The three then rested on top of the mountain, as the sun had already set. It was something that was not apparent in the game itself, but in reality, Kratos and Atreus had spent far more time before they could finish the quest, with hours passing by while they explored, fought, and solved the challenges laid before them.
There was also the matter of time being different between the realms they traveled, which stretched the journey even longer.
At one point, both Kratos and Atreus were even trapped in Helheim, a place that could be described as this version of Hell, with Zelos helping them escape faster than what was possible in the original journey.
That night, they gathered around a small campfire that Zelos had created with a flick of his magic.
Atreus had been asking Kratos questions for some time now, curious about his father's past travels and adventures, but Kratos had remained silent.
When he did speak, his answers were short, often a single word, and the awkward atmosphere grew heavier.
Zelos, watching Atreus' growing frustration, finally decided to step in. He felt bad for the boy, and the silence was dragging on too long.
"Let me tell you my stories about my eagle's travels," Zelos then said, which immediately made both Kratos and Atreus turn their heads toward him, confused, as it was the first time they had heard anything about this.
"What?" Kratos asked, his deep voice carrying suspicion.
"Well, I have summoned eagles before. Like this," Zelos answered, raising his hand. In response, numerous eagles appeared, circling overhead, their wings beating softly against the night air.
Alongside them, a smaller number of owls materialized, their sharp eyes glowing faintly in the firelight.
One owl landed gently on Atreus' shoulder, while an eagle descended and perched heavily on Kratos' leg.
When Kratos looked at the eagle summoned by Zelos, he couldn't help but be reminded of the eagle that once took his godly essence away.
For a moment, he stared directly into the bird's unblinking eyes.
The eagle looked back at him, and Kratos held the gaze longer than he intended. After a few minutes, the eagle finally spread its wings and took off into the dark sky.
Meanwhile, the owl perched on Atreus' shoulder hooted softly, as if speaking to him. Atreus, being naturally attuned to animals, could sense and understand the presence of the owl in a way that felt strangely natural.
"Those are my summons. They allow me to see more than what my own eyes can reach," Zelos explained, as the owl eventually fluttered off, vanishing back into him like a dissolving shadow.
"Why do you need to see more?" Kratos then asked, his voice low but firm.
"It is the only thing I could do," Zelos replied with a somber tone.
He began telling them how the eagles had once been his source of distraction when Faye had been sick long before, and how he had even tried to use them to search for a solution that could save her.
Of course, as the three of them knew, it had failed. Zelos' reasoning was not a lie, but neither was it the entire truth. It was an answer that concealed more than it revealed.
After his words, silence returned to the group. Both Atreus and Kratos stopped their questions, and the night became quiet except for the crackle of fire and the sound of wind brushing against the mountain rocks.
They ate their simple meal and, after some time, lay down to rest.
The next morning came quickly, and they immediately set out once again, making their way down the mountain.
This time, however, Kratos made it clear that there would be no use of magic for assistance, his stern tone showing his disapproval of Zelos' reliance on spells during the previous night.
After several hours of traveling on foot, they reached the edge of the Wildwood. Before they could continue further, all three stopped at the sight in front of them.
Spread across the clearing were countless statues—at least a thousand or more—each one a Draugr, frozen in a petrified state. The sheer number was enough to make Atreus freeze in place.
"Draugrs… so many Draugrs. Are you sure we want to walk forward?" Atreus said nervously, his bow trembling slightly in his hands.
Kratos did not answer right away, instead scanning the area carefully, his eyes narrowing as he studied the frozen army.
"Can you defeat all of them?" Kratos finally asked, turning his head slightly toward Zelos.
Zelos nodded without hesitation.
"Then we move forward," Kratos declared, stepping boldly closer to the statues, each heavy footstep echoing in the tense silence.
As they drew nearer, a loud cracking sound broke the air. The hardened dirt and stone that encased the Draugrs' bodies began to split and fall away.
One by one, the Draugrs started to awaken, and the noise of thousands of shells breaking open was like a chorus of rattling bones that filled the Wildwood.
Before the Draugrs could swarm them, Zelos moved first. He summoned an earth golem directly in front of them, its body rising from the ground with heavy thuds.
For the first time, Zelos tapped into a small essence of primordial magic, making the golem sturdier and stronger than anything he had created before.
As the creature roared, it immediately charged into the Draugr army, crushing the first wave with raw force.
Zelos raised his hand again, firing off multiple Zoltraak beams, each one piercing Draugr mages and magic-users before they could finish their own spells.
Meanwhile, Kratos rushed forward with his axe in hand, cutting down those in his path, while Atreus supported from behind with well-placed arrows.
The battle began, the three of them moving as one, facing the overwhelming horde without hesitation.
By the second, more and more Draugrs began to fall, their bodies being destroyed almost instantly.
The plasma-like state of the Zoltraak beams was merciless, each shot vaporizing several Draugrs at once, leaving behind nothing but smoke and ash.
Zelos continued firing relentlessly, his pace unbroken, as if the spell had become second nature to him.
Every blast carved open the battlefield, thinning the horde that threatened to overwhelm them.
At the same time, the earth golem roared as it moved through the crowd of undead. Its massive fists smashed into Draugrs without pause, crushing bones and shattering armor with every strike.
Whenever one of the Draugrs tried to reform or crawl back up, the golem simply stomped down, grinding them into the dirt.
The ground shook with each of its movements, and the creature acted like an unstoppable wall that shielded Kratos, Atreus, and Zelos from being surrounded.
Meanwhile, Kratos and Atreus pushed forward with their own rhythm. Kratos swung the Leviathan Axe with brutal efficiency, cleaving Draugrs in half with every strike.
Each time his axe connected, frost spread across the bodies of the undead, freezing and cracking them before they shattered into fragments.
Atreus stayed close behind, firing arrows into the weak points Kratos left exposed. His shots were sharp and precise, piercing through eyes, joints, and skulls, making it easier for Kratos to finish the job.
Together, the four—the father, the son, the mage, and the golem—spread the Draugrs' numbers thin, breaking the once overwhelming horde into scattered groups.
The battlefield that had looked hopeless at first was now turning in their favor, every second reducing the enemy further.