Sliver of Straw

Sliver of Straw was an Iterator in the Local Group. She's the only Iterator who possibly solved the Great Problem.

About
Like most of her kin, she worked on finding a way of ascension. She seemingly succeeded, as she sent out the Triple Affirmative: That the solution had been found, that the solution was portable, and that the solution could be easily applied. All contact with her was lost after the other Iterators received her message. The other Iterators speculated on what became of her, only being aware that she was definitely dead. Some believed she somehow achieved self-destruction, despite the taboo of the same name that keeps Iterators from doing so. Others believe that the solution itself was what killed her, and that finding the solution was hazardous. Another group, of which was a member, believed that dying was the key to ascension and sought to overcome the self-destruction taboo.

The Downpour DLC added Sliver of Straw as a secret and special encounter. She can be faced in Challenge 70, which can only be accessed if all other Challenges are completed.

Gameplay
The Sliver of Straw fight begins with the entering the Iterator's chamber. To begin the fight, the player must attempt to use Saint's ascension ability. After hitting Sliver of Straw once, she begins vocalizing and charging up her attacks. The fight consists of six main phases, each ending with her gravity field fading out, leaving for another opportunity to attempt an ascension.


 * 1) Sliver of Straw will shoot energy beams at the player. Despite what it looks like, if the player is in the middle of the beam when it goes off, the attack does not kill. Instead, it will push the Saint into the wall. If Saint is hit by the laser while against a wall, it creates a blast that will kill them.
 * 2) Sliver of Straw will draw a large grid throughout the chamber, creating a square that generally lands somewhere on the middle. On each of the four corners of the square, a large version of the ten karma symbol pops up. If the player is not in the radius of the symbol, nothing will happen but a small pop. If the player is caught in the middle of one, a loud pang will sound and Saint will be killed. (It should be noted that these effects are near identical to Saint's own ascension abilities, including the sounds made upon success or failure.)
 * 3) Sliver of Straw surrounds the arena in a circle of lasers that radiate outwards from her body. While they are initially harmless, after a few seconds they will rapidly fire off one after the other, requiring the player to keep up and outrun these. She will do this four times.
 * 4) This phase combines the first and second phase. Both the karma symbols and beams are slower to appear than in their individual phases, but attempting to avoid them both while keeping the Saint powered up enough to ascend Sliver of Straw at the end of this phase is difficult.
 * 5) Sliver of Straw fills the arena with orbs of electricity that form a safe circle in the middle. Slowly at first, this safe zone will begin to shift in a figure eight pattern (top left, bottom right, top right, bottom left). The pace quickens, and at the same time the safe zone gets smaller and smaller, requiring the player to anticipate the pattern before the circle actually begins changing directions. Unlike the other phases, when her gravity field goes down the attack does not stop.
 * 6) Sliver of Straw will utilize the electric orbs, having them cover the top and bottom third of the chamber. Lasers similar to phase three will slide in from either the right or left, and activate after a short time. This phase increases in difficulty as the orbs form a wavelike pattern, requiring the player to manage vertical movement while avoiding the incoming lasers.

After all six phases have been survived, Saint performs two more ascensions. The first one ends phase six, and Sliver of Straw will continue vocalizing, with red sparks eminating from her body. Upon ascending her one last time, the chamber goes pitch black, and Sliver of Straw's puppet falls to the floor.

From here, the entrance turns into a shelter symbol, and Saint is able to exit.

Finishing this challenge (provided the player did not use the 'unlock all challenges' cheat) will award the player with the achievement 'The Champion'.