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BENEATH THE MASK: REVENGE OF SAMUEL HAYES 58
The cave trembled around us, dust raining from the ceiling as the ground beneath our feet quaked. The pedestal where the journal had rested began to crack, thin fractures crawling across its surface like veins of some ancient, dying beast.I gripped the book tighter, my breath coming fast. “What the hell is happening?”Sarah stood frozen, her eyes darting around the chamber. She took a step back, her voice barely above a whisper. “We triggered something… but I don’t know what.”I turned to her sharply. “You knew this place would react, didn’t you? You knew something like this could happen.”She flinched at the accusation but didn’t deny it.“You’ve been keeping secrets this entire time,” I snapped, anger flaring in my chest. “Enough. Tell me what’s really going on.”Sarah clenched her fists, her hesitation tangible. The flickering torchlight cast
BENEATH THE MASK: REVENGE OF SAMUEL HAYES 59
The crash of falling rocks echoed behind them as Samuel and Sarah emerged onto the rocky shore, their breaths ragged and uneven. The cave had collapsed completely, leaving behind nothing but dust and the faint tremors still reverberating through the earth. The ocean roared against the jagged cliffs, its waves crashing in a relentless, violent rhythm, as if mirroring the chaos unfolding before them.Samuel steadied himself, hands braced against his knees, his pulse hammering in his ears. He turned sharply toward Sarah, his voice laced with frustration.“What the hell just happened?”Sarah’s face was pale, her usually sharp gaze unfocused as she stared at the spot where the cave entrance had once stood. Slowly, she shook her head. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “That wasn’t supposed to happen. The island has never reacted like this before.”Samuel exhaled sharply, his frustration mounting. He could still feel the weight of the journal tucked in his bag, as if the secrets within were burn
BENEATH THE MASK: REVENGE OF SAMUEL HAYES 60
The weight of the island’s demand pressed down on him, suffocating, inescapable. His hands trembled at his sides as he turned to Sarah, hoping for another answer—any answer—that didn’t end in blood.“There has to be another way,” he said, his voice tight with desperation. “Something we’re missing. A loophole.”Sarah’s eyes darkened with concern. She wanted to tell him there was another way, but she couldn’t lie to him—not now. “If there was, I would have told you already,” she admitted. “But this has always been the island’s way.”The elder woman remained silent, watching him with an unreadable expression. She had seen this moment before, countless times throughout history—when the heir was forced to face the impossible. And she knew that in the end, the island always got what it wanted.Samuel swallowed hard. His fingers brushed against the worn leather of the journal still tucked inside his bag. He had hoped the answers were in its pages, but all it had given him were more questions
BENEATH THE MASK: REVENGE OF SAMUEL HAYES 61
The moment Samuel’s blood touched the earth, something ancient stirred beneath the surface. The island trembled—not with anger, but with recognition.Samuel gasped as heat pulsed from his wounded palm, spreading up his arm like liquid fire. The sensation wasn’t pain, exactly. It was something deeper, something that burned into his very bones.Sarah held onto him, her fingers digging into his arm. “Samuel, talk to me! What’s happening?”He tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. His vision blurred, the world around him tilting as if reality itself had shifted.Then, the ground beneath them split open.A glowing fissure ran from where his blood had fallen, jagged veins of golden light branching out like roots seeking nourishment. The energy pulsed, slow at first, then faster, brighter, until the entire clearing was bathed in its eerie glow.Samuel stumbled back, his breath shallow. His reflection shimmered in the golden light—his skin looked different, almost translucent, as if som
BENEATH THE MASK: REVENGE OF SAMUEL HAYES 62
The energy wrapped around him, seeping into his skin, into his bones, into something even deeper—his soul. It was like drowning, but instead of water, it was power, memories, and voices that weren’t his. The whispers pressed against his mind, urging him to listen.And then—darkness.A sharp gasp escaped his lips as he landed on solid ground, knees hitting the earth with a force that sent pain shooting up his legs. He wasn’t in the clearing anymore.He was somewhere else.A temple stood before him, carved from black stone, its edges glowing with the same golden energy that had surrounded him. The air was thick, humming with something alive. The sky above was dark—no stars, no moon, only swirling mist."Finally awake, are we?"Samuel spun around.A man stood a few feet away, leaning lazily against one of the temple’s pillars. His sharp features were half-hidden by the shadows, but his
BENEATH THE MASK: REVENGE OF SAMUEL HAYES 63
.Dark tendrils wrapped around his limbs, pulling him deeper into the abyss. The golden energy that once surged through him flickered like a dying flame, overwhelmed by the creeping void. His breath came in short gasps as his vision blurred, swallowed by the endless dark.Somewhere above, he heard Sarah screaming his name.But the sound was distant—too far, too unreachable.Then, just as the last sliver of golden light disappeared, a voice whispered in his ear."Now, you are mine."Samuel’s eyes snapped open.He was no longer falling.Instead, he stood in a vast, empty space. The ground beneath him was slick like polished glass, reflecting a sky of swirling black mist. No stars. No horizon. Just an endless void.And in front of him—A figure emerged from the shadows.It was human-like, but its form constantly shifted, as if made from liquid darkness. Its eyes glowed a deep
BENEATH THE MASK: REVENGE OF SAMUEL HAYES 64
Samuel's chest rose and fell in ragged breaths as he sat on the cold temple floor, the weight of what had just happened pressing down on him. The golden energy had saved him—Sarah had saved him—but the shadows hadn’t truly disappeared. They lingered at the edges of his consciousness, whispering, waiting.Sarah pulled back just enough to look into his face. "Samuel, what happened in there?"He exhaled shakily. "It—" His throat felt raw, as if the darkness had tried to strangle the words before they could leave him. "It called itself the Forgotten One."Sarah stiffened. "The Forgotten One?""You know about it?" Samuel asked, watching as her fingers instinctively clenched into fists.
BENEATH THE MASK: REVENGE OF SAMUEL HAYES 65
The temple was quiet, yet Samuel could feel the weight of unseen eyes pressing against his skin. He stood at the edge of the sacred grounds, the jungle stretching before him like a living, breathing entity. The moonlight painted the stone pathways in pale silver, but even its glow couldn't chase away the shadows curling at the edges of his mind."You shouldn’t be out here alone," Sarah’s voice came from behind him.Samuel didn’t turn. "I can’t sleep."She stepped closer, her presence grounding him. "The whispers?"He let out a slow breath. "They’re getting louder."Sarah studied him for a moment before reaching for his hand. "You’re not going to lose yourself, Samuel."
Latest Chapter
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The aftermath of William Brook’s fall left an eerie silence in the grand hall. Smoke curled from the scorched remnants of his body, his power having disintegrated beneath Samuel’s attack. But despite the victory, the tension in the air remained thick, as though the battle had only scratched the surface of something much bigger.Evelyn stepped beside Samuel, her expression unreadable. “You look like you’re expecting another ghost to jump out of the shadows.”Samuel didn’t respond immediately. His senses were on high alert, his instincts telling him this wasn’t over. The Brook family wouldn’t take William’s downfall lightly. If anything, they’d retaliate with fury.“We need to move,” Samuel said, voice firm. “Now.”Evelyn smirked but followed as he strode out of the ruined hall. The moment they stepped into the corridor, the weight of their situation settled. The estate, once a stronghold of wealth and power, now felt like a battlefield.As they walked, Evelyn broke the silence. “So, wh
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Samuel stood at the center, his eyes dark with unreadable emotions, while the Brook family loomed over the negotiation table like vultures circling a fresh kill.“I don’t think you understand the weight of what you’re asking, Mr. Brook,” Samuel said, voice calm but edged with steel.Across from him, William Brook smirked, fingers tapping rhythmically against the armrest of his chair. “Oh, I understand perfectly,” he mused. “What I don’t understand is why you’re hesitating. A merger between our companies would be beneficial for both sides. And yet, you seem... resistant.”Samuel’s jaw tightened. This wasn’t just a business deal. The Brook family had been subtly moving against him for months, and now, they were making their power play. He wasn’t going to let them win.“I have no interest in merging with a family that has done everything in its power to sabotage mine,” Samuel said coldly.“You wound me,” William chuckled, leaning back. “This isn’t about the past, Samuel. It’s about the f
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Vincent, still clutching his gun, scanned the perimeter of the room before finally lowering it. "We should be safe here for now."Evelyn rubbed her temples, her fingers trembling. "For now? That's not exactly reassuring. Those echoes... that wasn’t normal. Not even for this."Thorne stood near the doorway, his gaze distant. "It was an aftershock. The Devourer may be bound, but its influence lingers. The echoes were proof of that."Sophia crossed her arms. "Great. So what do we do? Just sit here and wait for another nightmare to show up?""No," Thorne said simply. "We need to sever the last ties."Samuel looked up. "Ties? You mean, there’s still something linking this place to the Devourer?"Thorne nodded. "The remnants of its presence don’t just vanish. The echoes were drawn to us because we disrupted something ancient. If we don’t finish what we started, this will happen again. And next time, we might not be able to outrun it."A heavy silence settled over the room.Vincent finally s
115
The group moved quickly through the desolate landscape, the weight of what had just happened pressing down on them. The air still held the remnants of the Devourer’s presence, thick and suffocating. Samuel kept a firm grip on Mercer’s arm, making sure he stayed steady.Mercer, though exhausted, still managed to crack a weak smile. “You planning to hold onto me forever?”Samuel scoffed but didn’t let go. “You can barely stand.”Mercer sighed but didn’t argue. His body was covered in bruises, his clothes tattered, and his skin was still marked with faint traces of the dark tendrils that had bound him to the Devourer.Vincent led the way, his gun still drawn, eyes sharp and scanning the area for any threats. Evelyn walked beside him, her hands trembling slightly, though she tried to hide it. Sophia was a few steps ahead of Samuel and Mercer, her grip still tight on the dagger, ready for anything.Thorne, as always, was eerily calm, his presence steady. “We need to move faster,” he said.
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The second eye blinked open, followed by a third, then a fourth. The Devourer’s presence spread, a suffocating force pressing down on Samuel’s chest. The symbols on the ground pulsed in response, flickering like a heartbeat.Sophia’s grip tightened on the dagger she held, ready to intervene if things went wrong. Vincent and Marcus stood at the edge of the ritual circle, their eyes locked on Samuel, prepared for anything.The Devourer’s voice slithered through the air. “You… are tethered to the one we hold.”Samuel swallowed hard. “Yes.”The entity’s gaze burned through him, its presence creeping into the depths of his mind, sifting through his memories, his emotions, his very essence. A wave of nausea rolled through him as the connection strengthened.“You offer yourself?”Samuel’s fingers curled into fists. “I do.”Evelyn’s chanting shifted, the cadence growing sharper, more forceful. The mimic ritual had to remain convincing, and that meant making the Devourer believe it was getting
113
The weight of Thorne’s words settled over them like a suffocating fog. A willing sacrifice.Samuel’s fingers curled into fists as he stared at the page in front of him. The ancient symbols meant nothing to him, but the implications were clear. To sever the Devourer’s connection to its feeding ground, someone had to die.“That’s not an option,” Sophia said, shaking her head. “There has to be another way.”Thorne leaned back in his chair, watching them with a measured gaze. “If there was, I would tell you. But Devourers are ancient creatures, bound by deep-rooted laws of existence. To break their hold, something of equal value must be given in return.”Vincent scoffed. “So you’re saying the only way to save Mercer is for one of us to die? Not happening.”Thorne sighed. “I understand your reluctance. But this is not a simple monster you can kill with bullets or fire. Devourers are entities of hunger and power. If you go in unprepared, you won’t just lose Mercer—you’ll all become part of
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Marcus kept one hand on the wheel while his other gripped his phone tightly. “We need to move fast,” he muttered. “The Brook family won’t just sit back and let us find Mercer first.”Samuel exhaled slowly. “Then we beat them to it. Whatever’s up there in that village, it’s dangerous. But Mercer is still alive. I can feel it.”Vincent scoffed from the backseat. “Feel it? Or just hoping?”Samuel ignored him. He wasn’t about to explain the gnawing pull in his chest, the unshakable certainty that Mercer was still out there, barely clinging to life.Sophia shifted uncomfortably beside him. “That thing in the village… It wasn’t human, was it?”Evelyn, who had been silent the entire drive, finally spoke. “No. It wasn’t.” Her voice was unusually quiet. “I’ve read about things like this before, but seeing it in person is something else.”Marcus frowned. “Read about it? What was it?”Evelyn hesitated before answering. “There are stories of ancient beings bound to certain places, creatures that
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The wind howled through the ruins, carrying an eerie whisper that sent a chill down Samuel’s spine. The inhuman eye within the darkness remained fixed on them, unblinking, filled with a hunger that made the air itself tremble.Sophia gripped Samuel’s arm, her breath shallow. “Samuel… what is that?”Vincent stepped forward, drawing his gun. “I don’t know, but I don’t like it.”Marcus cursed under his breath. “We need to get out of here. Now.”The trembling man on the ground clutched at Samuel’s sleeve. “You can’t fight it,” he rasped. “You can only run.”Evelyn narrowed her eyes at the shifting darkness. “No. We don’t run. We face it.”As if responding to her defiance, the shadows coiled like living tendrils, stretching toward them. Samuel barely had time to pull Sophia back before the darkness lashed out, striking the ground where she had just been standing. The impact left a deep crack in the earth, radiating an unnatural heat.“That’s not normal,” Vincent muttered.The villagers had
110
The moment they stepped onto the tarmac, a biting cold wind greeted them, carrying the scent of damp earth and something else—something older, almost metallic, like the air before a storm.Samuel adjusted the collar of his coat, his eyes scanning the unfamiliar terrain. He wasn’t the only one on edge. Sophia wrapped her arms around herself, glancing toward Marcus."Are you sure your contact knows where Mercer is?" she asked, her voice hushed.Marcus checked his phone, his fingers typing rapidly. “He says Mercer was last seen near a village deep in the mountains. But it won’t be easy to reach. The roads are dangerous, and the locals avoid that area.”Vincent scoffed. “Of course they do. Let me guess—ghost stories? Cursed land?”Evelyn, standing slightly apart from the group, tilted her head. “It’s not just stories,” she murmured. “There are things in these mountains older than any of us.”Vincent rolled his eyes. “Great. More cryptic warnings. Love that.”Marcus ignored him and motione
