A heavy silence reigned within that isolated domain, broken only by the Tiger's provocative voice whispering in a tone dripping with irony: "Welcome to my domain... The Broken Throne. Rise, Royal Knight. Fight me like a true warrior so I may have the honor of killing you as a man."
Farouk tried to gather his scattered strength. His eyelids felt heavy, but when he managed to open them with difficulty, shock paralyzed his tongue. The domain was a place that embodied ruin; the ground beneath his feet was hard and cracked, a dark gray verging on black, intersected by lines like ancient wounds in the earth's flesh, stretching endlessly beyond a foggy horizon.
Towering circular walls rose around him, resembling the incomplete ruins of ancient fortresses, carved from jagged, piled stones. From the ancient rock, dark stains and the remains of weapons shattered by past battles protruded, embedded in the stone like tombstones. As for the sky, it was low and ominous, shrouded in a thick layer of gray fog that blocked all light, leaving behind only a faint, sourceless glow.
The Tiger moved with arrogant, confident steps. He stopped in the center of the domain, leaned down to pick up Farouk's "Paper Blueprint," then raised it high and said: "Come... fight me! I am the Tiger, the Fourth Rank of the sect of my Great Ruler."
The Tiger smiled suddenly, a malicious grin, and added: "It seems your student has preceded you to the afterlife..."
Farouk froze, a chill running through his marrow: "What are you raving about? Which student are you talking about?"
The Tiger burst into a dry laugh that echoed off the domain's walls: "We know everything... we know you have a student, and that is why we sent a member of our sect to eliminate him. He is now nothing more than a lifeless corpse."
In that moment, rage ignited in Farouk's chest like an erupting volcano. He stood up, sparks flying from his eyes, and gripped his paper blueprint so hard his knuckles turned white. A violent crimson aura emanated from him, and he roared with a voice that shook the foundation of the place: "If my student is harmed... then let your suffering at my hands be just the beginning of your journey in Hell!"
The Tiger feigned fear mockingly, stepping back: "Oh, please! Don't kill me!" Then his features snapped into a deadly seriousness: "Your student is dead, and I will send you after him now!" The Tiger screamed: "Spirit Level Two: Throne Shield!"
A dense orange aura exploded around the Tiger, forming a hard, transparent shield surrounding his body. He shouted defiantly: "Come, Philosopher! Show me what you have, for I have not yet used my Level Three Spirit skills!"
Farouk didn't respond with words. Instead, he transformed his blueprint into a sharp paper spear and let out a shout that shook the gray sky: "Level Three: Echo Domain Aura!"
A white aura emanated from Farouk, with white papers fluttering around him in an orderly fashion. Farouk launched himself forward, shattering the ground beneath his feet, sending shards flying in every direction.
The spear collided with the Tiger's hands with supernatural force, sending the Tiger's hair flying and peppering his face with small flying stones. With a swift motion, the Tiger grabbed Farouk's wrist and tried to throw him away, but Farouk leaped skillfully over him, directing the spear's blade toward the Tiger's face. The Tiger blocked the strike with his hands, but Farouk surprised him with a violent left hook to the nose, forcing the Tiger back as blood dripped from his face.
The Tiger wiped the blood with the back of his hand, laughing insanely: "Entertain me like this!"
The Tiger launched a counter attack, delivering successive punches, which Farouk parried brilliantly with his paper spear. In a sudden moment, Farouk turned his back as if retreating. The Tiger rushed after him, confident of victory, but Farouk planted his foot and twisted his waist in a flash his leg snapping back in a straight rear kick like an arrow, landing directly in the Tiger's stomach.
The Tiger recoiled, groaning, but Farouk gave him no respite; he grabbed the Tiger's head and slammed it down onto his knee with a force that shattered his features, blood splattering onto Farouk's robes.
While Farouk's knee was still pressing against the Tiger's face, the latter murmured in a choked voice: "Good move... Philosopher." Suddenly, with unspeakable brutality, the Tiger sank his teeth and fangs into Farouk's knee, biting down with a force that tore through flesh. Farouk screamed in pain and recoiled.
The Tiger spat a piece of Farouk's flesh and clothing from his mouth and said with a sickening relish: "Your flesh is delicious, Philosopher... anyone else would have been defeated by your last blow, but I do not lose!"
Farouk burned with pain as he saw the deep gash in his knee, screaming: "You animal!"
The Tiger laughed like a madman and lunged with a crushing blow to Farouk's stomach: "I will make you a sacrifice worthy of my Ruler!"
Farouk was launched like a projectile, slamming into the stone walls of the domain and creating a thick cloud of dust. The Tiger emerged from the smoke walking slowly: "How weak you are... they told me you were the strongest in your group, but you're just a decaying old man. Soon, my Ruler will be summoned from the Spirit World to cleanse this land... Watch me, my Ruler, as I slaughter this human for you!"
The Tiger approached Farouk, who was sitting on the ground unable to move. The Tiger sat before him and placed his hand over Farouk's heart: "Before killing you... I will turn you into a magic pill and feed on you."
At that critical moment, the Broken Throne Domain suddenly cracked and collapsed like shattered glass. Shocked, the Tiger turned around to find Soren lunging at him with a blow that sent him flying away from Farouk.
Soren stood, holding his book, and said in a calm tone: "I apologize, Farouk... I was late. I will continue the fight until you regain your strength."
Farouk smiled tiredly before losing consciousness from sheer exhaustion. Soren looked at the Tiger with deep-seated hatred and said: "I have killed your companion... and now I will tear your head from your body and play with it!"
The Tiger rose, brushing the dust from his clothes, his eyes burning with rage: "So you killed my comrade... show me what you have, you insect!"
The Tiger launched himself like a flaming arrow toward Soren, who stood like an immovable dam in front of Farouk's body. Soren didn't give his opponent a chance to breathe; with a swift movement overflowing with power, his hand rose to catch the Tiger's head mid-dash. With raw, brute force, he slammed his hand down, burying the Tiger's head deep into the earth in a strike that shook the ground beneath them.
Soren didn't stop there; he grabbed the Tiger by the scruff of his neck and lifted him from the ground like a doll. Rage burned in Soren's eyes like sparks from hell as he snarled in a choked voice: "Die, you bastard!"
Soren swung his head in a violent headbutt that collided with the Tiger's skull, leaving the latter with a lethal dizziness that robbed him of his balance. While the Tiger's body reeled in the air from the impact, Soren caught him with a crushing kick to the chest, sending him spinning through the air like a cyclone before he slammed into a massive tree trunk with a thunderous impact.
Soren moved with a deadly coldness toward the tree. He stood before the Tiger, who leaned his broken body against the trunk, and looked at him with eyes that knew no mercy. He asked in a low, sharp voice: "Tell me... who the hell are you? And how did you dare defeat a man of Farouk's strength?"
A heavy silence reigned for moments, broken only by the rustle of agitated leaves. Suddenly, a faint laugh escaped the Tiger's bloody lips a laugh that started weak and then rose to a manic scream that shook the forest. The Tiger raised his head, his eyes shining with a strange glint, and began to speak in a voice dripping with malice:
I am the one who was born from the womb of a dead mother"
He paused for a moment, a distorted smile creeping across his face, then continued:
"I am the one destined to exist in this world I am the one life has named a Tiger. I am neither good nor evil. I am what precedes judgment and what follows the end. When names are stripped away and titles fade, only what I truly am remains!"
The words left him with a terrifying majesty; then, The tiger was stopped