Federation Year 2154

The academy bells didn't ring. They didn't need to.

At exactly 0600, the floor beneath Darian's bed pulsed with silent light, and the AI softly echoed into his room:

"Cadet Vex, this is your final wake alert. Uniform protocol: Omega Branch. Report to Tier Stream Classification in 20 minutes."

The bed folded automatically. The ceiling dimmed from constellations to blank white. Outside, synchronized footsteps already echoed down the corridor. Darian stood in uniform again same dark gray with silver trim. The insignia over his shoulder seemed to gleam more sharply this time: Ω Omega Branch.

He didn't know what that symbol meant but others noticed it. He'd seen the way cadets paused for just a second too long when he passed. Not out of respect. Out of calculation. Omega meant outlier.

Possibly dangerous. Or expendable.

The orientation dome had shifted overnight. Yesterday it had been a museum. Today it was a crucible.

The wide ring-like floor Darian stepped into was segmented into octagonal fields. Transparent panels floated mid-air, displaying scrolling data, tier logs, combat footage, and beast evolution charts. Federation officers stood at the far end in steel-gray exo-armor some with visors down, others showing weary, cyber-enhanced faces.

Overhead, the voice of the academy's central AI echoed with clinical detachment.

"All cadets will undergo Tier Stream Evaluation today. Results will determine combat path, mentor assignment, Rift exposure level, and core compatibility training."

"Late arrivals will be penalized with Rift Hazard Rank increase."

Darian joined a line of cadets already forming along platform twelve. Everyone stood straight. No idle conversation. No nervous shifting.

To his right, Ezek Kaarn stood with arms folded. His silver-blue eyes flicked over Darian once, smirking slightly.

"Omega Branch gets fast-tracked to Tier combat? Cute."

Darian said nothing.

"Try not to get disqualified before lunch," Ezek added. "Would be embarrassing if your mystery beast choked under pressure."

Darian resisted the urge to answer. Instead, he let the words echo feeding the presence inside him.

It stirred again.

Not fully awake. Not hostile. But attentive.

They were herded into a viewing room wide, dome-roofed, surrounded by glass that looked down into ten massive combat halls. Each had a theme: metallic terrain, open sand pits, gravity-augmented rings, obstacle forests, even deepwater chambers. Below them, other cadets fought against Rift projections beasts made of hardlight and Rift mist, simulated with real pressure.

An instructor walked in a broad-shouldered man with a scar down one eye, black gloves, and a cybernetic badge over his chest: Tier Marshal.

He didn't speak at first. He simply stared at them.

Then

"Your strength will not be measured by your beast," he said. "It will be measured by your will to control it."

He walked past them slowly, hands behind his back.

"Too many cadets die believing the Rift will make them strong. The Rift does not make you strong. It reveals what you are when everything collapses."

A pause.

"You will fight simulated Rift Beasts scaled to your registered potential. You will be ranked by adaptability, aggression, and control. Fail, and you drop to Civil Support Stream. Succeed, and you are entered into Battleborn Tier Path training."

He turned.

"Begin."

Darian's name blinked on a panel.

[Simulation Chamber 7 – Tier Stream Evaluation – Cadet: Darian Vex]

A platform below his feet dropped. He fell smoothly into a silver-walled chamber, lit by overhead arcs and lined with faint Rift mist piping in from above.

The moment his boots hit the floor, the chamber darkened.

A beast projection materialized.

It wasn't huge but fast. Quadruped. Needle spine. Scythe-bladed limbs. It shrieked and charged immediately.

Darian had no weapon.

No blade. No sidearm. No beast interface?

But his body moved before he could process the fear. He ducked low, slid across the metallic floor, and rolled out of the creature's pounce. Instinct kicked in except it wasn't his. Something deeper.

He rose and pivoted. His eyes locked on the beast's flank and without thinking he struck forward with his palm. It connected hard enough to jolt his shoulder.

The beast screeched, staggered.

[System Interface Reacting…]

Kinetic Sync Detected

Void Resonance: 14%

Combat Instinct Calibration… 72% Synced

Activating: Combat Assist Overlay

A sudden HUD flared to life in the edge of his vision angles, weak points, timing cues. The beast lunged again.

Darian moved where the overlay told him to and it worked.

He dropped to one knee, grabbed a shard of hardlight debris from the simulation wall, and shoved it into the beast's open jaw. The projection dissolved into Rift mist.

Silence.

Then

[Simulation Complete]

Cadet: Darian Vex

Evaluation: Unarmed Victory – Instinctive Combat Tier Registered

System Sync: Partial (Pending First Rift Kill)

Stream Placement: Battleborn – Omega Tier Trial Pending

He stood in the chamber's flickering light, heart pounding.

He had fought without thinking and won.

But that wasn't the point.

Something inside me moved before I did.

Back in the observation chamber, instructors huddled around a display with Darian's simulation logs.

"No weapon. No beast activation. Still registered combat pattern recognition."

"Void trace detected?"

"Confirmed. He's syncing without full awakening. Unclassified talent architecture."

"Is it a system cheat?"

"No. If anything, it's a delay. Like something inside him is waiting."

One instructor looked at the screen a moment longer.

"Watch him. If that beast wakes mid-Rift run, I want a tracker in place."

Darian stood alone in the hallway outside the sim halls, sweat still drying across his neck. His uniform clung tight to his body. A quiet hum buzzed inside his chest.

Then the system spoke again:

[Beast Core Interface Reactivating…]

Phase Shift: Passive Instinct Unlocked

Combat Tier: Unarmed Initiate

Warning: Beast Path Not Fully Stabilized

Recommended: First Rift Exposure – 72 Hours Countdown

He stared at the countdown.

Three days until I'm thrown into the Rift.

And he still didn't know what he was bonded to.