The Weight of the Insignia

In a skybound city stratified by levels and secrets, Clarixet, a Proletariat haunted by memories of a lost Earth, clings to her bond with her childhood friend, Sidney, now a rising figure in the city's Legionary ranks. But when whispers of an interstellar empire and internal treachery ripple through their tiered society, Clae discovers a devastating truth: Sidney is not who he seems. He's the heir to the very empire threatening their floating home, his friendship a calculated deception orchestrated by her own father's hidden loyalties. Torn between a love betrayed and a world on the brink of war, Clae's latent, bio-engineered abilities awaken, making her both a weapon and a target. As planetary territories fall and the city descends into chaos, she forges unlikely alliances with hardened survivors from the lower levels. Her desperate climb through the floating metropolis to confront the political elite becomes a race against time, a fight to expose Sidney's treachery and prevent the empire's devastating takeover. But the cost of peace will be unimaginable. To sever the ties of betrayal and prevent the annihilation of her world by a technologically superior enemy, Clae must make a sacrifice that will shatter the fragile sky-city and rewrite the destiny of the stars, even if it means her own demise. In this sci-fi epic of soaring cities, hidden powers, and the ultimate betrayal, the weight of an insignia can crush a world, or ignite a revolution.