Taking Atreus through the realm of death was a first for the young boy.
But for Kratos, it was something he was already used to. Back in Greece, how many times had he gone down to the underworld?
In Helheim, those who came here could see visions of their past, something that neither people nor gods could avoid.
These visions were the moments they least wanted to face.
As they moved forward, Atreus saw the scene where he had killed Modi.
This was the past he didn't want to face. After Kratos's harsh scolding, Atreus was clearly more clear-headed now.
He was shocked by his own actions in killing Modi, because he felt it wasn't him at all.
Besides that, as they continued, Kratos and Atreus also saw Baldur's past.
Freya, the forest witch who had saved Atreus, was his mother.
Unlike Kratos, Freya, as a mother, had a obsessive love for her child.
And in Norse mythology, there was a prophecy called Ragnarok.
This prophecy was bound to happen, and before Ragnarok, the world would fall into a deep winter.
Facing the prophecy of Ragnarok, Odin formed the Valkyrie legion to confront this crisis.
Furthermore, according to the prophecy, Baldur was destined to die in this cataclysm of the Norse gods.
For this reason, Freya granted Baldur immortality. As a mother, she didn't want her son to die, but this motherly love came with cruel side effects.
This curse turned Baldur into a living dead man. The price of immortality was that he lost all feeling; his tongue could not taste food, his skin could not feel warmth or cold, and his heart could not feel the joy of love.
This also made Baldur resent Freya, hating her possessive motherly love. He even wished to kill his mother with his own hands every moment.
Similarly, Kratos's past, which he didn't want to face, reappeared: the scene in Olympus where he killed Zeus.
During this journey through Helheim, Kratos initially lectured Atreus. But as the journey progressed, and even when Kratos was lost in thought looking at the phantoms of his past, it was Atreus who led Kratos to safety.
This journey was less about Kratos helping Atreus grow, and more about the father and son growing together.
Kratos used his experience to tell Atreus how to be a god.
And likewise, Atreus, through his actions, inspired Kratos, allowing him to gradually face himself.
Escaping from Helheim, Zack took a deep breath, still feeling a bit excited.
During this trip in Helheim, they didn't encounter any powerful bosses.
Most of the encounters were with common enemies and elite enemies.
But the sense of impact was no less than before.
This came from the shock of witnessing the internal evolution of Kratos and Atreus.
Besides that, Zack also had many hopes and expectations for the future.
The previous games actually had many foreshadows. Players familiar with Norse mythology would have a general idea of the game's direction by this point.
However, Zack didn't know much about Norse mythology. He often confused the gods from Greek mythology with those from Norse mythology, unsure who was who.
But as the game progressed, for someone unfamiliar with these stories, the unfolding of the truth brought even greater surprise.
For example, the god of light, Baldur, was killed by mistletoe in the myths.
This could explain why Freya's expression changed drastically when she saw the mistletoe arrows on Atreus earlier, creating such suspense.
However, although Freya had burned all the mistletoe arrows then, before going to Freya's house.
Kratos had broken off a small section of a mistletoe arrow to tie Atreus's backpack.
And it was this small section that broke Baldur's curse.
The final boss battle was undoubtedly against Baldur, with three different forms: normal, ice, and fire. During this, Freya would also use magic, and control the corpses of dead giants to hinder them.
After three consecutive large-scale battles, with Kratos and Atreus fighting together, Baldur was finally defeated.
At this point, Atreus had truly grown up, no longer losing control as he did when facing Modi.
Like Freya, who pleaded with Kratos to spare her son, Atreus also actively persuaded Kratos, saying that Baldur was defeated and no longer a threat.
Unlike his younger days when he would kill anything that stood in his way, this time Kratos let Baldur go, warning him not to bother them again, and also warning him not to harm Freya.
After all, for Kratos, Freya had saved Atreus's life and had provided much crucial help for the father and son on their journey.
But Baldur clearly wouldn't listen to Kratos's warning.
In fact, compared to Kratos, his greater target of hatred was his mother, the woman who had interfered in his life, making him immortal but unable to feel anything of being alive.
Freya, also possessing a unhealthy motherly love, was willing to die at her son's hands.
Seeing Freya about to be killed, Kratos, even though he knew it was a family matter, and that both parties were willing, intervened.
'Why… why are you interfering! You could have… just left.' Baldur asked, struggling as Kratos held him from behind by the neck.
'Grudges end here. We must grow.'
With a crack, Baldur's neck was broken.
As Baldur died, snow suddenly began to fall from the sky.
'I will bring all suffering, all imaginable disaster upon you.'
'I will drag your cold corpse through every corner of the Nine Realms.'
'Feed your soul to the filthiest beings in Helheim.'
'I swear!'
Freya's trembling hand touched Baldur's body, cursing Kratos.
'He saved your life!' Atreus said from the side.
'He took everything from me!' Freya cried, "You are a monster… all you know is cruelty and anger, you will never change!"
'Then you don't understand me at all.' Kratos looked into the distance.
'I understand enough… what about him?' Freya looked up at Kratos, pointing at Atreus behind him.
Faced with Freya's words, Kratos was very calm. He had long been prepared to face anything.
He had once been so mad that he destroyed everything, but in reality, he had always been running away.
Serving the gods, begging them to let him forget the fact that he had killed his wife and children.
Becoming the God of War, helping his people fight everywhere, this was also running away.
Even after coming to this land of the North, he was still running away from his past.
But now, he would no longer run away.
'Boy!'
Kratos slowly turned around.
'Listen carefully…'
'I come from a land called Sparta.'
'I made a deal with a god, and the price was my soul.'
'I have killed many who deserved it, and also many innocent people.'
'I killed my father.'
Atreus had once wanted to know Kratos's past, but Kratos had always refused to answer.
Now, Atreus was clearly shocked after listening. He remembered the phantom he had seen when leaving Helheim.
'Was that your father in Helheim?'
'Is this what it's like to be a god?' Atreus looked confused, looking at his father, then at the grieving Freya and the dead Baldur.
'Do gods always end up like this?'
'A son killing his mother… and father?'
Atreus, with a face full of confusion, no longer had the excitement and pride he had when he first learned he was a god.
'No, we will become the gods we choose to be, not follow in the footsteps of the old gods.'
'My past is not your future.'
(End of this chapter)
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