this is going to go poorly i know it

For a time, Chaos-Two just stood in Polaris where they'd been told to go. What was the owl's name? Emu? Emo? They'd remember it when it was time, but for now they just needed to calm themselves before their anxiety caused a trial gone awry again.

Who knew that one little show of fear against the biggest, baddest monster in the caves would turn one's life on its head?

"Emuh?", they called out, stepping forward, their spear clutched tightly in hand, trying to calm their racing heart, "I'm here to attempt your trial!"

They could only hope that they wouldn't humiliate themselves. If they ended up going into their chrysalis, Vargas would know they failed, but maybe if they were away simply trying over and over again, maybe that'd be fine.

Maybe. But if they succeeded on the first try, that would be optimal.

"WHO-WHO? WHO-WHO--IS THAT?" came the distant call--already growing rapidly closer.

The black creature that swept from the shadows of its room was a mockery of an owl. It held the avian form, the rounded head, the large eyes and the hooked talons--but it was far too large, far too spined, those eyes far too glowing. Never mind the curled rams' horns at the sides of its head, or the frosty aura that swathed its body in an ever-crackling hiss.

...An aura that changed, as it alighted with the click of talons before V-Chaos-Two. Now shadows danced across its feathers, interspersed with sparks of blinding light. Green eyes narrowed. "ONE OF YOU? -YOU DO NOT KNOW YOUR OWN MAGIC. BAH!" Feathers fluffed outward as if in annoyance. "WELL, GET IN, AND WE WILL SEE IF YOU SCRAPE BY OR IF YOU FAIL!"

Raucous taunt gave way to a distant grinding as the room abruptly began to reshape--and Emuh turned, not awaiting a response. He took flight in a flutter that settled into a silent winging away, only his voice calling back: "YOUR TRIAL BEGINS NOW!"

___________

Dim white light ignited the room in a sickly pale glow. The stone was still churning, shifting, settling--changing its entire shape at Emuh's whim, it seemed. Walls fell away, pushing back to make more room. The floor and ceilings smoothed, and evened out.

After a few moments' change, what was left was this: a long, broad, low cavern, mostly smooth on all sides. A few smallish, scattered stalagmites and stalactites jutted up and down, here and there, but nothing that would make traversing it difficult. The cave seemed mostly empty, dead, and featureless--there was no foliage to be seen, no real landmarks of interest or interesting terrain. Instead, three large, shallow pools of water--one to the left, one much farther ahead to the right, and one in the far distance leftward again--dotted the floor, and a very distant pillar stood at the far end of the cave. This pillar was hard to make out, from here; if it had any notable features, it'd need closer examination to pick them out.

Lessers did live here, though, or had just been brought-? Manifested..? A few scattered Lesser rabbits--Walleyes, Wind Hoppers and Bone Hares--along with Catsquirrels and a couple mice; two or three Tunnel Runners, too. These Lessers, perhaps three dozen in total, lingered around the pools. Some were drinking, some lying down, some simply milling about--but upon closer inspection it would quickly become clear that many appeared ill, some seriously so. In fact, a few of those flopped on their sides were cold to the touch, not breathing... dead. Others crouched, fluffed up and trembling, their breathing coming in rapid pants. Eyes were glassy and bulging, and drool frothed from trembling mouths.

At the bottom of the closer pools of water, something could be seen at the bottom, in the middle: something glinting, pale, but unclear from a distance.

Chaos-Two prided themselves on not flinching as Emuh appeared, clutching their spear tightly as they watched him approach, his aura changing to match his own element. Light, and the lack of. They swallowed at his words, wondering if they should have prepared a spell more suited to something fitting of a trial, but it was too late.

They were in a room, dimly lit as it continued to churn and change. Still being prepared.

They observed the room and winced as they saw the lessers all over. Some dead, some sickly, and it was clear that something had caused them to become this way. They did wish that they didn't have to be suffering for just a simple trial, but... they had to do this. To impress Vargas, to make up for their failure.

So they continued, walking forward until they reached the nearest pool. They peered into it, trying to see what was within it, the shape too vague to pick out from a distance. They couldn't really do anything without knowing what was up with this trial, after all.

A couple Lessers tried to scatter at Chaos-Two's approach--stumbling, rising from the rock only to fall again, scrambling fruitlessly in a terrified effort to escape.

A failed effort; whatever had sickened them was killing them, slow but sure.

Within the shallow depths, some twenty meters out--Chaos-Two could wade there, if they thought it safe to do so--was a glinting, translucent white crystal perhaps a foot long and a third of that in width. It lay at the bottom, though it wasn't clear why, or what exactly it even was.

On the shore, a Tunnel Runner flailed on its side, bleating in fear.

Deducting from the lesser's illness, they had to have gotten it from somewhere. And if it was in the water, Chaos-Two didn't want to catch it, no matter if they weren't drinking it. Better be safe than sorry.

Oh lovely. Nothing happened.

Chaos-Two tilted their head back and just... sighed. But they'd do it again, and they weren't stepping foot in that water. Just in case, they stepped onto a rock. They wouldn't underestimate Emuh's magic, and if they could change the layout of a cave just for a trial, then he could have some nasty tricks up his sleeve. Filling the pool up more, for example, or something along those lines.

They didn't want to mess up before they'd even begun.

The only sounds were the fruitless scrabbling of hooves on rock and the panting--interspersed with the crying bleats--that echoed through the cave.

Nothing else happened; Chaos-Two was stood alone in this otherwise-lifeless space, Lessers dying at their feet.

The crystal gleamed as if mocking them, from a distance. Somewhere distant, there was a soft sound--like a snicker.

Chaos-Two shivered, turning to stare at the lessers for just a moment. They couldn't heal them all, there were too many... was this what they were supposed to do, though? Was the trial to heal and heal until they dropped? To keep going until there was nothing more to give?

Or was it a puzzle, a test of their kindness?

Chaos-Two turned their back on them and cast their magic, the UV light scalding the water and purifying it just enough that Chaos-Two felt comfortable stepping in. They waded further and further, the water rising up their legs. With one hand on their spear, they reached out with the other when they were close, before clamping their spear in their teeth and using the other to try and drag the stone to the surface.

God they hoped they were doing this right.

Water sloshed around fur and hooves, stagnant and at that unpleasant temperature between cool and vaguely lukewarm--neither warming, nor refreshingly cold.

The crystal, when picked up, wasn't anything special by the look of it: just a translucent white, a little dingy with age and with bits of algae or some other scum clinging to it here and there.

1/3

Chaos-Two held the gem in their hands and swallowed, brushing off bits of algae and scum. They grabbed their spear and tucked the gem under their armpit before sloshing towards the shore again. They shook out their lower half and jogged to the second pool, setting their spear down in the middle with the first stone.

Nothing was happening, so this had to be right. ... Right?

They rubbed their hands together and cast their magic, blasting the water with another beam of UV light. Anything in the water would hopefully be killed, and they could move forward. They were doing good! They were actually seeing progress.

Chaos-Two waded once again into the pool, stopping to try and see if there was anything in there. They briefly turned to make sure the first stone and their spear wasn't about to be stolen before continuing their search.