As the three continued their journey, they came across another cave system, its entrance half-buried under thick roots and moss.
Without hesitation, they entered, the air cold and stale.
Zelos lifted his hand and created a sphere of light that floated above them, illuminating their way.
The magic was based on the Light Magic he had developed long before, around the same time he first experimented with Time Magic.
Its glow spread softly across the cavern walls, revealing the remnants of old Norse carvings and bones scattered across the ground.
As they went deeper into the cave system, the air grew colder and heavier, and the silence became unnerving.
Then they saw them—dozens of draugrs standing still, frozen mid-motion, as though trapped between life and death. This time, some of them were different; they were surrounded by faint elemental auras.
Fire and ice intertwined between the rows of corpses, their lifeless eyes ready to awaken the moment sound or movement disturbed them.
"There sure are a lot of draugr around here," Atreus muttered quietly, raising his bow as he glanced at the unmoving figures. Kratos drew his axe, ready to strike, but Zelos extended his arm to stop him.
"Father," Zelos said calmly, "your axe will do little against those infused with ice. You need the opposite element to harm them properly. I'll handle the ice ones. You focus on those with fire, and Atreus will provide support."
Kratos looked around carefully, studying the frozen soldiers before nodding in agreement. "Understood," he said.
Without further warning, Zelos conjured several fiery arrows from thin air and released them in rapid succession.
The burning projectiles pierced through the icy draugrs, instantly melting and vaporizing them where they stood.
At the same time, several glowing circles appeared in the air around him—Zoltraak spells, their energy pulsating before shooting forward to hunt down the remaining enemies.
The beams struck with surgical precision, each one vaporizing a draugr into ash.
Atreus quickly followed Zelos's lead, enchanting his own arrows with fire, mimicking the spell he had watched countless times before.
His shots hit the draugrs that Kratos could not reach, while Kratos cleaved through the fiery ones with his axe, the weapon cutting cleanly through their burning bodies.
In less than ten minutes, the cavern fell silent again, only the sound of their footsteps echoing through the tunnels.
They pressed onward, encountering more creatures along the way—small wretches, crawling corpses, and even a revenant that hissed from behind a broken wall.
The revenant proved faster than most, slipping away from direct attacks, but Zelos grinned as his Zoltraak spells continued tracking it relentlessly.
The revenant tried to evade, but the homing beams circled back, striking its body repeatedly until it collapsed, shrieking, before disintegrating into smoke.
"Hahahaha! That's why I love this spell," Zelos said proudly, brushing dust from his coat while pointing at the dissolving remains.
Atreus laughed quietly, impressed by the precision, though Kratos remained expressionless as usual.
After several more hours of navigating the tunnels, they reached a massive lift powered by ancient chains.
Rather than wasting time with its worn mechanisms, Zelos simply raised his hand and cast a levitation spell.
The trio floated smoothly toward the top, passing through old metal beams and crumbling platforms until they emerged into daylight once again.
When they stepped outside, the fog was thick, and the mountain loomed ahead—massive and gray, its peak hidden behind clouds.
The view stretched across the forest, the same one that surrounded their home.
Even though Zelos had seen many landscapes before, he still found himself quietly admiring the sight.
"Nature is truly a thing of beauty," Zelos said, stepping forward to take it all in. Atreus followed beside him, his eyes wide.
"Wow… Never been this close to the mountain before. Looks so big," Atreus whispered. "I wish Mom were here to see it."
Kratos stood a few steps behind them, his gaze heavy. For a brief moment, he lifted his hand as though he wanted to rest it on their shoulders, to comfort them both—but his arm fell back to his side. He turned away.
"Zelos, Atreus, we leave," Kratos said, his tone firm. Both sons nodded quietly, snapping out of their thoughts before following him down the rocky path.
They walked until they reached a large stone door blocking their way. In front of it stood a shallow bowl filled with fine sand, and strange glowing runes appeared above the door as they approached.
"As we are, we two, we three. As I alone can never be," Atreus read aloud, furrowing his brow in thought. Kratos remained silent, analyzing the runes, while Zelos stepped forward after a short pause.
"The answer is family," Zelos said confidently. He bent down and wrote the rune for "family" into the sand. The runes above them flared brightly, a deep hum echoing through the cavern as the door unlocked and slowly opened.
"I'm happy we met Brok," Atreus said softly, "but… I'm even happier we're leaving this place."
The three continued forward, entering another cave-like tunnel that led upward. They followed the twisting passage until daylight appeared once again. Near the exit, Kratos stopped and crouched down.
"Atreus. Zelos. Tracks," he said.
Atreus knelt beside him, running his fingers along the ground. "It's a boar. Don't worry, Father, I'll find it," he said proudly.
"Good. It is important for a warrior to keep his skills sharp," Kratos replied, his tone approving yet measured. They followed the trail out into the forest once again.
From above, they could see a massive structure resembling the ribcage of some long-dead creature jutting out from the terrain.
As they descended the path toward it, the ground trembled—and a fire troll emerged from behind a boulder, roaring.
Without hesitation, Kratos charged forward, swinging his axe at the troll's leg while Zelos fired a Zoltraak beam at its head.
The troll blocked with its heavy stone pillar, the magic piercing through but losing enough energy to deflect off-center.
Enraged, the creature slammed the pillar down, igniting it with fire and sending out a wave of heat and debris.
Zelos quickly formed a barrier of magic around Kratos and Atreus, shielding them from the explosion.
Kratos then grabbed the pillar still embedded in the ground, lifted it with both hands, and slammed it into the troll's knee with immense force.
The creature howled in pain. Zelos followed up, firing two more Zoltraak beams that struck the troll directly in the head, killing it instantly.
"We did it!" Atreus shouted, having loosed several arrows into the creature's eyes during the fight.
His accuracy impressed even Kratos, who gave a brief nod of approval before they continued down the forest path.
They passed by several carvings of runes, each depicting the Nornir—the fates of this realm. Kratos muttered as he walked, "The Fates. No good comes from them."
As they continued, a sharp cry echoed through the trees—a wounded animal's call. Kratos looked ahead. "Boy… I hear your animal. It's close."
They moved quietly until they spotted the boar grazing peacefully in a small clearing.
"Aim and fire when you're ready," Kratos said, watching Atreus take position.
Atreus aimed confidently, recalling his training with both his father and Zelos, but released the arrow too early.
The shot hit, yet failed to pierce the hide, bouncing off harmlessly. The boar lifted its head, startled, and bolted into the forest.
"But… I hit it! Didn't I? It looked like it bounced off. Could the boar be magical?" Atreus said, lowering his bow.
"Never assume your target is ordinary," Zelos advised calmly. "Use your full strength, no matter what it is—magical or not."
Atreus nodded, expression serious now. The three set off again, following the tracks deeper into the woods. Before long, they reached a ruined camp swarming with draugrs.
"Great. Them again," Atreus muttered as the undead began to stir once more. The ensuing battle was swift.
Kratos crushed the first line with his axe, Zelos's magic beams tore through the rest, and Atreus struck any that slipped past.
When the final draugr fell, silence returned to the forest, and they pressed on, determined to find the boar.