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Druth: Surtr, the fire giant, has answered. He comes from a land older than mankind. And the Northmen call upon his flaming sword to raze their enemies to the ground. Find him Senua, and spill his blood.
Narrator: She found the wretched old fool on her way back from the wilds. An outcast. He was badly burnt all over. She took pity on him for he was not long for this world. Like her, who spoke of his own darkness – the Northmen.
Druth: I can still smell it. The sweet sickly stench of burning human flesh. And I still hear their cries carried in the wind. Do you hear them too, Senua?
Senua: Yes, I heard the screams. And I still hear it now.
Druth: The path to Helheim is sealed to the living. But you already walk amongst the dead… look towards the gate, and you will see that it has opened. When they first came to my lands, I knew enough of their tongue to beg for mercy and they took me as slave… I wish now that they had slaughtered me like the others. I rode their storm of fire, death, and slavery to many lands. This darkness you speak of… I know it well.
Senua: And I’m still here to fight it!
Druth: When you see a fire-gate of Surtr, know that only a sacrifice will stoke the fires of Muspell and let the dead walk through. Find the fire, Senua, to follow the path to Surtr.
Furies: The sacrifice! There it is! Focus!
Druth: Hel will not give you the answers you want. But you mustn’t look away from the horror it does offer, because you cannot overcome suffering if you refuse to look at it.
Furies: Where’s the fire gone? It was a trick! It was an illusion. Surtr is testing her. The pyre. Surtr is waiting for her. She can’t get through. Find your own path.
Druth: Find the fire, Senua, to follow the path to Surtr.
Furies: Another gate. Another sacrifice. She needs to find it. She will never make her way back. Everything will burn. How will she find her way back?
Druth: The Northmen made fire sacrifices, burning slaves like me, to reveal the path to Surtr. I searched for the meaning in their suffering, in their eyes, but they just screamed like helpless pigs! Do your gods answer your prayers, Senua? I asked the gods for mercy, all of them, even theirs, but none answered! In the end, I set myself free. Defy the gods, Senua! Find your own path like I found mine!
Senua: My gods abandoned me. I am alone.
Druth: The Northmen of Hel worship the devourers, insatiable gods of darkness. I come from Éirinn, Senua, where I once followed my own Gods, the Tuatha Dé Danann.
Senua: How did you lose your Gods?
Druth: Senua… I was a man of knowledge, not a warrior. To survive…I did things, bad things. Like you, Senua, the man I once was has died. And when that happens, even Gods you worship can die with you. You say your world has collapsed. Good. Let it collapse and have the courage to shed your tears. Raze your world to the ground!
Senua: My world has died!
Druth: Only then, as a newborn, you will see the world anew.
Senua: No…I see nothing now. Tell me, Druth, how did you escape your darkness?
Druth: Senua, once I found my purpose… I was no longer enslaved to suffering I had to endure to reach it. Unclouded by fear, I could see it clearly in others… even my captors feared the fire of Surtr! And so during one raid, I took my chance and ran, knowing that they would not follow! The fool ran into fire! Hahahaha… They left me for dead… maybe they were right to… but here I am: free!
Senua: I’m glad I found you in the wilds. I wouldn’t have made it without your help.
Druth: Senua, if I can survive the fire of Surt, and escape my darkness then so can you! I ran, Senua! Ran and ran! Through the fire! Keep running! Go on! Nothing will stop you!
Senua: I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. This darkness takes everything. Everyone.
Dillion: Senua, are you sure you want to do this? We can fight this together. Side by side, we always do.
Senua: This is my battle. I have to face it alone. Away from here.
Dillion: Where will you go?
Senua: I don’t know.
Dillion: For how long?
Senua: I don’t know.
Dillion: I believe in you. You know that. Just promise me… that you will come back to me. I want you to say it. I want you to say it.
Senua: I will come back to you. I promise.
Druth: Spill the blood of Surt and take his mark, and I will cheer you from the underworld and forever be in your debt.
Senua: You destroyed everything! Everyone! But not me! Fight me now!
Druth: For every battle won, a greater battle takes its place. And so it goes until we fall. And in the end, we all fall. Even the Gods have their time. Yet we still go on. Why?
Senua: I made a promise. I will go to Hel to keep it.
Druth: I die free, knowing you will carry my stories with you. I have fulfilled my quest.
Senua: Yes, you have.
Druth: … when the darkness comes, I vow to guide you in this life and the next to fulfill yours.
Senua: Then I will see you in Hel.
Druth: Be ready to face horror in the eye, as I have, to find your answers, your quest, your truth…
Narrator: Druth was a troubled man. A scholar turned slave. They tortured him, took him with them on their raids, drove him to madness. Spreading this new form of darkness to new worlds. To my world. Senua saw a deep connection form between the Northmen and the darkness. If his tales of Hel were true, then that was the source of it. She learnt everything she could from him. Until she too could see what he saw. Have you ever died before? It’s a serious question. When the illusion of self is shattered, you simply cease to be. Though it may not seem that way to others, you know when it is true. You can feel it, a stranger in your own body, an imposter… and nothing is the same ever again. Senua has died before. And she will do so again. You can be sure of that.
Druth: With the mark of Valravn and the mark of Surtr, you may cross the bridge over the river of knives to Helheim.