Here's the link of the previous chapter: Introduction
Once the new green-headed being blinked, his gaze fell upon the mirror, through which he noticed the reversed clock at the back of the room. He put his hand over the clear surface and, magically, his arm stretched through the mirror until he grabbed the clock and got it near him.
“Sometimes, checking the time takes a bit of a reach!” the being said while passing his sleeve over the clock’s surface. “Now I see!! It’s time for your boy Dylo to have a blast!!!”
In that instant, a current of orangish air floated through the window until it reached Dylan —er… Dylo's green nostrils. The smell was pleasant and mesmerizing, and his belly trembled quite noticeably.
“And what's a party without snacks? Better get going!”
Dylo contorted his body several times before spinning into a tornado that went straight into the wall and broke it.
The moonlight shone brighter than before as if it knew something worth spotlighting would happen. There were no clouds, and the stars could be seen clearly, to the passersby’s delight. The streets seemed alive, with bright lights and people walking, eating, and chatting. Everything promised a fortunate night, and boy, they were not wrong.
When the green-headed being arrived, he stopped his swirls to admire his surroundings. Something about the contrast between the luminous decorations and the darkness of the time woke him up with the desire to make the most of it.
“My, my… So many things to do!! What should I start with?” he asked out loud, ignoring the confused gaze of the people around him.
Among all the bright and startling things he could see, he noticed a balloon flying away. Dylo jumped, higher than he expected, took the balloon and got down gracefully.
“Here you go, my girl," he said, extending the balloon to the girl.
"Thanks, weird green man but... that's not mine," she said, confused.
"Happy to help," Dylo added, patting the girl's head before he got far away.
Then, he stopped near a blonde man walking around, absorbed in his thoughts, his face wearing a sadness deeper than what stirred inside him.
"Things only seem to get worse, don't they, sir?" he asked out of the blue —or out of the green, while warping his arm around him. "But don't worry!" he put his hand on the blond’s chest, "I'm sure we will get an answer! Even if we have to kiss the truth out of someone.”
Dylo kissed the man on the cheek, leaving a green mark there, and spun himself away from him, vanishing in a blur of laughter and leaving the man perplexed.
While on his way spinning, the orangish air came back to his nostrils. His stomach growled instantly. “Of course, never throw a party with an empty stomach!”
He followed the scent and arrived at a churros stand. He placed his face against the sneeze guard, with his bright eyes looking directly at the golden dough sticks frying in the oil, to the owner’s dismay. Dylo licked the glass and moaned as if he was enjoying the flavor directly.
“What the hell, man?! If you want them so badly, you could always ask!” yelled the churros man.
“Oh, hello, there!” greeted Dylo, stepping aside, “I couldn’t help it, their lovely scent brought me flying till here… how much for a dozen?”
"Forty Dollars..." he replied with a face of few friends, while noticing how potential customers, or walked away or looked at the scene anyway except approval.
"Only forty? It's a bargain!" Dylo took some bills and delivered them to him. The man gave him a dozen Churros and was about to get the return, but Dylo interrupted him. “Don't worry, good man! I'm fine like this!" He said and, forming a tornado, moved away at high speed, leaving the churros man confused and with both hair and ruffled mustache.
Dylo was delighted from life to feel the exquisiteness of the churros in his mouth. He had never appreciated the sense of taste more.
"How much can you do with a mouth?" He asked out loud before the rest of the churros. He never realized the looks he received, nor how misunderstanding his words were. "It would be so good to explore my mouth's abilities!" He said, licking his lips, gladly.
He squeezed the bag and was about to throw it away, when his ear captured a strange noise. He approached there, and realized that some men, with poorly arranged balaclavas on their heads, were looting.
"Oh-ho-ho..." Dylo laughed from the exit of the alley, calling the attention of the thieves, which were like three or four. Dylo appeared dressed as a police officer.
"It's a cop!!" One of them shouted, he took out a gun and shot him fully.
Duel received it in the chest, but did not flinch, which left thieves stunned.
"Is this a game?!" He asked with an innocence that scratched in the child. "My turn!" He exclaimed, took a gun out of pocket and shot them. However, when the bullets hit their bodies, they did not pierce them, but extended cables with which they were trapped. "This is so fun!"
At that time a police car appeared, with its red and blue lights. Two real officers got off the vehicle and, with their weapons in their hands, approached the scene. When Dylo saw them, he had changed his costume again.
"Greetings, officers!" greeted Dylo, erroneously with a military gesture. “I found these bandits and did what I could, but how good the experts are here! See ya!"
And, turning in a tornado, he moved away from the scene, leaving perplexed officers, with fluttered caps.
When Dylo reappeared, he was riding a monocycle. He was in some street in the city, walking as amazed as a blind man who sees for the first time. Visual stimuli were more shocking than the first time. The smells of the meals were very tempting and appetizing. Even the feeling of his dozing fingers had an electrical effect of the most glad.
"This is really amazing!" He shouted, even moving in the monocycle and regardless of people's eyes. In fact, he had some pleasure in it. “Oh, I have a public! It's time for a show!"
He turned on his axis and his wardrobe had changed again. It looked like a circus performer, with a very small black hat. From this, he took some bombs of different striking colors and was throwing them into the air after others, being eight in total. After the last one, he placed his hat again and, moving non-stop from the monocycle, appearing to look for balance, received the pumps and juggled them.
Those who saw him, especially the youngest, looked at him amazed. Some recorded it with their phone, while others had popcorn and other snacks in hand. After a while, Dylo threw the pumps above, placed head and juggled with his feet, playing as if he danced a piece of tap. Taking advantage of his hands free, he took his hat and began to take out random gifts (stuffed animals, toys, jewels...) and threw them into the public.
In the public was a blond man, of the same age as Dylan and the same he kissed before, given the green mark on his cheek. Dylo seemed to look at him and his appearance again. He didn't recognize him at first, but then something almost clicked in his head. Dylo gave him a necklace, but any other feeling that could have felt was slowed as a man, after receiving the necklace, was hidden between the crowd.
Dylo focused on his juggling. He launched the bombs to get straight and, after a last trick, launched them again and they exploded in fireworks of different colors. The public praised him with shouts of joy and applause.
"Thank you, thank you!" Dylo said the ovation corresponding to a gesture of the hand and a big smile. "Until next, beloved public!" He added and left in a fleeting time.
Dylo had returned home, causing another crack on the wall. Dylo, with a large brush, painted on the wall and the holes were intact. Once everything was ready, he jumped and fell gracefully on his bed.
"That was super awesome!" he said, taking the pillow as a stuffed animal. “With these powers I can do anything I want! Anything! I could do anything…” He said and, after turning a little about himself, ended up asleep, snoring soundly.
The sun rays hit his face with no mercy, as if the star wanted desperately to wake him up, despite not having any clear motivations. The man groaned at first, unconsciously trying to block the light with a pillow, but he ended up waking up. Dylan stretched his arms while yawning. He felt somewhat tired, as if he had just blinked, with no sleep at all. Despite that, he took away his sheet and sat on the edge of the bed.
“So weird… What a strange dream…” he mumbled. He felt groggy for a few seconds. “So vivid…”
Images of a crazy, green-headed version of himself showed in his mind, doing weird antics. Of course, Dylan was sure it was all a dream, since none of that was possible. Then he shook his head and stood up, dismissing his thoughts to begin the day.
Dylan didn't have much planned. He just had to check on his draft thesis and make the necessary adjustments in order to comply with his advisor and institution's pedantic standards.
Given the flexibility of his schedule, Dylan decided to take things easy, starting with a good breakfast at the local café. So, he got ready and was about to get out of his polished room, when he noticed something dark green poking out of his sheets. Dylan got close to his bed, intrigued, since he thought he should have felt before getting up, and took it out.
A shiver ran down his spine when he saw that green, old mask. Flashing images of his green-headed alter ego crossed his mind.
“It was just a weird, vivid dream…” he assured himself.
Then, he got out of the house and went straight to the café.
When he opened the door and entered, he felt refreshed by the smell of delicious meals. It was a relatively medium-sized place, with clean terracotta-inspired tiles and tables with reddish cushion seats. There were not many customers there, just some well-dressed accountants eating their breakfasts in peace before going to the torment of their stressful work sites.
Despite not being the kindest of actions, seeing other people endlessly enslaved by their jobs made him feel quite better about his own circumstances, as if the sight of the office path put his boring yet peaceful life in a brighter light, and it was the greatest counterargument his mind came up with when he questioned his purpose.
Hearing his stomach rumble, Dylan walked in, and the smell of coffee and bread filled his nostrils. There was a small piece of paper on the table next to a pen. Unconcerned about the consequences, Dylan took the pen and began to scratch the paper while he waited. Without realizing it, his mind wandered back to that mask.
What might happen if he let that mask consume his head? Would it suffocate him to death?
"No," Dylan thought. "It was a hallucination… Magic doesn't exist, it was a hallucination…" he repeated to himself over and over. "And if it were real, it would have been confiscated long ago in some unjustified death investigation or be in a cursed object site… Could it be an object that controls its victims? For what purpose?" he wondered. He was still drawing on the paper.
Dylan reviewed the events, becoming more and more convinced that it was a hallucination. The way he saw those tendrils attach to his nephew's skin... for a moment he forgot it had been his nephew and imagined himself instead. What would it be like to feel those tentacles on his face? Hiding his features, hugging every inch of his skin...
"Dylan!" a man called, pulling Dylan from his thoughts (and scaring him, too). Dylan looked up at him, blond like him, though more platinum, with gray eyes.
"Nath! Hey, I didn't see you, buddy," Dylan greeted with a smile and extended his hand, though Nath hugged him even though he was sitting down. "He's been into that for a while... Not that it bothers me," he thought.
"How could you? You're so distracted..." The mask leaped onto my face and extended its tentacles, hugging every inch of my skin... " he read from the sheet of paper where Dylan was scribbling.
"Huh?" Dylan noticed that the words Nath had said were indeed there. "Oh, I hadn't noticed…" Dylan and Nath laughed a little. "It was a weird dream I had, and I keep thinking about it."
"Okay… What are you going to order? The usual breakfast?"
Nath and Dylan had met at the cafe. Nath was a server and Dylan was a regular customer, so they started getting along until it eventually became a close friendship.
“Yes,” Dylan said, but then he noticed the weird, silvery necklace Nathan was using. “Wow, where did you buy that?” He asked, pointing to the necklace.
“Wait… Don't you know?” Nathan answered, surprise.
“Last night, a strange man with green hair was juggling and giving away jewelry…”
He pulled out his phone and showed the screen to Dylan. On it, he saw images he thought were just dreams and hallucinations. He involuntarily held his breath: it couldn't be, it couldn't be possible, it couldn't be real…
“Dylan!” Nathan called, snapping his fingers in front of him. “You look like you saw a ghost.”
“N-n-no worries, it's just that I'm… in shock about what happened…”
“Anyone would be…” Nathan commented, “I'll bring your breakfast in a few minutes, okay?” He said, and after Dylan nodded, he left.
As he was left alone, his mind raced with thoughts. He couldn't believe it had actually happened. Had he really acted so recklessly? Had he really felt such euphoria and gained powers? Did he really show himself without shame or restraint in front of dozens of people? And above all…
Had he really felt the tentacles of the mask clinging to his face, to him…?
“Breakfast is served!” Nathan said, handing him the plate.
Even though he wasn't hungry at all—or rather, the fact that what he “dreamed” had actually happened took away his appetite—Dylan ate as fast as he could, almost in one gulp. He paid in one swift motion and left quickly, barely murmuring his goodbye. It was incredible how much the news had affected him: since returning home, he'd been on social media looking at more images and videos of what he'd done. The more he watched, the more those memories came flooding back, but it didn't make them seem strange, unbelievable, foreign…
“No… you're going to go crazy, Dylan,” he told himself, abruptly turning off his computer screen. "Focus on the thesis, Dylan... just focus on the thesis..."
And so he did. He spent a few hours making the changes his supervisor had "suggested," but he still couldn't get it out of his mind.
Then, he received a message from Nathan.
"Hey, Dylan, how are you doing? I saw you were working fast. I don't know if everything's going well, but you seem a little stressed. We're having a small party at work tonight, are you open to coming? Anyone can come."
"I'd love a party..." he murmured, but had to decline.
"Thanks for the invitation, but I can't: I have to keep working on my thesis, and my supervisor is super demanding."
Nathan replied immediately:
"Don't worry, man, everything will be fine."
"I hope so..." Dylan said. He was about to get back to work when he received a call: this time, it was from his sister: "Hey, Shay! How was the trip? Is everything alright?" He answered, getting up.
"Yes, Dylan, we're home..." his sister's voice replied. "I'd like to talk to you about it another time, but I wanted to confirm something Johnny told me..."
Dylan swallowed hard, anticipating what it was.
"About a mask that came to life and tried to swallow his head?" he asked suddenly.
"It was all a coincidental nightmare..." he explained quickly, though he didn't like the idea of lying or gaslighting his sister. "The mask just happened to fall on her face, and, you know how sometimes what's going on around you affects what you dream..."
"Are you sure? I saw some weird news reports about the city yesterday."
"Nonsense!" Dylan replied, trying to sound confident, though he knew it was all true. "Apparently, it's all AI-generated, a collective game..."
"Well, yeah, that's the case... I was worried something might have happened to my poor baby," she said, sounding relieved. "But it's nothing, I just wanted to check that out, talk to you later."
"Yeah, bye..." Dylan said, hanging up.
He leaned back in his seat and turned slightly. When he stopped, his gaze fell on the mask, which was lying face down. Everything about it was so unexpected, and yet the evidence was conclusive.
"But it can't be..." Dylan said, feeling a slight headache. "Maybe I should get on with the thesis..."
But when he turned back to the computer, the headache, though mild, was persistent. He didn't have any pills to take, so he decided to lie down. He picked up the mask and held it up to his head.
"You're not making any sense..." he said. Then, the mask emitted a glow...
And the urge to put it on came to him. Since what had happened the night before was real, it meant that if he put it on, he would become a crazed, green-headed man capable of anything...
The headache was still there, and the stress of the thesis was eating him up inside.
"Please, be gentle..." he whispered, and again he noticed the glow in the mask, this time briefer, almost as if it were answering him. Then, after letting out a sigh, he put it on.
His skin prickled at the first touch as he felt the mask twist and begin to expand, but then he calmed down, as if he recognized the sensation. In fact, once he set his nerves aside, the mask's tentacles, tracing his head as if savoring him, felt like sweet caresses—a little rough, because of the wood's texture—but sweet nonetheless. Hearing the wood creak as it stretched and adjusted to him added a peculiar touch that didn't diminish the delightful caresses.
It was like receiving an express massage.
In a few seconds, the mask closed at the back of his head, covering it completely. Although it felt as if it were squeezing and wringing his skull, it wasn't like someone wringing out a wet cloth: it was more like someone holding him firmly, conveying an unfounded "everything's going to be alright." And with that, Dylan didn't resist. Instead, he closed his eyes, let himself go, and, to his surprise, moaned—moaned with ecstasy, with pleasure... but his body was engulfed in a tornado before he could even process his feelings.
That tornado swept through his entire room, though despite the gusts, it didn't affect anything in the slightest, as if it weren't even there. Then, in a few seconds, it stopped, and his green-headed self was standing again.
"♪Guess who's back, back again? Dylo's back! Tell a friend♪" he sang. "Because Dylo's back on track, baby!”
