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The cold stare of the four Buddhas greeted James upon his awakening. His eyes softly adjusted themselves back to the darkness until he lifted himself up, allowing his flashlight to cast its glare across the floor. The Poe was nowhere to be seen. He felt somehow he must have defeated it, until he cast his mind back to just before he blacked out. "...dammit...that demon must've...come out again? ...god dammit." He sat up and palmed his face with both hands, sighing deeply to try and energise his spirit. He felt weak enough as it is, trying to get up slowly as he dusted himself off. "How am I gonna keep going like this? Bad enough with everything else going on without this...whatsit called? Scissoraptor? ...that's like a fucking boogeyman name." Shrugging half with frustration, he looked around the place to see the mask that had been left on the floor. Broken in half. The notebook paper intrigued him all the more, but he found it was not from the learned traveller. Instead it was another hand who had written out a series of instructions.

You have broken the first seal There are two more left for you to face Take this mask and place it back where it once was You will need the mask that changes shape in order to do so

"Wait...broken the first seal? The hell does that mean?" A chill ran through his spine, not entirely sure what to make of it. He still did not understand the nature of being summoned here. The way this was all coming to him, he felt as if the Red Arremer had some sort of master plan for him. Maybe he was testing me, thought FG. Some kind of warrior's test? ...but this can't be the same world as his, I can't teleport in the same world, I never have. ...ugh, this is confusing enough, let's go bring this mask back. James carefully picked up the broken mask, placing one half into the satchel with the other in his hand, being unable to fit both. He also noted the other door out of the Buddha room, which according to the map would take him back to the hallway outside the water room. Remembering how it had been locked previously, he saw that he could now unlock it himself for easier access in future. He made his way back to the mask room, wondering what had happened to Boona. The happy mask he took off the door as instructed, watching it change back to its plain grey face until putting it on the other way out, where it changed to a sad mask. James contemplated on it being some sort of skeleton key for this area alone, as he took it towards his destination. Placing the mask onto the door, he watched it transform into a happy demon before passing through.

The small ritualistic room had a different air about it now. One of a quiet malice and paranoia. He could feel something watching him, staring intently at him. Hives started to come out in his arms, making him itch his scales nervously as he placed the broken mask back onto the podium. The moment they fitted back together, the evil fake mask crumbled to dust. The dust soon swept itself up into the air, and slowly began to settle upon the oval-shaped frame above the podium. What James saw next was the most terrifying mask he had ever seen in existence. An enormous mask, one that surely could not be worn by any person. One side of its face was coloured white, the other blood-red. A cruel toothless grin snaked from cheek to cheek, beneath two slanted empty eyes. A note had appeared with the dust, hanging off the left eye for James to read. But what intrigued him more was the key that had appeared just as swiftly upon the podium. A sizeable key, larger than the previous ones and of solid gold. The handle was marked with another fruit as he expected it to be, this time a peach. "Another key, another fruit...hey, this is stuck." No matter how hard he tried, he could not remove the key, firmly wedged in by some invisible force. Grunting hard as he tried to pull furiously back, it did not budge a single inch. Frustrated, he looked closer at the note for a clue.

_If you desire to take this key You must say these words precisely "In Night and Day it matters not For the mask shall seek us until we rot" The moment you do

Run_

He also noted the smaller map crudely drawn upon the back of the note, marking out a hallway beyond the room full of candles. He marked it down on his own map for reference, and cautiously readied himself to speak, grab and run in a certain route he had mapped out for himself. When a note told him to run, he wasn't going to disobey. "In night and day it matters not...for the mask shall seek us until we rot." The moment those words left his lips, he grabbed the key just as he felt a deep rumble from the wall before him. The world suddenly faded before his very eyes into a dark static grey, obstructing his mind and making it harder to see, or even feel the world around him. Doors became blurry, walls bulged with frightening shadows not of his own. But he did not dare stop to see what else would happen, but he could see the huge mask slowly begin to glare a deep red light from beneath its eyes. A trembling of great evil surged through the room, frightening him to his very core as he hastily ran, not forgetting to take the mask off the door in order to place it on one more door. The second he saw the angry mask, he pushed through and ran to the northwest of the mansion. And then he felt it. Somewhere around the rope hallway, he could feel something see him. Hear him. Hunting him.

He dared not look behind, running as fast as he could, barrelling through doors and halls desperately to reach his target. He knew the moment he looked he would see death Himself. He could just feel its aura catching up to him despite his natural speed. Tears started to run from his eyes, both from exertion and from panic. His heart quivered with a wilting of fear, but James gritted his teeth and remained strong, knowing that to succumb to his fear would mean certain death. The raptor charged through the rectangular corridor, past the store room and into the room of candles where he almost slammed into a partition upon entering. He swiftly pushed through towards the room filled with rubble. The blue light was no more, snuffed out by its vile red brother. No comfort would be left for him as he saw the double doors across the way. They were now open for him, clearly ajar. The hallway that stretched beyond was a long enclosed wooden structure, as if it were a mining tunnel of some sort. Claustrophobia choked his heart as he ran as fast as he could, but he was starting to slow down. Not from exhaustion, but from his weakening mind. He could feel the hunter coming closer, and with every inch it came closer, his mind became more clouded with fear and suffering. He could see the world continue to fade all around him, fluctuating into a vile flickering of grey upon grey, the second set of double doors taunting him from the other end of the hall. He pushed forwards, screaming out as he reached for the key. He could see the padlock, knowing he just had to reach it. He could feel the eyes burn into his back, eyes of an ancient evil he did not dare to even look at. No matter how much he wanted to, no matter how much his paranoia BEGGED him, pleaded him to look, he screamed and fought back as he stuffed the key straight into the lock. The moment the lock clicked to fall from its place, James pushed up against the doors and turned at last. He had done it at last. Now he was ready for this.

But he wasn't. He should never have listened to his paranoid self. The mask had been chasing him. White upon red, glaring with a furious bright red within its eyes even amongst the greyed darkness, an eternal smile of cruelty cast forever upon its form. It was charging straight for him, unblinking in its relentless hunt for the thief. Sin and judgement weighed deep within the paralysing stare of the vile mask. James could do nothing but turn and shriek with fear, throwing his hands up and struggling to shoot it down with fire. But then he heard the lock clink upon the ground, and the world of grey faded from his closed vision. He opened his eyes. The mask had disappeared without a trace, the key forever gone. James laid back against the door, sighing shakily from relief at having survived another spectral assault. Recovering his breath, and his energy, he struggled to gulp back tears as he readily pushed open the door. A room such as this spoke only of one thing. Rituals of unspeakable suffering. A large vertical rectangular room, lit by torches still even after the excavation by the mansion's inhabitants downwards to create this area. A central dais stood with several stones, with ropes cast around them to form a circle, small white tags hanging upon them unmoving without a breeze. A huge door stood to the north of them, marked with a symbol in ancient red blood. Ladders helped him navigate down the two levels the room had, but he merely jumped the second one straight down to the floor.

Alright, thought FG with relief, I'm here, now what guys? What did you want me here for? Nothing else seemed to take his interest, other than the enormous gate that seemed to be big enough for a giant to walk through. He noticed a small panel to the right of it, with two small holes for something to be inserted. He hadn't picked up anything even close to such that he could use. He pondered quietly to himself, genuinely intrigued by where this mansion was taking him. "What was the point of me coming here then? What do I need?" He carefully examined the stone circle instead, finding another two parchments from a notebook lying within the very centre. He was glad to see it was his old friend the traveller.

Month ~%, Day OX The dreaded Mask is definitely one foe not to be taken lightly, despite its rather static nature. I once tried to take something it was guarding, and it relentlessly hunted me down all the way to the other end of the mansion! Good thing I was quite the runner after a few cups of coffee in me! But eventually I relented and allowed it back its item, which it took gladly to pester me no more. It seems to especially love keys for some reason, it finds them...fascinating. I am not sure if it even CAN be defeated permanently, but more rather be dissuaded from attacking temporarily. My readings of this being are off the charts. What it lacks in abilities compared to other spirits it more than makes up for the fact that it's seemingly invincible. But surely nothing can be TRULY invincible...right? Hopefully I will find some way to prove that.

"Could have fooled me," said James sarcastically as he pocketed the piece of paper before reading the next one.

According to the ancient writings of this mansion, there existed two rituals that helped to purify the land at the cost of innocent life. The first one was the Blinding Ritual, a ritual where a woman was picked to have her sight taken away from her through the use of the Blinding Mask. It was apparently important to do so, since the Blinding Mask was what allowed the gate in the northwest part of the mansion to open. The second ritual, the Strangling Ritual, is something far far worse. But apparently it was necessary in order to keep the demons of hell away from this place. I could hardly say they were kept away. If anything, they were already in the mansion. But that is my own opinion, perhaps further reading will illuminate things better.

"Yeesh," said James, "that's worse than the stuff K. Rool did even...hmm...blinding mask. ...ohhhhhhh do I have to go back to the mask room agaaaaain, come ooooon." He would have been more frustrated had he not noticed the second note to have a rather strange smell upon it. It smelt like flowers blossoming. And he knew only one place that had flowers in the whole mansion. It wasn't much, but it would have to do as he made his way back up the ladders and through the hallway, being cautious as he kept his eyes and ears open for the mask that was surely hunting him. He soon made his way to the Cherry Atrium, looking towards the lone skeletal tree in the garden. Not a single petal had sat upon its thick branches before. But now, it was in full bloom. Even James knew that plants could never bloom so quickly, which made him suspicious as he softly approached. His flashlight caused the shadow of the nearby Japanese gate to swing around itself, circling like a shark in deep water. The smell of Sakura cherry blossom came fresh to his nostrils, sweet and feminine. It soothed him, yet also saddened him. He remembered a scent similar to it before. Shaking his head clear of memory, he stood before the withered trunk and its renewed flower petals. They remained silent and unmoving without a single breeze to caress them. Despite looking all around the trunk of the tree, and its branches, he could not find anything resembling a mask. "Dammit it's not here!" he muttered harshly. "Where else can it be?! I gotta get all this done before tha-" "C-cut..."

A voice came from behind the raptor. He heard a strange breathing that sent his body shaking slightly, his own breathing echoing it in turn. He saw a flash of white disappear to his left, a tail familiar to him. He turned around in a panic as he saw his own tail and for a brief moment chased it madly, before straightening his mind and finding himself facing away from the garden. Then he turned around. He saw the raptor. The ghostly raptor staring back at him, being his own height but barely touching the ground, his eyes blacked out, the very same birthmarks on his snout now as dark as the bottom of a pool. He could even see his jeans upon the ghostly mimic, but they were ragged and torn asunder, bleeding veins hanging alongside strands of denim, faded red and blue. He wished he could scream. Yet he did not. The raptor's image stepped closer, not floating but rather flitting its claws along the loosened stone path. They made no sound except the rustling of pebbles, and like it was a signal, FG ran. He hurriedly leapt for the balcony of the mansion, climbing up fast and stumbling on all fours as he turned and waited for the creature to come. He wanted to hide, he wanted to escape, but he knew he had two reasons to stay and fight. 1. Because he had to fight this horrifying form of himself eventually. 2. Because if he ran, he would risk facing the demon mask that was hunting him also. He wasn't getting much time to reflect on it when he heard the wood creak before him, as the raptor's ghost leapt upwards with him. In that very moment, their eyes met. Fear meets agony. "Please...cut...cut...CUT!"

The voice sounded painfully hoarse, strangled even, but there was enough in the voice to let James know it was his own. His heart wanted to panic, he wanted so much to run away again and scream like a child from being unable to comprehend the sight. He knew he wasn't dead and yet his own ghost was there. This wasn't a vision of the past or future. This was a malevolent spirit, his own coming to take him. "G-g-get away...g-get back!" "Please..." "NO!" "PLEASE!" "FUCK YOU!" He tried to roar as his voice echoed back at him from the spirit, firing a powerful fireball straight at his spirit, who dodged and launched with a fearful anger. James screamed as he fell back against the door to the balcony, swiftly tumbling to his side and evading the spectre's grasp. He decided to use what he had learnt from facing the Poe, burning his scissors with a firey essence before striking at the ghost. The spectral raptor screeched and fell back, but even that was painful for FG to hear himself in such a way. The raptor half-faded and swung around to the side of him, giving James enough time to leap off and run across the garden. He heard his spirit making a choking sound, the sort of choking one would make when pure fear and sorrow forms inside their throat. It soon spoke again as it landed upon the ground. "Why...on this date...S-september...ninth...w-why..." The spirit soon broke down into tears, weeping into its hands and shivering with horror. James felt his own fear rise powerfully in his gut at a horrifying revelation. September 9th was his birthday. His mind derailed into a trainwreck of thoughts. OhgodohgodohfuckingGodheknowsmybirthday, he knows my birthday...this can't be possible...this can't be fucking possible, it IS me! It can't be me! IT CAN'T BE! His long-winding train of thought reaching into a chasm of terror was soon elicited by his ghost turning and walking weakly towards him, eyes turning malevolent for one second in a mask of evil, before turning back to pure sorrow. His face reached close to the raptor's snout, until he felt the gravely cold ethereal touch. The living raptor's eyes widened at the touch. The raptor could only make a choking sound of fear and sorrow, which his ghost mimicked perfectly down to the expression. "Y-y-you're not...me. Y-you're not me. Y-y-you're...not...ME!"

His sudden shout was his attempt of bravery through shaking frightened anger, as he tried to strike away with the flaming scissors. But the ghost had put an arm down on it, and it was surprisingly strong. Even though it was an ethereal being, it still had a real touch to him and he began to shake violently as he tried to wrestle free from his phantom. "NO! NOOOO! FUCK OFF! YOU'RE NOT HERE, I'M STILL ALIVE, YOU DON'T EXIST, YOU DON'T FUCKING EXIST!" His screaming voice turned higher and higher pitched, wrestling ever stronger from side to side as the ghost continued to stare with black dead eyes, each of them like deep drowning pools. Eventually FG managed to roll away with a strong swing from his ghost, and slashed with a piercing shriek straight across the phantom's face. The spirit shrieked his own voice in turn, and summoned a strange violent wind from the beyond. The flowers from the tree swiftly flew from the tree like a horde of flies and struck out towards James, slicing across his skin like tiny knives. He roared from the almost-unseen pain that flew across his flesh, striking little cuts on every part of him. Rage soon consumed his fear, and he countered with flaming fists that soon burned to great intensity. With a mighty roar, he blasted out a sweeping radius of nano-infused fire, burning all of the petals to ash within seconds. His spirit was surprised, somehow, its own fear also now consumed by its hidden rage as it roared precisely back at him. Clutching its face in tightened claws once more, it disappeared with a blinding flash, dashing towards the hallway between the Buddha room and the water room. Even with this victory, it was not even a win for the raptor, but more a confusing state of affairs, as he sat on the ground and shuddered with shock and relief. Okay, he thought, you managed to get rid of it once, it tried to pull some weird razor leaf shit but you managed to do it. You're not helpless, you got ways to deal with these freaks. Heh...freaks...I'm practically a freak as well, just like him. Alright, let's look somewhere else for that mask.

After managing to calm his nerves down, building up his confidence slowly again, he decided to check out the doll room once more, thinking perhaps there was another clue there he might have missed. He also noticed the talisman that had been on the door to the candle room had disappeared, but of course since it was how he got to the cherry atrium. The doll room however had not been cleared of the chaos from before. The dolls themselves remained scattered across the floor, as well as the wooden beam that was smashed into the middle of the room. But he noticed something else that was different than before. The single white-cloaked doll that had been roped off in its own little stand, was now gone. He could hear a childish little giggle coming from the kimono room to his left. Remembering the wall, he gently opened to find something strange. A small creature, covered in a grey dusty kimono like a sheet, playing with the white-cloaked doll. He could hear the child hum and mumble to itself, making him smile fondly. Kids will be kids, even when they're dead. Realising this, his heart sank somewhat at wondering what had happened to it in life. He decided not to bother the child, gently trying to sneak back through the wall. But his foot tapped strongly against the wall. The child looked up swiftly, shrieking as it suddenly ran off towards the next room. "W-WAIT, NO IT'S OKAY, I'M NOT GONNA HURT YOU!" But it was too late. The kimono had been discarded, and the child had disappeared, leaving the doll behind in its haste. What worried him the most about the strange little ghost, was that he managed to catch a brief glimpse of its head before it had scarpered. It wasn't a human head certainly. He almost thought it a head of solid bone.

Feeling a little disheartened at having scared the little one, he picked up the doll and walked back through the doll room, only to hear a strange moaning from the cherry atrium. He readied himself with his scissors, bracing himself for another fight. The moaning was not as imbued with suffering as the other spirits, but he wasn't willing to take chances at this point. "Oooooooooohhhhhhh...whyyyyyy...noooo escaaaaaaape..." He waited until the sound had faded away past the door to the doll room, putting the white-cloaked doll into his satchel before he slowly walked out to see a most harrowing sight. A woman with long ragged grey hair, filthy peasant cloak and spindly fingers reaching out blindly to whatever was in front of her. He kept out of sight for now, cautious to not make a sound as it stepped out onto the cherry atrium grounds. "Nooo escaaaaape...hhhhh...my eeeeeyes...what have they done to my eeeeeyes..." Something was off about the voice. Much as he didn't want to criticise the suffering of an unfortunate spirit, he felt something...insincere about it. Nevertheless, he waited and watched, seeing the poor woman stumble towards the back of the garden, heading towards the abyss of the lake out back. He carefully followed, using his utmost agility to not make a sound. The door struggled to not squeak as he inched it open, seeing the spirit look around itself pathetically. After his last encounter, he wasn't taking chances and stood right behind the spirit with blazing weapon to roar. "GET OUTTA HERE!" "A-AAAAAAGH!" James managed to divert his blade's direction just above his target when he saw who it was. At first he thought it was a woman of long ragged hair and bloodied eyes, which he saw for a brief moment as she turned. But when he managed to scare the thing senseless, the disguise quickly slipped away, drifting off to reveal a panicky little Boo, with a burned scar over one eye. He was also wearing some sort of eye-mask with stakes wedged into the sockets. "...Boona?" "J-j-james! ...what kinda hypocrite are ya?!" "H-huh?!" "You made me promise that me or my friends never prank ya again, an' then YOU do it too!" "I-i-i didn't mean to, I thought you were one of the bad ghosts here!" "...you...you did?" "Uh...yeah." "...w-was I good?" "...yeah. Yeah you uh, kinda fooled me pretty good. But uh...maybe you should work on your moaning, it was kinda odd." "Oooooh, alrighty, thanks! Hehehe, it's hard to find good critique nowadays." "So uh, what were you up to?" "Well, the guys were about to leave and they found this nifty li'l mask!" He pointed to the horrible thing wedged harmlessly into his eyes. "And I was real eager to try it out, so we had a li'l game of Blind Boo Bluff. The winner gets to become a Boo Man Bluff, an' they're so cool! Though you do have to kinda give up seeing, but it's all about the dedication!" "Uh...huh. So you were all just playing a game?" "Yeah! Um...sorry." "Hehe, it's okay no problem, I know you're good. ...actually...can I see that mask a bit?" "Oh, sure!"

Boona popped the mask out of his eye sockets, blinking as he allowed his eyes to adjust to seeing again before handing it over. "Doesn't that...hurt?" asked James. "Hah, you kidding?! This is like, a physical object! We can just let those pass through us if we wanted to! Kinda part of my transparency training." "Right...hmmm..." The mask was indeed an awful thing. The stakes wedged through the eye sockets were caked in ancient blood, making James grimace as well as realise what it was. So THIS is the Blinding Mask...has to be. Jesus that's cruel. "Hey uh Boona, can I borrow this for a bit, I just need it for something." "Uhhh sure but...if you use that on yerself I think you WILL go blind." "Hah, no no not that, I think this is like a key for this door I found." "A key? ...huh...mask fer a key...that's pretty nifty!" "Wanna see?" "Sure!" Glad to find himself reunited with the kind-hearted Boo, James made his way with him back to the underground hall with the large gate, placing the Blinding Mask safely into his satchel. Boona however gently rubbed his flippers before saying: "Um...sorry about before with the lantern-guy." "Oh don't worry about it, I sorted him out, he's gone forever...I think." "R-really?! You managed to whup his raggedy butt?!" "Well...yeah. Yeah I did." I got no idea what happened to him, but I guess he's not around anymore...hopefully. "That's awesome James! Thanks again." "Heh, no prob. Alright, down we go." Climbing down via ladder, with Boona gently floating down on his own, they stood at the giant gate. The feeling of a cold darkness was strongly emanating from the door itself, as James carefully placed the Blinding Mask within the slot. It fit perfectly, and soon the door opened with a tremendous bellowing groan of discontent. Darkness spread before them, deepening down into a terrible tunnel. "Wh-wh...what's down there?" asked Boona fearfully. "I don't know," said James, "but there's something I need to find in there." "U-u-um...I'll stay with you." "You sure?" "I'm not gonna run away this time...i-if you can take down that lantern guy, then...I'll be safe." "Heh...alright then." Inspired by the faith the Boo had in him, James walked first into the deeper caverns of the mansion.