Ezio had not slept.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Ren's blood on the floor of Ascendant Tower.Every time he opened them, he saw the cracked mirror of a prince no one wanted.
The palace was quiet at night, but not peaceful. It was the kind of quiet that belonged to predators waiting for something weaker to move.
Ezio walked the lower wing alone.
Servants passed him without looking. Disciples from other sects whispered behind their hands. Some stared, not with cruelty, but with curiosity—like he was an insect that had wandered into a glass palace.
The Prince of Nothing.
He hated how fast the name had spread.
Ezio reached a small courtyard filled with pale lanterns and white flowers. It was the only place in the lower wing that didn't feel like a punishment cell.
He sat on a stone bench and stared at his hands.
No sect. No power. No allies.
His chest ached with the same hollow feeling he'd had in Neo-Eden when his girlfriend stopped answering his calls.
Footsteps approached.
Soft. Light. Deliberate.
Ezio looked up.
She was beautiful in a way that made the air around her feel warmer. Long dark hair. Silk robes that caught the lantern light. Eyes that held something between kindness and calculation.
She smiled gently. "You're the Sixth Prince."
Ezio stiffened. "Who are you?"
"Does it matter?" she asked softly. "I was curious. A prince with no followers. That's… rare."
Ezio's jaw tightened. "If you're here to laugh—"
"I'm not," she said. She sat beside him, close enough that he could smell her perfume—subtle, sweet, dangerous. "I'm here because loneliness is loud. Even in a palace."
Ezio didn't trust her.
He also didn't move away.
"My name is Velia," she said. "Velvet Pavilion."
Casanova's sect.
Ezio felt a chill. "So you're spying on me."
Velia smiled. "Maybe. Or maybe I just wanted to meet the only prince who doesn't pretend to be a god."
That hit closer than he liked.
"You look tired," she continued. "Like someone who lost something important."
Ezio swallowed.
Ren's face flickered in his mind.
"I lost everything," he said quietly.
Velia studied him, her gaze soft, too soft. "Then you understand desire. That's what we cultivate in the Velvet Pavilion. Not bodies. Hearts."
Ezio laughed bitterly. "Hearts are cheaper."
Velia's hand brushed his sleeve. "Not yours."
His breath caught.
It was such a small touch. But it felt like being chosen.
"You shouldn't be alone," she said. "Not here. Not now."
Ezio's mind screamed warnings.
His heart didn't listen.
"I can help you," Velia whispered. "I know secrets. I know how this palace really works. I know how princes fall."
Ezio turned to her. "Why?"
Her eyes shimmered. "Because even a Prince of Nothing deserves to be wanted."
For one terrible, beautiful second…Ezio believed her.
Somewhere far above, in a throne draped in silk, Casanova smiled.
And in Ezio's skull, the Red Code stirred.
Velia's fingers lingered on Ezio's sleeve.
It was a gentle touch. Careful. As if she were afraid he might disappear if she pressed too hard.
Ezio hated how much it meant.
"You shouldn't be alone," she whispered. "Not in a place like this."
He wanted to believe her.
He wanted to believe that, for once, someone had chosen him without wanting something in return.
"I don't belong here," Ezio said. "Everyone can feel it."
Velia smiled softly. "Then we have something in common."
She leaned closer. The lantern light made her eyes glow like liquid gold.
"Come with me," she said. "The Velvet Pavilion doesn't care where you start. We care where you end."
Ezio's heart pounded.A sect.Protection.People.
Everything he'd just been denied.
Then a slow clap echoed through the courtyard.
"Wow. That was beautiful."
Ezio froze.
Velia stiffened.
A man leaned against the stone archway, hands clapping lazily. Black suit. Bare feet. Smile too wide to be innocent.
Lucifer.
"I swear, Casanova trains his girls better than some gods train their champions," Lucifer said cheerfully.
Velia's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"
Lucifer bowed. "A concerned imaginary friend."
Ezio's breath hitched. "Lucifer—"
"Shh, kiddo. I'm enjoying the show."
Lucifer looked at Velia with amused interest. "So. You here to recruit, seduce, or emotionally dismantle our little prince?"
Velia stood slowly. "I don't know what you are, but—"
"Oh I know exactly what you are," Lucifer cut in. "A Velvet Pavilion probe. Casanova wants to see if the Prince of Nothing is easy to break."
Velia's smile tightened. "You're mistaken."
Lucifer laughed. "Sweetheart, you walked into this courtyard the moment Casanova finished his wine."
Ezio felt something cold twist in his chest.
Velia looked back at him, and for a fraction of a second… something real flickered there.
Then it was gone.
"Ezio," she said softly, "don't listen to him."
Lucifer tilted his head. "Say, Velia, if Ezio came with you… what would he be?"
She hesitated.
Lucifer's grin widened. "Property?"
Velia's silence was answer enough.
Ezio felt his throat close.
Lucifer walked up beside him. "You see, kiddo? Even when they smile… they're shopping."
Velia reached out. "Ezio—"
Lucifer waved his hand, and invisible pressure shoved her back a step.
"Careful," Lucifer said lightly. "This one's still fragile."
Velia glared at him. "You don't own him."
Lucifer laughed. "Of course I don't."
Then he leaned close to Ezio's ear and whispered:
"But you can't survive without me."
Ezio's hands shook.
Lucifer straightened, smiling again. "So what'll it be, Prince of Nothing? Velvet chains… or a devil who actually tells you the truth?"
Velia waited.
Lucifer waited.
Ezio stood between them, heart racing, Red Code stirring inside his bones.
And for the first time in this new world…
He realized he was being hunted.