WHITE TIGER'S POV
After realizing I could talk, the boy calmed down very quickly. By now, he was talking to me freely, his initial shock giving way to a surprising pragmatism.
There is something special about this boy, but I can't quite put my finger on it, I mused, observing him keenly. He radiated an unusual blend of ancient wisdom and youthful naivety.
My gaze flickered to the woman behind him, whom he was so fiercely protecting. "So, who is the woman behind you?" I asked, my voice rumbling.
"She's the mother of my friend," he replied, without hesitation.
"You are willing to risk your life to protect her. Why?" I pressed, my curiosity piqued. I couldn't help but question his reasons for putting his life on the line for what appeared to be a mere acquaintance's parent. It was an unusual display of selflessness in humans.
"I made a promise to save her life, and I am not breaking my promise," he stated, his young voice ringing with an unwavering conviction that impressed me.
"I see," I replied, a deeper assessment of his character forming in my mind. "Then you can take it easy, boy; she is all right. By my estimate, she will wake up in a few hours." I could clearly feel the steadying condition of her internal energy.
Of course, he can do medical diagnosis too! Who is this dude(?)? Ryan's inner thoughts, a turbulent stream of questions, were almost amusingly loud in his aura.
"You can tell that!?" he asked me, his surprise evident.
"Yes, who do you think I am!?" I retorted, a growl of amusement deep in my chest that probably sounded like a roar to him. Of course, I could tell that; I can clearly feel the condition of her body, the subtle ebb and flow of her life force. Though I did let out a burst of sound at him for questioning my abilities.
"Are you The White Tiger in the myths?" he asked in response to my question, his eyes wide with a dawning realization.
I looked down at myself, at my powerful, pristine white fur, and instantly realized how he had reached that conclusion. "Hmmm, you are not wrong," I rumbled, a faint smile on my massive maw. "Though that was my father."
"So you are from a family of White Tigers!?" he exclaimed, his voice tinged with wonder.
"No, I am from a family of Tigers," I corrected, a subtle shift in my internal chi causing my fur to ripple. "The color of our fur is something we can change." As if to prove my point, I flowed through the spectrum, my fur briefly turning a vibrant yellow, then a rich brown, and then settling back into its pure, snowy white.
"So why is your father the White Tiger?" he asked, still fixated on the detail.
"Well, the myth was written by people who saw him," I told him, explaining the mundane truth behind the grand legend. "And as he was often in the snowy mountains, his fur was white, to blend in, to move unseen."
"Now, enough about me," I interrupted, cutting him off before he could delve into more tangential inquiries. We were getting off-topic. I hadn't stopped him simply to discuss past stories or my lineage.
"Boy, what is your relation with the dragon leeches?" I finally asked, getting to the heart of my concern.
"The dragon who!?" He asked with a confused face, clearly not understanding the term.
"The guys from that little city hidden in a subspace," I clarified, gesturing subtly towards the north with my face. His eyes widened instantly as he realized.
"Ah, K'un-Lun, my mother is from there." He replied, a flicker of understanding in his gaze.
I see, that somewhat explains his methods, I thought, the pieces beginning to fall into place. His peculiar energy signature and healing abilities, the way he harnessed chi – it all made sense now.
"Do you want to be a dragon leech?" I probed further, hoping to gauge his aspirations.
"The Dragon what!?" he exclaimed again, his confusion returning, tinged with a hint of offense.
Is he stupid or what? I wondered, my patience, ancient though it was, beginning to fray slightly. Seeing that he didn't grasp the meaning, I explained myself more plainly.
"The guy who uses the dragon's power," I clarified, with a slight huff.
"The 'Iron Fist,' you mean? No," he responded, his answer firm.
That's right, that was the name those dragon leeches gave themselves, I remembered, the human tendency for grand, self-assigned titles.
"Then why are you following their methods of power control?" I finally asked the main question that had been gnawing at me. His energy manipulation, while rudimentary, showed clear signs of the same flawed techniques.
"What do you mean?" He asked, genuinely confused, his brow furrowed.
"Why are you building energy paths in your body?" I elaborated, cutting straight to the core of his misconception.
"Because that is how we progress, by opening meridians," he answered without hesitation, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Opening meridians, he said. What nonsense!? My inner groan was almost audible. Looks like he doesn't know anything!! This child, despite his unusual power, was profoundly ignorant of its true nature.
"What a foolish child!" I blurted out, a hint of exasperation in my tone.
"Am I wrong?" He asked, not understanding his mistake, his youthful earnestness almost endearing.
"Then tell me, do you know your elemental affinity?" I asked, changing my approach, deciding to lead him step by step to the realization of his flawed understanding.
"My affinity is Lightning," he replied promptly, surprising me with the specific knowledge.
"Then do you know the affinity of the people in that city?" I asked further, pushing him to extrapolate.
"It's Fire," he answered.
At least he is not completely hopeless, I conceded inwardly. He possessed some fundamental truths, even if his understanding of them was severely lacking.
"Do you know why?" I pressed, hoping he'd connect the dots.
"No. I mean I just accepted that as normal, I never questioned it," he admitted, his ignorance now fully exposed. And at that moment, I finally knew the true depth of his knowledge—or lack thereof.
"Because the prolonged exposure to a dragon's energy shifted the nature of their power," I gave him the answer, laying out a core principle of chi manipulation.
"What does it have to do with opening the meridians?" he asked, still missing the critical link.
And with that, I finally told him his fundamental mistake. "Then tell me, how are you opening something that doesn't exist?"