Chapter 1800: Last Trial - 1
Chapter 1800: Last Trial - 1
Just at that moment, a while light descended upon them.
The white light swallowed the five participants completely.
For a moment, Max could not see the arena, the Genesis Core, the outer regions, or even the others beside him. Everything around him became pure whiteness, but unlike ordinary light, this whiteness did not feel warm or sacred. It felt empty. It felt unfinished.
It was the kind of light that existed before color, before form, before direction, and for a brief instant, Max felt as if he had been thrown back into the beginning of something vast and unknown.
Then the system prompt appeared.
[Final Trial Initiated.]
[Trial Three: Genesis Sovereign Descent.]
[Maximum Genesis Marks Obtainable In Trial Three: 35]
[Trial Type: Sovereign Assessment.]
[Objective: Climb The Genesis Sovereign Platform And Obtain Recognition From The Genesis Throne.]
[Rules: Participants May Cooperate, Compete, Or Eliminate One Another.]
[Rules: Genesis Marks Will Be Awarded According To Ascent Height, Combat Contribution, Willpower, Path Manifestation, And Throne Recognition.]
[Warning: The Genesis Sovereign Platform Will Continuously Suppress All Participants.]
[Warning: The Higher One Climbs, The Stronger The Suppression Becomes.]
[Warning: At The Final Stage, Only One Participant May Stand Before The Genesis Throne.]
[Trial Three Begins Now.]
The white light shattered.
Max appeared in a vast open space that looked nothing like the previous two trials.
There was no cubic room this time. There was no labyrinth and no circular arena. Instead, they stood at the base of an enormous platform rising into a starless sky. The platform was made of countless layered cubes, each layer wider than a city and higher than a mountain.
Every cube was engraved with ancient white-gold patterns, and the entire structure gave off a pressure that made the air feel heavy enough to crush weaker cultivators into the ground. At the very top of the platform, far beyond ordinary sight, a faint throne could be seen floating above everything, surrounded by a halo of colorless light.
The Genesis Throne.
Even before the system named it again, everyone understood that the throne was the true center of the final trial.
Max looked upward silently.
His Dimensional Sovereign Body spread through the space around him, but this time, his perception could not cover the whole structure. The Genesis Sovereign Platform seemed to resist being seen completely.
Whenever his senses climbed too high, the white-gold patterns on the cubes shifted and pushed his perception back down. It was not like the first trial, where he could read the labyrinth and guide everyone through hidden routes. Here, the trial was openly telling them one thing.
Climb.
Endure.
Prove yourself.
Beside him, Revona’s Void Origin Eyes glowed softly, but even she frowned slightly after looking toward the top. "My eyes cannot see the throne clearly."
Tamara tightened her grip on her spear. "So the final trial is a pressure ascent."
Varkhon grinned, but the grin was heavier than before. "Good. No more chasing flames. No more strange rules. Just climb and crush whatever stands in the way."
Ervin stood quietly, black spear in hand, his fathomless aura still calm. His gaze remained fixed on the distant throne, and for the first time, Max felt a faint ripple in that bottomless presence, as if even Ervin was genuinely interested in what waited at the top.
Then another prompt appeared.
[Current Genesis Mark Totals:]
[Max Morgan: 21/100]
[Ervin: 15/100]
[Revona: 13/100]
[Tamara: 10/100]
[Varkhon: 6/100]
[Final Trial Genesis Marks Available: 35]
[Notice: Current Ranking Does Not Guarantee Final Ranking.]
[Notice: Genesis Throne Recognition May Alter Final Distribution.]
Varkhon looked at the prompt and laughed. "So I still have a chance."
Tamara glanced at him. "Only if you climb better than you read rules."
Varkhon’s grin widened. "I understand climbing."
Revona remained calm. "The final stage only allows one participant before the throne. That means cooperation will eventually end."
Ervin nodded faintly. "But perhaps not at the beginning. A platform this large will not only suppress us. It will likely send guardians, illusions, path trials, and attacks based on our foundations."
Max looked at the steps rising ahead.
The first layer of the Genesis Sovereign Platform was already releasing a steady pressure, and they had not even begun climbing yet. His body could easily endure it, but the nature of the pressure was strange. It did not only weigh on flesh. It pressed against aura, bloodline, soul, will, comprehension, and even the Pseudo Cosmic Paths hidden within them.
Max said calmly, "We climb first. Compete when we have to."
Tamara nodded. "Agreed."
Revona said, "Agreed."
Varkhon snorted. "Fine. But if the trial says only one can reach the throne, do not blame me when I start punching."
Ervin smiled faintly. "No one here expected otherwise."
With that, the five began moving.
The moment Max stepped onto the first layer of the Genesis Sovereign Platform, the pressure descended.
Boom!
The air around them sank violently.
Tamara’s war intent flared at once. Varkhon’s demonic markings glowed. Revona’s Void Origin Eyes deepened. Ervin’s abyss-like aura became sharper. Max’s golden-black scales did not appear yet, but the strength of his body stirred instinctively as the Genesis pressure tried to force him to lower his head.
Max did not slow down.
He took another step.
Then another.
The others moved with him.
At first, the ascent seemed simple. The pressure grew with each layer, but none of the five were ordinary. They climbed steadily, their footsteps echoing across the massive cube steps. The lower layers only tested basic endurance, and even Varkhon, who had the fewest Genesis Marks, moved with ease because his raw physical body was terrifyingly strong.
Tamara’s war intent surrounded her like an invisible army, making every step feel like a march into battle.
Revona used her Void Origin Eyes to erase part of the pressure pressing against her soul. Ervin walked as if the abyss beneath his aura swallowed the weight before it could truly affect him. Max relied on his body, his foundation, and the subtle support of his Dimensional Sovereign Body to sense which parts of the pressure were physical and which were conceptual.
After the tenth layer, the first obstacle appeared.
The cubes ahead shifted, and from the white-gold patterns carved into the platform, five figures emerged.
Each figure looked like one of the participants.