Only a moment ago, he was somewhere else, a world far from this mysterious place. Now, he found himself situated in what appeared to be an infinite plane of ethereal divinity. A place where it felt like the Universe flowed inside him, and around him, and binded everything together, a place of connection. He looked down at his feet, seeing ripples of water spand out with every step he took. Celestial lights danced across the reflecting waters, lined with blossom lilly pads, mirroring the colors of the Heavens above. Blue. Green. They danced gracefully across the sky, mimicking that of a flame going up and down.

Millions of stars dotted the sky, almost as if someone had poked the heavens themselves. It was a place of pure primordial divinity. He clasped the relic in the palm of his hand, feeling its energy radiate through his entire body. The images still flashed through his mind… of another world, far from this place. And even more far from his home. This place was like a middle world, a world between worlds. A Nexus. But it felt familiar. Pondering this thought, a sudden flash of gold illuminated the plane, making the boy stagger back and fall. Cherry blossoms began to materialize suddenly, and started to surround this gold flash in the form of a sphere.

The boy watched with total amazement, frozen in place. The sphere became brighter and brighter, with the celestial lights above glowing and growing in intensity. With a quick flash, the sphere exploded, blinding the boy momentarily. When his blindness subsided, the sky and plane itself was now a bright gold. A tiny island had materialized from the blast, with an elegant Cherry Blossom tree in the center of this island. Beneath the Cherry Blossom tree, an entity appeared before it. He was clad with a green cloak surrounding the front of his torso, and his back, which depicted a ying-yang symbol. Within his hand, the aged, but wise tortoise, grasped a wooden staff, staring directly at the youngster, smiling. The boy rose from the water, his eyes now darting around the tortoise.

''W-where am I? I-I was just on a hill in China, and now I'm here! a-am I-''

The Tortoise held up his hand, or claw, for that matter, signaling that he would answer his questions. The tortoise dipped his staff into the water, and appeared to almost be walking on water.

''I see you are confused, lost, and frightened young one.''

The boy nodded slowly, looking curiously at the tortoise.

''Fear not, for you are not lost, but you have been found.''

The boy did not understand the elder tortoise's cryptic words.

''What do you mean I've been found? I do not understand.. Where am I?''

''You have a connection to this place, my friend. You are here for a reason, even if that reason eludes your understanding, including mine.''

The boy finally found the wits to speak to the tortoise ''Who… are you, exactly?''

The tortoise grinned a toothy smile. ''I am Oogway.''

The boy, feeling a bit more open now, decided to introduce himself as well.

''I'm uh, Eric. Eric Gallagher.'' he said with an awkward tone.

A/N

A BIG thank you to The Dragon Chronicles for helping me with the ideas for this story, and the overall feedback on the plot itself. Check out his story if you get the chance!

As cliche as it may be, yes, this is a story about a human in Kung Fu Panda. I've always been fascinated with the idea of Humans in the KFPU, and recently decided to take a gamble at writing. (UPDATE: Guess I should be a bit more specific for newcomers. Human in a KFP world, but as an Animal. Don't worry, it's only temporary, as this is gonna be filled with a LOT of Chinese Folklore and Supernatural stuff alike)This is my first ever story on this site, as well as my first story in general, so I hope you enjoy it. However, I do appreciate constructive criticism/feedback, so don't hesitate to shoot me a PM.

-Oogway enters the Nexus after ascending, so the whole plot takes place in-between the middle of KFP1.

-Don't expect a whole lot of interactions between the Five and Eric till after their battle with Tai-Lung. Eric is probably gonna be watching this all go down, or have a brief interaction in one way or another?.. (;

-I will try to get a Chapter or two out weekly, but will most likely be sticking to a chapter per week. This is gonna go on for a long while, so strap in for the ride!