Chapter 九: Prophecy
In the town of Shōbuya, recent cases of missing men increase drastically when the Zodiac animals came froth onto the Earth. It was rumoured that these men were lured by the Tiger, a courageous and daring Zodiac. It was also rumoured that this Tiger wasn't the normal orange and black, it was snow white with black stripes. The Tiger was feared and also glorified; the people of Earth were captured by its beauty and its awesome power. Those who were born under the sign became great warriors, hard-working and confident in victory. However, they could also be overly sensitive, territorial and possessive – much like the White Tiger who was making men of Shōbuya disappear.
There was an incident recorded in which a young man was led astray one night by the White Tiger. He had woken up one night to the glowing golden eyes, a force that no man could escape from. He got out of bed and followed the Tiger out from his hut, passing other huts, barns and crop fields. He followed until an unrecognizable stench overcame the man, his trance breaking as he then came to realize he was in a field of corpses, bodies of other men who had fell victim to the Tiger.
The man tried escaping but the Tiger was too quick, circling the man, growling at him and baring its fangs and claws. The man was petrified and fell to his knees, to the Tiger's mercy. He knew there was no escaping such a powerful force; his fate was in the Tiger's mercy.
As the Tiger stalked closer, its shoulders rolling with excitement in a soon-to-be new kill, the Tiger turned to a mound of snow before the man's tear-filled eyes. He couldn't believe his fate, or that of what become of the Tiger's. He bowed his head down and began to pray but was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a man's voice.
"Get to your feet humble peasant. You have been saved and are no longer prey to the White Tiger and neither is the village of Shōbuya."
The man stood and looked before him at the man who saved his life. He was wearing a dark red robe and carried a staff. Pendants hung around his neck and one of them, the white one, was glowing.
"Who…who are you?"
The man in the red robes closed the vial of the glowing pendant before he replied, his voice strong and meaningful.
"I am the Shaman, the Saviour of Earth from the twelve Zodiac animals. Now, the Saviour of Earth from the eleven Zodiacs'. Know that the world will no longer directly suffer, but the mannerisms will forever remain with humanity of whichever Zodiac animal they are born under."