The moment Adelasta's fingers met the Obelisk, something clicked into place. The world turned gray. Literally.
Color didn't exist. Light didn't scatter. Even energy became a cold. They looked at each other in horror, barely able to perceive outlines. It was like someone had carved the concept of existence out of the world and left behind a sketch of what it used to be. The Obelisk, once luminous and blue, now pulsed in irregular stutters like it was trying to survive what was happening. The plaza had become brittle, warped underfoot, reality itself glitching like a broken mirror trying to reflect nothing.
Then came the beam.
It tore from above with an ominous hum that made their knees buckle. It made their divinity itch. It made Vastarael's stomach churn like he had just witnessed the death of a concept.
The Obelisk was consumed. It bled radiant scarlet from every groove and rune, now pulsing with runes so ancient not even the Omniscients had names for them. The words were forced into reality.
"GECISIA ONE: CAUSALITY: EXISTENCE."
"ELIGIBLE TO ENTER THE SEVENTH TRIAL."
And with that, the world cracked open. Across every continent, ocean, and realm in Spheraphase. people paused. The mages of Anqerise dropped their sundials in horror. The Wisterian Demons looked up from their work in confused awe. The Tree of Mintherenia shimmered unnaturally. The Heaven-City of Naranq ceased glowing. Even the three moons dimmed for a moment. Then, as if reality rebooted, color returned, flooding back like water through a shattered dam The Obelisk remained red.
Adelasta stumbled.
Vastarael moved faster than thought. One blink and she was in his arms, her body trembling as if her soul had been scraped raw. Her breathing was shallow.
"Adelasta?"
She looked at him through glossy eyes, her voice cracking as if she was half-conscious.
"I don't feel good…"
She fainted.
The others rushed over. Narisva placed two fingers on Adelasta's temple as Vastarael used Body Reconstruction but it was Vastarael who understood. He looked up at the obelisk, still crimson and said the words that made everyone go still:
"She… she as chosen by the Primordial of Existence."
They stared at him like he'd gone mad. Narisva's starry eyes widened into orbitless voids.
"You mean… the First Supreme Entity?"
He nodded solemnly.
"Adelasta… is a Split of Existence itself."
Not one of them could speak. This was unnatural. Even among Gecisia One Causality Types, Space, Time, and Reality were mythical. But Existence? Existence was the reason the others existed. It was the boundary and the definition. And she was its Split.
"Veneri, if she's Existence… if she was chosen by the Primordial Existence itself…"
Xander backed up a step, goosebumps crawling over his skin.
"Does that mean she can… erase us?"
"No," Vastarael sighed. "She can't. Not yet at least."
"But she will be able to," Eldrigan murmured. "One day."
That was the scariest part.
The Seventh Hydrangea exhaled deeply, his ocean-blue eyes reflecting something that had been absent until now. He ran a hand through his seafoam colored hair and took a slow step forward, his harpoon clinking softly against the stone platform as he walked toward the ten.
"That was not something we've seen in over ten thousand years."
They all turned to him as he straightened his posture.
"Listen carefully. Now that your Gecisia Levels have been revealed, the Trials within the Sacred Obelisks have acknowledged each of you. Your trials have already been assigned."
He turned toward the Obelisk and gestured gently to it.
"For seven of you, your trials were chosen by the Goddesses who govern these isles. As is tradition, each Aquatic Goddess oversees a cycle of Gecisia Levels, and they tailor your tests to align with your Divine Attribution and your inner thresholds. That includes your strengths and your wounds."
He paused, letting his words sink in. Then his gaze slowly drifted to three figures standing just slightly apart from the rest.
"For you three, your trials… were not selected by the Goddesses."
Vastarael and Narisva's eyes widened.
"The moment the Obelisk revealed your Gecisia One Attributions, you three were registered under a different authority. Your trials… were written by the Primordials themselves."
A low, almost instinctive murmur ran through the group.
"Now before any of you panic, your trials still follow the same structure as the Six Sacred Trials. You are not being cut off. You're not being punished. And you're not outside the system. You're still on the path. One year. One trial. One Enlightenment. But, let me be very clear. Your path is going to be harder than everyone else's. Your trials will be deeper, darker, layered, metaphysical and ancient because you three represent aspects that predate even the pantheons. You are not just wielders of divine power. You are inheritors of its foundation."
Sireth's gaze locked with Vastarael's.
"Yours, for instance, may bend through the history of timelines, or challenge your perception of memory and consequence."
He shifted to Narisva. "Yours may involve spatial tests where you have to control realities stacked upon realities."
Then, to Adelasta. His expression softened.
"And hers... will be very cruel. Because Existence is not gentle. It is the burden of maintaining what must be, even when nothing else wants to remain."
Sireth took a breath and continued.
"Now, how do you access your trial? It's simple. Once you're ready to begin, speak the name of this Obelisk, 'Nyramith', out loud and clearly. The Obelisk will reveal your specific trial. For some of you, it will be physical. For others, mental. A few may experience illusions, soul journeys, or simulations of reality. Do not underestimate them. The trial doesn't begin until you accept it. But once you do… the countdown starts. One full Spheraphasian year, which is thirteen months. No pauses and no extensions."
He allowed the silence to return for a moment. He said in a more casual voice, rolling his shoulders with a tired sigh.
"Now, I don't know about you lot, but I need a breather. I have to report this to the other Hydrangeas. When news of three Primordial-tier Splits shows up in one batch, let's just say the Asmaphaeri Pantheon will not be quiet."
He faced the group once more.
"For now, go back, rest and absorb what's happened today. Your lives have already changed and you haven't even taken your first step yet."
Then, with a ripple of oceanic light beneath his feet, Sireth dissolved into a rising swirl of water, vanishing into the air. The ten stayed there for a while, gazing at the Obelisk, each of them wondering just how far they'd be pushed.
They simply turned and began the walk back toward the mansion. The Divine Trials had truly begun.