I drifted in and out of consciousness. When I managed to blink, the world was a blurry wash of dark blue, twinkling lights spread across a vast canvas. Blood throbbed in my ears, muffling most sounds, though distant cheers and excited chatter filtered through. The festive noise felt wrong—sickeningly wrong—as memory surfaced of that knife jutting from a soldier's neck.

  My stomach churned, but all I could do was stir and clench my fists, hovering at the edge of wakefulness, fighting through the last cobwebs of unwanted sleep.

  Wake! Up! I ground my teeth, resisting the pressure in my mind, ignoring the pain wracking my skull. This is what you get for trying to save someone. But it had happened so fast—the unaware guard, the cloaked assassin…

  My frown deepened. Several assassins. One wearing that polished mask I dreaded to think about.

  Finally, I ripped through the mental fog. My eyes snapped open as I gasped in a deep breath. The night sky sparkled above, but something was wrong. The light was changing, growing subtly brighter. Had I been out that long? No—both moons were gliding across the sky, moving faster than I'd ever seen.

  The realization hit like ice water. The triple solstice was happening. The shrine would open soon.

  I tried to move but found my wrists and ankles bound. Worse, I wore only knee-length underwear. My heart skipped as panic flooded my veins. My mask—I felt my face with bound hands. Where was my mask?

  Looking right, I saw other captives similarly bound and stripped.

  At the street’s dead end lay piles of clothing, armor, weapons, and masks, all meticulously organized.

  A foot pressed against my chest. I gasped and looked up to find a cloaked figure staring down at me through a purplish-black mask with a white swirl. He cocked his head, studying me. Was this the one I'd struck? Was he waiting for me to wake before slitting my throat? But he only stared, his wooden mask a dull echo of the polished white one worn by that murderer with the glowing sword.

  "What’s happening?" I shouted, heart pounding, heat rising in my cheeks.

  To my surprise, the figure extended a gloved hand, pointing first at my face, then pivoting toward the towering pearlescent shrine. The moons climbed high in the now-bright blue sky as the sun raced upward, moving unnaturally fast.

  The cloaked man held his pose like an ancient statue indicating the unknown. What the hell was he pointing at? The sun, the moons? I already saw those shifting across the sky, moving to hang above the…

  My heart skipped when I saw him—the figure atop the spire's peak, dark cloak billowing, white mask gleaming. Chanting echoed as if from heaven itself, matching the volume of the excited crowds of Wavehaven. Did they even see him? That man? That monster?

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  As sun and moons approached their apex, the masked murderer's voice grew louder, his mask's purplish-navy swirl glowing brighter by the second.

  The figure above me removed his foot and began to hum, gaze fixed on his master. Other cloaked figures wearing similar masks joined the chant, hands raised in supplication.

  What the hell? My breathing quickened as I looked between them. Was this some cult? Were we meant for sacrifice? I gritted my teeth, testing my bonds. The knots were too well-tied to force apart or quickly unravel, and I knew I didn't have hours to spare.

  With the closest cultist focused on his leader, I inched backward toward the weapon pile, eyeing a particularly sharp sword. Movement caught my eye—stars appearing in the bright blue sky, twinkling like diamonds. Wait…how could I see stars in daylight?

  A familiar clack sounded to my right. I gasped as Gripjaw peeked around a pile of clothes. My heart swelled. He was here! I’d only saved him from a bird, yet here he was, loyal as a hound. I waved him over and he skulked closer, casting wary glances at the nearest cultist. The man remained absorbed in his chanting.

  Gripjaw rushed to me, fangs attacking the rope between my wrists. As he chewed through the strands, I stared at the sky where large shooting stars cut across the blue—some growing larger, plummeting…plummeting straight toward Wavehaven! Snap! My hands came free and I pointed to my ankles, trembling, jaw chattering.

  The towering spire's peak transformed, unfolding like a flower in sunlight. The murderer hovered above the blooming tip, arms raised in supplication, his voice drowning out the growing screams below. Falling stars—meteors—plummeted, drawing closer, trailing flames. I gaped, eyes wide as plates. Holy fricken hell on earth! This man, this cult leader, had summoned fireballs from heaven!

  He wasn't targeting individuals. He meant to destroy the entire island.

  Snap! My ankles came free just as brilliant light flashed from the shrine's base, blinding me momentarily. My heart lodged in my throat as I blinked away tears, and saw a door slowly opening.

  Shit, that’s it! Move, Zale. Move! Scooping up Gripjaw, I sprinted for the mask pile. Mine was easy to spot—cloud-shaped and puffy. Someone shouted in an unfamiliar language. I spun to see a cultist approaching, drawing a blade black as night. Others turned, startled to find me loose.

  "Hold on tight!" I yelled to Gripjaw. He coiled around my neck as I slammed the mask to my face.

  [Activate Mask?]

  "Activate!"

  I shot forward, slamming into the nearest cultist and racing across unconscious guards. I blurred through the plaza, MP draining rapidly.

  [-10 MP]

  [-10 MP]

  [-10 MP]

  [-10 MP]

  I yanked out one of my two stamina potions and drank deeply. Violet-blue light burst from my skin.

  [+50 MP]

  Halfway to the glowing doorway—I was halfway from arriving back to a home life had stolen from me. Something exploded in the far distance, shockwaves rippling through the ground and cracking pavement. I staggered, looking to my far right to a blinding red-white explosion. Flaming meteors rained from heaven, as massive as mountains, most of them seconds from collision. An entire cluster seemed drawn to one section of the city, hidden behind countless adobe structures.

  Keep running! I downed my final potion.

  [+50 MP]

  The edges of my vision darkened as the pounding in my skull intensified, like an invisible fist striking my skull again and again and again. A meteor smashed into buildings in a flash of red-white light, a wave of heat rushing past, burning skin. I screamed, but my focus remained on that brilliant silver-white doorway—a light brighter even than the flames raining on the city.

  As another explosion rocked the ground behind me, I screamed and launched myself toward that radiant portal and into blinding white light.