The lecture hall darkened.
Crimson essence lanterns dimmed one by one, their glow lowering until the vast chamber was bathed in a low, sanguine twilight. Shadows stretched long across the tiered seats, crawling over the etched walls where fragmented Chain symbols pulsed faintly—like ancient scars remembering pain.
The air itself felt heavier.
Not suffocating—
But watchful.
Instructor Veilwatch stood alone at the central dais. With a slow gesture, she activated the holo-projector.
A web of luminous fragments bloomed into existence above the cohort.
Twenty elite Branded sat in tense silence beneath it.
Xia Ying occupied the middle row—unassuming, still.
But his senses were wide open.
He felt the subtle dread leaks seeping from volcanic stone… the distant hum beneath the Academy… the low, almost imperceptible hunger pressing from beyond the Veil.
Like something listening through walls of reality.
Veilwatch's scarred eyes swept the cohort.
Her Perception Dominion brushed across their cores like invisible fingers testing fractures.
"Today," she began, voice resonant, "we discuss the history of the Broken Chains."
A pause.
"Not myth."
Her gaze hardened.
"Truth."
---
### The Cosmic Weave
The projector erupted into cosmic scale.
The lecture hall vanished beneath a simulated star-void.
Students now sat suspended within an illusion of endless abyss.
There—
Twenty-two luminous figures burned like sovereign suns.
The Originals.
They stood at the edge of a colossal darkness—an abyss so vast it seemed to devour starlight itself.
"The 22 Originals," Veilwatch said, "were sovereigns beyond our Realms."
Her voice carried reverence… and warning.
"They perceived the Hunger Beyond—a cosmic entity that devours realities. Entire dimensions dissolved in its wake."
The hologram shifted.
Threads of terror—raw nightmare essence—unfurled from the Originals' cores.
They wove them together.
Layer upon layer.
A colossal prison formed—a Veil forged from distilled dread.
"They created the Curse as a containment lattice," Veilwatch continued. "A Veil prison to seal the Hunger behind nightmare essence."
The students watched as the weaving intensified.
The Originals ignited brighter—
Pouring their essences into the seal.
Until—
They shattered.
The hologram exploded in radiant fracture.
Fragments of sovereign light scattered into the void like falling stars.
Silence gripped the hall.
"The weaving broke them," Veilwatch said quietly. "Their essences splintered in the act of sealing the Hunger."
Fragments drifted outward—
Embedding into the fabric of reality.
"Those fragments became the foundation of Ascension."
The projector reformed into branching paths.
Twenty-two Chains.
Each incomplete.
Each leading toward a distant apex:
**Apotheosis.**
---
### The Curse Explained
"The Curse sustains the prison," Veilwatch continued.
"Branded souls harvest terror. That essence feeds the Veil… reinforcing the seal."
Rift projections appeared—fractures where abyssal tendrils pushed through.
"Rifts are leaks. Abominations are the Hunger's probing limbs."
Ascension through the Nine Realms was illustrated as embodiment progression.
"Consume essence. Balance hungers. Reconstruct fragments."
A warning glyph flashed crimson.
"Imbalance invites dissolution. The abyss claims failed harvesters."
Her gaze swept the cohort.
"The Originals are worshipped as martyrs."
A beat.
"But their echoes still linger… in rare Dominions."
Her eyes lingered briefly on Xia Ying.
"Powerful echoes."
"Volatile echoes."
"Echoes that attract the Hunger's gaze."
---
### Cohort Reactions
Zuo Flameheart leaned forward, smirking.
Flame heat rippled subtly from his body.
"My clan records say the Originals burned the Hunger back," he said. "Aggression sealed it strongest."
Lin Mei scribbled frantic notes, healer glow flickering with awe and fear.
"A prison… for something worse than the Curse…"
Wei Jun sketched Rift pattern overlaps, exchanging a quick look with Xia Ying.
Veilwatch corrected Zuo sharply.
"Aggression alone shatters the weaver."
Her voice cut cold.
"Chains demand balance. Embody fragments through synergy—or join the broken."
---
### Xia Ying's Reflection
He remained silent outwardly.
Internally—
The lore turned like grinding gears.
*The Originals wove a prison from terror…*
*Fragments became Dominions…*
*Chains reconstruct sovereignty…*
His Divine Dominion stirred faintly beneath its veil.
*Am I an echo of their shatter…*
*Or something beyond their design?*
A darker thought followed—
*Why seal the Hunger…*
*When it can be harvested?*
---
### Interactive Probing
Veilwatch began testing retention.
"How did the Originals' shatter affect the Chains?"
A lore binder answered nervously, "Fragments scattered… into Dominions?"
"Partial," Veilwatch said. "The shatter fragmented the ascension paths. Reconstruction requires embodiment."
Zuo cut in again.
"Pure aggression rebuilds fastest. Flame Chains burn the Hunger back without weak mixes."
Veilwatch didn't even hide her disappointment.
"History records Flames shattering as often as sealing."
Soft murmurs spread.
Then—
"Xia Ying."
All eyes shifted.
"The role of echoes in reconstruction?"
He answered calmly.
Precise.
"Echoes in rare Dominions attract Veil leaks. But balanced embodiment converts volatility into strength."
A pause.
"Shadows endure where flames consume. Sustaining the prison longer."
A subtle blade hidden in the words.
Whispers rippled.
Veilwatch nodded slowly.
"Insightful."
Zuo's jaw tightened.
Outperformed again—without spectacle.
Lin Mei added eagerly, "Healers stabilize the seal's sustain, right?"
Wei Jun followed, "Shatter cycles correlate with Rift escalations?"
The trio's synergy became visible even in discourse.
Subtle dominance formed around Xia Ying.
Resentment simmered elsewhere.
---
### Courtyard Incident
Break released the cohort into the volcanic courtyard.
Mist curled low across black stone pathways.
Minor dread leaks made unstable Flaws twitch.
In one corner—
Zuo's strength-type lackey bullied traumatized students.
"Chains are for dominants like us! Weak hungers drag synergy—dissolve already!"
Xia Ying passed nearby.
Casual.
Uninvolved.
He pulsed his Aura.
The seed planted earlier awakened.
The bully's voice faltered mid-boast.
His eyes widened.
He saw—
His strength failing.
Muscles dissolving into abyssal void.
Powerlessness absolute.
He staggered.
Collapsed to his knees, clutching his arms.
"Can't hold… dissolving…"
Students gasped.
Medics rushed in.
"Flaw spike! Overexposure!"
They stabilized him quickly.
Dismissed as stress backlash.
Xia Ying stepped forward—masking concern.
"Breathe. Academy pressure affects everyone."
He helped steady the trembling boy.
Warm dread essence flowed quietly into him.
Rich.
Satisfying.
*Seeds sprout harvest.*
Zuo watched from afar.
Jealousy deepened—but he saw no proof.
---
### Private Probe
Later—
Veilwatch summoned Xia Ying to a warded alcove office.
Dimly lit.
A Chain fragment relic pulsed faintly on her desk.
"Your answers suggest deeper knowledge," she said.
Her Perception Dominion pressed harder than ever before.
"Your Nightmare Dominion carries a Divine hint."
A direct probe.
"An echo of the Originals?"
He met her gaze calmly.
"Insights come from conquered realms, Instructor."
A deflection.
Then he counter-probed.
"How do fragments favor rare Dominions without inviting full Veil breach?"
She studied him… then answered.
"Fragments resonate with sovereign potentials. Echoes call to compatible vessels."
Her tone lowered.
"But strong echoes attract Watchers."
"Beyond the Veil, entities stir when sovereign fragments awaken."
A pause.
"Conceal your depth, Xia Ying. The Academy forges potential… but it also breaks what it cannot control."
He inclined his head slightly.
Intel gained.
*Watchers… guardians? Or hunger's agents?*
---
### Rivalry Ignites
Unbeknownst to them—
Zuo lingered outside.
He had been spying through the cracked door.
He heard enough.
"Divine hint… deeper knowledge…"
His fists clenched.
"Slum cheat…"
Jealousy ignited into obsession.
Later, he gathered his lackeys in shadow.
"Arenas reveal truth," he muttered.
"Let's see what depths he hides when flames burn away shadows."
From across the courtyard—
Xia Ying felt the lingering hostility through residual Aura traces.
He smiled faintly.
*Jealousy hungers.*
*And I feed well.*
---
### Cliffhanger Close
That night—
As volcanic mist swallowed the Academy towers—
The Chain fragment hidden in his robes pulsed faintly.
Whispers brushed his mind.
Older than the lecture.
Older than the Academy.
Older than the Veil.
**Sovereign echoes stirring.**
The Originals… were not silent.
And something beyond the prison had begun to listen back.