In a laboratory somewhere in the world,
Giant vats filled with lifeforms, of various stages, can be seen, gestating, all linking to a singular fossilized skeletal remain.
"The limits of one's path are already determined from birth, from today till the end, none will be born greater than I!"
The being in the centre's eyes snapped open and with a furious roar, shattered everything in sight!
The researchers on duty were caught off guard!
They tried to fight back,
Tried.
"Shit! What the hell?? This wasn't supposed to happen?"
"Screw that hit him with everything you got!"
Ice Blast
Frost Lance
Flaming Strike
The resulting mix of Ice and Fire, erruptedupon contact, causing a billow of smoke to block everything in sight….everything except those glowing blue eyes.
"I am," the being reached out its hand, making a gripping motion,
"Argh!" the researchers screamed in pain,
"I am the coming, I am, the storm, I am Raiden."
And with a clench, the screams turned silent, and the walls turned red, Raiden was bathed in the blood of his foes, and his head sharply turned to look at you!
~
"ARGH!" a young boy, aged 10, jumped from the covers of his bed, the dream he had just witnessed felt real, disturbingly real!
"Are you okay up there?" an elderly voice came from below, "It's time for your first day at school, are you ready Kaito?"
"Yea…I'm coming, Grandpa!"
At age 10, everyone enters a Battle Academy, a place to identify and train the powers hidden within each Cultivator.
Kaito was one such boy amongst the millions, with hopes of one day proving his strength and bringing home endless glory and honour to his name.
He had eagerly awaited this day since…well since he could remember!
His grandpa always shook his head, "It's good to be ambitious, but fame and fortune aren't everything there is in life…Kaito, one day you'll see that there are much bigger things to fight for."
Kaito always chuckled at his grandfather's words, treating them as the sagely advice of an old man, yet for some reason, after his dream, he felt different, something was burning in his heart.
Like he had to prove something.
"Kaito! The bus is coming in 30 minutes! You're going to miss breakfast if you don't get your ass out NOW!" Kaito's grandpa Jiro roared, shaking the whole room.
"Ah!" Kaito tumbled out of bed clumsily, still groggy from his sleep, "Coming!"
10 minutes later ~
"About time," Jiro was sitting at a simple wooden table, with a plain table cover.
Grandpa Jiro was a simple old man,
His house was neither opulent nor lacking, it held a certain peace to it, everything had a place, and every place had a thing. There was a certain zen to it.
Nothing was out of style, and in perfect harmony with one another.
Jiro spent most of his time, tending to his garden, practising meditation, an ordinary peaceful life.
"Gramps, why don't I ever see you cultivate?" Kaito had often asked this question before, often playfully, but Jiro could sense for once that something was plaguing his grandson's mind.
So he gave a thoughtful response for once, "Because there would be no point my boy…I have long reached the limits of what cultivation can achieve, I won't grow any stronger from cultivating."
"I see…" Kaito stared contemplatively at his eggs on toast, not making a move.
"Well, this is unusual?" Jiro thought to himself, "It's not like Kaito to be this quiet, heck it's not like him to think at all!"
Suddenly, Kaito asked Jiro, "Grampa, do you believe that the limits of one's path are already determined at birth?"
Jiro scratched his frosty white beard,
"Hmm? I've never known Kaito to be thinking about that school of thought, I've never even heard him utter such sentiments. Could it be a coincidence? Maybe he's just nervous about school." Jiro thought to himself.
Kaito seemed less spunky and more dejected than his usual cheerful demeanour.
"Kaito." Jiro reached his hand and cupped the boy's face, squishing the baby fat still leftover despite his rigorous training, "Everyone has limitations, from the moment we are born to the day we die."
"I see." Kaito's face became dejected, "So, I will never be the strongest?"
Jiro looked deeply and affectionately into his grandson's eyes, "Kaito my dear sweet boy, you are looking at it completely wrong!"
!!!
"If you constantly compare yourself with where others currently are, rather than where you can be, you'll always see the limitations of your present, but who is to say that you of tomorrow won't be stronger? Faster? Maybe even smarter? Limitation only exists in the present, we place our hope on the future."
The fire beating Kaito began to burn just a little brighter, that word ringing in his ears; the future.
From outside the house, a deep honk signalled the arrival of the school bus,
"Go, path the road to your future Kaito, and never be held back by the present, always hold your head high, I'll see you at the end of the year."
Kaito, pulled his grandpa in for a hug, letting out small tears, "I won't forget your lessonsGrandpaa!"
Their hug was brief in time, yet it felt like an eternity, and the reluctance to let go was felt on both sides.
"It's time to go on your own adventure Kaito, grandpa has business to attend to as well." Finally, Jiro was the one who pulled away from the hug, the feeling of separation almost made him cry.
Almost.
"I have to be strong for him, he has so much potential in him, I want him to soar across the skies, but I also want to protect him from danger…his destiny is too grand."
Kaito wiped away the tears that flowed down his face and put on a cheery smile, "Bye Grandpa take care!"
And with a final wave, Kaito ran out the door and onto the school bus, turning back one last time to see Jiro standing at the door waving him goodbye, his eyes watery.
Kaito waved one last time as the bus pulled away to his next adventure,
Battle Academy!