Chapter 91: The Unseen Ones, 1140 CE

[China]

A cloaked man walked through the city streets as the moon shone brightly above. It was quiet, too quiet. The man continued to walk, then he noticed that a group of people were stalking him, hiding beneath the shadows.

He then stopped. He stood in the middle of the town centre, a wide square that was used for festivals and such, he looked around, and he saw that those people started to move.

He then took something from his pocket, it was a small crossbow bolt that was glowing faintly. He then suddenly released the bolt, and the bolt floated in the air.

The men then flooded the streets, surrounding the lone man. They were dressed strangely, all covered in black, and wore a mask. An old woman then walked towards the man, and the man thought that she was their leader.

“I’ve come from Alexandria, bearing a warning.” said the man. “Throughout the years, you have attempted to harm our master, this is the last warning we will give, and if you still attempt to harm our master, we will show no mercy.”

The old woman then continued to walk towards the man, her face was hit with the faint moonlight, revealing her wrinkles and age.

The old woman then looked at the man. “Do you know who I am?”

The man just smiled. “Gao, a bandit queen that operates around China, and one of the founding members of the Hand.”

The old woman frowned. “So you do know about us.”

“We have watched your movements, Gao.” said the man coldly. “You tried to kidnap our master, tried so hard to uncover his secrets… you do not know who you are dealing with.”

The old woman clenched her hand. “He discovered the secrets of resurrection is it not? He knows how to be an Immortal… that is the goal of our organisation… he has the key, and we will take it.”

“I do wonder how bad your information gathering team is…” murmured the man. “Are you so blinded by his secret that you don’t care about finding anything about him?”

“Of course I do know about him.” scoffed the old woman. “Master of Magic, disciple of the Sorcerer supreme.”

“So you know nothing.” sighed the man. “I will say this again, Gao. this is the last warning, if you try to harm our master again, we will wipe out your entire organisation.”

The man then turned around, walking away from the frowning old woman. As he walked away from her, he could hear the woman whistle, and those ninjas surrounded him once again, blocking his path.

“Are you sure you will walk this path, Gao?” asked the man calmly, not caring about the swords that were pointed at him.

The old woman didn’t answer him, instead, she commanded the ninjas. “Bring him to the dungeons.”

One of the ninjas nodded, and pointed his sword to the man. “Give up, foreigner, you are surrounded.”

The man then sighed. “Very well then.”

The bolt that was floating on top of him suddenly glowed brightly, and it moved. The bolt zipped through the air, targeting every head the man could see. It was controlled by a dark metal glove in his left hand, the glove was glowing blue, and the man commanded the bolt using his eyes. He could just look at a man, and the bolt would penetrate the target’s head.

One by one, the ninjas fell, all with holes in their heads. Blood spilled everywhere as it ran down the streets, painting the stone block red. The man then sensed a great danger from behind him, he turned around, and used the glove as protection.

The man then grabbed a fist using his glove, it was that old woman’s fist, she had a strong punch for an old woman… too strong…

The glove absorbed the force that the woman’s fist generated. “Last chance Gao.” said the man.

The woman didn’t say anything, instead, she launched a kick from the side, and again, the man blocked it using his metal glove, absorbing the force that comes with it. After that, he punched the woman in the guts, launching the previously absorbed force inside the glove, knocking the woman a couple of metres back.

The woman was moaning in pain on the ground, she coughed up blood, a lot of blood. The man then uncloaked his hood, he walked towards the woman, and his bolt hovered beside the woman’s head.

“I will take your hostility as the stance of your other four colleagues.” stated the man coldly, “Don’t worry, The Unseen Ones will make sure your heads will be displayed side to side.”

Then, the bolt penetrated the woman’s head, before the man unsheathed a dagger, cutting the head of the woman. He then put the head in the bag, and walked away from the scene unnoticed, not caring about the dozens of bodies that were littered around the streets.

—

[Alexandria]

A Greek woman was travelling through the streets of Alexandria, looking for a place. This woman is of course Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios. She had finished the book that she called Alexiad, she showed the book to her brother John, and it was registered to the Imperial library to be copied and distributed. After that, the book that was given to her by Pluto opened. Inside the book is strange knowledge that Anna had never seen before… it was magic, a magic to dream.

So, she tried to study it, but she couldn’t understand most of the things inside it, she needed a guide, a mentor. So, she followed Pluto’s advice and travelled to Alexandria, where one of his daughters stayed.

But as soon as she got to Alexandria, she didn’t know where to go, so she kept looking, wandering around Alexandria, not knowing where to go.

That is until someone suddenly tapped her in the back.

She turned around, but saw no one. She frowned, and looked around again. She then saw a hooded woman entering a small alley while looking at her.

Anna’s instinct told her to not go there, but her heart says otherwise, the ring… it’s like it’s whispering to her, to follow that woman.

Anna then gulped, and steeled herself, before following the woman.

She then entered the alley, where the hooded woman was waiting for her at the edge of the alley.

The woman then unhooded herself, revealing a beautiful face that Anna felt she had seen before. She smiled at Anna, before offering her hand to her. “Welcome sister, I see you have a ring.”

“Yeah…” murmured Anna. “Are you Pluto’s daughter?”

“Oh, she called me his daughter?” the woman’s eyes in front of her shine like a diamond. “Yes, I am his daughter. I am Cleopatra of Alexandria, nice to meet you sister.”

“Wait what?!” shrieked Anna. “Y-You’re Cleopatra?! A-As in THE Cleopatra VII?!”

“Ah, father told you about me, I see.” nodded Cleo proudly. “Yes, I am Queen Cleopatra VII, a past ruler of Egypt.”

“C-Cleopatra…” murmured Anna frantically. “P-Pluto’s daughter??”

“Yes, yes.” waved Cleopatra. “Come on sister, we have a lot to talk about.”

Anna was confused. “To where?”

Cleo smiled, and she touched a wall beside her. Slowly but surely, a door appeared, revealing a secret entrance. “You are Pluto’s apostle, while he was doing his mission, we worked in the shadows, protecting him from all the threat, however small it may be. While also looking out for a new apostle like you of course.”

“D-Does he know about it?”

“Probably not.” shrugged Cleo. “I’m quite careful after all. Come on, let me show you the place.”

Anna gulped, and nodded. She then followed Cleo, entering the door, revealing a giant hall, with a strange symbol on its tile. It looked like a bident, with a dot between the two prongs.

Those two walked again to the corridor. On the way, Anna saw cloaked men and women wandering around, all wearing a metal glove on their left hand.

“In a way, we are Father’s left hand.” stated Cleo calmly. “We watched him as he did his mission, and we will wait for him until the time comes.”

“‘The time comes’?” questioned Anna again.

Cleopatra smiled, before opening the door. “Welcome to the Unseen Ones sister, take a rest first, and I will tell you everything later.”

Anna nodded meekly, and entered the room. The room looked quite lavish, like her own room back at Hagia Sophia. The door behind her closes, and she takes a deep breath.

She thought that this was quite a long and tiring day, and she walked towards the bed, before succumbing to a deep slumber.