Ninjutsu Online

The Truth

Given the century we live in, I doubt the idea of physical pain, except within the virtual world was something most people were familiar with, at the very least not unless you lived life on the edge as soldiers or criminals. And even then, Ninjutsu online was the first game that went above the 50% threshold for pain receptors, theirs was at an insane 85%, but right now all I felt and knew about this bloody thing was that the pain I felt was fully 1000% it might be an exaggeration, but it hurts.

The first time in my life that I ever felt something like this, and it would be too much of a stretch to ask me to have the will power to withstand it. But I had no choice, I didn’t have a HP bar, but I could feel myself slowly fading away, getting weak as death seemed to call me. And then I felt the Kiryū Bloodline trait kick in, and once it did I found myself healing. But the rate of decay was still too fast for the healing to keep up with, and with each second the pain seemed to get much more worse.

The progress bar in front of me was still just at 20%, I felt like crying. I had no choice, I had to hold on. If I died here, then it was sure to disappoint my mother, and this ritual or ceremony is definitely important to her, so I had to take it like a man, whatever pain had to come my way, I’m going to f*****g conquer it!

(50%)

Because I might not be the strongest, or the fastest, or the smartest.(at least not yet anyway) but I never give up, no matter how hard a task that’s laid before me is, I’ve never backed down from it. I face it head on and fight, and I’ll keep on fighting! For my parents, my grand parents, my wife and for my unborn child!

(67%..... 72%...... 79%)

This is my creed, this is my way, either as a man in real life or as a ninja in this game. I never give up, so if it’s pain then bring it on! Damn it!

(84%.......90%..... 93%...... 97%..... 98%......99%........................100%!)

The whole world went black for a moment and then it brightened up. I found myself in a cave, it was surprisingly clean and well crafted, like it was made rather than it being a natural occurrence. but I didn’t really know how I got here. There were carvings on the ceiling, I could count 7 of them, but 6 seemed dull and a single carving was pulsing a brilliant green, white and blue color. That’s when I heard breathing behind me.

“Turn around flesh bag!” a deep sonorous voice called out.

I turned and almost screamed like a little girl at the out rightly terrifying sight in front of me. My heart started pounding after getting a look at the monstrosity kept behind a massive cage. It looked at me, just as I looked back at it and in but a few seconds I realized what or who I was looking at.

“Kira?” The Green scaled demon dragon gave me a somewhat sinister grin as he said.

“Now you’ve witnessed my true visage, gaze upon me and know that you are unworthy, that you are nothing, that one day soon I’m going to bust out of this cage and devour your souls and body and take everything you love from you, just as I took your father away, trapping his noble soul for all eternity in a limbo of death and pain, languishing deep within the very bowels of the Shinigami himself. I am; The Great Kiryū of the West! and you; unfortunate human have become my shackle and as such my enemy.”

I looked at him for a moment, not saying a single word. I’m sure he expected me to say something, and to be honest I really wanted to say something, to rage and scream at him. I guess this Dragon really was somehow responsible for my father’s absence, and with the way it’s talking, my dad might actually be dead……..but no! I refuse to believe that, and I refuse to fall prey to his taunting. Obviously this bloody Dragon has a lot of grievances to get off his chest, but I’ve seen the way he behaved around my mother and Arashi.

A dragon like him would be too proud to be that amicable with someone if that wasn’t his true self. I’m going to be the bigger person here, one because I was tired, two because even though I hated his guts there wasn’t really anything I could do to him right now. And three, because in one way or another I could see my old self in him. He was trapped in a life he couldn’t understand, longing for something that seems too far out of his reach, a prisoner to beings and vices lesser than him. I know how that felt, which is why I’m choosing to ignore this loud mouth jerk of a lizard.

I turned around hoping to find an exit out of this place, wherever the heck it was. And then suddenly I found myself back in the garden, I was laying on my back, my head on my mother’s lap as she sang slowly to me.

{See I know it hurts, don’t you worry baby it will be okay, promise you daddy’s coming home tonight, and we will be standing tall at the end of the night}

I smiled, got up to my feet and hugged her, maybe a little to tight for comfort. But I was scared if I let go she would disappear again. Before Ninjutsu online, my parents were imprisoned in a virtual mining prison world, I couldn’t log in to visit them, all I had was two phone calls a year, with each call only lasting no less than 10 minutes. For eleven years that was the torture and anguish I had to go through, I always cherished those little times we spent together, but no matter how precious they were, it was just never enough.

“Christopher you can let go now, I don’t have much time.” She said to me as she pulled back.

“What do you mean mom?” I asked, my fears gradually bubbling to the surface.

“I’m not dying or anything Chris, I’m just going to sleep for a long time to recover the strength I used for the sealing ceremony. I guess you could call it a self induced medical healing coma. But before that there’s some secrets I believe you should know. One of them is already an open secret, and that’s the fact that no one really created the virtual world, even the location of it’s servers and servers of the numerous games within it have never been found.”

That was confusing, if the servers have never been found, then how do the company develop the games and sell them to the public, it doesn’t make sense. I was about to ask, when my mom placed her hand on my shoulder.

“you always were an impatient boy, relax I have enough time to tell you what you need to know and relay your next instructions before I go back to sleep. Your father and I have found that the virtual world is for all intents and purposes an alternate universe with segmented worlds running on different source or system codes. Humanity’s greatest achievement would be the fact that we were able to move ourselves into it, our mind and soul, giving up our body in the process.

That’s when we, your father and I and a couple of other people discovered that once someone from earth discovered a new virtual world, it becomes accessible to the players on earth by connecting to the virtual realm's gaming hub. The company who introduced the game would do it under the pretense of profit, making money from a world that should be free for all to live and dive into. It was this discovery that got us arrested in the first place, and as poetic justice, they had us scouring the virtual realm for new world, new technology and new ways to make money.

Your dad and I and a handful of others found this world, however it had already been discovered by someone else, years and years ago, yet the world didn’t know about it. There wasn’t much that was found out about the pioneer, but the gaming company that introduced Ninjutsu online to the world did not really care about that.

Your father and I tried to build our strengths here, the rules on this world completely negated the technology they used in keeping us prisoners, and for a while we were free. We trained, got stronger and built a clan that became a very important asset to the village. But just before the launch the company had somehow discovered a way to affect the source code of this world, they could only do it from within the game, so they attacked the village using one of the greatest weapons available to ninjas. The Kiryū! The demon dragon your father and I had made a pact with to protect our clan and the village it lived close to.

And to make matters worse the Dragon was bonded to me and I was pregnant at the time………the person they sent broke the bond we had and sent Kira on a collision course with a Divine beast attempting to take control of the Shōkan Toshi. Lives were lost, real lives, including that of your brother. He never survived the birth as the influx of chakra killed him before I could even birth him.

Your father and I were pushed into a tight spot, so he had to use a technique that sacrificed his soul to a death god, dragging along one half of the divine beast’s power with him but also one half of Kira too. In his rage at the attack that was no more than a show, Kira lost his temper and fought without care of consequences.

He had become a threat and nothing we did could reach him as he went on rampage determined to end the divine beast; so your father had to act, taking half if his power leaving Kira in the sealed chibi state you found him. The Shōkan Circle blamed us for the deaths and the destruction, and I was heavily injured and fell into a coma a little while later. Under suppression from some of the other clans, and with help from some elders within our own clan with a thirst for power; the Kiryū clan lost their importance to village and were relegated to the edge of the village. They’re all just waiting for us to go extinct.

I can’t assume command of the clan, which is why Arashi has been running it in mine and your father’s absence. Also you’re much too weak to take the mantle, so you have to at least reach the rank of High White Ninja before they can consider you fit to rule, and that’s like your level 60s to 70s if not more, I’m not too sure how the mechanics works for players.

You have to get stronger and in turn help the Kiryū clan get stronger too, in whichever way you deem fit. Your father is not dead, he’s just trapped in another game world just like this, only very different. We’re connected, and we’ve been able to communicate and put some plans together, however we’ve been waiting for you. But as you are now, you’re not strong enough to help anyone yet, so get stronger and then we can move on from there. But be careful, tell no one about this, not even your wife or your grandparents. You would put their lives in danger, and also when they do decided to log into the game have them spread amongst the remaining clans. It would be wise for us to have people within the other clans, it would give us an edge. See you soon my boy.”

It was a rather abrupt and sudden stop as she helplessly leaned over my body, completely unconscious. Her soft breathing tickled my ears as her red hair cascaded over her shoulders, her dark chocolate skin was a little pale, but over all my African mother was just asleep. I smiled, picked her up and looked at Arashi.

“Come with me young master.”

I nodded my head and followed him, carrying my mother’s light and emancipated form in my hands. I honestly felt like crying for her, she and my dad must have gone through so much pain and suffering, and obviously it was not over yet. I didn’t want to think too much about what she has just told me, it was so hard to believe, but yet it was so true. I know she wouldn’t lie to me, not with something like this. Arashi led me to a secluded room covered in seals from the ceiling to the floor, I placed my mother on the bed then stepped out. Arashi held out a circular disk to me.

“It’s the key to the seals in her room. Now only you can enter and exit unless she wakes up herself and decides to come out.” I thanked him and then waved it across the door a bright light shining before going dull. Then I turned to Arashi and asked.

“What next.”

“Just like lady Kemisola said…….get stronger!”