The returning masks
In a narrow Montreal alley leading to the old port, lies a small haunted garden. In this innocuous spot, a frightening paranormal phenomenon takes place every night. Every evening, when humans are asleep and silence reigns, hundreds of masks gather and take over.
Dancing shadows with dark faces, to the rhythm of strange music. Over the past few months, several night owls, particularly the homeless, had reported the events, but no one believed them. People thought they were hallucinating after two syringe injections. You'd have to be a fool to give credence to such broke people.
And yet, what started out as a joke, then an urban legend, turned out to be a frightening truth, making some people cringe and others get excited. The city's police have confirmed that a strange phenomenon is taking place here. The story of Montreal's returning masks has now become the number-one front-page story in provincial, federal and international newspapers, and is being picked up by social network influencers around the world.
Like all strange phenomena, the legend of the returning masks brings curious tourists from all over the world to Montreal.
For the locals, these are the dark spirits that haunt their famous metropolis have succumbed to the charms of humans. They want to barge into the living souls of mortals.
"But what has caused such a phenomenon?" many people ask. However, for others more skeptical, wearing the mask of a fallen sorcerer provokes the manifestation of a sinister power. It's woven from tenebrous filaments mixed with ancient creepers of curses, and anyone who dares don it is condemned to be possessed by its darkness. So we thought we were dealing with humans playing enchanted spirits.
Preliminary police investigations revealed that collections of African, North American and European artifacts in museums caused a fusion of energy between the masks.
Early accounts whispered that the masks were humans in disguise. But the phenomenon goes beyond the whims of mortals. Even the most adventurous come to life once they're there. In fact, something strange happens as you approach the climax of the dance of the returning mask. There's a frightening energy that makes every living being within a 100-meter diameter vibrate.
It is said that the first mask first appeared on the night of a full black moon, when the power-hungry sorcerer created it in the flames of forbidden rituals. But his arrogance was his downfall, as the mask absorbed his corrupted essence, transforming him into a wandering shadow condemned to wander for eternity.
It is also said that since then, the returning mask has sought a new host, attracting those whose hearts are tinged with greed, jealousy or the desire for domination. It appears in moments of weakness, offering promises of greatness and power, but those who succumb to its temptation soon discover the true price to be paid.
Some tell of seeing one of the masks floating in the darkness, its empty eyes glowing with an unhealthy gleam, while others have felt it as an icy, deaf and oppressive presence.
Yet, despite the warnings of the elders and the legends that surround it, there are still reckless souls who seek to appropriate these masks, believing they can tame their power. But each attempt comes to the same tragic conclusion: the masks keep coming back, looking for a new host to continue their cycle. They have left a message saying that their world is saturated and that they should now populate mortal Earth. The battle for land promises to be epic between masks and humans.
By Banesé
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