Stella's message had resonated across the city; even as the Prophet retaliated with brutality, the people felt a stirring they hadn't in years—hope. Stella knew, however, that they were teetering on a dangerous edge. The Prophet was striking harder than ever, and his methods were becoming more extreme. To dismantle his empire, they needed more than symbolic gestures; they needed to weaken his foundation piece by piece.
In the dimly lit bunker where Stella and her team had taken refuge, she unfurled a rough map of the city on the makeshift table, her finger tracing the guarded compounds, security stations, and communication towers—the backbone of the Prophet's control.
