The Goddess Trial
Ardyn knew nothing of the world outside her mind. The wind on the plateau, the feel of the chaotic magic from the sea below, the presence of her guard—all had vanished. She focused entirely on the "folds" of reality before her, allowing her expanded senses to truly "see."
These folds were not simple structures; this void was not a mere empty room. It was a labyrinth of higher dimensions. Her senses felt scattered and disorganized, as if her consciousness was being pulled in a thousand directions at once. Everything felt impossibly deep, yet surreal and surgically precise.
Her mind extended forward like a probing finger. A fold reached out for her, and as it made contact—as if she were the final piece of a cosmic puzzle—her mind seemed to set aflame. She gritted her teeth against the psychic heat, summoning her [Song of Nature]. Sensing her distress, the rainbow soul stone at her chest thrummed with a protective rhythm. Yellows and greens pulsed outward, flooding into the fold with the weight of Varric's essence. The fold snapped back instantly, retreating as if it had felt a physical sting.
The voice of Planar whispered within the core of her being, echoing through the hollows of her thoughts.
'You see clearly, Little One, but not precisely. You seek the Life Way to bridge the gap between yourself and your King. But Sidus Serpens already feels that you are complete. Why do you hunger for more?'
A heavy silence followed, thick with the pressure of the realm's curiosity.
'What will your path be? Will you contribute to my glorious chaos, or will you bring a cold, stagnant calm to the four corners of Sidus Serpens?'
Ardyn did not answer with words. She sat in a fortress of silence, her mind exploring the depths of the puzzle. She shifted her focus to a different fold—one of radiant, shimmering amethyst. It called to her. Wasn't this her color? Her aura? It felt like a reflection of her own soul reaching out to greet her.
She took a confident step toward the amethyst fold and was violently thrown back. There was no physical pain—pain was a sensation for lesser beings—but she was shaken to her very core. Within her, her soul plane buckled. The internal soul sea, usually a place of quiet power, raged into a tempest. Massive, violet waves crashed against the sandy lilac beaches of her subconscious. A spiritual tsunami was tearing through her.
On the colossal plateau, Elsa's ancient eyes narrowed. She saw the toll the internal battle was taking. With a low chant, she sent forth her nature magic. Thick, emerald vines erupted from the multi-colored rock, weaving together with impossible speed to surround Ardyn in a safe, glowing cocoon of foliage and rare, starlit flowers.
Inside the cocoon, Ardyn's physical form was failing. Her skin turned a sickly, ashen grey and began to flake away like burnt parchment. Reacting to the decay, the rainbow soul gem and her silver talisman flared in unison. They worked in a desperate harmony with Elsa's grounding magic. Ardyn's skin shimmered with a faint lilac light, beginning the slow, agonizing process of healing. Her amethyst eyes, once bright with god-like fire, dulled as her magic reserves drained into the void.
Sensing the end, her [Song of Protection] reached out, lashing itself to Elsa's ancient power. They intertwined like massive, glowing ropes of light, and the siphoned energy began to refill Ardyn's hollowed spirit.
Planar sighed, the sound like the shifting of a tectonic plate. 'You are not ready, Little One. Leave this place and return when your spirit is tempered.'
Planar's chaotic magic began to rage across the plateau in response to Elsa's interference. Atina moved instantly, placing herself as a living shield between her mistress and the swirling static of the realm. Elsa groaned as she shifted, her form expanding until she became the mountainous tortoise of legend. The vast forest on her shell swayed in the chaotic winds as her ancient magic surged forth, a tidal wave of order meant to overwhelm the madness of Planar.
Inside the cocoon, Ardyn felt her skin pale again, but she caught the descent before it reached the grey of death. Her lilac soul-hibiscus bloomed within her chest, and suddenly, there was a profound silence. The chaos was thrown back, not by force, but by sheer presence.
Planar's harmoniously chaotic voice let out a laugh—a sound of genuine interest and dawning understanding.
'As usual, Sidus Serpens has chosen well. But you still do not understand the nature of the folds. You look to the wrong thing, Little One. You seek what you have already found. Look for that which is new, untried, and true.'
Planar moved through the folds with a fluid grace. Ardyn frowned; she could not track the sentience. It was everywhere and nowhere.
'Do you understand me now?'
Ardyn's senses scanned the myriad entrances once more. She ignored the amethyst reflections and the lures of her past power. Her perceptions narrowed, focusing on a fold that felt like nothing she had ever known. For the third time, she stepped forward.
The realm granted her entrance. Her soul moved in a dance of pure, unadulterated rejoicing. A ring of dazzling, blinding light enveloped her, and the truth hit her with the force of a falling star.
This was the next part of the Life Way—but it was only an echo. Like the light of a distant sun, the source was long gone by the time the glow reached her. But she was committed. There was no retreating from a fold once entered.
She moved forward, undeterred, and saw a door of light, magic, and pure intent standing open. Chaos flowed through it, but now she saw the pattern—the "Discernible Path." She focused her senses, refusing to move without absolute understanding. She was no longer just magic and intent; she was purpose. She realized she had been lost in the vanity of her own evolution, forgetting the direction of her goal.
Planar's voice was warm now, filled with approval. 'You begin to understand.'
In a blink, Ardyn reappeared at the entrance of the myriad folds, back at the start.
'You have to start over, Little One,' Planar whispered, the challenge clear. 'How long will it take you to navigate the true path? Can you actually make it through the fold and claim the third part of the Life Way?'