In a universe we have not yet visited, a few realities down the main cluster and the second one on the right, we find ourselves on the planet Golarion, in Absalom—the proverbial City at the Center of the World—where our story is already in progress.
The streets of Absalom hustled and bustled like any day, including those surrounding the Ascendant Court plaza which housed the Starstone Cathedral. This sky-piercing tower sat on a stone column surrounded by what seemed to be a bottomless chasm, connected to the rest of the city by three bridges. The Starstone sat inside the spire, holding remnants of the god Aroden's divine power.
Every year, hundreds entered the Starstone Cathedral, hoping to pass the Test of the Starstone and ascend to godhood. Dozens fled the Cathedral after facing unknown horrors inside, their minds incapable of recalling the details thereof. The rest never found their way out. No applicants have succeeded since Iomedae attempted the Test centuries ago.
Today, a lone, green-cloaked figure with nine orange tails tipped in white fur approached a bridge leading to the Cathedral's gates, her brown-furred, clawed feet padding quietly across the cobblestones.
Two priests, one woman and one man, from the surrounding temples intercepted the stranger. The woman spoke, "Are you aware of the purpose of the Starstone Cathedral that lies before you and the Test of the Starstone within?"
The figure responded, "I am."
The other priest asked, "And you know that nobody can tell you what trials and tribulations await you inside?"
She answered, "I know."
The first priest continued, "And you know that most of the people who entered the Cathedral, even those absolutely certain of their worthiness, never ascended, never fled, and were never seen from again?"
She nodded patiently. "I know."
A crowd slowly formed around the figure. Necks craned and stretched as onlookers tried to ascertain the stranger's identity.
The second priest added, "You know that the Starstone will not simply grant victory for a person with a noble cause, no matter how noble, yes?"
She nodded again. "I know."
The first priest, her concern growing, asked more urgently, "You understand that thousands of people have died attempting the Test of the Starstone, yet only three have ascended?"
The figure swallowed hard. "I know."
The second priest gesticulated as he pressed, "Do you like those odds?"
The stranger responded flatly, "I do not."
The first priest implored, "Then why take the Test?"
The figure drew a slow breath and pulled back the hood of her cloak, revealing herself to be Ringmaster Niji-iro Midori, Breaker of the Siege of Willowside and Remover of the Extinction Curse. The crowd gasped in recognition. With a look of desperation, she responded, "It is the only chance I have to save my siblings!"
Nothing remained for the priests to say. They bowed and let her pass. She approached the bridge.
"Excuse me, miss?" A voice from the gathering crowds pierced the silence. Midori paused and turned to the source of the voice: a young kitsune girl bearing a red fox fur pattern similar to Midori's, but with brown hair and eyes. The girl's mother put her hand on her daughter's shoulder protectively and gave Midori an apologetic look.
The nine-tailed kitsune turned away from her path and approached the young one, waving off the mother's concerns. Squatting down to the girl's level and meeting her gaze, she replied, "Yes, li'l one?"
"Miss Midori, aren't you scared to go in there? You could die!"
"Scared?" Midori chuckled, "I'm terrified!"
The girl's ears flattened somewhat as she cocked her head to the side. "Then why do it?"
Midori sighed. "Sometimes...." She paused for a beat, "...sometimes you just gotta risk it all if there's a chance you can save the ones you love." She ruffled the girl's hair, stood up, and continued toward the Cathedral's entrance.
The kitsune girl shouted after her, "You sure are brave!"
Midori only muttered to herself, "Sometimes the line between bravery an' stupidity isn't visible until you've crossed it...."
She reached the gates, which opened and allowed her to enter. Hesitating for a moment, she looked over her shoulder at the city behind her for what could be the last time, then crossed the threshold.
"Huh," Midori observed, "I was kinda thinkin' I'd have to cross another bottomless pit. I wasn't expectin'—"
The gates slammed closed behind her, cutting off her voice from the outside world.
*****
At that moment, in 14,000,604 other alternate universes, similar stories unfolded with similar Midoris.
Their stories end here.
The stories of this Midori, however, continue....