Morning light spilled across the shores of Kyouyen, a warrior nation embraced by seas on all sides. Sunbeams broke over rippling waves and glimmered upon sand roofs, while wind carried the mingled scents of sandalwood, jasmine, and sea-salted dust. Here, life was shaped by the blade where every child learned some form of combat, and every adult bore scars of personal discipline.
Within a modest wooden house on a hillside overlooking the southern harbor, Shifu blinked awake. His mother's voice echoed sharply through the walls.
"Wake up, Shifu! Master Kaen is downstairs!"
He scrambles up, hair astray from his usual bun. Eyes blinking rapidly as he jolts up from the land of slumber. For a moment, his composure ain't all there, before he gets ahold of himself. A breath goes through his body before he rises. As any morning would've been he atleast fixes up the futon he laid rest on. Before making his way downstairs, sliding the door open with a subtle groan of the wood underneath. "master Kaen?…. What,,?" He's still groggy, confused. His state a lie between fully concourse and pretend.
Master Kaen is a strict yet dependable Shung Fui teacher in Kyouyen, respected for his uncompromising discipline and surprising physical speed despite his age. Thin and sharp-featured, he moves with a pace that defies his own complaints about his knees. His teaching style is demanding but always aimed at bringing out a pupil's true potential, and he balances harsh commands with rare moments of dry humor.
"this early?!" He's finally turns up his posture as he realized who came, his spine stiffening to the limping line he was trained to. "I-u- Goodmorning master-"
His mother stepped out of the kitchen with a knowing smile. "I invited him today. We had something to discuss with you."
Kaen grunted. He was not a man fond of preamble.
"Get ready. We are going to the market. We will talk there."
He nodded, eyes twitching else where before straightens up. Something settles deep within him, that subtle beat of anxiety of awaiting, tension. He got ready-
Shifu emerged moments later wearing a freshly tied sash, boots secured. He tried to suppress the jitter in his limbs.
His mother waved as Kaen led him away:
"Have fun, Shifu! Come back before dusk!"
"I will! Bye, ma—!"
He waved goodbye, already in a prance before sprinting towards whatever direction the market was in, soon halting at the turn where it was. Looking around for that sharp appearance of his master.
He hurried after Kaen but the master's pace was legendary; swift and impatient. Shifu passed rows of night bloom flowers curling around homes, petals deep indigo against the sunlit air. Those flowers opened only in shade, symbols of warriors thriving even when darkness fell.
"Master Kaen?" Shifu called ahead.
"Today's sun is brighter than usual! We will stop for shade at the butcher shop. Walk faster! I won't wait!"
"Yes sir—!"
his head snaps towards the direction where his masters voice echoed from within the chitter chatter of the market, bustling around. It was overwhelming, but in a good way truly. One that reminded him of his childhood, the days he'd spend playing—That was cut short as he weaved through the waves and crowds of people, spitting out a quick. "xcusee me-!" as he slipped through-
Kyouyen was draped in three major colours: Red, Golden and Black. Red banners snapping above weapon stalls. Gold coins glinting between merchant fingers. Black lacquered armor worn by tired sentinels.
Towering stacks of polished fish scales glimmered like silver shields. A boy holding skewers of roasted eel darted through a cluster of sailors, who laughed while slapping coins into the vendor's dish. In another corner, a Shung-fui street performer moved through a motion sequence—arms coiled like ropes, stance firm, then exploding into a rapid assault against a wooden dummy. The crowd applauded.
This was home. This was war wrapped in festivity.
A vendor mistook him for a fleeing thief and shouted curses behind him. A delivery cart nearly clipped his shoulder. Chickens burst from a loose cage and flapped wildly, feathers clouding the air.
Kaen was stupidly fast. He was tall thin man with slight anger issues but the thing people first noticed about him was his pace.
"Uhh why do these boys walk so slow, I'm already at the butcher shop and this boy is nowhere to be seen"
"where's master k go?…" He looked through the crowd of people, he had a habit of forgetting where certain places were, and that. Probably was one of the reasons why he got scolded often, oh well.he scanned through the artery of shops and people-
Shifu had been to the butcher shop numerous times, but he would always get lost somehow. While searching for his master and the butcher shop, he felt cold out of nowhere despite standing under a bright blazing sun. Out of the sudden he hears a voice...
A voice rang through Sifu's mind, clear as day. No clear direction from where it had come- feeling like it was somewhere, and yet nowhere at all, a mocking lilt to the voice.
"Heh. You know, for someone so tiny, it's a shock your parents aren't with you all the time. Need your mother just to go through a simple crowd, huh, little guy?"
"what the-???!"
*He stopped dead in his tracks, almost with a screech, similar to how a car would screech after losing control of its own movement. Looking around wildly, confused, and rather offended. Who would even dare talk to him like that? Oh he was so gonna beat them up—… till he remembered that he'd probably be the one getting his ass kicked if he was late, his eyebrows furrow as he's pushed in between fords before he yells out.*
"Oi! Whoever that freak was, I am NOT small!!"
"Mm-hmm. Whatever you say, little guy."
The voice said, slowly fading off, clearly just as mocking as before- if not more so. Gone without a trace, not even lingering in your mind for more than a few minutes. Strange.
"… what-??" He just stood there baffled for a few moments, before deciding that was something future him needed to deal with. And continued on with what his Master had told him.
Out of nowhere, he spotted an odd glimmer between stalls, light bouncing off a puddle too bright to be normal. The water was glass-clear, not a speck of grime despite being in a busy street. He covers his eyes at the light blinding in his face, before approaching it at a different angle to look at the simmering ripples that reflected his face from the water.
Option A: As soon as Shifu looks into the pool his reflection ripples once, twice then splits into two. One reflection looks into him and smiles whole the other looks away
Option B: As soon as Shifu looks into the pool the ripples created a thread of water out of them and a drop of water falls on his wrist marking him for a minute
His ears still twitched for any clue of his master.
A strange vertigo seized him. The puddle felt deep—bottomless—as if it reflected not just his face but his potential. A whisper leaked from the water:
"Many lives. Many threads."
Shifu stumbled back, breath trembling. Before the water could speak again—
"Shifu!"
a familiar voice cut through. "Over here!". The puddle returned to stillness. As if nothing had happened. Mysteries piling like stones on his shoulders. He found Kaen beneath the butcher's shade, speaking to another boy—Shio, tall and grinning irritatingly.
Shio: "Master Kaen, you walk really fast even at your age, I'm damn sure even the fastest man couldn't catch up to you."
"Nah, I'm just an old man whose knees have given up, when I was your age..." Shio sighs, "not again..."
Sifu's mind was in shambles and disorganized of the random things that just happened? Why did some weird invisible guy insult him? Why was the water… ugh whatever.
He dismissed those thoughts, running up and leaning his hands in his knees as he caught his breath, before standing up straight and noticing Shio, greeting him with a nod of his head and a smile.
"I-im here"
"Finally! Walk faster. You make an old man wait."
Kaen unfurled a shimmering golden thread from his sleeve. It hummed with faint energy—like a string plucked in some invisible dimension.
"Do you see this? Go find another one." Shifu blinked. "What?"
Kaen scowled. "A thread! Golden! Go!" Shifu was visibly sweating and in no mood to obey. Shifu searched—upside, underside, inside every nook…
Nothing.
"Poor Shifu," Shio said. "Obedient but clueless." Kaen burst into laughter.
"Forget it kid, I was just in a mood for some fun".
"I brought you here because—we are going to Amer."
Before reluctantly sighing and nodding along, fidgeting with his fingers, his eyebrows furrowed at the comment ship made but he made no rude retort back."Amer?… why are we going there?"
"You are 15 already and will soon be 20. As my favourite pupil, I have decided that you should get the chance to choose your own fate and not let anybody or anything decide it for you."
"… fates… really?" He seemed, almost excited. His eyes glinted up. He'd wanted to know about his fate for so long, he was practically vibrating in place till he caught his composure again, blinking rapidly at Kaen before a smile cracked through his face.
"Will we be going now?" "H-how long?" "What happens after??!!"
Kaen: "Don't think too much about it, we are going to board the ship to Amer the next fortnight and are going to visit your uncle there. I cannot say how long we will stay there but it should be awhile.."
Shifu: "awhile?… why did you need to tell me in the market?"
Kaen: "Don't want your mom to get too worried, do we??"
Shifu: "well, ma would be concerned… good call master!" But wouldn't she know anyways?
Kaen: "Well, such a news should be revealed gradually. After all it's your first time going out of country"
Shifu: "I'm going to ask her to pack all my favourite treats"
Shio: "Good luck Shifu!! You are so lucky to get a chance to go there!!"
He waved goodbye as he ran home, he would've told what everything happened to his mother today, he always did. But, he probably shouldn't today. He will reveal it tomorrow morning the first thing...