Nearly three hundred miles north of Alchemania, in a frozen forest, the air seemed cold enough to blast the lungs.
Pam.
A loud sound like a giant's bone snapping echoed through the snow-laden silence. In a small clearing, the air itself shimmered.
Tiny motes of light, some dark as void, others glowing bloody red, spiraled out of nowhere and swirled with a condensed stance.
In the blink of an eye, they snapped together in a silent shunk.
From it, a naked human form materialized and hovered six inches above the thick ice that covered the forest floor.
The skin glowed faintly with residual energy, eyes screwed shut, and muscles corded, tensed as its feet lowered, making contact.
Crack.
The ice splintered in a jagged web from the point of contact. The figure stood tall and powerfully built, steam rising from its skin in the chilled air.
Tiger Kang opened his eyes, which blazed with an electric blue light, mirroring the freezing sky above.
