𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿 [ʀᴡʙʏ x ᴍᴀʟᴇ ᴏᴄ]

Chapter 33

A blinding brightness greeted me, forcing me to squint as my vision adjusted. But even as my eyes adapted, the intensity of the light didn't fade. It wasn’t just bright—everything was white.

I pushed myself up, my fingers pressing against a surface that felt solid yet carried no texture, no warmth, no cold—just an endless, smooth expanse. As I rose to my feet, I turned my head, looking around. No walls, no sky, no horizon.

Just white stretching infinitely in every direction, swallowing all sense of depth and distance. It was as if I had been dropped into a world that had yet to be painted, a blank canvas untouched by time.

I took a step forward, but there was no texture beneath my feet—just an endless, weightless white. A dream? No… something else. My body felt lighter, yet a strange pressure settled in my chest.

Then, I heard it. A low, rumbling growl.

I turned sharply, my breath hitching. In the distance—if distance even meant anything in this place—stood a figure. No, not a figure. A beast.

A white tiger.

It stared at me, golden eyes glowing like embers in the void. Its presence was overwhelming, familiar in a way that sent a shiver down my spine.

The tiger didn’t move, yet its presence pressed against me like a weight, heavy and undeniable. Its fur, the same stark white as the endless expanse around us, should have made it blend into the void. But it didn’t. It stood out, a living contradiction, a creature carved from the very fabric of this place yet apart from it.

Its golden eyes locked onto mine, unblinking, filled with something I couldn’t name—understanding, challenge, or perhaps something far deeper.

I swallowed, my breath uneven. Familiar. That was the word that echoed in my mind. Not in the way one recognizes a face from the past, but in the way one knows the rhythm of their own heartbeat.

I took a step forward, the soundless expanse beneath me giving no resistance. The tiger remained still, its gaze never wavering.

Then, it spoke.

Or rather, I felt its voice, a deep reverberation within my chest, an unspoken growl shaping into words.

I took another step forward, my pulse hammering against my ribs. The tiger didn’t move, but its presence wrapped around me, thick like the air before a storm. My throat felt dry, my fingers curling into fists at my sides.

"Who are you?"

My voice came out steadier than I expected, though the words felt small against the vast emptiness around us.

The tiger blinked slowly, those golden eyes never leaving mine. Then, without opening its mouth, I heard it. No—felt it. A voice, deep and resounding, speaking not through sound but through something more primal, something that echoed inside my very being.

Tiger: "I am thou, thou art I."

The tiger’s gaze remained steady, unyielding, as if it had been waiting for me to ask.

Tiger: "It means you cannot run from me."

The words settled over me like a weight, pressing into my chest. I clenched my fists, my jaw tightening.

"Run from you?" I repeated, my voice quieter this time. The answer should have frustrated me, but deep down, I knew—this wasn’t something I could fight with logic.

Tiger: "Yes, you are running from yourself"

The tiger took a slow step forward, its massive paws making no sound against the endless white void.