The Masks of Death

Verse I

The mirror showed a reflection that wasn't my own.

This should've been the kind of oddity to frighten me. To cause instinctive recoil, my brain signaling to get away. To get far, far away and never look back. Instead, I felt quite curious. In response to the potentially dangerous stimuli all my senses were heightened. Fully aware, I focused on my breathing and continued to stare ahead, puzzled.

Looking out of the mirror straight back at me, a mysterious stranger tilted its head slightly. I was sitting in my furniture-less room counting down the days until I'd be evicted and inevitably back out on the streets. There was nothing left. I had nothing left. A soft mist enshrouded the entire space. A single lamp offered the only light in a dark night.

"I am HuHu Kid."

With aid from the mist, messages could be written on the mirror's surface. After a few seconds the words would disappear, ushering in a new pseudo blank slate. I wrote my response, not feeling it to be weird in the slightest. My heart rate remained steady. My breathing calm. Excitement flowed through my veins.

"I am Luka."

It was technically a nickname. Usually I despised technicalities, however in this case I let it slide. I hated my real name. Huhu Kid's appearance was hidden behind a mask. Its aesthetic looked ragged, but also cultural and unique, evoking feelings of death and decay. The forlorn and the forsaken. Tattered brown, red, and black clothes were its garments.

A stunted, high-pitched laugh came from the mirror. It was resting against a wall while simultaneously balanced on a short stack of books. Earlier I had been sitting here, on the ground cross legged, staring at myself. Hating myself. Hating what I saw. What I had become. The cards I had been dealt.

Clawing at my front door interrupted my pity party, like someone or something was trying to break in. The door was old and creaked every time it was open. That was the sound that came next. I froze, which honestly didn't mean much considering I was already unmoving, and fear stopped whatever it was doing to take a peek. Footsteps approached rapidly. On the verge of going crazy if I weren't to look, another message appeared in the mirror.

"Friend. Don't worry."

A deep breath came out slowly. I hadn't known I was holding it. And then the intruding creature was upon me. Upon first glance it looked like a dog. Upon further inspection it was abundantly clear this was no ordinary dog. It was dead. Or undead? Surely, it was dead. More than fifty percent of its bones were visible. Half its face was skeletal and the other half ragged. Its tongue hung out of the side of its mouth where there was no skin.

"Does your friend have a name?"

"Tecky"

The dead dog Tecky curled up next to me. I found it interesting the animal continued looking up at me as if I was its master and not the creature from the mirror. Regardless, the dog's comforting came as a welcome surprise.

The lamp flickered off in the corner. I forgot the last time the bulb had been changed. Any minute now and the thing would go out. I started fidgeting waiting for another message. Waiting for an explanation. Waiting for something. Anything. The reflection in the mirror was slowly changing. Zooming out. Huhu Kid sat poignantly with its back against a tree, wrists resting on knees in a relaxed position. Once again the mirror's focus returned motionless. HuHu Kid retrieved a flute from inside its tunic and played a song. It was simple. Pristine. It was deep. Melancholy. Then the light went out, and I passed out with it.

When I awoke next it was still dark outside, while an eerie glow radiated from the corner lamp. None of the mist remained. Everything had seemingly returned to normal. Or so I thought, until I looked down. Tecky vanished, but left something beyond peculiar behind. Its face. Laying on the floor.

Unable to resist, I picked it up. The craftsmanship was remarkable. As far as I could remember, the life-like resemblance was almost exact. Its bones were cool to the touch. Its eyes deep and lonely. Dejected. I turned it around and noticed a strange addition. A leathery material had been added to it. I thought back to Huhu Kid. Back to what I noticed first. The mask. Could it be? Could this be a mask of Tecky the dead dog? There was only one way to find out.

Without further ado, I put on the mask.

The agony was instantaneous. Absolute. Like every bone in my body had been broken. Like thousands of razor blades cut me simultaneously. Like my fingers were growing too big for the skin, threatening to burst out in a shower of blood.

My body underwent a metamorphosis, completely changing how my senses functioned. I started walking. I needed movement to help me think. A few pacing laps of front and back later, it hit me. I was walking with my arms and legs. I had an appendage growing out of my ass. Only one conclusion logically made any sense. Yeah. It must be. I had become Tecky, the dog of death.

Verse II

Before leaving through the still open door I checked the mirror one last time. Nothing happened, although I kept looking, thinking the moment I turned away would be the moment Huhu Kid would reappear. Alas, its presence in the haunted mirror was no more.

Walking on four legs turned out to be a smoother transition than I expected. My consciousness and inner voice remained the same, however I detected an unknown presence inside me as well. Tecky was still there. Or here. Something like that.

Out the door I went and into the hallway. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary except for the deafening silence. I headed downstairs towards the entrance. The building's front contained two doors in quick succession. I couldn't open either of them in my new body. As luck would have it, that didn't matter. Someone was approaching from outside.

When I looked in the mirror earlier, I had adopted the same appearance as the dog of death. It never really occurred to me until now the sight of my new body could potentially lead to-- troubling situations. There was nowhere to hide. The outsider fiddled with the initial lock while I tucked away in a corner. Yeah, it wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. The first door opened followed by the second. I sat back on my hind legs, watching, ready to bolt at a moment's notice. Another tenant approached about ten paces away. The first person must've been feeling polite today and held both doors open, the first one with their foot. As their trajectory of opening the door carried them towards the corner I occupied, we made direct eye contact. Not so much as a flinch. Apparently I couldn't be seen. I snuck my way out, making sure to take a wide turn around the second person. As long as I didn't make any sort of contact I assumed I was in the clear.

The neighborhood I stayed in was located in a rough part of the city. Like magic the surrounding area went from roughshod to rich in only a couple of blocks. Each street lamp I walked under flickered and then burned out, only to come on once again after I reached a certain distance away. This observation along with the close call before gave more credence to the idea of a 'seen' and 'unseen' world. How far that rabbit hole went I had no idea. There was an underpass coming up I'd traversed more than once before. A small cemetery stood to the right, its entrance accessible only by a tunnel branching off from the path I traversed. Ahead of me I could see some sort of energetic disturbance in the air, shaped like a person. I could sense it with both my eyes and my nose. I would liken it to the distorted vision one would see on an extremely hot day. Apparition was the first word that came to mind.

The way it moved and constantly peered back led me to believe I should follow. Someone could see me, after all.

Tracking the apparition proved easy. I marveled at the new perspective I had on the world. Unfortunately my good mood was about to come to a swift end. Once I entered the tunnel and got close to the graveyard, my head nearly imploded from the worst migraine I'd ever experienced.

*Bars in every direction. Cold air. Freezing air. Diabolical wind. Can't stretch legs. The back door thrown open. Him. Him. What will he do now? The others all retreat. Can't go far. Trapped. We're all trapped. Owner displeased. The dog Gray the cause. Don't know why. There was no time wasted. A gun was pulled. Aimed. And fired. Straight into her head. Howling in agony. Tearing at the bars. Make this monster pay. But no amount of torture could bring her back.*

*Weeks without food. Starving. Abandoned. Going to be over soon. Please, let it be over soon.*

*Another few days. Maggots number in the thousands, eating my dearly beloved from the inside out. Could not look away. Owner gone. Left us to die. At least I would soon be with her. For the final time, I closed my eyes.*

Violently I was thrust back into reality. Tecky's memories were so vivid. So real. So raw. I meandered forward through the rest of the tunnel and arrived at the graveyard. All the burial plots were occupied. No room was left. The place looked decrepit and run down. It'd probably been a long, long time since anyone had visited here.

The night had changed. Palpably changed. Uncanny like space had been pulled all the way down. Visibility increased. This effect made the scenery much sharper. Much more vivid and dreamlike.

It had been fun while it lasted but now the time had come to remove the mask and return to my old self. Without any sort of guidance I did the first thing I could think of, bringing my paw up to my face to try to get a grip. As soon as they touched I could feel the synergy. With a swift tug the mask came off. Fortunately going back into human form was much less traumatic than the other way around.

Immediately I felt there was something I needed to do.

Off in the far corner where I could be sure I wouldn't disturb any of the dead already at rest, I buried the mask of the dog of death, Tecky. While I was digging, I heard music playing. Specifically from a piano. As the tune kept on playing, a voice began to sing. Whatever language the words were sung in, I couldn't understand. I didn't bother to look around. For my own sanity I had to finish digging and put my friend to rest, once and for all, so hopefully Tecky could mercifully be at rest. Be at peace. The music ended.

"Any last words?" asked the singer.

"No. Words aren't enough. And they don't mean anything."

"Are you sure about that?"

I felt confident the conversation had been started by the apparition that originally led me here.

"No. I'm not sure about anything, honestly."

Before I transferred the dirt back to finish the burial, I turned around. A sickened man wearing a tuxedo and topped off with a fedora sat upon on of the gravestones. Gnarled roots came up from the ground to form what looked like a piano. The woman was dressed in a wedding gown complete with the thing I couldn't remember the name of that went over her head. She held flowers close to her chest. Lilacs, they looked like, but flowers weren't my specialty and they might've been something different.

A random sparkle caught my attention bearing a strong resemblance to that refraction ricochet. Then it hit me. A mirror. I couldn't believe my eyes. The haunted mirror from my apartment had somehow followed me here. By following where my eyes were looking, the sickened man found the object and picked it up. He stared into it, smirking widely. Then he turned to me.

"Have a looksy, won'tcha?"

A debilitating flash of light forced me to cover my eyes. When eventually the graveyard returned to normal, or should I say its new normal, the man was gone. In its place was another mask.

The woman looked from the mask to me and back again. She didn't even flinch.

"Go ahead, young one. My name is Viola. And the man who left moments ago answered to the name Viktor. Do not fret. I will watch over you."

One thing had to be done first. A handful of shovels later I had completely buried my friend. Contrary to how I felt before, I did have a few last words.

"I hope the next life treats you better than this one. Maybe I'll see you again someday. Take care."

I took a bow, wanting to convey my respect even if there was only a single apparition watching. Maybe others could see as well. In the unseen world, possibly. By now I'd come to grips with its existence, although I still had no idea to its purpose or potential.

My next move being fairly self-explanatory. Time to rip the band aid off. I tarried no longer, bending down to pick up the second mask to bring it towards my face.

Despite going through it already, the agony was nowhere near bearable. Although I didn't need to shift into an entirely different species, it didn't make things any easier. This time the memories played instantaneously.

*Walking along the sidewalk, hand in hand. It was date night. A special night. Probably the best one of this man's life. Love was blossoming like a spring daffodil. There were problems in the world. Problems with him. But they seemed so small in comparison to the love he had for this woman. Finally, he'd found it. Not just someone worth dying for. Someone worth living for. Slowly they walked, enjoying the night and its cool breeze. Then tragedy struck. A driver was speeding along, evading the police. In its attempt to lose their pursuers, they drove erratically, and were heading straight for them. He misjudged the trajectory. In his attempts to save his one true love, he inadverdantly put her directly in harm's way. The car smashed into her, sending her sprawling back ten feet into another building. For the most part he amazingly evaded injury. The driver got out and ran without bothering to check on the destruction that had just been caused. Viola! Viola! He screamed again and again, but she wasn't waking up. Blood was pooling out of her mouth. Most of her bones had been broken, her chest and ribs completely caved in. She had died on impact.*

The memory kicked me out. Viola looked at me. Studied me. Read my mind and responded aloud.

"The more you detach from the plea of others, the less pain you shall feel."

*The rest of the night a blur. Flashing lights. Conversations with police. Finally the walk home, long and tiring. He couldn't bear the thought of taking any sort of vehicle home. When he made it, he burst into tears. He went into their shared bedroom and the tears came flowing like a river. He had lost his everything. He had nothing left to live for. Nothing in this world, and probably not the next, could ever bring him even a semblance of catharsis. The next few weeks passed without much sleep. Without much food or drink. He had a one-track mind: tracking down the killer of his beloved. In due time he found him. That night was full of torture. And eventually the killer breathed his last breath. Not long after, the fedora wearing man Viktor followed suit.*

I took off the mask and threw it to the ground, not knowing how much more of this pain I could take. At least he found his beloved. I had never... I could never...

Viola stepped forward.

"You're still not done yet. You must endure. You must bear witness and learn to detach from your emotions."

I sat there, expressionless. I felt imprisoned in this exact moment of time, like when you've been in a particular room hundreds of times and all of a sudden you consciously become aware of the tick, tick, tick of a clock you'd never realized makes a sound. It was like being thrown into the sea after the boat sinks and getting trapped under water, certain death mere moments away. And then it never comes. So you become stagnant, unsure what to do with yourself. Unsure what to do with your hands. Scratching body parts that don't itch, wondering, what now?

Viola looked at me in a soft, understanding type of way, like she knew all about the struggle. I guess it made sense. You don’t need to walk a thousand miles in someone's shoes if you have a similar pair.

A bolt of lightning sent my world into an illusory time delay as a booming thunder followed soon after. Some strange phenomena started up in the skies. There were no clouds, nor stars, and the moon had begun flickering. In intervals about a few seconds long each time the world would revert to and from different worlds. The seen and unseen. At least that was my best guess. All I could be certain of was that although they obviously blended together, each of them were two distinct wholes, kind of like a Venn diagram.

"Shall we continue?"

My brain didn't register she was talking to me until a few seconds after Viola asked the question. I thought I’d had enough fun already tonight and wanted to head back home. Unfortunately, you can’t always get what you want.

"I'd rather not. Oftentimes I wonder when enough is enough. At least I can answer that question for tonight because I've had more than enough. I’m sor—."

I spoke sincerely, all things considered. Ultimately my request to stop would not be obliged.

"And that is exactly why you must proceed. True growth can only be achieved by pushing past one's limits."

A shiver went down my spine. Anytime, anyplace I would have rather someone screamed their lungs out at me compared to how she spoke. Viola wasn't assertive. Wasn't aggressive. She spoke as if her words were final.

Currently she held her hands clasped together down at her waist. Her unflinching stance ironically made her even more intimidating.

I still didn’t know what she actually looked like. Her veil in front of her face appeared transparent, however trying to look through it produced only distorted images. It wasn’t the time or the place to ask for a reveal so I put the thought to bed.

She reached slowly into a hidden pocket in her dress. Instinctually I felt a bit more on edge than I already was. Shockingly I hadn't fallen off the proverbial cliff yet. In one motion she pulled out the object and showed it to me, flipping it open with one hand. A pocket mirror. After taking one step I paused, staring straight at her. A nod of the head signaled her approval so I took the few remaining steps to gaze into it. Once again, the reflection was not my own.

The original haunted mirror vanished some time earlier without me noticing. Because this mirror's surface was so much smaller than the one we'd met in earlier, only one letter at a time could be communicated. Huhu Kid got straight to the point.

"I N-E-E-D Y-O-U-R H-E-L-P."

What in the world could I possibly do to help? I was good for nothing. Always had been, always will be. My life had amounted to nothing. I had no job. No girlfriend. No family. No friends. And I was about to have no home. I was as good as dead. A burden on the world itself. I had accomplished nothing. Achieved nothing. Gained nothing that I hadn't eventually lost once again. Why would anyone ask me for help? Surely if this spiritual being had the capabilities to communicate with another dimension, it would have chosen someone other than me to ask for help. Surely it must have been an understanding.

A light mist drifted into the graveyard, fogging the mirror enough for me to write a message back with a letter every few seconds.

"M-E?"

The response came swiftly.

"Y-O-U. R-A-M. Y-E-S. Y-O-U"

I wanted to ask, 'why me', but that felt way too cheesy. If I showed any hesitation or did anything that might make me seem incompetent, then I'd definitely get replaced. Before I was more than ready to bail. Now I was having second thoughts.

Whatever I needed to do, I would do it. And I'd leave no time for second guessing. Instead of taking up time asking more questions, I wrote back a simple confirmation to leave no doubts of my commitment.

"O-K."

The instructions were immediate and straight forward. I wasn't sure why they were even necessary. I'd already been doing what I was now being asked to continue doing. Well, I guess I WAS trying to quit earlier.

"F-O-L-L-O-W V-I-O-L-A."

I looked at her. She looked at me.

I nodded. She nodded.

And then we were off.

I found it odd how I couldn't help myself but to look back one last time at where I buried Tecky, wishing that my doubts about the afterlife were unfounded. Wanting so bad for peace to be a real possibility. Yet on the other hand, Viola never looked back. Not even a passing glance. Hmmph. But I shouldn't judge. Could be it had become too much for her to bear. There was no need for me to bury Viktor's mask like the other. Once I dropped it on the ground, the dirt consumed it like quicksand, returning it to its rightful place six feet under.

"Wher--"

Before I could continue I cut myself off. Whenever I felt a lot of nerves, I had a tendency to ask either dumb questions or ones that could be answered if I just waited another thirty seconds. I didn't want her to think I was a coward. The bravest of people never showed their weakness. I'm sure they must have been feeling it, but they never, ever showed it. And thus I would follow suit.

A short time later we arrived at the front entrance to a mausoleum. Another flash of lightning revealed the building to be grand and pristine in perfect condition. Right when the thunder boomed and reality changed, another version was revealed. The doors had been blown off and weeds were growing everywhere. Two stone gargoyles stood at either side. One had both wings ripped off and the other no longer had its head. Inside there were a few coffins strewn about. Rubble had piled up in every corner. Viola went in first and so I followed, narrowly avoiding the rain which had just started falling outside. I noticed how the smell of the air had changed as a result of the changing weather. The little things. If only I was capable of stopping for just one second to take in my surroundings more then maybe I could have gained a new appreciation for life. Hah. Maybe was a bit of a stretch. It was just rain.

Viola waved her hand and magically all the debris had been cleared away from the center of the mausoleum. With her other hand she made another movement, revealing a trap door in the floor. No tells were given as to how she did this.

"I will proceed with you no further."

Just like that, Viola was gone. I turned and watched her floating a few centimeters off the ground back towards the area we came from. Whether it was the mist swallowing her up, some sort of magic, or an illusion, she vanished in an instant.

I rolled my eyes. If I wanted to, I could just leave. Who was going to stop me? Right now, I should say forget it and b-line it as fast as I could to the exit. Get back home, forget about the mirror, and try to figure shit out. Take things one step at a time.

I stepped back out in the rain. More thunder and more lightning. Out of nowhere came a collection of dark clouds here to declare the storm would not be stopping for a long time. Something about the rain falling down on me helped calm my nerves. For a few seconds I closed my eyes, appreciating the sound of raindrops colliding with stone.

Was I going to be the person I always was? Running away when things got dicey? Never taking risks? Constantly backing down? Being the epitome of dead weight?

No. No.

"No. I will. Not. Fucking. Lose. No. This time it's personal."

Verse III

They were watching. They were always watching. If Huhu Kid could see me and contact me through a mirror, it would be more than plausible other beings and creatures or whatever had special methodologies on which to spy. No way I'd ever truly had a lonely moment. The thought gave me the creeps. On the bright side, at least it would hold me accountable. It was probably too late to change, though.

Whatever. I mused no more and went through the trap door.

Down, down, down-down.

Down, down, down, down.

First I had to traverse the longest ladder ever assembled. Part one accomplished, I continued my descent via a spiral staircase. Sure, it was probably easier going down than up, but I digress. At long last I came to a flat piece of ground winding through a tunnel.

From my pocket I pulled out a cigarette and a wind-proof lighter. All the action tonight had nearly made me forget about my cravings. nearly. The fire was the only light source I had. Two long puffs made me feel right again. Yes, they were bad for me, blah blah blah. I'm going to be dead by the time I'd be worrying about that. In terms of scenery there wasn't a whole lot. I was expecting some kind of stuffy or sewery stench being all the way down here. To my surprise it wasn't that bad at all. Luckily I'd refueled my lighter yesterday. Today it was my only lifeline in this place. If it were to go out, like in a submarine, the result would be plain and simple. No more oxygen. So far, so good.

By this point my legs were beyond sore. I still worked out here and there but for the most part I was for sure out of shape. Nowhere near the conditioning I'd had in other parts of my life. My breathing was so shot I was practically wheezing. At least it wasn't from the anxiousness or panic this time.

I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Y'know how people who say they've died and come back to life had described seeing something like this. It wasn't THAT kind of light. It was more like two separate, yet very strange distinct observations. I saw the end of the tunnel. And I saw that the space at the end was lit. Very simple. Size-wise the final stretch of the path grew smaller and smaller. The only way through at the last ten feet or so was to lie on my stomach and shimmy across. When I got to the end, I saw nothing but a small, empty room. The only thing there was a circular cut-out of stone clearly distinct from the rest of the flooring. There were pillars spread in a circle with geometric precision in how they were spaced out. I walked into the center of the circle and noticed something else previously blocked from view. A lever protruding from the backside of one of the pillars. It took a considerable amount of force to move. Nonetheless, I still managed to activate it. The ground began rumbling and I could hear the sound of gears turning. This was an elevator. And we were going up.

Judging distances wasn't my strong suit. Even though the elevator moved at a speed much faster than when I was climbing down the ladder or the stairs, I still felt like I would have passed the altitude I originally started at a long, long time ago by now. And this ride provided nothing in the form of entertainment. All I could do was sit in a corner, trying and failing to get the memories out of my head I'd only received from putting on the masks. All I could do was regret my past choices, even though I felt in the back of my mind choices were overrated. The same things probably would have happened to me anyway. I was growing more pessimistic by the minute.

Eventually the elevator came to a screeching halt. The quick elimination of inertia left me startled but no worse for wear. A stone door opened in front of me, revealing a large Cathedral-like central space with immensely high vaulted ceilings and all sorts of gothic architecture and decoration. Stained glass of all kinds. Paintings adorning the walls. I thought the word grand was a fitting summation of it. The Cathedral is a beautiful masterpiece.

Walking further into the mysterious great hall gave me goosebumps. That was fine. I was sticking to my promise, and that was final. No matter what. I would. Not. Run. A small set of stairs formed a half-circle on the far side of the grand hall. Closer and closer I approached the main attraction by putting one foot in front of the other. I passed more idols and relics and other eldritch things. My anxiety miraculously felt bearable. It must be because I was helping my new friend. I was doing something with purpose. And for good.

Excitement awakened the butterflies in my stomach. I couldn't even remember the last time I felt like this. The thought was awfully depressing, but that was then, this was now. Upon climbing the final stair I saw before me a unique shrine or altar. Instantaneously I turned around and booked it out. Not even three steps down and I rolled my ankle, sending me sprawling. Luckily before I hadn't had the distance to build up much momentum. I only slid a few steps further.

"You gotta be shitting me."

I had to say it aloud. Had to make sure this was real. I'd almost slipped. I mean, almost figuratively slipped. I had tried to flee. And for good reason.

Quickly I got back to the top and literally closed my eyes as I made the rest of the way forward. I knew it had to be around here somewhere... Ah-hah. A throne made of stone provided the lone place to sit inside the shrine. Carefully I stepped around its side to its front and sat down. Whoever built this here surely didn’t do it for comfort. Located in the shrine stood an altar. And it was covered in masks.

There were an unfathomable number of masks stretching all the way up to the ceiling. Evidently the altar had space enough starting out, then as time passed and more things came to live, more things eventually died. Their corresponding masks thus flocking to this place. Most of them had some sort of accompanying inscription or label with either a name, a date, a nickname, or a quote. Some still looked fresh while others showed signs of rot. Some showed burn damage and others had deformities most likely from some kind of weapon.

Unknowingly I read out loud the first quote I saw.

"Saying I love you doesn't count for much. It's how you treat them that really matters."

*A girl. First year of college beginning to feel overwhelmed. Her friends asked her to hang out but she respectfully declined, wanting some alone time. No one noticed until it was too late. Accidentally she'd wandered into a wooded area with no one around. Realizing her mistake, she turned around. A cloaked figure had followed her, bludgeoned her on the side of the head and tied her up. Dragged across the forest floor. Tossed to the side. She screamed. No one could hear her. She screamed and screamed and screamed. Again, no one could hear her. The figure took a hatchet and removed a leg, otherwise she wouldn't be able to fit. The figure had dug a pre-prepared fire pit and she was on the menu. She was cooked alive. Afterwards—before the final remnants of her soul left her body—the figure ate her.*

"Humanity is sick and twisted. Almost all of them are blackhearted sinners. They all deserve to die."

The demonic voice of HuHu Kid reverberated around inside my head.

I wasn't allowed even one second of rest before thrust into another memory of a girl named Sharon.

*Rumbling along on a train. Destination finally reached. Cars so crowded no one could sit. Holding mommy and daddy’s hand tight. Sister doing the same. Eventually, we arrived. A crowd forms, then is broken up into lines. We wait and wait and wait some more. A main guard sees us. Sees me. And my twin sister. Another guard arrives. In perfect synchronization, both my parents are executed. Gunshots to the head. A third man approaches. Introduces himself as doctor. The inflictor of pain. Terrible, terrible pain. I wither away. Slowly wither away, all while my loving sister watches in horror.*

These memories cursed me with surreal real-life experiences. The emotions of the victims. The smell and the ambience of the day of their demise. The thoughts they were feeling. The people they cared for. The monster. Fear roaming from person to person unabated with no shortage of targets. I felt my sanity slipping. My anger growing out of control.

"What the fuck am I doing here? WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING HERE? HOW CAN YOU JUSTIFY ANY OF THIS? HUH? ARE YOU UP THERE? WHOEVER YOU ARE? Go Fuck Yourself!"

One day I believed in a higher power. In a religion. In spirituality. None of that mattered anymore, because if there was one, I hated them. I wanted nothing to do with them.

"I am not from your world, Luka. If only you can help me get there, I can make things better. Humanity can start over again. You and I, together, can purge the wickedness of those who participate in humanity’s darkest indulgences. The humans and the gods and all the others are all complicit. We will kill them all and leave only the ones who are pure. We will start anew. Join me, Luka, in cleansing this world before it's too late. Don't let it fall like mine did. All you have to say is: I'm in."

The agonizing period of adjustment when putting on a mask no longer plagued me as a prerequisite to accessing the dead's memories. My proximity to the shrine might have amplified the power enough to skip that step for now.

The next mask was the final straw. A woman with the nickname Blueberry.

*Sores and blisters cover her body. The pain is excruciating. There is nothing to stop the pain. No potions or antidotes nor medicine to curb the agony. It is absolute. And she is not the only one afflicted. Her only son had just passed away from the same disease. There was nothing that could be done. For ten years she had been trying, trying, and trying again. Only days before she was ready to give up, a miracle happened. Nine months later, that miracle became a reality. A beautiful baby boy. Unfortunately the father was no longer in the picture. She felt she was deserving of the violence inflicted upon her. Manipulated into thinking she wasn't good enough to feel happiness. Then it all changed when her son was born. Like a light switch she had found a whole new perspective on life. A whole new appreciation for it. A desire to do good and to try and leave the world a better place than she found it. For her son. For her son. Oh no. God giv'eth. And God tak'eth away. It was all a set up. To get her to suffer. The darkne-*

"Stop it! Will you fucking stop it! Fuck!"

*A man pours gasoline on himself and lights it on fire.*

*A baby is not fit enough to become a true warrior and is cast out to die, fed to the wolves.*

*An innocent person is fatally electrocuted for a crime they did not commit. The execution botched. Meant to be swift. Instead, the person fried from the inside, their flesh turned black until finally passing.*

I could take no more, falling flat on my face from leaning too far forward off the throne. The smell of the burnt and rotting flesh... I felt like I could taste it. I shut my eyes and rubbed them as hard as I could to try and blot out the replays of all the memories I had just witnessed. When finally I opened my eyes again, I noticed I was floating. Soon after I was placed gently on the ground against a wall for my back to lean on. Viola had come back and was looking after me. I looked straight at her. Directly into her eyes. I felt nothing.

“No,” I pleaded. “No more. Please, no more.”

“Of course. Enough is enough.”

I noticed what she did there and it put me at ease for a brief respite. It wasn’t a whole lot, but at least it was something. I had friends now. I had a purpose now. Whatever it took to make them like me—Viola and HuHu Kid—I'll do it.

"I need you to send HuHu Kid a message from me."

She nodded.

"I'm in."