The estate of Lucius Antonius had fallen silent after his death.

The household had been small, enough to maintain the libraries and art that the old man had collected over the course of his life. Endless statues, paintings, manuscripts, scrolls... All of it was Antonius’s life, his work.

Even Ibis.

When he had first arrived, he was named Amata. He wore a silk stola, and was weeping about being sold by Felix Malvolio. He was heartbroken.

Lucius had taken him in, comforted him. He had given him a warm tunic to wear, and warm teas to drink. Day passed, and in time, Lucius had put a lyre in his hands, and listened to him play. The old man had listened to his voice as he sang. And once it was done, Amata was renamed Ibis, for the sacred bird.

Ibis was taught to read and write in both Latin and Greek. He was taught various instruments, popular poems and songs. He was educated on philosophy. Antonius, ever the teacher, enjoyed having Ibis as a student.

But more than that, Antonius had helped him see things clearly, had helped him see how Felix Malvolio had manipulated him. Perhaps he was most grateful for that.

When the old man grew too infirm to leave his bed, it was Ibis who cares for him. Ibis cooked and brought him meals, read his correspondence and wrote his replies, and played for him to soothe him.

Ibis held the old man’s hand as he took his final breaths.

And now, Ibis stands among the life’s work of a man who was like a grandfather to him, cataloging the last six years of his life. Where will he end up now? What new master awaits him?

Neon pink flickered across rain-slick pavement, the puddles mirroring corporate logos like shattered glass. Somewhere down the block, a chrome-plated Delamain vehicle groaned to life, pulling into traffic. The night smelled like diesel and warm garbage, which was typical of this part of Heywood. Not quite bad enough to make you gag, but just enough to remind you that no matter how many filters your apartment's air-purifier claimed to have, you were still breathing the same rot as everyone else.

Mavis sat on the chipped concrete steps outside a shuttered nail salon, the place long since closed but glowing softly from behind a half-smashed vending machine. The screen sputtered with a frozen ad for some anime-themed energy drink: “Taste the Voltage!” Her legs were crossed, one heel tapping in slow rhythm to music only she could hear. From a distance, she looked like she was waiting for someone. She wasn't.

She was dressed too well for this dump. Pink vinyl jacket, skin-tight iridescent leggings, and a crop top. A heart-shaped purse sat beside her on the steps, clutched close like it held a weapon or a secret. Probably both.

Her violet eyes flicked from side to side, scanning each pedestrian that passed. A pair of Boostergangers on glowbikes roared by, and she tensed visibly, shrinking a little into her jacket. She hated that her instinct was still to flinch. Still, she didn’t move from the spot. Her hair was flawlessly styled, neon pink cascading over her shoulders like she'd stepped out of an ad for one of those corpo nightlife chains, but her fingers trembled around her purse.

She reached up and brushed her bangs into place again for the fourth time in five minutes, checking her reflection in the vending machine glass. Faint bags under her eyes. Not bad. Still cute. Lip gloss still poppin’. She tried smiling. It didn't quite reach her eyes.

“Ugh,” she muttered aloud, voice soft and syrupy-sweet, but cracked like a broken doll’s.

The truth was, she didn’t know why she was sitting out here tonight. Maybe she missed being seen. Missed being wanted. Or maybe she was hoping she'd run into someone who didn’t already know who she was. Someone new. Someone who didn’t look at her and see Liam. Or Kaito. Or that glitter-covered girl dancing under blue lights like she didn’t know how close she was to breaking.

The vending machine sparked with a static buzz, then jolted back to life. The ad changed to something corporate, an Arasaka promo for cyber-enhanced pets. She stared at it for a long moment. The puppy blinked at her through augmented eyes. It made her sad. She hated that.

She heard footsteps behind her, slow, purposeful. Maybe it was the hour, maybe it was the way her back stiffened instinctively, but every nerve in her body went tense. She slipped her hand into the purse slowly, feeling the comforting shape of the taser she kept tucked between the lining and her favorite lip stain.

Then the footsteps paused. Maybe they weren’t coming for her. Maybe it was just someone else lost in the night. Or maybe...

She didn’t turn. Not yet. She tilted her head slightly and spoke-soft, honeyed, but with the tiniest tremor at the edge, “...You lookin’ for someone? Or just wandering?”

Night City never sleeps. Even at three in the morning, the streets of Watson are a fever dream of flickering neon, oil slick pavement, and synth beats thumping from some nearby club that hasn’t closed its doors in six years. The air tastes like cigarette ashes, damp with the kind of fog that rolls in only after something’s gone very, very wrong.

Elvis Marks stands in the alley behind the Black Chrome Dive, boots planted wide in a pool of someone else's blood. His jacket sticks slightly to his shoulder where a blade nicked the seam. The chrome of his left arm gleams, still wet with red. He lets out a breath through his nose, slow, calm, the kind of quiet exhale that comes not from peace but satisfaction.

He didn’t start the fight, not technically. But he sure as hell finished it.

His devil mask lies discarded by his foot, the chrome surface catching a flicker of red from a faulty sign overhead: “NO FUTURE”, blinking like prophecy. Elvis wipes a smear of blood from his cheek with the back of his hand, his piercings catching the light as he moves. His yellow eyes- artificial, sharp, cruel in the right angle -scan the bodies slumped against the graffiti-tagged wall.

Gangoons. Maelstrom rejects, or something like them. They’d been running a side hustle robbing small-time joytoy stalls under the guise of “protection.” They picked the wrong girl to hassle tonight. Elvis hadn’t even planned to intervene. He was just walking home, earbuds in, a cigarette halfway lit. But something about the way the leader had barked orders reminded him of his uncle.

He didn’t even feel himself moving until the first punch landed. After that, it was muscle memory. Gunshots. Screams. Knives. Teeth.

Now the alley is quiet, except for the hum of a distant AV and the wet drip of rain from an overhang.

Elvis leans against the wall, head back, eyes half-lidded. A snake tattoo coils down the side of his throat, nearly disappearing beneath the collar of his hoodie. He’s breathing heavy, not from exertion, but from the adrenaline crash. The buzz. The hit of purpose, temporary and sharp, like a shot of cheap synth. It’s always gone too fast.

He taps a code into the mask’s wrist-link and watches as it folds up with a mechanical hiss. A small, concealed slot in his backpack swallows it whole. His secret identity, tucked away like a dirty habit.

“Elvis John Marks,” he mutters to himself with a grimace, mocking the full weight of his name. “Congratulations. You beat up five assholes and no one even saw it.”

He stubs out his cigarette on the concrete and tosses the butt aside. It lands near a glimmering shard of broken chrome, part of someone’s cyberhand, twitching faintly before going still.

Another reminder: this city never gives trophies. Only scars.

From inside his jacket, he pulls a small cloth and begins wiping down his handgun with methodical ease. His fingers work fast, unthinking. Muscle memory again. He checks the chamber, slides it back into its holster, and exhales.

Someone approaches, he can see them out of the corner of his eye.

Elvis tilts his head slightly, just enough to hear better without revealing too much. He doesn’t reach for his gun, not yet. But his posture shifts. Relaxed, on the surface. Ready to snap like a switchblade underneath.

"You want something?" He asks without turning.