Verosika Mayday was many things:
loud, bold, talented, ambitious, vain, occasionally reckless.
But she was not stupid.
And that meant she didn't forget.
Not faces voices auras.
Especially not that aura.
The day after her showcase, she woke up with a pulse in her chest that wasn't excitement or fear, but something far more dangerous:
Obsessive curiosity.
The kind that crawled under your skin and demanded answers.
She wanted to know who he was.
Not because she was attracted.
But because he didn't fit.
He wasn't from her world.
Not from the flashy part of Lust, gutter either.
He stood in the crowd like he had the right to be anywhere
and demons with that kind of confidence either had power, or they had nothing to lose.
Both options were interesting ,dangerous.
So she started digging.
THE FIRST FAILURE
Her manager couldn't help.
"Tall guy? Dark clothes? Quiet? Verosika, that's every third demon in this district."
"Not that tall, not that quiet, and not that every third demon," Verosika growled. "He looked like he belonged somewhere important but refused to admit it."
The manager raised a brow.
"So, a snob?"
"No," she said, dissatisfied.
"A snob tries to be seen. He didn't try anything."
Second failure.
THE BACKSTAGE APPROACH
She pulled aside one of the Neon Harem tech demons.
"You saw him, right? Back row, center-left, tall, eyes darker than a bad contract.
The tech rolled his eyes.
"Miss, half the room was dark. I saw lights, I saw you, I saw the soundboard nearly explode, and that's it."
He walked off.
Verosika clicked her tongue.
Third failure.
THE SECURITY TEAM
These guys were usually helpful they lived to gossip.
This time?
Brick wall.
She approached the biggest one a hellhound built like a truck.
"You check everyone who comes in," she said. "Who was the tall guy in the long coat yesterday?"
The hellhound frowned.
"Which?"
"The one who didn't look like a drunk idiot."
He snorted.
"That narrows it down to… maybe five."
"Fine. Which five?"
He shook his head.
"Look, Miss Mayday… some people don't leave names, and some people don't have names in this part of town. If he didn't cause trouble, then he's not on any list."
Fourth failure.
Something wasn't adding up.
VEROSIKA GETS SUSPICIOUS
By the afternoon she was pacing in her apartment, tail switching viciously behind her.
"How the hell does someone come to a club like that and leave no trace?" she muttered.
She dug out a notebook something she rarely used and started scribbling:
no name, staff info, gossip
, security entry, fan chatter
,scent trail (which was weird, because everything in Lust carried a scent)
It was like he existed only inside that moment.
That annoyed her even more.
"Nobody is that clean," she muttered. "Nobody."
THE FIRST REAL LEAD
Evening settled, and she knew she needed one more try.
If the club couldn't identify him… the district might.
So she went to one of the slum runners demons who knew every rumor, every alley, every whisper.
She found one lounging by a neon sign, chewing on a spark-wire.
"Hey," she said. "I'm looking for someone."
"Everyone's looking for someone," the demon said lazily.
"This one stood out."
"Tall? Quiet? Dark clothes?" he chanted mockingly.
Verosika crossed her arms.
"He didn't look like a local."
That made the runner sit up a bit.
"Not a local? Describe."
She did carefully.
Eyebrows rose halfway through.
And then the runner's expression changed into something she didn't expect:
Unease.
"Look, Miss Mayday…" he said slowly.
"You shouldn't poke into that direction."
Verosika blinked.
"What direction?"
The runner shook his head.
"Slums have shadows. Some bigger than others. Some… that don't like being seen."
"I'm not afraid of shadows."
"You should be afraid of the ones that don't cast any."
That comment made her tail stiffen.
Before she could ask more, the runner stood.
"Advice of the day if someone leaves no trail, maybe don't follow them."
He walked off.
Verosika stared after him, frustrated.
Now it wasn't just curiosity.
It was a challenge.
THE INVISIBLE WALL: SIN ROUGE
What Verosika didn't know was that she had bumped nose-first into something she couldn't see:
Sin Rouge's silent veil.
The organization never announced its presence.
Never branded itself but everyone knew it
But its influence seeped quietly into the slums:
people who "didn't know anything"
security who "had no record"
techs who "didn't see faces"
runners who suddenly advised caution
Not because they were ordered to.
Because they sensed the same thing Verosika had sensed on stage:
Malerion was not a demon you casually gossip about.
Some instinct buried in every Lust Ring native whispered:
"Don't say too much."
So the wall closed in around her.
And she felt it.
"This is ridiculous," she snapped to herself later that night.
"No one just disappears like that."
Her pride refused to let it go.
But even pride could tell when it had hit something unusual.
HER FINAL THOUGHT THAT NIGHT
She threw herself on her couch, staring at the ceiling.
"Fine. If I can't find him today," she muttered, "I'll find him eventually."
A small, sharp smirk curled at her lips.
"No one hides from Verosika Mayday."