Luna yelled, and the world stopped.

In an instant, everything went still.

Luna thought it was a dream. Maybe her life was flashing before her eyes. Everything around her was so still that Luna drew only one conclusion: she was about to die and was getting one last look at the world before she did. Every monster stood like a statue. None moved, none blinked, none stepped forward to do anything. The sound of hundreds of breathing creatures ceased in an instant. Nothing even let out a single sigh in the silence. The dull thrum of feet on trampled dirt had stopped. The legs of every creature stood right where they were, even those raised high in the air. The choking sound from the monsters in the toxic gas no longer sat at Luna's back. The world looked frozen in time to Luna's eye.

It was as if time had stopped. The world around her looked so motionless that Luna assumed that was the only possibility. Until she noticed several discrepancies with that assumption. The dust kicked up by the shuffling feet of the horde was now slowly settling back to the dirt. The gas that still blistered her back, it too was fading. A wind Luna hadn't noted till now carried it away. The sting on her back didn't disappear with the gas, but it stopped growing worse as the cause dissipated into the air.

The world was not frozen; only the monsters were.

Those tiny details sent Luna searching for more evidence that the world had not stopped— and she found them. Feathers and fur swished, caught by the wind Luna at first ignored. The birds in the distance still sang. Voices carried from over the town wall and the hill in the opposite direction. Fresh blood from the cut on Luna's forehead oozed down her face. The odor emanating from the mass of bodies around her still invaded her nostrils. The mass of teeth and gums she'd tried to cut down moments prior still had blood running down the back of its legs. Time wasn't stopped, and it wasn't slowed like that time back during the attack. That left Luna confused about why all the monsters had stopped moving until she looked at their eyes.

They twitched and shuddered in place. If Luna hadn't looked for it, she would have missed it. It was so small a difference that Luna had to stare to confirm it wasn't her imagination. But every set of eyes Luna could behold was twitching, vibrating in place. None of them blinked; none of them dared to even breathe. Despite the effort to remain so entirely still, their eyes betrayed them. The windows into whatever soul these monsters had revealed the only emotion that could cause this.

They were scared.

Luna could only imagine that was the case. She'd felt it herself. It was a paralyzing terror that made her want to hold her breath and stop moving entirely. The fear for her life, twice now she'd felt it, once back home, and once when that talking monster had treated her like a plaything. Luna recognized it in all the monstrosities around her. Muscles so tight that they might explode, jaws so tense the teeth inside creaked, and a desire to stay still betrayed by the inability to close one's eyes. They were so afraid that they couldn't even try to run, so they all stayed as still as they could in hopes that what had them paralyzed would pass them by. A desperate plea made by a silent voice that it'd ignore them for someone else.

That realization brought another question. What had them so scared? What could bring an entire horde of monstrous creatures to such a state? Whatever it was, Luna had no desire to stick around and face it. So she started pushing her way through the final rings of bodies toward where she'd last seen Mask, hopeful that the crowd would stay still long enough for her to get her friend out of here.

It didn't take much to get to Mask. It was so easy that it felt like the world was mocking Luna's prior efforts. For every previous foot of progress, Luna now made five. What had taken three dead monsters and a blow to the side was just a step over the frozen tail of a gargoyle. The only thing that was still there was the impending doom. Something had the horde terrified, and Luna had no guarantee it would keep them this way for long. So she moved to do the only thing she could. While carefully avoiding contact with all the various bodies around her, Luna managed to make her way to Mask.

Like everything else in the area, he was as still as an aged tree. His hand was still, wrapped tightly around the throat of a massive bird. The light in its eyes was long gone, its windpipe crushed before Mask stopped moving. Whatever had everything paralyzed, it was a moment too late to stop this creature from dying. Not that Luna felt any remorse for this thing's death.

Looking at Mask, Luna felt he was worse off than she'd initially believed. Mixed among what Luna thought were teeth were bone-white rods that went straight through Mask's shoulder. Those were likely what robbed Mask of his ability to use that limb. His prosthetic leg wasn't just twisted the wrong way; it was clearly bent at the foot. The appendage jutted out sideways, barely supporting any of Mask's weight. One side of his head was clearly damaged, with a visible dent in the side. Looking at it, Luna prayed Mask wore a helmet beneath his hood. Luna couldn't tell the finer details of Mask's condition beneath the viscera and blood. He might have had deep lacerations long clogged with dirt and gunk, or other broken limbs that Luna couldn't make out beneath his cloak. Luna couldn't see, so she chose to treat him as she'd seen him moments prior. Capable of walking.

"Mask, we have to get out of here. Come on." Luna tried to whisper to get his attention.

He didn't respond.

"Mask. Come on. The army is just over the hill; we can go." Luna tried convincing him, still keeping her voice to a whisper.

Mask did not respond.

"Mask! What's wrong? Come on." Luna repeated.

Mask could not respond because he still could not hear her.

>What do I do? He's not answering me.< Luna asked the voices, specifically the one who only spoke during emergencies.

>Do as I say, and nothing more.< The voice was unbelievably clear. Like Luna had heard every sound through a filter all her life, and this was the first natural sound she'd ever come across. Listening to the voice now, it confirmed something for Luna. For the first time, Luna knew without a doubt this wasn't just some figment of her imagination or subconscious. This was not her voice; this was someone else speaking. The voice was female, older than Luna by what sounded like a fair bit. Her tone was calm but concerned. It wasn't the sound of a singer or a performer. To Luna, it was the sound of someone who only spoke when needed. The clear, concise tone of someone who said exactly what needed to be said at the right time to get the job done. Yet despite Luna knowing she'd never heard this sound before, the voice felt unbelievably familiar.

>You'll have to hold him as close to you as possible; make sure both his arms are at his sides.< The voice said urgently.

Luna obeyed without question, picking up on the hurried tone of the woman speaking. Getting Mask's hand unfixed from the neck of the bird wasn't easy, his vice-like grip resisting Luna's attempts to be gentle. But with an effort of will, she managed to open his hand without breaking his finger. Once she had, placing his arms by his sides was easy.

>I know he's covered in blood, but you'll have to place your head on his shoulder. Basically, hug him like he's family you haven't seen in a while.< The woman said, whoever she was.

It was gross. No, gross was an understatement. Holding Mask in his current state was repulsive. He was coated in a thick laye rof blood and guts. The viscera across his body smelled like death. Getting this close made Luna want to vomit. Her throat stung as she placed her head on his shoulder. The bodily fluids and dead matter covering his clothing were so dense that Luna couldn't feel the cloth beneath when her face made contact. It was the most disgusting thing Luna had ever felt. Still, she obeyed.

>This last bit is the most important. We have to say his name together. I'll match your timing, so count us off.< The woman directed Luna with a calm tone with a hint of sadness.

"Alright," Luna said with less conviction than she'd like. "Three" Luna started counting down. A dull thrum of marching feet entered her ears. "Two" The thrum grew louder and was joined by equipment clanging on moving bodies. "One" She finished just as she saw the first rider crest the hill, his sword at the ready. Captain Feht had gotten his men together to come and clear up the monsters. Hopefully, he was just in time for Luna to finish helping Mask out of here.

"̵͔̮͉̦̝͙͓̥́̓̉̓͐̂̔͂̐̉̄̈͑̀̇̓͋͂̀̌͒̐̑͑̏̅̿̈͊́͠͠-̵̢̢̛̙̩̰̺͔̬̪̬̱̘̜̮̬̰̠̞̥̞͎̰̱̟͙͉͌̀͑̅͊̇̍́̈̒̀̾́̎̇̋͛̎̀͊̍͊̌͐̋͂̂̑̽̕͘͠͝ͅ-̵̛͉̫̦̣̹̙̬̮͎̖̞̼̲̮͕͔̥͎̼̺̬̺̜̮͖̯̭̐̒̀̀͊̉̃͗̏̆̈́̉̈́̉́̅͑͊̓̈́͗̓̔̍̃̊͌̌̍̽͌̄̌̈́͋̋̓̂͗͌̕͘̕͝͠-̸̬͓̝͎͎͈̗̫̥̩͎̺͙̻͍͎̳̗͎͇͎̽̾̍͐͊̑͑̓̓̌̍̾̆̕ͅ-̶͖̟̭͎̪͎͔̯̻̗͚͚̰̅̽͊͂̓-̵̧̧̛͙̗̺̘̯̙̤͕̭̳̦̺͔͔̭̦͇̼͈̞͎̬͚̺̫̤͉̘̳̫̹̜͉̠̭͙̰̭̬̪͎̽͋̈́̈́̐̿̇̋̅̆̇͛̿͐̈̆͗͋͛̔̅͌͂͆͑͑̌͌̚͜-̵̨̨̨̥̳̝̜̤̹̣̘̤̲̪̮͍̠̣̻̱̣̹͈͈̣̺̬̟̟̏́̐̉̿̒͒͊̑̅̓͛̑̍̋̈̉͊̽́͊͛̈́́̀̕̚͝͝͠ͅͅ-̸̡̛̲̬̙͔̠͇̩̹̜̬̯̔̾̓ͅͅ-̵̨̡̙͚̰͍̬̮͔̱̙̰͕̜̲̘̦̯̹̳͚͉̞͎̭̫͓̫̭̱̳̣̣͉̱͕͕͐̉͂͆͂̏͆͛̒̀̈̌̇̿́̕͘̚͝͠͝ͅͅ-̴̡̛̛͔̳͎̯͈̱̯͇̥̻̲̼́̀̓̒̾́̍̎̑͗̀̋͗́̑̓͛̎̈́̌̓̃̓͑͋̍͐́͂͐͊̐̓̅̓̍̔̍̊̓͆̈́͒̚̕͘ͅ-̷̢̧̛̙͔̙̹̥̪̬͓̘̘̦̻̣͖̳̉͗̃͛͋̎͂͛̃̃͆̽̌̆̿̃͑͋̋̇̔̽̈́͗̉̂́̏̂̂͋̐̏͌͌́̌̈́̇̽͋̕̚͝͠͝ͅ"̵̢̛̙͈͉̣̰̩͙̫̝̻̻̦̪̮͔̗͍͔̫͔͈͖̞͚̭̯̩̼̋̓̀̈́́̃̐̓̈́̄͋̎̄̓̑̓̉̌͂̀̾̋̑͛̒̃͋̒͒̾̃̀̾͑̐̓͘̚͝͠͝ͅͅ

Two people saying that impossible sound turned it from uncomfortable to hear to painful. Luna's ears rang, her chest throbbed, and she felt like needles were being dragged through her eyes. It was excruciating to voice the unimaginable string of sounds.

>One more time. Just hold on. I promise it'll be fine.< The woman said, clearly aware of Luna's condition.

Her throat hurt, her eyes burned, and her head throbbed, but Luna still moved to obey.

"Three" Luna started counting down once more. In the corner of her eyes, she saw a wave of armed soldiers rushing down the hill. "Two" She could just make out her other friends in the group. Blatantly less equipped than those around them. "One" Luna shut her eyes in a desperate attempt to avoid the coming pain.

"̴̨̛͉̤͉͍͈̹͇̩͚͖͕̥̟̹̯̦̠͙̖̩̼͙͉̬̼̖͇͈͉̜͇̗̱̲͂̈́̉́͑̓̒̒͆̾͐̃͆̔̒̉̀̌̀͗̍̉̎͋͐̏̈̒̍̓̐́͗̑͌̄̒͘͘͘̕͜͜͜͝͝ͅ"̵̡̨̪͎͖̪̭͇̯͈̪̘̖̩̜͖͎͖̯̙̫͚̬̙̘̻̜̪̰̭̯̟̰̭̜͉̗̖̦͇̙͙̫͇͚̯̙̀̃̾̿͗̆̔̌͑̊͆̔̓̔̒̀̈̆͌͂̉̈͗̏̄̈̉̏̎̋̽͆̉̈̀̚͜͠ͅͅ-̸͈͓̮̜͕̱̀̀̑͊̿̅̉͆̎̔̔̍̈́̊͘͜͝-̴̢̢̛̟̳͍̰̱̘̠̙̻̟͚̂͋̊̄̍̇̉͐͌̌͌̽̄͐̉̐̆̃̀̐́̂̅͐̔̌͊̆͋͂̈̿̒͐͐̽̚͜͝-̵̨̧̢̭͕̣͎̝͈̟̱̳͙̼̞̹̯͔̼̮̘̳̘̬̠̗̟͖̘̮̓̿̏͑͛̚ͅ-̶̨͉͇̟̮͈͍̹̥̩̟͎̖̼̲̦̣͐̆̑̿̐̌̃̋͂̈͑̃̽͂̑͊̾͆̚̚͝-̶̨̫͙̲̬̭͍̠̙̇̓͂̒͐̄̀̀̋̓̽̅̂́̅̓͋̈́̆̑́̉̊̀͆̐̐̀́̋́̄͌̏̉́͘͘̚̕͘͠͠͠ͅ-̷̡̫̺̝̙̮̜̮̭͇̙̯̦̩̱̬͕̞̫̙̫̙̰̝̭͇̞̰̟͉͕͉̩̯̲̩̌̉̓͛̍̀̃̈́̋́͐͌̄̌͛̏̋̓͂͆̈́̎͆̕̕̕̕͜͝͝"̴̡̨̲͉̗̻̲̘͙̲̜͔̣̘̖̣͈͚̼͓̤̪͇͓̼̰͚͙͕͈͉͓̼̖̮̪̙̪̯̝̮̝̹͉͔͇̲̼͖̒̂̌̎̓̽̄̇̀͂̈́̇̆̓̏̏́̓̄͗̈́̑͗͑͂̕̚̕͝͝͝"̶̢̢̡̢̨͚̭̹͎̞̟͈̹̣̺̬̪͉̼̘͎̮̙̰̙͔̖̫̘̙͖̖̰͒̀́͒͂͆͑̈́̊͛̂̚͝

Luna's mind was a sea of white-hot agony. She couldn't think. She saw black and red splotches on the backs of her eyelids. A vibrating thrum in her chest accompanied the aggressive drum of her heartbeat. Her limbs tingled, and the needles in her eyes grew into acidic spikes eating at her mind. It was agony on top of suffering. It was perhaps the worst thing Luna had ever felt. But when all of it cleared, she knew without question, it was worth it.

>He'll be fine now. When he fully comes to, tell him Lilliana is proud of him. Tell him she's always proud of him. Will you do that for me? I never got to tell him that. Never got to thank him either.< As she spoke, her voice faded away. It faded to the point that Luna placed it as the nearly silent voice she'd heard before, then shrunk further. By the end, Luna couldn't even tell what she was saying. Still, she heard the first part and was okay with the request.

>Yeah, I'll tell him.I'll let him know you're proud of him.<

No one responded.

Supporting Mask's weight with her own, Luna took note of him once more. The first thing Luna noticed was how little Mask weighed. It wasn't like holding up a fully grown man. She thought it was more like lifting a straw doll with how little she had to put into holding him. Luna had seen him fight like a beast at death's door. While she'd also seen him lift rubble twice his size from collapsed buildings. But she'd never even thought that he might be thinner than she was beneath his coat. Holding him up like this, Luna realized yet again how selfish she'd been letting him take on so much work for her.

As Luna was thinking, the spell holding the monsters in place broke. Like a colony of bugs, they scattered. None risked staying near. None were dumb enough for that. Having felt that second round of saying Mask's name, Luna understood, just a little, what they were running from.

"Who are you, really?" Luna asked, knowing she wouldn't receive an answer.

It didn't take long before Luna was caught up in a flurry of activity as the army rushed in to clear up the fleeing monsters and secure the town's safety. Several healers in town tended Mask, but none gave her any more than a worried look after leaving his room. It wasn't one of pity for asking, but something else mixed with confusion.

After getting him into town, they'd rinsed him off with diluted healing potions so everyone knew he wasn't bleeding to death. But no one could figure out how to remove his cloak to inspect him in more detail. And no one seemed willing to destroy his coat either. It was odd, in Luna's opinion. But when she looked in on him, his clothes once more a pristine black, she saw him twist in his sleep. Assuring her he wasn't on death's door as she'd worried.

His body was still wrecked, with parts of it twisted at the wrong angles, but he wasn't about to die, So Luna trusted in the first voice she'd gotten a name from. She trusted Mask would be fine.

That trust didn't stop her from waiting for him to wake up. She'd spent most of the day outside his room with a worried look in her eyes that turned every potential conversation away. She'd made it clear she wasn't leaving till he woke up, and her other friends had understood after seeing his condition. After a time of standing around, someone had brought her a chair to wait in. Something she gave a heartfelt thanks for, despite not really remembering who brought it to her. It wasn't the best seat, but Luna was going to wait in it till her friend woke up, and she could apologize for sending him alone.

Despite her efforts to wait till Mask woke, sleep took her against her will. The stress of the past few days collapsed in until her mind faded to a dreamless rest. While the chair she was in wasn't overly comfortable, it did little to help her fight to stay awake.

I felt someone call to me. The first time brought me back enough to recognize the problem I was facing. I could barely think past my hands. I couldn't really see; the world around me was all but a wash of shapes.

Everything I heard turned from comprehensible to garbled nonsense. I could feel my limbs moving, almost without my input, doing something, but the reality of those actions was lost to me. This wasn't the madness I was used to. It was something else, and I'd made the mistake of letting it drive me. Alone, I would fall to this ailment.

But I felt I wasn't alone.

An impossibly familiar presence held me. A scent or the warmth of someone I had lost long ago. Someone I'd failed to save when it mattered most. I couldn't see her, and the logical part of my mind said she couldn't be here. But who else would know that name? Who else but her would know what to say to bring my mind back under my control?

Telling her had hurt so much that I slept for a year. And the cost was so great that I felt emperors cry at the expense. The process needed was overly complex. The necessary preparations— staggering. For it was no simple task to say a name erased from the world. It wasn't easy to drag an idea back from the abyss without giving it form. But I'd told her, and she'd kept it secret as I'd asked.

That long-lost friendly feeling held me, hugged me. And I felt a warm sensation in my chest. A kindred flame stoked by memories once more. Even if it was fake, it was good to touch someone I'd lost. No matter the pain of the loss, I would never complain about seeing someone I'd failed to save. Especially when it was in such a helpful manner. I wanted to hold her close, hug her as she did me. I tried to lift my arms to do that. But those limbs refused to listen to my request; they couldn't move to grasp what I'd lost. I flooded the world with my desire to hold her in a desperate move, but she wouldn't respond because that was how it had to be. I tried to reach out with my mind. When I did, I found a familiar wall, one I'd taught her about myself. Warm and glowing, but absolute in denying me. She never liked me peeking in on her thoughts, so I'd shown her how to prevent me from doing it.

She called me again. Her voice was crisp and clear in the dark. When she did, I felt the shroud around my mind fade, revealing more of the world to me. I knew it couldn't be comfortable calling to me, and so too did she. But she called my name regardless. She once more came to clean up a mess I'd made without asking for anything.

I heard my name one final time. Yelled out with so much force it had to leave her reeling in pain. And while my vision cleared, her presence faded away. I tried to hold on, to keep her with me even a moment longer. But that wasn't fair to her. I knew that, but I still tried to hold her one last time. She who'd meant so much to me, who I'd failed so horribly, was one I wanted to grasp with everything I had. I knew it wasn't fair to try and keep her with me. I knew I had no right to ever ask more of her. Still, I tried, but in the end, I let them go one more time, one last goodbye to a light more precious than any other. When I felt her fade beyond my senses, I let myself go. I allowed the clearing world to fade to darkness once more and let myself collapse where I stood.

"Goodbye, once more, oh precious light. Even if this was nothing more than a dream." I said to no one but myself.

In an instant, I was back in the sea of thought, facing the parasite, or Curse as he called himself now. The look on his face told me we had quite a bit to talk about this time. My mind, my own, and all the sorrow of the last moment faded as if it indeed was a dream.

"Well?" I prompted.

"I want to make a deal. Information for a conversation with that little hero waiting for you to wake up." He cut to the chase in an instant, entirely confident he had information worth me letting him do that.

Much to my surprise, he proved himself correct.

Luna woke in a cold sweat. She was still in the chair outside Mask's room. The one she'd chosen to wait in while everyone else went to bed. The chair was the same. The wooden hallways with doors to the rooms where her friends were sleeping were the same. But something was horribly wrong about the hallway.

The shadows twisted and writhed impossibly. Luna tried to stand to turn on a light, but she found her legs less than responsive. She tried to turn her head, but found it too, refusing to move. Realizing she could not move any part of her body, Luna thought that this was something akin to sleep paralysis. Something she'd heard about back home. That's when a familiar fear set into her mind.

Luna's heartbeat quickened, her breathing turned ragged. and her eyes spasmed. And then they all tried to stop. Her heart ceased pulsing in her ears, cowering in her chest. Her breath turned to faintly more than a whisper of wind, hiding from something. But her eyes still seized, looking around the space in a desperate search for the source of the fear. Luna knew it wasn't her fear. She could feel something in the back of her mind convincing her that she needed to be afraid. But knowing wasn't enough to shake the artificial emotion. So her eyes searched the twisting shadows for what she knew had to be here.

"Oh, the little toy is growing so fast." A horrible contorting mesh of sounds assaulted Luna's ears. Despite sounding like a mix of grating metal and car crashes, it was somehow capable of words. "Was it a month ago that you couldn't even feel that itch in your skull? Well, no need to be afraid this time. I'm not allowed to play today." It said from right beside Luna. Despite the apparent meaning of its words, they did nothing to rid Luna of her terror.

It stepped forward, the sound of its feet on the wood somehow louder than it should be. They thumped, the wood creaking like it would break under each slow stride of the nightmare in the dark. Despite Luna knowing what it looked like, she still felt her heartbeat quicken as it entered her vision from the warping shadows. Its lower half remained obscured by the dark, but the rest Luna could just make out in the dim hallway. It was near skeletal, like a malnourished man. Luna could only imagine where it kept its organs with how little space it had in its abdomen. Its shoulders were broad but still spindly, the flesh taught against the joints. Wrapped in black cloth, barely more than an inch in width, was what passed for the creature's neck. Luna had no idea how it held its head upright, looking at how little muscles could hide under those black wrappings. The section was so thin that Luna had trouble imagining that the monster before her even had a windpipe.

The overly loud sound of its footsteps continued as it stalked past her. It kept walking till it stood right in front of Luna, then it turned to face her. Once more, Luna bore witness to the most striking feature of this nightmarish entity. Luna had seen movies back home where someone's face was blank. She'd seen pictures of people in morph suits. But this wasn't like either of those. Those were still faces, if featureless. This thing did not have a face or any underlying bone structure needed for one. If its neck was thicker, it probably would have lined up perfectly with the front of this entity's skull. What stood in front of Luna was a creature that resembled what would happen if you ground down the face of a statue. A flat surface wrapped in black bandages where a face should have been.

"Oh, how I wish I could play with you. You do make such a pretty toy." Its voice hurt to hear. "But today, I'm only allowed to talk. So let's do that." A thousand burning fires created a sound that somehow formulated words.

"Wa-wha-what do y-you want?" Luna asked, her voice shaky.

An image of an impossibly hungry grin flashed into Luna's mind before the creature replied.

"What do I want?" It sounded to Luna like her own voice played over and over again. "What do you think I want?" A thousand echoing bird cries asked.

The question was open, and Luna thought of many possible answers. She didn't dare voice any of them.

"Well, that's fine." The creature said, seeming to understand Luna's silence. "I'm here to ask you some questions and give you some information. If you're willing to play along, that is?" It phrased it like a question, and its implication sent a chill down Luna's spine.

"P-pl-play along?" Luna asked cautiously.

Another hungry grin, this time clearer than before. "Yes, play along. You see, I don't want anyone knowing what we said to each other." It sounded like nails on a chalkboard and forks on plates simultaneously. "So, in exchange for this little conversation, I want you to avoid babbling to your friends about me. How's that sound?" It reached a clawed hand forward, stopping it barely an inch from Luna's nose in a hush motion. "Of course, you can agree and then turn around and tell them anyways. What's stopping you?" It voiced a thought Luna had dismissed the instant it'd occurred. "Well, I can't touch you today, but what about next time? Do you think they'll see me coming? You haven't." Luna's mind flashed images of her friends, almost purposely lingering on their faces.

Luna wanted to lash out, to defend her friends. Yell out for help, anything to get this monster to leave them alone. Maybe that would have helped. Perhaps if Luna shouted, someone would come running, someone that knew how to deal with this thing. There was the chance it'd solve this situation, but also the possibility it'd just anger the monster before her. That wasn't something Luna was willing to risk, so she kept her voice low as she agreed to the demands of the nightmare in her face.

"Alright." She said, her voice stable. "What do you want to know?" She prompted it.

"OH, how I love a toy that plays along." It was an avalanche of sounds, broken glass, ice cracking, static from a TV, and so much more. "But you are mistaken. I don't expect any answers to my questions. I just want to ask them, plant the seeds in your mind and all. Hehe," Its laugh hurt, like acid in one’s eardrums. "The first. How well do you really know your friends? Do you know them better than I do? Would you believe me if I told you all of them are lying to you about something?" It asked three questions with the exact implications of them being the same.

Luna thought she had the answers to all of them. She didn't know her friends all that well. She had to believe she knew them better than the thing in front of her. She definitely wouldn’t believe this creature if it said they were lying to her.

"The next. What's going on in that head of yours? Are those voices your own? Do you know why they started? Do you even know if they're real?" It kept the theme the same across these questions. Listening hurt Luna's head like the sound contained a pitch just beyond her hearing.

For this set of questions, Luna had no answer. She had flipped between thinking she was haunted to thinking she'd gone crazy ever since arriving in this world. But that conversation with the woman who'd helped save Mask had told Luna she knew nothing about the voices.

"-and now for some useful information, to get you looking somewhere fun." It twirled in place, the motion looking somehow wrong. "It's no coincidence that I'm here. Twice now, we've met. Both times are near to tragedy. I may be imagining things, but isn't it a little odd that something like this happened both times you've encountered me?"

"What are you planning?" Luna asked, suspicious that the monster was responsible for this.

"OH, me? Absolutely nothing. I can't move things on the scale needed for something like this. But if I was you, I'd start looking for signs that something else is going on." It seemed to start fading backward out of Luna's vision as it spoke. "Now, that's all I can do for now. Till next time, little toy." Its voice left a dull ache in Luna's chest before she was once more alone.

Luna thought she'd stay awake till sunrise with more than a lot to think about, and an unhealthy dose of fear. Her body appeared to once more have other plans. She still hadn't recovered from exerting herself before, and the stress of dealing with that walking nightmare had only added to the anxiety about Mask's condition. All of it lent to Luna once more falling asleep in her chair. Only this time, her sleep was not so dreamless.