2025-02-14 22:56:25The torches flickered against the damp walls of the temple as Samuel, Sarah, and Ethan prepared for their journey. The air was thick with tension—not just from the looming danger of the Abyssal Ruins but also from the ever-growing threat of the Brook family.
They had been a thorn in Samuel’s side for years, always lurking in the background, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Now, with Samuel weakened by the Forgotten One’s influence, the Brook family’s intentions were clearer than ever.
"Are we just going to ignore the fact that the Brooks have spies watching us?" Ethan muttered as he adjusted the strap of his sword. "I spotted two of their men near the temple entrance earlier."
Sarah tightened the buckle on her boots. "They wouldn’t be this
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BENEATH THE MASK: REVENGE OF SAMUEL HAYES 67
The wind howled through the canyons as Samuel, Sarah, and Ethan moved swiftly along the jagged path toward the Abyssal Ruins. The confrontation with Lucas Brook had left them on edge, but there was no time to dwell on it. Every second counted.“We should have killed him,” Ethan muttered, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. “Lucas won’t let this go. The Brooks never do.”Sarah shot him a sharp look. “Killing him now would only bring more of them after us. We need to be smart.”Samuel remained silent, his mind tangled with darker thoughts. The Forgotten One’s presence gnawed at him, whispering things he didn’t want to hear. Lucas’s offer still lingered in his hea
BENEATH THE MASK: REVENGE OF SAMUEL HAYES 68
Pain seared through Samuel’s veins as the poison spread, weakening his limbs. Ethan held him up, barely keeping him steady while Sarah loosed another arrow, striking down one of the approaching assassins. But they were still outnumbered, and now Lucas and Adrian had vanished into the shadows, leaving Samuel with a wound that felt like it was eating him from the inside out.The assassins moved in again, their blades gleaming under the faint moonlight.“We can’t hold them off forever,” Ethan gritted his teeth, adjusting his grip on his sword. “Samuel, you better have a miracle in you, or we’re done.”Samuel’s breath came in ragged gasps. His body felt like it was shutting down, but somewhere beneath the pain, something darker sti
BENEATH THE MASK: REVENGE OF SAMUEL HAYES 69
Samuel’s body still tingled with the remnants of the abyss’s power, the dark energy lingering beneath his skin like a second heartbeat. Every breath felt heavier, denser, as if he were walking between two worlds—the one he knew and the one trying to consume him.Ethan kept a close eye on him, his grip tight on his sword. He had seen Samuel fight before, but never like this. Never this ruthless.Sarah, still gripping her bow, was the first to break the silence. “We need to move. If the Brooks regroup, we’re finished.”Samuel nodded, though his vision swayed slightly. The power had left him drained, but he wouldn’t stop now. He couldn’t.
BENEATH THE MASK: REVENGE OF SAMUEL HAYES 70
Sarah tightened her grip on his arm. “You need to sit. That poison—”“I’m fine.” Samuel’s voice was rough, but the glare he shot her left no room for argument.Ethan sheathed his sword with a sharp sigh. “You’re not fine, Samuel. That blade wasn’t just poisoned—it was infused with abyss magic.”Samuel already knew. He could feel it. A slow, creeping energy coiling around his veins, trying to pull him under.And the worst part?The abyss inside him was answering.It whispered in hi
BENEATH THE MASK: REVENGE OF SAMUEL HAYES 71
The violet in Samuel’s eyes flickered before vanishing, replaced by his usual dark irises. He sat up sharply, his breath uneven, as if he had just been dragged from the depths of an ocean.Sarah and Ethan stepped back cautiously, exchanging wary glances.“You blacked out,” Sarah said, scanning his face. “Samuel, what happened?”Samuel flexed his fingers. He could still feel it. The abyss. It had retreated—for now—but it was there, waiting just beneath the surface, whispering promises in a language he was starting to understand.“I saw it,” he murmured.Ethan’s grip on his sword tightened. “Saw what?”“The abyss. It spoke to me.” Samuel swallowed. “It… it offered me a deal.”Silence.Sarah's expression darkened. “And what did you say?”Samuel hesitated. He hadn’t accepted. Not completel
BENEATH THE MASK: REVENGE OF SAMUEL HAYES 72
The moon cast eerie shadows, stretching unnaturally, as if reaching for him. As if the abyss itself was trying to pull him back in.Behind him, Ethan and Sarah stood in silence. The conversation from earlier still lingered in the air, unspoken but heavy.Finally, Sarah broke the quiet. “Samuel, we need a plan.”He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to focus. “The Brooks are waiting for me to break. That’s their plan. They want me to give in so they can use it against me.”Ethan crossed his arms. “Then don’t give in.”Samuel shot him a dry look. “Oh, great. Why didn’t I think of that?”Ethan’s jaw tensed. “I’m serious, Samuel. We’ve been running for days. You keep saying you’re fine, but we’re all seeing the cracks. How much longer do you think you can fight this?”Samuel’s fingers twitched. He hated that Ethan was right. He could feel it—the abyss—pulsing inside him like a second heartbeat.Sarah stepped closer, lowering her voice. “Then we turn the game around.”Samuel frowned. “How?”S
BENEATH THE MASK: REVENGE OF SAMUEL HAYES 73
Samuel’s scream echoed into the void as his consciousness was dragged deeper into the abyss. The real world around him fractured like a shattered mirror, the Brook estate, Victor, and his allies dissolving into an unending darkness.The abyss was endless, stretching in every direction, yet it felt alive—watching him. It pulsed like a massive, slumbering beast, and with every beat, Samuel felt something awaken inside him.“Samuel…”A whisper slithered through the shadows, deep and ancient. He turned, but there was nothing—only the abyss.Then, the ground shifted beneath him, forming into something solid. A throne. Black as the void itself, carved with runes he somehow understood. It was his.His heart pounded. He clenched his fists.“No.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “I won&rsquo
BENEATH THE MASK: REVENGE OF SAMUEL HAYES 74
The room felt smaller, colder, suffocating under his presence.Victor had spent years pulling the strings, manipulating Samuel, pushing him toward this moment. But now, as he stood across from Samuel, there was uncertainty in his stance.Samuel smirked. He felt it.Fear."Not so smug now, are you?" Samuel's voice was smooth, lethal. The abyss curled around his fingers like living smoke. "You thought you could break me, turn me into your pawn."Victor straightened, his mask of confidence quickly returning. "I never wanted you as a pawn, Samuel. I wanted you to become what you were always meant to be. And now you have."Samuel tilted his head, eyes narrowing. "You don’t get to take credit for this."He snapped his fingers.The shadows lurched forward.Victor barely dodged as the abyss tore through the space he once stood, shattering the marble floor beneath him. The sheer force sent a shockwave through the room. Ethan and Sarah stumbled back, but their eyes never left Samuel.Sarah's he
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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
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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
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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
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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
