Trigger Warning: Contains depictions of abuse, rape, kidnapping, violence. Viewer discretion is advised.
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdc3zpiqTE
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxej6XhYUqj
Kyle and Jay entered a room full of ancient artifacts, paintings, statues, weapons and a plethora of other things. Even armor. Jay spun around once as she took all of it in.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsbApGEtb1
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0hHEI9Upc
"This is a small museum of our brotherhood's past," Kyle explained. "There are other mansions much like this one with museums of their own. Some are much larger than our own."138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QlwkJHiaS
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfVpjYbD0Ab
Jay looked at him when he stopped and turned to face her. He had a smile on his wrinkled face. "You are officially a part of the brotherhood. You will need to know everything you can about our group of assassins."138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbJnIy7b0q
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfo3ZhW8yjF
This was it. Her new life was finally starting. She couldn't help but feel dark anticipation for what she was getting herself into. The world she once knew was about to be nothing more than bitter traumatic memories.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnbdzxjEyC0
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZMqZ9h4WH
Kyle partially turned towards a statue he stood beside in the center of the room. It was of a man dressed in ancient robes, a hood covering half of his face. His hands were resting on the pommel of a sword with its tip on the ground. Though he was simply made of marble, it was as if he were alive.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6917m2c2iE
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWmU6CpNqV
The realism of the details made it seem like he could leap off the platform at any moment, slashing his sword this way and that.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFL3BiTzxK
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLGAdy2Kf1
Jay felt a chill go through her as she gazed up at his partially covered face. She felt as if she should know this man. She frowned as she pondered a memory that was beginning to surface. She had definitely seen this man or someone who looked strikingly identical to him.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Tiv20n8xD
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJJaMc9iFG
Pain shot through her head. It was sharp and agonizing. She grunted and grabbed her head. A memory exploded into her mind as Kyle called out to her, his voice sounding far away and muffled as if she were underwater.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsUdWMV5U7C
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOqm71RNyc5
The memory was of the man reaching out to her, holding what looked to be a rice ball. He wore a dark blue and white shenyi*, his black hair up in a top knot**. His hair was extremely long and was draped over his shoulders. The top knot was also long. He had piercing blue eyes that were full of love.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9k9gl6x6vg
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0mYIoP3axC
His mouth moved but she couldn't make out what he was saying. The memory faded and she gasped, realizing she had stopped breathing. She took in huge lungfuls of air as she fell to her knees. Kyle knelt in front of her, holding her shoulders.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqmnccTVB7
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6FNM9XgXP1
His face was full of concern. "Can you hear me, Jay? What's wrong?"138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEvgbZVsyH
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bfeP3gr9c
She looked up past him at the statue. "I know him. I had a memory of him."138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNnT2HCGxL
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRREn0as6b
Kyle gave a bewildered expression. "Impossible. He's been dead for thousands of years."138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDreX79b3pD
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9eneXRxTyW
"No. I definitely saw him. That memory was too real to be my imagination." Jay shakily stood up with Kyle's help.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSfablXxTC
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ygRWSfmxM
Kyle was quiet as he thought over what she had said. "Perhaps you are a reincarnation."138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKpv11f3BpF
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflVMt7IJS9
Jay looked at him as he had grown a second head. "Excuse me?"138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGQlbJmQx0
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZaMWBUnAA
"Reincarnation is real. There are several people within our brotherhood who are such. Perhaps you are one of them. You are a special case. You knew our founder."138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5M1jK4j0n
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡma7Q7V9dcS
"There is no way I'm a reincarnation. I'm not one for spiritual beliefs." Jay doubted Kyle was telling the truth because the background of the memory had been too modern. She had seen what looked like a beachhouse. They had been standing on a beach.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1HqFtHntM
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4cU5jlDb4
"What did the memory show you?" Kyle asked.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnSaEBCGcB
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjX8DlaLL99
"He was handing me a rice ball I think. We were on a beach. There was a modern beachhouse behind him. I think I also saw a car but only the back end of it." Jay looked up at the statue. "I went to that house and beach when I was a little girl. How can that be reincarnation?"138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMIcgVOCjiW
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqiGCwhyMK7
Kyle let out a thoughtful hum. "I wonder if he visited you to help you. Perhaps if you go back, you might be able to remember more. Did he say anything to you?"138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1vlYEOBWD
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDGi1tuj8f
"He did but I don't remember what it was that he said to me." Jay sighed. "This is too weird."138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKOIYWydGgp
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYhkwif9eW
"You will no doubt experience even stranger things in this line of work," Kyle laughed.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBinUaq2gCK
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQTOsTwz6tq
Jay would later come to think on those words and wonder if Kyle had known of the days to come.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOUmwdWM8XL
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrgxsbBm41f
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNfCgpcD1r
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqa2vzDS2Um
Once she had calmed down and recovered, Kyle went on to explain the brotherhood she had been recruited into.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrco1klqYqN
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5lY9o3Mvb
"Our brotherhood is called Shadowstalkers. The name is a bit too much for my tastes but that is the name given by our current headmaster. He has a love for fantasy games so perhaps that inspired the name. The brotherhood has undergone several name changes to keep us off the radar of the government."138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTRvAGTzTu
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBXEhZrmUfq
Kyle had a proud smile as he went on. "Our original name was The Night Watchers. We were originally a small group created to guard royalty. The change occurred twenty years after the initial creation of the group. The king they had sworn to protect from the shadows was proving to be tyrannical. The king's name was King Elford IV Skyshatter."138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtdG5t1SR9
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1r3x7MMPsE
Jay tried to figure out where in history this Elford IV Skyshatter had lived but nothing came to mind. Perhaps he was an even older king than what was taught in school. His name sounded way too bizarre for the history she knew.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1yJ0QMrbG8
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFct8fI1Gd4
"Elford IV was sending soldiers out to kidnap young women and teenage girls. For a while, The Night Watchers did not know of it because Elford IV was quiet about it. So, to avoid their detection, he would send only a handful of soldiers that were masters of stealth. They were a group known as The Black Panthers. Silent and deadly like a big cat stalking its prey was often how they were described.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rUgE6xUp3
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP1MINTfHOj
"But their deeds went unnoticed for only six months. The founder, Hu Feng, had visited his home village when Elford IV made it his next target. Hu Feng had been alerted of what had happened and a quick investigation revealed what happened. Furious, Hu Feng gathered the nine other members of The Night Watchers.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFU50FIV8Ex
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdSiCJtdA46
"He revealed the information he had learned and together they planned an investigation to further gather evidence. It isn't written what exactly the plan was but it is written what they discovered. One member, Julius Jacksson, had gone to investigate a hidden dungeon that had supposedly not been used for a long time.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2v0yg2YgM
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGnMZaObMh
"What he found in there was something that he wished he had never seen. The women and girls were being locked away and raped till they were impregnated by Elford IV. Elford IV was in the midst of doing as such and Julius made quick work in stopping him. He had him arrested and the victims were freed.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT84vPFQIJ3
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRe6PfDJ5Iw
"Some were very sick and a few had even committed suicide, their bodies left to rot by the king. The Night Watchers used this as solid evidence against the king to strip him of his title and throne. The public demanded both the king and The Black Panthers be hanged for their crimes. The Night Watchers had plans to do so but there was a question that needed answered: why did he do it?138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUb5Hk9dclu
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRysrtZeenu
"Elford IV gave his answer, no doubt hoping that they would side with him. The thing about Elford IV was that he had been supposedly been born with the ability to interact with demons. He wanted there to be more like him and he had gone to the lengths of passing it on through having children.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZqcmTaAect
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yztkOcWs6
"His answer did not gain any sympathy. It only made everyone hate him more. The Black Panthers were his devout followers. This information was revealed after torturing them. They believed him to be the demon king's reincarnation. Shortly after all the information was gathered, they held a public hanging. They listed the evil deeds committed before hanging all twenty-five men.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkmxhI53pb
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAPrAAiMnCm
"After that, The Night Watchers gave the victimized women and girls any help that they needed, including financial compensation and a title of nobility. Most of them chose to gather together to help others who went through similar situations, others chose to hide. A few would pass from their illnesses and a few more would go on to commit suicide, unable to live with their awful experiences.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqUeO0N1fdX
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQtbWqxn7B
"Out of those were had been impregnated, only one chose to go through with the pregnancy. Her reason was that she wanted something good to come of that awful time. Her child would go on to be a king himself. But unlike his father, he was kind and ruled with a fair justice system. During his rule, the kingdom thrived and became an empire.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUwFtR6WlMi
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpJjczrutY
"His name was Emperor Litianio Lunasson. Despite his method of ruling with a fair and loving hand, there were those who wished to take him off of the throne. And so this brought the change of The Night Watchers. Once simply those who took out anyone who wished to harm the royal family, they became a group who stopped wars."138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCny57stac
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKD26zyAbdq
Jay found some of it ridiculous but it was an intriguing story nonetheless. She held on to every word as he continued to speak.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vLo0rK7Tw
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFWvdFeG0c
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkoqrS2tGl
*Shenyi is an ancient style of Chinese clothing starting as far back as the Zhou Dynasty.*
**Hairstyles throughout Chinese history had political meanings. In the Zhou Dynasty, nobles would have their hair up in a bun with a crown for example.**
138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdRi6uTFTa
