Father…

[Lucien kneels before a crucifix — Nero’s mask resting beside him.]

I come before you not as the man I was nor as the mask I hid behind, but as what remains.

The one left standing at the edge of the storm — bound to finish what was started.

[He clasps his hands and lowers his head.]

You have witnessed every step that brought me here. The betrayals; the kindnesses turned aside. The truth bent under the strain of false devotion. And you know some paths cannot be undone…

That some stones, once set rolling, must reach their end.

[Lucien’s face tightens.]

It began with doubt threading through the certainty around me. I saw cracks in my brother’s words; the shadowed hands behind his sermons. The careful shaping of faith into a weapon.

At first I looked away. I gave him the benefit of hope — but the truth would not be quieted. It demanded witness, and if no one stood, it would have spread unchecked like poison in the roots of a tree.

[Lucien’s fingers brush the mask at his side.]

So I stepped forward — not out of courage, but necessity. Not as myself, but as the one who could stand where the other faltered.

I gathered what needed to be seen, I laid bare what needed to be known, and I prayed the truth might force Ezekiel to face what he had become.

[His hands come together again.]

But instead, he struck back. He took Rose; he took Ned. He turned family into hostages, love into leverage, and the bonds that once bound us became chains.

[A small, broken shake of the head.]

A shepherd does not seize his flock. A brother does not bind his own blood. And in that moment, Lord, my path narrowed to one direction…

I had to finish what had begun.

[Lucien opens his eyes, raising them to the cross.]

And so I kneel here now, Lord — not in anger nor fear, but in the stillness of acceptance. Grant me clarity. Grant me a steady strength. Grant me purpose.

Grant me wisdom enough to end this cleanly, and the courage to carry its weight.

[He extends his hands forward.]

Do not mistake my purpose for vengeance or pride, Father. This storm cannot settle unless someone stands in its eye.

These hands are not shackled by choice, but by the burden I’ve been given to bear.

[Lucien lifts the mask and gazes into it.]

Let this finish in truth. Let this close with resolve.

Let this conclude because it cannot go on.

[The mask appears to catch the light — responding as though beckoned.]

And when the storm finally breaks, free my family from its grasp and let the shadow that stalked them be cast aside.

Let the burden fall only upon the one who unleashed it.

[Lucien pulls the mask down over his head.]

May this moment speak for me, Lord. That fear did not turn me; love did not restrain me.

That I turned only toward the path you placed before me — and I will walk it to its end…

[The mask’s eyes burn to life — Nero awakened one last time.]

Because nothing else will.