Vala inhaled deeply, taking in the smell of incense in the air.
She had settled down in the middle of the rug, bones carefully placed in a circle around her, and began the process of building the barrier. She's done it so many times already that it didn't require her full attention, and so her mind slipped into other things.
"She's gone."
Thrud said Faye is gone. She would never have believed it if only for one thing: Faye would have been here by now.
Vala wouldn't say they were close. She had met the woman when she was but a little girl. Her grandmother, with the same name as Vala, knew her better. Despite her unfamiliarity with the warrior, she knew Faye to be the hero type, a woman who fought against the bad in the world.
In conclusion, if Faye were alive, she would be here fighting against Hel.
But she's not.
A flicker of sorrow passed through Vala.
Faye was a good woman. It is truly unfortunate that she is gone.
Vala set the memory of the woman aside and returned her focus on the barrier. It was complete and all she had to do was slip into a sleep like trance meditation. When she goes under, time won't have no meaning. It would be like a waking dream.
Nothing typically happens during this time, which was why she was surprised when an imagery zoomed to the forefront of her mind.
Children, dancing in a circle out in the woods. They were giggling and had wide smiles on their faces. None of them seemed to notice a Hulder picking them off, one by one, sucking them dry and dumping their cold bodies in the snow.
They just continued dancing and laughing and laughing-
Vala's eyes flew wide open. A drop of sweat dripped from the ridge of her nose.
Their laughter still echoed in her mind. Their horrified faces seared into her memory.
It can't be real. She scanned the barrier.
Panic seized her.
It was gone. All of it. There was nothing protecting them.
The children- it was real. Gods, they could be dying right now!
Vala threw herself to her feet and dashed out of the tent, uncaring of anything but to get to the children in time before it was too late.
Atreus awoke to someone calling his name.
His mind was sluggish to become fully aware of his surroundings but he did recognize the familiar face of a girl. It was the one who had asked him to dance; Mia, he thinks her name was.
"Wake up, Atreus," she whispered. "We have to go."
"Where?" he mumbled half asleep.
"She's calling for us. Don't you hear her?"
"I don't hear anybody."
Mia paused, like she had heard something. "She's calling for us. We have to go."
Atreus opened his mouth to ask who was calling for them but she was gone before he could speak. He knows he shouldn't wander around when it was dark but he also didn't want to leave her out there by herself so he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and grabbed his weapons- just in case. He stepped outside his tent and looked right, then left, and spotted her skipping merrily through the snow.
"Mia!" he said in a loud staged whisper.
The caravan was eerily quiet at night and he was surprised no one woke up from the crunching of his footsteps as he briskly walked after her. He slowed down when he noticed a few of the other kids in the camp appear from the darkness. They did not greet each other and they all went in the same direction. They all seemed to know where they were going without saying anything.
Curious, Atreus walked with them until they reached the edges of the caravan. There was a warm orange light coming from the ground. He drew closer.
It was a torch still burning, melting the snow around it. The guard who it belonged to was slumped in the ground, snoozing on the job.
Atreus glanced at the kids. They kept on walking like nothing was amiss. They didn't even look scared when they went into the forest.
The thought of the Hulder lurking out there popped into his mind.
What are they doing? They were going to get hurt!
He marched over to the guard and shoved him but the man was fast asleep. He yelled and nothing. Was the man dead? No, he can see him breathing, so why wasn't he waking up?
Now he knew; something was wrong, terribly, terribly wrong.
He should have got his dad. He'll get him right now and he'll know what to do-
The sweet singing of a woman reached his ears. It filled his mind, drowning out all his worries. He felt light and happy, and the air outside wasn't so cold anymore.
Atreus vigorously shook his head but the woman's singing overwhelmed him until her voice was all he could hear.
He was drawn to it like a moth to a flame and just like all the other children, he disappeared into the deep dark woods...
It was their first night sleeping in the cabin they had built together.
They'd made love by the fire and afterwards laid on the bed in silence.
His wife sat up and draped her arms around her knees, exposing her bare back to him.
Kratos caressed his fingers down her spine.
"I love you," he said.
They knew everything that was going to happen.
Faye did not reply.
I think she was pretending to make me feel better.
She turned her head, just enough to see him from the corner of her eye.
They knew-
"I love you, too."
I think she was-
Kratos snapped awake. His left cheek stung and he had seconds to realize he'd been slapped in the face when yelling pervaded his ears.
"C'mon big guy, wake up!" Thrud raised her hand, probably to slap him again.
The Leviathan Axe was in his grip in an instant and he swung it. She dodged just in time but that didn't stop him. Like a bear rudely awakened from his hibernation, he growled and followed after her as she rolled out of the tent.
He came bursting outside and tried once more to cleave her face in.
She yelped and dodged that, too. "Stop it you maniac! I'm not the enemy!"
He pointed the axe at her, breathing heavily like a wild animal. "You attacked me."
"I was trying to wake you up!" she spat, keeping a healthy distance between them. "You were under a sleeping spell but that, that's not important right now. The children, their gone and I think your son may be, too."
Kratos glared at her, not wanting to turn his back to her but he did so anyways. He tore open the tent flap, his son's name upon his lips, and froze. It was empty. Atreus was gone and so were his weapons.
He turned his head slowly.
"Where is he," Kratos said lowly, a dangerous look in his eye.
Control. I control my rage.
"In the woods I think. I'll explain more on the way-"
He fisted the front of her shirt and yanked her to him. "You said he would be safe," he growled into her face, anger brewing beneath his skin. He didn't know who he was angrier at: her for lying or himself for believing her.
Thrud snarled and broke free from his grip. "I was wrong alright!" She cursed and wiped at her face. "I'm sorry. I was wrong but now isn't the time for this. Faye's son is out there and I'll be damned if anything happens to him. So, are we going to fight and waste time or are we going to find your son?"
No apology would ever be good enough for him but now wasn't the time to hold petty grudges. Their main objective was finding Atreus. Nothing else mattered.
He called for Fenrir. No response.
Kratos stormed over to the tent and ripped the flap open. Fenrir was still asleep. He shouted the wolf's name, making the wolf jump to all fours like an explosion had gone off.
"Vala said something about the children in the woods," Thrud explained when they both exited the tent. "She wasn't making any sense. She ran off after that, to get the children herself, maybe. I don't know where she could have gone."
That would be no problem.
Kratos crouched next to Fenrir and captured his focus.
"Find Atreus," he ordered the wolf and he knew he understood.
Fenrir took off left bound and they chased after him. The wolf led them through the camp and into the woods.
The forest was pitch black.
It was hard to see without the torches placed around the camp. Luckily, he always carried the bifrost key and it was bright enough to light the way. Plus, Thrud snatched a torch, extending the reaches of their combined light.
They followed Fenrir as fast as they could and occasionally, the wolf would run back and forward, egging them on.
"Go, Fenrir!" Kratos yelled, flapping his arm. "Do not wait for us. Get to my son!"
Fenrir barked and sped off like an arrow, the darkness swallowing him whole.
Kratos trained his sight on the snowy floor, tracking each paw print that zoomed by. He was so focused that he almost missed a trail of bare human feet that broke off from the path. He skidded to a halt and followed the track with his eyes until he glimpsed a humanoid figure standing in the dark.
Kratos
He whipped around but there was nobody there.
He broke out in a cold sweat. He swore it sounded like... Lysandra.
"Pater," whispered a young feminine voice.
Kratos didn't have to look to see who it was. He already knew. Her voice used to haunt his every waking moment.
He turned his head slowly, his eyes burning, and a ragged gasp tore from his lips.
She was right there, staring at him from behind a tree- His daughter, his sweet, beautiful daughter.
He staggered towards her, his body trembling, and reached out a hand.
"Calliope."
Calliope turned and ran.
"Wait!" he almost screamed, going after her. He was stopped by somebody who snatched his arm.
"What are you doing? We have to go!" Thrud pulled at his arm but he jerked free from her like she was fire. She tried to hold him back but he ripped free from her grasp and raced to find his daughter. He heard Thrud yelling his name but he did not care. He had to find her.
That must be why he was in the forest at night. Calliope got lost. He has to find her. He has to make sure he is safe- wait, he?
He was lost. No- she was lost?
They're- she is counting on him.
He won't fail her. Not this time, not ever again.
There was nothing more important than finding his daughter.
Nothing. Nothing at all.
Atreus has never felt this happy in a long time.
The last time he's been this happy, well, must have been when his mother was still alive. After she passed away, he hasn't been the same since. Past Atreus wouldn't recognize present Atreus. They were two very different people now and in a way it felt like he had lost a part of himself.
It saddened him, but his moment of gloom ended quickly and he was back to feeling happy again. He'd even forgotten what he was so sad about in the first place!
He was with other children and they giggled as they held each other hands and skipped around in a circle in the snow.
He didn't notice some of the children stopped skipping. He continued on his merry way until something snatched his arm. He was dragged into the face of a woman, her features lit up by the torch she held in her hand. She shook his shoulders vigorously.
"Stop it!" she shouted. "Wake up, child. Go, you must go! Run back to the caravan. Go now-!"
The woman went rigid. She coughed and blood spurted from her lips. She looked down and so did Atreus. The pointy end of a sword poked out from her stomach and swiftly slid back out.
Atreus yelped in fright as hel-reavers, not draugr but real, breathing(?), hel-reavers grab the woman, making her drop the torch. All the happiness that warmed his body blew out like a candle and the fear and the cold returned. He made a break to flee but draugrs surrounded him and forced him back till he collided with the other children.
They were trapped and with nowhere to go. He could only watch the hel-reavers drag the bleeding woman through the snow and dump her in front of another woman with no arms.
The torch faintly illuminated the arm-less woman's face.
Atreus pushed back against the children.
Her eyes were all black and he felt an ancient aura emanating off of her like an icy breeze.
She was not human and he was in more trouble than he thought...
Vala's strength began to slowly slip from her numbing fingers. She was losing too much blood too quickly. It was only a matter of time.
She raised her shaking head and glared at the woman standing in front of her and knew exactly who she was. Hel may not look like the horrific monster that plagued her nightmares but there was no mistaking the sinister signature the giantess' magic gave off.
"Let them go," she said through clenched teeth to stop them from clattering. "Do whatever you want with me but let them go. They're no use to you. Just let them live."
She added the last part more forcefully. Vala knew she was in no position to start making demands but there was always a chance it will work and that was good enough for her.
What had she to lose anyways? Besides her life, she supposed. But as long as she convinces Hel to leave the children be, she'll think of something to escape her current predicament and for all she knew, Thrud could be on the way with help. If she could hold on long enough, she might just survive this.
Hel peered down at her and tilted her head slightly.
"You are right, Vala," Hel croaked and it sounded awful. "They have no use to me... but you do."
Realization dawned in her mind and her stomach twisted. She thought she was going to be sick. All this time, it was never about the children. Her nightmares were warnings and their caravan was being targeted because of herself.
The children were used as bait and she fell right into Hel's trap. She shook not because of the cold but with fury.
"Bury her," Hel said as if Vala was nothing, as if she weren't a living, breathing human being. There was no mercy or love in that wretched heart of hers, this Vala knew.
Vala shouted in fury and thrashed around as the hel-reavers dragged her and dumped her into a ditch she hadn't notice there before. Pain flared everywhere when she hit the hard dirt ground, especially where she had been stabbed through the stomach and she knew she had lost more blood from the fall. She managed to stand up and swooned in place. Snow and dirt falling from above almost knocked her over. She grabbed onto the dirt wall, sinking her nails into the fresh soil.
She looked up into the face of her soon to be murderer.
"Curse you!" she shrieked, inserting as much venom and hatred into her voice. "May you rot for an eternity!"
Hel sneered in amusement but it did not reach her eyes. "I already am."
Vala struggled to take even the tiniest of breaths and she staggered back and collapsed. Dizziness swarmed her mind and somewhere between her thoughts she kept telling herself to press the wound, stop the flow- stop the bleeding.
She watched a rain of snow coming down above her and everything went dark.
They were burying her alive.
Atreus knew he shouldn't do anything. His father taught him to survive and surviving meant, in his father's terms, saving yourself but he couldn't just stand by and do nothing!
His mother wouldn't either.
The undead woman with no arms kneeled by the now covered snow pile and was chanting something he didn't understand and he would never since he shot an arrow through her neck. He pulled back two arrows and double shot the two draugrs in front of him through their heads. He intended to roll and shift his body around to shoot the rest of the draugrs but his feet refused to move.
He glanced down and to his surprise, his feet were magically frozen to the spot. Literally frozen in ice!
"Uh-oh."
"Bring him to me," the undead lady, with an arrow sticking through her throat, demanded. Atreus squirmed as the hel-reavers brought him over (the ice melting from his feet) and forced him to stand before the woman. She got up from her knelt position and loomed over him.
He fidgeted as she stared at him intensely, as if trying to crack him open and look into his soul. Despite his discomfort, he didn't want her to know she was making him feel that way so he puffed out his chest and glared right back. She showed no reaction to his little display of defiance.
"Cut his hand," she ordered.
He resisted at first but the grip around his wrist made his bone ache so he relented and let them stretch out his arm. Atreus had little time to react before a hel-reaver sliced his palm open. Instinctively he tried to pull his hand back but they kept a firm hold.
Blood bloomed from the open cut, dripping onto the white snow.
The undead woman twisted around and called to something in the woods. "Garmr, come to me. Reveal his lies and show me the truth."
Atreus frowned. The name sounded familiar to him but he couldn't quite recall why...
He snapped his sight onto a cluster of foliage as an animal emerged from within. It was a dog, looked to be a Dyrehund by his mother's description. His mother used to tell him about hunting dogs. This one wore a type of collar around his fluffy, blood stained neck. The dog must have belonged to a hunter, and sadly it seemed, they must have went on their last hunt.
It clicked in his mind why the name Garmr sounded so familiar; He was the Hound of Hel.
He glanced from the dog to the woman and his eyes widened. It couldn't be-
Atreus clenched his teeth and watched as Garmr lapped up his blood. The dog's tongue felt unnaturally rough rubbing against his skin and he was glad it ended quickly.
The undead woman, possibly Hel, crouched beside the dog and let it whisper in her ear. Whatever the dog said, the woman stood and scowled at Atreus.
"Loki," she snarled, her voice unnaturally deep and loud and from the dark of her eyes spread thin black veins that crawled over her skin like spiderwebs. Atreus shrunk back, frightened by her appearance. She hissed, her lips pulled back revealing rows of rotten teeth. "You think you can fool us? You may have changed your father and your face but we can still taste your mother's blood. Kill him!"
Garmr barked and lunged for him, his mouth opened wide.
A blur of black whizzed by, knocking the dog away.
"Fenrir!" Atreus yelped as the wolf and the dog tore at each other.
"Fenrir?" Hel echoed.
Garmr was a bit bigger than the wolf but Fenrir swiped at him with his razor sharp claws which proved to cause more damage than the dog's bite ever could. Fenrir managed to get Garmr's neck in his mouth and there came popping and crunching noises and the dog went limp. Atreus thought that was the end of it but the wolf didn't stop there.
Fenrir shook and gnawed at the neck like an obsessive beast, making the most disturbing of sounds. He didn't stop until the head of the dog plopped into the snow, its cold lifeless eyes staring up at Atreus. Even with the dog dead- er, Fenrir continued to growl, his body rigid and hunched over, saliva drooling from his snarling lips.
It was like Fenrir was a completely different wolf; feral and wild like the wolves that would attack him and his father but more intense, more crazed.
It was the first time Fenrir has ever made Atreus feel afraid of him, afraid he will hurt him, and he hated it.
"Fenrir, stop! What's wrong with you?" he said, his voice cracking with emotion.
Fenrir silenced his snarling and blinked at him, wagging his tail. He tensed when Hel stepped towards him.
"Fenrir, you're alive," she uttered, sounding surprised. "Come with me. I will take you home and we will destroy Odin together."
Atreus looked at her as if she were crazy. His wolf wasn't the real Fenrir unless... Well, he supposed, crazier things have happened, what's one more?
They were all distracted by the wolf when a loud boom caught them all off guard. The snow underneath his feet vibrated and Atreus looked back in time to see the draugr surrounding the group of children exploded into body parts! Joy replaced confusion as Thrud appeared, war-hammer in hand.
"Back away from the kid, you rotten piece of shit," she spat.
Hel glowered at the shield-maiden. "Your mother should have strangled you at birth."
Thrud grinned and nodded to Atreus. "I see you're still hiding behind children, again."
"Not anymore," Hel muttered darkly.
By the time anyone decided to pay any attention to Atreus, he had already yanked one of his arm free and used it to slip out his knife and stab the other hel-reaver, freeing himself completely. One of the hel-reavers drew back its icy sword to stab him but Fenrir bit its arm and pulled the reaver down.
Hel shrieked with fury and screamed, "Kill them all and bring me their hearts!"
"Incoming!" Atreus yelled as a horde of draugr poured in from the trees. They were surrounded at once and though his enemies were many and his father nowhere to be found, Atreus held no fear. This was just like the time his father left him to journey into the Light of Alfheim, yet unlike that time, he wasn't alone.
Fighting alongside Thrud was similar to fighting alongside with his father, in the sense that each could hold their own against multiple enemies. The only difference was that he didn't feel the pressure of being watched. Sometimes, Atreus would fight a little harder, a little faster, all to impress his father but with Thrud, he could focus on just fighting. It was also nice that she didn't throw insults or praises at him.
Fenrir was also a major plus to have in battle. Any doubts he had for the wolf evaporated each time Fenrir would leap in front of him, risking his own life to protect Atreus'. The wolf was unquestionably loyal and Atreus felt a little ashamed that he ever thought Fenrir would ever hurt him.
The draugr numbers were dwindling and Thrud must have noticed it, too.
"Take care of them," she said and charged at Hel. As it happened to him, her feet froze to the ground, encased in ice but she broke herself free with her hammer. Hel raised her arms, if she had any, and screeched as Thrud swung her long hammer and knocked the undead woman's head clean off her body!
Atreus finished off the last of the draugr and wandered over to them. To his horror, the head of Hel was still screaming, putrid black goo oozing from her mouth. Thrud stomped over and slammed her hammer down. She raised it gingerly and brain matter and other undesirables stuck to the hammer. Atreus made a noise of disgust and she simply rubbed it off in the snow.
"Was that Hel?" he asked.
"Was," she said, peering around. "Was there a woman named Vala here?"
Atreus gasped. He had forgotten about the woman! He ran over to the fresh grave mound and started digging with his hands. "She's in here! They buried her alive," he hollered over his shoulder. He dug his fingers in deep and scooped up a bunch of snow mixed with soil.
He recoiled sharply.
Dark crimson blood bubbled towards the surface. He looked and the entire mound of snow stained red.
"Get back," Thrud hissed and dragged him behind her by his shoulder.
Fenrir began to pace back and forth, growling at the grave.
"What's going on?" Atreus said in alarm, palming at his bow.
Thrud grimaced. "I don't know. Whatever it is, it's nothing good."
"That's okay, we can kill it easily."
"No, kid," Thrud crouched and held his shoulder. "Listen to me closely, alright? I got an important mission for you."
Atreus shrugged her arm off, "I'm not a kid. I can handle this. I know how to fight."
She chuckled, "I don't doubt that one bit but you see, they don't." She nodded her head at the group of children huddled together tightly, their wide innocent eyes filled with terror. "This is very important, Atreus. I need you to get these children to safety. Can you do that? Can you do that for me?"
Atreus wanted to pout but then he looked at those children again. They were scared out of their minds and shivering like brittle leaves. He felt bad for them and he didn't want them to get hurt.
His mother would save them.
His father would, too?
"I know this is a huge responsibility for one person but I need to know if you can do this."
Atreus straightened his shoulders and tightened his lips. "I can do it."
Thrud smiled and he blushed from the pride in her eyes. She slapped his shoulder and stood. "Get them back to the caravan, you hear me? And don't stop for nothing."
"Got it!" He shouldered his bow and jogged over to the group of kids, snatching the forgotten torch on the way. The fire was dwindling but he whispered a few words and coaxed it back. He held it up and looked at each child. "Let's go. I'm taking you home."
Mia was the first to follow him and the rest joined along. He glanced back once to catch a glimpse of Thrud and hoped he will see her again.
Since he had no idea where he was and how to get back to camp, he let Fenrir take lead. The wolf seemed to know exactly where he was going and it was proven true when he saw the firelight of the camp growing between the trees.
"Over there!" he shouted, pointing in the direction of the light.
A scream rang out, alerting him to a sudden presence charging at him. In reflex, he dodged the fist that sailed past him and swiftly got out his bow, arrow pulled back, but who he saw made him loosen his hold.
"Father?" he uttered.
His father roared and punched him in the face, making him fly back. His head spun and the screaming of the children was muted by the ringing in his ears. He blinked and gasped. He rolled aside in time to avoid being pummeled by his father's fists and was on his feet in an instant.
"Go! Go! Get out of here! Get to the camp!" he yelled at some of the children who stayed behind. He took his eyes off Kratos for a second to wave desperately at the children and when he looked back he yelped and ducked, feeling the air whoosh above his head.
Kratos growled and tried to grab him but Atreus ran between his legs. He faced his father and aimed but he couldn't shoot.
"Father, stop! What are you doing?"
"I won't let you hurt her!" his father screamed like a madman. "I won't let you take her away from me!"
"Who?" Atreus shrieked but it fell upon deaf ears.
Kratos took out his axe and pulled back his arm to throw it but Fenrir stopped him. The wolf bit his arm and wouldn't let go until Kratos smacked him away. Fenrir made the most awfullest of whining, one that tore at Atreus' heart and he let loose the arrow.
This would be the second time he's shot his father.
Kratos staggered back and looked down at the arrow protruding from his chest.
"Father?" Atreus whispered hesitantly, hoping he had snapped out of whatever was confusing his mind.
Kratos raised a hand and yanked the arrow out without even flinching. Burning golden eyes zeroed in on him and Atreus took a step back.
His father's face twisted into one of rage and Atreus grappled for another arrow, jogging backwards.
Atreus raised his bow as Kratos jumped into the air with a roar and descended upon him with the wrath of a burning sun.
Prudr watched the kid go.
She knows that's Faye's son but she can see her in him now as clear as day. Like his mother, he knew when to fight and when not to. Knew that helping people was more important than proving one's self or feeding one's ego.
Prudr had to admit, she was proud of the little sucker. If only Faye were here to see him, see the boy she raised exercising her beliefs. She would be proud of him, too.
She shook her head clear of all thoughts of Faye. There are times to reminisce and right now isn't that time. She turned her attention back on the red grave and approached it carefully.
Atreus said Vala was buried alive down there. Prudr hoped her friend was still alive but that was wishful thinking.
She stopped right in the middle of the grave, hammer at the ready. Her body was tense and she expected something to happen but nothing ever did. She was beginning to think there was nothing when the snow underneath her exploded and fingers wrapped around her throat and squeezed. Prudr's eye bulged from their sockets as she was lifted up, up, up into the air by the hold on her neck.
Her legs dangled in the air as she used her free hand, the other still clutching her hammer, to scratch at the arm of the person choking her. Prudr was pulled closer and came face to face with Vala.
It wasn't her, she knew. Just a monster using her friend's face.
Vala's eyes, once black now silver, glinting like fragments of glass, dug her nails into Prudr's throat, breaking skin and making her bleed.
"Die, child."
It was Hel's voice. Of course it was Hel. Prudr knew killing her had been too easy.
She was lifted up and thrown down with such force that she cracked the ground where she collided with it. Prudr coughed and wheezed for air. Damn, that fall knocked the wind out of her! She was still trying to catch her breath when she spotted Hel flying down after her, her arms outstretched and her hair blowing like a cape.
Prudr mustered whatever strength she had and struck the ghastly goddess with her hammer, sending Hel careening into the trees and breaking them in half upon impact. That should give her some time to recover.
Once she caught her breath, she staggered to her feet only to be knocked to the ground and pinned there.
Hel floated above her and screeched an ear-shattering scream. The pain in her ears proved too much and Prudr screamed as well and socked Hel in the face, thankfully silencing that horrible noise! She tried to wiggle free but Hel slammed her head down and kept her there.
The undead goddess opened her mouth. Prudr was afraid she was going to start screaming again but instead she began to feel weird, odd, like she was getting tired. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and realized what was happening. Hel was doing this sucking motion with her mouth and Prudr witnessed with her own eyes her very own essence being drained like one would drinking sweet mead.
Prudr gave a shout and doubled her efforts to escape but with each second that passed her strength waned.
Fight! Fight! She yelled in her mind but there was nothing she could do. Hel was stealing the life from her and there was nothing she could do.
Her head rolled to the side as consciousness seeped away from her.
Through the darkening edges of her sight, she spotted something poking out of the snow near her fingers. It grew and grew and revealed itself to be... wheat?
Mother?
The night sky cracked open and everything went blindingly white.
A thunderous boom and Hel blasted away with a scream of pure agony.
Prudr, on the other hand, felt like she had just been resurrected, which she probably had been. Electricity coursed through her body and she swore her heart would jump out of her chest! She leapt to her feet and bounced around to discharge some of the excess energy but it wasn't enough! She snatched her hammer and the metal vibrated as it sucked up some of her power.
She gazed up at the hundreds of stars twinkling in the sky and smiled.
"Thank you, Mother."
It was nice to know somebody in her family was still looking out for her. She had no doubt the lightning bolt was her mother's idea and though her father was as stubborn as a mule, her mother was a force to be reckoned with. No way was she going to let her only daughter be killed.
Agonized moaning drew her attention away. Hel was on her knees, her body curled in on itself. Her head snapped in the direction of Prudr and she shrieked and fled into the dark trees.
Prudr thought about chasing her down and finishing her off when barking erupted from behind her. She turned around and there was Fenrir.
"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Atreus?"
The wolf barked at her again, this time more desperately and come to think of it, the wolf was acting strange, like it was in some kind of distress.
Something was wrong.
She glanced in the direction Hel went to and bit her lip. Damn it.
"C'mon, Fenrir," she said, running after him. "Show me what's wrong."
Atreus didn't know how much longer he can keep this up.
His father was relentless in his psychotic pursuit to annihilate him. It would be easier if he were someone else, someone Atreus didn't care about so he can kill him for good but this was his father and he will never do that.
Since killing his father was out of the question, his only other choices were to dispatch or trap him somehow, long enough to see what is making him act so crazy. But how?
He shot an arrow to Kratos' knee but it didn't stop him. Argh, so much for that! He backpedaled quickly to put distance between them but accidentally hit a tree that halted his retreat. It was only for a second but Kratos took advantage of it and chucked the axe at his head. A hammer whizzed by and hit the axe with a loud clang.
"Thrud!" Atreus yelled as soon as he saw her and Fenrir. "He's gone nuts! He's trying to kill me! What do I do?"
"He's bewitched," she answered, settling into a fighting pose as Kratos turned to meet his new opponent. "The hulder is messing with his mind. It must be nearby. Find it and kill it! I will keep him busy."
Kratos outstretched his arm and the axe came flying back obediently.
Thrud did the same thing but nothing happened. She scoffed, "Well that's bullshit."
His father, it seemed, wanted a fair match so he tossed the axe aside and settled into a stance.
"C'mon, big guy," Thrud said with a biting grin. "Show me what you got."
Kratos lunged at her and Atreus took it as his cue to go find the hulder. He had to be fast since he didn't know how long Thrud can keep his father busy. She was strong but he was stronger and Atreus has seen what those fists can do to enemies.
He dashed to grab the torch and ran, stabbing every tree he came upon with his knife. He flinched when he heard his father's unmistakable roar. This was taking too long. There were so many trees, how was he supposed to find the one the hulder was hiding at?
Atreus gave a shout when Thrud soared through the air past him, crashing into a tree and breaking it. His father ran after her but halted and looked at him.
"Uh-ho," he mumbled, taking a step back.
His father moved in his direction when Thrud appeared from out of nowhere. She jumped on his back and locked him in a chokehold.
"Go, dammit! Kill the hulder!"
Atreus nodded and ran away. Great, now he was back to where he started. He yelped when Fenrir pawed at him. The wolf barked and took off.
A grin broke out on his face. "Good job, boy! Find the hulder!"
Fenrir led him to a tree that looked like any other but they knew better.
Atreus took aim and prayed this was the right one...
The gods will not take his daughter from him!
They can send all their legions, all their armies, all their monsters but nothing will stop him! He will crush them all and destroy the gods and everything they love!
Kratos struggled with the Olympian Sentinel on his back but the damned creature won't let go. He tried slamming it into trees but that only resulted in the hold around his neck tightening. He growled in frustration and as a last ditch effort, he propelled himself backwards and landed heavily on the ground. It worked since the Sentinel loosened its arms, allowing Kratos to slip free.
He kneeled over the creature and began punching it with no mercy. Every time his fist collided with its face, it drew more blood. His nostrils flared. He wasn't going to stop until this damned abomination was nothing but a shit-stain in the snow.
He raised his fist once more-
"Stop it!" a voice shouted, cutting through his blood lust.
He blinked in confusion. It felt like he was dreaming and he'd just woken up. He looked down. The Sentinel was gone; there was only Thrud, bloody face and moaning in pain. He looked to the person who had just shouted.
"Atreus?" he mumbled in a daze. The sight of his son distracted him long enough for a fist to slam into his face. Kratos sprawled onto the floor, his left eye throbbing.
He blinked and Atreus was by his side, cradling his head.
"Father, are you alright?" he asked urgently, the tone of his voice thick with worry.
An uncontrollable burst of rage consumed his mind. He snarled and grabbed for the boy but he jumped out of reach. Footsteps to his right grew louder and Thrud appeared standing above him, war-hammer in hand. She drew back the hammer with a look of determination on her bloody face.
"Wait, no! I killed the hulder!" He heard his son yell but it sounded far away.
The last thing Kratos saw was Thrud, swinging the hammer, and then pain, then nothing.
Notes:
Funny thing, I was reading the God of War (2018) comics and found out they had a volva named Vala too! So I decided it would be cool to make her the grandmother of my Vala character, that way it would be a fun way to connect these stories haha.
Seeya :]