The deck was still trembling from the aftershock of Vastarael's attack when he finally descended. The Flight Circles behind him spun in reverse once before dissolving into sapphire motes of light, the faint glimmer carried off by the sea wind. His boots touched down on the deck without sound and his expression held no triumph or exhaustion. Vastarael exhaled deeply, rolling his shoulders once as if the annihilation of a massive sea beast was something to file under light morning errands. He glanced toward the sky, watching it settle back into tranquil blue before speaking.
"I didn't think it would actually do that much. Guess I'll have to tone it down next time."
No one said a word. They just stared at him in disbelief. They had just witnessed a cataclysm unfold and now the man responsible for it was casually adjusting his sleeve like he had just finished sweeping a floor. But before anyone could ask the thousands of questions trembling on their tongues, the air around them shifted again.
A clear and feminine voice, echoed across the surface of the ocean.
"You have passed the three trials of Inexpelcae."
Every head turned instantly. There, standing just a few meters away on the bow of the ship, stood a woman none of them had seen approach.
She was tall, statuesque and entirely composed in her stance, she held the kind of presence that made one instinctively look at her and then look away. Her aqua blue hair fell in gentle strands that shifted with the breeze and her cerulean eyes scanned across the group. Her skin was sun-kissed and tanned and her white armor, though soft-looking, shimmered faintly that protected her body from neck to ankle. In her right hand, resting lightly against her shoulder was a golden trident, its shaft longer than she was tall and humming with latent pressure.
She wasn't smiling. She walked forward slowly. She stopped just short of Vastarael, her expression neutral but her gaze settled on him alone.
"You look like her. The same looks. The same refusal to kneel. The same reckless disregard for your own limits. I didn't think the traitor Hydroborn Goddess would ever produce a child, much less one who rejected the Divinity of Water. It's almost insulting."
The others tensed visibly. Elyonari's hand flinched toward her side, where her staff usually formed. Adelasta took a step forward, her pupils narrowing as flames curled at her fingertips. But before they could move, Narisva's voice cut through the tension.
"Don't provoke her."
Her usual cocky swagger was gone, replaced by cold, brutal clarity. Everyone turned to look at her. She didn't look at them. Her eyes were fixed on the woman.
"She's a Divine of the Sixth Enlightenment. One more and she becomes a Minor Goddess. If she decides to fight us, there's a forty percent percent chance we win. Well, without me of course."
Even the twins paused. Even Eldrigan, who rarely flinched, looked away. No one said anything for a moment. Then the woman's gaze drifted to Narisva.
"Smart one. I expected you'd be the first to sense it. You've already started the path toward the Second. But you're still new."
Narisva didn't reply. The woman returned her attention to Vastarael.
"You're all stronger than I anticipated. The first trial was meant to test your coordination and your restraint. You passed because you didn't lose anyone. That's rare."
She stepped forward again, raising her trident slightly.
"The second was meant to test your intelligence. Being trapped in an isolated space while your energy is drained is something most Divines never survive. You solved the puzzle without brute force. That's rarer."
Her eyes narrowed again.
"The third was not a test of power. It was a test of consequence. You were never supposed to fight the Octobehemoth. You were supposed to survive it and escape it. Killing it was... unexpected. And excessive."
"I held back," Vastarael replied casually, folding his arms.
The words hung between them. She stared at him for a long time, as if looking for something beyond his eyes.
"You're not like her. You're worse."
Then, she turned back to the others.
"You're all permitted to land on the Islands of Inexpelcae. The tests are over. My role ends here. Whether you survive what comes next is no longer my responsibility."
No one spoke.
"I suppose you should at least know who passed judgment over your lives these past three days."
She stepped lightly back onto the ship's bow, arms relaxed at her side.
"I am Annierouge Plenituse. One of the Seven Hydrangea, appointed guardians of Inexpelcae and its sacred boundary. And I was the one assigned to test whether the famed Sentina Erideae were worthy of taking a single step further."
Her eyes drifted to each of them.
"If you ever manage to reach the Sixth Enlightenment, you will be moved to the upper sanctum. That's where we live. It's not open to aspirants… unless they earn it."
Her eyes flicked briefly toward Narisva.
"Some of you are close. A few… closer than even you realize. Should that day ever come, we'll share more than just trials. We'll share an island. And believe me, it's a very small island."
No one spoke. This was the first time someone had spoken to them from the peak of where they wanted to go and reminded them that even they, the mightiest prodigies of the Third Generation, had only just begun to climb. Annierouge raised her trident again. This time, it pulsed gently and with it, the ocean began to shimmer. The waves surrounding the ship seemed to ripple in a pattern.
"You've passed the trials. The binding protocols that held this part of the sea in stasis are now broken. The dimensional space has dissolved completely, and the real waters of Inexpelcae now recognize your existence. You are permitted entry."
Her voice remained steady and commanding as she turned fully to Vastarael once more.
"You'll arrive at the Islands of Inexpelcae by dawn tomorrow. Once you arrive, you'll find a guide waiting for you at the landing dock. They will deliver the laws, structure, and expectations of residency within Inexpelcae. I recommend you obey them. This place is not forgiving to the arrogant."
Then, without flourish or delay, she began to walk again.
"Rest well tonight, Sentina Erideae. Because by tomorrow, your real journey begins. And Inexpelcae does not coddle champions of yesterday."
She began walking away, her feet stepping lightly onto the water as if it were solid marble, the trident at her side catching the light of the rising sun. But just before she left the ship's radius, she looked over her shoulder once more.
"Vastarael Richinaria, if you ever awaken her true Divinity again, make sure I'm not nearby. I made a promise to kill her if she ever returned."
She turned.
"Even if it's through you."
And then, in a blink, she vanished. She simply ceased to be present. Only the sound of the ocean remained.