Vice, Part II – A Sinful Invitation
Scene: Rain Against Glass – Night, Lucen's Apartment
Lucen stares at the case file again. Missing teens. Designer sins. A street drawing of Vice's club—Velvet Cage—rumored to be underground, masked in pleasure, hidden beneath a condemned opera house.
He lights incense before his shrine to Tariq. Eyes closed.
> Lucen (quietly): "Guide my hands if they forget who they are."
His fingers tremble slightly—not fear. Hunger. He remembers rage. That night. That fire.
> Eshun (over comms): "You sure you're ready for this place?"
Lucen: "If I wait, someone else dies."
Eshun: "And if you lose control again?"
A beat of silence.
Lucen: "Then may they forgive me. But I won't forgive him."
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Scene: Velvet Cage – Inside
The club is beautiful and sick.
Golden chandeliers. Walls breathe with velvet fabric. Every guest wears masks of emotions—greed, envy, lust, sloth.
Music thumps slow and hypnotic. Scents of artificial pleasure in the air.
Lucen steps inside in a black hooded cloak. Masked. Still. Watching.
Vice is on stage, half-hidden in shadows. He speaks like silk soaked in poison.
> Vice (to crowd):
"You all came to escape yourselves. But the truth? You are your sins. I merely give you permission to be honest."
Applause. Laughter. Despair.
Lucen tightens his fist.
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Scene: Aria Appears
Lucen sees her. Aria.
Elegant black dress. Unmasked. Confused, like she doesn't know how she got here.
He moves through the crowd fast, hand brushing her wrist.
> Lucen (low): "What the hell are you doing here?"
Aria (dazed): "I—I don't know. I just got a text. I thought it was an invite to a board meeting…"
Lucen: "Leave. Now."
Aria: "Wait… it's you, isn't it? The Whisper?"
His grip softens. He looks into her, vulnerable.
> Lucen: "Please. Just go."
Suddenly—fog erupts. The music halts. Vice's voice booms.
> Vice:
"Ladies and gentlemen… meet the hero who murdered a murderer. Who burned a city, then wore a mask to fix it."
Spotlight hits Lucen.
> Vice:
"This is what guilt looks like. Handsome, isn't he?"
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Scene: Chaos Breaks Out
Sinners attack—drugged, distorted, laughing. Lucen fights controlled, defensive. No killing. Just disabling.
One man charges him, high on wrath gas. Lucen gets slashed.
Blood.
But he doesn't flinch.
Aria screams, held by Vice's men.
> Vice (to Lucen):
"You want her safe? Choose a sin. Wear it. Feed it. Or she dies."
Lucen, panting, stares at seven bottles offered on a tray.
LUST. PRIDE. GREED. WRATH. SLOTH. ENVY. GLUTTONY.
His hands twitch. Flashback—the fire. The child he couldn't save.
> Lucen (low):
"You think sin makes us real?"
Vice (grinning): "I think it reveals who you were always meant to be."
Lucen takes the WRATH bottle—and crushes it in his hand.
> Lucen (growling):
"I've already met my sin. And I survived it."
He lunges. The crowd parts. Vice escapes—but barely. Aria is shaken but alive.
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Scene: Back at Lucen's Apartment
Lucen stitches his side. Aria sits nearby, silent. Watching.
> Aria: "That man. Vice. He knew you. Like… deeply."
Lucen: "People like him don't study heroes. They study monsters. Waiting for them to slip."
Aria (soft): "And are you… a monster?"
Lucen looks at her. Honest. Tired.
> Lucen: "Not anymore. But I still speak their language."
She reaches out. Touches his hand.
> Aria: "Then keep speaking it… to protect us."
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Next Chapter:- CHAPTER 8: THE ECHO IN THE FIRE...🔥