?Water: Ye Chen

No many people know how important a mother is, quite a few people on this earth take their mothers for granted. Ye Chen was one of those people. But today of all days, when the consequences of not paying attention to his mother was even more obvious, Ye Chen decided to visit her. And to be honest it took all of his strength just to drag himself to her unmarked grave, the very place where her neighbors and friends had carefully and with much love and care placed her body.

And as for her son, he was busy traveling the world with his girlfriend, the girlfriend his mother disapproved of, and a disagreement that led to them having a fall out. It's not even been six months since she died from hypertension and high blood pressure. And for an old person to die of such causes in a country like china was not really common. That was just the official report, but it was not the truth, if they had been honest the doctors would have written in bold letters, dead because of an unfilial son.

Ye Chen and his irresponsible life style sent his poor mother to her grave, and it didn't even take long for him to catch his so called girlfriend cheating on him with his best friend, while said best friend had used underhanded means to takeover the software company that they had built together from a young age, with mostly his efforts and talent. Ye Chen knew he was beyond stupid, he trusted the wrong people and never paid attention to the one person who should have really mattered to him. And now she was dead, and all he had left on him were the clothes on his back.

The villagers were quite nice, they buried his mother close to stream at the edge of the village. The water from it was mostly frozen due to the fact that they were in the dead of winter, but still Ye Chen could hear as the water flower and trickled away softly. It was really peaceful, it reminded Ye Chen of quote from Bruce Lee, and in his despondent state, Ye Chen looked up to the sky as he laid on his mother's grave, as if hoping her hands would stretch forth from the depths of the earth to hug. And in that state he quoted the words out loud with tears in his eyes.

"Be Like water, it can flow and it can crash, it has no form or obstacles....."

Ye Chen knew that was probably not the way the quote really went. But he didn't care anymore, he was numb to everything, even to the freezing cold that was threatening to take his life. He just didn't care, and all he wanted to do was sleep.

And so he did, he slept like a baby. It was probably the safest and most satisfying sleep of his life. He didn't really know why, but he somehow felt at peace. His thoughts of revenge and his feeling of heartache all just fell away as his heartbeat slowed to a crawl. Right there nestled in the embrace of his mother's grave, he took his last breath…..but he didn't die.

Maybe his body did, after all it was just flesh, just a host to a spirit and a soul. Then he heard the call, felt the force that dragged him as he appeared in a white space. White space was generic and too cliché Ye Chen observed to himself, it seems death was exactly what many web novelist say it is, a trip to a white space, and then maybe judgment. Ye Chen knew he was going to hell, he was a bad person but he didn't feel sorry for that, rather the one thing that he knew he did wrong was being a bad son. Without a doubt if he ever got a second chance he would make sure that he would always listen to his parents, his mother especially.

"How do you like the view?" a voice called out to him.

Ye Chen turned his head to the side, and the person he saw spooked him so much that his jaw was hanging a little to widely to be graceful. The same fierce eyes, the chiseled jaw, the well toned body that could be seen even under his clothes, a smoldering intensity that would definitely give The Rock a run for his money, this person in front of him! This person was....

"Bruce Lee!!!"

"oh! So that's his name. It's a good name, I just too this form because it seems to have left a considerable impact in your life. Also I heard the words you said before you died, and it tickled my fancy. Please let me introduce myself, I've been known by many names to you humans. You've called me Terra, Gaia, Ridonia, Pangea, and finally Earth. Hello Ye Chen, I'm the planet you were born in, and the same planet that you and your mother would or are now buried in."

Ye Chen looked at the Bruce Lee look alike for a moment, itching to ask a question. But then again he was already dead, there was no need to be too interested in matters that didn't concern him anymore. But Ye Chen was a perfectionist with an eye for detail, he knew this Bruce Lee look alike or in this case Earth wanted something. So there was no need to waste time on trivial details and whatnot, so he went straight to the point.

"What do you want?"

"You're a straightforward man, I like that. If that's the case, then there's no need for me to beat around the bush. I need you to reincarnate into another universe, become the strongest person there and find an element dragon of water that's one of the pillars of creation, become king, join your fellow dragon kings and create the greatest army in the history of the prime universe, and defeat a darkness that's threatening to kill me and all the universes I've created. In depth details and tasks would be given to you through missions. Do this for me, and I'll grant you the revenge and the second chance you seek. Your mother would be waiting for you on the other side, plus there will be a lot of benefits to be had...."

"I'll do it! Let's not waste time do what you have to do, I'm ready and I'll do it!"

Earth was definitely surprised by how quickly he agreed, of course it's not as if Ye Chen had a choice. None of the other dragon kings were given a choice, Earth was just attempting to humor itself by having this conversation. Though to be honest Ye Chen's agreement, took the fun out of everything, even though it was advantageous. But Earth was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, it didn't get many gifts after all, and especially not from bloody humans who had nothing better to do than pollute it's sacred body.

"Very well then, I shall send you on your way. Your second life would be better than your first, I'm sure you've learnt every lesson you need to learn about being a person and making choices from your time on earth. So the heaven defying talent and power you're about to receive would not be abused by you. See you soon King of the water Dragon."

As soon as earth finished speaking, there was a sound of rushing water as Ye Chen seemed to melt into water and faded away into the blankness of this all white space. It was time for his story to properly be told, and to truly belong to no one else but himself.

"I am Ye Chen, and this is my story."