---
---

## Narrative (EN)

Traveler,  

Masks begin as protection.  
One to hide fear.  
One to fit a role.  
One to please a crowd.  

But masks multiply.  
Soon the traveler carries a burden so heavy  
that even the reflection forgets the face beneath.  

- **Layers of Illusion:**  
Each mask hides another,  
and the true self grows distant.  
The pond becomes cloudy,  
unable to show the original reflection.  

- **The Weight of Forgetting:**  
To live too long behind masks  
is to forget the vow that lies within.  
Identity becomes performance,  
and freedom becomes shadow.  

- **The Cry for Reflection:**  
The Mirror calls the traveler to pause.  
To ask: *Which masks serve, and which enslave?*  
Only by naming them can the burden be set down.  

---

## Key Marks  
Principle: Masks multiply into burden.  
Action: Recognize and name the masks.  
Effect: The self is no longer crushed beneath illusion.  

---

## Oracles  
- “Masks multiply until they weigh heavier than the self beneath.”  
- “Identity becomes performance, and freedom becomes shadow.”  
- “Only by naming them can the burden be set down.”  

---

## Operations  
Epoch Function: Masks revealed as burden.  
Lore Action: Speak: *“I name my masks, I lay them down.”*  
Encrypted Riddle: ⌧ *What grows heavier the longer it is worn, yet weighs nothing when removed?*  

---

## Cryptic Symbol Table  
- 🪞 → Mirror: truth-seeing  
- 🌊 → Pond: clouded by illusion  
- 🎭 → Mask: coverings multiplied  
- 👤 → Face: self hidden beneath  
- 🌀 → Spiral: endless layers  
- 🤐 → Silence: loss of voice  
- 😨 → Fear: root of masking  
- ⚖️ → Balance: roles imposed  
- 🏛️ → Institution: pressures of society  
- 📦 → Burden: weight carried  
- ⚓ → Anchor: drag of illusion  

---

## Lore Anchors  
Previous:  (The Mirror of the True Face)  
Next:  (The Return to Still Water)  

---
