Self-doubt and depression are prominent themes in Chicory: A Colorful Tale, and this Wielder Trial is a huge reflection of this from the eponymous character. As an apprentice, Chicory couldn’t finish this own last trial of hers, which has the theme of “master passing to student.” You will follow the river up to a corrupted tree and face the dark side of being a Wielder.
Go up one screen from where you met with Chicory, and swim and climb up to the top right part of this screen. You will notice that you can paint in a bouncy bush in between the gap from you to the left platform — get that bounce pad up, jump towards it, and let it launch you to the left. On the next screen over, there will be three vines in front of you. Take the center one, and from there, jump into the river and keep swimming up. You can ignore everything else on this screen unless you want to nab some extra goodies.
In the next two screens, there will be black sludge that impedes you — painting on top of them will drive them away temporarily, but move quickly past them. On the first screen, go on land, get past the sludge to the bottom, and use the plant there to launch yourself up. Continue on the path to get to the left screen. You will eventually want to be following a waterfall up, doing away with any sludge in your way.
After talking to an emotional Chicory, you will swim up the river and enter the corrupted tree ahead. Like in most dark areas, you will need to use your glowing paint to light the way forward. However, there will be branches and leaves blocking your way. On the first screen, note the two flames on the side; you can interact with them with your paintbrush, carrying the flame and burning down the obstructions ahead.
Move three screens up, and you’ll reach a screen with a flame on the top right side and a tube for swimming through blocked off by corrupted flora. At first glance, the river will prevent you from taking the flame across, as it will extinguish the flame. However, there is a way to bring the flame over. You can carry flames up walls, so grab the flame and essentially drag it in a clockwise direction, over land and avoiding water. Destroy the corrupted plants and swim up the tube. Go down the stairs, and you’ll walk up to a boss encounter.
This boss will be a corrupted image of Blackberry, and she has very similar attack patterns as previous bosses. Your main strategy will be to circle around her, always moving, and painting on top of her. She will use squares and thick lines against you to avoid, with her main attack being a grid made out of these thick lines; as they form, try to position yourself in empty squares in between the lines. After defeating this false Blackberry, you will regroup with Chicory in the next chapter.
