Winter cloaked St. Petersburg in pale silence, but within the Kremlin, the forge of politics roared.
Mikhail stood before the State Duma—no longer a collection of bickering nobles, but a reshaped legislative machine, restructured under his new Doctrine of Imperial Continuity. Every seat was filled with men and women hand-picked for loyalty, competence, or leverage.
And at the center stood Mikhail.
He wore the formal Tsarist uniform, but newly adorned with industrial motifs: gear embroidery along his cuffs, a sash bearing the symbol of the Iron Doctrine—steel intertwined with flame.
[System Update: Political Ascendancy Phase Initiated – Absolute Authority Referendum Triggered] [Diplomatic Standing Shift – Europe: Concerned | China: Suspicious | Ottoman Empire: Alarmed]
"My lords and patriots," Mikhail began, "Russia was once ruled by men who prayed to the past. I ask you—shall we now be ruled by the future?"
The proposal was stark.
A complete reformation of imperial succession. A codified Constitution of Steel, centered on technocratic governance. The official coronation of Mikhail not just as Tsar—but as Tsar-Technokrat, a fusion of monarchy and machine.
The vote passed 77 to 23.
[System Achievement: The Iron Crown – New Title Unlocked: Tsar-Technokrat of the Russian Confederation] [National Morale +20% | Military Obedience Solidified | Industrial Output +35%]
Abroad, reactions were swift.
Berlin froze negotiations. Paris denounced the move as tyranny dressed in progress. The Ottoman Sultan issued a fatwa condemning the blasphemous empire of steel and shadow.
And in London, newspapers dubbed him:
"The Clockwork Tsar"
But inside the Iron Empire, something more dangerous stirred—hope.
In Moscow, factories ran 24 hours. In the Caucasus, engineers laid the foundation for the trans-Kazakh rail. In Baku, oil refineries tripled production, feeding into Mikhail's new warship designs.
But it wasn't all triumph.
Catherine had vanished again, last seen heading into the Ottoman borderlands. The Children of the True Flame had executed a bombing in Kazan's train yards. And rumors whispered of a new alliance between Prussian aristocrats and Balkan radicals—The Chain of Nine.
[Faction Emerged: The Chain of Nine – Status: Hostile | Objective: Imperial Disruption | Resources: Unknown]
On the eve of his coronation, Mikhail stood before the mirror.
He no longer saw a man reborn. He saw an empire in the shape of a man.
He donned the Iron Crown, forged from salvaged war metal, engraved with a single line:
From Sparks, Dominion.
As the cathedral bells rang out, the empire did not bow.
It marched.