"I think… I just broke through."
Victor raised an eyebrow. "Into the next realm?"
"Most likely," Sam said. "It felt like the natural next step. I discovered a sort of natural network of pathways that mana was naturally better at flowing along.
I built up and reinforced the already existing pathways and carved out some new ones to complete the network.
Once it was complete I reinforced and stabilised it, that's when I was assaulted by the surrounding mana. It applied a crushing force on my whole body."
AJ shifted beside him. "And your mana network helped in some way? You were struggling a lot at first but it seemed to get easier towards the end..."
Sam nodded slowly. "It was thanks to the network that I made it through. It accelerated the flow of mana through my body, by the time I figured out where to guide the mana to it was almost already there.
I used the mana to reinforce the parts of my body that were about to fail. That pressure felt like it wanted to squish me but the mana flow helped me resist it."
Walter folded his arms. "That does sound like you passed some kind of test... or crossed some kind of boundary."
"A painful one at that," Ethan added.
"But not without reward," Sam said with a gentle sigh. "My body's stronger now. It feels like I've been tempered, if before I was a raw chunk of ore now I feel like a refined ingot."
Lily closed her eyes in contemplation. "So you've... evolved?"
"Something like that yea," Sam nodded.
Sam then explained the whole process in detail, not holding anything back from them. He named the sudden burst of pressure a tribulation.
Although he couldn't dig out any more useful information from what the obelisk had given him, that word stood out to him.
They listened without interrupting as he walked them through the steps again—discovering the natural paths, building upon them and creating their own to complete the network.
Once that was done they needed to stress test the network, reinforcing the weak spots ahead of time. Then the tribulation, the violent surges of lightning flowing through the mana channels.
"It wasn't just about enduring," Sam said. "It was like my body was being reforged."
Ethan leaned forward slightly. "So we're calling that thing a tribulation, then?"
Sam nodded. "That word fits pretty well if you ask me."
Victor's eyes narrowed. "We need to give the new realm a name too."
Lily grinned. "Realm of Sam?"
Ethan groaned. "Please no."
Sam let out a short breath—almost a laugh—then shook his head.
"No. If anything... Earth."
The others gave him a confused look.
He tapped his chest once. "The mana network feels like the foundation of something greater. When the breakthrough came, the pressure felt like the world was trying to bury me, but I held firm thanks to the network. It's like this realm is about becoming as unshakable as the earth beneath our feet."
AJ pulsed nearby. "The name fits. We've all walked the path of Man. Now you've stepped into something beyond."
"Earth Realm it is then," Walter said, nodding once.
Sam stood and looked at the others. "You're all close. You just needed a little push in the right direction, you should be ready. Go in pairs, it'll save time while keeping enough people to defend in case there's another wave of enemies."
Victor and Ethan stepped forward together, moving to the centre of the clearing.
No ceremony. No hesitation.
They sat across from each other, legs crossed, hands relaxed over their knees. Sam and the others remained alert, while maintaining a safe distance from them.
"Don't rush the process," Sam reminded them. "Stability and durability are key. Make sure every channel is solid before moving on. The network needs to be unshakable, or it will be torn apart."
Ethan nodded, eyes already closed.
Victor didn't respond. Just exhaled slowly and began.
The difference was immediate.
Victor's breathing was deep, controlled. His presence become vaguer as he began circulating his mana—not rapidly, but cleanly.
It flowed through his body in search of the natural pathways. Once he found them he began the process of building them up and carving new ones as needed.
His mana network took shape as it had always been there.
On the other side Ethan's presence only grew stronger. His breath was steady but heavy. Mana rushed through his body too quickly making it harder to find the natural pathways.
Even when he had found them his mana gathered in thick, chaotic streams, surging too widely at first, pulsing unevenly.
He struggled to rein it in, trying to force the mana into the channels. The network began to form, but it was rough and unstable, threatening to collapse under the pressure.
He grunted softly.
Sam noticed. "Slow down. You're pushing too hard."
"I've got it," Ethan muttered.
"You don't," Sam said firmly. "Guide your mana, don't force it."
Ethan growled under his breath—but adjusted.
He eased the flow. His rough, erratic streams of mana calmed. The process still wasn't smooth, but it became more manageable.
It wasn't like Victor's control.
But it was his.
Both men eventually completed their network of mana highways.
Victor's network was meticulously organised, each pathway precise and interconnected with a seamless efficiency.
It hummed with a quiet, steady power, like a perfectly tuned engine—stable, reliable, and ready for the upcoming abuse.
Ethan's network, on the other hand, was a chaotic web of pulsing energy. The highways were thicker and more erratic, surging with raw power.
It wasn't as refined as Victor's, but it was undeniably durable, pulsing with a wild, untamed strength.
They spent some more time stabilising.
Balanced on the edge of transformation.
"They're both ready," Walter said softly, watching from the edge of the circle.
Sam nodded. "Victor first."
Victor's eyes opened briefly, then closed again. He inhaled once, and gave the smallest of nods.
Then he let go—and stepped into the storm.
The mist stirred.
Not a violent surge like with Sam, but a tightening. A narrowing. The air grew denser around Victor, the mana folding inward with silent focus. The pressure struck a moment later.
Crushing.
Unforgiving.
Victor didn't flinch.
But his breath hitched, his spine curled slightly as the weight settled on him, layer by layer. It wasn't violent—it was methodical. Calculated. Like the mist contained some kind of intelligence and had decided to test him with his own style.
His core rotated steadily, keeping pace with the pressure, distributing energy through his body. Unlike Sam's reaction, there was no outward sign of strain. No gasping. No shaking.
As time passed his face remained expressionless—but his body told the truth. Shoulders hunched. Arms pressed hard into his knees. His breath became shallow, muscles rigid. The pressure was grinding him down, inch by inch.
He endured.
Then, without ceremony, the mist around him eased.
Victor sat back, breath slow, posture settling. Sweat clung to his brow. His eyes opened—calm, but distant.
It was done.
Ethan didn't wait for a signal.
He closed his eyes again and pushed forward.
Victor had gone still and cold, but that wasn't his style, he leaned into it.
He grunted once, pushing against the weight like a physical force. His fists clenched, muscles straining visibly. His mana circulated in waves through his body.
It hurt, but pain wasn't anything new.
Pain was a language Ethan understood.
He fought it the way he fought everything—raw and forceful. There was no elegance. No finesse. But it worked. He adapted, bracing his body like a crumbling wall under reinforcement. It didn't collapse—it held.
And the pressure broke.
Ethan exhaled hard, slumping back. His breathing was ragged, but not panicked.
He looked up grinning weakly, "Told you I had it."
Sam just shook his head, a small smile on his face. "Barely."
Two down, two to go.
The mist remained quiet—but waiting.
Victor wiped the sweat from his brow and sat down near the others, breathing slow and controlled. Ethan flopped onto a patch of flat stone beside him, groaning as he stretched out his legs.
Lily leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "So… how was it?"
Victor was the first to answer. "Heavy. Like I was being crushed from every direction at once."
Ethan nodded. "Yeah. Same here."
Victor's tone stayed flat. "No room to breathe. No moment to adjust. Just relentless pressure."
Lily frowned slightly. "Did it feel like it was trying to kill you?"
Ethan's eyes met hers. "It didn't care if I lived or died."
Victor let out a short breath. "It was almost mechanical, like a robot carrying out a task, what happens to you during the tribulation is not important, only that it carries it out as it should."
"How do you know when it's coming to an end?" Walter asked.
Ethan spoke. "At some point I felt like I'd proved I could take it and then it left."
Victor didn't respond, but the faint nod he gave was answer enough.
Lily stood and stretched. "Well, we're next. Ready, Walter?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," he replied.
They stepped into the centre of the mist, the space that had forged the others. Sam's gaze followed them, he didn't speak this time.
They already knew what came next.
Lily sat cross-legged and closed her eyes with a breath that trembled slightly—not from fear, but excitement.
Walter, beside her, lowered himself into position with practised calm, his movements smooth and deliberate.
They began.
Mana responded quickly to Lily. It came fast, eager—coiling through her body, rapidly finding her pathways. She was quick to get to work but that speed brought instability.
Her channels were weak, almost falling apart on their own. Gritting her teeth she did her best to reinforce the channels.
Across from her, Walter's mana moved at a crawl by comparison. But it was steady, reliable. His network taking shape slowly.
He didn't force it. He invited it, shaping the flow with patience rather than pressure.
Sam watched both. "Lily's faster but less stable. She should be able to rein it in..."
He shifted his attention. "Walter's slower, but each step is exact. He shouldn't have any issues, as long as he can endure the tribulation..."
Time passed.
Eventually, both networks were established and holding firm. Lily's mana hummed as it rapidly flowed through her. Walter's mana was quicker than before, making up for his main weakness.
Sam nodded. "They're ready."
The moment the words left his mouth, the mist moved again.
Her own mana turned volatile inside her. Surges of energy pushed against her control, trying to burst out in every direction. Her limbs twitching.
She dug in. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Her network threatened to fracture, but she focused her mana, redistributing the flow to the spots it was needed.
It had only lasted a few moments, once the chaotic energy had calmed she was hit with the immense pressure, like the others.
It seemed her network wasn't stable enough for the tribulation's liking so it decided to test her on multiple fronts.
Lily struggled through the pressure much like the others. She hung on as the lightning ripped through her channels leaving waves of destruction.
Then, suddenly, it was still.
Both her body and network had been tempered by the pressure. Slowly her breathing returned to normal.
She was through.
Beside her, Walter's trial had begun.
His tribulation was different from the others, it was like aging in fast-forward. He felt the weight in his joints, in his spine, in the very rhythm of his heartbeat. His body didn't scream in pain—it simply began to fail, cell by cell.
His breath grew thin. Mana slipped through him like a leaky pipe, vanishing before it could root itself.
But Walter didn't panic.
He guided it inward, reinforcing where things faltered—first his heart, then his lungs, then his legs. He slowed the decay. Healing as fast as he aged and even surpassing it.
His tribulation had given him the chance to swap out his old cells, filling in the gaps with fresh, mana enhanced ones. He was recovering some of his youth.
When it stopped he didn't make any noise. Just opened his eyes, that were clearer and sharper than before.
The mist began to ease once again when a low sound rolled across the basin.