Flashback

 “You frauds, I still can’t believe you tricked me!”

The three of us sat on the couch in the room under the meeting place, Emmett still furious about our earlier prank.

“Forget about it, let’s just do the memory transfer and get over it.” I said.

“Can you share it with me as well?” Louise asked.

“No, it’ll take double the energy, besides, you were literally there for most of what I’m about to show him, so why would you wanna see it again?”

“...Because I really want to!” She insisted.

“...Fine.” I hesitantly agreed. “But neither of you can say a word, it’ll shatter the memory again.”

“What are you looking at me for?” Emmett said.

“Because that’s exactly what you did last time!”

“Yeah, and who’s fault was it for not telling me?”

I ignored him and placed my hands in the memory transfer position on Emmett.

“Okay, now do the same to Louise.” I told him.

“Huh?”

“W-Wait, what?” Louise blushed. “I don’t want his creepy hands touching my chest!”

“Why am I creepy?”

“You have to, it’s part of the process.” I explained to her.

“Th-Then, do it to me! And I’ll do it to Emmett!” She suggested.

“Fine, I guess.”

I placed the palm of my right hand on Louise’s chest, and my face immediately heated up. The two of us looked away at each other as I placed the other on her temple.

“Alright, my turn.” Emmett interjected.

“Remember, don’t say a word, alright? Not until the whole thing ends, no reaction.” I said as Louise copied my hand placement and did the same to Emmett.

“Alright, alright, I get it, I’m not an idiot.”

“Yes you are.” The two of us said at the same time.

The bright light then enveloped us once more and we were no longer there, instead there was just me-well, the younger me, walking down these familiar set of stairs behind these two weirdos: One was someone that could transform into some random beast that looked like a werewolf but on steroids, and the other one I wasn’t sure about yet, he hadn’t revealed any of the cards up his sleeve.

“Come on, John, hurry up a bit.” Henry, the transforming man, grumbled, as the man in front of him, who seemed to be called John, was taking his time descending the huge amount of stairs.

“Shut up and calm yourself, Henry.” John retorted.

Silence then reigned upon us until we finally reached the end of the staircase, and came to a huge open space, with a couple of people there, all wearing robes that had hoods, but had them down, as if they were workers off-duty.

“Is this a cult?” I asked.

“You’ll see when we take you to our leader, she’ll explain everything.” John answered.

At the back of the space, was a woman leaning on the wall who also wasn’t wearing those purple robes, but a regular black shirt and a white lab coat, just like Henry and John. She sat on the floor with her hands clasped around her knees, looking deep in thought.

“Hey boss, look what we found!” Henry yelled out and waved.

“Damnit, you just broke my train of thought!” She got up, looking mildly pissed off, and then noticed me. “...Why are you bringing some kid here?”

“He saw me transform.” Henry told her.

“You Idiot! Didn’t I tell you to only do it when you’re sure no one can see you?”

“Hey, I was right outside the meeting place’s entrance! Inside the alley!” He defended himself. “How was I supposed to know some random kid was going to stumble inside?”

“...Alright, guess I have no choice but to erase his memory.” She shook her head and started walking towards me, to which I immediately jumped back. “Don’t worry kid, this’ll only take a second, and won’t hurt at all.”

“No!” I jumped back a second time. “They said I could join! And do magic!”

“You idiots!” The woman twirled towards the two of them. “Why the hell would you tell him something like that, you utter fools? Can’t you see he’s like ten?”

“I’m older than that…” I muttered, but she didn’t seem to hear me.

“Well, why can’t he join, though?” John asked. “At least test him to see if he has potential…”

“No! He’s a damn child! Are you stupid? Am I the only sane adult here? That would be insanely irresponsible! We’re here to revolt, not babysit!”

The two of them remained silent, not knowing what to say.

“Revolt?” I was curious but what she’d suddenly let slip. “Revolt against who?”

“Damn, I shouldn’t have said that…”

“Please let me join!” I yelled and bowed deeply.

“You don’t even know what the hell you’re getting into, kid!” She yelled back, before taking a deep breath and calming down. “Listen, I know you think this sounds cool, but..”

“But what, it’s dangerous? I have a big chance of dying? You think I don’t know that?”

“Then why would you want to join, despite knowing the risks!”

“Because it’s better than what I have now! I’m bored all the time! I’d rather risk dying and do something like magic!”

“God damnit…” She placed her head in her hands. “Listen, I can’t erase your memory without your consent, so please let me do it.”

“No.” I immediately answered.

“...Alright, how about this: I’ll tell you the basics of what’s going on here if you promise to really think about letting me erase your memories later, alright? And then you’ll come back in a few days and let me know.”

“...Okay.”

“Good, then have a seat, you can lean against the wall.”

I obeyed her and sat on the cold floor, with my back against the wall, and she sat next to me.

“Alright, kid, so basically, we’re a society called The Masked Order, and our goal is to prevent the world’s end.”

“The-The world’s end?”

“That’s right, total destruction. There’s many layers to it, but basically supernatural elements have always played a role in this world, and throughout history have influenced major events, such as the great cleansing. However, these elements have always balanced themselves out to prevent too much interference. However, something’s changed. Seven years ago, a major event occurred that completely broke this balance. No one knows what exactly happened, or what exactly brought this change upon Obrillis, yet it occurred. Natural tragedies have begun to occur more and more frequently, creatures of the dark have been forming for years and lashing out at the innocent. If left unchecked, the world shall eventually be plunged into utter chaos. Thus, this is where we come in: The Masked Order’s goal is to bring balance back to Obrillis, at any and all costs. Which is why I’m telling you, this is too dangerous for a child like you, I cannot in good conscience allow you to join The Masked Order.”

“I really want to join, though!”

“Why? Why is it that important to you? You realize you’d basically be throwing your life away, right?”

“It’s okay, I don’t mind.”

“Fool, you have no idea what you’re saying!”

“I do! I promise!”

“...think about it, okay? Take a few days off, and come back whenever you want. The door won’t be visible, so take this key. Usually, you need magic to make the door appear, but this key works as a substitute for it. Come back when you’ve made your decision whether to join or erase your memories, but I strongly encourage you to choose the latter option.”