The auditorium was a cavern of cold efficiency.
Tiered rows of hard alloy benches descended toward a raised platform where crimson holograms flickered to life—data streams, Rift diagrams, essence flow charts.
The lighting was deliberately dim.
Clinical.
Dehumanizing.
Xia Ying chose a seat near the back, blending into the fifty or so newly Branded funneled in after their examinations.
Suppression fields hummed faintly overhead—subsonic vibrations crawling across the skin.
Insurance measures.
Fresh harvesters were volatile.
Fear spikes could trigger accidental Dominion flares.
The Bureau preferred its new assets docile while the machine processed them.
A Bureau official strode onto the platform.
Mid-forties.
Immaculate uniform.
Her Realm 6 presence pressed outward—not aggressive, but heavy enough to remind everyone of hierarchy.
Her amplified voice carried surgical clarity.
"Welcome, Branded."
The word echoed like a brand seared into bone.
"You have conquered your first realm. But survival is only the threshold. The Nightmare Curse demands contribution."
Crimson glyphs ignited behind her.
"Today—you learn your place in the feast."
Xia Ying leaned back, arms folded.
Contribution.
A polite word for tribute.
---
The lecture unfolded with mechanical precision.
"First: Harvest Taxation."
A hologram displayed glowing orbs of condensed terror essence.
"Thirty percent of all Rift essence is surrendered to the Bureau."
Murmurs rippled faintly.
"Raw terror harvested from horrors, sentient minds, or personal realms is appraised automatically via core linkage. Evasion is detectable. Penalties escalate from fines… to rogue dissolution."
The hologram shifted.
Clerks siphoned essence from harvesters' cores using crystalline apparatus.
Some of the new Branded shifted uneasily.
Others nodded with grim resignation.
Xia Ying's expression remained neutral.
*They tax the essence… while scavenging cosmic crumbs.*
Parasites guarding the banquet.
---
"Second: Mandatory Reporting."
New glyphs appeared.
"Personal realms exceeding Rank 3. Hidden truths. Veil echoes. Non-standard hungers."
Her gaze swept the room slowly.
"The Curse evolves. Concealment risks catastrophic instability for all."
A lie wrapped in partial truth.
Control disguised as protection.
More regulations followed:
Annual core evaluations for high potentials.
Restrictions on "unstable Dominions."
Licensing for forbidden harvest zones.
Legion incentives flashed next:
Waived taxes.
Guided Rift expeditions.
Accelerated Realm ascension.
"The Dread Legion stands as the Veil's shield," she concluded. "Independents harvest alone. Service ensures hunger is sated together."
A pause.
"Choose wisely."
Questions were not entertained.
Dismissal was immediate.
The herd was redirected into the adjacent hall for what the Bureau termed:
**"Networking and Stabilization."**
---
The networking hall was warmer.
Artificially so.
Tables lined the chamber—synthetic brew dispensers, nutrient bars, calming ambient music.
Encouraged bonding.
Encouraged alliances.
Clusters formed naturally:
Boastful Branded showcasing Dominions.
Traumatized survivors huddling quietly.
Families reunited in tearful relief.
Xia Ying moved unhurriedly through the space, an approachable neutrality masking predatory calculus.
Time to select tools.
---
He approached the nervous healer girl first—the one from the queue.
She stood near a window, cup trembling slightly.
A faint restorative glow flickered around her fingers whenever her emotions spiked.
Support Dominion.
Rare stability asset.
He stopped beside her casually.
"The lecture was… heavy. You holding steady?"
She startled, then exhaled softly.
"Barely. I'm Lin Mei."
"Xia Ying."
His voice was calm, aura suppressed to harmless traces.
"Healer essence? That's rare resilience in early realms."
She nodded, shoulders easing as conversation took hold.
"Realm 9 designation—**Mend Weaver**. It kept me alive, but… the hunger part scares me."
He offered carefully measured reassurance—fabricated parallels, vague mention of his own Flaw struggles.
Empathy, precisely dosed.
She opened quickly.
Orphaned young.
No surviving ties.
Seeking guild protection.
Naïve.
Kind.
Easy to bind through shared survival.
He filed her under **Future Support Asset**.
---
Next—
The sharp-eyed tracker.
Early twenties.
Leaning against a table edge, scanning micro-movements across the hall.
Perception Dominion.
Xia Ying approached.
"Already mapping the scouts? Wei Jun, right?"
The boy's brows rose, then curved into a smirk.
"Good eyes yourself."
He tapped his temple.
"**Shadow Tracker.** Perception, trail mapping, essence residue detection."
Useful.
Their exchange was pragmatic—skill sets, urban hunt experience, Rift navigation efficiency.
Xia Ying shared curated hints about his "nightmare utility" Dominion.
Nothing substantial.
Enough to imply synergy.
Wei Jun nodded thoughtfully.
"We'd complement well in a Rift."
Intel source secured.
---
The arrogant required subtler handling.
Blade Sovereign boy held court near the central table, boasting exaggerated conquests to a cluster of admirers.
Xia Ying passed behind him.
Their eyes met briefly.
A micro-pulse leaked from Xia Ying's aura—
Tailored.
Precise.
A seed.
The boy faltered mid-sentence.
His pupils dilated.
For a split second he saw it—
His blade shattering.
Strength meaningless.
Drowning in endless dread.
He rubbed his temples, voice faltering as laughter around him died awkwardly.
He excused himself soon after.
Seed planted.
Pressure would water it later.
---
Whispers followed Xia Ying now.
The rare who remained composed.
Unflinching.
Measured.
In a shadowed alcove, Kai approached again—the Veiled Nightmare scout.
Professional smile.
Controlled aura.
"Settling into Bureau life?" he asked quietly. "Thought we'd talk properly."
Xia Ying inclined his head.
"Lead on."
They moved to a quieter corner beyond the densest suppression hum.
Kai spoke low.
"**Veiled Nightmare Syndicate.** Local cell—hundred-fifty members. Shadow and nightmare Dominions primarily. Natural synergy with yours."
The pitch was smooth:
Shared Rift expeditions.
Safer harvest environments.
Resource pooling.
Protection from rogue hunters.
Protection from Legion overreach.
Xia Ying feigned thoughtful interest.
"Leadership structure?"
"Realm 4 head—codename *Veiled Sovereign.* Identity masked. Captains run operations."
He probed deeper.
"Black-market access?"
Kai hesitated only briefly before leaning closer.
"Night Bazaar. Old subway tunnels beneath Sector D."
There it was.
"Untaxed essence trades. Forbidden relics. Core obfuscators to dodge the thirty-percent bite."
Valuable indeed.
Kai continued:
Auction cycles.
Dummy submission methods.
Rival syndicates to avoid.
Entry by invitation only.
"Independents thrive there," Kai finished. "If they survive it."
Xia Ying nodded slowly.
"Tempting. But acclimation camp comes first."
Kai handed him an encrypted comm chip.
"Contact me after. Sovereign types thrive with us."
He vanished back into the crowd as smoothly as he had appeared.
Xia Ying pocketed the chip.
*Their Bazaar will feed me richly.*
---
Discharge processing followed.
Starter kits issued:
Essence stabilizer vial.
Basic Rift beacon.
Minimal generosity disguised as support.
Evening fog swallowed the Bureau exterior as Xia Ying boarded the tram home.
Neon flickered across ruined districts.
He tested his aura subtly.
Passengers nearby shifted.
Fidgeted.
Unexplained chills crawling their spines.
Trace terror harvest trickled into his core.
Warm.
Pleasant.
---
Back in his apartment, he bolted the door.
Time to experiment fully.
He released his **Terror Aura**.
The room temperature plunged.
Shadows thickened like spilled ink.
The Tendrils responded eagerly—longer reach, denser edges, movements sharper with each pulse of ambient dread.
Synergy amplification.
Then—
He summoned it.
---
**[Summon: Juvenile Phantom]**
---
The air tore faintly.
The entity manifested fully.
A pale orphan child in a bloodstained dress.
Hollow eyes weeping shadow.
Form more solid now—nurtured by his aura.
Whispers seeped into the walls:
*Play… forever… stay…*
Even Xia Ying's skin prickled faintly.
Controlled thrill.
He issued commands.
The Phantom phased through the apartment wall—scouting the hallway undetected.
Returned instantly.
He ordered temperature amplification.
Frost bloomed across the ceiling.
Obedient.
Hungry.
He dismissed it slowly.
The entity dissolved reluctantly.
Power surged through him.
Addictive.
*Fear forges servants stronger.*
---
A crimson notification interrupted.
---
**[Mandatory Summons — Terror Acclimation Camp]**
**Location:** Northern Compound
**Duration:** 7 Days
**Departure:** Dawn
**Purpose:**
• Dominion Drills
• Hunger Control
• Alliance Forging
---
Xia Ying packed lightly.
Clothes.
Knife.
Comm chip.
More Branded gathered in one place…
A richer banquet.
---
Later, he took an alley shortcut home.
Fog pooled thick between buildings.
His senses prickled.
Footsteps echoed faintly behind him.
Stopping when he stopped.
Peripheral shadow movement.
Professional tail.
Possibilities aligned:
Voss's wounded pride.
Bureau surveillance post-evaluation.
Kai verifying recruitment value.
Xia Ying smiled faintly.
"Good."
He turned a sharp corner abruptly.
Silence followed.
Had the tail adapted?
Or withdrawn?
Either way—
The whispers of the Bazaar were already growing louder.
And he intended to answer them.