From the Underworld
Deep beneath the mortal world, far below the bones of forgotten cities and the roots of sacred trees, the Underworld stirred.
In the Ninth Circle, where the light of Heaven had never reached, and screams echoed without end, something old was waking.
The walls of the Black Citadel bled fire.
Chains rattled from invisible ceilings.
And in the center of it all, seated upon a throne made of the crushed skulls of fallen archons, was Rakuzen.
The Demon King.
Once a general of the Celestial Court…now a god of ruin, exiled and twisted beyond recognition.
He sat with his eyes closed.
But his mind saw everything.
"The Tiger tail awakens," he whispered.
His voice slithered like smoke over obsidian floors.
Demons knelt in a circle around him, malformed and trembling.
"He's moving faster than expected," murmured one…a shadow-walker with seven mouths and no face.
"He fights like one of us," growled another, her claws clicking against her fangs.
Rakuzen opened his eyes.
Amber fire.
"They're gathering the Guardians. The vessel is unlocking them. And yet…" He paused, lips curling into a cracked smile. "He bleeds. He screams. He struggles."
A long breath.
"He is not a god yet."
He stood slowly, the floor beneath him cracking from the weight of his power.
"Send the Drainers," he ordered. "Let them follow the scent of his second tail. Let them taste his fear."
"And if they fail?" the shadow-walker asked.
Rakuzen turned toward the great mirror of soulflame behind him. Within it, Xin Ren's face flickered…young, bruised, defiant.
"If they fail…" He smiled wider.
"I will come myself."
And somewhere, far above, beneath the moonlit trees of a forgotten grove…
Xin Ren shivered.
And didn't know why.
The air was sharp with tension when Xin Ren woke again.
This time, it wasn't from pain…but instinct.
He sat up too fast. Sweat trickled down his neck. The fire in his gut had dulled, but the hum of the second tail lingered, like something pacing in a cage beneath his ribs.
Baixue stood at the edge of the grove, adjusting her long robes, her fingers weaving cold-light threads into a sealed scroll. Zhenlong was already armed, his robes stripped down to their war form…simple, practical, and fast.
Xin glanced between them. "We're moving?"
Zhenlong nodded. "The second tail flared too loudly. We can't linger."
"Where are we going?"
"To the frozen borders," Baixue said. "Where the Tiger was once bound."
Xin swallowed. He could feel the ache in his chest spreading into something else..unease.
"And… what do I do?"
"You learn to fight like a tiger," Zhenlong said. "Not like a man."
Their path took them along a narrow cliffside, the trees thinning into frozen spines of ice-coated stone. The air grew colder the further north they traveled. Not the kind of cold that stung..but the kind that reminded bones what fear was.
They stopped only once. Zhenlong drew a blade from thin air and marked the rock beside them with a glowing sigil..one that would explode if touched by demonic energy.
Baixue turned to Xin. "From here on out, you'll need to stop thinking."
"What?"
She gave him a rare smile. "Tigers don't think. They react. They move. They kill."
And then, without another word, she threw him off the cliff.
Xin screamed.
Not in fear…but rage.
The tiger inside him lunged.
He landed hard in snow.
And when he rolled to his feet, breath steaming, he was not alone.
Someone stood at the far edge of the ravine, bare-chested in the freezing wind, tattoos glowing like heated steel.
Amber eyes met his.
The Tiger Guardian smiled.
"Took you long enough to wake up, cub."
"Strip," Langya said, his voice low and feral.
Xin Ren blinked. "What?"
Langya raised an eyebrow. "You think clothes will protect you where we're going?"
Without waiting for an answer, Langya turned and walked deeper into the snowy ravine. His back rippled with muscle beneath intricate tattoos…stripes that pulsed with heat even in the dead frost.
Xin hesitated, then shrugged out of his outer robes. The wind bit instantly, sharp as knives. But he followed.
"Why here?" Xin asked.
Langya laughed. "Because this is where I died."
Xin stumbled slightly. "Wait…what?"
The Tiger Guardian turned, grinning. "You didn't think gods were born, did you? We were forged. I was forged right here. In pain. In cold. In war."
He crouched low, picking up a fistful of snow and letting it melt between his fingers.
"The tiger doesn't hide. The tiger doesn't wait. It attacks."
Then he lunged.
Xin barely had time to brace before Langya's fist slammed into his gut.
He flew backward, slammed into a boulder, and gasped as the air left his lungs.
"Lesson one," Langya said, stalking forward. "There's no such thing as mercy in the wild."
Xin coughed, staggering upright. "You're insane."
Langya grinned wider. "Good. That means you're learning."
For hours, the fight went on.
No breaks. No explanations.
Just motion. Reaction. Instinct.
Langya fought barehanded. Xin used everything…stones, snow, fists, elbows.
And still, he lost.
Over. And over.
But each time he fell, he got up faster.
And the tiger within him watched.
Learning.
Coiling.
Waiting for its moment to strike.
Xin Ren was on his knees again.
His breath came in ragged gasps, chest heaving against the frozen wind. Blood dripped from his nose. His fingers were raw. His back stung from where Langya had driven him into the stone for the fifth time.
But this time… he didn't fall.
Langya paced in a slow circle, barefoot in the snow like a beast in his territory. "You're improving, cub."
Xin spat blood. "You… beat the shit out of me…"
Langya grinned. "You're still conscious. That counts."
He crouched in front of him, eyes narrowing. "But now comes the real test."
Xin's head lifted slowly. "What?"
Langya's hand shot out and slammed into Xin's chest.
But this time, Xin didn't flinch.
The strike connected…and for a moment, Langya's expression shifted.
Not surprise.
But recognition.
Amber flared in Xin's eyes. A growl built low in his throat. His hands curled into fists. His back arched slightly.
The second tail snapped into view behind him..gold and black, wild and blazing.
Langya stood slowly.
And smiled like a proud devil.
"There it is."
Xin stood..barely. "I'm not done."
Langya stepped back, holding out his arms. "Then come take me down."
Xin didn't hesitate.
He moved…not like a man…but like something ancient and hungry. His limbs were fluid. His attacks came sharp, unpredictable, and fast. He drove Langya back for the first time.
Fist met fist. Elbow to jaw. Blood sprayed.
And then Xin spun low, hooked his leg behind Langya's ankle…and brought him crashing down.
The snow erupted.
Silence followed.
Xin stood over the Tiger Guardian, chest heaving.
Langya lay in the snow, laughing.
"Good," he said, sitting up slowly. "Now you're starting to earn that tail."
Xin fell to his knees beside him, the tail slowly fading back into his spine.
He grinned through broken lips.
"I'm just getting started."
The snow fell in heavy sheets, muting the world into a pale, endless silence.
Xin Ren sat cross-legged atop the highest stone of the ravine, bare-chested, the cold biting at his skin. He didn't flinch. He didn't shiver.
He breathed.
Deep. Slow. Focused.
Below him, Langya watched, arms folded, a smirk tugging at his scarred lips.
"Look at you, cub. Almost a real beast now."
Xin's eyes opened slowly, golden light flickering in his pupils.
"I'm not done," he said, voice steady despite the blood still drying on his face.
"Good." Langya's grin widened. "Because neither is the world."
Baixue and Zhenlong appeared at the mouth of the ravine.
Their faces were grim.
"They're coming," Baixue said.
Xin rose to his feet. "Who?"
"Drainers," Zhenlong answered. "Rakuzen's hounds. They'll find us by scent. By the blood on your second tail."
Xin tightened his fists.
"How long?"
Baixue glanced at the sky. "A day. Maybe less."
Langya clapped a hand on Xin's shoulder, nearly knocking him over.
"Time to see if you're really a tiger… or just a cub pretending to roar."
Xin tilted his head back, breathing in the frozen air.
His blood burned. His muscles coiled.
The second tail flickered to life behind him, wild and savage.
"Let them come," he said.
Langya laughed, teeth flashing like a predator.
"That's the spirit, boy."
Far beyond the cliffs, through forests and broken valleys, the first Drainers crawled from the cracks in the world…hollow-eyed things stitched from hunger and hate.
And they were hunting for Xin Ren.