Trigger Warning: Contains depictions of abuse, rape, kidnapping, violence. Viewer discretion is advised.
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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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4l8H9QYsa
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"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."139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJz8bmJWTb
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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."139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvJU9m69F8
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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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwcNcU9pwLO
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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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhq0UCApsM
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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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIduF8VdEvV
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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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rLRiKXrXc
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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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCTQAKZLyC
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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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWAFCCRPEi
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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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7jAAbn1dQ
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His face was full of concern. "Can you hear me, Jay? What's wrong?"139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2eBdlCl0nI
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She looked up past him at the statue. "I know him. I had a memory of him."139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBH4Aepw5iQ
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Kyle gave a bewildered expression. "Impossible. He's been dead for thousands of years."139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5yNMrKHCmE
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"No. I definitely saw him. That memory was too real to be my imagination." Jay shakily stood up with Kyle's help.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpsxL7lA7ck
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Kyle was quiet as he thought over what she had said. "Perhaps you are a reincarnation."139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3afd3wNVF5
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Jay looked at him as he had grown a second head. "Excuse me?"139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmubWZbUkA
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"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."139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz3CwuDttDf
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"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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnhbcxePFo
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"What did the memory show you?" Kyle asked.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1N3IASgIL
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"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?"139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrf2fEmK9UY
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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?"139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCv6LqdT6bg
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"He did but I don't remember what it was that he said to me." Jay sighed. "This is too weird."139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXiNPQ8XZAV
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"You will no doubt experience even stranger things in this line of work," Kyle laughed.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4okaQ42tjO
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Jay would later come to think on those words and wonder if Kyle had known of the days to come.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5db1IYWOW
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Once she had calmed down and recovered, Kyle went on to explain the brotherhood she had been recruited into.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY4Im1EJ1lx
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"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."139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCihKW3bLij
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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."139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0Yyp229g2
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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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJac4jJvHQ
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"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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp3oM8mSgla
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"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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zO4dSpKKb
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"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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAAG0LvTj1C
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"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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0ab9hlORW
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"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?139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUCtjiv0OzU
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"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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6C4dTJjALO
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"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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wCYqgUdUM
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"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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtBqs7m8YN4
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"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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhzaBSrDyZ
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"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."139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VbTmsIn7W
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Jay found some of it ridiculous but it was an intriguing story nonetheless. She held on to every word as he continued to speak.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMlG0nzxSMH
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*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.**
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