Day Four descended upon Camp Veil's Edge beneath a suffocating hush.
Gone were the barked orders and clashing drills. In their place lingered a quieter menace—one that pressed not against flesh, but against the mind.
The cohort assembled before a row of sealed chambers embedded into the compound's inner wall.
Low. Windowless.
Their outer surfaces were polished into perfect mirrors, reflecting the branded in endless, fractured repetition beneath the gray morning sky.
Crimson dread barriers pulsed thicker here—containment not for outside horrors…
…but for the hungers within.
Instructor Garrick stood at the forefront, scarred arms folded behind his back. His voice carried low, deliberate weight.
"Physical forges break flesh. Realms shatter souls."
A pause.
"Today—psychological terror conditioning."
He gestured toward the chambers.
"Mirror Chambers. Projections drawn directly from your cores. Personalized dread. Face it. Control it… or let it feast."
Uneasy murmurs rippled through the cohort.
Rex Thorne crossed his arms tightly, jaw clenched—campfire humiliation still festering beneath his skin.
Lin Mei stood near Xia Ying, fingers twisting the hem of her uniform.
Wei Jun studied the chambers with calculating stillness.
---
**Chamber Protocol**
Solo entries first.
Then group immersion.
Inside: Infinite mirrors surrounding a central platform.
Illusions sustained by Dominion resonance—phobias, Realm echoes, Flaw manifestations amplified to breaking point.
Early rotations cracked quickly.
A boastful blade-type entered swaggering.
He emerged minutes later—ashen, shaking—muttering about reflections turning his own weapons inward.
A traumatized girl lasted less than three minutes.
Her screams of falling into endless voids echoed even after medics dragged her out.
Ambient dread seeped into the staging area itself—distorting the mirror exteriors, warping reflections subtly.
Faces stretched.
Eyes hollowed.
Some recruits refused to look at themselves at all.
---
Xia Ying's turn came mid-morning.
He stepped inside alone.
The chamber door sealed behind him with a hydraulic hiss.
Silence fell.
Then—
Mirrors unfolded infinitely.
Hundreds of Xia Yings stared back from every angle.
Unflinching.
Still.
Projections bloomed.
Orphanage corridors bled into existence—whispers crawling along the glass.
The void-faced entity from his Realm lunged again and again from reflections, jaws unhinged.
Then deeper layers surfaced.
Past-life betrayals.
Allies turning blades on him.
Empires crumbling beneath failed schemes.
A throne room echoing hollow as he died alone.
Isolation.
Failure.
The abyss yawning wide.
Most branded would have buckled instantly—Dominions flaring wild, minds fracturing under the assault.
Xia Ying did not move.
His Title—**[One Who Walks Unafraid]**—anchored his psyche like an iron stake through chaos.
But more than resistance…
His Dominion responded.
He absorbed it.
Dread projections bled essence.
Essence flowed back into him.
A warm, steady rush filled his core mid-session.
He was feeding… on his own fears.
In the mirrors, his reflections did not distort.
They remained steady.
Calm.
A faint, predatory smile tugged at their lips while surrounding illusions flickered unstable.
When the chamber opened, Xia Ying walked out unchanged.
Logs recorded:
**"Anomalous null-response subject."**
Instructor glances exchanged.
The cohort stared in awe—and unease.
"He didn't even flinch…"
Xia Ying offered a modest shrug.
"Just breathe," he said. "Focus outward."
Inside, his thoughts were colder.
*They resist dread.*
*I consume it.*
---
Day Five escalated to **Group Mirror Immersion**.
Multiple platforms.
Shared reflections.
Terrors bleeding across individuals.
Cohort psyches began fracturing visibly.
Faces screamed silently from mirrors.
Bodies contorted under borrowed phobias.
Rex endured through sheer will—teeth grinding, sweat pouring—but when he emerged, resentment burned in his gaze toward Xia Ying.
As if proximity to him worsened the pressure.
Not entirely wrong.
---
Lin Mei's crisis struck mid-session.
Her mirrors filled with dying patients—hands reaching, blood soaking her palms no matter how she healed them.
Her Flaw triggered violently.
Healing light flickered unstable.
"I can't save them… they're dying again…!"
She collapsed, hyperventilating.
The cohort froze.
Medics rushed—
But Xia Ying moved first.
He knelt before her reflection platform.
"Lin Mei. Breathe."
His voice cut through the illusion storm like an anchor chain.
"Look at me. Not them."
She struggled—but her gaze locked onto his reflection.
Steady.
Unwavering.
He reversed his Aura output subtly—projecting calm instead of dread.
Empathy woven like silk over her fracturing mind.
Her glow stabilized.
Panic ebbed.
She clutched his sleeve, trembling.
"You pulled me back… I was sinking again…"
By the time medics arrived, she was already recovering.
Later she whispered:
"I owe you my life. I'll… stay close, if that's okay?"
Devotion sealed—unbreakable now.
A healer bound by salvation debt.
An iron tool forged.
---
Balance required pressure as well.
A weaker peer—an isolation-prone branded—lingered near recovery circles, psyche frayed.
Xia Ying positioned himself nearby.
Soft encouragement at first.
"You lasted longer today."
Hope sparked.
Then the nudge.
"But alone… what if no one comes back for you next time?"
Aura pulsed.
Tailored amplification.
The mirrors reflected emptiness—cohort figures fading away one by one.
The peer's face drained of color.
Mutters spiraled.
Then the shatter.
They curled fetal on the platform, screaming:
"Alone forever—don't leave me—don't—!"
Medics hauled them out.
Cull candidate, likely reassigned—or worse.
A primal dread burst surged into Xia Ying.
Rich.
Sustaining.
Wei Jun approached afterward, observant as ever.
"You balance aid and pressure well," he said quietly. "Efficient."
Xia Ying's faint smile held no denial.
"Survival demands it."
---
Mirrors lingered everywhere after sessions.
Barracks metal.
Water surfaces.
Window glass.
Reflections showed the toll:
Hollower eyes.
Fractured postures.
Lingering tremors.
Only Xia Ying's reflection remained pristine.
Predatory.
Whole.
---
Night, Day Five.
While the cohort slept in exhaustion, Xia Ying slipped to the forest perimeter where barrier density thinned.
Private testing ground.
Accumulated essence from days of terror conditioning swelled within him.
He released it.
Shadow tendrils uncoiled—stretching nearly ten meters now.
Fluid.
Precise.
He infused dread into their structure.
Edges hardened—blade-sharp.
A single lash severed thick forest vines cleanly.
The feedback thrill surged addictive.
Shadows felt denser.
More responsive.
Almost sentient.
He summoned the Juvenile Phantom briefly—riding tendrils farther into patrol routes, extending reconnaissance range.
Then dismissed it before strain accumulated.
Satisfaction settled cold in his chest.
Reflections shattered others.
He endured.
---
Later that night, Garrick intercepted him near the barracks.
"Walk with me."
They entered a dim command tent lined with Rift maps and threat markers.
Garrick poured a tin cup of brew—offering one in rough camaraderie.
"Your resistance," he said bluntly. "Unnatural."
A beat.
"Most crack eventually. You… look like you're feeding it."
Direct probe.
Xia Ying remained neutral.
"Adaptation."
Garrick grunted.
"The Legion needs adapters. Pure terror Dominions are rare. Valuable… but dangerous unchecked."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Join early. Guided feasts. Resource priority. Mentorship."
A leash disguised as opportunity.
Xia Ying probed subtly—extracting Rift deployment patterns, high-Realm shortages, Legion command gaps.
Then declined gracefully.
"I'm honored. But I'd like to remain independent a while longer. Test my Dominion fully."
Garrick's stare sharpened.
"Paths fork, kid. Some don't loop back."
Warning delivered.
Xia Ying inclined his head.
"I'll consider it."
Inside, his thoughts were colder.
*Leashes are crafted to be broken later.*
---
Evening assembly followed.
The air crackled with tension.
Garrick addressed the gathered cohort.
"The Rift near New Haven has escalated. Rank 3 swarm activity in the slum sectors. Civilian evacuation is lagging. Legion reinforcements delayed."
Murmurs spread.
"We're deploying a volunteer support squad. Twelve branded, veteran oversight. Real combat. Real essence shares."
Silence hung heavy.
Then Wei Jun stepped forward first.
Rex followed—eager to reclaim pride.
Lin Mei hesitated—eyes flicking to Xia Ying.
He stepped out calmly.
Duty mask in place.
Feast anticipation beneath.
"Count me in."
Names filled the roster quickly.
Garrick's gaze settled meaningfully on him.
"Good," the instructor said. "You'll see real reflections out there."
Yes.
Not mirrors of glass.
But reflections in terror-stricken eyes.
Shattered streets.
Screaming civilians.
A truer feast than any chamber could forge.
And Xia Ying—
Walked toward it smiling.