"Ahh! Gezz, Atreus, did you see that?" Hilda asked as some of the dark elf matter moved when she hit it with her ax.

"No, what did it do?" Atreus asked.

"Some of this hive stuff doest like sound, you can use your arrows on it, and maybe we can find some hidden history here," Hilda said happily.

"Nice, oh crap, there is a wretch. Here we got it; you get the nest," Atreus said as she went to find it.

Kratos was killing them with Atreus, and Hilda quickly got the nest but was almost killed by a light elf.

"Hey, no! Bad elf!" She said as she used her powers. The elf fell to the ground.

"What are the light elves doing down here? Isn't this dark Elf territory?" Atreus asked.

"Territory changes hands often in Alfheim, or so it appears, Kratos informed.

"Did you kill him?" Atreus asked.

"I don't know! I hit him with a cloud of my powers to get him with my ax!" She said as they went over to him.

"He's still breathing. What do we do?" Atreus asked.

"We leave him alone. He is no longer a threat to us," Kratos said.

"Works for me. At least we don't have to kill any more elves. I just don't know how I did that, though," she said with a smile as they went to look for the creature.

"Byggvir did mention these ruins have historical significance for the light elves.  I only assume they are here to keep intruders out," Mimir informed.

"Oh, my gosh, Atreus, whatever shall we do? There has to be a better way to get around," Hilda laughed as they came upon some hive material, and Atreus looked at her confused.

"We can, you know, go around it," Atreus informed.

"I know I was joking. All I was saying is that it was in the middle of the path," she said as they had to hug the wall and slide past it.

"This one will need to be destroyed," Kratos informed as it blocked the entrance to where they needed to go.

"Didn't you bounce your ax off of a purple crystal thing like that over there?" Hilda asked. She saw a hanging crystal.

"Good eye!" Mimir said.

"Can I do it since I found it?" Hilda asked.

"Do it quickly," Kratos said as she tried but missed the crystal completely.

"Hold on, I got this," she said as she hit the crystal, but it didn't go through the hive stuff at all.

"I got it now," Hilda said as she tried it one last time, but it only cut through the first layer before getting stuck.

"Aww, man," Hilda said as Kratos quickly did it, making her look at him and laugh.

"I need more practice she said as they both called their axes back.

"Indeed," Kratos said as he smiled a bit, he knew she couldn't do it because of her lack of skill, but he still let her try anyway to see how good she was, and she needed to work on it.

"With two Hafgufas free, are they gonna be able to uh... make more ?" Atreus asked.

"I'm sure they will be able to. A bittersweet spectacle, considering the cost," Mimir informed.

"The cost," Kratos asked.

"Aye. The adult's light fades as they pass it on to their offspring," Mimir explained.

"Hild on... Are you saying they have to die to have kids?" Atreus asked.

"They don't have to, but the more light they give, the higher the chances of their offspring's survival," Mimir explained.

"Damn, that's wow," Atreus said sadly.

"It's what parents do," Kratos said.

"Really?" Atreus asked, "All parents are supposed to die for their kids?"

"My mom did that for me when Odin came to our home. She could have easily just given me up to Odin, but she didn't. I will never be able to thank her enough for that, Atreus. I will never be able to thank her for anything she did for me; I was too young to understand what was happening until it was too late. I wish I could tell her that now because I was able to help you both. It probably saved your lives. I don't know. Whatever is going on with me, I know that I can either become the monster that is in the prophecy or be a good person by remembering what she did for me. What everyone has done for me, even I if lose myself, I will do whatever it takes to make sure that my mother, Sindri, and Brok know I fought it the best I could," she informed.

"It is what I would do as well," Kratos informed.

"I would do it for you both, too. I mean, I know I'm not your parent, but I care about you all, even if we don't see eye to eye. I might be living off of borrowed time. We just don't know," Hilda said as they continued to look for the creature.

They found the creature. Hilda smiled as she saw how massive it was.

"Guess it's time to free it," Atreus said weakly as he felt guilty getting it killed.

"Hey, don't be sad. They know the price, plus think about how beautiful they will be. You know, if we ever had kids and, for some reason, I died during the birth, I know how beautiful that kid would be. Whatever our future holds, it will only make us stronger like them. The babies will thrive and make the most beautiful songs," Hilda said softly.

"You don't seem particularly happy about this," Mimir informed.

"We're freeing them only for them to die," Atreus said as Hilda smiled.

"Hey, remember what I did about borrowed time? If I am one day, you will have to let me go; you know that, right? But you know what? I would want you to think about all the good things we did. I all the good times we had I knew, wares that would be hard, but if it came down to it, I would do whatever it took to protect my family because I love it. It's not perfect, but nothing is. I'm not perfect, and you still care about me a lot," she smiled.

"You won't have to die; I won't let you," Atreus said.

"I might not have a choice. They know there is only one choice to make, and if I have to make the same, then I will be okay with that. I have everything I want and need. I don't need anything or want anything else. Neither do they," she said.

"It just doesn't seem fair," Atreus informed.

"Life seldom is, but their sacrifice will let their children thrive. Are you content with that?" Kratos asked as Kratos looked over at Hilda.

"Hadn't thought about it like that. I just if I were one of the children. I wouldn't want them to make that sacrifice," Atreus said.

"You will not have to ever make that sacrifice for any of us," Kratos added.

"Odin is smart. My powers are fine for now, but for how long? I might die soon without warning. We just don't know. I carry something that doesn't seem to make sense," she said as she smiled weakly.

"I know, son," Kratos said as they freed it from below.

"Okay, I think that's all we can do from down here," Atreus said as Hilda touched his shoulder.

"Aye, back to the surface, then," Mimir said.

They fought some monsters and started to look for a way out of the ruins.

"The fate of these creatures reminds me of a story,' Kratos informed.

"Yeah?" Atreus asked.

"There once was a blacksmith whose king commanded him to construct a box that could contain all the world's evils. But no metal could hold such power, so the blacksmith used the flames of.." Kratos paused.

"Father, please, it's okay," Atreus informed.

"What is okay?" Kratos asked as they started to climb.

"You don't have to. I know, I get about this kind of stuff, but that doesn't mean I won't be okay, you know?" Atreus asked.

"Yes," Kratos said.

"So what happened with the blacksmith?" Atreus asked.

"His daughter wad the key to unlocking the box. He died trying to protect her from those who would open it," Kratos informed. 

"You will not have to do that for me," Atreus said as Hilda sighed.

"I know, but I would," Kratos informed as they went to another level, and a second elf came out of nowhere, and Hilda used her powers to make him sleep.

"Wow," Atreus said as she smiled and looked at him.

"I think I have a new power," she smiled.

"Atreus, I may not know what my future holds but know this, I will always do what is best for your future, and you're to Hilda," Kratos added, making he smile.

"I will do the same for everyone here as well," Hilda said as they made it to the surface and freed the creature.

The second creature came out of the hole, and both started singing. It was strange watching them reproduce in the sky, yet it was still a beautiful thing to hear them sing to each other like they were giving each other comfort before they died.

"So, are they?" Atreus asked.

"Err.. this one is all yours, brother," Mimir informed.

"Yes, just like we did in Asgard, only a bit different," Hilda said as Kratos turned and looked at both of them.

"You bloody fucked?" Mimir asked.

"Hilda!" Atreus said as his face turned beet red.

"I'm sorry it just came out! You wanted to know! Pervert," Hilda informed

"So these are the songs of the sands?" Atreus asked, changing the subject.

"Well, I didn't know I could get misty; it's beautiful," Mimir said.

"Thanks, father, for doing all this, I know it doesn't solve everything, but it feels like we helped," Atreus informed us as the animals died and hundreds of tiny babies filled the night sky.

"Wow, I was not expecting so many," Hilda said as one was having a hard time staying in the sky, and Hilda saw it floating down to the ground but used her powers to get to it.

"You just need a little help, don't you? You look healthy, though. Here take some of mine, little guy," Hilda said as she gave it a little bit of her power.

"Hilda, you shouldn't mess with it," Atreus said as Hilda smiled.

"It just needs some help, that's all; here, let's get you with your family," Hilda said as she made stairs until she was high off the ground and released it amongst its kind.

The little creature flew off and got lost amongst the hundreds of tiny creatures.

"Wow, I don't see it," Atreus said.

"It's over there. I don't need to see it; I can feel it," Hilda said.

"You can feel it?" Kratos asked.

"Yeah, I gave it some of my power; he was a bit weaker than the others, so I just helped him out," she informed.

"Huh, that's new," Mimir informed.