Unfortunately, this is where Kratos's terrible luck decides to intervene. A stranger knocks on Kratos's door and picks a fight, even hitting Kratos before Kratos retaliates. But while you'd expect the jerk to be turned into a bloody smear on the ground, he actually turns out to be much more dangerous than he seems, completely invulnerable, and entirely Axe-Crazy. Kratos manages to finish the fight by dropping the stranger down a ravine (which they created during a Brawler Lock), and he and Atreus leave on their quest as obviously their home isn't safe anymore.
During their travels, the two encounter the Huldra Brothers, Sindri and Brok (currently estranged), who each independently offer to upgrade the pair's weapons in return for Hacksilver. Sindri also reveals that they created Kratos's weapon, the Leviathan Axe, for Faye. They also accidentally run afoul of a hermit known as the Witch of the Woods when Atreus (under Kratos's instruction, as a hunting lesson) accidentally shoots a friend of hers who'd been transformed into a boar. Luckily, she's nice enough to forgive them if they help her heal the boar, Hildisvini- although she and Kratos get into a minor spat when she reveals that she knows Kratos is a god, which is something he's been trying his best to ignore since he hasn't had the best experience with gods in general.
When the pair finally reach the mountain, they find that the path up is blocked by an impassable cloud of black mist. This is where the Witch of the Woods comes in; she knows what it is and how to dispel it with the Light of Alfheim. She even gives them a Bifrost to get them to Alfheim and to absorb the Light once they get there, although she herself can't join them as she's bound to Midgard by a spell. First, though, they must restore Tyr's Temple, which allows travel between realms, in the nearby Lake of Nine, with the help of the giant serpent Jormungandr.
Once in Alfheim, they come upon the tail end of a Dark Elf victory in Alfheim's Forever War over the light. Which is bad for Kratos and Atreus, because they've covered up the Light with hive matter and are not keen on letting Kratos and Atreus in to dip their Bifrost in it. The two have to hack their way through the Dark Elves despite Kratos's reluctance to interfere in the war. When they finally reach the Light, Kratos steps inside and sees a vision where Faye's ashes call to him and he hears Atreus complaining about his bad parenting. When Atreus pulls him out, he finds it's been a lot longer outside than he thinks. Oh well, at least they have the Light now and can proceed.
In the mountain, Kratos and his son navigate through what was once a Giant mining/trading operation. When they get close to the peak, they have to save Sindri from a dragon, and he gives Atreus a gift of mistletoe arrows in gratitude. Kratos uses one to fix Atreus's quiver strap. At the peak, they overhear the Stranger converse with someone stuck in a tree at the top- Mimir. Mimir is not impressed by the Stranger despite knowing him to be Baldur, the god of light, nor with his companions Magni and Modi, the sons of Thor. Baldur and his lackeys leave, and Kratos talks to Mimir, who reveals that he was trapped in the tree and tortured by Odin. He also tells Kratos that their little trip is not going to be as short as they think, because when Faye said "the tallest peak in all the realms", she did not mean Midgard. Said highest peak she was talking about is actually in Jotunheim, the realm of the Giants... which has been locked up ever since Odin tried to genocide them.
Mimir offers to guide Kratos there if Kratos frees him... which, because Odin was very thorough, means cutting off his head and having the Witch revive it magically. He's willing to do this because quite frankly, anything's better than what he's got now. He also gives Kratos some words of wisdom that he really needs but isn't ready for, that being that he ought to be honest with Atreus about their shared divinity. The Witch of the Woods freaks out at Atreus's mistletoe arrows and burns them but does revive Mimir as asked, revealing in the process that she's Freya, Vanir goddess of war, love, and magic. Kratos isn't happy with her and leaves with Atreus and Mimir.
Next up, finding the travel rune to the Jotunheim gate at the top of the mountain, which was well-hidden because Tyr was Properly Paranoid about Odin finding it. In the process, they confront Magni and Modi. Kratos kills Magni, and Modi flees, only to later return and ambush them. While Kratos is able to fend them off, Atreus unconsciously activates his own Spartan Rage, but because he doesn't know he's a god, it instead puts him in a coma. Freya can revive him, but in order to do so, Kratos must go to Hel, literally, and get the gatekeeper troll's heart.
Unfortunately for Kratos, his Leviathan Axe will be useless in Helheim as it is enchanted with ice magic and Helheim is a realm of eternal cold. He'll need a weapon with fire powers... and he has just the thing, although he's reluctant to use it. He was never able to truly rid himself of the Blades of Chaos he used in Greece, and they're buried underneath his cottage. He takes them up again once more to protect his son, although not without some taunting from a spectre of Athena, who claims that after all the death and destruction he's caused in Greece, he's a monster no matter what else he might try to be. Kratos agrees...but retorts that he's no longer her monster.
In Helheim, Kratos battles the gatekeeper, is confronted by his memory of Zeus, and returns with the heart. Freya cures Atreus, and Kratos finally comes clean about himself and Atreus being gods, but this leads to Atreus catching a bad case of Acquired Situational Narcissism, yelling at Brok and Sindri for bothering him with their argument, being disobedient to Kratos, murdering Modi in cold blood, and eventually picking a fight with Baldur that results in the Jotunheim gate being broken (after they'd gone through so much trouble to get the rune, too) and all parties being dropped into Hel. Hel gives them some insight about Baldur's backstory (Freya cursed him with invulnerability with a side of sensory deprivation after receiving the prophecy of his death and refused to remove it, driving him insane), Atreus some humble pie, and Kratos a fun reminder of his PTSD in the form of a vision of his younger self beating Zeus to death.
Back in Midgard, they find another way to Jotunheim; restoring the Jotunheim realm tower from where Tyr stashed it in the Realm Between Realms. But before they can proceed, they need Mimir's missing eye (he has Bifrost crystals in his eye, but Odin plucked out one and hid it), which they have to retrieve from Jormungandr's stomach (the snake ate the statue of Thor that concealed the eye). And once they do that, Baldur again pops up to ruin everyone's day, kidnap Atreus for Odin's dastardly plans, and kill Freya for cursing him. Kratos, who knows from hard experience that Vengeance Feels Empty, tries to talk Baldur out of it, but Baldur is about as ready to listen as Kratos was back in the original trilogy, so a boss fight it is.
But this time, something goes differently. Baldur hits Atreus in the chest, but in doing so cuts his hand on the mistletoe arrow holding his quiver strap. This breaks the curse but not Baldur's determination to be a villain, so to protect Freya, Kratos and Atreus fight him. Baldur is beaten after a long and hard fight with some interference from Freya (who still believes she can reason with him), but Kratos spares him on the condition that he not commit matricide. Even this low bar is too much for Baldur to clear and he immediately tries strangling Freya. Kratos, realizing that Baldur is too far gone and will never stop killing no matter what, steps in and snaps his neck, delivering the meaningless death that was prophesied, much to Freya's horror.
Kratos and Atreus then finally get to Jotunheim, where they discover a few pertinent lore details- Faye was a frost giant, her full name was Laufey, and she was part of a prophecy that seems to involve Kratos's death. Kratos also tells Atreus that Faye had wanted him to be called Loki, but they eventually settled on Atreus after a former comrade of Kratos's who died in a Heroic Sacrifice and whom he deeply respected. They scatter Faye's ashes together and return, as Fimbulwinter, the three-year-long prelude to Ragnarok, catalyzed by Baldur's death, begins...
Brok and Sindri
The Huldra Brothers would like some favors done, and in return they'll make Kratos some extra-nice equipment.
Second Hand Soul/Deus ex Malachite
Brok wants you to check up on his old friend, Andvari (best known for owning a cursed ring that inspired The Ring of the Nibelung). After investigating one of Andvari's mines, Kratos discovers that Andvari created Soul Eaters by removing the souls of Ancients, only to discover it was a terrible idea when they started eating (well, immolating) people's souls. Kratos defeats a Soul Eater walking around and retrieves Andvari's ring from it, returning it to Brok as proof of what happened.
Now that Andvari is confirmed toast, Brok wants you to retrieve his hammer. After beating up entirely too many people for a quest to fetch a tool, Brok will reveal that he's discovered that Andvari's soul lives on in his ring. He intends to use it for smithing, but Atreus manages to convince him not to, as Andvari's soul is a powerful enchantment in its own right.
Fafnir's Hoard/Family Business
Sindri wants you to find a special whetstone for him. What Kratos manages to locate is the spirit of a Reaver, who reveals that his son used said whetstone to smash his head in. That particular family has an almost Olympian tradition of patricide; said Reaver killed his own father on the grounds that the man was a terrible leader.
In seeking the special whetstone, Kratos discovers what happened to the Reaver son. He had killed his father in revenge for his grandfather's death, but eventually regretted it. His men turned on him for the betrayal, and he died in combat with them. The whetstone is there (having been used in the reaver fight) and Kratos returns it to Sindri... who's none too pleased about the blood all over it.
Hail to the King
After their reunion, Brok and Sindri want to make a legendary armor for Kratos. The bad news is, it requires some Insubstantial Ingredients- the roar of a dragon, the screams of the innocent, and the ultimate sacrifice. The good news is, Kratos doesn't have to bother with getting them, because the Dwarven king Motsognir did it already. Having been plagued by terrible nightmares of his kingdom falling to ruin, Motsognir fixated on crafting the legendary armor as a means of defense. He sacrificed his people to get the dragon's roars and innocent screams but couldn't find the Ultimate Sacrifice... because it was his own life. Now that he's dead, all three ingredients are there for Kratos to take back to the Huldra Brothers to forge into armor.
Unfinished Business
Several people have died around the Lake of Nine with things left undone, and which they beg Kratos to do for them as they're too dead to finish it.
Hammer Fall
One spirit was killed by Thor and wants some revenge. The Thunderer himself doesn't appear, so in his stead the spirit requests you destroy his statue,
Anatomy of Hope
One spirit offers Kratos and Atreus to be reunited with Faye if they collect the body parts of his beloved Gullveig. Atreus is eager to do so, but Kratos is wary and is pretty sure it won't end well. It turns out, Kratos is right; Gullveig is a revenant, and of course she'd reunite people with their dead loved ones by killing them too. This doesn't work so well on a god of war.
Dead Freight
One of the spirits around the lake was once a ship's captain, and his men have reanimated as Hel-walkers. The captain begs Kratos to put them out of their misery, and Kratos complies.
Time Heals All
This quest ties into Family Business. After retrieving the Raider Son's diary and learning that he regretted his act of patricide, return to the father's ghost. He'll take some consolation in the fact that his son died fighting and as such is in Vallhalla, and be able to rest in peace himself.
Dragons
Three Dwarven brothers have been turned into dragons and chained up. Kratos frees them, on general principle.The Flight of Fafnir
Fafnir is a dwarf famous for his greed that turned him into a dragon. Here, after amassing his treasure, a magical Vanir mirror turned him into a dragon.
Otr's Imprisonment
Otr is a brother of Fafnir, and somehow also a chained-up dragon.
The Fire of Reginn
The third and last dragon brother is Reginn.
Realms
Not all the Nine Realms are plot-important, but that doesn't mean there's nothing interesting in them.The Realm of Fire
Muspelheim is one of the realms accessed through Tyr's Temple, but to get there you'll need a cipher to translate the runes. Once you have that, you can enter Muspelheim and take its Trials; gauntlets set up by the primordial fire giant Surtr for training purposes. At the top of the Muspelheim trials rests Gondul the Valkyrie, just in case you thought everything else was too easy.
The Realm of Fog
Another cipher-locked realm is Niflhiem, land of mists and location of Ivaldi's workshop. Ivaldi was the greatest Dwarf smith in history, and one of his most notable achievements was finding out how to control the mists of Niflheim and turn them into armor. Until, that is, he caught the attention of Odin, God of Why We Can't Have Nice Things. Odin tried to kill Ivaldi out of paranoia, and Ivaldi retaliated by cursing the fog, making it toxic. Ivaldi then succumbed to his own poisonous fog and died, with his sons abandoning the workshop. The workshop still stands, and the mechanism Ivaldi used to turn it into an ever-changing and regenerating maze still works, making it a great challenge with great rewards for anyone who braves the fog. Also hidden in the maze is a Valkyrie, Hildr. More on her later.
Valkyries
The Valkyries are the Choosers of the Slain who ferry warrior souls to Valhalla. However, Odin has for some reason stuck them in corporeal bodies that have driven them mad; the only way for them to get back to their jobs is to kill them. This is harder than it looks.
Prove Your Valor
Nine Valkyries are scattered across the realms for Kratos to kill.
- Gunnr is within a secret chamber at Thamur's Corpse. Probably the first Valkyrie you will fight, as you get the artifact that allows you to enter these chambers at Thamur's Corpse. She has no gimmick.
- Kara is in another secret chamber in the caves under Freya's house. She summons Draugr to aid her.
- Geirdriful is in a secret chamber in the Foothills. She has an AOE attack that can blind you and likes to projectile spam.
- Eir is in a secret chamber in the Mountain Mine. She has the most defensive fighting style.
- Olrun is in a secret chamber in Alfheim. She's a Lightning Bruiser who likes to use Feather Flechettes.
- Rota is in a secret chamber in Helheim. She's big on grapples.
- Hildr is in Ivaldi's Workshop in Niflheim. She's An Ice Person, and her battle is time-limited by the poisonous mists.
- Gondul is fought at the top of Muspelheim. She can summon fiery meteors.
The High Council/ God vs. Queen
But wait, there's only eight Valkyries listed; where's the ninth? Well, after defeating all the above Valkyries, going to the Council of Valkyries and placing all their helmets on thrones will summon the final Valkyrie: their Queen, Sigrun. Her gimmick? All of them. Well, except the Draugr, mercifully. Defeating her will award you the Chooser of the Slain medal and a whole lot of bragging rights.
