"What's with the clouds? It's not just the clouds! Look at the sky—it no longer holds its usual blues!" a young boy shouted.
Far off in a deserted wasteland, where the winds had long ceased to blow, the air was now alive with furious gales spiraling toward the heavens. Meanwhile, across the distant oceans—
"Grampa, this makes no sense!" a teenage girl cried out, clutching the ship's railing.
"The waves… they're crashing from opposite directions! Our boat won't survive a collision like this! Abandon ship!"
Across the lands, unnatural disasters erupted, shaking the very foundation of the physical realm.
---
In a land surrounded by clouds, the atmosphere crackled with tension.
"Roooaaaar! Ahahaha! Open your domain, you damn three-eyed cat!"
A colossal serpent soared through the sky, its form vast and overwhelming, stretching endlessly across the horizon. If a human were present, they would be left in sheer awe of its magnitude.
"You know, saying that after tearing through my barriers has never made sense to me, you damn lizard," a growling voice responded.
On the peak of a mountain covered in bamboo, golden-white eyes—three to be precise—glowed with annoyance. The feline figure shifted slightly, its fur gleaming under the celestial light.
"Also, would you shrink when coming here? You just tore through my clouds," the cat growled, irritation lacing every word.
Sensing that the feline was truly angered this time, the serpent's massive form began to fade.
"I might have gone overboard this time," the serpent admitted.
A tall man with horns materialized, his arms covered in glistening scales, purple flames dancing around him.
"Considering you're always welcome in my domain, I wish you'd just teleport in—but no, you just have to make sure every being near my territory knows of your arrival," the feline grumbled.
A massive white tiger, adorned with golden stripes, lay lazily on a boulder larger than most mountains ever seen by man. It exhaled deeply before speaking.
"Enough of your damn lectures, Torra. Has that brat you've been tormenting in his dreams finally stopped waking up in terror? You're out of time. Honestly, I don't know why you don't just tell him directly like I did with my chosen."
The scaled man scoffed. "Trying to be mysterious, are we? He is ready, Raizen. Though it seems these two clans we favor won't be able to rise alongside these youngsters. But soon enough, they will be legendary based on the merits of these brats alone. Once again, the tale of the Dragon and the Tiger crushing all beneath their feet will reign. I look forward to them making it here."
Torra closed his eyes, his expression unreadable.
"Hmm. It seems that brat is already in combat," Raizen murmured, gazing into the clouds. "It is time for their journeys to begin. Let's take one final look at them before returning to slumber."
---
On the peaks of a rocky terrain, broken trees littered the ground, blood splattered across the soil. Two figures stood in fierce combat.
A bear the size of a house loomed upright, its body marred with jagged slashes, flames crackling along its razor-sharp claws. Opposing it stood a young teenager, his partially scaled shoulders and thick biceps exposed beneath a sleeveless open shirt. His well-defined abs gleamed with sweat and blood, while two long streaks of lightning-like tattoos ran from beneath his eyes, down his torso, and over his scales.
His rough features and intense black hair—its shoulder-length tips glowing purple—added to his fierce presence. He stared down the enraged beast, his serpent-like pupils narrowing, irises glowing ominously.
"A standoff with a Flame Bear over a fishing spot wasn't exactly on my agenda today," he mused. "But now that I think about it… you're probably tastier than some tiger fish."
The young man tightened his grip around his weapons—chains crackling with lightning, attached to sickles curved like dragon talons. The bear roared, remembering the wounds inflicted by those very weapons. Its fury ignited as it charged forward on all fours, summoning its strongest swipe, fully intent on ripping the tiny human in half.
"Hmph. A contest of blades again? Only this time, you're going all in, huh?" The young man smirked, his body beginning to glow with a fierce purple aura.
In a blink, he vanished from the bear's sight.
A moment later, he reappeared several feet behind it, his body covered in blood. The bear's upper half had been completely vaporized, leaving behind only its legs and spilled intestines.
"Crap. I overdid it," he muttered, flexing his fingers. "That damn bear really managed to stir my battle lust."
He sighed before glancing toward the river. "Hope the clan likes bear legs with tiger fish."
With that, he turned and walked away, leaving behind the remnants of his fallen foe.