God of War (2018 video game)

God of War is a video game for the PlayStation 4 console by SCE Santa Monica Studio. It follows Kratos, who has moved from Greece into Scandinavia in an attempt to leave his bloodthirsty past behind and start a new life. Along with his son Atreus, he journeys across the Nine Realms of Norse mythology to scatter his wife's ashes into the highest peak of all the Realms at her request.

Kratos

[calls to his deceased second wife Faye] Find your way home. You are free.
Close your heart to it. On our journey, we will be attacked by all manner of creature. Close your heart to their desperation. Close your heart to their suffering. Do not allow yourself to feel for them. They will not feel for you.
Keep your expectations low, boy, and you will never be disappointed.
Do not concern yourself with what might be. Focus on what is, and be vigilant.
A broken quiver will slow your draw. Pain, we endure... faulty weaponry, we do not.
Fate is another lie told by the gods. Nothing is written that cannot be unwritten.
[scolds an arrogant Atreus in Helheim] You will LISTEN to me and not speak a word. I am your father—and you, boy, are not yourself! You are too quick to temper. You are rash, insubordinate, and out of control! This will not stand. You will honor your mother, and abandon this path you have chosen. It is not too late... [picks up Atreus after a beat] This discussion is far from over. We are here because of you, boy. Never forget that.
[to Baldur] This path you walk... vengeance. You will find no peace. I know.
The cycle ends here. We must be better than this.
Dwarves are resourceful creatures. Annoying, but resourceful.
Anger can be a weapon. If you can control it, use it. You clearly cannot.
[To Athena's spirit] Athena.....Get out of my head.
[to Atreus after he says he is sorry] Do not be sorry. Be Better.
[while beating Baldur on the back of his dragon] STAY.....AWAY.....FROM.....MY......SON!
[After Atreus falls ill] Freya! Open the door! We need your help! [no response] WOMAN, DO YOU HEAR ME?! IT IS URGENT!

Atreus

Odin and Thor... ruining everything for everybody.
I guess there’s just one thing I don’t understand... My name on the wall. The Giants called me... Loki?
[after killing Daudi Kapmadr, he angrily starts stabbing and slicing the troll's corpse] THAT'S WHAT YOU GET! [he continues stabbing the corpse and starts coughing] THINK I'M AFRAID OF YOU?! [Kratos: Boy!] [He keeps stabbing and coughing heavier and heavier] YOU'RE NOTHING TO ME! [Kratos: Boy! Look at me, boy!] NOTHING! [after Kratos restrains him and calms him down] We did it.

Mimir

Your father won't let me go, Baldur, and he won't let you kill me. You have nothing to offer me. So take your questions, take your threats, take these two worthless wankers and piss off!
[to Atreus, on his time working for Odin] It's my career! And if you mean to make your career as a counsellor to kings, you can't very well rule out petty maniacs - available positions are scare enough! My first master was a cruel piece of work as well, but I learned through him the enduring power of wit, which served me well with kings and gods alike. I couldn't have been much older than you when I started - a faerie king's errand boy and unofficial jester. By night, my mates and I had the run of the forest. Goodfellows, they called us, knavish sprites to the last! We'd get up to all manner of mischief, making fools of the local mortals! But as long as our lord was kept amused, we were spared the consequences! [sighs] Then, one day, he was not amused, and I saw fit to move on. Thankfully, the ages and roads travelled since then have turned me from that merry wanderer into the paragon of virtue you see before you today.
[to Atreus] Lad, there comes a time in every man's life when he changes his name and heads north to make a new start. If you live long enough to do this many times over, you might end up as far north as this place. By the time I arrived, I already knew Odin by his reputation, and so I set to demonstrate my worth by coming to him with something I knew he'd value: a mystic well of knowledge. Or rather, I should say, a well of water laced with enough mystic mushrooms to make a god see visions. Oh, he was rightly impressed! Can't say for sure what he saw that led him to try gouging out his own eyes, but I managed to restrain him before he finished the job. Then I persuaded him it had been his sacrifice, made for an even higher form of sight to be bestowed, blah-di-blah-di-blah-di-blah! I used to think he never caught on. But the day he took my eye, I realized he had never been fooled. He knew I'd outwitted him, called the lesson wisdom, and hired me to make sure from then on I was on his side - and for a long, long time, I truly was. Doesn't mean he didn't hold a grudge.
[on why Odin is called the Lord of the Hanged] That refers to a modest example of Odin's thirst for knowledge - the time he spent nine days a dead man. Aye! Hung himself by the neck from Yggdrasil's branches, put his spear through his own side, and bled down into the Well of Destiny. He roamed the realms of the dead and plundered the World Tree of its secrets until, I think, quite rightly, it got fed up with him and sent him back to the land of the living... Did I not mention he was barking mad?
[after Kratos' conversation with Athena's spirit] Well, I'm pretty sure you weren't talking to me back there. Anything you'd like to get off your chest, brother? [Kratos is silent] I can assure you I'm unsurpassed in keeping confidences. [still no reply] Well, you know where to find me. And for the record, I'd already guessed you were Greek. "Athena"? Dead giveaway.
Your father was Zeus?! Well, that explains a lot.
[after Kratos returns his eye] Thank you, brother. You don't miss depth perception until it's gone.
[looks at his decapitated body] Well, that's a sight no man should ever see. Thanks for that.

Baldur

Tell me what I want... Pain stops. Real simple.
When Odin sent me here, I just needed answers, but... YOU, you had to act all proud. Throw whatever you have at me... I'll keep coming. That old body will give out. But before I end this, I want you to know one thing... I can't feel any of this.
You've seen it with your own eyes; you can't hurt me. Nothing can. This fight is pointless. Your struggle is pointless. It didn't have to be this way.
[moments before having his neck snapped by Kratos] I'd hope that you, of everyone I'd faced, would finally make me feel something, but you can't.
[slow-clapping after Atreus shoots a shock arrow at Kratos] And here I thought my family was fucked up...
[after Freya claims to know how he feels] Feel? [increduosly] How I feel?!
I've spent the last one hundred years dreaming of this moment. I've rehearsed everything I ever wanted to say to you, every word, to make you understand exactly what you stole from me. But now i realise... i dont need you to understand anything. I don't need you at all.
You just can't help yourself, can you mother? No matter what I do or say, you won't stop interfering in my life!
[after his mother pleads for his forgiveness] No. We can't. Because I will never forgive you. You still need to pay for the lifetime that you stole from me.
[after Atreus accidentally breaks the spell of invulnerability on him] Before you die, I want to thank you - both of you. You've done what even the Allfather himself could not! [laughing] I've never felt more alive! Ironic, isn't it?
WHY?! WON'T?! YOU?! DIE?!

Dialogue

[An old, weathered Kratos, with a full beard, holds an axe as he stands before a tall birch tree, with a golden hand print on it. He places his hand on it, showing that it clearly has some value to him. He stands, and swings his axe. It takes some time, but with a final yell, he chops down the tree. He sheaths the axe in its holster, and bends down to grab the tree, but bloody bandages on his arms come loose. He freezes, and begins to slowly bind them back to his arms. A small child, Kratos' son Atreus, appears in the scene, holding a bundle of flowers]

Atreus: Found some.

Kratos: [pause] ...Get in the boat, boy.

[As Faye's funeral pyre begins to cremate her body, Atreus runs out of the house with his bow around his back.]

Atreus: What are we hunting?

Kratos: You are hunting deer.

Atreus: Which way?

Kratos: In the direction of deer.

Atreus: There it is!

Kratos: Hold!

[After Atreus fires a poorly aimed arrow at a stag, scaring it away]

Kratos: [taking Atreus' bow] WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Now its guard is up! Only fire... [restraining himself and lowering his voice] Only fire... when I tell you to fire.

Atreus: I'm sorry.

Kratos: Do not be sorry. Be better. Find it. [Atreus reaches for the bow, but Kratos pulls it aside] Find... it.

The Stranger: I thought you'd be bigger... but you're definitely the one... long way from home, aren't you?

Kratos: What do you want?

The Stranger: Oh, you already know the answer to that.

Kratos: Whatever it is you seek, I do not have it. You should move on.

The Stranger: And here I thought your kind were supposed to be so enlightened. So much "smarter", so much...better than us. And yet you hide out here in the woods..like a coward-ah.

Kratos: ...You do not want this fight.

The Stranger: Oh, I'm pretty sure I do.

[He slaps Kratos with a backhand]

Kratos: Leave... My...Home.

The Stranger: You. . . are going to have to kill me for that to happen.

[He repeatedly hits Kratos, in the chest, face, and gut, before Kratos grabs one of his hands, and bends it backwards]

Kratos: I warned you.

The Stranger: Oh, finally.

[Kratos hits him with a right hook, sending him far from his front door. He looks back into his house]

Kratos: [to the Stranger] You would not listen.

The Stranger: No, no no no no no no... [Kratos picks him up] Fine. My turn. [He uppercuts Kratos, sending him over the house]

[After Kratos' first confrontation with the Stranger]

Kratos: Gather your things. We are leaving.

Atreus: Thought I wasn't ready?

Kratos: You are not. But we have no choice now. Prove me wrong.

Atreus: Yes, sir.

Atreus: Those roots... what kind of magic is that?

Witch of the Woods: It's Vanir.

Atreus: From Vanaheim?

Witch of the Woods: You know of it?

Atreus: Just stories. Mother didn't say much about the Vanir gods, just that they're always at war with the Aesir. Guess compared to Odin and Thor, they're the good guys.

Kratos: There are no "good" gods, boy. Thought I taught you that.

[As Kratos and Atreus arrive at the foothills of the Midgardian peak, another dwarf, Sindri catches Atreus' eye]

Atreus: Another dwarf. Should we...

Kratos: No. He is of no consequence.

Sindri: Uh...huh...excuse me, but um, how did you come by that axe?

Kratos: That is of my concern alone.

Sindri:: And uh, while I won't dispute that, I-I know that blade. It was one of ours, but uh, heh, we didn't make it for you.

Kratos: Step aside.

Sindri: I- can't. See the woman we made it for, I was, well I am quite fond of her and would be somewhat displeased if it turns out...[raises his fists] you did something to her. [instantly turns his head away]

Atreus: It was my mother's. She left it to Father before she died.

Sindri: [taken aback] Faye's dead? I'm very very sorry to hear that. She was a fierce warrior... and a good woman. [confidently] Okay. I will make improvements to the axe.

Atreus: But, nobody asked you to.

Sindri: Well its.. its true, but knowing your mother, she would've insisted I repair that act of vandalism perpetrated against her axe by my brother.

Atreus: I knew it! You are Brok's brother. [runs to Sindri's shop, and sees the other missing half of the Huldra brand] The other half of the brand's here.

Kratos: The blue one is your brother.

Sindri: Yes, but my talents are far superior. No boast, swear to Freya.

Kratos: Do not undo his work. Improve upon it only.

Sindri: Yeah, but can you put it down over [gestures to his table] there, that handle is..

Kratos: [interrupting] No.

Sindri: ...Filthy... Okay, I'll just, I will just... [takes the axe by the handle, using his wrists rather than his hands to carry the weapon, groaning in disgust all the while]

[When Mimir says he can get them to Jotunheim]

Kratos: What do we do?

Atreus: [excitedly] Yes!

Mimir: First, you need to cut off my head.

Atreus: Wait, what?

Mimir: Odin made sure that no weapon, not even Thor's hammer, could free my body from these bonds. But fortunately, you don't need my body! The trick is, we need to find someone who can reanimate my head, using the old magic.

Kratos: Old magic... There is a witch of the woods, she knows the old ways.

Mimir: And she'll help? She might do! Worth a try!

Kratos: But if she fails, you will be dead.

Mimir: He tortures me, you know. Every day, brother. Odin himself sees to it personally, and believe me, there is no end to his creativity. Every. Single. Day. This... this isn't living.

Kratos: Very well. [draws his axe]

Atreus: Oh, I can't watch this! [steps away]

Mimir: Brother, in case you can't resurrect me, there's something you need know. The boy... the longer you wait to tell him his true nature, the more damage you do. He will resent you, and you may lose him forever.

Kratos: There is much about me I would not have him know.

Mimir: Aye, so you value your privacy more than your son?

Kratos: ...I'm going to cut off your head now.

Mimir: [beat] Fair enough.

[Near Thamur's corpse, and after battling a plethora of monsters, Sindri appears atop a large rock that Kratos and Atreus climb up.]

Sindri: Well, that was something. That uh, [makes sound effects] fight. Here, catch. [throws an apple to Kratos, who cuts it with the axe. Sindri flinches] Well that was a waste of a perfectly good apple...

Kratos: [interrupting] How were you not seen? There is nowhere here to hide.

Sindri: Oh, that. It's a little trick my people can pull, a special way of not being seen.

Atreus: You can be invisible?

Sindri: More like I can step into the realm between realms, [Sindri disappears, yet his voice is still audible] and your mind doesn't understand what it's seeing, so it sees nothing at all. That's how we avoid ever having to actually use the weapons we craft. [Sindri appears, and hands Atreus an apple. The boy takes it] It, uh, it doesn't seem to work on dragons though. [chuckles]

Atreus: Your brother wanted to know if you were getting enough to eat. I guess I can tell him you are. [takes a bite of the apple]

Sindri: Brok was asking about me? [Atreus nods; whispering] Was there mead on his breath? [The Leviathan Axe suddenly flies behind Sindri and lodges itself in a rock, startling the dwarf. Sindri looks at it, analyzing the handle and blade.] You let him touch this again. [the dwarf dislodges the axe from the rock] Come on, then.

Atreus: So that's how Brok was at the temple before us. He stepped between realms!

Atreus: Those were the guys we saw with Baldur. His nephews?

Mimir: Aye. Magni and Modi, the sons of Thor.

Atreus: Mother always said the Aesir were the worst of the gods, and Thor was the worst of the Aesir. Guess he's a terrible father, too.

Kratos: They are no longer children. They have no excuse.

[A blonde man, Magni, son of Thor, Arrives and kills an ogre. He spots Kratos and Atreus]

Magni: [to Kratos] You. [he tosses the ogre's corpse aside]

Kratos: [to Atreus] Boy.

Magni: Surrender. The All-father demands it.

Kratos: [Draws his axe] No.

Magni: [chuckles while pulling out his broadsword] Good.

Kratos: [to Atreus] The fight is mine, boy. Go!

[Atreus tries to escape, but Magni's brother, Modi, another son of Thor, arrives and points his mace at Atreus]

Modi: And where do you think you're going? [Atreus draws his bow; Sarcastically] Uh-oh, Magni. That little freak's got a bow! What are we gonna do? [the brothers chuckle]

[During the battle with Magni and Modi]

Magni: The Sons of Thor will destroy you!

Mimir: The Sons of Thor are welcome to try!

Kratos: HEAD!

Mimir: Sorry. Overstepped, yeah?

[Kratos blocks Magni's broadsword with his shield.]

Modi: Wow, kid. Your mum must've been some whore to lay with the likes of him.

Atreus: [angrily] I'LL KILL YOU! [draws his knife and rushes Modi]

Kratos: Atreus! Control yourself! [he drives the axe into Magni's side, then his shoulder, then brings it down on his skull, finally killing him.]

Modi: MAGNI! NO! [Kratos looks at him and advances slowly. Modi's tone shifts to show he is afraid for his life] How did you... You have no idea what... YOU SON OF A BITCH!

Atreus: You're next! [shoots an arrow at Modi's shoulder, as he runs away in fear] Come back, you damn coward! I'll rip your head off!

Kratos: Atreus...

Atreus: Come on. You already speak it. Learning to read won't be that hard.

Kratos: I know how to read, boy. Just not this tongue.

Atreus: You're halfway there already then. Okay, so the runes represent a lot of different things. Some gods, some animals, and some are--

Kratos: Wait.

Atreus: Oh, am I going too fast? Sorry, I'll--

Kratos: Not that. Do you smell something?

Atreus: Yeah, I do. Smells like... rain? [Modi suddenly appears, knocking Atreus to the ground, and electrocuting Kratos with his mace]

Modi: You ruined everything! I earned that fucking hammer, but now everyone's gonna think I only got it because Magni's gone. I'll be a joke! But if I kill you... no one's gonna laugh at me!

Atreus: No! [attempts and fails to shoot shock arrows at Modi, who blocks it with his shield]

Modi: Wow, are you dumb? That your father's doing? Or did you get it from your mum? She stupid and ugly?

Atreus: SHUT UP! [runs at Modi, knife-drawn, but is thrown down by Modi's shield] You don't... know anything... about my mother.

Modi: Oh, that's true. But I'm gonna get to know you really well. You're gonna be my new brother... right after I finish killing your father!

Atreus: STOP IT! [unleashes what could possibly be his version of Spartan Rage before collapsing]

Modi: Whoops... I think I broke him. [Kratos unleashes his Spartan Rage against Modi] What--? No...! Stay back! [Kratos advances on Modi, and takes his bludgeon and hits his shield out of his hands. He punches Modi in the gut, sending him across the room and collapsing near a pillar. Kratos roars in rage] No...! This isn't over! [Modi runs away in fear, crying]

Mimir: Brother, the boy!

Kratos: Atreus...!

Mimir: You have to get to Freya quickly! There's no other way!

[Athena's spirit appears to Kratos as he binds the chains of the Blades of Chaos to his arms]

Athena: There's nowhere you can hide, Spartan. Put as much distance between you and the truth as you want, it changes nothing. Pretend to be everything you are not... teacher... husband... father... [Kratos looks at her, then looks back down at the blades as they glow a fiery orange.] But there is one unavoidable truth you will never escape: you cannot change. You will always be... a monster.

Kratos: I know. But I am your monster no longer.

[Kratos is travelling across Yggdrasil to Helheim]'

Mimir: Well, I'm pretty sure you weren't talking to me back there. Anything you'd like to get off your chest, brother? [Kratos is silent] I can assure you I'm unsurpassed in keeping confidences. [still no reply] Well, you know where to find me. And for the record, I'd already guessed you were Greek. "Athena"? Dead giveaway.

[after taking the heart from the troll in Helheim, Kratos looks behind him, to see a vision of Zeus calling to him]

Zeus: Kratoooos...

Kratos: [shocked] Zeus...?

Mimir: [at the same time] Zeus?

Kratos: My father...

Mimir: Your father was Zeus? Well, that explains a lot...

[The vision dissipates into smoke]

Kratos: [holding up Mimir; vengefully] What is that place?!

Mimir: Never go there. Understand?

[Kratos reluctantly leaves Helheim]

Mimir: [after leaving Helheim] Your father was Zeus... I finally understand. I'm dangling from the hip of the bloody Ghost of Sparta!

Kratos: Do NOT call me that.

Mimir: Don't mistake me, brother. From what I heard, the pantheon had it coming. But it's still a bit to take in. I knew you hate gods, but you really can't stay away from them, can you?

Kratos: You must say nothing to the boy. He must never know.

Mimir: Bollocks, brother! Respectfully, bollocks. He has to know. He'll never be whole without the truth. Look, I get it. You hate the gods, ALL gods. It's no accident that includes yourself. And it includes your boy, don't you see that? He feels that! He can't help what he is. He can't begin to help it, because you haven't even told him. It's all connected, man!

Kratos: You... will tell him nothing.

Mimir: [beat] ...Very well.

Kratos: Boy. Here. On the day you were born, I made two knives, mixing metals from my home and from this land. One for myself, and when you were ready, one for you. Today is that day.

Atreus: So I’m a man now, like you?

Kratos: No. We are not men. We are more than that. The responsibility is far greater. And you must be better than me. Understand? Say it.

Atreus: I will be better.

Kratos: The power of this weapon, any weapon, comes from here…[points to Atreus' heart] but only when tempered by this [points to Atreus' head]. By the discipline, the self-controlled of the one who wields it. That is where the true strength of a warrior lies. You must never forget that. [Atreus nods] Good then. Come.

Atreus: [about the Blades of Chaos] Look, don't be mad... but I've seen those blades of yours before. They were under the house, when I was hiding. Is that why you never let me down there? Where'd they come from?

Kratos: They are my burden. From a life that is behind me.

Atreus: Well... they're in my life too now, and I'd like to hear that story.

Kratos: Those days are dead. To relive them is... needless.

Atreus: How can it be needless if it's the truth?

Kratos: One day... you will understand.

Atreus: I'll take your word for it.

Modi: [with various cuts and lacerations on his face] Thor... Blamed me! For what you did to Magni. My own father.... called me a coward!

Atreus: Looks like he did a lot more than that. Move it, or we'll pick up where he left off.

Modi: I'll kill you! [he tries to stand but collapses on his knee. Kratos finds it rather pitiful to see him like this.]

Kratos: Leave him. He is beaten, not worth killing.

Atreus: He should pay for what he said about mother.

Kratos: [slowly more stern] I said, no.

Atreus: But we're gods. We can do whatever... We... Want.

Modi: [chuckles; last words] That's what I said to your mother. Right before I gave it to her. [Atreus stabs him in the neck]

Kratos: [grabs his arm] What are you doing?

Atreus: [nonchalantly] This is a much better knife than mother's. [He kicks Magni over the edge of the cliff, disposing of his body]

Kratos: You killed against my wishes. You lost control!

Atreus: Haven't you been teaching me to kill?

Kratos: I have been teaching you to survive! We are gods, boy, and that makes us a target. From now until the end of days, you are marked. So I teach you to kill, yes, but in defense of yourself! Never as an indulgence!

Atreus: Nobody cared about him anyways. What's the difference?

Kratos: [raising his voice] THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES TO KILLING A GOD!

Atreus: Why?! How do you know?! HOW DO YOU KNOW?!

Kratos: [sternly] Watch. Your. Tone. Boy.

Atreus: Whatever.

[After raising the witch Gullveig, only to have her try to kill them]

Atreus: All right, say it... "I told you so."

Kratos: I told you so.

Atreus: "You are naïve, foolish boy."

Kratos: This is true as well. But do not take your disappointment out on me, boy. Take it as a lesson.

Atreus: Yes, sir.

[upon recovering Mimir's other eye from the belly of the World Serpent]

Kratos: The Bifrost is intact?

Mimir: It'll serve.

Kratos: Then we have all we need.

Atreus: Finally, we're going to Jotunheim! There's no stopping us now.

Mimir: Laddie, have you ever heard the term "tempting fate"?

[After falling from the maw of the World Serpent, Kratos watches as the snake collapses]

Kratos: Boy? Boy?!

Atreus: [rising from snow] I'm good! Think I'm getting kinda used to this. [Upon seeing the collapsed Jormundgandr] What happened to him? Something we did?

Kratos: No. Something else... [Kratos sees the rotted body of Thamur] The dead giant....why would the serpent bring us here?

Atreus: [Points to a falcon] Look!

[The falcon lands near the two, revealing itself to be the goddess Freya. She too stares at the unconscious World Serpent]

Atreus: Freya. We can still trust her, right?

Kratos: Until we know for certain....keep your distance.

Freya: The World Serpent...what's happened here?

Atreus: We hoped you would know.

Kratos: You are far from home.

Freya: I'm looking for my son. The two of you...you helped me see things more clearly.

Kratos: You do not know where he is, then?

Freya: No, but the woods and the fields speak his name...I know he walks here in Midgard.

Atreus: Where'd you see him last?

Freya: Long ago... [she bends down to his eye level. Kratos and Atreus take a step back] before you were even born. [noticing the two keeping their distance] Why are you standing so far from me? [more serious] What's wrong? [she rises] Something's happened...

Atreus: [pointing to the water] There!

[Baldur rises from the water, anger streaking through his veins, no doubt.]

Baldur: I had a feeling hurting the big snake would bring the two of you out into the open. Do you have any idea, ANY IDEA AT ALL, what you have cost me?!

Freya: My boy...

Baldur: [dumbfounded] ...Mother?

Freya: I'm here now....don't run away.

Baldur: [slight chuckle] Oh, I'm not going anywhere, Mother.

Freya: [attempting to reason with him] I know you're still angry....I know how you feel hasn't changed, but I want you to-

Baldur: [cutting her off] How I feel? [angrily] How I feel?! [chuckles] I've spent the last 100 years dreaming, of this moment. I've rehearsed everything I've ever wanted to say to you, every word, to make you understand [tearfully] exactly what you stole from me! [normally] But now? [chuckles] I realize, I don't need you to understand anything. I don't need you at all.

Freya: [as Kratos steps between Baldur and Freya] No, back off Kratos, this has nothing to do with-

Kratos: This path you walk....vengeance....you will find no peace. I know.

Baldur: [not heeding the warning] You... I'll deal with you later. Family comes first. [he tries to approach Freya, but Kratos shoves him away] This again?

[After Kratos has prevented Baldur from killing his mother, Freya]

Baldur: You just can't help yourself, can you, Mother? No matter what I say or do, you won't stop INTERFERING IN MY LIFE!

Freya: I was just trying to protect you! I was... I've made mistakes, I know. But you're free now. You have what you want. Try to find forgiveness, we can build something new -

Baldur: No. No, we can't, because I will never forgive you. You still have to pay for the lifetime you stole from me!

Freya: I have paid. I have paid! But if that alone will make you whole, if seeing me dead will make things right...I won't stop you.

Baldur: I know. [he walks up to Freya and starts throttling her]

Atreus: What? No! Father!

Freya: [to Baldur, choking] I love you, I love - [Kratos grabs Baldur from behind, wrapping his arms around his neck]

Baldur: WHY?! Why do you even care?! You-You could have walked away...!

Kratos: The cycle ends here. We must be better than this. [Snaps Baldur's neck, finally killing him. His body falls to the ground, as his eyes become more and more red. A single snowflake falls on his cheek, the years-long Fimbulwinter soon to follow.

Baldur: [last words] Snow...

Freya: [rushes to Baldur's body] No, no, no, my boy! My dear, sweet boy!

Kratos: Freya... he chose this.

Freya: [with rising anger] I will... rain down every agony, every violation imaginable, upon you. I will parade your cold body from every corner of every realm, AND FEED YOUR SOUL TO THE VILEST FILTH IN HEL! THAT IS MY PROMISE!

Atreus: He saved your life!

Freya: HE ROBBED ME OF EVERYTHING! [sobs] Everything...! You are just an animal, passing on your cruelty and rage! You will never change!

Kratos: Then you do not know me.

Freya: I know enough. Does he?

Kratos: [to Atreus, after a moment's silence] Boy... Listen close. I am from a land called Sparta. I made a deal with a god that cost me my soul. I killed many who were deserving... and many who were not. [turns to Atreus] I killed my father.

Atreus: That was your father in Hel... [long pause] Is this what it is to be a god? Is this how it always ends? Sons killing their mothers... their fathers?

Kratos: [approaches closer to Atreus] No. We will be the gods we choose to be, not those who have been. Who I was is not who you will be. We must be better.

[Freya carries Baldur's body away, looking more somber than before]

Mimir: Well... guess we're the bad guys now.

Kratos: In her eyes, yes. But she could never make that choice. We should finish this journey while I still have strength.

[As they return to their boat]

Atreus: I don't understand. I know saving her was the right thing, but she seemed all evil at the end.

Mimir: Not evil. You killed her son, lad. Her son. The death of a child is not something a parent gets over easily.

Atreus: But he was gonna kill her!

Kratos: She would have died to see him live. Only a parent can understand.

Atreus: So you'd let me kill you?

Kratos: If it meant you would live... yes.

Mimir: Look, there was no easy choice - for anybody, brother. But I think we can all agree you did the right thing. The world's a better place with Freya in it. Just... give her time, lads. She'll come around.

Atreus: So... why'd you want to name me Atreus? I know it can't be for a god.

Kratos: [amused] Hah... no. He was a soldier, a Spartan.

Atreus: A great warrior?

Kratos: All Spartans were great warriors. We trained from birth. Our lives were discipline, duty, battle and death. Life was grim, and we greeted it grimly.

Atreus: Mm-hmm?

Kratos: But Atreus of Sparta was unlike the rest of us. He wore a smile, even in the worst of times. He was happy... he inspired us to hope, that though we were machines of war, yet there was humanity in us. Goodness. When the day came for him to lay down his life in battle, his sacrifice saved countless others and turned the tide in our favor. I carried him home on his shield and buried him with all the honors of Spartan custom. His memory was a comfort in dark times.

Atreus: Wow - you actually told a good story! Mimir missed it!

[After Atreus' hidden dream about Thor, god of thunder arriving at their home

Kratos: Then we will worry about it tomorrow. Today, there are still things we can do. Come.

Boat Stories

Atreus: So, know any good stories to pass the time?

Kratos: What kind of story?

Atreus: I don't know... Mother always had stories. Weren't you told any when you were a boy?

Kratos: There was a man I knew of long ago. His stories were brief, and purposeful.

Atreus: Sounds... fun? Do you remember any?

Kratos: Hmm... there was one that concerned a hare and a tortoise.

Atreus: Like the Witch's house?

Kratos: Unlikely.

Atreus: So what happens?

Kratos: They wager on a race between them. The hare is too confident of victory, and foolish, while the tortoise is steady and disciplined. The tortoise wins.

Atreus: You... haven't told a lot of stories, have you?

Atreus: Father? You ever know anyone else who heard voices?

Kratos: I knew desperate men at sea who, when our supplies ran dry, would quench their thirst by drinking seawater. They swore the Sirens - evil creatures singing to them from nearby islands - were in fact their wives and daughters, calling them home. They endangered the crew, steering us toward the reefs.

Atreus: Um... how did you fix them?

Kratos: We threw them overboard.

Atreus: Oh... well, good thing I didn't drink any seawater... right?

Kratos: Yes, it is.

Atreus: Got another story?

Kratos: One more. There was... a horse. The horse sought vengeance against his enemy, a stag. But he could not kill the stag alone. The horse met a man, a hunter, and made a deal. He took the man's bit and bridle, and allowed him to ride in a saddle on his back. Together, they killed the stag, and the horse tasted victory... but the hunter would not release the horse, and made a slave of him.

Atreus: So getting revenge cost him his freedom. Hope it was worth it.

Kratos: It was not.

Atreus: Got any more "short and purposeful" stories for me?

Kratos: Very well... There is the story of the mother crab, who scolded her son. She told him he should walk forward in pride, not sideways as he always did.

Atreus: But she's a crab too! He should say, "Sure, I'll walk forward as soon as you show me how!"

Kratos: [slightly awkward] Yes... he did say that. That was the story.

Atreus: I got it.

Atreus: Got another story?

Kratos: Very well... There is a tale about a woodsman. He asked the trees of the forest for a branch to make a handle for his axe. Instead, the trees gave him a young sapling, so they could keep their limbs. The woodsman made his axe, and then he returned, and chopped down the oldest trees in the forest.

Atreus: Hmm... just 'cause trees are old doesn't mean they're smart.

External links

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God of War (2018 video game)