Into his life came a great force of change through strife. The voices, always the voices disparaging him at every turn. Telling him of failures of sadness gone, of memories buried deep. Once again this man child looked inwards stepping once more onto the familiar path of the warrior. But somehow it was different, his stone mask had cracked letting through the emotions that plague all life. The voices feeling confident in their resolve to punish, used this against him. Taking all that was good and perverting it. Changing his thoughts of love to hate. Making him reflect on the imaginary as if was so real as to force him into slavery. Knowing the secret name of pain he saw this as he used to, as a challenge. Something to overcome.

Source: The Warrior with the Stone Mask by LiquidPhil (bluelighter)