"No!", Freya screamed at the top of her lungs as Kratos smashed his fist into Baldur's rib cage. "Leave my son alone!"

Struck by the brutal force of this hit, he had to cough and curl to prevent his bones from breaking. The curse may have made him immortal, but broken ribs were something that needed more than a few moments to heal.

He needed to be quick.

Ice grew on his skin, covering his knuckles and formed a protection.

With his teeth bared, he stepped forward and hit Kratos in the guts. With all his might he threw him into the air and jumped after to kick his spine with such force that it would have shattered if he would have been a normal human being.

As he crashed into the ground, his teeth gritted, Freya stepped in.

"I said stop!", she screamed and raised her hands. "Roht!"

All of a sudden, branches erupted from the ground. Yellow sparks accompanied them as the long strands wrapped around Kratos' torso and chained him into place.

With his knife drawn, the boy came running to his side and started working on setting him free again.

Another branch broke through the surface of the earth to wrap around Baldur, but he jumped away, grabbed a piece of soil and threw it at his mother.

"Stay out if this!", he screamed.

Her magic dodged the attack.

Kratos struggled in his prison.

Satisfied, Baldur sighed and had to grin.

"You might wanna turn away boy.", he said in a mocking voice. "This won't be pretty."

But as he expected, the child was a lot more stubborn than was good for him. With a fierce look in his small eyes, he jumped in front of his father. Not a single doubt was visible on this young face of his.

"I won't let you hurt him.", he said in a light voice and pointed the knife at him.

Baldur chuckled.

"No, boy!", his father growled.

Baldur shrugged.

"Fine.", he groaned and rushed forward.

"Stop!", Kratos screamed.

His fist hit the boy right in the small chest. A wave of pressure filled the air. The small body was thrown back by that force and slammed into his father to tear him to the ground as well.

Blood splashed all over the place. Thick drops of red landed in the white snow.

Struck by surprise, Baldur let out a low gasp. His eyes widened.

He felt how his racing heart pressed against his chest.

But there was something else.

There was this feeling. A feeling.

Or was it something else?

Confused, he looked around.

Something was crawling over his skin. It felt wet, sticky even and also cold.

Struck by the realisation, he frowned.

What was that?

He felt something?

Be could tell how something felt?

Slowly, his eyes wandered down to the back of his hand.

There was a green, sharp thing stuck inside his flesh. Blood was stuck to the green tip, shimmering like drops of wine.

It was an arrow, made from a mistletoe.

A soft gasp escaped him.

His shoulders started shaking.

He was feeling something.

The air around him flickered like stones in the hot summer sun. Bright blue light started rising from his body. Like a second skin, the curse lifted and left a man behind who was struck by a wave of icy cold air.

All of a sudden, cold bit into the bare soles of his feet. Goosebumps grew all over his body while his eyes looked up to the sky and a smile appeared on this bearded face of his.

"What is this?", he asked himself, overwhelmed by the world that came crushing down on him. "I can feel this... I feel everything..."

With the shimmer of a small child in his eyes, he spread his arms and let the icy wind stroke over his naked chest, through his brown hair and over the tattoos on his back.

"No!", Freya screamed.

With tears in her eyes, she fell to the ground and started cursing.

Everything she had done was for nothing.

As her voice reached his ears, his head snapped around. The blue of Baldur's eyes lit up, so full of hate.

His heart was racing inside his chest.

And yet.

As he walked a step toward her, he hesitated. Something inside him was refusing.

A stones throw away, Kratos and his boy readied themselves to fight on.

"Not a step closer.", he warned with dark eyes.

And Baldur obeyed.

He was surprised by himself, but he actually obeyed.

All of a sudden, his thoughts drifted off. He didn't think about killing her anymore, about making her regret what she had done to him.

No, he was thinking about you.

All of a sudden, the heart inside his chest pulled together. Struck by surprise, he flinched and grabbed his chest.

"What... what is this?", he asked, gasping. "I feel... what do I feel?"

Confused, the boy frowned. Tilting his head, he eyed him up and down.

"Father.", he looked up to Kratos, asking him to hold back. "He's... vulnerable now?"

Kratos hummed in agreement. But he didn't attack right away. Instead, his eyes locked with Baldur's.

"Don't do things you'll regret.", he growled in a warning tone.

Baldur smiled, raised his bloody hand and pulled a face as the tore the mistletoe out of his flesh.

Blood dripped onto his feet.

He could feel the temperature change from the warm blood, compared to the icy wind.

How satisfying it was.

"I must thank you. The both of you.", he said and let his thumb tap onto the sharp tip. "You've done what even the all father himself could not. I've never felt so alive."

He flinched in pain but smile with satisfaction.

But the feeling faded as something new spread inside his chest.

Worry.

He was worried to be late.

His eyes jumped back to his mother.

She was a witch. She knew how to heal what couldn't be healed.

If he wanted it or not, she might have been his only chance to see you again. To be able to feel you for the first time.

Only thinking about this made him beam with excitement again.

His legs twitched. He took a step towards her.

But Kratos blocked the way.