The Sinking City 2: How to Solve the Church Obelisk Trident Puzzle

The obelisk outside the Redemption Church in The Sinking City 2 is a four-part rotating pillar that only accepts one arrangement of symbols. Each of its four sections has four possible faces, which means 256 combinations. Trying to force it is a waste of time, so the fix is to set the correct order and validate.

Quick answer: Place the Trident on the obelisk, then rotate the sections so the order reads Snake on top, three-headed spear second, arrow third, and the horn-shaped (womb) sign on the bottom. Validate, stand clear of the lightning, wait for three strikes, then collect the charged Trident.

Get the Star Key and the Trident first

You cannot start the obelisk until you are holding the Trident, and the Trident sits behind a locked door on the church’s upper floor. Reaching it takes two quick pickups near the church grounds.

Head to the southwest side of the church block, near the floodgate lever. A corpse there is holding the Star Key. Take it.

Go back into the church and climb the ladder to the second floor. Use the Star Key on the locked door at the top.

Player standing in front of the locked Star Key door on the church's second floor — The Star Key door on the church’s upper floor, where the Trident is kept.

Inside the small room, grab the Trident and read the note on the desk. Keep the Trident in your inventory for the obelisk outside.

Find the obelisk in the church yard

The obelisk sits in the graveyard area to the north of the church. From the Safe House door, step outside and turn right, then hug the church wall until you reach the tall statue with four rotating signs on it. Approach it and place the Trident on top.

Correct symbol order for the obelisk

Rotate each section so the four faces line up from top to bottom in the order below. The names in brackets are how the clue notes refer to each symbol.

Position	Symbol	Named in the notes as
Top	Snake	The serpent form of Yig
Second	Three-headed spear / cross	The crooked cross of Tsog-Nar
Third	Arrowhead	The rhombic spearhead of Gyrh
Bottom	Horn / circle	The splayed womb of Cthylla

The four obelisk sections set to snake, spear, arrow and horn from top to bottom — The correct face for each obelisk section, top to bottom.

Once the four sections match, hold to validate the selection.

Tip: If you want to work it out yourself, the “A Call Upon Believers” note on the church pulpit names the order from the depths (bottom) to the heights (top) as Cthylla, Gyrh, Tsog-Nar, Yig. The “The First Vision” evidence, found in the small locked building east of the church, explains what each symbol looks like.

Charge the Trident with three lightning strikes

After you validate, lightning starts striking the obelisk. Step back so the bolts do not hit Calvin. Standing back through the small gate you entered by is a safe spot. Wait for three strikes, each of which lights up one of the Trident’s points.

Calvin aiming near the obelisk as lightning arcs from the charging device — Lightning strikes the obelisk once the correct order is validated.

Do not leave the area while it charges. After the third strike, the Trident’s spikes glow orange, confirming it is fully charged. Collect it from the top of the obelisk.

Item screen showing the charged Trident with its weapon description and lore — The charged Trident in the inventory after three lightning strikes.

Return the Trident and open the basement

The charged Trident has to go back where you found it to progress the story.

Head back into the church and climb the ladder to the second floor. Place the Trident into the receptacle in the small room where you first picked it up. You will see an energy discharge, then the screen goes dark.

Go back down to the ground floor and approach the altar. Take the Dagger from the statue nearest the altar, then place it into the slot on the altar. This activates a lift down to the basement.

In the basement, interact with the large mouth at the end. A flayed enemy emerges from it. Kill it, then take the lift back up.

Back upstairs, your reward waits on the altar in the form of Dream Essence, which you spend on unlocking new Runes. Collecting it confirms the sequence is complete, and the campaign objectives update so you can move on.

Common reasons the obelisk won’t activate

The Trident is not placed on the obelisk. It must be on top before any section will do anything.
One or more sections are on the wrong face. Recheck the top-to-bottom order: Snake, three-headed spear, arrow, horn.
You didn’t hold to validate after setting the symbols, so the lightning sequence never starts.
You walked off before the third strike. Stay in the area until all three land, or the Trident won’t finish charging.

While you are on the church grounds, it is worth clearing the yard for loot. An E.R.C. box sits in a small shrine cell in the churchyard and holds inventory packs that add stash slots, and basic crafting materials like Chemicals, Herbs, and Metal Scraps are scattered around. If you miss anything, you return to the yard later to open the graveyard door, so you get a second pass.