Dawn on the second day struck like a warden's lash.
Horns blared through the barracks—harsh, mechanical, inescapable—ripping the cohort from fractured sleep.
Xia Ying's eyes opened instantly.
His body hummed faintly from the previous night's passive feast. Shadows lingered longer than they should around the edges of his bunk, clinging like obedient hounds before reluctantly receding.
Growth—subtle, but undeniable.
Around him, the cohort stirred in varying states of ruin. Campfire confessions had carved deeper cracks into already fragile minds.
Rex Thorne sat at the edge of his bunk, unmoving.
Eyes hollow.
Last night's breakdown still echoing behind them.
His former lackeys kept their distance now, speaking in hushed murmurs, glancing at him like one might watch a chained beast.
Good.
Terror, once rooted, rarely left cleanly.
---
Assembly formed outside under biting morning cold. Breath fogged the air in pale clouds.
Instructor Garrick's scarred gaze swept the ranks—and lingered on Xia Ying a fraction longer than necessary.
Warning acknowledged. Scrutiny filed.
"Day Two," Garrick barked. "Physical endurance. No Dominions."
A pause.
"Hunger forges the body first. The mind follows after."
---
The drills were merciless.
Obstacle courses sprawled across the training fields—towering walls slick with dew, churning mud pits, barbed crawl lanes that shredded uniforms and skin alike.
Weighted packs—twenty-five kilos—were strapped tight to every back.
Branded faltered quickly.
A traumatized girl slipped into a mud pit, her Flaw flaring as she relived endless falls from her Realm trial. Her sobs echoed until medics dragged her aside.
Boastful types charged recklessly—spraining ankles on log vaults, overheating mid-run.
Lin Mei struggled midway through the course.
Her healer's body lacked brute strength. She dangled halfway up a rope climb, arms trembling violently.
Xia Ying, already at the top, dropped back down without drawing attention.
"Grip lower," he murmured. "Use your legs. Push, don't pull."
She followed the guidance, inching upward until she crested the wall, breath ragged.
"How…" she panted. "How do you make it look easy?"
He offered a faint smile.
"Practice. Conserve your strength. You'll need it later."
Gratitude softened her eyes.
Another thread bound.
---
Wei Jun moved nearby—lean, efficient, wasting no motion.
He spoke during a brief water break.
"Strength bulls burn first. Smart pacing wins endurance."
Xia Ying nodded.
"Shadows favor the patient."
Mutual understanding settled easily.
Rex, meanwhile, bulldozed obstacles with roaring force—but his pace degraded fast. Late-Brand strain and emotional residue dragged at his stamina like chains.
---
The forest run followed.
Twelve kilometers through uneven wilderness trails seeded with traps—hidden drops, root snares, collapsing soil.
Exhaustion mounted quickly.
Flaws surfaced—panic breathing, skin ripples, whispered hallucinations.
One boastful strength user collapsed from dehydration, begging for water through cracked lips.
Ambient dread thickened the air—gasps, whimpers, failure murmurs.
Xia Ying's Aura drank steadily.
Warm trickles sustained him. His Flaw remained silent—sated.
He positioned himself near Lin Mei during breaks.
"Healers carry others' burdens," he said softly. "They tire fastest. Breathe deep."
She nodded, sharing her ration water without hesitation.
Loyalty deepened.
Wei Jun joined them.
"Spotted terrain shortcuts," he said. "Shadow pockets hide them well."
Xia Ying's lips curved slightly.
"Next loop, then."
Alignment strengthened.
---
By midday, instructors culled the weakest into remedial groups.
Xia Ying remained untouched.
Bodies were forged in pain.
Dread tempered the fractures.
---
Afternoon drills shifted to Dominion-enabled stealth exercises within dense forest zones.
"Hide. Evade. Track," instructors ordered. "Rifts reward silence over roar."
Groups scattered.
Mild dread illusions permeated the woods—whisper swarms, phantom footsteps, environmental paranoia.
Xia Ying vanished seamlessly.
Shadow tendrils anchored silent swings between trees. His Aura muffled presence—footsteps erased, scent diffused.
Perception instructors prowled—but he evaded detection the longest, melting between undergrowth and illusion decoys.
Wei Jun excelled as well—tracking hidden essence markers, sniffing trails others missed.
He found Xia Ying twice.
"Impressive," Wei Jun admitted. "Shadows cling to you naturally."
"Your eyes pierce deeper," Xia Ying replied. "Rift pairing, perhaps?"
Wei Jun smirked.
"Deal."
---
Team evasion rounds followed.
Lin Mei hesitated when assigned to them.
"I'll slow you down…"
"Stay close," Xia Ying said simply.
He expanded a shadow pool beneath dense roots, cloaking her glow within his Aura's veil.
They evaded detection longer than any other trio.
When the drill ended, Lin Mei beamed.
"I felt invisible… safe."
Naive devotion—but reliable.
---
A boastful speed-type rival mocked slower recruits during pursuit rounds.
Xia Ying nudged circumstances lightly.
A faint Aura pulse.
A tailored illusion whisper—feeding isolation doubt.
The rival stumbled mid-sprint, confidence cracking. His Flaw triggered briefly—paralysis locking his limbs as panic flooded in.
Humiliation followed.
A small but sharp dread burst flowed back to Xia Ying.
Instructor Garrick observed from afar.
"Natural shadow affinity," he commented.
But his narrowed eyes said he saw more.
Dominance noted.
Concealment maintained.
---
Day Three escalated brutality.
Simulated swarm assaults inside warded glass arenas—transparent domes containing holo-vermin constructs.
Chittering horrors.
Pain-feedback enabled.
Rounds rotated: solo waves, team holds, endurance sieges.
Cohort nerves were already frayed from prior days.
Rex fought savagely—but sloppy. Emotional residue dulled his precision.
Xia Ying dominated with restraint.
Tendrils lashed and bound. Illusions misdirected swarm clusters. Waves cleared cleanly without wasted motion.
And within the chaos…
Sabotage refined.
---
First incident:
Rex's lackey—a blade Dominion—faced Xia Ying in a paired defense round.
Mid-clash, a tendril "slipped" near his flank.
Aura surged.
Feedback projected betrayal dread—comrades turning blades inward.
The lackey froze.
His own weapons turned reflexively toward phantom allies.
When he realized the illusion, the shock shattered his composure.
His scream rang primal.
Dread spiked—feeding Xia Ying richly.
---
Second incident:
The speed rival.
Xia Ying's illusion amplified isolation—holo-allies flickering out one by one until the rival stood "alone" against endless swarm tide.
Panic detonated.
Full Flaw manifestation—hyperventilation collapse, begging unseen figures not to leave him.
A thicker terror surge flowed back.
His Aura visibly strengthened—tendrils denser, response sharper.
Even Rex's glare from across the dome carried fresh resentment.
Xia Ying nudged that emotion… but stopped short of breaking him again.
Not yet.
---
Instructors intervened after "incident frequency" rose.
"Control your hungers!" they barked.
But whispers spread through the cohort.
Fear.
Respect.
Suspicion.
Lin Mei treated feedback burns afterward.
"You're untouchable," she said softly. "But… be careful. Some are angry."
Xia Ying feigned a wince.
"Luck," he replied. "Your healing is the real miracle."
Her blush deepened the bind.
Wei Jun approached later.
"Your illusions… timed strangely. Effective, though."
Xia Ying smiled.
"Dread is a weapon too."
Wei Jun chuckled.
"Pragmatic. I like it."
Tool secured.
---
That evening, while the barracks slept, Xia Ying slipped to the forest perimeter where barrier density thinned.
Private testing ground.
He summoned a **Juvenile Phantom**.
The air chilled sharply.
The child-form manifested clearer than before—an echo of orphanage dread, hollow eyes weeping ink.
Aura growth had strengthened its cohesion.
"Scout," Xia Ying commanded.
The Phantom phased through barrier layers undetected. Patrols passed through it unaware.
When it returned, visions flowed into Xia Ying's mind:
Patrol rotations.
Supply caches.
Distant Rift observation towers.
Utility confirmed.
Silent horror reconnaissance.
Synergy deepened—Aura sustaining the summon longer than prior limits.
He dismissed it before strain accumulated.
---
Later, he lingered in the mess hall.
Lin Mei approached shyly.
"These days are scary… but you make them bearable."
She spoke of orphanage fears.
He mirrored fragments of isolation—carefully curated empathy.
Her trust rooted deeper.
Wei Jun joined soon after, discussing Rift tactics and Flaw mitigation strategies.
"Real deployment soon," he said. "Rumors are spreading."
---
Back in his bunk, Xia Ying assessed his growth.
Shadows pooled faintly around his feet.
Harvest compounding.
Dread forging him faster than standard Dominion maturation curves.
Then the camp buzz shifted.
Instructors confirmed it publicly:
A minor Rift had opened near New Haven.
Rank 2–3 swarm escalation.
Civilian risk moderate.
Volunteers requested for support deployment—real combat, real essence credit.
The cohort split between dread and excitement.
Lin Mei looked anxious.
Wei Jun calculated silently—likely to volunteer.
Rex muttered aggressively, eager to reclaim pride.
Xia Ying remained still.
A mass terror event.
Perfect conditions.
He would wear a hero's mask…
…and gorge in private.
Instructor Garrick closed the assembly:
"Sign-ups tomorrow. High potentials encouraged."
His gaze settled meaningfully on Xia Ying.
The dread forges had only begun.
And now—
The feast called.