A Different Shui

In the Heaven clan, there was a little boy who was loved by the entire clan despite being unable to cultivate. He was a boy famous for two things; being very studious and being very cute. At the age of nine, this little boy was adored by everyone, not just because of how adorable he was, but also because of his heritage. Though there was some friction between his parents and his grandfather when he was born, they had reconciled and he was recognized as the grandson of the Patriarch.

After skipping out of the library, the boy spotted his two best friends. Both were around his age. The male of the two had started coming out of the cute phase and was entering the cool and handsome group. He was also gaining his own group of admirers, but his popularity only exceeded Shui among their age group. The girl was also very popular, but for reasons other than how cute she was, she was the favourite among many adults. Though both of them were very talented, the girl was a step above the boy.

"Kate! Nathan!"

The boy and girl who he called turned towards him and the boy, Nathan, bumped fists with him.

"Sup Shui. You've been reading as usual."

"Yep. But I'm starting to run out so that's a problem."

"Seriously, you're the only one who can say that you know."

In response to Kate, Shui puffed up his cheeks and refuted.

"That's not true! Grandpa Carlos has read all the books in there too."

"But isn't he like, over 200 years old?"

"Uhh, well, yeah."

"Then isn't it obvious that he would be able read all those books. He's probably got a lot of free time on his hands."

"Well, I guess..."

As Kate pushed her point and Shui reluctantly accepted, Nathan chuckled while watching the two and then interjected.

"Give him a break, Kate. Let him read all the books he wants. No one stops you when you're emptying the food at people's birthday parties."

"Hey! They said it was 'all-you-can-eat', so I ate all I could."

"What sort of excuse is that? You're still a girl you know. You sure you aren't gaining some weight from all that eating?"

"Hmph, any weight I gain is burned off in training."

"Is that why you've been cultivating so hard these days. I thought you were reaching late Mortal Realm a bit too quickly."

"Tch, shut up. Why don't you get on my level before you drop comments, Mr. Fifth level in the Mortal Realm?"

"Ouch!"

Though he loved them, whenever Nathan and Kate talked about cultivation, Shui always felt left out. After all, there was no way for him to truly see the same sight as them despite having his eyes open. He knew that neither of them looked down on him for not being able to cultivate, but he couldn't help but feel inferior to them.

After a few more minutes, Nathan looked at Shui while getting out the last bits of laughter left in him.

"Well, we have training soon so see you later."

"Yeah."

Nathan walked away with Kate as she waved bye. Shui also waved back at her but once her back was turned, he couldn't stop the weak smile from forming on his face. Kate was his crush, his first love and likely the cause of his first broken heart. At least they were friends, even just for now. That was what he told himself.

Shui then went towards his house. Apparently, he used to live in a shack near the edge of the clan, but after his parents reconciled with his grandfather they got a house near Sky-wind Pavilion to live in.

"Good afternoon, Shui."

"Going home now?"

"How are you?"

"Tell your mother I said hi."

Shui was used to being talked to by the housewives near his house, so he smoothly and politely responded to them on his way home. He was especially happy when he got the occasional gifts or pastries from a few of them.

"I'm home."

When Shui reached home, he pushed open the door, got out of his shoes and went straight to the kitchen. By the sink, he found his mother looking over a boiling pot. She was a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties rather than in her late thirties, and still held the title of most beautiful in the clan despite being a mother.

"Welcome back Shui. Did you have fun at the library?"

"Yeah, but I think I'm running out of books to read. Can you buy more for my birthday?"

"That's fine but you always get books, don't you want anything else?"

"Not really."

Truthfully, Shui felt satisfied with his life so besides reading he had no other desires. In the future, he wondered if he should become a scholar so he could read more books or if he should take over his parents' business.

Soon after Shui came home, someone else came through the front door and Shui ran towards him.

"I'm home."

"Dad!"

Shui ran towards the well-built man who entered the house. He had a lean body with black hair that went down to his shoulders and a handsome, chiseled face that Shui hoped to inherit in the future. He didn't hate having his mother's face, but he did wish he looked a bit more manly.

"There's my boy. Anything happen today?"

"No, it was the same as usual."

Shui's father, Stratos, picked him up and walked into the kitchen where Suiri greeted him with a smile.

"Welcome back honey."

"Thanks dear. Will dinner be ready soon?"

"That's right. You two can just sit back and wait."

The three of them were a happy family and though he had a few things he wanted to be different, he couldn't say he wanted to have a different life. That was something he thought about a lot when he was younger, but not as much in recent times. Sure he couldn't cultivate, but at least he could spend time reading books and being with his friends and family.

Later in the night as Shui was sleeping, a persona that was dormant inside him woke up. This persona was Shui and yet at the same time, not. The persona used to be able to actively take control of Shui and converse with him, but as time went on that became harder and harder.

'This is the ninth year, huh?'

This Shui remembered agreeing to take the trial in the Primordial Library. Right before he regained awareness, he remembered a sentence.

'Let your heart be the one to prove that you may hold on to your ambition.'

When he gained awareness again, he was back to baby form but it wasn't his body. In the beginning his control of the body was equal to the baby, but over time that control weakened. Judging by how much slower this weakening was around the time he reached nine, Shui was sure that it was because that was when he reached nebula two-star. If he had a higher soul cultivation this trial might be easier but there was no reason to think about that at this time.

The sentence that he remembered at the start of the trial didn't provide much clues for him to defeat the trial, but it did help him understand it. Like it had said, the one in control of his body was still him, just the most basic part. It was his heart that had now gotten accustomed to peacefully living in a fairy tale. It was obvious to him that there were many parts about this trial world that were impossible in real life. And the biggest one was of course the presence of his father. He didn't know if the man was really his father or an illusion based on how he imagined him, but he couldn't accept him. He couldn't accept the man who abandoned his mother casually existing in this world.

However, that Shui was different. He saw it as natural that his father would be around, so how could he doubt him?

Without the ability to actively interfere, Shui chose to wait. He planned on waiting until the perfect moment for that Shui to change. For what could be called, a crossroads of fate.