The Inverted Mask: Betwixt Life and Death

Would you look at that blue! You know, I feel so at peace every time I come here. Like a weight's been lifted, I feel so clean.

Ever the radiant optimist, aren't you, Aldo? But where there is light, shadows gather.

Who's to say there's not some horror stirring in those crystalline waters? Some waiting thing, patient and vile.

Well I'd rather be blindly optimistic than see death in every puddle.

You could stand to look on the bright side once in a while too, Raven.

Spare me your sermons. I'll follow my own path, even if it leads only into the dark.

Yeah, yeah. I'm only saying...

What was that? Who's calling me?

Yikes, what IS that thing?

Good day, Raven.

And what are you supposed to be?

Bone Crow, at your service. A humble guide, nothing more.

But perhaps... I am what remains of you, once time and sorrow have had their fill.

Or I may be your conscience, lost so long ago you have simply forgotten the sound of my voice.

You presume too much. You'll make no claim upon my conscience, crow.

My apologies. I merely assumed it had been discarded, along with the rest.

Well? What do you want with me, bird?

I bear a summons. There is a soul, wretched and waiting, who has asked to see you.

And I don't see why I should care. I don't know this person. If they wish to speak with me, they can come themselves.

If only it were so simple.

But I assure you, Raven, it will be worth your while.

I remain uninterested.

Don't be like that, Raven! At least hear them out.

Whoever it is, this person's clearly desperate to see you.

The ever-obliging people-pleaser, right on cue. No, Aldo. I'm not going.

Oh, come on. it's not like you've got other plans.

You said your name was Bone Crow, right? What exactly do you want us to do?

Thank you. I'm relieved at least one of you knows how to listen.

Go to Lake Tiilen. That is where the soul awaits. You need only hear them out. Nothing more.

We'll be there, you have our word. Right, Raven?

It appears I don't have a choice. Whose company is this that I'll have to endure?

You'll find out soon enough. Now, Farewell, travelers.

I wonder, Raven, in this nowhere between life and death, can you reclaim what has been lost? I pray that you can.

Where's this mystery person? I don't see anyone around...

Apologies for the delay. I have brought Raven, as requested. You may come forth.

Whoa! Who is she?

A spirit...one of the dead.

Please... You must help me.

That's entirely dependent on what sort of help you expect. First, answer me one thing.

Why me?

Bone Crow said...you could help. That you might listen...

Did he, now? I'll be having a word with him about that later. Go on. What is it you want from me?

Please...protect my child...

A baby?!

It's alive. How does a dead woman carry a living child?

Just days ago, I was still alive. I was expecting...nearly full term. But then...I slipped. Fallen into the lake, water filled my lungs... But the child, I couldn't let it die with me. Not when it hadn't seen the world yet. My family, we come from a line of sorcerers, you see. At the bottom of the lake, I used the last of my magic, my last breath. And by some miracle...

A child born among the dead by right belongs to them.

And the dead do not relinquish what is theirs so easily.

I know that! I know... But still. I can't let them take my baby!

Then you are a fool. No. I'll have nothing to do with this.

So you'd let a baby DIE?!

Raven! You can't be serious! We can't let a BABY get dragged to the world of the dead!

Shh... It's okay now. You're safe. We'll look after you, okay?

Don't accept it, you witless cabbage. This has nothing to do with us. You don't even know what you're carrying.

The magician who summoned you to this world, who gave you that mask you wear. The one they call the Mask Maker...

She is my mother.

Mask Maker? Do not speak in riddles.

Huh?!

What are those things?

Servants of death. You bided your time for too long, Lady.

No-no! Aldo, Raven! Please! Protect my baby, !

Not a chance! This baby's alive! I don't care WHAT you are, you're not laying a hand on it!

Hmph. I would have. But my dear friend has chosen to play the hero, and that means I cannot. And besides...

The child's mother entrusted it to us. No matter my feelings, it is ours to protect now.

I turn my ear to you and hear your whispers. When the abyss returns my gaze, I do not turn away.

I walk through death and darkness, but I am not chained to it.

And this child, however they came into the world, is innocent.

Well done, both of you. I knew I could count on you for this little errand.

Bone Crow, what are you not telling me? Who is the Mask Maker?

Perhaps we might discuss that another time.

No. We will discuss it now.

I confess I do not know much. The Mask Maker is a mystery, even to me. But the one thing I can tell you, Raven... is that you cannot kill what is already dead.

A convenient answer.

So...what do we do now?

I don't imagine we are cut out for childcare. We'll need somewhere safe to leave the child.

Good idea. It's not like we can carry it around with us forever.

This feels like a job for Ratchett. Let's go to Palsifal Palace.

Ratchett! I'm glad you're here. We have a bit of a favor to ask.

Aldo? This is a surprise. What sort of favor?

We were wondering if you'd mind looking after this baby for a while.

Awww, would you look at that! A perfect little sleeping angel.

But hold on, where did this little one come from? Don't tell me...

Is this your secret love child?!

Why is that your FIRST guess?! No! Absolutely not!

No need to get defensive! It's okay, you can tell ol' Ratchett. I won't judge.

I'm telling you, that's not it! Just drop it already.

We would be in your debt, ma'am. This child is being hunted, by death's agents. And the Mask Maker.

Mask Maker?

Have you heard of her? Anything you can tell us would help. All we know is she's the one who summoned Raven into this world.

I've heard the name. Rumors among the more esoteric circles. They say her powers are unlike anything else, AND dangerous.

She is an incredibly dangerous magician, and an evil one.

Some folks claim to have spotted her recently. Down in the Man-eating Marsh.

Then we should go there and find her for ourselves.

If this Mask Maker summoned you, she must know something about your past, Raven.

I am uninterested in my past.

That may be the mask talking. After all, it IS stealing away your memories...as it quietly eats away your true face.

Tell me, does a mask merely hide a face? Or does it become one, erasing what lies beneath?

My mask erases my memories? My true face...

Ah, but do we all not wear a mask, in one way or another? So few of us ever bare our true selves. One's true face, who's to say such a thing even exists? We wear so many throughout our lives.

......

Well, anyway... Let's just go to the Man-eating Marsh and find the Mask Maker.

If we track her down, I'm sure we'll get some real answers.

Just promise you'll be careful. She's not to be trifled with.

We will. Thanks, Ratchett. Let's go!

One question before I go further, Bone Crow. Tell me, am I walking into a trap?

What?! Bone Crow's helped us all this way, he wouldn't set us up!

A trap? Me? How utterly insulting! Why would I ever...

You've guided every step of this journey. From the moment we met, you've been herding us here. Closer and closer to her.

That's preposterous! Why would I?

Perhaps you're not who you claim to be. Perhaps you're the Mask Maker yourself.

You think Bone Crow is the Mask Maker?!

What a clever little bird you are, Raven. So close...but no. Bone Crow was never more than a borrowed voice. I merely slipped inside. A vessel, nothing more.

Y-you're the Mask Maker?!

I had hoped to draw you further in before revealing myself, but this will suffice. You would've returned to me eventually. There's no escaping the hunger in your heart, Raven. The yearning to know.

You said you summoned me to this world. And you sealed away my memories...with this mask?

I did. I required someone with powerful magical abilities. A soul worthy enough to exhibit my newest creation. And you, Raven...answered my call.

Then tell me. What was I, before all this?

In your world, you were known as the lord of the fiends, a terror of the Middle Ages.

The lord of the fiends?

But really, what does it matter? You are Raven now.

Whatever face you once wore, it's long since been devoured. Eaten away by your mask.

What?! That's insane!

Lies! A mask cannot eat a face!

Raven! Your face...

My...my face... No, NO! Witch! What have you done?!

Come, Raven. Come home with me... To the realm of the dead.

Rrgh! No! Not like this, !

Raven?!

Wait!

You!

Screw you and your masks! As long as I'm here, as long as my soul burns, I won't let you take his face!

Hmph. Brave little skeleton. But foolish.

You've only delayed the inevitable. There's no going back, Raven. You are the mask now.

Raven, are you okay?

Aldo...unlike you who fight against the darkness, I shall never stand fully in the light. I will stand forever between life and death. A revenant, like that child born of a corpse.

A sorcerer is a creature stitched by darkness. Inextricable from death.

And yet, If you'll have me, I would stand with you. If I can, I wish to fight against the darkness.

I need to know if what I feel is truly my own. Until I do so, I will never break free of this mask.

If that's how you feel, Raven, then let's go finish this. We'll bring an end to the Mask Maker!

She'll be hiding further down. She has made her nest beneath the marsh.

Right. Time to go after her!

The body returns to the earth, the soul up into the light, or down into the dark. And yet the dead say nothing of death. Is it because they are bound to silence? Or is it simply that they, too, know nothing at all? Either way, death and darkness are ever with us. Whether we welcome them or not.

A person never sees their own face. A face in the mirror is a reflection, an image.

Tell me, Aldo, do you know your real face? I could carve it out for you. Peel back the skin of your certainty...and make you a new one. A new mask, fit for who you truly are.

I don't need a mask. I know who I am.

Do you? Or is there something else buried inside you? Some other self, watching from behind the eyes?

Haven't you worn a mask your entire life?

......

Mask Maker! Tell us what you really are. You're no ordinary magician. I can feel it.

Heh...

Phantom?!

It has been some time, Aldo.

No! How are you here?!

Time and space are no barrier to us. We know no borders. We are free to move through spacetime as we please. There is only the cycle, Aldo. Endless becoming. Death is not the end. Merely a turning of the wheel. Yet some souls, they cannot learn. They cling to what is behind, and to what could have been.

That human beside you wished to forget. Sought a way to burn his shame, begin again. He cried out, and we listened. We gave him our power. But now, you stand in our way once more. The child that slipped from our grasp, we will reclaim it.

Not if we stop you right here! If we defeat you, then the Mask Maker's power vanishes, right? And Raven's mask loses your grip!

Then enough talk, Phantom. You WILL give me back my face!

Hmph. So this is where we end...for now. But mark this, your masks will never vanish. All they represent, you shall carry that for the rest of your days.

I've spent my life with my gaze fixed on the abyss. Save knowing death, I've felt no other purpose.

But it seems another path has opened before me.

Then come with us, Raven. I have to say, that new mask suits you.

Hmph. Suit me or not, it's mine now. If I'm to keep living with it, and all the faces it hides... so be it.

Why don't we head back to the palace for now? We ought to let Ratchett know we're okay.

Thank you for explaining everything. Given the circumstances... I think it's best I take responsibility for the child here. We'll look after them at the school, in place of their mother, may she rest in peace.

And we'll do our best to support you however we can. Thank you, Ratchett.

That reminds me, there's something I've been wondering. Do you have any idea who, or what, Bone Crow really was?

I could not say for certain, but perhaps... Back when you were first summoned, A magician from another world, memories sealed, remade as Raven by the Mask Maker's hand...

Maybe some fragment of the soul you once had slipped her grasp. A remnant too stubborn to vanish. It took the form of a skeletal crow, to watch over you from afar.

A tiny soul that wouldn't let go... the last trace of the lord of the fiends...

Perhaps one day, I'll recover my memories and return to the world I came from. What sort of man was I, in that life? What role did I play? Surely, there was something I was meant to do.

And yet...when that day comes, I may lose everything I've found here. The adventures, and the person I became in their midst.

Still...maybe that is my lot. To carry many names, to live between lives. If I am to forget again, there is beauty in not knowing.

I'll walk my path, and no other. I will never turn back.