They say a warrior knows the battle he walks into, but some battles are shaped by hidden guardians he has not yet seen.
~~~~~
"I don't remember since when I have been with my master" the shapeshifter speaks slowly, its voice uneven. "I don't have a sense of time…but it has been long….Very long."
Its shifting form stills, settling into the shape of a boy.
"She told me to watch Shaamvi years ago…since she was a teenager.I have been watching her ever since."
A pause lingers, heavy.
"I murdered my own family," it continues. "I became an evil spirit. And as I did more evil… it started to gather inside me. It changed me. I turned into this….a shapeshifter."
"Years later, my master found me. She captured me with her spells. Even then, she was skilled in black magic and spells, but over the years, I have watched her grow."
A faint, almost fearful note enters its voice.
"I have watched her becoming more and more strong and powerful. "
Stanzin steps forward, "Your master…is a woman?"
"Yes," the shapeshifter replies.
KaanKuwar's gaze sharpens, steady, calculating.
"Do you know why she has been watching Shaamvi since her teenage years? And how she knows her?"
The creature shakes its unstable head.
"I don't know. She never tell me anything beyond what I must do. She only watches"
His voice lowers.
"…everything."
"What Shaamvi does. Her friends. Whom she meets. Whom she liberates. Her powers. Her struggles."
A breath.
"I gave her every detail."
Stanzin exhales slowly."You said she has become powerful over time. How?"
KaanKuwar's voice follows, quieter but heavier.
"Yes What rituals did she do?… what sacrifices?"
"At first… animals," it says "Simple sacrifices.Then she began to fool people. She told them she could grant their wishes, help them with jobs, revenge, desires…"
Its voice lowers.
"In return, she took their pranic energy (vital life force)."
The air in the room feels colder.
"Now…" it continues, "now she captures souls. Souls of those who have just died. She feeds on their energy."
Silence fall.
KaanKuwar's eyes darken.
"And after that?" he ask "What happens to those souls?"
"She drains them" the shapeshifter replies "She consumes every trace of light, with in them."
His voice falters faintly.
"After that, she either binds them as her slaves…"
A breath catches.
"…or leaves them behind."
"To become something restless. Something dark."
Stanzin's jaw tightens, but KaanKuwar is already somewhere deeper in thought.
"How is she holding all this energy together?" he murmurs, more to himself than to anyone else.
Then his gaze lifts.
"She must have a guardian," he says. "A demigod… or a spirit."
A beat.
"Who protects her?"
The shapeshifter goes still.
Completely still.
Even the faint instability of his form quiets.
His eyes deepen
"…Black Tiger."
The words fall softly—yet they strike like thunder.
KaanKuwar's expression changes instantly.
For a brief second, his breath falters—his fingers tightening ever so slightly at his side.
"Black Tiger?" he repeats, voice no longer steady.
The room seems to tighten around that name.
A flicker of disbelief crosses KaanKuwar's eyes.The Black tiger is her god?
He looks at the shapeshifter again …just questioning—searching.
"Are you certain," he asks, voice low edged with disbelief… and something unsettled beneath it,
"that her guardian… is the mountain spirit…Black Tiger?"
A pause.
The boy nods.
"Yes."