"I swear to you brother I've told you all that I know. She grows apple trees, collects all the golden ones that grow from it and presents them to the Aesir at court twice a month. She's got no other notable powers, no personality really. She's just a wee lass with a heart of gold, tiny tits, and big luscious lips. She's got an older brother. The court's minstrel. Oh, what's his name again? Some tall dainty fellow with a pretty face and alluring voice. Lines his eyes with so much black paint- trying to look like all those dead foxes he wears on his cloak.

Sigyn.

The two were inseparable, some even rumored their relationship crossed over into, ah, how you say, a more taboo boundary. But those were only rumors." Mimir said looking up at Kratos with dull glowing eyes.

"Her father was a dwarf, or was it a troll? I don't remember because it was never important. It was said he could strike a man down as fiercely as a god. And her mother, some goddess. I don't remember, she was nobody at court. 'Tis a stretch to even considered her a goddess really. Once Odin discovered the toddler's talent in growing the apples of rejuvenation he had the two parents killed. The brother was already brainwashed into obeying Odin's every command. He and a hand full of servants watch over the young girl. She's not even that old, maybe 200 years give or take?"

Kratos rolled his shoulder as he continued holding the head out in front of him.

"Why would she be in Midgard?" He asked Mimir.

"I don't know if she were here so we could ask her. But you wasted no time scaring the poor lass away 'fore we could get a proper answer out of her."

Kratos grumbled annoyingly. Whether or not the head had a point was not important. It was all still so suspiciously convenient.

"Enough," Kratos says. Opening the front door of the home to check the sun's position. His son would be home soon from fishing.

For the past few weeks, Kratos refuses to allow Atreus to venture out into the woods unaccompanied. Until he could ensure they were truly alone and no other gods or goddess were sneaking around. He would not lose his son.

He kept Mimir home with the boy to watch over him while he hunted and searched for intruders. Threatening the head if he didn't inform him of anything suspicious that happened to Atreus while he was away. Mimir complied, but it gave him little opportunity to discuss what transpired weeks ago, until now.

In the end, he found there was no one else with them in their woods. It had almost been a month since that day.

Kratos would protect his son, but he refused to keep him in a cage. With the threat elapsed, he allowed the boy permission to hunt and explore alone once again.

"I watched you eat a few of them brother. You've felt how effective they are. I doubt they'd just let her wander off."

"Who was She working with?" Kratos asked. Ignoring the last remark and instead, bringing this up again."

"I never met her Kratos," Mimir said looking directly into his eyes. The yellow stones were shining brightly and didn't flicker.

"But you knew of her. So did the dwarfs. Who else? Freya? How long was Baldur was after her?"

"I was nailed to a fucking tree! For over a century!" Mimir shouts at him, dangling by the strings wrapped around his head.

"For the last time, I don't know anything more about the damn giantess!"

Kratos snarls at the head, his eyes looking around the house for a bucket. Mimir couldn't drown, they discovered this in Tyr's temple. Next time he shoves him in a bucket he would fill it up. Then see how long until he snaps and finally remembers more.

Faye.

Why didn't she tell him anything?

No, he won't fall into this pit again. He will only remember the woman he knew. Not the woman she hid from him.

He hid quite a bit from her as well. But, if she knew of their future...

The sound of a tree branch collapsing to the ground interrupted his thoughts. The snow had begun falling at a much heavier rate. Atreus wasn't home yet.

Perhaps it was a mixture of fear of losing his son, mixed with the previous quick discussion on his wife. But something ate at Kratos' soul, something didn't feel right. He summons his axe and clicks Mimir onto his hip as he ventures into the snow to search for his son. It was pointless to search for footprints.

"Atreus!" He yells. The snow was falling sideways down onto him.

For hours he searched the woods for his son. Finally, he sees something up ahead. A purple glowing aura. With his hand shielding his eyes from the snowstorm he pushed his way over the light. Idunn was keeled down over top Atreus. Kratos lowers his hands and rushes over to them. She was casting some type of spell onto him. He couldn't see what had injured him yet.

Was it her doing?

His rage was bubbling in his throat. He approached the girl and shoved her aside to look at his son. He was bleeding badly but still breathing.

"Let me finish!" The young girl yells at him through the harsh winds of the storm. The sky was near black with the snow clouds. The light shining through gave off a red hue.

"Let me heal him, please!" She screams up at him. Her eyes were bloodshot and lidded. That's when he hears them approaching. Draugrs. Maybe it wasn't her who attacked him? He stands up and reaches for his axe, then changes his mind and unhooked his blades. Clicking them into his chains.

As soon as both blades felt comfortable in his hands he dropped them and flicked his arms out into the air, the chains uncoiled and aimed at the foe. Centuries of the same movements overlapping one another in a blur as he swung the blades high into the air and rained chaos down upon the poor soul who got into his way. Only when he extended the chains too far did the burning irritate him. "Look out!" Mimir calls from his flank. A draugr swipes at his back. He roars out angrily as he whips his blades out of the limp corpses in front of him. In an instant, while the blades flew high into the air freely he balls up his fist around the chain in his hand and punched the creature in its face. Gravity forcing the blades plummeted down above him. He catches both pommels and while the creature stumbled back from his blow, he stabbed both blades into its chest cavity and ripped the beast open. Glowing orange goo spilling out onto his face.

He kept a close eye on the girl and his boy. She went back to healing him but panic was overwhelming her he could tell. He needed to move the fight further away from the two. He continued fighting wave after wave of monsters all while keeping an eye on his son and the goddess hovering over him. Hands glowing purple and eyes rolled back into her skull.

The snowstorm finally retreated as the last draugr fell to the ground lifelessly. Atreus sat up in Idunn's arms. Kratos rushes over to his boy and kneels down, shoving Idunn away. She fell backward into the snow.

"The poison still isn't completely cured!" the girl says from the ground.

Poison? The creatures he just fought didn't use poison.

Atreus groaned, his body felt hot with fever but his eyes were flickering open.

"Who gave him this wound?"

"It was...-" The goddess froze in the snow. She didn't blink or breath for a moment.

He removed his hands from Atreus, leaning the boy's head back down into the snow. "Who did this to him?!" He screams at the little girl.

Her silence spoke volumes to him.

He rises up swiftly and grips her by the wrist and pulls her in the air. Dangling her in front of him.

"What do you want from us?!" He screams at the goddess.

"Put her down!" Atreus screams at him.

Kratos looks over to his son standing next to them. Idunn was sobbing limply in his restraint.

He drops the girl into the snow. No sooner as she lands she stood up and ran into the trees.

"No, wait!" Atreus calls out to her, lunging after her.

Kratos grips his shoulder preventing him from going after her. The girl disappeared from their vision. He spins his son around and looks at him.

It was difficult to temper his emotions.

He almost lost him.

It could have ended as simply as that.

All because he fell for the same ploy.

"Let go of me!" Atreus screams at him.

Kratos grabs his other shoulder and fortified his restraint on the boy.

"You beg me to not treat you as a child!" He shouts the first part but soon manages to calm his temper and find his restraint. "Yet time and time again you fail to show me why it is I should not treat you like one!"

"She isn't a threat!" Atreus screams at him. His eyes filled with rage and anger. He was losing himself in an all too familiar way.

"You are not yourself boy. She is the cause for this." He says back to him, loosening his grip on the boy.

"She means to exploit your emotions. And you Atreus, fell for it a second time."

Atreus shoves himself out of his grip.

"No, she isn't, if you would just listen to me! She isn't trying to hurt us."

"Who attacked you?" Kratos says folding his arms.

"You just don't understand, not everyone is trying to kill us. Ugh, I used to think nothing scared you. But I was wrong. Everything and everyone scares you!"

Kratos remains silent as his son continues his mindless outcry of emotions. Soon he would exhaust himself. Until then it would be pointless to try and communicate with him.

"Just because mother was using you doesn't mean everyone else...-"

The back of Kratos' hand smacked viciously across his son's face.

The boy took it like a man, not stumbling back, not gasping. He stood his ground and merely twisted his face into the slap.

The cracking sound it caused echoed through the silent snow covered forest.

Instant regret washed over Kratos. Atreus glared at him silently, a red mark forming at the point of impact.

"Atreus I...-" But before he could finish the boy had stormed off into the forest.

The shame of what he just did paralyze him, he was unable to force himself after his son.