Shadowseal: The Price Of Sin

CHAPTER 6

Two souls were locked in a fierce battle. Both were incredibly powerful, yet in the outside world, the body of the Fifth Bearer was being reborn. Meanwhile, the body of the Thirteenth Bearer was slowly falling apart, its pieces merging with the bones of the Fifth.

Inside the mask, the clash continued with full intensity. The spirits collided, hurling each other across the darkness. Each impact deepened the cracks forming within the mask. It had begun to collapse inward. If this continued, the mask would shatter completely bringing about the end of the world.

At that very moment, an ancient blood connection with the First Bearer awakened. The Thirteenth, perhaps without even realizing it, was calling out to him. Though far away, the First Bearer felt the tremor. No matter how deep he had fallen into the dark, the end of the world served no one not even him. And so he returned...

When he arrived at the site of the ritual, the scene was horrifying. The woman was moments away from completing the rite.

Without hesitation, the First Bearer tore her apart. This woman she had deceived the Thirteenth Bearer, traveling by his side all along. Her destruction severed the external interference in the mask.

Then, without blinking, he turned to the mask. The rift within it was now visible to the eye. He stepped into that dark tear the void inside.

Meanwhile, incompatible bearers continued pouring out of the mask remnants of a long-cursed legacy. But at the very last moment, the First Bearer forced his way back in. Deep inside, near the heart of the mask, he formed a mental link with the Thirteenth Bearer.

"I'll drag him into the abyss with me," he said. "We'll destroy each other. But you… you must leave now. Re-enter the mask with your soul. Take control. We cannot destroy it but we can direct it."

The Thirteenth Bearer, exhausted and barely holding on, nodded weakly. Amid the collapse, amid all the destruction within the mask, the only thing left shining through the darkness… was will. The power of spirit. The ability to choose.

The two bearers locked eyes one final time.

And then… the darkness consumed them all.

In the sky, the symbol of the mask shimmered faintly. The world held its breath.

And somewhere, deep and unseen… a new seal began to take shape.

When the 13th Bearer opened his eyes once again in that collapsing void of darkness, he was still alive.

From the depths of his soul, the tremors of an unfinished battle surged upward.

He could still feel the burning pain in his throat

a pain that had now become a part of his very existence.

Yet now, for the first time, his mind was clear.

He had returned to his body.

But the world… the world was shattered.

The sky looked torn, as if shadows were hanging from the heavens.

The earth had forgotten how to move.

Silence spread across the land like a living fear.

Time moved slowly crushed under the weight of something unseen.

And in the heart of that silence… only his breath could be heard.

The Bearer rose to his knees.

He looked around.

The world still stood, but it was on the brink of collapse.

And the shadow leaking from the mask was ready to devour all of reality.

There was no time left to wait.

He closed his eyes.

Suddenly, an image appeared in his mind.

The Devil's face.

But this time… it was different.

This time, it was like looking into a mirror.

That face… was his own.

More decayed, more savage, more honest.

It was the deepest part of himself now brought to the surface.

The true face.

The shadow that had been hiding.

A chill ran through him.

But he wasn't afraid.

Because now, it was time to make a choice.

At that moment, the voice of the first sealed soul echoed in his mind.

Soft, but powerful.

Ancient, yet familiar...

"The devil is now in chains.

All the power, all the darkness, all the legacy… it belongs to you.

But remember: use it wisely.

Even if you choose to misuse it… do it knowingly.

Because this power won't break you it will break the world."

Then, silence.

But this time, it wasn't the silence of fear…

It was the stillness before birth.

The sky trembled once more.

The tears leaking from the mask began to close one by one.

The farthest shadows receded first.

Then the earth began to heal its cracks.

The shadows suspended in the air faded.

The sky did not turn blue, perhaps…

but a glimmer of light pierced the darkness.

Like the cry of a newborn…

The world breathed again.

And the 13th Bearer… opened his eyes.

But those eyes…

were no longer his.