When his mask cracks Novels & Stories

Hence, as everyone turned outside again, their creased brows eased as they saw endless radiance converge, and Frank reappeared as they watched. Masked Man was so shocked his jaw almost dropped. "H-How did you get that power?" Frank chuckled. "Someone helped me, naturally—just like how you could trigger explosions by just pointing, but I couldn't." Masked Man laughed bitterly. "That means you were born to be a bad matchup for me. Guess my defeat isn't all that harsh in hindsight, as everything has been predetermined." "You're right that your defeat doesn't seem that bad, but you're wrong about it being predetermined."

he roared. This scene shattered the black-masked man's mental state. He struggled to crawl backward, his lips trembling as he stuttered like a broken record, "Impossible! Impossible?" Adrian remained expressionless, saying nothing. He raised his foot and suddenly stomped down. "Ah! I'll kill you, Adrian!" the black-masked man screamed, his voice heart-wrenching. The intense pain turned his face pale, and cold sweat poured out, drenching his body as if he had just been pulled from a river.

We move to the tables to make our hair and faces match our outfits. Izzy pulls my mask from her drawer, the one rule I always had. My face had to be covered. My family could not find out I was here and they dealt plenty with sleazy men. The masks leaves my mouth open, but covers the top half of my face. "You girls ready?" Thomas asks from the door when he peeks in. "Holy fuck. I don't think I'm ready. You two are delicious."

mask didn't just crack; it disintegrated. "I thought I wouldn't see you again," I choked out, swallowing hard against the sob that threatened to tear through me. My hands shook against his chest. "I thought you were gone. I thought I was alone." "I made a promise, Olivia," he said, his hands coming up to cup my face, his thumbs brushing away the tears that escaped my mask. "I told you I would find you. I told you I would never stop."

Then came the visuals. Frame by frame. I slowed it down, watching closely as I removed the overlay that carried my face. It resisted at first. Of course it did. Whoever did this wasn’t sloppy. They knew how to blend. But nothing is perfect. Not when you look this close. The edges started to crack. The lighting shifted slightly. The shadows didn’t align. And then… The mask broke. Just like that. My face disappeared from the frame. Replaced by someone else. I froze for half a second, my eyes locking onto the screen as the real image came into full view.

That night, alone in my chamber, I pressed my hands to my face and finally let the mask crack, just a little. One month down. And the game had truly begun.

She shoved my head forward so hard my chin hit my chest. She moved back into my line of sight. The green mask had started to dry, cracking around her mouth when she spoke. Little pieces flaked off, drifting down to her robe. "But it's okay." Her smile stretched wider. The mask cracked even more and my stomach dropped. "Because we're going to fix it. Once you're gone, Theodore will come back to me. He'll realize you were just a phase. A mistake. And everything will go back to how it should be."

Her body trembled slightly, and she couldn’t look away from him. Sweat began pouring from his forehead but was pooling inside his mask. He needed to get it off. He grabbed his mask and ripped it off his face, throwing it to the ground. He felt around his disfigured face, trying to figure out where it was hurting. He was trying to soothe the pain. It sounded like Hannah’s breathing was caught in her throat; she sucked in a sharp breath but never released it. His body shook violently as he stared up at his luna. She was staring back with wide and curious eyes, but she no longer looked frightened. Not she did moments ago.

On the fact that tomorrow, none of this would matter if I couldn’t keep my mask on tonight. The ball had only just begun. And I could already feel the cracks forming.

"I'm awake." "You're okay." "I'm okay." He held my face for one more second. Then his expression shifted. The relief hardened into something else. The tenderness armored back over and he straightened. The mask came up. "You stupid, reckless, completely insane human." "Good morning to you too."