literature

The Mask of Poemon

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Literature Text

                   Poemon the Smiling Shadow

In the year 850 A.D there once lived a man during the Tang Dynasty named Poe Cao Lee who was a maker of masks. He was a quiet man, neither handsome nor rich who desired to create masks of untold beauty and splendor. But despite his love of masks, Poe was sullen, bitter, and envious of others who had more than him. On one summer’s day a poet stopped by his cart and wished to look upon the masks he had displayed. Poe eagerly agreed and watched as the poet chose a white rabbit mask. But when he gave the poet the mask the man threw it down and shattered it into a thousand pieces. The mask maker was horrified as the man laughed at him and called his works trash unfit for even the emperor to wear.

   Angered by this insult he confronted the poet but the man called to the guards and had the man beaten and his cart full of masks burned. Near death Poe felt himself overcome with rage and grief wishing to seek revenge on the poet for all he had done praying to the Jade Emperor that justice would be done. His prayer did not go unanswered for at that moment Poe was visited not by the Jade Emperor but the Four Fiends. The Four Fiends were notorious beasts of chaos and destruction who had heard the man’s plea and though the mask maker was not truly evil they had sensed the corruption in his heart and desired to exploit it.

  They gave him an offer to give him the power to get revenge against the poet in exchange the mask maker would abandon the goodness in his heart. Unable to resist the offer Poe eagerly accepted the four beasts’ deal and in return they gave him a special mask created from the darkness in his soul that imbued with their power. He put it on and was instantly bestowed the power of the Four Fiends and traveled to the poets estate. And like a great storm he tore the place asunder until not a single person on the grounds was left alive.

   Now that Poe had gotten his revenge he fulfilled his end of the bargain and swore to never perform any act of good again. Only at that moment the Four Fiends revealed their treachery and the mask suddenly began to consume the mask maker. Overcome with fear he could do nothing as the mask ripped out his life force and used it to create the newly born evil spirit within its porcelain surface. By the time the mask had fallen off his face there was nothing left of Poe Cao Lee say a pile of ashes which became scattered onto the winds.

 From that day onward the mask which had claimed the mask maker’s life would be called the Fiends Mask or simply the mask of Poemon. Overtime the wicked object quickly found its way into the hands of the unwary both innocent and guilty transforming them into a hideous demonic being that embodied all of the world’s evils who existed only to cause chaos and destruction. Each time the user would meet an unfortunate end either being consumed by the mask or having a tragic accident.

   Eventually, a young monk stumbled upon the mask having been on pilgrimage and saw just how vile and corrupt object was and had it sealed away deep within the vast deserts of the Gobi where it would never be found. There it was believed the object would never fall into human hands ever again and soon the Fiends Mask was all but forgotten. However, as time went on the monk grew fearful that the mask in its vile nature would somehow find its way back into the world as he got older. Finally near his death the monk had a vision of the future and foresaw the mask would return again only this time it would find its true wearer and utter the end of the world.

     It was then the monk understood that over the years the mask had actually been seeking a proper host for its power. Horrified by what he had seen the monk quickly wrote down detailed instructions about his vision specifying when the mask would return and who it was searching for. From then on the monks of the entire monastery’s in China and their descendants began an ever vigilant watch over the nation waiting and listening for any sign of the masks return. Over time however, many of them forgot their vigil and soon the monk’s warning had all been but forgotten.

   Ages passed and soon the fated time for the evil masks return came for in the year 1921 a group of paleontologists embarked on a trip to the Gobi Desert to find Dinosaur bones. It was during their expedition one of the diggers found the mask and brought it back with him to America. But the moment he brought it back the explorer was racked with untold misfortunes happening to him. He began to grow ill and slowly the man became more reclusive until he died unexpectedly in his sleep. Eventually the mask along with all of his possessions were sold or auctioned off and soon the mask ended up in the possession of a curio shop where it remained for the next ninety years.

But now in the year 2011 a young man has entered the curio shop wanting to impress his friends at school with some cool. And it seems he has his eyes on a mask…

Appearance/Abilities:

The Fiends Mask resembles a pure pearl white Chinese opera mask that has no real outstanding features. This however is a clever ruse, for once the mask entices the person to put it on it transforms them into a walking shadow dressed in long black robes with the mask now replacing their face with their eyes now becoming two burning bioluminescent orbs within black pits. Once they are turned into the creature known as Poemon or the Smiling Shadow they are given an incredible increase in strength being able to tear a person apart with ease. They also become invulnerable to conventional weaponry and are able to fly and levitate as well.

   The users also gain access to unlimited psychic abilities such as telekinesis and teleportation as well as materialization. But the most dangerous aspect is that the user is able to kill the person using the corruption within their own bodies. This is done using a glass ball which the user holds and slowly begins to fill with a black liquid. Once the liquid fills the ball the person in question dies upon the user crushing it which can result in the person exploding or having a heart attack. But those are only a few examples of what may happen to the victim for the user comes up with a myriad of ways to kill the unfortunate victim.

  However, while the mask will give the user power it will not give them its full power until it finds its true host. An average user will only be given twenty to fifty percent of the mask’s power as the person in question will not have the proper attributes the mask seeks. But should the mask find its proper host it has been believed the user will be given full access to its dark powers and become an evil so terrible the heavens will quake with fear. To date the mask has yet to find its true host which is good for if the mask finds its true user then no force on earth could stop them and it would be the end of the world.
This is a concept Idea I have been working on which is my take of an alternate type of mask that instead of turning you into a goofy alter ego it brings out the inner evil of the person. Basically you could call this an Anti-Mask in many respects. I will be doing the story for it soon and hope you all will enjoy it.
© 2014 - 2024 ChojinRyu750
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OnyxSteelGray1213's avatar
Sounds cool, looking forward to it. :D