As the four companions continued their arduous journey back towards the snowy top of the mountain, the very same mountain that they had first mistakenly thought was the absolute tallest peak of all the realms, a palpable tension filled the air.
Zelos was also growing incredibly excited. He could vividly feel that the strength of his father, Kratos, was rapidly getting back to its historical peak.
The more Kratos's Spartan body adapted to the realm and absorbed the new, boundless source of his divinity from the World Tree, the more the air around him seemed to hum with raw, crackling power.
"How strong do you think Father will become?" Atreus asked quietly. The young boy, who was always deeply attuned with the nature and magic around him, asked this because he felt a profound disturbance in the magical currents surrounding Kratos.
The God of War was still continuing to remain entirely stoic, his face a mask of stone, but the energy he emitted was undeniable and overwhelming.
"Perhaps we would eventually see Father kill a primordial being, much like Odin did with Ymir. You know the stories of Ymir, the very first Giant to ever exist," Zelos answered thoughtfully.
"But that extraordinary feat would depend entirely on how much power Yggdrasil is willing to provide him. The World Tree is still trying to find the perfect, delicate balance between Father's old Greek strength and what the roots of this land can safely give him."
Mimir seemed to have heard this bold claim. He looked closely at Kratos, wondering if the words of Zelos should be taken as an absolute fact already. As far as Mimir was concerned, Zelos had not been wrong about anything ever since he had started sharing his hidden knowledge.
"How can you be talking about something so heinous so easily and casually?" Mimir asked Zelos, his voice laced with horror. "When Odin and his brothers killed Ymir, a great flood of blood happened that drowned almost everyone. Only two Jotnar survived that apocalyptic event."
Zelos just looked at Mimir with a completely unconcerned and flat stare, completely unaffected by the grim history lesson.
"Do you truly think there is a being, even a primordial entity, on the same level of power as Ymir in all of the Nine Realms today?" Zelos countered towards Mimir. "I do not think even Surtr the Brave could be said to be at the level of Ymir, and Surtr is the second oldest being in the entire cosmic structure, except for the World Tree itself. Even Nidhogg the dragon is not that strong, even after gnawing on the deep roots of Yggdrasil for so many millennia."
"Also, might I remind you that Ymir's massive body was literally used to create Midgard and all of its mortal inhabitants. That kind of overwhelming magic is not supposed to be concentrated within just one single being," Zelos then said.
He shared his grand theories to justify his callous and analytical words. "Perhaps, even Yggdrasil itself had a guiding hand in Ymir's death. The tree might have orchestrated it to scatter the infinite magic living in Ymir's body across creation."
His casual but profound words made the brilliant mind of Mimir work furiously, processing the terrifying implications of such a cosmic conspiracy.
"If that theory is indeed true, then what makes you think that your father will not be the very next target of the violent scrutiny of Yggdrasil?" Mimir asked, bringing Zelos's own logic back towards him. "As per your own words, no single being should ever hold that much concentrated and raw power in their hands without consequence."
"Might I remind you of my other words from earlier? I stated clearly that it should depend entirely on how much Yggdrasil is willing to fuel the rapid growth of Father's magic and returning divinity," Zelos then answered smoothly.
"I think the all-knowing branches of Yggdrasil will find the exact and correct balance to ensure that Father does not grow out of proportion. The tree will make sure he does not become a danger to existence itself, unlike Odin, who has been actively destroying the delicate balance of the realms with his paranoid hoarding."
Before they could continue their intense philosophical conversation once again, Kratos finally had a physical reaction to their banter.
He summoned a crackling bolt of golden lightning perfectly and precisely towards the empty gap on the ground between Mimir's place and Zelos to silence them.
"Enough," Kratos commanded in his booming voice, the golden sparks fading around his clenched fist. "I will not kill a primordial being. Perhaps, I will willingly give up this dangerous power once again after our mission is finally complete and the boy is safe."
Kratos then offered this unexpected answer to his companions as they finally reached the final, treacherous steps to climb the snowy peak.
"I do not think that relinquishing the power will be that easy, Father. The nature of the magic in this Norse realm and your older realm of Greece is vastly different in how it binds to a soul," Zelos cautioned.
However, his warning was largely ignored by the Spartans. Facing a massive vertical gap that blocked the final summit, the four travelers then resorted to their newfound and magical means of traversal to fly towards the highest peak of the mountain.
Atreus channeled his newly discovered shapeshifting abilities, manifesting a pair of strong, scaled dragon wings from his back. Mimir created wings with a collection of butterflies that eerily looked similar to the wings of a certain red-haired goddess.
Zelos simply employed his advanced sorcery for smooth, effortless levitation. Surprisingly, Kratos demonstrated a natural, forceful ability to fly.
He achieved this incredible feat by utilizing his absolute control over the golden lightning, riding the magnetic currents to propel his heavy body through the freezing air.
When the four of them finally landed safely on the frozen, wind-swept peak, Zelos could not help but feel a sudden, intense sense of excitement washing over him.
He could physically feel that their long and perilous journey to scatter the ashes was finally nearing its absolute end. Furthermore, he was incredibly excited to explore these lands alone more freely.
Despite genuinely enjoying the constant company of his father, Mimir, and his younger brother Atreus, there was still a large multitude of secret things that he wanted to do. These were dark experiments and preparations that he absolutely did not want his family to find out about anytime soon.
"Father, we are here," Zelos called out to Kratos over the howling wind.
Kratos nodded silently. He then walked purposefully toward the grand, ancient stone archway that would magically lead them towards the hidden realm of Jotunheim. He took a deep breath and held out the glowing magic chisel tip.
He began to carefully carve the special, intricate magic travel rune into the crystal to open the gateway to the realm of the Giants.
As Kratos focused entirely on completing this delicate task, Zelos turned his back to the gateway and surveyed his snowy surroundings. A dark, knowing smile crept across his face.
Through his advanced magical perception, he could seemingly feel three distinct and incredibly powerful godly presences hovering and rapidly running towards their exact location on the summit.
Zelos knew exactly who one of them was based on the frantic, chaotic energy of Baldur, but he did not really recognize the specific magical signatures of the other two accompanying deities.
Anticipating the incoming ambush, Zelos then discreetly started making a complex, delayed activation rune on the ground with his foot.
This specific, high-tier spell was designed to violently sever any and all ties between spaces. It would completely cut off all connections between realms, whether those connections were physical, spiritual, or purely magical in nature.
"Are the two of you truly ready?" Kratos then asked his sons in an incredibly solemn tone. He had finished carving the rune, and the portal was beginning to shimmer to life.
He asked this because he was mentally preparing for a possible, bloody fight against the Giants if they were to try and take his beloved children away from him upon their arrival.
Both Atreus and Zelos nodded along in unison, their faces resolute. Meanwhile, Mimir made a respectful, silent decision to stay back and leave the three of them to walk through the gate alone for their family peace, intending to guard the Midgard side of the archway.
Kratos then began to start walking slowly towards the ethereal wooden bridge that the activated realm door led them onto.
He was closely followed by Atreus and Zelos. However, Zelos was still looking around the perimeter with extreme caution. His glowing eyes turned towards Mimir, and he instantly sent a secret, telepathic message into the horned man's mind.
This sudden revelation made Mimir's face completely covered in absolute shock and horror.
But before Mimir could shout a warning or do anything about the incoming threat, the three divine presences that Zelos had felt earlier suddenly materialized out of thin air right at the side of Kratos.
They all launched a coordinated, vicious attack against the Spartan without hesitation or a word spoken.
Reacting with calculated precision, Zelos immediately activated the delayed severing rune that he had cast on the stone floor.
The magic flared blindingly bright, forcefully slamming the gateway shut and sealing the realm of Jotunheim once again to protect the portal from the invaders.
This sudden magical lockdown left Mimir standing completely alone on the mountain peak in Midgard, separated from his allies as the brutal ambush began.