Chapter 1: “Reunion”
The loud buzzing of an alarm clock obliterates your eardrums as you smash the button on top of it. Still groggy, you climb out of your bed.
You set upon the daily routine, for today, is a great day. You have finally achieved the greatest rank of TTV CITY: Master. But, of course, such an achievement cannot go without advice, and so you have gone to a former Master, one known as, Oisli. You had reached out to him, and he had agreed to meet you at an address. You drive your car there, the many billboards of TTVS citizens covering swathes of the city like stickers.
Your gps tells you that you had arrived at your destination, an empty parking lot.
You exit your car, and a loud screeching sound fills your ears, like nails on a chalkboard,
And it drowns out everything, your thoughts, your mind, as you fall down… down.
Do you know when you feel as if everything could have gone perfectly, and only one thing made a difference? This is that, being in a dark room with a single candle. The room smells of rainwater and moss. You see a figure before you.
“Do you remember?” The figure asks.
“Remember?” You ask. However, even as you ask the question, an itch forms at the back of the inside of your head.
The figure sighs.
“I guess not. I must say, I am jealous. You finally reached master; you’ll have the respect of all of them. “
You continue looking at the figure, as he takes off his hood, underneath of which, a wooden, black mask worn over the figures face.
“I wish, when I was master, I had done something worthy of gaining a title like that. @Ghid wrote about his stories, @Rukah was a supporter. @DuneToa did amazing art. And I… well, we…”
“What do you mean “we”?” You ask, puzzled.
“We are the same person.” The figure says, every word increasing the itch.
“You wrote that invitation yourself, before what happened.”
“What did happen?” You ask, while a wraith of dread spreads throughout your body.
“You fell.” The stranger hissed. “We fell.”
“The mask shattered. You have forgotten. And it is still missing a piece." The stranger took off his mask. A large piece of it was was missing.
You struggle, as you instinctively try to get away from the mask.
“Ẅ̶̪́͒͆e̴̡̲̞͌͋̑ ̸̛̰̼̈͆s̷͈̫͇͒̿͊ḥ̷̭̲̇̿̓a̸̠͗ͅt̴̰̲͋̚ṭ̶̖̖̇͒͑e̴̯͉̻̍̃͝r̴̙̍ę̸̦̳̏d̴̝͈̄.̸͈͎͕̕”̸̺̣̉͒ “The stranger screamed, as the itch in your skull became a blinding, agonizing, burning from within.
You look towards the stranger’s face, but there is nothing there.
“I must say, the illusion you have conjured to believe in such a sham, is quite amusing. “
The stranger mused.
“But now, it is time.”
The stranger reached out his hand, fingers outstretched, and reached into your head, pulling something out. As he did, the pain retreated. Holding out the object, the stranger shows you a large, charcoal black, piece of wood. He sets it onto the mask, fitting perfectly.
From the crack between the mask, oozed a black mucus, which quickly dried.
“It is whole.” The stranger said, seemingly satisfied. “And now, to reunite.”
He picked up the mask. And then, he forced it onto your face.
You whipped your head back and forth, the pain returned, stronger than ever, ripping through you, agonizingly, as seconds seemed to be minutes, and minutes, to hours, and hours, to eternity. As the mask slowly melted, and fused to your face, entering your mind, images blasting through your mind’s eye, robbing you of what little self you had, as tendrils of thought were squeezed into your brain, and your mind was flooded with familiar memories…
And then it stopped. You look at the stranger, before he turns into dust.
Premonitions, wars, contests. You remember it all. Such beauty. Such goodness. Such agony.
It tears you to shreds, the overwhelming memories.
You stumble, panting heavily. There’s something else within the mask.
Ȉ̵̮̫̟̏͛͌̓͛̚̚T̷̛̤̩̦́̊̔̓ ̷̡̦͒̈́̇̀͝S̶̪͖̰̄͌̋̕͝Ḙ̴̢̲͙͖͍̞͚̈́E̷̡̥̝̥͔͍̖̬͊̓͘͝Ş̷̢̞͖̃̿̀ ̷̡̧̢̤̼̖̗̱̣̇́͒Y̴̡̧̺̭̼̲̠͉̿̀O̸̞͎͉͇̪̩̓͂͐͛̀́̎̊͘ͅÛ̵̫̼̳̊̀̐̽.̶͗͌͂̅̐̽͑
YOU SCREAM, EACH SUBSEQUENT SCREAM BECOMING LESS
HUMAN.
What have you become?
Simply what you have sown, has become yours to reap.
You stand, still reeling.
What a terrible fate.
You exit the room and are greeted by the sight of the city.
The lights seem dimmer, now, the city less polished.
A note was left on the door:
“Start what needs to happen.”-G.R.D.
You toss it away, whether or not you understood the note.
When you make it back home, its feels as though nothing had changed.
You enter the bathroom and look at the mask in the mirror. But you have changed. And by proxy, everything in your world has changed.
You smash the glass. Seven years of bad luck. It will compare to nothing of what will happen soon after. You know who you are.
You are Oisli. Bearer Of The Mask.
And they will remember.
