Determination to save Ela burning in her heart, Maven rolled up her sleeves and got ready to go to work. The two goddesses may not have known what to do, but Maven wanted to believe that she could help her. She forced herself to believe that

“Take a step back, everyone…… I’m going to use my divine power to take a little looksie. Things could get a little rough.”

Maven didn’t have the confidence to keep her surroundings in mind as she tried to interfere another god’s divine power, so she warned her companions to take some distance. Putting on an air of false bravado as she went to work, Maven summoned a thin thread of divinity.

She took great care to ensure that she was gentle as possible as the razor thin filament of power spilled from her fingers and down towards Ela. It was momentarily halted when it made contact with Ela’s skin, hindered by Ela’s natural protective aura, but when Maven gave it a little push, it sunk into her body smoothly.

“Now, Maven, remember… When you perform examinations like this, you’ve gotta check out the soul and the body. The soul roughly lines up the body, but it’s in a higher plane. Divinity is the only way to directly interact with it, so you’ve got no worries there… but elemental aptitude does play a big part in what you can do once you’re in there. You’ve never played with souls before, so be careful while you’re poking around in there…”

Guiding Maven through the process, Henna did her best to help Maven check out Ela’s comatose body. Under her direction, Maven made quick work of the physical examination.

“Her body is in perfect shape, not damaged by the curse at all…… But, there’s something off about her soul, the part right around where her heart is.” Maven said thoughtfully, brows knit in concern.

“That would be the core of the soul, the seat of power. When you manipulate your magic or divinity, the power originates from there. I spotted the issue there too, but the curse repelled my power. I couldn’t investigate further. Maybe you’ll have better luck with that special flavor of divinity of yours.” Henna said in an even voice, doing her best to help Maven stay calm.

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Relieved that at least one of her divine companions had such a competent side, Maven dyed the thread with her purest divinity and sent plunging into the deepest recesses of Ela’s soul.

Once she was there, she confirmed that the curse had erected a wall in Ela’s soul, a strong fortress filled with all the power a god could muster. Thick and imposing, the ghastly aura of darkest malice stood, determined to drive away all invaders.

And yet, when Maven’s power finally made contact with it, her power slipped right in - as if the wall weren’t even there.

“I never thought I’d say this, but thank goodness I actually touched that creepy bastard. If I hadn’t, I would never have got a decent impression of his divine power. Thanks to the fact that I did, I managed to emulate his power just enough to get through whatever shield he put up.”

Now that she actually made it past the final barrier, Maven could get down to investigating the actual effects of the curse. Everything thus far had just been locating the problem and making her way past the castle walls. She still had to find the princess.

And find the princess she did. Maven didn’t go digging around in people’s souls all that often, but she was pretty sure she wasn’t supposed to find enough energy to blow up the sun locked up in there.

“I think I found something amazing…” Maven said in awe.

With her view of Ela’s inner space, Maven found herself facing an enormous transparent something. If this had been the real world, Maven would almost think she was looking at a planet - barren, rocky, and made entirely of pure natural energy. It was beautiful, shining with clear and boundless light… Or, it would be, if not for the hideous ball of curse energy that could be seen connected to it.

Thick, ropey tendrils of the most vile curse energy ran from an inky satellite to the shining planet, pumping malicious energy into it constantly. It looked almost like a disgusting cocoon, ropey threads of condensed misery wrapped around a core of pure suffering. And that collection of revolting energy had chained itself to the ball of nature energy hidden in Ela’s soul, slowly poisoning it - dying that transparent energy the purest black.