RISE OF THE PHOENIX (The Queen’s Burden)

The Queen’s Burden

Months have passed since the fall of King Raiku Arkus. The South Region remained unsettled—no new king was crowned. But the kingdom's council, elders, and citizens begged Queen Kaen to take the throne. She resisted, her heart heavy with grief. But as the pleas continued, and the region’s peace teetered, she relented not for herself, but for the people.

Renji, the prince, distanced himself from the palace. He trained alone in a hidden sanctuary an ancient, sacred place only known to the royal bloodline. It was there his father once trained, and now Renji stood in the same shadows. Though Drakther, the Celestial Dragon, now dwelled within him, the great beast remained dormant. The mark on Renji’s wrist a silent seal of Drakther’s presence lay cold and dull. Not a single flicker of light. Drakther had not awakened.

Renji's solitude grew. He hadn’t spoken to anyone, not even his sister Arya. The echoes of his father’s final words rang endlessly in his heart:
"My son… your will is the flame to the vengeance. You are the vessel. Anger won't solve this but your will can."

Back in the palace, Queen Kaen fulfilled her duties with regal grace. Under her brief reign, the South Kingdom began to heal. The central city was rebuilt grander than before. Peace returned, and the people began to smile again. They praised Queen Kaen, calling her “The Light of the South.”

But Kaen herself? Broken inside.

Though her face showed strength, her heart was still in mourning. Every day she bore the burden of kingship, and the guilt of not protecting the one she loved. Her thoughts whispered that she was weak—that she had failed. She longed for freedom. Not from duty, but from her own pain.

She tried to confide in the council. “I wish to step down. Let someone else, more worthy, take this throne,” she pleaded. But the elders were firm. “Your Majesty, even your fourth generation must carry this royal blood. You are the light left behind by King Raiku. You must endure.”

Kaen smiled politely. But deep within, her decision was already made.
"I will leave," she whispered to herself.
"This royalty, this kingdom, this sorrow—I will leave it all behind."

She stood up silently and excused herself from the council chamber. “The Queen must need rest,” one elder muttered. But inside her chambers, Queen Kaen broke. For the first time in months, she cried—not as a queen, but as a woman who had lost the love of her life.