The constant, low-grade tension with The Directory was a different kind of strain. It was a psychological siege. Mo Chen found herself second-guessing every decision, every new citizen, every supply shipment. Was it a plant? A test? A trap?
The pressure built until it finally cracked during a confrontation with Dr. Aris. He was frustrated with the security protocols limiting his field research.
" I cannot work with these shackles!" he argued in her throne room. "You bring us here to be free, to create, and then you smother us with paranoia!"
" Paranoia is what keeps you alive!" Mo Chen shot back, her voice echoing in the chamber. The Ember Core within her flared, and the ambient temperature in the room rose several degrees. "This isn't a university! This is a fortress! Every decision I make has consequences! The weight of every life here is on me! Do you have any idea what that is like?"
The raw outburst stunned them both into silence. Dr. Aris looked at her, truly looked at her, and saw not an all-powerful sovereign, but a young woman buckling under an impossible burden.
" No," he said softly. "I suppose I don't."
The incident forced Mo Chen to confront the isolation of her throne. She had a court, but she had no equal, no one with whom she could share the crushing responsibility. Silas was her protector, Kaito her strategist, Aris her builder. But she was alone at the top.
That night, she stood at the highest balcony of the Spire, the wind a constant companion. She pulled out a simple, unregistered satellite phone. A number she knew by heart, a number she had sworn never to call.
She typed a message. Just two words.
I'm safe.
She didn't send it to her parents. She sent it to her brother, Tian. He was the only one who might understand the weight of a legacy. She erased the message without sending it. The connection was too dangerous. But the act of almost reaching out acknowledged a truth: even a Phoenix could feel the cold of the highest peak.