How to unlock the Pitch-Black Stone and Chaos Trials in Hades 2

Did you ever wonder what that giant, floating pink stone was in the Crossroads Training Grounds? As it turns out, it’s an ancient artifact of chaotic origin that allows you to gather rare materials. If you survive. Here’s how to unlock the Pitch-Black Stone and Chaos Trials in Hades 2.

You can unlock the Pitch-Black Stone in Hades 2 after obtaining and activating the incantation ‘Abyssal Insight’. Unfortunately, like with many secrets in the game, the incantation won’t be revealed until you’ve completed certain steps. Spoilers will follow.

Hades 2: How to unlock and use the Pitch-Black Stone

It’s hard to know the exact steps you need to take to acquire many incantations in Hades 2, and Abyssal Insight is a good example of this. The incantation appeared when I was around 20 hours into the game. While I don’t know everything that goes into getting it, I will go over what I accomplished before I did.

How to acquire the Abyssal Insight incantation:

• Progress enough to acquire at least two Pearls from the Guardian of Oceanus.
• Unlock all available weapons in the game.
• Reach the surface, but die from the curse. Get the ‘Unraveling a Fateful Bond’ incantation from Moros afterward.
• Speak with the Primordial Chaos enough times for them to grant you the incantation ‘Abyssal Insight’.
  • You may need to offer Chaos at least one Nectar to increase your friendship rank.

If the above hasn’t triggered the discussion with Chaos, work toward reaching the surface area and survive long enough to reach the Rift of Thessaly. If that still isn’t working, keep progressing through the game and take every chance to speak with Chaos.

After you get the incantation, return to the cauldron at the Crossroads to cast it. You will find the Abyssal Night incantation in the list:

Activating the incantation requires:

• 2 Fate Fabric
• 2 Pearl
• 2 Moly
• 2 Nightshade

Once you finish the incantation, head down to the Crossroads Training Grounds. The Pitch-Black Stone, shown below in a striking shade of pink, is ready to be used. Get close and press the activation button (RB on the Xbox pad) to scry the stone and complete the quest.

Chaos Trials in Hades 2, explained

Chaos Trials are available the moment you scry the Pitch-Black Stone in Hades 2. These trials are as you’d expect: Challenges with set rules, and their completion earns you an award. The red eyes on the right side of the Trial window indicate difficulty — the more the eyes, the tougher the fight.

Chaos Trials equip you with a loadout, which includes a set of godly boons and a weapon, and task you with completing a Region. You can still earn boons along the way, so be sure to take any that you believe will help you complete the challenge. Once you defeat the Region’s Guardian, the challenge ends and you’ll be brought back to the Crossroads. Completing a Chaos Trial awards you with Star Dust, a rare Reagent used for Arcana Cards and bonding with Animal Familiars.

How to unlock more Chaos Trials in Hades 2

Chaos Trials are tied to your weapons, the Nocturnal Arms. You get more Chaos Trials after unlocking more Aspects for your weapons in Hades 2. To do so, you’ll need to acquire the incantation ‘Aspects of Night and Darkness’ from Hecate after defeating her as the Guardian of Erebus.

I suggest unlocking every weapon in the game and using them all to defeat Hecate. Keep making progress until she gives you the incantation freely.

The Aspects of Night and Darkness incantation requires 5 Bronze, harvested from Ore Deposits in the City of Ephyra (the surface area), and 1 Nightshade. Once activated, you’re able to unlock aspects for your weapons, changing their look and behavior. The method is different, but it should sound familiar to Hades veterans. Unlocking new Aspects should also make more Chaos Trials available.