Ren walked with the chest in his hand, he was yet to take the dagger within it.
The dagger made him feel stronger for some reason.
As he head home he began to remember something that Rengoku had informed him.
He was with Rengoku in the bunker within Valer,he had not yet escaped and was still bonding with the old man.
The old man told him many stories ,and one very particular series of words;
"The thunder guild has always been the number one guild in the world ,since it's creation over a 100 years ago.
Numerous guilds created since then who have tried to compete ,had either disbanded or been left behind.
The thunder guild seemed to just be built different.
Three generation of headmasters,each belonging to the same family ,but the dynasty was broken by the coronation of the fourth headmaster;
Vaughn Gilchrist
The thunder guild were known for its development of a vast amount of assassins from numerous regions.
They trained prospects in killing techniques belonging to the lightning arc,hence their name.
But you did not have to be trained by them to join them,that is were the storm trials come in.
A trial held in the crossroads ,this trial was open to be joined by anyone who has tapped into malice .
This trial was for guilds to join the thunder guild.
Most guilds had tryouts of their own but none were as potent as the storm trials.
Not even guilds created by nations like the Night watch or Crimson Red could compete.
As long as your town had access to decent information,it wouldn't be possible for you to have never heard of the thunder guild."
The reason these words stood out to him ,was firstly due to the fact that he thought ,he could develop his skills better if he joined the guild ,and due to the last words of Valverde.
Joining the thunder guild,was something that was now in his mind.
But according to the words of Rengoku ,he would have to first complete the storm trials,but he knew to accomplish that,he would require a lot more strength than he currently possesses.
"Maybe Earn would be feeling up to it once I get home"Ren thought to himself.
His hopes were sadly shattered by the quick and assertive response that he received from Earn.
"NO"
*********
"Power is all that matters ,power is the only thing that is respected,power is what sets the boundary between the rich and the poor,Power is everything."
This was the internal monologue of a fair-skinned man with dark long hair.
He had a very well defined musculature,he was so tall ,he could be referee to as a giant,and he had large abdominal muscles and seemed like the kind of guy who could do 1000 push-ups ,without breaking a sweat.
He was within a Japanese styled dojo,with a white mat ,spread on the floor.
The dojo he was in ,was just one of the many rooms within the building.He was in a behemoth of a mansion,This was his personal courtyard.
He was currently doing push-ups one-handed and with an anvil on top of his back.
He took training seriously,him and keeping fit ,was his equivalent of a girl who recently had a break up ,and ice cream.
"I must gain strength,I must devour all power,I and only I alone deserve might,I deserve it all"
The man continued to monologue within himself tirelessly,it was like he was in a competition against some imaginary friend of his ,oh wait ,he was.
"You can not do anything with yourself,you think you can gain power,you will never catch up to me" said the voice of someone who was not present.
"I will get the power I need"
"You will die before you succeed"
"I will develop my might"
"You could never do anything right"
The man gets frustrated at the negative remarks of the voice,so frustrated infact,that he unknowingly screamed his next few words out loud;
"I am the only hope that this world has,I am the beacon of light that is required,I am the strongest being on the planet,I am …."
"Sorry sir,the food is ready"
The man was interrupted by someone wearing a dark suit,with a white inner-shirt and red tie.
The person responsible for the intrusion seemed to be a butler.
"What did you say"
"I'm sorry master Valtor,I did not mean to intrude on your training session,it's just that I had served the good ,and your mom requested I summoned you to the dining"
"Alright"
Valtor used a towel to dry himself of the sweat all over his body,before sniffing himself and realizing that he was in dire need of a bath.
He turned towards the exit of the dojo, and was shocked to find that the butler,was still waiting there.
"I thought I said alright?"
"Yes sir,you did"
"So why have you not left?"
"Sir as the chief butler of this estate,my job is far beyond just serving its residents,but also taking care of them"
"Okayyy?"
"We'll taking care of people ,includes making sure,they are sound in all aspects of their life"
"Get straight to the point!"
"Okay sir …..-well I saw you screaming at someone who isn't there and so I think there is a way I could help you out"
"What do you mean"
"I mean I know a special place for special people like you"
"Are you calling me mad?!"
"No sir ,I said special"
"Get out!"
"Sir I understand,things like this are had to admit but I think we both know I am right"
"I said Get out!"
"Yes sir I am sorry"
Valtor was evidently infuriated by the butler's comments ,and so the butler ran from the dojo, to avoid unnecessary problems.
"But you know,you are hearing voices,so maybe you are mad" said the voice In Valtor's head."
"I am not mad!" screamed Valtor
The scream was so loud ,the butler even with how far he was by now ,had heard it audibly.
"Oh no he really has lost it"
***********
Valtor headed to the dining ,sitting there before him were a man,a woman and a young girl.
"What took you so long Valtor?" Asked the woman .
"I was exercising in the dojo,mom"Valtor said in a tone of respect
"You see Spade,our son is training really hard" said the woman towards the man on the table,she was obviously attempting to get his attention.
"It doesn't matter,if he keeps on training,or if he gets strong,If he cannot keep his sanity,he will never make it as an assassin." Said Spade
"Shut up!,can't you atleast acknowledge the work your son has put in just once." Replied the woman.
"I'm only being truthful Natasha"
"No you're just lowering his self esteem"
"It's called constructive criticism "
"Well I am about to constructively hit you"
Natasha raises her hand to slap the cheek of spade,but her attempt is blocked.
To her surprise,it was not blocked by Spade but by Valtor.
"What's wrong with you , why are you protecting this man?"
"He still is my father"
Natasha calmed down,she saw in her son's eyes that he did not want his dad to be slapped.
"Alright,just finish your food"
"I'm done"
To the shock of everyone,Valtor was not lying ,he was actually done.
Valtor then began to leave the dining but not before turning to his mother and said:
"Word of advice ,don't say you are gonna hit someone before you actually hit them "
As captor left the room,Natasha turned to Spade and said
"No kid deserves such treatment "
"Kid!…-Valtot is a 18"
"We'll he is still just my little baby boy in my eyes"
"That is why you keep you keep spoiling him"
"Well it is way better than spoiling him"
"You can spoil him all you want Natasha,Naomi has way more potential than he ever had"
************
Ren walked into his house with the chest in hand .
His was excited to wield the dagger for the first time.
He slowly opened the chest,he was trying his best to savour this satisfactory moment.
He opened the chest and felt a powerful aura around it but he was not the only one who felt it.
Earn was still depressed on his bed,when he felt this power,an aura that he knew could only be coming from one.
He jumped off his bed ,in realisation that something dangerous ,is within his home.
"Please do not be what I think it is" Earn thought inwardly.
Ren looked at the sword,his brain was telling him that this was some special.
For an unknown reason,the blade had felt so familiar to him.
The familiar aura repelled by the dagger was what made him want it so desperately.
He stretched his hands into the chest and carried the blade.
But as soon as his hands touched the blade,he started seeing things.
His eyes were being shown terrible visions.
He saw a creature made of shadows,he saw a white heard fellow holding the exact same dagger as he was,and finally,he saw the mask of the legendary Assassin.
It was at this moment that Earn came running,he saw the blade in the hand of Ren and thought:
"Oh no"
The blade had a familiar symbol on it ,he knew it could only belong to a particular set of people.
Before he could finish thinking ,Ren's visions had stopped and Ren said the word
"We are in grave danger"
Ren then fell unconscious and hit his head onto the ground.