The Mask of Echo

There are bad ideas.

There are Kael ideas.

And then there's putting on a cursed mask from the Dawn Era that speaks in riddles and regret, just to avoid awkward eye contact with the Duke's heir after accidentally fake-flirting your way into potential engagement.

Guess which one I picked.

One Hour After the Masquerade – Echo House, Roof of Magical Regrets

The masquerade was over.

Diplomats had fainted, nobles had gossip to weaponize, and Belladonna was somewhere in the courtyard yelling obscenities at a hedge.

I was hiding on the roof of Echo House with a headache, half a bottle of stolen punch, and a box labeled:

"DO NOT TOUCH. Cursed. Dangerous. Possibly Sentient. Property of Professor Zevran. NO, KAEL."

So naturally, I opened it.

Inside: a mask. Sleek. Bone-white. Glowing with the soft luminescence of an ancient mistake. The Mask of Echo. Theoretically sealed. Categorically forbidden. Definitely whispering my name.

Inner voice: Do not put it on. Do not put it on. Do not—

I put it on.

The World Shifted.

Light cracked sideways. Air folded into itself. My mind stretched like taffy dunked in existential syrup.

Suddenly, I was standing in a white void. A mirror appeared. Then another. Then twelve more, all surrounding me like judgmental cousins at a family reunion.

Each mirror held a version of me.

One Kael wore royal robes and a crown he clearly hated.

One was on fire.

One wore a wedding veil and had eight rings.

One held a spoon like a weapon.

One just screamed nonstop.

"...This is fine," I lied.

A voice echoed from the mask.

"Chosen. Echo. Fractured Self. Bearer of the Broken Thread. You have been seen."

"Cool," I said, trembling. "Do you do refunds?"

Back in Reality – Ten Seconds Later

I woke up gasping on the roof, the mask still on my face—and now glowing. Loudly.

Like, humming-in-a-forbidden-frequency loud.

Professor Zevran burst through the door, saw me, screamed, and immediately launched three wards, two seals, and one emergency snack at me. The snack missed. The wards did not.

"KAEL, WHY ARE YOU WEARING THE MASK OF ECHO?!" he shouted, hands sparking with panic.

"Because I'm emotionally unstable and very bad at boundaries?!"

The mask flared.

Zevran hissed. "You've awakened it."

"Awakened what?!"

He pointed dramatically. "Your latent prophecy core."

"...I have one of those?"

"You do now."

Elsewhere: The Council of Masks Reacts

A shadowy council chamber.

Twelve ancient figures in ceremonial robes and masks turned toward a single scrying orb.

Inside it: me, Kael, waving awkwardly at a glowing toilet. (Don't ask.)

First Masked Elder: "It has begun."

Second Elder: "The Vessel has bonded."

Third Elder: "...He's drinking punch out of the Mask again."

All twelve sighed.

Meanwhile: My Social Life Was Collapsing

Belladonna cornered me by the library, dragging behind her a trail of broken rose petals and fury.

"You stole my body, Kael. Then you danced with my archnemesis. While wearing my eyeliner!"

"I was glamored against my will!" I protested. "And he was surprisingly soulful!"

"You dipped him."

"He asked for it."

"You dipped him."

"He liked it!"

From behind a bookshelf, Mirielle whispered, "He really did."

Belladonna hissed. "This isn't over. You have opened every political door I've spent years locking shut."

"Technically, the mask opened it," I said.

The mask hummed ominously.

Later: Mask Problems Intensify

That night, I tried to sleep.

The mask had other ideas.

It hovered over my bed, chanting riddles and occasionally glowing bright enough to kill a moth. At one point it whispered:

"The echo is not a sound. It is a memory screaming backward."

I threw a pillow at it.

It dodged.

The next morning, I woke up with three new powers:

Unintended Glitch Projections – I now project ghostly versions of myself when emotionally overwhelmed. There were seven of me at breakfast. One cried. One flirted with a mirror. One just screamed.

Prophetic Nightmares – Last night I dreamed I married the Duke's heir on a floating cheese wheel officiated by Fluffernox. I woke up covered in fondue.

Truth-Flare – Sometimes, when I lie, my hair explodes.

I tested it by saying "I'm emotionally stable."

My eyebrows are gone.

Echo House Emergency Meeting

Aureline: "The mask is bonded. Permanently. Like soul-married."

Seraphina: "Kael is now technically a magical relic."

Belladonna: "Let's bury him under another magical relic."

Zevran: "The Mask of Echo has never chosen a bearer before. Not in this era."

Me: "Why now?"

Zevran: "It must've seen... potential. Or madness. Possibly both."

The mask whispered: "You are not the chosen one. You are the loudest one."

I hate it here.

And Then: The Heir Arrived

I was in the library. The Duke's heir appeared from behind a stack of cursed romances and looked at me like I was the entire subplot of a tragic opera.

"Kael," he said softly, "We need to talk about the dance."

"Which part?" I asked, sweating. "The part where I became your nemesis? Or the part where I accidentally seduced you with combat footwork?"

He smirked. "Both."

The mask glowed. I glowed. A nearby scroll burst into flame.

"I'm cursed now," I told him. "The mask chose me."

He stepped closer. "I don't care about the mask."

"You should. I might explode if I get nervous."

He paused. "...Do you want to explode?"

"I have mixed feelings."

Reader, he leaned in.

The mask screamed.

Final Note: Kael's Journal, Page Now On Fire

Dear Journal,

Today I became the chosen bearer of a cursed artifact that projects ghost-selves, lights my hair on fire when I lie, and is now the subject of international prophecy.

I also may be emotionally entangled with a noble heir I danced with while glamored as my friend who now wants to kill me.

Belladonna's eyeliner is excellent, by the way.

I think I need a nap.

Or a reset button.

Or divine intervention.

Yours chaotically,

Kael

Next Time on Kaelverse:

Kael's glitch powers are spiraling. The Mask of Echo begins to reveal its true purpose.

Also:

The heir invites Kael to a private training duel.

Belladonna challenges Kael to a reputation deathmatch.

The Spoon of Destiny glows again.

Can Kael survive magical politics, romantic confusion, AND being a sentient relic?

Of course not. But he's going to try anyway.