowstring and into the arrow as Atreus fired, and it struck home in the second mancubus's soft belly flesh. Unlike with the hardened skin in the creature's neck, the arrow did not meet much resistance, burying itself to the fletching in the creature's stomach fat. Electric arcs coursed across the mancubus's skin, but Atreus didn't care about that, as it was the arcs within the creature's body that mattered.

Just as planned, the electricity created a spark within the creature's gut, which was more than enough to ignite the demon's flammable innards. The mancubus gave an agonized roar before its front burst in an eruption of blood and guts, giving Atreus just enough time to see his father face the last of the three.

The Blades of Chaos sat in his hands, the blackened metal humming with the power they possessed. Before the mancubus could fire its flamethrowers, Kratos drove forward and buried the blades in the creatures exposed stomach. Without hesitation, the god of war drug the blades across the putrid flesh, widening the cut and causing the organs within to gush forth onto the ground at his feet.

After dragging the blades across the considerable width of the demon's gut, Kratos wrenched them free and kicked the mancubus backward with force that only a god could muster. The creatures dying form flew backward a short distance, and its insides exploded midair, casting its bulk in numerous directions and blasting any unfortunate imps that were within its proximity.

"That's all three!" Atreus called, nocking another arrow to pick off the remaining demons.

Shortly after, silence reigned throughout the clearing save for the hiss of demon flesh as it burned away. His breathing slightly labored from the intensity of the battle, Atreus walked over to his father, who was inspecting the remains of the gore nest with a keen eye. The Doom Slayer approached their group as well.

"Did we do it then?" Atreus asked. "Did we stop the invasion?"

"The lack of a gore nest will hinder the arrival of more demons," VEGA said. "But after running a few rudimentary scans, I have concluded that there are at least two more here in Midgard."

"Aye," Mimir confirmed. "I can feel them nearby. It's weaker than it was before, but it's still there all the same."

"If there are two remaining, then we will split up," Kratos rumbled. "The sooner we eliminate the threat, the better."

The Doom Slayer looked over at him through his cracked visor, then nodded once, agreeing with Kratos's decision.

"Are you sure that's wise, brother?" Mimir asked. "Suppose we meet a new kind of demon while we're destroying the nest? These lads have acute knowledge of their weaknesses…"

"We will endure, head," Kratos said with finality, ending any further protest.

"Very well. The Doom Slayer and I will travel northeast to one of the sites that my scans indicate," VEGA chimed in. "Mimir, that leaves you to guide them northwest to the other gore nest's location."

"'Spose it does," Mimir sighed. "I guess we'll see you lads afterward?"

The Doom Slayer nodded his head once, then turned on his heel and marched off into the foliage, following VEGA's heading to travel northeast.

Atreus watched him leave for a second, then looked over to Mimir's dangling head.

"So, our heading is northwest then, Mimir?"

"Aye lad," Mimir said. "But I fear we won't have to search for this nest. I have a dark hunch as to where it is. I'm just hoping that I'm wrong…"

…

Kratos pulled the boat alongside Týr's temple, and Atreus looked up to the doors of the realm travel room with dread. He could already see the red haze in the air, and he caught a whiff of the putrid stench as father and son exited the boat.

"The gore nest is inside the travel room?" Atreus said uncertainly.

"Aye lad, and I'm afraid that is the exact location I'd put it in if I were a demon. The roots of the Yggdrasil are more prominent here than nearly any other place in Midgard. And if their gore nest can tap into the Tree of Life…"

"…then they could gain a foothold in the other realms," Kratos finished as they ascended towards the door.

The implication was enough to cause Atreus to audibly gulp, his mind already imagining the havoc that the demons would rain down upon the other realms if they were to gain access. Midgard was one thing, but Atreus shuddered to think what the demons would do if they took control of the light of Alfheim.

Taking a deep breath, Atreus shook his head and cleared his thoughts.

No.

That wasn't going to happen. They would stop them. They had to. If they didn't…

…no. focus!

Kratos seemed to notice his son's apprehension, and he softly set his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Breathe, boy."

Atreus met his gaze, then nodded and turned to the door to the antechamber as they approached. Using his strength, Kratos pulled open the door, and the red haze greeted them as they stepped into what was usually Brok and Sindri's workshop but was now a completely deserted room. Their workstation was still there, but the Huldra brothers were nowhere to be seen. Atreus hoped that they were alright.

Together, they stepped across the small light bridge, and on the count of three, Kratos pulled the door wide open and they entered the travel room, weapons at the ready.

Inside, the gore nest came into view, and after disposing of the few imps and the hell knight that occupied the interior of the room, Atreus's eyes widened in anxiety at what he saw. The gore nest itself was placed right next to the travel table, where the roots of the Yggdrasil were most abundant. Where the tendrils extended from the base of the gore nest, they snaked outward and merged grotesquely with the roots, dying the root a blood red at the source. The awful color spread a small way through the roots from where the tendrils latched on, making it seem like the tendrils were spreading their vile essence through the veins of the tree. The affected roots looked weakened and sickly, as though the gore nest was sapping its energy from it at the same time, and the whole scene was bathed in the hellish glow from the nest, and Atreus felt his heart sink as he took it all in.

"These demons…they really are evil, aren't they?" he asked to no one in particular.

No one replied, as the answer to his question lay right in front of them. Frowning in anger, Atreus drew his knife.

"We need to destroy that thing. It's making the Tree sick!"

He advanced on the gore nest with his knife raised but was stopped by Kratos's hand.

"I will do it, boy. Ready your bow."

Atreus paused, but then he nodded and sheathed his knife as Kratos stepped to the nest. Imitating the Slayer's actions from earlier, Kratos drove his hand through the flesh sac on the side of the grotesque structure. The sac ruptured and sprayed dark fluids everywhere, and with a grunt, Kratos ripped something free from where his hand had gone in, and Atreus spied the heart of the nest gripped firmly in his hand.

As with before, the gore nest began to convulse and ripple violently, shrieking its bloody scream as it tore itself apart.

Multiple demons began spawning around them like when they had destroyed the first gore nest, but this time, Atreus was ready. He expertly aimed at the flashes of light that signaled their entry and fired just as they materialized, giving many demons no breathing room as they fell within moments of arriving.

Kratos had drawn the Leviathan Axe once more and was using the deep cold blade as a counter to the natural heat the demons seemed to emanate. More demons spawned to take the place of their fallen, but Kratos and Atreus worked flawlessly, executing the hellish creatures despite their superior numbers. A mancubus spawned in at one point, but Atreus had quickly silenced the beast with an arrow infused with electricity.

Just as the last of the demons fell to Kratos's axe, a glowing red portal suddenly burst open from across the room. Atreus paused, fixated at the sight of the portal, and he noted that this one was quite different from the red flash of light that usually heralded the coming of a demon.

For a moment, the portal was still, then Atreus saw a figure emerge from its blackened depths. Expecting it to be another mortifying demon, Atreus's eyes widened in surprise at the relatively human appearance of the figure. He bit his tongue however as the figure fully emerged from the portal, showing that it was anything but...

The first and most obvious sign to Atreus was the figure's face. Piercing red eyes stared back at him, their glow amplified against the deathly pale skin that the figure possessed. Two sets of horns protruded from the figure's head, one that protruded down and forward from its cheeks, and another longer pair that sprouted from its temples. Its mouth was covered by a green face plate of sorts, which matched the light armor that the figure was adorned in. A similarly colored set of shoulder plates, gauntlets, pants and greaves stuck out to Atreus, but it was the glowing red light that sat off-center on the figure's chest plate that caused his gaze to linger. The appearance of the light, as well as the rest of the armor…

…it reminded Atreus of someone..."

"Father…?" Atreus nervously asked.

Kratos said nothing, but gently ushered the boy behind himself as the figure inspected the scene around itself. Its glowing red eyes lingered on the disintegrating demons, the Yggdrasil roots, and the remnants of the gore nest before its gaze returned to the two of them. It studied them for a moment, then spoke in a voice that sounded like rocks tumbling down a hillside.

"Where…is…he?" the figure demanded, its vocals slow and drawn out, as though it found speaking to be rather tedious.

Neither father nor son replied, and Kratos narrowed his gaze as the demonic figure drew a dark shaft of metal to its side. There was a vile hiss, and a double-bladed axe head burst to life at the end of the shaft. The head glowing with a malignant red energy that matched the hue of the gore nest.

Pacing across from them, the figure dragged the tip of the axe across the floor, sparks flying from where the metal of the shaft met the metal of the floor.

Kratos eyed the axe, then drew his own and stepped forward.

"Find an angle, and make it count," the God of War whispered to Atreus, who nodded once. Across from them, the figure watched as Kratos approached to meet his issued challenge, his own axe glowing blue with frost in contrast to the deep red of the figure's.

Deep red eyes followed his movement.

"Perhaps…the…whispers…were…false," the figure rumbled.

"But…it…makes…no…difference…now."

The figure stopped pacing and faced Kratos, who in turn stopped and faced it in return.

"You…will…die…just…like…them."

In a flash, the figure charged forward, brandishing its axe and raising it in preparation. Kratos responded, uncoiling his wrist shield and parrying the blow. The red axe bounced off the hardened metal, giving Kratos an opening for counterattack. He swung his axe to strike the figure, but it responded in kind by summoning a shield of its own, the bright red energy forming into a large plate at its wrist. The blow clashed against the shield, but the figure staggered backward from the force of the blow, betraying that Kratos was the stronger between the two. Realizing this, the God of War surged forward to close the distance and strike once more, but the figure swiftly dropped its shield and grabbed a device from its hip. As it leveled device at Kratos, Atreus suddenly remembered seeing something similar in the hands of the Slayer…

"Father! Watch out!"

But it was too late. The device kicked in the figure's outstretched hand, and Kratos roared in pain as blood misted from his chest. Thankfully, the device only seemed to stagger him rather than seriously wound, but it was enough for the figure to gain an opening to strike. It raised its axe once more, but Atreus had already nocked an arrow into his bowstring. Summoning the light of Alfheim, Atreus saw the blue light coat the arrow as he fired.

"Ljósta!"

The arrow caught the figure directly in its chest, and it staggered as the light crashed throughout its body. Unfortunately for Atreus, the figure recovered quickly, and with an angry growl, it raised its axe into the air. The gesture did nothing to intimidate Atreus, but to his astonishment, the ethereal form of a wolf appeared next to the figure. Its transparent body glowed a deep orange that gave away is vile nature, and with a snarl, the wolf charged at Atreus, giving the boy barely any time to nock an arrow before it leapt at him, its jaws open and lunging for his throat.

…

"Atreus!" Kratos shouted, his adrenaline spiking as the wolf lept for his son. He rushed to him, but the figure swung its axe for him again, forcing him to dodge backward and out of its path. The figure now stood between him and Atreus, its glowing in spite.

Unable to reach his child, Kratos felt his rage boil over inside of him, and with a guttural yell, his arms became wreathed in the fires of his fury. The demonic figure took a half-step back in surprise from his sudden transformation, but Kratos closed the distance in the time it took to blink. Bellowing in anger, the God of War ripped the red-bladed axe from the figure's grip.

Holding the stolen weapon in two hands, Kratos brought the axe furiously down upon the figure. The demonic creature summoned its shield once more to block, but the power behind Kratos's swing overwhelmed the defense. The red light of the shield cracked and broke, and the axe followed through, cleaving the figure cleanly in two down the middle. The sides of the cut glowed red from the energy of the axe blade, but Kratos did not care. He discarded the axe and rushed forward to assist Atreus, his eyes focusing on the boy just in time to see him drive his knife deeply into the phantom wolf's neck. The wolf yowled in pain once, and then dissipated into the mist, leaving Atreus on his back with his knife outstretched into the air above him.

Kratos was at his son's side in an instant, the rage within him subsiding as he saw that he had sustained no injuries. Atreus lay in shock for a few moments, his chest heaving with residual adrenaline from the encounter.

…

"Breathe," Kratos instructed, propping Atreus up so that he was no longer on his back. Atreus consciously made an effort to slow down his erratic heart rate, and after a few moments, his breathing began to return to normal.

"What…what was that thing?" he asked apprehensively.

"I do not know," Kratos said, helping Atreus to his feet.

"Mimir?"

"Haven't the foggiest lad. Certainly was frightening though, yeah?"

"It's armor…it looked a lot like…"

Atreus was interrupted as the door they had used to enter the chamber opened, spilling light into the dimly lit travel room. The shadowy silhouette of the Doom Slayer appeared against the light, crossing the room to where Kratos and Atreus stood.

Immediately, Kratos placed himself between Atreus and the Slayer and drew the Blades of Chaos.

"Stay where you are," he commanded dangerously.

The Slayer eyed him through his cracked visor, but his pace gradually slowed to a stop, his form standing almost ten paces from Kratos and Atreus.

"You have lied to us," Kratos growled.

"I do not understand," VEGA said through the Slayer's helmet. "Was the gore nest not in the direction that I indicated?"

"There was a creature, a demon. It bore armor like yours and a mark that matches the one on your helm," Kratos fumed. "What is the meaning of this?!"

The Doom Slayer looked over to where the creature had drug its axe across the floor, then tilted his head downward in what Atreus interpreted as 'irritated recognition'.

"This creature you encountered..." VEGA prompted. "Could you please describe it further?"

"It was looking for you!" Atreus chimed in. "It seemed almost like it was expecting to find you instead of us."

There was a long pause, then VEGA spoke.

"I believe I know the nature of the demon you encountered, but to provide you with the details would require a substantial amount of time, and seeing as how the demonic threat has passed, we will both be moving on—"

"Well, well, well! Guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you two sac-tappers bein' the ones to clear this place out!" a new and familiar voice called from behind the Doom Slayer.

Glancing around the Slayer's bulk, Atreus saw none other than Brok and Sindri approaching, the two dwarf brothers likely choosing now to emerge from wherever they had hunkered down during the demonic invasion. Brok was sauntering towards them with his hands on his hips, and Sindri had a cloth covering his nose and mouth, likely to avoid the stench of blood and guts that still permeated the travel room.

"Uh, hey Brok. Hey Sindri…" Atreus said, not entirely sure that right now was the best time for the dwarves to enter the encounter.

"Whatcha soundin' so fuckin' distraught fer?" Brok chortled, his well-meaning but rude mannerisms showing themselves yet again as he came closer. "Lest ya not forget it was me whose been—great Garmr's gonads! Just what in the four corners are you wearing?!"

Brok and Sindri hastened over to the Doom Slayer at the sight of his strange armor, and within seconds, the dwarves were circling the Slayer like hawks, looking at the suit up and down like it was some sort of golden treasure. The Slayer eyed them warily, and Kratos growled at the dwarves' interruption.

"We do not have time for this," Kratos rumbled.

"Hold yer fuckin' wad, ya big oaf," Brok said, raising his hand in a halting gesture without taking his eyes off of the Slayer's armor. "You remember when I told ya I know quality? Well this here is a fine example of quality!"

"Indeed!" Sindri chimed in, his voice muffled from the cloth over his face. "The level of precision on the additive welding is unlike anything I've ever seen before! Such mastery is rarely ever encountered…"

Lost in his thoughts, Sindri absentmindedly reached out and touched some of the leg plating on the suit. His eyes snapped open all of a sudden, and he jerked his hand back as though it were on fire.

"It's…it's filthy!" Sindri gagged, turning away and retching at the sight of all the gore on the Doom Slayer's armor.

"That, and it's beat to shit!" Brok said, placing his hands on his hips once more. He circled back around and looked up at the Doom Slayer through his cracked visor.

"Just what sort of beast you been tusslin' with to damage such robust craftsmanship? The fuckin' World Serpent could swallow this thing, crap it back out, and then swallow it again and there'd be not so much as a scratch on it! So just what did ya do?!"

"The Praetor Suit was damaged during an altercation with a superhuman from an alternate dimension," VEGA replied kindly.

"An alternate what now?" Brok asked.

"An alternate-"

"Nevermind, whatever!"

A beat of silence passed, then Brok placed his hands on his hips and stared up at the cracked visor.

"So ya want we should fix it up, or what?"

Kratos growled angrily at Brok's offer to the Doom Slayer, but the dwarf silenced him.

"Aw hush up, he's fine!" Brok said.

"But Brok, why would you offer to help him if you didn't know his intentions?" Atreus asked curiously.

"Two things, ya little turd," Brok said lifting his fingers for emphasis. "One: I ain't gotten a chance to work on something this fine since we made that axe fer yer dear ol' ma! And two: if'n this guy decides to try somethin' funny, we got you two to tear him up!"

Brok let out a hardy laugh, and Sindri finally rejoined the conversation after emptying the contents of his stomach.

"I agree with my brother, which is not something that happens quite often, mind you. But please for the love of all things good and pure, can we please take this somewhere that is not as horrifically filthy as this?!"

Atreus glanced at his father uncertainly, who grumbled and slowly sheathed his blades. VEGA chose then to speak up from inside the armor.

"You're offer is generous. However, I am skeptical that you possess the expertise to properly repair the Praetor Suit. It possesses components that cannot be operated on with simple smithing materials."

"Are those 'special' components damaged?" Brok asked, his voice laced with sarcasm.

"At the moment, they are not. However, I must advise-"

"If they ain't damaged, then quit yer bellyaching! I know you got some fancy gizmos in there, but we're not even gonna get below the surface of the damn thing, so they'll be fine!"

The Slayer looked down at the dwarf for a long moment, the nodded his head once in approval.

"Well al-fuckin'-right then! Let's do this!"

…

Kratos and Atreus leaned against the wall back in Brok and Sindri's workshop, one watching with wariness and the other watching with interest as the two dwarves hammered away at the Doom Slayer's armor. At first, they had asked the warrior to take it off so that they could make the necessary repairs, but the Slayer had blatantly refused. Despite griping from both Brok and Sindri, the Slayer refused to step out of the armor. Though they both grumbled about it, the Huldra brothers begrudgingly admitted that they could repair the armor without removing it from his body, so he remained armored, and the Dwarves set upon him with their tools.

So far, Brok had made the most progress, as many of the dents he had worked on were now completely gone, and many of the scratches faded as well. Sindri on the other hand, was attempting to work around many of the "filthy" spots on the armor, but due to the nature of the Slayer, there were in fact very few spots he deemed clean enough. Eventually, the germaphobic dwarf gave up, and came around to the Slayer's front as he stood still.

"Alright, if you want me to repair the helmet, you're going to have to take it off," Sindri said, holding his ground despite the slight tremble in his voice.

Silence fell throughout the workshop. Even Brok had stopped hammering in order to see the Slayer's reaction to Sindri's request.

The Slayer stared down at the dwarf, but didn't make a move to remove his head armor.

"Look," Sindri said irritably. "To repair the faceplate alone requires a fine level of concentration and finesse that I cannot achieve with your head still in it. If you leave it on, then I can't do anything."

The Slayer remained silent, but Atreus thought he saw the Slayer's gaze flit over to him and Kratos for a brief moment.

The silence dragged on for a moment or two longer, then the Doom Slayer slowly lifted his gauntleted hands up to his helmet. There was a small hiss as the seal of the armor was broken, and then the Slayer lifted the helmet off of his head.

For a moment, nobody moved as they all saw his face for the first time.

The first and perhaps most important thing Atreus noticed was that the Slayer was, in fact, human. After their fight with that axe demon inside the travel room, the boy had been worried that the Doom Slayer had been a demon all along. He felt a great sense of relief wash over him, and he released a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

The second thing that Atreus noticed was that the Slayer seemed to have this ever-permanent scowl on his face. The expression displayed the overwhelming sense of determination and indomitability that he portrayed even with his helmet on, but now Atreus could sense the never ceasing restlessness that the Slayer felt to kill demons. With a scowl like that, Atreus doubted that the man would ever smile.

Mimir was the first one to speak up from where he had been propped up on a shelf.

"Well, I'd say the mask doesn't quite do you justice, does it? You've got yourself a right handsome face there, brother!"

Brok scoffed.

"Yeah right…at least as handsome as ya can hope to get without a beard…"

Atreus felt a smirk rise to his face at Brok's quip. He noticed that apart from himself, the Doom Slayer was the only one present without any facial hair.

Sparing another glance up to his father, Atreus was pleased to see that Kratos had relaxed somewhat, likely due to the fact that the Slayer had been human after all. Like his son, Kratos had probably assumed the worst after their fight with that axe demon, and seeing the Slayer's face had taken away some of the riskiness of the situation.

"Well, alright then," Sindri said awkwardly as he carried the helmet over to his workbench. The Slayer's eyes tracked him the entire time, likely ensuring that nothing happened to his armor that he did not approve of.

Thing were silent for a little while longer save for the combined hammering of Brok and Sindri, then Atreus decided to speak up.

"VEGA, you said that you might know who that axe demon we fought was?"

"Indeed," VEGA replied. "Under present circumstances, I believe I have ample time to provide you with an explanation…"

VEGA then proceeded to weave a tale that was unlike any other Atreus had heard. The tale encompassed the demons, how the Slayer had battled them for many, many winters, some strange people called the Argenta and their gods, and how a bloody civil war had torn them apart. Before long, Atreus had taken his notebook back out and was furiously scribbling notes from VEGA's tale.

According to VEGA, the axe demon they had fought was called a marauder, and it was one of the fiercest warriors the demonic hordes had to offer. In another life, the marauders had been among the ranks of the Argenta but had sided with the demons when the civil war had split them apart. When the marauders fell in battle, they were resurrected into the twisted demon forms that Atreus had witnessed firsthand. And now, they were now sworn to hunt the Doom Slayer. Their quest had been ongoing for quite some time, long enough that even VEGA did not know the exact length. The one they had fought had likely heard a report that the Slayer was the one destroying their gore nests and had moved to intercept him, but had found Kratos and Atreus instead.

Atreus had so many questions, but before he could open his mouth, Brok interrupted with a final tap of his hammer to the Slayer's chest plate.

"That should do her. Give her a once over, why don't ya?"

The Slayer inspected the reparations to his armor, and from what Atreus could see, it looked like there had never been any damage in the first place. In fact, the armor looked almost brand new.

As the Doom Slayer continued to inspect his repaired suit, VEGA's voice spoke up from the torso.

"What manner of manufacturing did you use? I am unfamiliar with any disciplines that can achieve superior results such as these."

Brok chortled.

"Just a little somethin' called 'a dwarf's touch' ya creepy spirit voice. And no, I ain't tellin' ya the secret to it because then it wouldn't be much of a secret, now would it?"

"While that logic is indeed sound, I do not believe any harm will come from—"

"How bout ya shut yer nonexistent mouth and just be fuckin' grateful?!" Brok snapped crossing his arms. "Let's not forget I'm doin' this for free!"

"You are correct. I apologize," VEGA said. "The final result is far better than we could've hoped for."

"Yer damn right, it is!" Brok said, his smile returning to his face. "And that's also 'cause I decided to treat yer tin hide there to some reinforcin' materials from my stock! She ain't just good as new, she's better than new! So, next time it's gonna be a lot harder for ya to bang her up like whatca did before."

At his words, the Doom Slayer gave a grateful nod down to Brok, though the slight scowl never left his face.

"And…there!" Sindri said with a final tap of his hammer to the helmet. Atreus looked and saw that just like the armor, the helmet also looked good as new. The scratches and the crack in the faceplate were completely gone. The strange red mark still existed just above where the left eye would be, but Atreus figured that was probably put there by something that would never buff out.

Walking over to the Slayer, Sindri offered the repaired helmet to him.

"I also have some improvements," Sindri said proudly as the Slayer took the helmet from him.

"As many of you already know, I am a prodigy in the elusive ways of Vanir magic. As such, I saw fit to imbue a little bit of extra protection in the form of a spell!"

As the Slayer's face disappeared back under the helmet once more, Sindri took a bowl of glowing powder and rubbed it all over his gloved hands. Once the hands were completely coated, Sindri traced a rune on the front of the Slayer's chest plate, the magic powder glowing prominently on the suit where his fingers traced.

"Fullkominn…" Sindri whispered, the rune glowing even brighter as Sindri recited it.

The rune then faded slowly, and as it disappeared entirely, Sindri began tracing another over it.

"Vernd…" Sindri whispered once more, and this time, the entire suit glowed brightly before the rune faded once more. Stepping back to admire his handiwork, Sindri smiled proudly.

"All done!"

"Perfect...Protection..." VEGA recited, startling Sindri with his knowledge of the words.

"Y-yes! That's right! Are you a student of Seiður as well?"

"I am not," VEGA replied. "However, the language you utilize for your magic is congruent with a common tongue used in our home dimension."

"Really?" Sindri asked, raising an eyebrow contemplatively.

"Yes," VEGA's voice said calmly. "It is known as Icelandic."

"Icelandic, you say? Perhaps I should endeavor to visit sometime..."

"Aw shut yer gob, ya milksop!" Brok said irritatedly. "Ain't ya remember that this tosser has got somewhere to be?"

Sindri looked slightly downtrodden, but VEGA chose that moment to speak again.

"I am afraid he is correct. But before we depart, please allow me to extend gratitude on behalf of both of us for repairing the Praetor Suit. I am regretful that we have nothing to offer you in return."

The Doom Slayer seemed to consider VEGA's words for a moment, then turned and walked back into the realm travel room, easily pushing the doors open and disappearing into the dimly lit interior, much to the confusion of everyone present. There was no sound for a few moments, then the Slayer reemerged, the marauder's axe grasped firmly in one of his hands.

Atreus's eyes widened. He had assumed that the axe had burned up with the marauder after they'd killed it, but the Slayer had suddenly arrived, and he had forgotten to even check.

The axe head was deactivated, so the handle appeared to be nothing more than just…well, a handle. Looking at the design, Atreus saw a skull sitting at the top of the handle where the axe head emerged, giving the weapon a rather sinister look overall.

Brok snorted as the Slayer walked over with the weapon.

"A fancy hunk of metal? That's what you got fer us?"

The Doom Slayer said nothing, but instead held the axe out to the side. With a loud hiss, the axe head activated, the red energy taking a hardened shape once more. At the sight, both Brok and Sindri's eyes boggled.

"Now that's deadly!"

"And so sophisticated!"

"Give 'er here!"

The Doom Slayer returned the axe to its deactivated state and set it down on the bench, and Brok and Sindri immediately scooped it up and turned to examine it with a closer look.

"I hope it will suffice," VEGA said politely.

"Yeah, yeah, it's great. Now leave us alone!" Brok said without even bothering to turn his head away from his evaluation of the weapon.

The Slayer spared the two dwarves a glance as they fawned over the axe, then looked over to Kratos and Atreus.

"I am afraid we must depart," VEGA said. "We cannot afford to remain long in each realm that we come to."

"Oh," Atreus said wistfully. "But I still had so many questions…"

"I'm sorry that they must go unanswered, Atreus," VEGA said. "But perhaps we will meet again one day."

"Hopefully under better circumstances," Mimir joked. "I gotta say, it was nice to have someone else without arms to talk to, so thanks for that!"

"It was my pleasure, Mimir."

Kratos then stepped forward and offered his arm to the Doom Slayer, a gesture that Atreus recognized as one of respect among warriors. The Slayer returned the gesture and nodded to Kratos, who nodded back. Seeing them stand across from each other, Atreus noticed for the first time that Kratos towered over the armored figure. But despite that, the two of them looked at each other as equals.

"I doubted your intentions when we first met," Kratos said. "But you in turn did right by us, and you have my gratitude for that. I will not forget this kindness."

The Slayer nodded once more, then took a step back into the center of the room. After looking at each of them once more, the Slayer lifted his right hand and gave them a thumbs up. A flash of blue light immediately engulfed his form followed by a loud bang, and when the light faded, the Doom Slayer was gone.

...

A/N: There it is! The God of War has met the God of Slaughter, and it went about how one would expect in my opinion. As always, be sure to leave a review of my work describing your love/hatred for the chapter, or if you want to share your opinion privately, please by all means shoot me a personal message. I'd love to hear from you guys no matter how you communicate with me!

Now, at this current juncture, I have a very critical decision to make. Do I continue with my current setting of placing the slayer between the events of 2016 and Eternal? Or do I insert a time skip and pick up after Eternal has ended?

In all honesty, I am leaning towards leaving everything as it is and keeping this story sandwiched between the two games, but I want to hear everyone's thoughts on the matter before I make my final decision. I want to hear what your take on my dilemma is so that I can paint a complete picture before committing to a certain path. Obviously I understand that in the end it is still my decision, but I want to make sure that there is nothing that I have missed before moving forward. So, oh wise and noble consumers of my literary material, what do you think?