Shiori Inoue's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Shiori climbed the last ridge alone, her pack light and her hands steady. She had come to wake the guardian her ancestors had buried inside the mountain. The villages below were emptying in silence, and silence was the only warning she needed. She passed the weathered pillar her ancestors had set as a warning. Moss filled its carved symbols. Shiori did not slow. The math was simple: stay away, and more villages would empty. The shrine waited in the hollow above. Its wooden roof had caved inward. Cracked stone walls framed a tall arch of glowing blue runes. The seal was already broken, and the break came from inside. Shiori stepped through the splintered doorway. A crystal stone pulsed on the floor, soft moss clinging to its sides. Above it crouched a white tiger with iridescent stripes and folded, feathered wings. Its yellow eyes opened and fixed on her. The guardian was awake. Someone, or something, had freed it before her. Shiori lowered her hand toward the crystal and met the tiger's stare. Her plan to aim a sleeping weapon was gone. Now she had to bargain with one already loose.