"Do not resist," a voice boomed in his mind. "You belong to me now."
Kaelen staggered, almost collapsing to his knees, but Ariana was there to catch him, her hands trembling as they gripped his shoulders.
"Kaelen, you have to fight it!" she shouted, but her voice seemed so distant, as though muffled by a thick fog.
He tried to speak, but his words died in his throat as his vision blurred. The world around him twisted and warped, as if reality itself was beginning to unravel. The mask was a curse, a key to something far older and darker than they had ever imagined.
"Pull it off!" Taryn yelled, rushing to his side, but her words seemed meaningless against the pull of the mask. Every second it remained in his grip, it tore at him, digging into his soul like claws.
