Kai and Mei were eating in a somewhat high-end restaurant. They had a day off and money was coming along nicely.
“Why do you look so serious now?” Mei asked Kai. They were having a pleasant conversation about their jobs but suddenly Kai looked at Mei really seriously.
“Ah, nothing. I just saw a family passing by.” Kai said, trying to dodge the question.
“Imagining our future?” Mei asked with a smile on her face as she took another bite of the delicious food.
“That too…Do you think I will be a good father?”
“Don’t see why not. Still, there are a few steps before we reach that point, don’t we?”
“Well, starting next year I will be a full adult so there should be no problems with you expecting a kid.”
“Last time we had a talk like this you were excited, what changed?”
“I always wanted to be like my father but I don’t know if I have the same drive…”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s not really something that I need to keep a secret so I think I can tell. Telling that his training is brutal would not be enough. If I tried to follow after him I am pretty sure I would just die.”
“What is he doing and why?”
“I don’t really know, I just know how he normally is after he is finished and it looks like he came back from a war. As for why, it’s Mia.”
“...I can see that.” Mei said more seriously.
“I finished my training with him. There is nothing from our family that he can teach me anymore and I should be advancing on my own but now, instead of seeing a wall that I should overcome in the future, I feel like I am racing him…”
“You two are different people and he is your father. I don’t think you need to be worried about that.”
“The son should always surpass the father or the family grows weaker. It’s something he used to tell me. I know that I wouldn’t be able to suddenly become stronger than him but I don’t see a way I will ever get stronger than him now.”
“Why don’t you ask someone else to train you? I learned a lot from my father but the head chef where I work is also teaching me a lot of things I didn’t know before and I think I am getting better.”
“...I know it might sound stupid but I have this strong feeling I should find a solution to this alone.”
“What is on your mind?”
“I…I don’t know. But I have this strong feeling that I should not get help from someone.”
“Not even me? Your lovely wife?”
“Not this kind of help. You know I love you.”
“As you should!” Mei said, being cheeky.
They finished their meal and began to walk around the city. His problems still weighed on his mind but walking around, outside of work, helped him relax a little.
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As they passed through a commercial street, the sign of a bunch of people in a single place grabbed their attention.
“What is going on? This shop is abnormally crowded.” Kai asked the first person he could once he got near the crowd.
“The owner is selling an artifact and people are trying to see if it accepts them.” A man said.
“Artifact?” Mei asked.
“Magical items so powerful that they can think on their own. What is this item?”
“A tea cup.” A woman answered.
“Ok. Want to watch it?” Kai asked Mei.
“Why don’t we try ourselves?”
“...No reason not to.” Kai said. They spent a few minutes waiting for their turn.
“Welcome to my shop, I guess you came for the artifact, right?” An old man said.
“It was the plan but I think I should buy something now that I am here. Your prices are very affordable considering the part of the city we are in.” Kai said, looking around the shop. It has very nice cups, plates, forks and everything else one might need to eat besides the food. It was all very pleasant to the eye and relatively cheap for their perceived quality.
“At some point in life money doesn’t shine as much as it did. Better to have my creations spread around and used than to gather dust like they are some art piece bought by a rich idiot.”
“Did you make all of these?” Mei asked in surprise.
“I made most of them. Occasionally my sons drop something they either made or found here. The artifact was one of those.” He said pointing to a tea cup made entirely out of sapphire.
“Can I touch it?” Mei asked.
“Sure. This isn’t one of those that kill you if you fail. It will just ignore you, it barely talked to me.”
Mei carefully touched the cup. She felt mana pass through her but that was it, nothing more happened.
“Guess it didn’t like me.” Mei said.
“My turn I guess.” Kai said as he touched the cup and then everything went black and he found himself sitting on a very comfortable chair with a strange man that he couldn’t really put details on.
“Boy, tell me. Do you believe in destiny? In fate?” The man asked, his voice very calm and gentlemanly.
“I do but I know you can take control of your own life.” Kai said, strangely calm.
“Good, because powers beyond us two brought you here. Now, I have another question. Before you there are two paths. Both will lead you to happiness if you reach their end. The first one is a path where you can only take one person with you at first. More might arrive later but no more than two people may go in that path. It is short but you will never see the other path again if you take this one. The second path is a long one, a very long one. You cannot walk it alone. The more people that go along with you, the easier it will get but will never be easy. One mistake and everyone in that people will die but if even one person reaches the end, everyone that endured will be rewarded, even if they never finished. Which one do you choose?”
Kai began to think but the answer came easily. He didn’t know exactly what was happening but he could feel it.
“The longer path.”
“Are you sure? You can still take the easy way out. You will have to walk yourself anyway, why not take the shorter one?”
“Because I know who is on the other path and I want to be with them.”
“Haha. You are indeed a serious one. You are like the cup, except that the cup is ready to be filled, you aren’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are not ready, not yet at least. One cannot share the burden of another if they aren’t able to lift theirs themselves. If you want to follow that path, be ready, train. The results don’t matter as long as you did your best. Even if you can help for only a second, that is second someone doesn't need to worry about themselves.”
“I…I think I understand.” Kai said, somewhat confused.
“They are coming for her and if you ever want to see her again, you need to be ready…” The man said seriously. “I can see your current future, I see your sons and daughters, I see that you will live up to your own standards, but I can’t see the path you took here. Do not tell a soul about what you heard here. You know what you have to do. This is the last help we will ever be able to provide so do your best.”
Soon after, Kai found himself back in the shop.
“So, how did it go?”
“I don’t think the cup likes me too.” Kai said. “But I want those two.” He said, pointing to a pair of red tea cups. He promptly paid for them, 50 silver, and left.
Taking his wife close, he knew what he had to do, now it was just a question of doing it.