The Mask of the Wolf

Chapter 0 - Prologue

"Have you ever wondered if destiny exists?" When I opened my eyes, I was immediately aware of what was in front of me: A battlefield. Ground stained with black soot, burnt tree trunks, craters that reach deep into the earth and corpses that are barely recognizable due to dismemberment or burns. It is strange. A normal person would have lost their nerve at the sight of this. Isn't it normal to feel compassion and to put yourself in the shoes of the other person in order to understand their agony? So why do I feel so calm? "My lord, the preparations have been completed." A voice sounds behind me, also surprisingly calm. "Tonight's blood moon will usher in a new age." A woman speaks. I try to remember who she is, but my memory seems to blur. Likewise, I don't know what she's talking about. Preparation? Blood moon? Why is her face covered by a snow-white mask? Apart from two pitch-black holes for eyes, you can't see anything. Huh? The woman holds something out to me. What is it? A coat? Strange... I get a warm feeling when I look at the coat, but I just don't know what it is. But I do know one thing for sure: I want to wear this coat...

...

Shit! What's with this sudden pain in my head? It feels like someone is beating me mercilessly with hammers! Memories? Why am I only remembering now? I hear a roar that resembles thunder and seems to echo from all directions. Even though it's just memories, it feels like I can feel every movement, every muscle tugging and every blink I make. This roar isn't coming from a human... It's something far greater, something supernatural... Wings? I can feel every single gust of wind that the gigantic wings give off. Deep black scales cover the skin of the beast, which finally reveals itself in the memory. Blood-red streams of fiery veins run between the scales, creating an image of a complex system that makes up the animal in front of me. It is a gigantic pitch-black dragon that swoops down in front of me. The roar seems to have emanated from it, but all that can be heard now is a calm growl reminiscent of an angry dog, only much louder. "After all these years, the time has finally come. The time to keep my promise." Did the dragon just speak? What is he talking about? My memories haven't fully returned yet! Where am I anyway?! Everything around me is suddenly black. The woman I just saw is gone too, along with her coat. Only the dragon and I are left in the black void. "That's why it's time to keep your promise, Heir to the Masks." What, what is he talking about? Wait, could it be that he's not looking at me, but at someone behind me? There's a man standing there, clad in the coat I just saw. Our eyes are at the same level, but there's a strange feature about him: his face is also covered by a mask. However, it is not the white mask of the woman, but a grayish wolf mask that he is wearing. Did the dragon mean him? Who is this man? Out of nowhere, I find myself back on the battlefield. The man is still standing there, looking in my direction. He makes no reaction and it's impossible to make out his face under the mask. For some reason, he holds out his hand. Does he want to give it to me?

Bloody hell, that pain again! I see how... How... This man... He is the cause of this. He killed all these people. He destroyed everything with this wolf mask. However, I find it difficult to be disgusted by this man's actions or even to condemn him. Because now I finally know who is standing in front of me...

That man...

Is me.