As the stolen divinity stabilized inside of Zelos, his own inherent divinity in sorcery reacted. It welcomed the new, powerful divinity of Light that he had just forcefully acquired.
Through his internal magical perception, he saw his conceptual heart slowly transform. It shifted from its original, deep blue color into a blinding, pure white.
As Zelos focused on his internal restructuring, the perfect pocket cube that Zelos had created slowly began to dissolve around them.
The structural damage it acquired from Voltan's reality-severing strike directly cut off the magical supply it was receiving from Zelos.
This made the structure disabled and unstable, and Zelos had not renewed the connection since he did not need the isolated arena anymore.
Both Kratos and Atreus slowly saw the falling, shimmering fragments of the illusion fading away like broken glass. It was smoothly replaced by the real, breathtaking realm of Jotunheim.
Immediately, Kratos used the special Bifrost eyes that Zelos had given him to conduct a preliminary inspection of the area.
He needed to verify if it was safe to cross the great wooden bridge extending before them.
Meanwhile, Atreus's eyes were sparkling with pure joy and awe. His amazement at seeing another realm so untouched and his deep anticipation of finally seeing living Giants filled his entire being.
"Zelos," Kratos called out.
Kratos, who had been incredibly angry at Zelos just moments earlier due to Zelos completely disregarding his direct orders regarding Baldur, now touched the shoulders of Zelos gently.
He did this because he saw Zelos having absolutely no physical reaction to the realm shift. The young man was just standing there in a deep, unresponsive daze.
This physical contact woke Zelos from his stupor. He blinked and looked up at Kratos, who was looking at him with genuine, undisguised concern in his tired eyes.
"Father, do not worry. I have it completely under control," Zelos said, offering a reassuring nod. "The newly acquired divinity of Light is integrating within my own core quite nicely.
I just hope there is no catastrophic cosmic effect when I killed the God of Light for a little bit of time, just before I replaced him in the pantheon's structure."
Kratos just nodded slowly, accepting the explanation for now, as he turned his attention back towards the long wooden bridge leading into the mountains.
"Shall we go and finally finish our mission?" Atreus asked Zelos and Kratos.
The boy was now completely unable to resist his urge to explore. The two older gods then began to prepare for their final, most important climb.
Kratos readied himself, gripping his axe tightly in case there was an unknown enemy that they would encounter on the path.
But as they continued to cross the ancient bridge, the three saw that the Jotunheim region was extremely serene and quiet. There was not a single Jotunn visible to the naked eye, at least for both Atreus and Kratos.
But Zelos, with his advanced perception, could see at least two Giants hidden far away in the distant woods, which Zelos immediately attributed to Angrboda and her grandmother living in isolation.
'What a magnificent and complex casting ward. Even standard Bifrost eyes would not be able to see through them,' Zelos said to himself.
He continued looking at the distant Ironwood, appreciating the magical craftsmanship.
But then, he fully turned his attention towards the simple leather pouch hanging from Kratos's belt, where the ashes of his mother were safely kept.
Suddenly, it all hit Zelos at once. The emotional dam broke. All of the heavy emotions that he had been suppressing and feeling since he was a small child rushed forward.
He remembered the desperate nights when he was trying to find any possible magical cure for his mother's strange sickness.
He felt the crushing desperation that came with constant failure, and the bitter, forced acceptance he had to adopt just to respect his mother's final wishes to let her pass naturally.
This sudden, drastic change of his internal mood seemed to resonate physically in the atmosphere.
A gloomy, oppressive aura seemed to permeate the air on the bridge. Kratos looked over his eldest son, sensing the shift. He tried to put his heavy arm around Zelos's shoulder, but he hesitated for a little bit, unsure of how to offer comfort.
But then, the strong familial bond that had strengthened over their long adventure won over his usual stoicism. Zelos suddenly felt a warm, comforting hand resting firmly on his back.
Zelos looked back and saw Kratos's face, a face that was projecting silent assurance and understanding. This rare display of affection made Zelos want to finally voice his deep-seated anger and sorrow.
"It is just not fair, Father," Zelos then began to say, his voice trembling slightly. "I had worked so incredibly hard for so many years. I have magical powers that you would not even imagine, powers that can bend reality itself.
But in terms of Mother? I could not even save her. No, that is not exactly true. I have the power to save her.
I just could not convince her to let me do it. Why is that, Father? Why must she force me to have this crushing burden of not being able to save her despite having the full capacity to do so?"
Zelos then began to list his grievances out loud, desperately listing every single possible magical solution he could have used to save her life or even bring back his mother from the underworld if she had only allowed it.
Atreus, who was walking slightly in front and listening closely, was completely silent. This is the very first time that Atreus had ever seen Zelos act so vulnerable and broken.
Zelos always projected a calm, knowing presence, an aura that everything is always under his absolute control.
But this time, Atreus could clearly hear the raw, unfiltered pain in Zelos's words, a deep sorrow that even Atreus could not fully imagine feeling.
Meanwhile, Kratos remained perfectly silent as he let Zelos continue saying his pain and venting his frustration.
Flashes of beautiful, quiet moments with his wife flashed through the mind's eye of Kratos. But then, a much darker, hidden memory resurfaced in Kratos's mind, prompted by his son's grief over a lost family member.
"It is just not fair," Zelos then finally concluded. He had a solemn, tired voice, sounding almost resentful due to his overwhelming grief towards his mother's stubbornness.
No matter how much he logically tried to accept her final decision, it still weighed incredibly heavily on Zelos's soul.
Kratos then stopped walking completely. He turned and held both the shoulders of Zelos firmly, while Atreus also stopped and turned around to listen.
"Your mother had lived a long, hard life to see her people get slaughtered. She lost friends and family that she might have had in her past life, long before we met.
She truly earned her rest, Zelos, and we would not drag her from her peaceful rest, no matter how much we selfishly wanted to keep her here with us.
Your mother had long accepted this inevitable end as her path, and she faced it bravely with a smile, surrounded by the people whom she loved most in the world," Kratos said softly towards Zelos.
Then, Kratos took a very deep breath. He prepared to talk more, digging into a past he hated.
He looked deeply into the glowing eyes of Zelos and turned his head towards Atreus, who was also looking up at him with wide, curious eyes. Kratos then began to speak once again, his voice rumbling like distant thunder.
"I seldom talk about my past in my homeland, as my memories are far too painful and bloody to bear.
But as we go on this long journey together, I have finally realized that letting go of the past is sometimes the absolute best way to move forward into the future.
I had a wife and a young daughter in my previous hometown in Greece. My wife was named Lysandra, and my eldest daughter was named Calliope.
While I was under the treacherous service of a cruel and manipulative god, I was tricked into brutally attacking and massacring an entire village of innocent people.
As I was completely consumed by immense, blinding anger against my enemies, I had not realized until it was too late that I had brutally killed my own wife and my own daughter with my own hands.
Despite taking my bloody vengeance later and burning my entire home to the absolute ground, this terrible burden is something I will always carry with me.
The very pale color of my skin serves as a permanent, cursed reminder of the ashes of my dead family binding to my flesh."
Kratos then began to slowly recount the tragic story of his previous family to his sons. As he spoke, he also reached down and removed the leather bandages that were tightly covering his forearms, fully revealing the deep, permanent burn scars caused by the searing chains of the Blades of Chaos.
"This is my true burden, Zelos. Carrying this memory is a deep shame that I have always carried. But thanks to this long, painful journey, it eventually led me to reach these foreign shores and meet your wonderful mother.
I was given the rare, precious chance to start over and build a new life. We might have very different circumstances regarding our grief, but you must know this: things will eventually get better.
Your mother is only a part of your long story, just as we are to her legacy. We must always move forward and not get permanently stuck in the sorrow of the past. It is absolutely not what your mother would have ever wanted for you," Kratos then ended his story.
He stood up straight, offering a comforting look. Both Zelos and Atreus were completely silent, absorbing the massive weight of their father's dark confession.
The three then continued their final ascent in absolute silence for several minutes before Atreus finally broke this silence.
"I did not realize that you were carrying this terrible burden all by yourself, Father. Is this the exact reason why you reacted the way you did earlier with Zelos and Baldur? Because you personally know the horrific consequences of killing gods?" Atreus then asked softly.
Kratos simply nodded once, acknowledging the truth, as they all continued their slow ascent up the stairs.
The powerful, honest words of Kratos kept on ringing loudly in Zelos's ears. He remembered every single word that Kratos had said, and it played more and more in his busy mind.
Simultaneously, his mind also replayed all the warm, quiet moments he had with his mother in the woods.
Despite being a reincarnated soul with past knowledge, Faye is the only true mother he has ever known, and Kratos is the only true father he has ever known in both of his lives.
Zelos was then gently tapped by Atreus and Kratos on the shoulder once again, waking him up from his deep stupor.
He looked around and realized that they had finally reached the absolute peak of the tallest mountain in all of the realms.
Zelos had not even noticed the final steps due to his heavily occupied mind. Kratos then gently untied the leather pouch from his belt.
He solemnly gave it to Zelos, honoring him by giving him the very first right to scatter her ashes into the wind.
The moment Zelos touched the pouch and opened it, his magical mind was instantly transported back to their warm home in the Wildwoods.
In this vivid vision, his mother was standing radiantly in the garden, carefully tending to the beautiful winter rose that she had been growing even before she met his father.
"Is this not beautiful, Zelos?" The serene, loving voice of his mother rang clearly in his ears.
Zelos then ran towards his mother in the vision and hugged her tightly from behind, burying his face in her cloak.
It was something that he had never actually done, ever since he was born, always acting too mature for his age.
"My, my, aren't you acting clingy today? Is your father making you soft already?" Faye then asked jokingly. She turned around to face her eldest son with a bright, loving smile.
"Why do you not want to stay with us? I can recreate your physical vessel entirely and take all parts of your scattered soul from the river of souls. Just agree to it, and you would be with us once again," Zelos then said, pleading with her and acting immensely out of character for his usual stoic self.
This desperate plea made Faye smile a deeply sad, understanding smile.
"Oh, my dearest eldest son. I have absolutely no doubt that you could achieve this impossible feat.
You are destined to achieve many great and terrifying things in your long life. But just like this fragile winter rose, a thing isn't beautiful simply because it lasts forever.
It has been my greatest privilege to spend my final, happy moments with all of you: your father, your brother, and you.
I had been blessed with a grand, secret purpose in my early life, and I was later rewarded with two loving kids.
I have one son who is loving enough to try and bend the very fundamental rules of the World Tree just to be with me once again.
But you do not need to do that dark magic just to be with me, as I will always be right here," Faye then said softly.
She reached out and pointed directly at the heart of Zelos. As she did, Zelos's mind rapidly replayed the final, quiet moment he had with Faye before she had finally passed away in her sleep.
"To grieve deeply is to have loved fully," Faye and Zelos both said at the same time.
Hearing those words, Zelos's heavy spirit was instantly lifted. He finally, truly entered the final, most difficult stage of grief: absolute acceptance. As Zelos watched in his mind, he saw his mother slowly scatter into warm, golden light.
The vivid scenery immediately switched from the memory of their home back to the freezing peak of the mountain in Jotunheim. He had finally let go.
He opened his hand and released the first handful of the ashes of his mother into the wind.
He then stepped back and allowed Kratos and Atreus to have their rightful turn to say their personal goodbyes as well.
As they completely scattered the remaining ashes of Faye together, watching the dust mix with the golden light of the realm, both Zelos and Atreus said their final, tearful goodbyes.
"Goodbye, Mother. Enjoy your long rest," Atreus said with heavy tears dropping from his eyes onto the stone.
Meanwhile, Zelos said something much more personal and resolute.
"I will take over your grand mission for you now. You do not have to worry about anything anymore," Zelos whispered to the wind.
This quiet vow was heard by Kratos, which made the Spartan look at him with a complex expression.
Kratos then turned his own attention towards the scattering ashes of Faye floating over the valley, as he mentally said his final, private goodbyes to the woman who saved him.
The three of them just stood there together in absolute, peaceful silence for a long time. Finally, Kratos reached out and touched the shoulders of both of his sons.
This simple gesture indicated that it was finally time to leave this sacred place and return home. Both Atreus and Zelos nodded in agreement with Kratos.
They stood together, looking at the breathtaking view of the valley of Jotunheim for one last time before turning around, ready to restart their long journey to go back to Midgard.