Mortal Masks

Chapter One

Wisps of shadow curl around his body, slithering across his skin, and intertwining with his fingers as he pushes through the clouds of darkness. Each step felt heavier than the one before it, almost as if the darkness was trying to restrain him, and yet at the same time, his body felt incredibly light.

He kept his head held high, a hypnotic sense of curiosity calling for him to come closer, to continue advancing through the smoky shadows.

It's quiet, so quiet that the only sound he can hear is that of his own breathing as he focuses on steadying his breath, every deep inhale closely followed by a shaky exhale that clouds in front of him.

It was cold, and yet he felt comforted.

The absence of sound doesn't cause him to feel lonely nor scared, for he can feel the presence of something move from within, a feeling, a voice, that guides him through the murky dullness.

There's a soft, rhythmic drumming that settling within his skull, a subdued pounding that Jaemin tries to anchor himself to. It was a familiar weight- familiar in the sense that he'd done this before, walked this path so many times now that he knew exactly where he was going, even if he couldn't see a thing. It was pitch black.

However, this pulsating feeling within was a something of a tether, he could feel it pulling him through the gloom, guiding him, enchanting him. Delivering him to answers.

But just as he takes another step- he feels it. He feels the air around him shift.

It's an unnerving sensation, a feeling that takes him a moment longer than usual to place- in his safe haven that's usually just smoke and shadows... he's being watched.

He should be afraid as all his senses seem to have been snatched from him. He's completely unguarded being compelled by this mysterious pull, this strange and strong feeling, and yet as he waits for the human feeling of fear to sink in at the intrusion... it keeps him waiting, for it never seems to arrive.

He's here for a reason, a reason that trumps all other emotions.

He's searching for something- for someone, someone he's been trying to find for so long, and so he cannot allow himself to get side-tracked, he cannot leave this place until he finds them, he-.

"Jaemin..."

It's ecstasy- the voice. It's sweet and familiar and bright. It doesn't fit with this world of secrets and silence. It's warm- too warm for the chill that preserves the shadows of this realm. Desperately, he searches for the sound once more.

He wants to call for the voice to sound again, for it to tell him where they are, how he can get to them, but just as he tries to part his lips, he finds that he's lost the ability to do so. His words seem to be swallowed by the darkness as no matter how hard he tries, the silence of this place remains almost deafening.

"Jaemin... Jaemin, come here, follow my voice"

He whips his head around, a light of hope flickering in his chest as he tries to locate the direction of which the voice was coming from, but the voice had ceased before Jaemin could get his bearings.

This place is familiar to him, he knows the darkness, he knows where he's supposed to go, and yet he falters. Frustration begins to take over as his hesitation has caused the voice to slip through his grasp, just like the shadows around him.

Suddenly it's like he's experiencing navigating this abyss for the first time all over again. He's frustrated and lost and so unsure of himself. It's as if this place, this world, has turned on him.