Going into the freezing cold woods may not have been the best idea, but it was the quickest one they had Atreus was leading Calliope through the snow-covered wasteland he technically called home. It was the best option at the time when his sister had the misfortune of encountering an old friend of his and their father, whose relationship with them is currently, to say the least, complicated. He could only have hoped that he and his sister would've ditched Freya by now, and their only concern for the time being was trying to survive the bitter cold of Fimbulwinter.

As of right now, Atreus was trying to find what remained of the paths he had taken a year ago with a father on their journey, managing to make a torch as best he could with whatever was around. But it wasn't lasting in the snow and wind, as he could even feel frostbite reaching upward. Calliope clung to her brother like a serpent, missing the warmth of their cabin. She hated the bitter cold, as it was the first thing she felt when arriving to this world and was thankful to have found her father's home here. It's only been a few days since she came into this world, she did not want to die again so soon.

"You still with me, Cal?" she heard Atreus say as she looked up to him with worrisome eyes. Atreus felt bad at putting his shivering sister in this situation, but he promised to get her out of it as soon as possible. "Just keep hanging on. Don't freeze on me. That sanctuary is not far."

While it was not ideal for them to be heading to Freya's old stopping grounds, it was the only other place Atreus would consider safe at this point. It was close by and Atreus believed that Freya may have abandoned Chaurli at this point. He felt bad for the giant tortoise and couldn't imagine how it was suffering in the deep freeze. But he would be sure to heat them all up when they get there. Unfortunately though, his torch was starting to get put out, forcing him to ditch it. He knew they wouldn't last long without a proper heat source, nor could he guide their way without any light. However, this is where Calliope stepped, taking out her spear, concentrating on the magic and energy that it held and causing it to glow bright with the warmth of a star. Seeing this, Atreus was grateful, giving Calliope a hopeful smile as he took her hand which held the spear and together, the two guided their own way through the everlasting blizzard.

That was until they felt the ground beneath their feet become smoother, not as much snow. Looking down, they could see that below them was a layer of ice that used to be the river that Atreus and his father used to traverse by boat. Wouldn't have been so bad if Calliope tried to take one step and nearly slip off her own feet. Thankfully, her brother was there to catch her.

"Take it easy." He said, supporting her by the arm. "We'll take this one step at a time. Get real slow...Αργός."

They slowly began to make their way across the frozen waters as Calliope began to mutter something.

"Ένας αληθινός Σπαρτιάτης... χειρίζεται τα πάντα. Αρκετά δυνατός...για να ανταποκριθεί σε οποιοδήποτε πεδίο. (A true Spartan...handles anything. Strong enough...to meet any field.)" She whispered, trying to give herself confidence in this time.

"Huh? What is it?"

"...S-S-Spartans...handle...anything." She managed to get out, and her brother nodded.

"Yeah. That's good. Keep saying that." he told her. He figured having a bit of a conversation would help right now, as long as they're not too loud. "...Calliope...Τι...ζωή ήταν...στη Σπάρτη;"

He tried to ask her how life was like before all this, her life in Sparta. Still didn't get all the words, so what he basically said was "What...life was...in Sparta?"

"Father said...άρρωστε (sick)."

Calliope managed to make it out as she answered.

"Ήταν δύσκολο. Ήμουν τόσο άρρωστος, που μετά βίας μπορούσα να σηκωθώ από το κρεβάτι. (It was...difficult. I was so sick, I could barely get out of bed.)" She began to remember her life from before. "Ήταν θαύμα... που κατάφερα να ζήσω... να δω τον Father... να κάνει σπουδαία πράγματα...(It was a miracle...that I managed to live...to see father...do great things...)"

But then she began to remember when her father came home with chains seared to the flesh of his forearms and a brand new set of weapons found on his back. Once upon a time, did she think it a blessing to be in the service of Lord Ares, but then she began to hear her mother say bad things...frightening things about her father. She didn't want to believe, always thinking her father was a good man who did things for the glory of Sparta...the day she looked at his horror-stricken face through dying eyes was the day that view on life nearly shattered completely. But she knew it wasn't his fault, for he was filled with the warrior's pride and bloodlust, a gift and curse that Ares bestowed on all his champions. There was no doubt in her mind that the Old God of War had made it so that her father would be Ares' greatest weapon...by ridding him of anything Kratos would hold dearly.

She had an eternity in Elysium to figure that out. The Paradisiacal Afterlife of her homeland tried to keep her in bliss and docile, an innocent child forever. But even she could not forget the tragedy that was her short life, and the Fields proved to be nothing but lonely with only her old flute as company. Every day, she would play in the hopes that her father could hear the sweet tune that she always sounded for him...and come back. When he finally...he had to let her go. Calliope didn't understand it before, but a few more precious moments would mean nothing to a man who would want to spend their entire lives together.

She was glad that she got that chance now...and only hoped to live long enough to see it through. With her brother, she felt like she could handle anything as the two made it across the frozen river.

"See? That wasn't too bad." Atreus said as their feet now hit solid, snow-covered ground. "It's just like how me and father handle anything. Nothing can sto-"

And then, just all of a sudden, it seemed like the floor collapsed below them and they plunged into a sinkhole. Leaving behind only their small footprints that would be covered in snow...

Footprints...That was Kratos found at the edge of the stave. The evidence of a small struggle, but they were no simple beasts. Remnants of vines that smelled of Vanir magic remained behind making it clear who was behind this attack on his children.

"...Freya." He growled.

"Right outside of the protection stave. Na doubt she was waiting for us to come out." Mimir added. "Bit to go after th' children. Not even Freya could be that mad."

"Her desperation to see me dead has led her to endanger my son and daughter." He explained with such contempt. While Kratos does not wish to harm the Vanir Goddess, she makes it very difficult sometimes as he sees the snow kicked up in some places, leaving some tracks. "They headed into the woods to try and get away...Freya took the skies in search of them."

"She could still be around here, brother. Best not to linger here and hurry to find the little ones, yes?"

He didn't need to tell Kratos twice, as the Old God started heading into the woods, in search of his children. He was only having as much luck as finding sanctuary in this forsaken storm; the tracks were already starting to be covered by snow. But it wasn't long before he found something else, bits of ember and soot, from that of a torch. Atreus was lighting the way...for a moment or two, at least, for the torch didn't last.

"Nothing could survive out here for too long." Mimir said. "Even with their training, Atreus can only hold out for so long and Calliope is just-"

"Do not underestimate my son and daughter." Kratos interrupted. "Atreus will take care of them both. They will find a way out of this storm."

"Where could they possibly go that could help them avoid freezing to death?"

"Think. Atreus knows these woods well. There are points of sanctuary that we marked over our journey. Anywhere that has not frozen over, been buried in snow, or can still provide head will do."

True enough, for the ground beneath was practically hollow, with caves and underground chambers that stretched all across their little slice of Midgard. Anywhere like that around here would be enough to provide temporary refuge. Kratos could only hope that they were not too far from him as he looked around in search of any place around the woods to get out of the snow. So far, nothing, and the storm was blinding his eyes that he could barely see. But he continued to move before he started to hear cracks.

"Careful, brother. There is a huge chance of ice below you." Mimir warned. "Among other things."

"Ice..."

"From the frozen rivers, of course." That made Kratos turn to see that he was in the same frozen river he once used his boat on. They always used it to find their way back to home and other places. They also led to the caves near Freya's old home and the Lake of Nine, but that trail was almost unstable now. If it led to his son and daughter though...so be it. Kratos started to walk across the ice until he found the tunnel.

"Are you sure about this? Freya could still be about."

"She will not be an issue." Kratos replied, knowing full well that they must go into the darkness...

Despite what anybody would say, the darkness is anything but comforting. It was what's in the darkness that people needed to find any form of comfort in. Calliope of all people would know that well, for she experienced it several times in her existence. But now, as she was finding herself in it again, she felt only a shallow warmth of comfort as her eyes flicked open to see a stone ceiling above her, and a small lit blaze beside her; someone attempted to keep her warm. That had to have been her brother, since after the collapse, she could not think of anyone else as she rose up and massaged the back of her head. Thankfully, nothing was removed from her person as she pulled her spear out to see in the dark and steady herself. The cave she was in was only a small part of the underground chamber she and her brother fell into...

"Ugh...Atreus...Πού είμαι? (Where am I?)" She called out, but then winced in pain, feeling like the fall she took was more bad than she thought. She would've groaned loud enough to echo...had her brother not come out from out of nowhere and cupped her mouth shut.

"Shhh...there's something down here." He said, surprising her before they both looked into the cave they were at. It was a large chamber with some light coming from the surface, but the most disturbing about it was that Atreus was right, it looked like something had been around there. Bone for vermin that were fed on and gnawed clean, discarded weapons from the reavers and the undead...and the corpses of said undead scattered around the place, some impaled on pikes, swords, and spears, some hung up on their own axes as their burnt bodies crumbled to dust. Draugr, Hel-Walkers, and even the Raiders they've recently encountered were set as chopped up warnings for anyone else in the caves.

"It's carnivorous." Atreus examined as he looked over to one of the bodies. "And whatever it is, it appears to be...human...ish."

Calliope follows and sees the massacre left in the wake of this beast that her brother was describing. At least, that's what she was making out of all this.

"It was fighting through here...practically...ran through all these draugr and walkers," Atreus continued as he saw a crater at the side of the cave...made by a fist crushing the skull of one of the monsters. "...with similar strength to that of father's..." And then, he noticed something else, footprints on the ground, bare of any shoes or socks or anything protective. Looking at the crater, the fist's mark was huge compared to the feet, much bigger than that of a human. Compared to the hands of a troll or orge, these must've been pretty big hands, and they were all heading to another chamber at the right...

Looking back to the left, there was another path, darker but Atreus believed that it was a much safer option than heading to where this beast was going.

"I think we should get out of here." He said but then Calliope saw something else, something bright, shining in the light.

"Atreus! Look!" She said, pointing to the object, and Atreus could only make out that it was round, maybe gold...a shield? Whatever it was, it piqued Calliope's interest as she raced ahead of her brother and ran over to the object that rested below some kind of opening, another tunnel.

"Cal, wait!" Atreus spoke, running after her, seeing that the place was still riddled with bones and pikes. But that didn't matter to his little sister, who got down to what had her curiosity going.

When Calliope saw the glistening object, she was in awe...and in shock by what she saw, a shield that was rather a battered bronze shield and red, with a symbol she recognized all too well, the lambda. She picked it up, and held it in her hands, as memories of her homeland flooded her mind. But Atreus was soon to snap her out of it, shaking her.

"Hey! Calliope! We shouldn't be here." He said to her, trying to pull her away. "Come on. Let's go."

But Calliope then turned to her brother, with a rather serious face as she held shield firmly in her grasp.

"Atreus...you know...what this is?" She showed him the shield and Atreus looked at it. It only reminded him of the shield that his mother had given Kratos, bearing a similar resemblance in some way. "This is...ἀσπίς...Spartan Shield..."

And now, Atreus was in awe by this himself. A relic of Calliope's and their father's homeland was here of all places. He knew that there were foreign objects and relics, treasures that were hidden away in Týr's vault at the Temple, but he never saw anything like this. And if Calliope knew of it...perhaps their father would want to see for himself?

"How...this get here?" Calliope asked and she passed a head across its well-worn surface. She couldn't understand it, but every part of it, every inch, every faded scratch and groove. It couldn't have been her father's original shield...could it?

They didn't have time to think about this as there was faint rumbling coming from the tunnel in front of them. It echoed through the chamber as the two took a step back.

"Whatever did this...is still here." Atreus said as he put himself in front of Calliope.

"Τι είναι αυτό? (What is it?)"

"We need to get out of here." But the rumbling grew louder before the two could see something...or rather someone rushing down the tunnel, and soon enough...that beast they described crashed through and landed in front of them.

"RRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!"

The beast of a man that stood before them seemed as large as their father, if not bigger. Pale skin that was caked in scars, wild hair and beard on his face, and a dead right eye. He wore nothing but some red and bronze armor that was engraved with the skulls of goats, a torn loincloth, the right arm and waist wrapped in chains, as well as the right leg. The most noticeable feature that he had was the giant red mark that seemed to snake across his body and was currently glowing red hot, even smoldering. On his right hand was a giant gauntlet made out of stone that was burning bright with fire as he displayed a great amount of rage. Rage that was so familiar to the children, as well as the mark; it was almost like they were looking at-

"...Father?"

"GOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRR!"

They did not have time to think about this as Calliope, panicking, pulled her brother away and ran into another tunnel with the enraged man chasing after them. She held the shield in her arms firmly as Atreus took her free hand to lead the way. Parts of the cave were becoming unstable, as stalactites and icicles were beginning to fall from the ceiling

"Come on, Cal! We need to move fast!" He said before reaching a more open part of the cave. Too open, as there was no floor below them, only a poorly man-made wooden platform over a bottomless pit, as well as ropes hanging around the area.

"We have to jump! Hold on!" He yelled, refusing to lose his grip on Calliope's hand, no matter what. But the beast-man was right up on their tail, slamming his gauntlet against any stalagmites in his way. But the two kids jumped high and mightily, landing on the platform, only for their pursuer to land on the side and wreck the wooden stand, forcing the kids to jump again. Fortunately, there was a small exit ahead, which they ran for. Looking back, Atreus thought they had lost him...but then, the beast literally bursted through the side of the cave.

"GRRRAAARRGGHH!"

"WOAH!" This was an unfortunate time for Atreus to lose his foot and knock himself and Calliope off their feet. But they managed to make it through the opening, and could see the man trying to pry the exit wide and grab for them with his stone gauntlet.

Looking towards his sister, Atreus quickly pulled himself and her up to their feet, while Calliope made sure the shield was still in her grasp as she heard her brother say "Come on! We need to keep going!"

They kept on running, trying to flee from the man, forced to even climb up some higher platforms before they reached what looked like a mine's railway, the minecart tracks barely intact as they began running across it like a flimsy wooden bridge. But before they could both get across, the beast-man popped out from below and while Atreus was barely able to get to the other side, Calliope was forced to go down, barely managing to bash the shield in the face of their pursuer before sliding down the collapsing track onto another bridge, still having the shield in hand.

"Keep going, Cal! I'll meet across!" She heard her brother call out as he pointed to the solid ground ahead. She continued to and managed to jump from the platform, barely grabbing a chain and strained to climb upward as the man was right up on her, gripping the rock wall with his gauntlet and attempting to grab her.

"RRRMRROOOORRGGH!"

Calliope could barely make it to the top before she felt a hand grab her own. Thankfully, it was her brother, pulling her up and having them continue to run away from the man as they found themselves on another bridge.

"Ruuunn! Go, go, go!" Atreus went as they still couldn't shake the big guy, who was jumping from one rock wall to another. The two were forced to jump another big gap, but the beast-man tried to deter them by throwing a giant boulder at them. But then, Calliope used the shield to intercept the rock and block it away, the old defensive weapon glowing bright red for a moment as the two landed on the other side, hard, but quick enough to continue to run, and even try to hide. A lot of collapsed supports and wooden beams forced them to duck and move low as they still tried to get away, but the man was still behind them, bashing away any obstacle that was in front of him.

The two kids continued to run...but then, came across an obstacle they couldn't get through in time, a high ground that required a boost to reach. Unfortunately, the man was so close, that Atreus was forced to switch to the alternative and pulled out his bow.

"Þruma!" He yelled out, shooting out a shock arrow, only for the man to block it with his gauntlet, and there was no time to lance more arrows. Calliope was now terrified, as this seemed liked a situation neither of them could escape. The beastly man then grabbed from her hands with his gauntlet and let out one last angry-

"RRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRR!"

Atreus held his sister close as she buried her head in his chest. Despite how nervous he was, he still had the guts to pull out his knife and point it at the man, who now only glared at them, growling and breathing heavily. But much to his surprise...the man didn't attack, he just turned around and walked away with the shield. He could only guess that fortune favored them this time if that man was only after the shield. But he could still not shake the thought of how he resembled their father, down to the mark. Just who or what was that?

He turns to his sister, burying herself in his chest as he says "Hey...Calliope, it's okay...he's gone now. Είναι...εντάξει...τώρα."

Hearing him say that it was all okay now made Calliope lift up her head and see that Atreus was right. The man was gone and escape from this cave was just above their heads.

"Come on, let me get you a boost." Atreus said to her as they stood up and Atreus got to one knee and cupped his hands. Calliope understood as she slowly placed her foot at in her brother's hand and placed her own hand on his shoulder. "It'll be fine. Me and Father do this all the time."

And with that, Calliope felt herself flying upward and managing to grab the ledge, climbing up before turning back and offering a hand to Atreus, who took it gratefully and the two finally made it out of the caves. However, once they were outside, they were not at any place that was recognizable, at least to Calliope. But the boy had seen this area before it was covered in nearly twenty feet of snow.

"I think we're on the side of the foothills." He said before turning to the right and recognizing the highest peak in Midgard. "Yeah! There's the mountain!"

Calliope looked towards the mountain before seeing her brother move towards the side and start climbing up the rock wall, offering a hand to his sister.

"Come on, Cal. We're not out of this, yet."

And so, the young girl took her brother's hand and they began to climb up to the near base of the mountain. Little did they know that it had been taken over by some adversaries they'd only recently encountered. And while they may find warmth along the way, what they will witness will test their limits in playing with fire. Still, their main objective was to survive.

Welp, got to this again. Another chain has been added, in case anyone wasn't paying attention.

Deimos is finally here. Now, who should be next to come back from the dead, if any?

I'm open to suggestions on this story. Until then, keep watching.

- Light.