The mask seemed to pull him forward as if calling to him. It took all of Kastis's willpower not to run up and grab it.
Kastis walked slowly towards it and examined it for a few moments. That was the longest he could go without going insane.
"Yo Kastis, hello, are you okay?" Valer asked, concern lingering in his voice.
Kastis abruptly shot his hand out to grab the mask. His eyes seemed to be glazed over and were glowing red with a liquidy mist oozing out of them as he put the mask on his face.
As the mask weaves itself onto Kastis's face, he hitches and fully contorts in pain.
"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" a guttural scream broke through the whole chamber.
Runes appear deep within his soul. [Unknown's mask, the warden of insanity].
Shard: [Insca/Unknown's mask].
Shard Rank: Unknown.
Shard Purity: VIII.
Shard Type: Utility & Armor
Shard distribution: [A gift from the gods for a peculiar wedding. Blessed by four different divinities, the mask holds unknown powers. Unknown believed that the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest fear is the fear of the unknown. To hide yourself is to have power over others. To not truly know yourself is to know everything around you.
Shard Resonance: [Echoes of Identity], [To be Unknown], [World Site].
Kastis was finally able to get up. He took a sharp inhale, then exhaled, "Damn, that hurt like shit"
"Relax, relax."
As Kastis said those words, he tried to take off the mask. His fingers slowly curled on the top of the mask to get a good grip, then he pulled.
"Oh no no no no, this can't be happening; it's stuck on me. What do I do?" Kastis yelled in despair and desperation.
"Hah! Look at you, stuck in that mask. Can't even take it off? What are you now, a mysterious warrior… or just a sweaty prisoner of your own face? Don't worry, I'm sure someone out there finds suffocating in your own stench intimidating." Valer snickered.
"Damn it, Valer, not helping. Could you shut up and help?" Kastis growled.
"Ok but seriously that thing is fully woven onto you. Also, it looks badass as hell!" Valer said as he inched closer to fully examine Kastis. "I mean, your mask's eye sockets are just pools of darkness with red flickering constellations inside. The Japanese demon part of your mask makes your mouth look so cool. Thirdly, I can't even tell your height or body; I feel sick, you seem ever-changing. Last but not least, your hair is like flowing mist; I can tell the color of your hair."
"Valer, please stop being a fangirl, and what do you mean it's woven onto me? Come on, bro!" Kastis is pleading at this very moment, but what he doesn't realize is Valer just likes the deep, soothing, and methodical voice Kastis has because of the mask.
"Ok, ok, so when a shard is touched, it goes to one area of the soul, symbolizing you have acquired a shard, but the masks engraved their runes deep in your soul like… like a skin. Yeah, I think that would be the most appropriate analogy. That means that the mask is now kind of your skin. How about you try to say "vanish" or something?"
Right before Kastis even spoke the word, his thoughts about making the mask vanish seemed to resonate with the mask, and it in turn turned to a transparent mist.
"Damn, that looked so cool, bro." Valer gushed as he moved farther away.
Kastis is now back to normal and fully composed. After that whole ordeal, he decided to look through Shard Resonance's.
Kastis slowly sat on the floor and closed his eyes to better focus on seeing his soul, a settling calm rolling over the place. The mist seemed to stir evermore slowly and wrapped itself around Kastis to make him more comfortable.
Resonance: [Echoes of Identity]
Resonance Description: [A single mask, a thousand lives. To wear it is to fracture the self, to slip between skins that are him… and yet not. Each form is an echo, stolen from the tapestry of time. In its silence, the master becomes many, and in becoming many, becomes no one at all.
Passive Resonance: [To be Unknown]
Resonance Description: [To hide the master from the world, to be the true unknown, to not be able to be seen, nor heard, nor felt. The absolute limit of nothing, everything, and the unknown.]
Resonance: [World Site]
Resonance Description: [To see the world as it was never meant to be seen. To pierce the veil of mist and glimpse the unknown. To behold the constellations that carved the bones of creation and to read the hidden power burning in every soul.]
"This, this is fucking crazy." Kastis's eyes shot open as he finished analyzing his soul.
"What?" Valer yelped in surprise. "Don't start with me like that."
My bad.
My bad.
Kastis closes his eyes again to make sure what he saw in his soul was real. He did not quite understand what those residents meant.
Out of pure curiosity, he decided to focus on one, as if exploring to activate.
As Kastis did this, his whole being started to vibrate and melt into mist.
"What the fuck did you do?" Valer yells. "Why the hell are you fading from this… Aaaaah, what the hell?"
Before Valor could finish, he got sucked into Kastis's soul.
…
"Cough, cough, please, Castor, hurry, grab my hand," a voice rang out.
There were three kids: two girls and one boy. "Come on," the girl yelled again.
After that last yell, the girl pushed him out of the way of something. The boy who seemed vacant grabbed her arm all of a sudden after she pushed him out of the way. The girl holding the baby yelped as she was grabbed, only getting grazed on the arm by a burning sculpture that was about to hit her and then dissolved into mist and shadows.
…
"Oh, look at that girl; she may be young, but she could fetch a high price, and the boy too, but that older girl I want to have some fun with." Before those sickening words came out of the bastard's mouth, he fell to the ground.
"Boss, Boss, what happened?" the supporter asked.
"Ah, the boss's head is missing; we need to retrieve-"
Blood splattered everywhere as a jaguar and a demon-looking child slaughtered them all.
…
Did you hear the slave traders got wiped out?
Really, by whom?
The bounty hunter, Geralt Spector, and his companion.
Do you know why?
Gerald used the blood of the dead to write a message. Never try to hurt his family, and he left one person alive to apparently warn the criminals.
Apparently, they tried to kidnap them and sell them. That's just a speculation, though.
…
Gasp, a boy shot up from a bed. What was that? Who am I? What the hell is happening?
The boy took a few minutes to breathe. Ok, so I'm Caster, I'm part of the Serevin family, I'm about 19, and I'm also Kastis, yet I don't remember what happened.
"Oh, oh, you finally fully synced with your other body," a voice rang out. "It's me, Valer, you know, your best friend."
Caster frowned. He said hesitantly, "I do know you, but I feel like I don't; I can't explain it."
"Don't worry, you are you; you are both Kastis and Caster One and the same. It doesn't matter if your memories are all jumbled or not." Valor said encouragingly.
"Thank you, Valer, I'm a lot more calm now."
As Castor said, Valer suddenly jumped at him and went into his soul.
The door creaked open.
Golden mist spilled into the room like breath held too long. Soft beams of sunlight carved through the haze, settling on the floor in shifting streaks. Dust danced in the light, their movements slow and dreamlike.
A figure stepped in.
Unhurried. Barefoot. Yawning softly, as though she did not have a care in the world.
She wore a simple black tunic that left her shoulders bare.
It clung to her body with quiet grace. A subtle flower pattern, barely visible, on the tunic.
Her skin caught the light.
Pale. Too pale. It shimmered faintly beneath the dawn light, like a porcelain doll made out of pearls.
She was young.
Looks to be in the mid-twenties.
There was no immaturity in her presence. Even with that youthful look, she had the presence of somebody much older.
Lirael.
Castor blinked once.
She was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.
And yet…
He felt no desire. No spark of romantic impulse. What stirred in his chest was deeper. More true and honest. Something woven through blood and fire and shared silence.
A love of family.
She was his sister.
Her scent followed next.
A soft perfume, floral and damp, like petals crushed beneath morning rain. The smell of gardens.
Near her shoulder, just below the collarbone, the scar waited.
A burn. Almost faint. Almost beautiful.
It curled like ink across her skin, forming the shape of a rose in bloom. One butterfly near the stem. Another caught at the uppermost petal. Still. A weightless memory.
She had earned it saving him.
The fire had taken almost everything else.
Her face was quiet. Not empty but sleepy. Smooth lines. No hard edges. Her eyes… wide, luminous, soaked in fading sunset. Pink with a trace of brown.
Beneath one of those eyes was a single beauty mark.
A heart.
Shaped too perfectly to be real. Too coincidental to be meaningless.
Her lashes were long. Thick. Like they had been painted on. Her gaze moved slowly and very lazily.
And her ears were not human, but Elven.
Two slender, curved twin earrings shimmered against her ears, pale and pink, reflecting the light like captured tears.
They had once belonged to their mother.
Her hair was a strange mix of black and blonde, neither fully one nor the other, falling just past her shoulders. Her usual lazy, low-bun hairstyle was a complete mess, with strands sticking out in random directions, like she'd slept on it and couldn't be bothered to fix it. It was her classic messy bun.
Even her hair refused to obey. It was just like her.
She yawned again. A slow stretch. Catlike. One arm lifting above her head. Her body lengthened, spine arching. A sleeve slipped down, hiding the scar.
She didn't speak. She didn't need to.
She stepped into the room as if it were hers. As if she had always been there.
And perhaps she had.
Because Lirael was not the kind of person who asked for space. She simply became part of it.
And Caster wouldn't have it any other way.