Who was the Masked man?

Broken Chains!

We circled around Stank, who seemed to be unconscious. Yormen sat on his knees and took his face in his hands.
" We have to go, Stank, please, " a droplet formed under his eye. I could imagine the pain that Stank must be experiencing now. I tangled my fingers with his Sorrowbender, which wasn't glowing yet.
A loud snapping noise caught my attention, and I looked at Stank's neck. The black chain was broken into two parts, I noticed that its insides were of faded grey color. A strange energy filled the air and Stank started rising from the ground. His body was hovering a few centimeters from the surface, and then he instantly opened his eyes.
Stank was the first one to head for the doorway of the Afterlife. He rose higher and higher in the air until he was out of our sight. I gasped.
Maybe this was what he meant by ' The Sorrowbender will help us '.
But our chains hadn't been broken yet, how were we supposed to fly out of here?
Another snap!
Yormen looked at his neck with his mouth open. A smile crossed his face when he looked back at us. Yormen rose a few centimeters, and his Sorrowbender fell back. He let the staff fall too, and he flew towards the clouds, yelling in excitement.
Nichole was up next, he did a strange dance with both his hands on his waist as the Sorrowbender snapped into two and fell.
" See you in the clouds! " he winked at us before flying off after Yormen and Stank.  Now it was just me and Brandon. Our chains had not broken yet, and the anticipation filled my stomach. The dead silence filled my ears and fear crawled up my skin.
Brandon looked at his chain, but it was as good as new.
" Why isn't - why isn't it breaking? " Brandon stammered.
" I don't understand - " I stopped in between when I heard a strange sound. I turned around to see a gang of five Burnthounds, hovering towards us. Their masks had been torn apart, their faces seemed angry and cruel. Tranqlord was leading them.
We couldn't run away, we couldn't fight them. They had defeated the Titans and were coming for us now.
Tranqlord landed on his feet before me, and he had a strange expression of grief.
" All this chaos, " he motioned towards the cliff, " Titans and Burnthounds dead. I did not wish for this. "
He walked around as his companions settled on their feet, too.
" Nobody can escape the prison of the Afterlife, " he announced, " Nobody can remove the rule of Burnthounds from the Afterlife prison, " he stopped before me and looked me in the eyes, " and nobody can defeat Tranqlord. "
I looked back in his eyes with hatred. My legs were shivering, but I knew I wasn't a coward. If we weren't escaping this place, then be it, I wasn't going to lower my self-respect before a monster like him.
" I love to bring to your notice, " I smirked, " that three of my companions - forgive me - three of your PRISONERS - have already escaped, " I motioned towards their broken Sorrowbenders, " You are a coward who can't accept his mistakes. You know I don't deserve to be here, and still, you want to stop me from going because you fear the Gods, and you fear your own judgment! "
" How dare you! " his triangular nostrils exhaled smoke like a dragon's.
" He also fears the Titans, " said Brandon from behind me. We looked fearlessly in his eyes. We were ready to endure any amount of pain that would be set upon us, but we didn't accept to lower ourselves before him.
An instant thought struck me, and I flung the staff in my hand across Tranqlord's face. He was taken aback but he didn't go crashing into any rock like the other Burnthound. His face boiled with anger, and he snatched away the staff from me.
" Stupid magic tricks, " he growled under his breath and broke the wooden staff into two pieces. He hit me hard in the face with the broken piece of the staff and I felt as if a sharp nail or a fang had been dug into my cheek. I fell on my knees, crashing against the ground.
Brandon took a few steps behind, but there was nowhere to run.
" Not very brave now, are you? " Tranqlord mocked.
There was a loud snap and Brandon's chain fell to the ground. Tranqlord stared at him with confusion. I could tell he hadn't seen anything like this before, the Sorrowbender had never broken on its own.
An evil smirk crossed Brandon's face.
" You're a coward, " he said and the air took him to the clouds at an immense speed. All the heads turned upwards, except mine. I tried getting back on my feet, ignoring the shooting pain in my cheekbone. The staff had been broken, the Sorrowbender was still intact, my friends were all gone, but I was still here. I knew I was going to get the share of everybody's beating. But why was my sorrowbender not breaking away?
Was I not innocent?
All my friends had escaped the prison because they had not committed any crime, and so had I.
The Burnthounds closed in on me. They were determined to get their hands on me, and their whips on my flesh.
" Four! " Tranqlord exclaimed, " Four prisoners have escaped from the Afterlife prison. " He sighed.
" They didn't deserve to be here, you know that, " I said, bravely.
" I know that, " He nodded his head, looking sideways, " but the consequences would rain upon the Burnthounds like a thunderous rain.  We would be up for a forced war situation with the Afterlife Governors of Earth. "
I held my breath.
Was it regret in his tone?
Or a realization of the future?
Maybe neither of the two.
" This spirit must be destroyed, or I won't be satisfied, " he told the Burnthounds, and they all nodded.