Masks Chapter 1.1 : Unknown Mask

'Bright.'

Opening his eyes, his sight is blinded by the Sun that was at it's highest point.

Blocking the Sun with his Arm, he sits up, and adjusts himself to his surroundings.

'I can't see... Too bright.'

Finally, his eyes adjusted to the brightness, and he was left speechless.

He stared out towards the Large Field of Grass, completely in awe.

He sat in silence.

. . .

. . .

. . .

'Where... am I? There's no Fog, and the Trees aren't dead. Even so...'

Standing up, he puts his left hand on the Hilt of the Katana Blade on his left side.

'I can't let my guard down. This could be an Illusionary Space.'

Slowly, he begins to walk around, aimlessly.

As he continued to walk, he could hear the sounds of Bugs and Trees.

'These sounds. I have never heard these before. And this Space doesn't seem to end. Just where did I end up?'

Stopping to a halt, he takes a deep breath.

Then, with a sudden leap into the air, he jumps to an extreme hight.

'I should be high enough to figure out my Surroundings.'

Looking around, he begins to fall.

'That should do. Now...'

As he began to approach the Ground, he drew his sword and held it over his head.

[Patience : Gentle Bloom]

With the swing of his blade, a strong gust of Wind was thrown at the Ground, allowing him to land safely using the Upwards Force.

Remembering the landscape, he begins walking in the direction of a distant Dirt Path.

. . .

Arriving, he looks to his left, then his right.

'I haven't seen any [Shadows] ever since I got here. I remember seeing some other things that looked a lot like me in the Spaces. I forgot what they were called...'

Walking to his left along the path, he took in the Colors and Scenery of the Trees and Grass that surrounded him.

'It really is too different. I don't think this is a Space, so where is this?'

Interrupting his thoughts, he hears a rustling nearby.

Immediately jumping back, he puts his hand to his sword.

He waits silently.

...

...

...

Nothing happened.

'There was definitely a sound. Was it further in? ...I don't feel a presence nearby.'

Relaxing, he muttered a phrase.

[Observant World]

The Mask on his face began to mold itself into a different shape.

The Mask became a blank slate, then began to create Markings.

2 Lines formed, with one going from Top to Bottom, and another going from Left to Right.

Breathing in, he focused all of his senses to his surroundings.

A few seconds go by, and he feels something in the distance.

Looking in the direction of the presence, he focuses.

. . *Thump*

'This sound... Something was hit. I should check it out before I continue.'

Leaving the path, he heads towards the Noise.

As he got closer, he could hear it more clearly.

'This breathing sounds heavy. Is it one of those things I see in Spaces?'

Upon closer inspection, he made out 2 figures.

There was a Man who was face to face with a large Bear.

'I"ve seen something like that before. If I remember correctly, they called it a [Shadow Bear]. But, this one doesn't look like a [Shadow]. Is it a new type?'

While he was thinking, the Man began to speak in an unfamiliar language.

'Are they saying something? Should I interfere with their hunt? ...If I recall, I recently got a new [Mask].'

Calmly, he uttered a phrase.

[Convey Interpretation]

His Mask began to mold back into a blank slate.

Instead of Lines, a Zigzag Line formed, going from one ear to the other.

"-on't want to die. I realy don't want to die. Is this where it ends? Am I going to die? Will I ever see them again? Laya..."

The Man seemed to be extremely frightened, not moving an inch.

'Why is he hesitating? Does he not have a Weapon?'

The Bear began to grow in closer.

As it did, the Man began to weep, shaking uncontrollably, and sitting on the ground in defeat.

'What are they doing!? Do they want to die!?'

The Bear, clearly hungry, inched closer, and rose it's massive claw.

As it struck downwards, the Man flinched.

. . .

Nothing happened.

The Man was in shock at the next scene.

The Bear roared as it stumbled backwards, missing it's Right Arm.

The Man sat there, stunned.

Walking out of the Trees with his Blade in hand, "He" confronted the Bear.

"Who... are you?" The Man asked amongst his confusion.

He stood there without a word, focusing solely on the Bear.

'It's weak. Is this really a [Shadow]? No, it doesn't have the same feeling around it.'

The Bear was losing a large amount of Blood.

It looked at him, then looked at the Blood on the ground.

Silently, the Bear turned around and began walking away.

'This... It doesn't seem to want to fight anymore.'

Taking the Gun from the holster on his right hip, "He" begins to use another technique.

[Kindness : Singing Strings]

His Gun glowed with a Green color.

Firing at the Bear, it flinched.

However, to their surprise, it's Arm that was cut off began turning into thin Strings.

The strings made a light humming sound, and began surrounding the Bear's. Wound.

The Strings surrounding the Wound began to take shape of the Bear's Arm.

The Glow and Humming ceased,

Confused, the Bear continuously looked back and forth between it's Arm and "Him".

After a few more glances, the Bear silently disappeared into the forest.

'If it didn't want to cause any further harm, then I shall make sure that they can at least survive. Now, what to do with them?'

The Man was knocked unconscious by the Force.

'I still haven't perfected that move. I guess the Back Blast was a but too much.'

Looking around, he noticed a basket that was filled with various fruits and berries.

'What is that? And... my belly... now that I think about it, this isn't a [Space]. I don't know where I am, or what happened to my body, but my insides are starting to hurt.'

Enduring the pain, his mouth began to water as he looked at the bright red Apple at the top of the basket.

'Is my body craving for that? What do I do with it?'

Taking the apple, he examines it.

He tried a few different methods, such as pressing it against his belly, or trying to take the life force from it.

Finally, he takes a bite.

'Hm? What is this... flavor?'

As he continued eating the apple, another rustle was heard from behind him.

Immediately turning around with his Gun in hand, he waits for whatever made the sound to appear.

Slowly, the Bear from before reappeared, holding something from it's mouth.

'Why did they return? What is it holding?'

Suddenly, the Bear collapsed, dropping what was in their mouth.

'They fell. Are they perhaps dying?'

Taking another bite of the apple, he walks towards the Bear.

'What it had in it's mouth... were 2 Smaller ones of itself? What is it...'

Looking at the Bear, they were no longer breathing.

'They don't seem to be alive. They must have lost all of their strength to bring these here.'

Looking at the Bear Cubs, one of them began to move, while the other layed silently, asleep.

The Cub who was moving opened it's eyes, looking directly at "Him".

'These little ones are alive. I feel as though I've seen something similar before.'

Recalling the memory of a [Shadow] from long ago, he lifts up the Cub who was awake, and brings it closer to his face.

'A Baby. If I recall, "They" called it a Baby. I assume that this little one will grow as big as the one over there.'

The Cub in his hands looked directly into his eyes.

Slowly, he brought the Cub closer and closer to his face.

'This one has a large amount of [Bravery]. They will become quite strong in the future.'

The Cub licked his mask, where the Nose would be.

'It doesn't pose a threat. And I feel as though we are not too different.'

Putting the Cub down, he walked back to the Basket, taking 2 more Apples.

Placing one in front of the Cub, it sniffs it, then begins to eat.

'As I thought. Just like me, it needs these items to fill themselves.'

As the first Cub ate the Apple, the second one woke up.

Looking around, the second Cub saw the apple, and began to drool.

Placing the second Apple down, he gets the second Cub's attention.

'This one has an equal amount of [Patience] and [Kindness]. I believe this little one can become quite helpful in the future.'

The second Cub slowly went for the Apple, then began eating at a slightly faster pace than the first Cub.

'Now, about that person...'

Walking over to the unconscious Man, he crouched down next to him.

"Hey, you awake? Can you get up?"

The Man didn't respond.

'I guess they're not going to wake up anytime soon.'

Looking back at the Cubs, they seem to have finishes their meal.

'They don't look too satisfied with that. I don't want to take too much from this person, so I'll try to find some more of those objects later. For now...'

Walking back to the Cubs, he looks at the lifeless Bear behind them.

'They don't turn into a [Shadow]. If that's the case.'

Taking his Sword, he walks towards the Bear.

Holding his blade to his side, he uses another technique.

[Kindness : Fluttering Flower]

With what seemed to be a single cut, turned out to be many.

The Bear's Body began to glow a very light green.

Then, from the Light, came multiple Butterflies made from the Light, as well as the Bear's Body.

'This is all I can do for you. I will take care of your Children, as it was your last struggle.'

The Bear, no longer having a body, turned into Butterflies of Light that rose to the sky, later disappearing into small specks of Light that flew with the wind.

'Although it was not long, your [Determination] was very strong. I hope you live without [Hate].'

As the Lights faded away into the distance, he looked back at the Cubs.

"I will take care of you both. That was the final wish of your Parent."

Carrying them in both arms, he walks back to the Man.

'What to do now...'

As if to answer his question, the Man slowly woke up with a grunt.

"Guh... what... Where am I? All I can recall was the... BEAR!"

Frantically looking around in terror, his eyes locked on to the pair of Legs in front of him.

Slowly looking up, he saw the Cubs in "His" arms, as well as the Scary looking Mask.

"Whaa! Who are you!?" The Man bumped his head on the Trunk of the Tree.

"I was passing by. I felt the presence of something malicious, so I followed it here. Luckily, it was a false alarm. Now, what were you doing out here without a Weapon? Or even some form of Self Defence?"

. . .