The voice was not a sound. It was a certainty, planted directly in his mind. A foreign thought that carried the weight of a mountain. Li Jin felt a cold sweat bead on his forehead. The wooden disc in his hands felt like the only real thing in this nightmare hall.
The reflection in the black jade floor stretched. It rose to its feet, even as Li Jin remained seated. The creature of shadow and green light moved with a fluid grace, a predator pacing its cage. It was not a mere mirror. It had a will of its own.
You are afraid, the Tiger thought, and Li Jin felt his own fear intensify, as if the creature were feeding on it. You are right to be. They locked you in here to die.
Li Jin gritted his teeth. He forced his breath to be slow, even. He focused on the feel of the wood in his palms. I must not answer. I must not engage. I must only watch.
The Tiger tilted its illusory head, seemingly amused. You think silence will save you? I am you, Li Jin. Every beat of your heart is my drum. Every breath you draw is my own.
The reflection leaned forward, its spectral face looming closer, until it filled Li Jin's vision. They despise you. The old man sent you here because he knows you will fail, like all the others before you. That boy, Xiao Lie, wants you dead. Your only friend, Wang An… even he fears you now.
Each word was a dagger's thrust. The Tiger wasn't lying. It was taking Li Jin's deepest fears and reflecting them back at him, polished and sharp. Li Jin felt anger and resentment rise within him. A part of him wanted to scream that it was wrong, to defend himself.
He held back. He just watched. He observed the hatred in the green eyes of his reflection. He observed the cruelty of its smile. He forced himself to see the creature not as a part of him, but as a separate entity. A thing he could observe without becoming.
The Tiger sensed his resistance. Its amusement curdled into irritation. Weak. You seek the approval of those who cage you. I offer you freedom. Power. Together, we could bring this mountain to its knees. We could show them what true strength is.
The reflection showed Li Jin images, fleeting visions projected into his mind. Xiao Lie, on his knees, begging for mercy. The school's masters, bowing to his power. The Grand Master himself, admitting his mistake. It was a sweet poison, an intoxicating promise to one who had known only failure and humiliation.
Li Jin wavered. The desire for revenge, the need to be respected… it was a burning thirst. The wooden disc in his hands felt less warm.
He remembered Wang An's face. The fear in his friend's eyes. That wasn't respect. It was terror. This wasn't freedom the Tiger offered. It was another prison, one made of rage and loneliness.
No, he thought, not to the creature, but to himself. A simple, internal affirmation.
The Tiger roared. A silent scream that vibrated through the chamber. The reflection threw itself against the surface of the mirror, its shadow-claws scraping against the invisible barrier that separated them. You deny me? You reject me? Fool! I am your only chance of survival! Without me, you are nothing!
The mark on Li Jin's chest became a furnace. A sharp, piercing pain lanced through him. The Tiger was no longer attacking his mind with words, but his body with pure suffering. It was agony. Every muscle in his body seized.
He collapsed onto his side, dropping the wooden disc, which rolled a short distance away. His concentration was shattered. The pain was all that existed. The reflection loomed over him, triumphant.
You see? You cannot resist me. Give in. Let me take control. I will end the pain.
Li Jin lay on the cold floor, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Surrender was so tempting. Just to close his eyes, let his consciousness fade and the beast take over. No more fear. No more doubt. Just the purity of instinct.
Then, through the haze of pain, he saw something. The wooden disc. It had rolled to a stop right beside his reflection. In the mirror, the Tiger's clawed hand was inches from the disc. But it could not touch it. The creature seemed to actively recoil from its presence.
A thought cut through the pain. The disc. The Heartwood. The Grand Master said it would keep me anchored. Anchored to what? To his humanity.
With an effort that cost him every last shred of his will, Li Jin began to crawl. Each movement was torture. He reached for the wooden disc. The Tiger in the mirror shrieked with rage, understanding his intent. It intensified the pain, trying to paralyze him.
Li Jin's fingers brushed against the wood.
A gentle, pure warmth spread into his hand, then up his arm. It wasn't an explosive force like the Tiger's. It was a calm, steady energy. The energy of patience, of growth. The pain did not vanish, but it was pushed back, contained by this benevolent heat.
He managed to grasp the disc. He clutched it to his chest, right over the burning mark. The warmth of the wood and the fire of the Tiger met. It was not an explosion. It was a neutralization. The fire lost its intensity, fading to a bearable heat.
Li Jin slowly pushed himself upright. His breath was still ragged, but his mind was clear. He looked into the mirror again. The Tiger was no longer triumphant. It stared at him with pure hatred, but also with a flicker of… respect?
You are more resilient than the others, the creature thought, its voice less imperious. But this battle is not over. It has only just begun.
The reflection retreated. It did not disappear, but melted back into the darkness of the jade floor, leaving only Li Jin's normal reflection. A boy, exhausted and sweat-drenched, but alive. And whole.
He sat for an unknowable length of time, the wooden disc pressed to his heart. He had not defeated the Tiger. He had merely survived the first encounter. He had learned a crucial lesson. The Tiger's strength came from his negative emotions: fear, anger, desire. His own strength came from somewhere else. From this small piece of wood. From stillness. From endurance.
He didn't know how much time had passed when the stone door pivoted open again. The light from the hallway was blinding. Master Chen stood in the threshold, his face etched with anxiety.
"Li Jin?"
Li Jin rose, his legs numb. He felt as if he had aged ten years. He walked out of the chamber. As he crossed the threshold, he glanced back. In the black jade mirror, he saw only his own reflection. But he knew. The beast was still there. Waiting.
He said nothing. He followed Master Chen up the stairs. When they reached the upper levels, he found that night had fallen. A single night. His battle had lasted a full day.
The Grand Master was waiting. He looked Li Jin up and down. He did not ask what had happened. He seemed to know already.
"You survived," he stated. It was not a compliment. It was a fact. "The first lesson is learned. But the Tiger is patient. It will learn from its failure. It will find new cracks in your armor."
He gestured. "Your training begins now. Not the training of a disciple, but of a warden. The warden of your own cage."
He led Li Jin not to his hut, but to the school's private library, a place where only masters were permitted. He pointed to a dusty stack of scrolls in a corner.
"These are the writings of the others. Those who bore the Mark before you. Their journals. Their confessions. Their last words. You will read them all. You will learn how they failed. You will learn to recognize the traps they fell into."
It was a grim task. To study madness and death in order to learn how to live.
"And you will continue to meditate," the Grand Master added. "But not to empty your mind. You will meditate to find your center. That point of stillness the wood showed you. The Tiger is a storm. You must become the rock the storm cannot move."
Li Jin bowed, accepting his new burden. It was no longer about passing a trial or becoming a great warrior. His goal was now far simpler, and infinitely more difficult.
To survive himself. One day at a time.