The Price of Betrayal: Secondhand Shame Plunges the Story into Darkness
- Shawn Nichols
- Nov 3, 2025
- 2 min read
If the previous passage was about a monster's momentary crisis of conscience, Passage 14: Secondhand Shame is about the crushing fallout that ripples through the lives of the innocent. Author Shawn Nichols delivers a devastating chapter that proves the psychological battle is often more painful than the physical one.
The Torment of the Stolen Face
For one of our main heroes, the victory feels like the cruelest joke. The destructive actions of the antagonist—performed while wearing the hero's identity—have left a scar far deeper than any physical wound. This passage plunges deep into the hero's downward spiral, fueled by guilt, rage, and the profound, paralyzing sense of secondhand shame.
Watch as this tormented hero tries to burn away the frustration through brutal, no-powers sparring, only to be confronted with a harsh reality: his face is now a symbol of fear. An attempted moment of emotional repair with the person he cares for most turns into a devastating, unavoidable defeat.
Power Consolidated in the Void
While our heroes deal with emotional wreckage, the main antagonist is busy solidifying his control. In the darkest reaches of the void, he faces defiance from his unwilling new followers. But after his recent moment of weakness, he has no patience for insubordination.
Witness a terrifying display of uncompromised, destructive power. The antagonist violently asserts his reign, erasing any opposition to ensure his command is absolute. The lines of morality vanish, and the remaining threat is transformed into a subservient agent of chaos, ready to bring the new King's destructive agenda to reality.
A Mission for Vengeance and Hope
Not all succumb to despair. Fueled by righteous anger and newly Awakened abilities, a young Chimera is ready to hunt down the monster who stole her father. Supported by a family driven by purpose, she embarks on a desperate mission alongside a newly crowned Dragon King. Their journey marks a shift from reactive defense to active pursuit, promising confrontation and a search for answers across the chaotic world.
Passage 14: Secondhand Shame is a pivotal turning point—a raw, emotional, and brutal chapter that forces characters to choose between collapsing under the weight of trauma or embracing the strength needed to fight another day.
Read Passage 14 now and witness the devastating cost of a stolen identity.
Read it Here: https://editor.reedsy.com/s/WUKgET1
Comments