The mask was crude, uneven and its surface was still stained faintly with dried black ichor.

It wasn't beautiful, nor was it elegant, but it seemed to radiate some kind of familiar aura, the same he felt when he took out the mask.

It was the same pressure Nox felt from the Wendigo, especially when he broke its lamp.

The man lowered the mask slowly, staring at it with reverence, for some reason, he seemed to be filled with glee as he beheld the mask.

Nox didn't understand the reason for this until he spoke

"A way to hide amongst them," the man said with a laughter, one that sounded insane, "until I find a way out of this hell hole."

He turned the mask in his hands, inspecting the inside where rough channels had been carved into the bone.

They weren't random, Nox could tell, they followed a pattern similar to SE pathways, though far more primitive.

"I'm sure the Eclipsed won't try to hunt a being that feels stronger than them," He continued, "except they smell even the slightest bit of light."

He didn't know how he was so sure, but the new information in his head told him he was right.

A faint, humorless smile crept onto his face.

"Let's test if this will actually work, shall we?"

Without hesitation, he raised the mask and pressed it against his face and the moment it made contact, the glowing rocks in the cave started dimming even more

Black mist flowed outward as if repelled, before snapping back towards him violently, flooding into the mask and the man alike.

Nox felt his vision distort and the next thing he heard was the man's scream.

This one sounding a lot more primal and pained than when he ate the Eclipsed flesh.

His spine arched backward unnaturally as the mask fused to his face, the bone digging itself into his flesh. Horns began to push through his skull with sickening cracks, as they twisted and elongated.

His hands hit the stone floor and his fingers started digging deep grooves as his nails blackened and lengthened into claws.

"Hide… hide… hide…" the man muttered over and over, his voice layering over itself, becoming both deeper and distorted.

His heartbeat was so loud, that it echoed throughout the cave.

The regeneration that had previously saved his life now worked against him, repairing what should've remained broken and reinforcing what he now wanted to fail.

His bones, muscles, hands and even legs had changed completely.

The mask hadn't disguised him as it was supposed to, instead it used him as a medium to revive itself.

And by the time the man realized this, it was already too late.

When the black vapor settled, the man was gone, in his place stood something tall and gaunt, its limbs were elongated, and its presence was twisted but undeniably powerful.

And on its face was the mask made of bone with two hollow eyes sockets that produced a red glow.

The creature looked at its hand before turning back to its corpse that, at this point, was no more than bones.

It had implanted the idea of a disguise mask in a moment of desperation as it died, all the man had to do was interact with its blood.

And the man did, which put the Eclipsed's plan in play. It quickly embedded itself into the mask and patiently waited for the man to put it on.

Fortunately for it, the man's core had been destroyed, so the thought of using SE to cleanse the mask didn't cross his mind.

That would've been bad for the creature since that'll just completely wipe it out.

But now that it had reformed itself through a human, it had a lot more information on humans and SE, and it intended to use it against them.

As if to aid in its quest, the cave suddenly started shaking making the Eclipsed warily look around, before a small stone structure rose from the middle.

Exactly the spot where the man had been creating the mask.

On the top of the stone structure was a blue light and the Eclipsed slowly approached it to investigate, as something about the light called out to its soul.

The object became clearer when the Eclipsed was close enough.

It was a lamp.

One that produced an eerie pale blue glow. Nox watched as the Eclipsed extended its arm and the moment its claws touched the lamp, he was pulled backwards.

Almost as if someone was dragging him, Nox felt his body move at uncomfortable speeds, though he didn't really feel it.

He seemed to be traveling towards countless stars before it felt like whatever was dragging him had dropped him at full speeds.

He soon saw a blue and green glowing sphere quickly approaching, but instead of crashing into it, he passed right through and that's when structures started taking shape below him and he was faces with a familiar golden dome.

Nox also realized that he was approaching the ground faster by the second and there was no way of stopping him.

He shielded his face with his arms and closed his eyes in waiting for the impact, but it never came.

Slowly he opened his eyes and realized that he was back in the abandoned warehouse, back in the academy.

The mask was still in his hand and he calmly assessed it.

The object was now filled with SE and its form slowly changed, the hollow eyes sealed themselves and the mask became visibly smaller, and smoother.

Its color shifted from white to a more darker grey.

Nox turned it around, still observing the changes, even the aura it released was now different.

"So that's what you are?" He muttered still looking at the mask.

He knew there was a chance that the creature's soul was still lingering in there just as it had been for that man.

But for some reason, instead of being influenced by it like the man had been, only a single word formed in his mind.

{The Grey Mantle}

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