I couldn’t believe it. The house was all but charred and cindered as the smoke never faltering to move, rose up into the clouds. My breath was ragged.
I saw them throwing the last of their torches on to the house as they made off carrying something, or someone.
“Damned this witch for bringing those beasts upon us!”
“She purposefully left that beast unburied to lure others!”
“Burn the witch at the stake in our town!”
I could hear their chants cry out into the night sky, however my vision only searched for one person. Within their grasps I could see Melody, they were going to take her away for something I had done. For something I did!
I began walking towards the crowd, my legs tumbling and tripping on the burnt black wood on the ground. How could anyone just watch as they do this to a friend!
My only thought was to just lay there and curl up into a ball of sadness and self grief. But that’s when I first felt it, a heat on my face a feeling I had not felt before.
I couldn’t describe it, the hate. Whatever I was experiencing before was but a drop in an ocean compared to this. My eyes darted to the crowd.
“...”
“...OH god!”
Flow stood there, above the corpse of a deceased villager, his eyes and face shielded by the mask. The village did not know what type of mask had no features however they couldn’t help but acknowledge the red glow appearing from behind it.
Standing still like an emotionless statue, the villagers felt the sheer hate exerting from him as a pressure, weighting each of them down as if they were underwater.
Flow acted differently, moved differently, his movements erratic and jagged as he lunged from one person to another tearing through them like parchment.
Teleporting frantically villagers couldn’t keep track of his movements let alone his attacks, Flow seemed not to care for the expenditure of stamina as it seemed his stats had drastically increased from whatever the mask was feeding off.
The villagers could not even scream, for they had lost their voices from fright. The sword which seemed to dull against the beast in Flow’s clumsy hands was used to its utmost perfection in the slaughter. Causing red lines to streak across those who appeared in Flow’s line of sight.
Whatever Flow had experienced his joy of life, and passion in the wilderness appeared to have disappeared. The previous fears he held so dear seemed to crumble and give way to this new emotion.
When Flow had finally cut through most of the villagers he finally began to see it, Melody was trapped in a cage. Cuts and bruises lined her body, vile acts committed for a crime she did not orchestrate.
The world turned a shade duller as Flow received a single notification.
[New Passive Gained, Emotion Trigger]
Level 1
[The user changes the world around him according to their emotion at the time, change is directly related to level of feeling and type. Intelligence will increase on level up.]
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When Flow saw Melody in such a sorry state, his already livid nature began to undergo a new change. The shade under his mask began to tint a darker red and the ground began to heat up.
The villagers stared in shock at the young man with brown hair, as the area around him seemed to combust bringing violent flames and embers from the Earth.
“P-Please spare us! Tell us how we offended you great magus!” a single villager spoke out, from either fear of his life or others he made a singular stand.
Thankfully Melody had passed out at the time, but it was at this point that the man’s head and body seemed to have traveled in opposite directions. The already startled villagers not knowing how to help the situation decided it would be best to run.
Flow had tried his best to slaughter most of them however it was inevitable that some would slip through his fingers.
As I stood above the grass I couldn’t help but notice it wasn’t blue anymore. Everything seemed to have been tinted a shade of orange, that is until I felt the mask on my face once again.
I began taking it off only to find it was decaying within my grip, fading away to the sand. I didn’t feel it leave my grip however I could tell that it was gone just after I had managed to use Examination on it.
[The Sinful Mask]
[This gluttonous filled mask is but one of seven pieces of clothing that have been left seperated, for those who wear this mask will find that parts of themselves enter into the mask to never return. In exchange the mask gives extraordinary power however prolonged use will leave the user without a reason to continue on their adventure.]
As I finished reading the description on the sheet I couldn’t help but be scared witless. Why had I picked up this scary and stupid mask?
I hadn’t wanted to admit it, but I couldn’t help but noticing the stream of notifications in the corner of my eye.
[Calculating]
[Strength Gained,....]
[Agility…..]
To save time my stats broadcasted themselves without warning.
Stats;
Health: 120 (77.9)
Mana: 0 (0)
Stamina: 75 (30)
Attributes;
Strength: 16
Agility: 18
Intelligence: 11
Vitality: 11
Endurance: 13
Luck: 10
Charm: 5
Abilities:
Minor Void Shift |Rare| Level 1
Passives:
Pioneers Instincts |Exotic| Level Na
Examination |Uncommon| Level 1
Swordsmanship |Common| Basic Level 1
Emotion Trigger |Exotic| Level 1
My stats had gone up significantly, as I wondered how this could have happened I began to turn around, my throat suddenly filled up with vomit.
It was indescribable the amount of blood and gorn spread across the trees like streamers at a party. Limbs and bodies rip in two, and crimson lining the clothing.
However as my eyes swayed from the ground towards the carriage, I saw Melody, she had been locked in a cage. She was obviously hurt from the cuts and scratches on her. When I had hacked the lock off she still didn’t seem to wake up, however this was fine by me as I picked her up, helped by my new strength I was able to carry her down the road. I couldn’t go back, besides there being too many bodies, the house was sadly burnt down.
That was all I could seem to remember as the rest went blank. I stopped at a small cave, hidden decently well by the trees, I managed to find it after a little bit of searching. Deciding to camp here for the night I grabbed some sticks and started up a fire, to my surprise and victory it seemed it would be raining outside, “Seems like going into the cave was a good idea.”
With the campfire roaring with its enchanting flames I proceeded to take some food I found on the carriage where Melody was caged and began eating.
After a small meal and a mild rubbing of my hands next to the fire I picked a spot in the corner and fell into a deep slumber.