Prologue / Chapter 1 — "The Roar of the White Tiger"
The sun had barely risen over the city of Greyhaven, yet the streets already reeked of smoke, sweat, and poverty.
Children ran barefoot across broken cobblestones. Merchants shouted over each other. And in the alleyways, the desperate clawed for scraps.
In the midst of it all, a boy sat hunched over a tattered wooden table, carefully mixing herbs in a cracked mortar. His hands moved with unusual precision, even for someone so young, grinding the green leaves into powder with a rhythmic motion that betrayed years of practice he couldn't possibly have had.
Mikael Grey, barely fifteen, did not notice the world around him. The smells of decay, the shouts of vendors, the scuffles of street urchins—all faded into nothing.
He only felt the pulse in his chest: slow, steady… but deep, like a caged beast stirring in the shadows.
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1. The Bandits
A sudden crash of wood and the laughter of cruel men broke the morning stillness.
Three burly bandits stumbled into the alley, dragging a girl by the arm. Her screams pierced the morning air.
"Hey, leave her!" Mikael shouted, jumping to his feet.
The bandits laughed. "And who are you? The little herb boy thinks he can fight us?"
Mikael's hands clenched into fists, but before he could move, his heart began to thump unnaturally fast. His chest ached… then a deep, guttural roar echoed in his mind.
It wasn't his voice.
It was… something else.
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2. Awakening the Tiger
The roar repeated, louder, closer. It shook the walls of the alley and rattled the cobblestones. A white blur flashed behind Mikael.
A phantom tiger, fur shimmering like starlight, crouched behind him, eyes glowing with primal fire. Its presence radiated authority, strength, and terror all at once.
The bandits froze, their bravado faltering. Even the air seemed to tremble.
Mikael felt a surge of power flowing through his veins. His muscles strengthened. His mind cleared. His hands, once soft and human, now burned with an energy he could barely comprehend.
Without thinking, he leaped forward.
The first bandit swung his club, but Mikael's fist collided with it mid-swing. Wood splintered. The man screamed as Mikael's body moved faster than the eye could follow.
Two strikes, three, then a spinning kick sent him flying into the wall.
The other two bandits panicked. One tried to run, but the phantom tiger swiped its spectral paw—the boy didn't even move—and the man crashed to the ground, unconscious.
The last bandit fell to his knees, trembling. "P-please… I didn't mean—"
Mikael's eyes burned with an unnatural intensity. "Leave… now."
The bandit scrambled away without looking back.
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3. First Memory Stirring
The phantom tiger crouched behind Mikael, its glowing eyes locked onto him. It spoke in a voice that only he could hear:
"Awaken… the world needs its general once more."
Mikael staggered back, heart hammering. His chest still burned with the echo of the roar. He had never felt power like this… never.
He sank to his knees, hands on his chest. Flashes of light danced behind his eyelids:
A battlefield.
A sword cutting through storms.
Roaring beasts, burning skies, and… betrayal.
He blinked. And everything vanished.
The phantom tiger remained, watching patiently.
Mikael whispered, "What… what is happening to me?"
The tiger's roar echoed again, softer this time, almost a purr:
"Your name is Mikael Grey. And your destiny… is greater than you know."
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4. The Girl
Mikael turned to the girl he had saved. She was small, trembling, clutching a torn cloak.
"Are… are you okay?" he asked, his voice steady now, though inside, his heart still raced.
She nodded shakily. "Th-thank you… I don't know what came over those men."
Mikael looked around. The alley was quiet again. No one dared to approach. Not even the vendors.
Something inside him stirred—a strange sense of purpose, of destiny. He didn't yet know why, but a single truth burned brighter than the fear and confusion:
He was different.
And whatever this power was… it was only the beginning.
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5. The Beginning of a Legend
As Mikael Grey walked away with the girl, the phantom tiger faded into his shadow.
But the world had already changed.
The White Tiger Pulse had awakened.
The boy who would become the Great Tiger General had taken his first step on the path to immortality, power, and vengeance.
Somewhere, unseen, forces stirred:
Allies, enemies, and gods who had once thought him defeated now watched.
The game had begun.
And Mikael Grey—once mortal, now something more—would roar again.