The chamber pulsed with ancient magic, lit by a thousand starlit runes carved into obsidian stone. Ri Shin stood at the center of the ritual circle, his breath calm, but his heart pounding like a war drum. The sigils beneath his feet shimmered with white-blue energy, flickering like lightning trapped in sacred glass.
Heart's voice had long faded. This was no longer about systems or choices—it was about fate. Bloodline. Legacy.
And now… truth.
A gale surged outward as the circle activated. Not outwardly destructive, but inward—reaching deep into Shin's soul. Then, the world turned black.
No, not black.
Stars.
He stood within a vast constellation-lit plane, space shifting like water and time weaving like silk. In the center, crouched low, was a massive form: a white tiger the size of a mountain, its eyes glowing with ageless fury. The Byakko. Its tail lashed, claws dug into the ground as if restraining something deeper. It stared into Shin's soul with eyes like stormlit judgment.
But before it leapt, before it roared, a shimmer of light changed the beast.
Its body collapsed into shape, morphing into something human. Smaller. Familiar.
"Piao…"
Shin's voice cracked like ice over fire. The figure was lean, young, but proud. Eyes kind. His childhood friend. His brother.
"Do you still blame yourself, Shin?" Piao asked softly, his voice more ghost than man. "For my death?"
Shin swallowed, his throat tightening. A breath passed before he answered.
"No. Not anymore," Shin said, a rare softness in his voice. "You did it so I could chase our dream… and I've carried it every day since. Thank you."
Piao smiled—warm, genuine. "Then keep going."
His form faded like smoke in the wind, replaced by a towering silhouette clad in ornate armor and a lion's mane of hair.
Ouki.
The General's grin was as wide and smug as ever, the same playful arrogance in his voice.
"How've you been, kid?"
Shin chuckled, head bowed. "Trying not to die."
Ouki laughed—a rich, deep sound that echoed across the starfield. "You've made us proud. Me. Piao. The others. We've all been watching. But do me one favor."
"What is it?" Shin asked.
"Marry Kyou Kai," Ouki said with a wink. "Don't make the same mistake I did."
A pause. Then:
"…I will. Thank you, Ouki. I hoped I made you proud."
Ouki vanished in the wind and starlight. In his place came a darker figure.
Kanki.
The air around him bent with coiled danger. Cloak dragging. Eyes hooded.
"Do you regret not following my path, kid?" he asked, voice low, unreadable. "You know people like us… the ones tossed away by the world… we're not the kind that change it."
Shin stared at him, unflinching.
"I'll never be like you, Kanki."
The older man raised an eyebrow, a smirk dancing at the edge of his face.
"But I will prove that people like us—forgotten, discarded—can still make a difference."
A slow chuckle. "Heh. Let's see it, then."
Then… he was gone.
The space grew brighter. The stars pulsed. And then… a final figure.
Black hair. Lean muscle. The same smirk. The same intensity.
But taller. Stronger. A mirror of who Shin could become.
"Shin…"
"…My lord," Ri Shin said, eyes wide. "My first great general."
Shin—the Shin he followed, the Shin he believed in—placed a hand on Ri Shin's shoulder. His eyes glowed not with fire, but the weight of dreams fulfilled.
"Take the next step."
He leaned in.
"Claim your power."
A roar tore through the dream.
The tiger returned.
Byakko's fangs gleamed like blades of moonlight, its body coiling in a spiraling strike. The great beast lunged—and devoured Ri Shin whole.
But there was no pain.
No darkness.
Only power.
It surged through his body like a lightning storm, like his bones were reforged from starsteel and storms. The roar returned, but this time… it was his.
And then—a new voice. Ancient. Proud. Wild.
"You have my power again, my boy. Let them hear the tiger's roar. Let them remember the strength of the legendary Byakko."
Ri Shin opened his eyes.
The chamber was cracked, pulsing with light. His body hovered slightly above the floor, arcs of white-blue lightning wrapping around his limbs, hair streaked with the silver of Byakko's blessing.
The heir of the Byakko had returned.
But the ritual wasn't over.
Somewhere else, in a flame-wrapped abyss…
Shego stood upon an obsidian platform floating above a sea of living fire. Emerald-green flames flickered all around her, matching the aura that pulsed from her own soul. Her transformation had already begun—hair blazing, skin glowing, tattoos of fire spiraling along her arms.
And in front of her… a titan.
A phoenix born of chaos and flame.
Its wings spread like the sky itself, each feather a living ember. Its body was wreathed in a fire older than time, its eyes burning with judgement and memory.
The Chaos Phoenix.
It stared her down.
Then spoke.
"Why… do you think you deserve the power of the Great Chaos Phoenix?"
The heat surged.
The pressure crushed.
And Shego… clenched her fists.