The Forge II

Remove the obstruction and return to the Forge. As promised, Hephaestus crafts a powerful weapon, the Nemesis Whip, although with strings attached. Kratos does not respond kindly to his betrayal and puts the smith god out of his misery by attacking the uncharged pedestal with the new whip. The following allows Kratos to showcase the awesome that is the Nemesis Whip. It is extremely powerful, lightning fast, and so pretty (the colors, man, the colors!). Hephaestus' Ring is up for grabs as well from the area to the left of his body.

Aphrodite's Chamber

Charge up to the top portal using the Boots of Hermes and return to Aphrodite's Chamber. She is ready for another go if you are.

The Upper Gardens

Back outside, channel the electricity from the Nemesis Whip to the powered down mechanisms to turn the bridges. Use this method to power up the previously broken one and reach the other door in the palace. The next room has an overwhelming number of chests, gadgets, and things to look at. Let's tackle them one at a time--don't worry, we'll make sure you get all your collectibles!

The first thing of note is that the portals are all interconnected within the room. Start off by moving to the ballista in the center of the room and rotating it to the left so that it faces the left portal. Fire it to create a zipline that zig-zags through the room and finally to the far alcove at the top left of the room. Some iron bars hinder direct movement across the final zipline, so simply navigate around and glide to the rest of the zipline. Flip open the chest to find a Minotaur Horn.

Now pull the lever on the right side of the room to elevate the platform on which the ballista rests. Return to the ballista and send another arrow through the portal here. This time it gives access to a Gorgon Eye from within the chest sitting on the right alcove above.

Rotate the ballista back to its original position and shoot the metal gate. The arrow slips right in the key slot and forces the gate open. From here, observe the golden footprints lining the surface to the immediate right of the ballista and follow them up into the orange portal. This pops Kratos out in an isolate ledge with another lever. Once the lever is activated, the two chests sitting on the suspended platform lower for a short time. Hop back through the portal and wind up the ballista again for another shot. The arrow should shoot through the portal and connect with the chain holding the chests' platform, sending the chests crashing to the floor. Open each of them up to pocket a Phoenix Feather and Daedalus' Schematics.

The room has now been pilfered of its secrets, and now is the time to move on. Slide down the pole and check the area directly behind to collect yet another goodie: a Minotaur Horn, as well as some red Orbs.