The Beginning of the Story
A voice in the void
says:
"I want to be a chef…"
The voice was faint, echoing between nothingness and darkness, like a lost idea yet to be born.
Suddenly… a faint, weak, but real aroma of cooking wafted to his nostrils.
He opened his eyes.
He found himself lying on the cold wooden floor of a dimly lit kitchen. Night had fallen, and the restaurant had been closed for a long time. Before him lay the remains of a smoldering fire, a thin wisp of smoke still rising, while the air around him whispered strangely:
You are not of this world.
He sat up with a start and began to look around. Everything was old, dusty, abandoned… Yet, there was a mysterious aura that hung in the air, as if the kitchen were remembering days gone by.
Suddenly—
Whoosh!
Blue flames erupted in the stove.
A huge blaze rose rapidly, touching the ceiling and filling the room with a terrifying light.
The hero recoiled in terror, his eyes fixed on the flames as they twisted and swirled… until they took on human form. The flames began to transform into a body of light, and a deep voice shook the place, a voice that seemed to emanate from bygone eras:
"Who dares to awaken the flames of the first cooks?
Who dares to challenge the eternal slumber of fire?"
He was frightened, yes… but in his own spontaneous way, he said,
"Aha… what are you saying? Slumber?
I was only trying to get up to find something to eat."
The creature was silent for a moment.
Then a sound like a fiery sigh escaped him, followed by a soft laugh.
"Hmm… hunger has summoned me again.
How ironic."
The hero gathered his courage, stood up straight, and said,
"My name is Haku. I don't know how I got here, but I decided to become a cook… and from this moment on, I will do my best so that everyone can eat easily."
The creature raised its fiery eyebrows, and its light dimmed slightly, as if it were thinking. "Haku… a strange and short name.
But it holds a void within it… that suits you."
Then, in a voice filled with reverence, he said,
"I am Flamester. The first to teach humankind the meaning of table fire… cooking fire,
before they stole it for war."
"So… you're some kind of ancient cook?" Haku asked, surprised.
"I was more than that," Flamester replied solemnly. "I was the meaning that made fire serve hunger instead of consuming it."
Haku smiled. "Good… because hunger was about to devour me.
Could you show me a recipe to save me from death?"
Flamister chuckled softly.
"So you're not looking for the fire of revenge… but the fire of destiny."
He paused for a moment, then said,
"Well, Haku, it seems the hearth has chosen you."
At that moment, a small fiery mark appeared on Haku's hand—a symbol of his connection to Flamester's spirit. Flamester said calmly,
"From this moment on…
I am your flame, and you are my humanity.
Together, we will cook up a new world."
Haku smiled and said,
"Or we'll accidentally burn it first
After Flamester sat down, his blue flame began to burn gently. Realizing that rest was enough, he said in the tone of an experienced scholar,
"The world around you isn't governed by fire alone. Mana is the origin of everything. And it's divided into two roots: light mana and dark mana. Everything has a future of light and darkness… like good and evil."
"Yes," Flamester said. "Light mana gives life, cultivates creativity, and heals wounds. Dark mana gives strength… but it also sows greed and corruption."
Then he added seriously, "But remember… the body cannot bear both light and dark mana together. Two opposing forces that only come together in the moment of annihilation."
"So… it's impossible for someone to combine them?" Haku asked, surprised.
"Many have tried… and all turned to ash," Flamester replied, extinguishing the flame in his hand. Haku smiled slightly. "Don't worry, Nari wants to cook for me, not burn me."
Haku tried to process Flamester's words, but suddenly the silence was broken by the soft sound of the restaurant door slowly opening.
(Flamister merged into Haku's body)
A man wearing a chef's apron entered, carrying a small mana lamp. He looked around in surprise, searching for the source of the sound he had heard.
"Sir… why are you here at this hour?" the man said. "I thought you'd left before the shop closed for good."
Haku froze, not understanding what he meant, then replied hesitantly, "I was just… checking on something."
The man approached cautiously. "I heard noises from inside, and I thought a thief had broken into the restaurant. Then I remembered you hadn't left the kitchen, so I came to tell you."
Haku thought to himself: Sir? Does this body belong to the owner of the restaurant?
He feigned composure and said, "Remind me… what's your name? And what's your position at the restaurant?"
The man looked at him in surprise. "I… I'm the only cook who works with you, sir. My name is Ren."
He chuckled softly, raising an eyebrow. "Did you fall and hit your head on the ground and forget me?"
Haku quickly tried to recover. "That's right… because I fell a little while ago and lost a small part of my memory." (Ren suspected something but didn't show any suspicion.) "Can you remind me who I am? And do I have a family?"
Without pausing, Ren replied respectfully, "Your name is Haku, sir."
Haku raised his head slightly in surprise and thought to himself: The same name… the same name from my previous life. Ren continued, "You're from the Hakura family, the same name as the estate where our village is located. You were born an orphan… Your mother died giving birth to you, and your father followed her in grief a few days later."
"You had one brother, who was sixteen at the time. Now he's thirty-six, and he suffers from an illness that makes him like a living dead man. There's no cure. He contracted it when he was nineteen, and he was gifted with mana, but the cause of his illness remains unknown." Haku fell silent, his expression shifting between astonishment and thought, as Ren handed him the keys.
"And now, sir, you are the current village chief. This is your restaurant."
"Haku's Restaurant. And I'm here to serve you, as always."
"You told me we were going to close the restaurant completely," Haku said.
"Yes?" Ren replied. "Who said that?" Haku said firmly. "I want you to come in tomorrow at the same time and start work."
"Yes, sir!" replied Ren, surprised and excited.
Haku took the keys and looked at the logo engraved on them: Haku's Restaurant.
A smile spread across his face, and inside he heard Flamester whisper, "This world seems to love coincidences."
"Or… maybe it creates them," Haku thought to himself.