It was hard to ignore the evidence that Odin had taken Hilda; Fraya was thinking about going there to get her back, at least. Atreus made his choice, but she was forced to go with him or die. They entered a cave and continued to the river. They started to follow the wolves until they reached a fort. To ensure that they wouldn't attack them, Kratos went to kill them. Fraya joined in, and she hoped that maybe there was something here they could use later on.

"These were coal Raiders," Fraya informed.

"Atreus and I saved the wolves from such an encampment," Kratos informed.

"They have been a blight on this land for a long time, the way they abuse the animals; maybe something should be done about them," Fraya informed.

"Hmm," Kratos said as he thought about what Hilda and Atreus would want to do about it.

They started to go threw the land to find more camps and find the Norms. It was going to be hard to find the Norms since their home was in no fixed position, and the doors leading to the norm's home came and went. It was like being inside your mind, as described by Fraya. She had been there before and cursed her son to protect him.

Kratos wanted to ensure that he could somehow get Atreus back and Hilda back. But Odin got what he wanted; Kratos had to think that maybe Odin was scared of Hilda. But why was Odin scared of Hilda? They went past Týr's temple and ended up in the Shores of Nine. After walking, they ended up next to the Oarsmen temple. Kratos heard faint laughter and took out his weapons quickly.

"What's wrong?" Freya asked as Kratos looked around the area.

"I heard laugher; it sounded like Hilda's voice," Kratos informed.

"Do you think she was here at one point?" Freya asked.

"Why would she be here; she has only been by the mines," Kratos informed, now feeling the doubt sink into him more.

Kratos wanted to trust her; he did, but Kratos felt like she had planned this. The Einherjar may have been rough with her on accident, but Hilda's powers were dangerous. Odin may have been afraid since he couldn't control her. Hilda may have plans for Atreus, and that thought alone was concerning.

They entered the place where the wolves said the Norms were and started to fight the monsters that hid in the darkness. It was clear they would have to explore more of the area, which was less the ideal, but they didn't have a choice. They decided to secure the site and climbed up a wall with more monsters.

Mimir talked about the second Valkyrie queen under Odin's influence for a while. Mimir remembered a story she once told him about a family's treasure being buried somewhere around here. Kratos wasn't interested in the prize but wanted the Norms to answer his questions. Kratos saw a chain and decided to move it just to see if anything were to happen to it.

"Kratos, I saw a staircase earlier. I think you opened up another way into the Oarsmen's temple," Fraya informed.

Kratos went down the stairs case and started attacking enemies down there, but they weren't too powerful. They were either getting close, or this was one of their tricks to ensure they didn't find their home. They walked a little further and saw words written on a stone slab.

"No, she never said anything about this,"  Mimir said as Mimir read it as well as Kratos.

Sigrun was a princess before she became a Valkyrie. She loved a man named King Helgi. Her father was enemies with him and would never allow him into his home, but she loved him anyway.

"Sometimes it's hard to tell someone everything," Freya said as she noticed a key, but it was in half.

"Is that a key?" Mimir asked.

"It is not; it is broken," Kratos informed as Fraya let him look at the key he had found.

"Not a broken brother; maybe if we find the partner for that key, we can find where it belongs," Mimir informed.

"Perhaps," Kratos said as he realized there was nothing down there and the norms had tricked them.

They were clever, but that didn't mean he wouldn't stop looking for them. He needed answers; maybe he could find out if Hilda was on their side or not. Hilda seemed like she was, but that didn't mean she was lying and trying to manipulate Atreus into doing what she wanted. Her birth father was powerful, so why couldn't she be?

"What did those ruins say?" Freya asked.

"Sigrun, she loved another before me. I thought I was the first," Mimir sighed.

"You were hoping that you were the first? She has lived a long time before you, it could have ended badly, and that was why she hadn't said anything g about it. It was too hard for her, maybe," Fraya informed.

They went to explore some more and encountered more monsters. These Nroms liked using the area to their advantage, or maybe it was a test. Kratos is getting tired of playing their games. But he wasn't afraid to kill whatever got in his way. They entered another area, and Kratos thought he heard voices again that was barely under a whisper.

Since they were exploring the area, they might as well take care of some of the Raiders here. They went back to the wolves, to Freya's surprise. One of Hilda's arrows was in a dead Einherjar woman. She may have been too injured, and they left her there to die. It wasn't pleasant to think about, but that would explain how she ended up here.

"Do you remember anything about the Norms when you visited?" Mimir asked.

"I do not remember much, but I do remember them telling me that there was nothing I could do to change my son's fate, so it made me more determined to try," Fraya informed.

"You faced something similar in Sparta; the stories I heard about the ghost of Sparta were surely exaggerated, right?" Mimir asked.

"Exaggerated?" Kratos asked.

"Not in a bloodthirsty furious manner, the part where it said you traveled back in time to win a battle that you lost long ago. Thor knocking back the world serpent is one thing, but that seems impossible," Mimir informed.

"The threads of fate chose all over time and life. The sisters of fate abused their power. When I challenged them, they threatened to undo my very existence, so I killed them and turned their power on to Zeus," he explained.

"That is the most dangerous thing I have ever heard anyone doing," Fraya informed.

"Just imagine if Odin had that power, we could be five shades more fucked than we are already," Mimir smiled.

"He might have something that powerful, but getting her to trust him or to do what he asks is different," Kratos informed.

"You think Hilda has that kind of power? She is just a child Kratos," Fraya informed.

"Hilda can travel into people's dreams without realizing she has done so. If she has been in Odin's mind, she may know what he is planning but cannot remember it. She knows things even if she doesn't know them. All she needs is a slight push, and she can access what her mind is holding back," Kratos informed.

"Do you think she has been in his mind already?" Freya asked.

"It's impossible; she has been around Sindri and us longer than anyone. If she is around Odin, however, she could go into his mind while he sleeps. Do you think he could kill her in his dream? Make it look like she died in her sleep?" Mimir asked.

"Atreus is with her, and knowing him, he will try to push them together. Anything to keep peace and to stop his death. If they don't do what he suggests, they may die. I hope they are careful in choosing who to trust," Fraya informed.

"Hilda, we should get some sleep," Atreus said as he went into the room and looked at the mask.

"Not in here, we can't. I know everyone says it's okay, but it's like saying oh yeah, Níðhögg is safe to pet. Go and pet her. She is still a wild animal. I ask permission, and I don't force her to let me pet her. If she doesn't want it, I don't do it. I think Odin is trying to piss Thor off. He still misses his kids. I can feel it; also, how he treats Thor is horrible. They never say thank you, or good job, nothing good at all. Plus, Sif gave you the snake eye. The less trouble we make, the better off we will be," Hilda informed.

"But we will not be doing what Odin told us we could do; won't that cause problems?" Atreus asked.

"Odin doesn't give a crap about his son or his feelings at all. He never asked him. Sure, it may be his house, but Modi spent time here. Odin is also giving you very little attention, and I don't like it either," Hilda pointed out.

"You think Odin is doing this on purpose? Atreus asked.

"Seems like it; I can see him saying a good job, but favoring you because you can give him answers seems like once we are done here. You will end up dead. I don't know why he wanted me here, but it may have been to keep you from worrying about me and to keep you satisfied," Hilda informed.

"Hilda, I know you are worried, but I do want you to know I'm with you, not because we just slept together but because I love you for you. I love how your mind works, and I see where you are getting at. We will be careful. I will be careful. If I see something on the mask that seems wrong, we will stop and head back home. But for now, he needs to know that he can trust me. You know what I just realized?" Atreus asked.

"What?" Hilda asked.

"Ingrid can talk, and we slept in front of him!" Atreus said as she tried not to laugh.

"I didn't think you cared," she informed.

"He saw you naked; I'm so sorry.." he said as a blush crossed his face.

"He wasn't looking Atreus; I don't think. Ask him and find out," Hilda said.

Ingrid started to talk, and Atreus started to blush.

"Sorry, Ingrid, I forgot you were with me," he apologized.

"What did he say?" Hilda asked.

"He said his previous owner used to bring girls around all the time," he said.

"See, I'm going to sleep outside the door; if you want to join me, go ahead," Hilda informed as she went outside the door and sat down.

She slept sitting up a lot in the last five years, so this was nothing new. Atreus came out and smiled at her.

"I don't think I could sleep without you near me," Atreus smirked.

"You have done it most of your life, you know," she smiled.

"Yeah, but I don't like doing it," he said as he laid his head on her lap.

"I think you are just being needy. You must have liked what we did earlier," she chuckled.

"The talking part was nice; the other part I liked too, but it did make me tired," he smiled.

"Because you don't have that much muscle yet; when we get home, I will fatten you up," she chuckled.

"You want a fat boyfriend?" He asked with a smile.

"No, a healthy one, and you need more body mass. You want to be able to throw people like your father, right?" She asked.

"I guess, but I would rather be like you. Sure, I would make one ugly girl, but I like how you are; Sindri did well with you and your mother," he smiled.

"Come on, God of sweetness and flirting. Get some sleep already before I retake you. I might be on top next time, though," she smirked.

"Really? I wouldn't mind that," he said as she kissed him.

"Goodnight," she said as he kissed back.

"Goodnight," he said as he went to sleep.

Hilda could hear whispering and looked around to see nothing but felt her mind was going places it shouldn't be. She heard something moving across the floor, which made her grab her knife. The whispering stopped, and she looked at her arms to see the gold bindings she put on herself start to crack.

"You want to go fine, but I'm not letting you hurt my family," she said as she used her powers on herself again and fixed the bindings to make them stronger.