There was a trace of mustiness as I breathed in the dark stony cavern. There was a light shining from the top, making a spotlight, both daunting and encouraging. I blinked, and the first scenes, where EXO had gathered in robes flashed through my eyes. It was a very similar room.

The door closed behind me. The clanking sound echoed, bouncing off the darkness. My breaths grew ragged as the silence had settled in the room again.

Just then, a flower bud flew in front of me, then landed in the spotlight. My footsteps made an ominous beat as I walked forward to pick it up. It was unlikely that a strong wind would have come in through the warehouse to bring it to this room. I the soft, silky petals.

“I see you have gained favor among them.”

I jumped and turned around to face the voice. Instead, darkness confronted me. “Tree of life?”

“Child, I am around you, but you cannot see me. Taking a form around my kin seems unnecessary to me.” In my head, I could see an old grandmother shifting in her seat, rearranging her blankets of invisibility around her as she spoke.

“Kin?”

“Yes. You are a part of me, although you're not the same as the boys,” the voice replied, a hint of amusement in its voice.

“How, tree of life?”

The voice sighed. “Perhaps you would like to call me by a shorter name.”

“Could I call you Shifu?”

“Shifu is better.” The voice seemed to be more satisfied.

I sat down on the floor. “So how am I different and similar to the guys?”

“You and the others all have a purpose here that is related to me,” Shifu said. “The guys are my guardians, my structure. They are the reason for existence, and they are my roots. You however, are a fruit.”

“A fruit??”

“Well, a budding flower for now,” it conceded. “Once life is supported, the next obstacles are survival and reproduction. Reproduction means offspring, for a plant it means seeds. Fruits contain seeds, which will help create more roots. You, Kalyn, are one of them.”

I blinked. “Um, that kind of made sense, but I’m having trouble with getting why I’m chosen.”

There was no response. I began to panic within the silence. Did I upset Shifu? Was something bad going to occur?

A sigh echoed into the cavern. “I am the origin of the force of life, and life offers many gifts. However, if I just let these gifts sit inside of me, I become more vulnerable, and life may be extinguished from existence. Therefore, I must pass them on such that even if I am destroyed, life will still remain and be able to be created. EXO and you must create a legacy so my gifts will always exist and in that way I can survive.”

“Only me with EXO?”

“No. There will be others who will join you, and all of you will make up EXONE. You however, will be the first, and you must help guide the others. EXO will do most of the work as will I, but you have an essential part in this.”

“I supposed I can’t refuse this,” I noted dryly.

“Do you want to?”

Ooh. My mind raced. If I refused, maybe life would be normal, ordinary. I could move back with my parents when they got better, and forget this ever happened.

But I knew I would never forget. I would live with it nagging at the back of my mind, wondering what would have happened if I kept the power Shifu entitled me to have.

“I don’t know if I want to have the power or not,” I said slowly. “But if I am needed to fulfill a goal, I will do my best to do whatever I’m required to do.”

“That’s why I chose you Kalyn,” Shifu said, approval laced in its voice. “I’ll make you a deal. Try out the power until you’re sure whether you want it or not. If you don’t want it, I will make your life the way it would be if you were like everyone else.”

“You mean I was born with this power?”

“Everyone who eventually meets me is born with power, whether they realize it or not. However whether that type of power is beneficial or harmful to my cause is a different story.”

In other words, the tree of life would be willing to take away something I’ve lived with my whole life if I wished it so. Would it be like lifting a curse? Or would it be like taking a part of me away?

“What’s my power?”

“You’ll have to figure it out yourself. Gifts like yours are unpredictable, and they will morph depending on the owner. However, I can tell you the main thing your gift is based on.”

“So, what is it?”

Shifu laughed, a tinkling sound that made the dark cavern brighten. “Persistent curiosity, child, has two sides, like yin and yang. Be careful with a double-edged blade. Are you ready to leave?”

I felt like a child being laughed at as if I were ignorant and unable to understand, then pushed away with no answers. On reflex, I muttered a yes.

“Then child, your power is based on vision.” The door to the way out opened. “You are ready to face your comrades now.”

*

Well guys, the wait is over! I'm so sorry for leaving you with a cliffhanger >.<

Anyway, the reason it took so long for me to upload this short chapter is because my beta was being unresponsive. After a friend begged for an update, I was like "What the heck, I'll try to edit the best I can and update."

So if you guys see any grammar mistakes, I'm really sorry, but this is kind of the unedited version. I did give it second look (wow so many typos >.<) but no one else has really looked at it and gone "okay here are some parts you can correct..."

So yeah. I should really get an official beta. >.<

ANYWAY some Chinese culture stuff answered yada yada yada: Shifu means master/teacher. Like if you ever have seen Journey to the West, Monkey King calls the monk Shifu. I always thought that only a guy could be called shifu, but I saw this other TV show where a girl was called shifu. Some I thought it was kinda appropriate to call the tree shifu, since the tree calls the shots XD

Maybe I'll put up the other chapter I finished if I get enough time to look it over.

I hope you guys enjoy!