—Present Day, June 30th, 2032: Head Mansion—
Evalyn woke up at 5 am the day after her confrontation with Haiden with a complex expression.
Kaze gave her the day off from training that day, so she stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, calmly letting her chest rise and fall.
"Why am I so obsessed with control?" She whispered pensively, looking at her hand and clenching it into a fist, "And how does that man find such an ugly trait desirable?"
He didn't mask his presence the night prior when she boldly demanded Haiden become loyal to [her] only and disregard the emperor if necessary.
The demand wasn't a slight against Kaze or his authority.
It felt as natural as breathing, rolling off her tongue and making her feel whole. As if she had done it for her entire life.
Yet once she exited her trance, she heard him and felt true fear wave through her. Only then did she realize what she had done.
Meet the side of the Ice Phoenix that Kaze fell in love with. Quite the contrast, isn't it? It's not a contradiction. I think a callous unwillingness to be happy is relatively common for those with depression, and putting up shells is human nature 101. That's what's remarkable and horrifying about Evalyn. She doesn't have a split personality—she's a utilitarian who prioritizes others over herself, so she becomes the outer Ice Pheonix almost exclusively, but that doesn't change her inner self.