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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjjdnxHpkD
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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."161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzeLeTBdKGq
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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."161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpSvUOj1818
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9a44B60K3b
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZbcibnqSb
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfWJ48H9sxQ
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR09GZLb0cM
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVCYMXcoykT
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcB7rgvHqJJ
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1t1HL5sdld
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His face was full of concern. "Can you hear me, Jay? What's wrong?"161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjpVuhqw7MC
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She looked up past him at the statue. "I know him. I had a memory of him."161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4V4Gt0SaWB
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Kyle gave a bewildered expression. "Impossible. He's been dead for thousands of years."161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwmrEF0s0c
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbRgkJTovo
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Kyle was quiet as he thought over what she had said. "Perhaps you are a reincarnation."161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmy6QEHc4l
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Jay looked at him as he had grown a second head. "Excuse me?"161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKOx09M1q55
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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."161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6hAXb7lFz
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqXmXrXbSt
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"What did the memory show you?" Kyle asked.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiaqaRzVMPV
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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?"161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvkHuEQEKm
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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?"161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DQUsUhIEo
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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."161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAEX7BLq26r
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"You will no doubt experience even stranger things in this line of work," Kyle laughed.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCvRvE3jHk
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Jay would later come to think on those words and wonder if Kyle had known of the days to come.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PkaKFkB2m
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Once she had calmed down and recovered, Kyle went on to explain the brotherhood she had been recruited into.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVELyucY6iY
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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."161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeG9BItzxVH
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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."161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinZfq4jxQX
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLUn8XYmME
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJ8zHzVJlV
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPaeX5XQtL
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntUPO3VuNe
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkFCI3e1js
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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?161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxEIgipwg6
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1Bh4lkZBG
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLiRV4g6pq
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ839KhetVt6
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ36XCCe4b0f
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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."161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcPSf0vDkN
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PRoBYqodB
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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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