The Seine's underbelly stank of rust and rotting flowers. Clémence led them to a waterlogged door beneath Pont Neuf. "Here."
Inside: a hidden perfumery. Dusty alembics. Faded labels: "Anya's Atelier." Élise's fingers brushed a workbench. Scent Memory: Anyahumming, grinding rose hips, her pregnant belly round with Élise.
Lucien groaned. Thorns now covered half his face. One eye bled crimson sap. "Find it fast."
Clémence uncovered a journal. "Her last entry: 'Vesper's mark is in our blood. Only a sacrifice of love can break it.'"
Élise searched the shelves. Found a tiny vial labeled "Adieu"—Goodbye. Inside: clear liquid smelling of snow and silence.
"What is it?" Clémence asked. "A perfume to erase memories," Élise said. "But Mother modified it. It says: 'For Vesper's roots.'"
Lucien convulsed. Thorns burst from his chest. Vesper's voice boomed from his mouth: "Anya's little poisons won't save you!"
The lead box in Élise's pocket exploded. The crimson rose levitated— —and plunged into Lucien's heart.
He screamed. Rose vines engulfed him. Petals peeled back his skin. Vesper's mist-face formed in his chest cavity. "I bloom at last!"
Élise uncorked Adieu. "Get Clémence out!" "No!" Clémence grabbed a rusted pipe. "I fight!"
Vesper-Lucien lunged. Thorned fingers slashed. Élise dodged. Sprayed *Adieu* in his mist-eye.
He shrieked. "What is this?" "Memories," Élise hissed. " Your first memory."
The perfume forced Vesper to relive his origin: _A mortal alchemist in 1023, injecting himself with Dubois blood. Becoming mist. Losing his soul._
Vesper writhed. "Stop it!" Clémence swung her pipe. Shattered his thorn-arm.
Élise poured the entire vial into Lucien's chest. Vesper's mist thinned. "You… can't… kill… eternity…"
"No," Élise agreed. "But I can make you forget what you are."
The mist dissipated. Vesper's consciousness unraveled.
Lucien collapsed—vines retreating, thorns falling like dead scabs. But his chest wound remained. Hollow. Where his heart used to be.