THE REN UPGRADE: MONSTERS WITHIN

Ninja Academy

Ren awoke to whispers floating around him. 

“This is unbelievable.” 

“How can he possess two entities?” 

“It's no wonder he escaped the fire!” 

“Hush! It's just as the prophecy says!”

He slowly peeled his eyes open to find himself surrounded by cloaked people. About five of them. He sprang up from the bed and gathered the sheets to his chest.

Fuck, pure silk.

“Young master, you're awake!” 

In an instant, every one of them dropped to their knees. They slapped something that looked like sheathed swords against their chests. “We pledge allegiance, young master!”

Ren blinked, confused. 

Young master, again?

He cast wild eyes around the place. He realized he was in a very luxurious suite with a badass view of the sea. He rubbed his throbbing head. He was spaced out and could not remember what happened in the last few hours.

He cast another wary glance at the cloaked folks. “I'm not your young master.” He winced and rubbed his brows. 

Someone stepped forward. 6ft tall. Sharp blue eyes. A slightly crooked nose. Full brows. Lithe but muscular frame.

Ren recognized the face as one of those that came to him in front of the penitentiary. 

The man dropped to one knee. “Kōhai Juno at your service, young master. Please do not despair. I'll explain everything to you.”

“Kōhai? What's that?”

Juno flashed him a brief smile. “It means junior disciple.”

Ren heaved a sigh and weaved his fingers through his hair. “How did I get here? And please get off your knees.”

Juno lifted himself with sleek composure. “We had to pull you out of the building before you killed Dominic Reeves.” He paused, letting the words hang in the space. “You must keep your hands clean until your coronation as the dean of the academy.”

Ren stared at Juno, dumbfounded. He couldn't understand a single word. But he did think the situation was hilarious. Because his hands were stained already. 

He got off the bed and looked around. “Where are my clothes, please?”

“We had to take them off you because they were stained with Dominic’s blood.”

Ren bit back a grunt and paced the room. “I'd like to leave. Now. Or I'm calling the cops.”

“The cops can't find us.” Juno’s expression was unreadable as he stepped forward. “And it's important we explain to you how you came to be the chosen one.”

Ren cocked his head. His eyes searched Juno’s face for signs of a possible joke. There were none. He heaved a sigh. “You said I tried to kill the director?” He glanced at his hands. “Where are the signs?”

“Your bruised knuckles healed already.” He hesitated for a moment, and continued. “The truth is, you've been possessed by an ancient guardian spirit of the ninja world. But that is not all. It appears a dragon spirit has awakened in you too.”

Ren's jaw dropped open. “G-Guardian spirit? Dragon spirit?!” 

Alas! That should explain the strange happenings. 

Juno snapped his fingers. The five people in the room moved like machines. One provided a tall mirror. Another, an old book. Two others prepared the projector and its output device. Ren watched in awe. 

Juno picked up the old book and flipped it open. “Long ago, the former Ninja master lost his life in a vicious battle for justice. A prophecy came forth then: The Ninja master will return in five hundred years, a guardian spirit.

“Hold up.” Ren lifted a hand. “What has this got to do with me?”

“You're the chosen one. The guardian spirit’s host.”

Ren laughed. “You're kidding.”

“No.” Juno snapped his fingers and the drape was drawn from the mirror. 

When Ren looked in it, he gasped. “What are these lines?” he demanded, running his fingers over his naked torso. 

Black lines crisscrossed his chest and ran down the length of his arms. Some of them seemed to glitter with a bright hazel color. 

“The pure black lines symbolize the guardian’s spirit’s possession. When we found you, we did not quite understand the glowing lines. Until after we brought you here and had an expert examine them. Research was done, and the glowing lines were explained as the mark of the dragon spirit.”

Ren slowly shook his head. Mixed emotions swirled in his chest. He couldn't keep doubting because he could clearly see the lines on his body. 

A guardian spirit and a dragon spirit in his body? Why was he chosen? What exactly qualifies him to be the host of two powerful entities? 

He'd never heard of a situation like this.

“We don't have an explanation for the dragon spirit’s possession, yet,” Juno continued, “but I believe this video gives us a little understanding of how it happened.”

He gave a brief signal. The projector blinked on. A video played on the screen. It was the evening the explosion happened. Ren recoiled as he watched himself dancing in the flames. The next part was where he screamed his heart out, begging to be saved. Ren was speechless. 

The video was paused, and Juno’s clear voice rang out. “We believe this was where you got possessed by the dragon spirit. We're working on finding the trigger. Maybe then, we can find a way to banish the spirit.”

Ren found Juno’s gaze in the mirror. “Is that..possible?”

“I can't answer that, yet. But you might be of some help to us. A dragon spirit possession can be triggered by a bloodthirst for revenge or dominance.” His eyes bore into Ren’s face. “Have you ever had such hunger, young master?”

He still struggled to come to terms with it. Ren knew he was angry about Rei’s death. He also knew he did not have the balls to kill anyone. He couldn't even kill himself!

He shook his head. “I don't know… I never wanted revenge. I just wanted to die because everything worth living for was gone.”

Juno nodded. “There must be an explanation. In the meantime, you have to prepare yourself. There's a meeting with The Assembly tonight.”

Ren frowned. “The Assembly?”

Juno nodded. “They will want to be sure that you're a suitable pick. So, the Okdu training awaits you.”

Ren realized that his life as he knew it was about to change forever.