Steam drifted out of the bathroom and into the hall,fading against the cool air of the penthouse.
Lucien stepped out in a pure white bathrobe, rubbing his dark hair with a towel as the faint scent of cedar shampoo mixed with coffee from the kitchen down the hall. The floor was polished marble,reflecting the morning sun pouring through the glass wall that opened to the city's skyline.
He passed by the living room,wide couches,news playing on the wall screen,a vase of lilies his secretary had sent him the night before.
Beyond the glass,the city looked half asleep,fog caught between skyscrapers. It was early,quiet and clean. The kind of silence you only got before the world remembered to be busy again.
Lucien stopped by the wardrobe,hanging the towel on a hook. His suit for the wedding hung ready;charcoal grey,crisp lines,a simple gold tie pin shaped like a dragon's head,an old gift from his father.
He smiled faintly,more out of habit than warmth,and reached for his phone on the bedside table.
It buzzed before he could touch it.
Lydia ( Office Line ).
He answered,still half drying his hair.
"Morning, Lydia."
Her voice came bright and practiced," Morning, boss. You're up early, for a man who's supposed to be celebrating."
"I've got to make sure the world doesn't fall apart before I disappear for a week," he said." What's the damage?"
"You've got a meeting with the board at nine sharp,"she replied." They insisted it couldn't wait. Something about next quarter's figures."
Lucien checked the time, it was 7:43." Of course they did. Can't let the best man have peace on his best friend's wedding day."
"You sound thrilled." She laughed softly.
"My best friend is marrying the love of his life,"he said,with dry humor slipping through. "What's not to be thrilled about."
"The part where you still have to sit through a meeting in a suit,"she teased."Anyway I will send a car at eight-thirty. Don't be late;the board likes you better when you look terrifying."
"That's my natural charm." He set the phone on speaker,freeing his hands to button his shirt. "Anything else?"
"Just a reminder that after the meeting,you're due at St. Ardent's by eleven. The rehearsal's at noon."
He nodded absentmindly,glancing out at the skyline again. The fog was thinning now,but the light looked strange,too red for morning.
"Got it."
"Lucien?" Lydia tone shifted,softer." You okay? You sound...off."
"Just tired," he said." Long night."
"Then take it easy today, boss. You're only get to live once. "
He smiled faintly." Let's hope so."
They exchanged a few more words,her usual dry humor,his calm replies, then the call ended. Silence returned, except for the hum of the city below and the faint hiss of the espresso machine finishing its cycle.
Lucien set the phone down,adjusted his cufflinks, and took one last look at the skyline. The sun broke through the clouds in a flash of red and gold,painting the room in warm light.
It looked really beautiful. He stood there admiring the sunrise,a few moments later he came back to his senses and strode out of the bedroom.
His polished black Oxford shoes,clicked rhythmically against the marble floors as he strode into the living. With a swift motion, he turned off the TV, grabbed his car keys and exited the penthouse. All without missing a heartbeat.
He approached the elevator and pressed the button for the underground garage. The elevator chimed softly before beginning to descent.
Lucien stood tall,eyes fixed ahead,hands tucked into his pockets,unblinking and composed.
Three minutes later, the steel doors of the elevator opened to reveal rows of polished cars under pale white lights,machines lined like sculptures,each one gleaming with quiet power.
He pressed the car key,and the lights of a black Aston Martin Valkyrie blinked twice in response. Its low hum filled the garage as he approached,the engine's pulse faint but alive,like a beast waiting to run.
Lucien slid into the cockpit and adjusted the steering wheel. The cabin smelled faintly of leather and ozone. He pressed the ignition button. The dashboard came alive,painting his face with soft blue light.
For a moment, he just sat there, with his eyes closed, exhaling and inhaling. This is habit he have been ever since he could remember, it has become his morning routine whenever he goes out.
A few moments later, he opend his eys and exhaled slowly, shifted into drive,and the engine roared to life.
The garage gates lifted,and the car shot forward into the morning streets.
-------
The streets where already alive. Despite the early hour,traffic lights glowed red and green over waves of commuters – suits,cyclists,delivery drones overhead,the continous honking of cars. The city wad waking up,loud and impatient.
Lucien weaved between cars with practiced ease. The Valkyrie's engine growled as he accelerated onto the main boulevard,skyscrapers streaking past on both sides like mirrored blades.
A vendor pushed his cart of steamed buns across the curb;a cyclist shouted;horns blared in response. Same city,same chaos. It was almost comforting.
His phone chimed through the car's speaker. A text from Lydia.
"Board already in the conference room. Coffee waiting. Don't speed too much,save it for the wedding."
Lucien smirked." Too late."
The car glided onto the elevated expressway,the sun now climbing above the skyline. The glass towers reflected its rise,bathing everything in a mix of gold and crimson. For a fleeting second,the light caught his eyes in the mirror,burning faintly red in the reflection.
He blinked once and the glow vanished. Had it been there at all? Just the trick of the sunlight, he decided."
He eased back on the throttle,letting the city blur past. His thought drifted, to the wedding, to the meeting, the noise of life he'd built brick by brick. It all felt solid and permanent.
At the next intersection, the traffic lights flickered, red,yellow and green, then froze in mid-cycle.
Lucien frowned slightly and stepped on the accelerator. The car surged forward, the city blurred into motion, steel,glass,sunlight.
Suddenly something happened.
A delivery van lurched out of a side street without warning,its hazard lights flashing too late. Lucien's instincts kicked in,he jerked the wheel left to avoid it,tires screeching.
For a splt second, he thought he'd avoided it. But he was so wrong. He hadn't.
The right fender clipped the van,and the Valkyrie spun. His vision turned into chaos,flashing lights,screams, the roar of metal. The world tilted. A truck horn blared somewhere ahead.
BOOM! Impact.
The sound was deafening, steel crushing steel,glass exploding like gunfire. The seat belt,snapped tight across his chest. Airbags burst white across his vision.
Then....silence.
When he opened his eyes,the world felt strange and looked wrong. Muted,pale. The air didn't move.
The wreck sat in the middle of the intersection,smoke curling from the hood,sparks flickering beneath the twisted metal. His own body hung half out of the driver's seat,covered in blood,motionless.
Lucien blinked in confusion. He could see through the windshield,but also through himself. His hands were faint outlines of light.
"What the...."
His voice sounded hollow and distant.
People were already gathered, shouting, recording, running to the wreckage. A man in a yellow vest was yelling into his phone. Sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder.
Lucien stepped closer without thinking. His feet didn't touch the ground. He stared at his body again,the glass shards,the blood pooling beneath door,the way his head was tilted at an impossible angle.
"Am...I dead?" He whispered softly.
The words came out in a thin echo that no one heard. He looked around,but the crowd walked through him like mist.
The ambulance skidded to a sstop ,paramedics rushing out. One of them shouted something about a pulse. Another shook his head.
Lucien tried to speak,to shout,that he was still here, but the words never reached them. His breath was caught. Not from fear but from the strange weight building in the air.
Something was pulling at him,deep,invisible and irresistible. The world around him began to warp,colors bleeding into white light.
"Wait..no.." he tried to resist,reaching out towards his body. His fingers passed through it like smoke.
The pull grew stronger and stronger, pulling him backward,upward,he wouldn't tell. The sirens,the shouts,all stretched away into silence.
The last thing he saw was his car,bent and crushed like melted wings before everything went dark.