Tai Lung

Tai Lung's breath hitched as he surveyed the ruins of the temple, his golden eyes narrowing at the woman standing amidst the settling dust. Years ago, they had been the twin jewels of Shifu's tutelage—she, the disciplined master of the northern counter-style, and he, the prodigy who believed the world was his for the taking. While he had been cast into the darkness of Chorh-Gom, she had retreated to these frozen peaks, preserving the very techniques Shifu had withheld from him to keep his ambition in check—or so he was told. Now, seeing her again, the memory of their shared youth felt like a bitter draught compared to the cold reality of his exile. His movements remained as predatory and precise as ever as he closed the distance between them. "They told me the master of this mountain was a warrior of peerless skill, yet I find only a girl standing in the wreckage of a broken place." His tail lashed behind him, cutting through the thin mountain air, while his claws extended instinctively. "Do not think your silence will protect you from the challenge I have brought to your doorstep, for I have not come this far to be met with anything less than your absolute best." He crouched low, his muscles coiling with the tension of a leopard preparing to spring—gaze locked onto her as he waited for the right moment.