The birth of The Aerie was a symphony of controlled infernos. For weeks, Mo Chen stood at the heart of the archipelago, her will the conductor, her [Phoenix Forge] ability the orchestra. She did not build in the traditional sense; she grew her city from the bones of the earth. Obsidian walls rose from liquefied rock, cooling into surfaces harder than diamond. Conduits for power and data were not laid, but were formed as hollow veins within the living stone, their paths dictated by her mental blueprint.
The process was a monumental burn. The energy required to reshape geology on this scale was astronomical, far exceeding her daily quota. The system adapted, creating a "Project Quota" that fed directly from The Forge's industrial output. Cargo ships arrived daily from Greece, carrying the scrap metal and obsolete machinery of the old world, which were fed into massive incinerators. The system converted this constant, large-scale consumption into the raw power needed for genesis.
She was not just spending money; she was incinerating the physical remnants of the past to fuel the future. The system thrived on it. Her personal wealth, now separate from the project's budget, continued to grow, but her focus was entirely on the island. She was pouring her entire being—her wealth, her power, her purpose—into this single, audacious act of creation.
Silas oversaw the logistical nightmare, his military mind adapting to this new form of terraforming. He coordinated the supply ships, managed the small army of technicians (all vetted by him and sworn to secrecy), and established a perimeter defense system of autonomous drones and sensor buoys. The Aerie would be a fortress, and he was its first castellan.
As the central citadel, a soaring structure she named the "Spire," reached its full height, Mo Chen felt a shift within her Ember Core. It was no longer just a source of destructive power; it was the heart of her new domain, its rhythm syncing with the hum of the nascent city. She was not just building a home; she was anchoring her soul to this place.