The words echoed in my mind, sharp and jarring against the pounding of my heart.
Huh? Wait what?!
I scrambled to my feet, my gaze darting frantically over every inch of my skin. No scales. No twisted limbs. Nothing like the grotesque creature I'd stumbled upon moments ago. My voice came out rough, edged with suspicion, as I addressed the presence that had attached itself to me.
"You said I'd become a Watcher. But I don't look anything like that monster I saw earlier."
A soft hum filled my head the system's way of responding. Not all monsters wear their true forms on the surface. Some walk among humans, indistinguishable from anyone else. There was a pause, long enough to make my skin prickle, before it added, Had you reached out and touched that… thing @#@# you would have transformed into exactly what you feared.
Relief washed over me so hard I nearly collapsed. I'd been so close to making a mistake that would have cost me everything. Before I could fully process the thought, a chime cut through my inner monologue.
Host would you like to open a mystery box?
My eyes narrowed as I stared at the floating container materializing before me. Suspicion warred with curiosity in my chest… but curiosity always won out. With a deep breath, I reached out and lifted the lid.
I stared, dumbfounded.
Inside lay a single mask. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen intricate carvings snaked across its surface, and strange symbols glowed faintly in the dim light. I opened my mouth to ask the system what it was, but silence was my only answer.
Hesitantly, I picked it up.
A jolt of searing pain shot up my arm, spreading through my body like wildfire. Then, a voice low, smooth, and dripping with venom whispered in my mind:
Don't you hate them? Don't you remember what they did to you in the military? How they laughed when you failed, called you a burden, and said you were nothing but dead weight? How they bullied you for being the weakest, breaking your things and mocking your anger? How they found the pet you'd hidden away… and killed it just to watch you cry?
"No! " I screamed, clamping my hands over my ears even though I knew the voice wasn't coming from the outside. "Stop it stop talking about that! "
"Wear me," the voice purred. I'll make you stronger than anyone. No one will ever look down on you again.
My hand trembled as I lifted the mask toward my face. The next moment, the world shifted not my body, but my consciousness, pulled away and trapped in what looked like a massive television screen. I stared in horror as I watched myself from the outside… then the voice boomed from the display, loud with triumph.
HAHAHA! You actually believed me? How amusing. But no matter I'm grateful for this new vessel. It will serve me well.
"Wait what?! " I thrashed against my invisible prison, panic rising in my throat. "I thought you were just a mask! You promised"
The laughter cut me off, cold and cruel. Promises are for those who care about such things. Let me properly introduce myself: I am the Mask of the Abyss, born from every drop of malice, trauma, and greed humanity has ever known. I've existed since the first spark of hatred took root in your kind. He paused, his tone taking on a mocking edge. You should count yourself lucky less than half a percent of those I've claimed retain even a shred of their consciousness. Now, let the real work begin.
I screamed, begging for my body back, but my words vanished into nothing. My legs gave out beneath me, tears blurring my vision as I replayed every choice that had led me here then a bloodcurdling shriek snapped me back to attention.
As I looked at the television like screen I saw my body moved with unnatural grace, butchering the group that had been chasing me. But it wasn't just killing it was toying with them. I watched in revulsion as my mouth twisted into a grin and spoke in that terrible voice: "You can live… if you kill the person to your right."
He sat atop the pile of bodies moments later, laughing as if he'd just witnessed the greatest show on earth. I turned away, my stomach churning.… this was savagery beyond anything I could comprehend.
Then, another voice cut through the chaos different from the mask's, sharp and cold as ice: Can't even take back what's yours? Just like before… a worthless nobody.
Something inside me snapped.
The endless stream of horrors I'd faced since waking up being hunted, monsters lurking in the shadows, and now this creature stealing my very self finally pushed me past my breaking point. As the mask of Malice continued to laugh over the corpses, savoring the victory of having a physical form at last, my hand suddenly twitched.
The Mask of the Abyss froze. Then, my fingers wrapped tightly around my own throat.
"IMPOSSIBLE! " it roared, clawing at my hand. "HOW CAN YOU STILL CONTROL THIS BODY?! "
A cold smile crossed my face as I spoke, my voice ringing clear and steady through the madness:
"If you're born from malice… then I'll just have to seal away every emotion you can feed on."
Ten minutes earlier…
I'd been wracking my brain for any way to fight back when a thought hit me like lightning. The mask had said it was born from malice and it had spoken to me of revenge, of hatred, of all the darkness I'd tried to bury deep inside.
That's it, I realized. It can only take control if I give in to those malicious emotions.
A small smile tugged at my lips. I didn't know if it would work but after everything I'd been through, I was willing to risk anything.