Epidraph
"An ember either catches fire or dies in the ash. There is no middle ground." -Ascendant Field Manual, Tier Classification.
The observation chamber smelled like copper and antiseptic.
Aiden sat on the edge of a steel bench, hands clenched between his knees, staring at the floor. His skin still hummed faintly, veins glowing pale blue beneath the fluorescent lights. Everything felt wrong too loud, too bright, too much.
Across the room, Kieran was trying to stand. His legs kept buckling
"Come on," he muttered through gritted teeth. "Just..work".
He managed three steps before collapsing against the wall, panting. A nurse noted something on a tablet without looking up.
There were fifteen of them left. Fifteen out of fifty.
Some sat quietly, staring at nothing. Others tested their new bodies carefully, flexing fingers, rolling shoulders. A girl near the corner was crying softly, her hands pressed to her temples like she was trying to hold her skull together.
Aiden understood the feeling.
The door hissed open. Instructor Kael entered, flanked by two guards. Her gaze swept the room,
cold and assessing.
"Embers," she said, having ridden of her usual naming of the recruits. "You have survived implantation. Congratulations, that makes you now, the bottom rung of the Ascendancy ladder."
She paced slowly, boots echoing on the floor. "Ember tier, the weakest, the most unstable. Most of you won't make it to Kindle. Your nerves will reject your enhanced body or your minds will break or you will simply fail to adapt."
Kieran whispered under his breathe. "I thought it would be easy going from here on out "
Kael stopped in front of him. "You have something to say Ember recruit?"
Kieran straightened as much as he could. "No ma'am."
Her eyes lingered on him for a moment before moving on. "Today, you begin control trials. We need to see what your new bodies can do and more importantly we need to see what you can't."
She gestured sharply. The guards opened a second door, revealing a larger chamber beyond-gray walls, high ceiling, harsh lights. Equipment lined the edges: weights, targets, obstacle courses.
"Weights again, you'd think they'd be creative with this one." Kieran said.
"Move." Kael said.
They filed out slowly. Aiden's legs felt like they belonged to someone else. Each step sent vibrations up through his bones, too sharp, too clear. He could hear Kieran's heartbeat behind him, fast and uneven.
The training hall was massive. Other groups of Embers were already inside, scattered across different sections. Maybe sixty people total. Aiden tried to count how many had started-hundreds, probably. Thousands across the Citadel.
And now just this.
A woman in a white coat stood at the center of the room, clipboard in hand. Her voice carried through speakers embedded in the walls. "Embers you will be tested in three categories: physical output, sensory integration, and neural stability. Perform to the best of your abilities. Failure is noted, success is expected."
She didn't wait for acknowledgement. "Begin with physical assessment. Section A, weights, section B, sprint trials, section C, combat dummies."
The groups split. Aiden found himself in Section A, staring at a rack of weights that looked like they could crush a normal person's spine.
A tall guy stepped forward first-broad shoulders, shaved head, moving with the confidence of someone who'd been strong before implantation. He lifted the smallest weight, a fifty-kilogram bar, and pressed it overhead with ease.
Someone clapped. The guy grinned.
"Next," the instructor called.
Aiden stepped up. He gripped the bar. It was cold, heavier than it looked. He braced, pulled-
The weight came up smoothly. Too smoothly. His arms felt like they were moving through water, strength surging unevenly. He pressed it overhead, but his right arm shook violently.
"Hold," the instructor said.
He held. His vision blurred. The hum started again low, threading through his skull. The Choir, whispering just beneath the surface.
Fragile Clay. Cracking already.
His arm buckled. The weight dropped. He caught it awkwardly, muscles screaming
"Unstable output," the instructor noted. "Next."
Aiden stepped aside, hands trembling. His veins pulsed brighter for a moment, then dimmed.
Kieran went after him. He managed to lift the bar halfway before his legs gave out. The weight hit the ground with a clang.
"Substandard," the instructor said flatly. "Next."
Then someone else stepped forward.
She was lean, athletic, with short dark hair tied
back. Her movements were precise, controlled. She lifted the bar without hesitation, pressed it overhead, and held it steady for a full ten seconds before setting it down smoothly.
"Excellent," the instructor said. "Name?"
"Reva."
Aiden noticed the way Reva moved-no wasted motion, no hesitation. She didn't look at anyone else, just focused on the task. When she stepped back, her expression was neutral, but there was something in her eyes. Satisfaction, maybe. Or just focus.
Another candidate followed-a guy with sharp features and a cocky grin. He lifted a heavier weight than anyone else so far, seventy kilograms, and held it overhead like it was nothing.
"Cade." He said before the instructor could ask. "Just so you remember the name."
A few people rolled their eyes. Kael's expression didn't change, but she wrote something down.
Cade glanced at Reva as he passed. "Not bad for second place."
Reva didn't react.
The trials continued. Sprint tests came next. Aiden managed a decent time--faster than he'd ever been before, but his legs felt like they might snap with each stride. Kieran tripped halfway through and had to limp the rest of the way.
Reva and Cade both posted top times. Effortlessly.
By the time they reached combat dummies, Aiden's body was screaming. His enhancements were inconsistent-one moment strong, the next barely functional. The Choir's whispers kept threading through his thoughts, distracting him, pulling his focus.
You are not made for this. You are made for something else.
He shook his head, trying to clear it.
"Ember Aiden, you are up next." Kael called.
The dummy was reinforced steel, designed to take punishment from enhanced strength. Aiden stepped forward, fists clenched.
He swung.
His punch connected-but wrong. Too much force in one arm, not enough in the other. The dummy rocked back, but his wrist flared with pain. He hissed, pulling back.
"Again," Kael said.
He swung again. Better this time. The dummy dented slightly.
"Inconsistent," Kael said. "Your output is erratic, that will get you killed in the field."
Aiden stepped back, breathing hard. His veins were glowing brighter now, flickering like a failing light.
Reva went next. She moved with precision, each strike calculated. Three punches, three clean dents. No wasted energy.
Cade followed, grinning. He wound up and hit the dummy so hard it tore free from its base and skidded across the floor.
"Oops." He said, not an ounce of sorriness in his voice.
Kael didn't react. "Excessive force. Useful, but no control."
Cade shrugged.
By the end of the trials, rankings had been posted on a holo-screen. Names listed by performance.
Cade was first. Reva was second. Aiden was near the middle, just above failing. Kieran was three spots below him.
A quiet voice spoke beside Aiden. "Could have been worse."
He turned. A thin guy with pale skin and tired eyes stood there, arms crossed. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.
"Jace," the guy said. "I'm in the 'barely survived' category too."
Kieran lmped over, grinning despite looking half dead. "Hey barely surviving is still surviving in my book."
Jace gave a faint smile. "I'll take it."
Aiden glanced back at the rankings. Reva was standing near the screen, studying it with the same focused expression she'd worn all day. Cade was nearby, talking loudly to a couple of other top performers.
Kael's voice cut through the noice. "Embers, you've been evaluated. Tomorrow, you begin specialization training. Your bodies will start developing unique adaptations. Some of you will enhance toward strength. Others speed, durability, sensory capability. A rare few will develop anomalous traits."
She paused, her gaze sweeping the room. "The Ascendancy does not waste resources. If you cannot adapt, you will be reclaimed. Dismissed."
The word hung in the air. Reclaimed.
Nobody asked what it meant. They all knew.
That night, back in the barracks, Aiden lay awake. His body still hummed, the glow beneath his skin pulsing faintly in rhythm with his heartbeat.
Kieran was snoring in the bunk across from him. Jace was a few beds down, staring at the ceiling.
The whispers started again. Softer this time, but persistent.
You are the crack in the clay. You are one of us child
The bridge between what was and what will be. Do not break yet. We have need of you.
Aiden pressed his palms to his temples, trying to block it out. But the Choir didn't need his ears. It was already inside.
He sat up slowly, looking around. Nobody else stirred. Just him.
Always just him.
He looked down at his hands. The veins glowed faint blue, but for a moment, he thought he saw something else-gold, flickering beneath the surface, there and gone.
On the far side of the barracks, Reva was awake too. She sat on the edge of her bunk, methodically checking her hands, testing her grip. Her veins glowed steady, controlled.
Their eyes met for a moment across the dim room.
She didn't look away. Just studied him, expression unreadable.
Then she lay back down, closing her eyes.
Aiden did the same. But sleep didn't come.
The Choir hummed on, patient and endless, like it had all the time in the world.
And maybe it did.