Hidan took the scroll from Keiko's hand. He said nothing for a long while. The lamplight in the tent flickered faintly, making their shadows alternately stretch and shrink.
"You mean... I'm... one of the Cult of Jashin's... immortals."
"Yes."
"Cult of Jashin! Cult of Jashin! Cult of Jashin!"
Hidan muttered to himself. Suddenly clutching his head with both hands, he felt countless shattered fragments of memory slowly coming together in his mind, as though his head were about to split open. The floodgates of memory burst open, and scene after scene emerged before his eyes...
A group of vicious-looking people in black robes stormed into his home in broad daylight, weapons in hand. His parents tried to stop them, only to be cut down in a pool of blood. He tried to pull them up, but a black-robed man slung him over his shoulder. No matter how he screamed or struggled, it was useless. Then he watched his home erupt into roaring flames...
In an ice-cold dark room, he and a group of children around his age were imprisoned together. Dressed in thin clothing, they huddled in the corner with their knees hugged to their chests, packed tightly together, their teeth chattering as everyone shivered uncontrollably...
A food bowl was thrown into the room, filled with spoiled food. He rushed over without hesitation, grabbed a handful, and stuffed it into his mouth. But someone behind him instantly dragged him out by the leg. Like a wild dog guarding its food, he savagely bit at the hands and feet reaching toward him...
Two black-robed men held him down and tied him to a cross on an altar. Large groups of black-robed people knelt and worshiped him over and over, chanting scriptures he could not understand. He looked around and saw four