The deeper sorting began in the Academy's central evaluation arena.
A colossal pit stretched beneath a domed ceiling of blackened crystal, its circumference lined with towering ward-pillars carved in ancient Chain script. The barriers hummed continuously—low, resonant, alive with contained essence.
Volcanic mist seeped through fissures in the obsidian floor.
It carried whispers.
Not true voices—but memory-echoes of dread long harvested within the arena. The sound alone was enough to make unsteady Flaws twitch beneath skin.
Twenty elite Branded stood in formation at the arena's heart.
Instructor Veilwatch paced the raised platform above them, scarred eyes glowing with the ever-present light of her Perception Dominion.
With a gesture—
Crimson panels descended from the ceiling.
They rotated slowly, scanning.
Invasive pulses swept through cores like cold surgical instruments, peeling back layers of Dominion signatures.
"Compatibility tests," Veilwatch announced.
Her voice cut clean through the oppressive air.
"The Ascension Chains reconstruct through synergy. Dominions must mix. Hungers must balance."
Holographic webs erupted above the cohort—each student represented as a core node, branching threads calculating compatibility probabilities in real time.
"Sub-groups will undergo embodiment exercises," she continued. "Fail to harmonize… and the fragments remain broken."
The webs began reorganizing.
Flame aggressors paired with shadow utilities.
Healer supports linked to perception trackers.
Strength brutes anchored to intellect stabilizers.
Murmurs rippled across the formation.
Excitement from the boastful.
Dread from the unstable.
A speed-type flexed nervously, micro-bursts cracking the air.
A mutation user hid trembling skin beneath sleeves, eyes darting.
Then—
Assignments finalized.
Crimson text descended before Xia Ying.
**Sub-Group 7 — Psychological Dominance & Stability Configuration**
Members:
* Xia Ying — Nightmare Dominion
* Zuo Flameheart — Flame Dominion
* Lin Mei — Healer Dominion
* Wei Jun — Tracker Dominion
Zuo snorted immediately, flames flickering along his palms.
"My clan blood paired with lessers?" he scoffed. "An insult. Flames lead this formation."
Lin Mei exhaled quietly in relief at Xia Ying's presence.
Wei Jun simply nodded—pragmatic as ever.
Veilwatch's voice echoed again:
"You will embody minor Chain fragments through shared dread harvest. Counter each other's Flaws. Forge synergy—or fracture."
Groups dispersed as arena sectors activated, barriers rising between sub-zones like translucent crimson walls.
Isolation ensured authentic compatibility pressure.
Xia Ying stepped into his group's warded circle.
Internally—
*Compatibility tests… as bait.*
*Cluster threats close. Harvest them intimately.*
---
### First Embodiment Trial
At the circle's center stood a pedestal.
Upon it—
A shared vial of condensed minor dread.
Instructions were simple:
Absorb together. Stabilize essence. Withstand Flaw amplification while dismantling a projected horror construct.
Zuo moved first, snatching the vial without hesitation.
"Watch clan legacy," he boasted.
He drank his portion in one pull.
Flames surged through his veins instantly, heat radiating outward in domineering waves.
"Flame Dominion consumes dread fastest. Follow my lead!"
He didn't even look at Xia Ying.
"Shadow tricks and healing support. Flames dominate the zone."
The arena darkened.
The construct manifested.
A shadow amalgam—swarm remnants fused into a single writhing horror. Chittering tendrils lashed outward, each strike designed to amplify personal Flaws.
Zuo charged headlong.
Flames roared, scorching tendrils to ash.
"See? Lesser mixes bow to true fire!"
Xia Ying moved subtly behind him.
His tendrils uncoiled low—appearing supportive, binding stray appendages.
Then—
A single shadow filament hardened across Zuo's path.
Invisible in the chaos.
Zuo's foot caught it.
A fractional stumble.
Barely noticeable—
But enough.
His flame rhythm faltered for half a breath.
The construct seized the opening.
A tendril lashed across his exposed back.
Dread surged into him.
At that exact moment—
Xia Ying's eyes met his.
Feedback ignited.
A tailored flash:
Clan legacy crumbling.
Flames extinguished before the abyss.
Ancestral pride devoured in darkness.
Zuo's face paled mid-recovery.
His flames flickered—unsteady, humiliated before witnesses.
The construct pressed harder.
He roared, forcing control back—but the crack in arrogance had been seen.
Lin Mei rushed healing light across his scorch wound.
Wei Jun called out tendril weak points from tracked movement patterns.
Xia Ying stepped forward calmly.
"Synergy requires balance," he said evenly. "Not dominance."
Internally—
*Flames that underestimate the abyss burn themselves first.*
From the barrier edge, Veilwatch watched closely.
Her perception narrowed.
She had seen the shadow filament.
Seen the perfectly timed falter.
Whispers spread through nearby observation platforms.
---
### Corridor Probe
After rotation cycles, Veilwatch intercepted Xia Ying in a side corridor.
Stone walls muffled distant arena echoes.
"Your assistance in the test…" she said slowly. "Layered. More than shadow utility."
Her Perception Dominion pressed deeper this time.
A direct brush against his core veil.
She felt it again—
That submerged Divine echo beneath the **Lord of Nightmares** mantle.
"Conceal wisely, Xia Ying," she warned. "The Academy forges potential… but depths like yours attract watchers beyond the Veil."
A pause.
"Echoes call to those who listen."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Depths come from conquered realms, Instructor. How do echoes manifest in compatibility embodiments?"
Deflection.
She indulged the question—part lecture, part probe.
"Original fragments resonate with Divine Dominions. They attract Veil hunger leaks."
Her gaze sharpened.
"Embodiments become unstable… but immensely powerful. Balance them—or break."
She let him pass, but her eyes lingered on his back.
Students nearby whispered:
"Why does she keep probing him?"
Inside—
Xia Ying smiled faintly.
*Suspicion hungers.*
*Feed it crumbs. Starve it truth.*
---
### Extended Embodiment — Fragment Reconstruction
Afternoon trials escalated.
Sub-groups entered expanded dread zones—larger arenas housing stabilized minor horror constructs.
Objective:
Dismantle synergistically.
Reconstruct a simulated Chain fragment.
Sub-Group 7 deployed.
Wei Jun activated tracking perception immediately—mapping construct phase shifts and teleport intervals.
"Left quadrant blink pattern—three-second delay!"
Lin Mei stabilized dread backlash across the group, her healing glow forming a soft aurora buffer.
Zuo unleashed controlled flame bursts now—tempered by earlier humiliation.
Xia Ying dominated the construct's psyche.
Dread Projection flooded its composite mind with personalized oblivion illusions—fracturing coordination between swarm components.
Shadow tendrils pierced through the confusion, binding structural nodes.
At one point, Zuo's overheat Flaw spiked—
Xia Ying's shadows cooled the excess instinctively.
Reliance forced.
The construct shattered soon after.
A holographic fragment materialized above them—
A reconstructed Chain shard simulation.
Warm essence flowed briefly through the group.
Lin Mei beamed.
"Our team is perfect! You lead—we're unbreakable!"
Her devotion shone openly now.
Wei Jun nodded in agreement.
"This mix is gold. Chains are ours to forge."
Xia Ying offered a modest nod.
"Your healing and tracking made dismantling efficient. True synergy."
Inside—
*Tools sharpened nicely.*
*Embody well… for my harvest.*
Observation decks buzzed with awe.
"That group… sovereign potential."
---
### Nightfall — The Summons
Dormitory tension lingered from Zuo's simmering resentment, but no confrontation came.
When Xia Ying returned to his bunk—
He sensed it instantly.
A foreign presence.
He reached beneath his pillow.
His fingers touched etched fragment paper—warm, faintly glowing crimson.
He unfolded it.
The message pulsed softly:
**"Sovereign echoes call. Seek the Hidden Tower at midnight."**
Attached—
A small stone fragment.
Chain-etched.
It pulsed with an ancient echo… one that resonated faintly with his Dominion.
Xia Ying's eyes darkened with interest.
*Depths stirring already.*
*Harvest calls deeper.*
Midnight approached.
Shadows gathered around him in silent anticipation.
When the dorm fell into full stillness—
He slipped out unseen.
The Hidden Tower awaited.
And whatever called him… carried the scent of Original fragments.