Power
Atina stood tall, great waves of resolve washing over her like the relentless tide. Her coils of hair rose from her shoulders and back, infused with chaotic energy, snapping at the air like agitated snakes. Her eyes were focused, her strength undaunted, but her body bled from fresh scars all the same.
Some of her dark, smoky scales were cracked and others broken. Blood flowed freely, yet before her, the mirrored aspects bled worse. Silvery blood that looked like liquid mercury flowed down the mirror-beings' bodies. The silver blood stank of metal and corrosive acid; for a weaker being, simply smelling it would have been detrimental.
None of the three spoke. The mirror-beings wore scowls while Atina maintained her normal, calm, aloof expression. As she assessed the scene—truly assessed it—something within her clicked into place, and her entire body shuddered. It was so slight that the mirror-viper and mirror-human did not notice.
Her hair stiffened and coiled further. The chaotic energy within each coil doubled in strength, and Atina felt her control over them solidify. Chaotic energy rippled over her; her smoky scales became more shadowed as they healed, and her blood stopped flowing.
Her weapon pulsed in her hand like it was eager to fight—all of this happening in the split second it took Atina to smirk. Her eyes narrowed and a burst of chaotic energy exploded from her. Her chaotic shadow weapon formed and reformed in her hand. She seemed to blink across the cave toward the mirrored beings, her chaotic steps taking her between the folds of reality.
Her weapon solidified into a battle-ax and fell deep into the mirror-viper's flesh. It changed while still buried in the wound; the chaotic shadow sword moved through the mirror-viper's shoulder and across her body. Silver blood shot into the air like a geyser. The reflection grimaced as her form shimmered and then flowed into the mirrored surface of the wall behind her.
Atina's chaotic shadow weapon transformed into a battle staff and struck the mirror-human center mass. The apparition spewed blood and smiled even as fine cracks spread out from the strike. She coughed, the cracks spider-webbing further across her skin. Atina watched her shatter, a sudden wind picking up the pieces and blowing them into the mirrored ceiling.
Atina's body quaked for a brief moment. Chaos flowed through her with such force that she struggled to contain it. She grew taller. Her coiled hair grew longer and thinner, and snake heads of chaos formed at each end. Her scales deepened with shadow and became razor-sharp, sprouting tiny spikes of chaos. She looked up to the cave ceiling, and a roaring hiss escaped her lips as she fought to contain the magic within her.
The Reflection Cave quieted, except for Atina's heavy breaths. She huffed, her chest rising and falling, bursts of chaos rolling down her body from head to toe. Her hair coiled on her shoulders and around her neck like pet snakes, her black eyes sparking with chaotic energy. As soon as her eyes cleared with clarity and her body regulated the chaos, the cave abruptly sent her away.
Atina appeared in the sky near Ardyn, Varric, and Seraphis. Seraphis was tense, as if he were waiting for something calamitous to happen. Ardyn and Varric moved as one, their magic reaching for him from opposite directions. Varric's darkness hit first, and Seraphis was swallowed whole. Ardyn's chaos was a split second behind, covering the darkness and seeping into it.
Atina watched, expressionless. Her weapon hummed on her back as if it were begging her to enter the fray. There was a strained wail and the magic trembled, bursting outward. It washed over Ardyn, Atina, and Varric like a warm, gentle breeze—the three higher beings unaffected by the evolving magic.
Seraphis shimmered and then began to disappear like sand being blown in the wind. The other three watched calmly. Seraphis's connection to Ardyn never wavered, and Varric and Atina sensed his power growing the entire time.
A portal opened, and a dominating hiss escaped. Seraphis stepped out, his honey-and-cream scales now gold and silver, glistening in the dim light. His yellow eyes had black specks of void embedded within them, and void magic rose around him like concentric layers of protection. Several portals opened around him, and void magic poured forth into his being, each of his gold and silver scales drinking it in.
Seraphis hovered before them for a long moment, then the portals closed and his eyes opened. Void magic flared from his eyes and pores. He stepped forward, and Ardyn sensed void energy in his every step.
She and Varric nodded as one. "They both did well. Let's go find five more." Ardyn nodded in agreement. It was time to find the entrance to Sidus Serpens.