She vanished again and appeared directly behind Kira, her fingers pressed deep into Kira’s temple.
Kira found herself back in the nightmare vision. This time she was beside her uncle Eojin, watching the cursed black plague creep up his body, trying desperately to control the curse and losing. The whispers of the Demon Lord amplified so that she could hear nothing else while the poison began to spread over her fingers and into her hands. There was no stopping it. She could only watch as it spread up her arms, over her shoulders, and into her neck. Kira opened her mouth to scream, but it caught in her throat as the curse marbleized her into a statue.
But just as she was certain death had finally come to her, the vision was severed. She was filled by the positive energy of her tiger spirit, as a golden glow emanated from within her. The monk was thrown across the room as Kira’s tiger spirit leaped out of her and became a physical manifestation. Their golden auras were linked together. Kira sat up and put a shaky hand on her tiger’s head and felt it solidifying into a real creature. This had never happened before. Her tiger spirit let out a roar that shook the foundations of the temple.
The monk fell to her knees, staring in disbelief.
“You are not the Dragon Musado! You are our VagDeva! Tiger goddess!” She prostrated herself. “Forgive me, oh merciful one! We were told you were our greatest enemy!”
Kira was shaking in agony and grief; all the pain and suffering of her uncle Eojin still clung to her nerves.
“VagDeva?” Kira asked incredulously. She pointed a shaky finger at the monk. “One moment you try to destroy me and in the next I must believe that you worship me?”
She shook her head. “No, I am not anything to you,” she whispered. “I am the Dragon Musado.”
Her tiger spirit growled in its throat and turned to lick Kira on her face. The large rough tongue rolled over her face, as if Kira were a tiger cub needing to be comforted. Her tears dried up and her sobs subsided as the pain soon faded away. All that was left was a sharp ache in her chest. She held her hand to her heart and rose to her feet. She saw the bright glow of her tiger’s ki surrounding her. The warrior monk gasped in amazement and began to chant. All of a sudden, the entire room was filled with orange-robed monks, hundreds of them, prostrated on the floor in obeisance. As they chanted, they raised their arms to the heavens and bowed low enough to touch their noses to the floor, over and over again. Weaving their way through the bowing monks, the first two warrior monks approached. They threw themselves down at her feet, joining their voices with the others.
The drone of the chants filled her ears with a soothing hum, as she was embraced by the powerful magic that it bore. It was working together with the tiger spirit, bolstering its magic until Kira was completely healed.
She let out a deep breath, relieved to find the remnants of the Eojin vision gone. It reminded her of the pain her uncle was still suffering in the shadow world and of the vow she made to him. She promised that she would either free him or join him. For both of their sakes, she could not break her vow.
Facing the third warrior monk, Kira remained uneasy. “How did you do that? How did you make me feel my uncle’s death?”
“My magic makes you relive the death of a family member and feel the actual pain they underwent,” she said. “I am sorry to make you suffer so severely. I had no idea that the death you would relive would be so bad.”
Kira shuddered. “It was my uncle’s death. He was killed by a dagger cursed by the Demon Lord.”
“That would explain why it was so brutal,” the monk said. “My apologies, VagDeva.”
“Why do you call me that?” Kira asked.
“We are the Tiger’s Nest monks. We are followers of the tiger goddess VagDeva. She descended from the heavens on a flying tiger. You are her living reincarnation. The white tiger spirit lives inside you. We are honored to serve you,” she said.
All the monks chanted “VagDeva!” and bowed to her.
With one last roar, her tiger spirit began to shimmer and vanish from view, leaving only the sparkle of golden light behind.
Kira stared out over the sea of orange before her. Could these monks truly believe she was their goddess? With her tiger spirit gone, the monks were quiet, staring at her expectantly. Kira closed her eyes. She could not be their VagDeva. This was not her fate. Not her responsibility.
Opening her eyes, she turned to the three warrior monks who now knelt before her, their heads bowed in respect.
“I have to find my cousin,” Kira said. “Where is Fulang?”
All three warrior monks pointed at the small wooden door at the very farthest corner of the room.
“The dragon has deceived us,” the female monk said. “He claimed you were a thief and not to be trusted.”
“How do I defeat him?” Kira asked.