The hierarchy formed quietly.
Not through official decree—
But through instinct.
In the days following cohort sorting, the twenty elite Branded began moving through the Academy as if pulled into invisible orbits, their steps aligning with an order that felt both natural… and suffocating.
Instructor Veilwatch encouraged it openly.
Her daily assemblies became ritual reinforcement.
"Synergy demands order," she would say from the crimson-lit dais. "Top Dominions lead embodiment exercises. Mid tiers anchor stability. Lower tiers support… or risk cull."
The volcanic isle itself seemed to enforce her words.
Dread leaks seeped constantly from fissures beneath the Academy, whispering into Flaws, testing mental resilience. Those who embodied their hungers strongly thrived in the pressure.
Those who didn't—
Fractured.
---
The Apex Claimant
Zuo Flameheart rose without resistance.
His flame Dominion blazed brightest in every demonstration.
When he flexed, heat rippled the air like desert distortion. Crimson lantern light bent around him, his clan lineage radiating confidence sharpened into arrogance.
Strength types and boastful aggressors gathered around him instinctively.
Lackeys formed quickly.
They became the self-declared **Top Tier**.
They led drills.
Chose arena rotations.
Assigned roles as if authority were inherited with bloodline.
"Mids support offense."
"Healers anchor the rear."
"Lows observe or don't deploy."
Their hierarchy wasn't official—
But no one challenged it.
Not openly.
---
### The Shadowed Middle
Xia Ying occupied the mid layer.
Respectful distance surrounded him—not dominance, not dismissal.
A quiet recognition.
"Steady in dread zones."
"Shadow binds clean."
"Doesn't overextend."
Whispers followed him through halls.
"The Slum Savior doesn't boast."
"Depth hidden."
Exercises reinforced the sentiment.
Those who sparred near him often left subdued—Flaws twitching after fleeting dread flashes they couldn't explain.
No spectacle.
No humiliation.
Just subtle psychological pressure.
Enough to discourage further probing.
*Hierarchy chains the visible,* he mused internally.
*Shadows move beneath.*
---
### The Lower Strata
The island preyed hardest on the unstable.
Traumatized Branded clustered near the back of lecture halls, eyes darting at phantom shapes in volcanic mist.
A mutation user kept sleeves tight over constantly rippling flesh.
A speed type twitched at sudden echoes, bursts misfiring involuntarily.
They gravitated toward supports—
Toward healers.
Toward Lin Mei.
Her stabilizing glow became a sanctuary point in the cohort ecosystem.
Seats, assignments, even walking formations followed the hierarchy's gravity:
Top tier claimed the front rows.
Mid tiers filled the center.
Lows huddled behind.
Order through pressure.
---
### Courtyard Confession
Xia Ying found Lin Mei waiting in the shadowed courtyard during break.
Volcanic mist curled low around obsidian benches.
Her healer glow flickered unevenly.
Eyes haunted.
"My Flaw… it's worse here," she admitted softly, twisting her uniform hem. "The mists whisper failures. Patients I couldn't save. Blood on my hands…"
Her glow dimmed further.
"When they reach for me… I feel like I'll dissolve. Become useless."
She looked at him—not as a peer.
As an anchor.
"You always steady me. How do I embody without breaking?"
His empathy mask settled perfectly into place.
"Balance your mend with my steady," he said calmly. "Visualize a Chain link. Your healing anchors. My dread binds the fractures."
A subtle Aura pulse flowed outward—
Warm.
Grounding.
Her glow stabilized almost immediately.
Visions faded from her eyes.
Relief broke through.
"You protect me… always," she whispered. "I'll follow anywhere. I'll be whatever your path needs."
Devotion crystallized.
Unquestioning.
Dangerously absolute.
A tool forged not by fear—
But gratitude.
---
### Trio Alignment
Wei Jun joined them shortly after, pragmatic as ever.
"The mists leak in patterns," he said, kneeling to sketch fissure maps. "Veil thinning at night cycles. Your shadows counter dread spikes?"
Xia Ying nodded slightly.
"Track the leaks. I bind the surges."
Wei Jun grinned.
"Healers mend. Trackers guide. Nightmares break."
Their trio synergy deepened—
Emotional devotion.
Strategic pragmatism.
Psychological sovereignty.
Three links.
One chain.
---
### Mentor Overture
After the next lecture, Veilwatch summoned Xia Ying privately.
A warded alcove near the forbidden library sealed behind them.
A Chain fragment relic pulsed faintly on the table between them.
She slid a restricted tome toward him.
"Advanced reading. Chain echoes. Fragment volatility."
Her perception Dominion brushed his veil again.
Testing.
Measuring.
"Your stability echoes the Originals," she said quietly. "Concealment is wise… but mentorship accelerates ascension."
A dangling offer.
"Read at midnight. Some texts whisper only to sovereign potentials."
He accepted the tome calmly.
"Echo manifestation patterns?" he asked.
She indulged him.
"Fragments call home. Strong echoes attract Watchers beyond the Veil. Veiled embodiment stabilizes resonance."
A pause.
"Seek balance… or hunger answers the call."
Mentor chain offered.
Whether guidance—
Or surveillance—
Remained unclear.
---
### Tower Reflection
That night, Xia Ying stood atop an observation tower overlooking the volcanic mists.
The restricted tome lay open in his hands.
Academy lights flickered below like embers in a furnace.
Reflection came naturally.
*Academy forges Chains.*
*Structured synergy.*
*Bound ascensions.*
It reminded him of imperial institutions from his past life—
Schools that chained talent into hierarchy or crushed it outright.
But this forge ran deeper.
The Curse didn't educate.
It weaponized hunger.
He considered his path.
*Break Chains and harvest fragments?*
*Or bind others into mine?*
Below, his trio tools had already formed links.
Devotion.
Pragmatism.
Reliance.
He tested a technique from the tome—
Condensing dread into a stabilized orb.
It hovered in his palm, whispering faint despair.
He crushed it.
Absorbed the echo.
Satisfied.
*The forge tempers me.*
*I emerge sovereign.*
---
### Project Announcement
Morning assembly came with escalation.
Veilwatch stood before the cohort.
"Your first group project begins."
A holo-fragment appeared above her palm.
"Objective: Reconstruct a minor Chain fragment through sub-group embodiment."
Details followed:
• Research restricted tomes
• Harvest shared dread vial in a warded zone
• Present reconstructed synergy pathway
Groups remained from compatibility sorting.
Which meant—
Xia Ying's group was unchanged.
Zuo Flameheart.
Lin Mei.
Wei Jun.
Opportunity and friction in equal measure.
Zuo stepped forward immediately, flames flickering in satisfaction.
"My group will rank first. Lessers support my embodiment lead."
He turned, glare landing on Xia Ying.
"You handle utility roles. Don't slow the forge."
Outwardly, Xia Ying nodded.
Calm.
Compliant.
Inwardly—
He smiled.
*Projects bind hierarchies.*
*Sabotage harvests deeper.*
---
### Cliffhanger Close
As the cohort dispersed to begin research preparations—
Zuo leaned closer while passing him.
Low voice.
"Heard you like shadows, Slum Savior."
A flame spark danced between his fingers.
"Let's see how they hold when real heat tests them."
Xia Ying didn't respond.
Didn't need to.
Because in the reflection of Zuo's flame—
His shadow moved…
Independent of his body.
Watching.
Waiting.
*The forge heats.*
*And shadows grow deepest in elite fire.*