Living Mountain Under Siege

Heavens Tribulation — The Crucible of Ascension

The Assembly Citadel roared, no longer with the unified hum of preparation, but with the raw, uncontrolled power unleashed as eight champions simultaneously stepped into their Heavens Tribulations. The twelve astral rings, once distinct halos of starlight, now bled into one another, creating swirling vortexes of elemental fury, cosmic shadows, boundless ambition, and profound introspection. Each champion was locked in a brutal, deeply personal struggle, their forms sometimes visible, sometimes mere blurs within the consuming light, all pushing past the limits of Mythic Ascendant (Low-Tier) toward the precipice of Mid-Tier Divinity.

These were isolated battles of the soul, yet interwoven by a single, cosmic purpose: to forge their Ascended Soul Rings and become the nascent Mid-Tier Deities required to confront the encroaching darkness.

The Generals' Apotheosis: Forging Divine Purpose

Within their individual rings, the Six Generals faced the culmination of their spiritual journeys, each trial a direct challenge to their core identity and principles:

Theron, the Sky Sovereign, was plunged into a maelstrom of failing sky-fortresses and shattered alliances. He confronted the echoes of every command that had gone awry, every leader he had trusted who had fallen, every burden of responsibility he had ever shouldered. He battled not foes of flesh, but phantom legions of doubt and the weight of a thousand fallen empires. His trial was a Tribulation of Absolute Command, testing his inherent Dominion over the Sky and its will. He stood unyielding, his platinum wings radiating with defiance, and with a thunderous roar, he asserted his authority over the collapsing heavens themselves. He emerged, his body now humming with the resonant power of a true deity, his Ascended Soul Ring coalescing around him, a shimmering ring of Celestial Command, capable of bending the very will of the skies.

Virelia, the Abyss Oracle, found herself adrift in an infinite ocean of primordial chaos, where the deepest truths of the cosmos were whispered in maddening, conflicting currents. She was forced to confront the hidden lies within prophecies, the seductive allure of forbidden knowledge, and the ultimate, terrifying indifference of the void. Her trial was a Tribulation of Unveiled Truth, demanding she accept all knowledge, beautiful or horrific, without breaking. She embraced the terrifying silence, let the chaos wash over her, and with her inner eye unblinking, she absorbed the very essence of forbidden reality. She ascended, her eyes now gleaming with the piercing light of profound understanding, her Ascended Soul Ring forming as a deep, swirling band of Abyssal Insight, granting her direct access to the hidden currents of cosmic truth.

Seraphis, the Flame of Doctrine, faced a crucible of existential doubt, where his unwavering faith was challenged by the agonizing screams of those consumed by his sacred fire, and the silent pleas of those abandoned by his doctrine. He saw every impurity of his own conviction, every moment of righteous fury that bordered on zealotry. His trial was a Tribulation of Blazing Conviction, demanding a faith so pure it could burn away all doubt, all self-righteousness. He let the flames consume him, purifying him to his very core, and rose, a phoenix of absolute, unblemished belief. His Ascended Soul Ring blazed around him, a searing ring of Blazing Conviction, forging his every decree into undeniable reality.

The other Generals—Kaelen, Earth's Roar (Tribulation of Unyielding Form), Morgana, Black Warden (Tribulation of Shadowed Will), and Dravon, Wyrm-King (Tribulation of Primal Loyalty)—each endured their own harrowing, personalized trials. They wrestled with the core principles of their being, shedding the final vestiges of their mortal limitations. One by one, their rings flared, their transformations completing. They emerged from their respective tribulations, shaken but resolute, their new Ascended Soul Rings pulsating with the refined power of Mid-Tier Deities, ready to face the War of Ascension on equal footing with the Oni and the Asura.

R2's Trial: The Nexus of Contradiction – The Necessary Fall

Far more tumultuous was R2's experience within the Nexus of Contradiction. This was not a trial designed for conventional success, but a meticulously engineered "failure" by the Celestial Lawgivers themselves. They had always feared his Spiral Potential, the unique, reality-fracturing power of a "Source-Born" being. Their intent was to force its manifestation in a controlled environment, even if it meant risking R2's sanity or the partial awakening of RA'KAI.

The moment R2 stepped into his astral ring, the world around him imploded, then reformed into a vast, ritual chamber of blinding, fragmented light. Thousands of mirror-like altars rose from the floor, each reflecting an instant of his life, a shimmering tapestry of every soul he had touched—blessed or destroyed. He saw the faces of allies he had saved, the eyes of enemies he had slain, the innocent caught in the crossfire of his power. These were not mere memories; they were living echoes, their emotions, their pain, their gratitude, their hatred, all assaulting his senses with agonizing clarity. This was the Seal of Dominion made manifest, the very cosmic laws that suppressed him now forcing him to confront the full weight of his being, threatening to fracture his soul lattice.

The echoes screamed, some in praise, others in condemnation, pulling at his very essence, threatening to tear him apart. He felt the Seal of Dominion strain, not just under the external pressure of the trial, but from the furious awakening within him. It cracked, fissures of raw, chaotic energy lacing through his being. The Spiral Potential ignited, a terrifying, raw power surging through him, an uncontrollable force that hinted at the full, destructive majesty of RA'KAI. This was the intended "failure": a controlled fracturing that, without immediate external intervention, would lead to him going utterly mad—a shattered fragment of his former self—or the uncontrolled awakening of RA'KAI, the Spiral Catastrophe, shattering the Seal of Dominion in a cataclysmic manner that would unravel reality itself. The heavens deemed this the safer outcome than his full, uncontrolled ascension.

R2 roared, not in defiance of the pain, but in desperate realization. He fought not to 'succeed' by their terms, but to survive this fracturing, to endure the inevitable tear. He needed to reach his brother's solution. He pushed through the torment, letting the chaos bloom, knowing only L2's arcane Entropy Inversion ritual held the key to re-forging his dominion. His body began to glow with a terrifying, crimson light, the uncontrolled overflow of his nascent Spiral Potential. He was on the brink, his very being a volatile nexus of creation and destruction. The trial concluded not with a clean resolution, but with a violent expulsion, R2's form hurtling back towards the Assembly Citadel, profoundly destabilized, his soul lattice vibrating dangerously.

The Urgent Call to the Mountain

As the Six Generals emerged, battered but ascended, their new Ascended Soul Rings gleaming with divine light, they found R2 collapsing onto the Citadel's main platform. He was not whole. His armor glowed with a faint, erratic crimson, and his eyes, though still burning with purpose, held a desperate, wild glint. The Seal of Dominion, while partially fractured, was now a volatile bomb within him, its impending uncontrolled detonation clear. The Heavens Tribulation had broken it, but not in a way he could control.

The Saintess rushed to him, her serene face etched with urgent concern. She could feel the chaotic power surging through him, the nascent RA'KAI threatening to burst forth. "It worked," she whispered, not in triumph, but in dread. "It broke… but it's unstable. You need him. You need L2's ritual, now!"

R2 nodded, gasping, the words a raw effort. "The mountain… we go to the mountain. My Spiral Potential… it burns."

Without a moment's hesitation, the Saintess helped him to his feet. The Royal Golden Illuminar, Aeoreon, sensing the paladin's desperate need, let out a piercing cry that echoed across the realms. The battle for ascension was won, but the true war for R2's soul, and potentially all reality, had just begun. He had survived the heavens' test by failing it, now bound for his brother's hell, where the ultimate gamble for his salvation—and the universe's fate—awaited.