"I do not think that is the best course of action, Aang; you may not be confined to constantly maintain your technique, but you're severely exhausted. Truthfully, your situation is hardly better than it was a few minutes ago… I believe it would be smart if we stayed to protect you, considering you're the Fire Nation's primary objective." Said Muly with furrowed brows as she gently placed the back of her hand atop Aang's head, only to frown.
"You're burning up; a fever?" Muttered Muly with a frown as she lowered her hand before grabbing a bottle of water for Aang.
I would've said being fed water is slightly embarrassing, but I was a twelve-year-old boy, and Muly had a motherly aura to her, so I felt rather comfortable as I drank the water.
'Must be all the children she's raised.' Thought Aang lightly with a faint smile as he gazed at Muly, only to grunt as he slowly stood up, prompting her and Appa to assist him.
"I appreciate your worries, but with Appa by my side, I'll be fine, trust me. Besides, after witnessing those last twenty minutes, I believe you and I both know they could use all the assistance they can get us." Remarked Aang softly as he leaned against Appa for support while deeply staring at Muly, who bit her lip before glancing at the battle below, watching as massive walls of fire were redirected toward the sky.
Muly wasn't easily tempted by my words, and after a little bit of persuading, she finally relented with a rather deep sigh, seemingly reluctant to do so.
"Haa, if… If you're completely sure, then we'll assist in defending our home. Though please, stay safe." Stated Muly reluctantly with a nod as she deeply sighed, only to solemnly stare at Aang with narrowed eyes, causing him to faintly nod.
"Trust me, I also wish to stay safe." Said Aang with a small smile before clasping his palms and slightly bowing, albeit with difficulty.
Muly gave me one final look before finally leaving as she leaped from the peak of the Temple, landing beside several other Air-Nomads who had been assigned to protect me in case the worst happened, which, thankfully nothing did. Watching her speak to our fellow brothers and sisters, I shifted my focus to Appa, who used his head to lift me onto his back; sitting upright, I gazed at the battle below while Appa observed our surroundings, ensuring nobody sneaked upon us, and if they did, he'd quickly fly away.
As nervewracking as it was, I couldn't focus on the battle that would decide the fate of our existence since I needed to regain Chi as quickly as possible, and unfortunately, there was no way to speed up that process; chi works similarly to your physical stamina, the only way to restore it is through rest and relaxation. Maybe if I were in the Spirit Realm, it would naturally restore quicker, but that is merely an assumption based on no solid research or evidence. Besides, it wouldn't have mattered if that were the case anyway; there was no way I would've been able to enter the Spirit Realm, not when the genocide of the Air-Nomads was occurring right now.
Clearing my mind, I shook my head and started meditating, calming my rapid breathing with rhythmic deep breaths. There was no supernatural way to speed up the restoration of stamina or Chi, but meditating did help.
'Still, it doesn't feel quick enough. Also, this headache isn't helping either; my head is pounding.' Thought Aang with a slight frown as he calmly meditated while a mighty battle was occurring not even one thousand feet away from him.
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Aggressively tapping my armrest, I tilted my head and gazed up at the sky; ever since the disappearance of that unbelievable massive spherical vortex and three tornadoes, our progress has noticeably improved; however, what I was eyeing was the Great Comet streaking through the sky up above.
"Tsk."
Clenching my armrests, I took a moment to compose myself as I released a deep breath full of my growing frustration before opening my eyes and glancing at a nearby soldier.
"Bring me General Fuze. Immediately." Stated Sozin solemnly as he eyed the soldier, who nodded without a single word before quickly leaving.
Although it took longer than I'd like, after roughly half a minute, General Fuze arrived before me.
"You summoned me, Fire Lord Sozin?" Asked Fuze respectfully as he saluted Sozin while slightly bowing.
"How long has passed?" Asked Sozin sternly with a deep gaze that lacked emotion, his words prompting Fuze to lift his head before glancing at the Great Comet above.
"23 minutes, Lord Sozin." Replied Fuze softly as he once again lowered his head, refusing to make eye contact with Sozin, who was expression contorted into one of wrath though he held himself back.
"Then why isn't the Avatar's corpse laid before my feet?" Asked Sozin sternly, his very words laced with deep-seated anger, one that even a deaf person would notice.
I received no response from my General, who just lowered his head further in shame. If it were any other time, I would've stripped him of his title and exiled him from the Fire Nation, but this was too important.
"Speak! We're on a time limit." Ordered Sozin as he tapped his armrest while glaring at Fuze, his pupils nearly spewing fire from how intense he was staring, and given the Great Comet, such a feat may very well be possible.
"The Air-Nomads, Lord Sozin, they knew of our invasion long beforehand; they've laced nearly the corner of the Temple with traps. Thankfully, none of our soldiers have been killed by them, but many have received heavy injuries and are incapacitated. We've killed many Air-Nomads and forced them to retreat to what we believe to be their final line of defense-" Stated Fuze swiftly as he omitted many details, wishing to keep the information to a minimum, though he was interrupted.
"How long will breaking through this final defensive position take?" Asked Sozin with an emotionless expression as he motionlessly eyed Fuze, who winced before lowering his head, refusing to make eye contact.
"N-Nine, n-no, eight minutes! W-We've only made little progres-" Replied Fuze weakly, yet before he could even finish speaking, Sozin violently kicked him, knocking him onto his butt.
Ignoring Fuze, who I so dearly wished to vent my anger and frustrations, I grabbed my helmet and quickly wore it as I made my way through the marching army; if I waited any longer, I doubted if my plan would succeed in the end. I had many questions that I wanted to ask that Avatar brat, but those could be saved for later; for now, only one thing was at the forefront of my mind… Killing the Avatar.
'If you want things done, do it yourself.' Thought Sozin with a hardened gaze as he speedily navigated up the path leading to the Air Temple, his agile movements unbefitting of his old age.
Once I reached the entrance of the Temple, I noticed many injured and dead soldiers of mine, though what did ease my anger was the many Air-Nomad corpses I spotted; moving deeper into the Temple, I began to come across burning mounds of flesh, the Sky Bisons having been burnt to a recognizable corpse. Even further inside, I spotted several of these traps Fuze had mentioned, though I paid little heed to them; eventually, I reached the front of my army, which was slowly advancing, wary of whatever trap the Air-Nomads had hidden throughout the place.
Inwardly scoffing, I clenched my fist before stepping forward, followed by punching as an eruption of fire was released from my fist, one so big, even I was inwardly in awe of the sheer power I wielded. Everywhere the flames went, they burned, destroying whatever was in their path, and eventually, I saw it reach the Air-Nomads final defensive positions off in the distance; however, most of my flames were diverted into different directions, causing a wall of fire to grow until it spanned to the very sky in all directions.
Watching everything unfold, I couldn't help but faintly smirk at my strength since with power like this…
"…I'm Akin to a God." Muttered Sozin with a smile as he flexed his arm and pushed hard, causing a burst in strength to explode out from his fist while his flames grew in size and intensity.
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Feeling a wave of intense heat, I snapped out of my meditation and opened my eyes, only to widen my eyes as I stared at the wall of fire before it; I felt my heart rate rapidly increase as I stared at that display of strength. I wished to simply be in awe, but I was more terrified than impressed; all the hope I had about surviving this ordeal was completely dashed away in that one instance.
I could feel my throat go dry as I tried to muster words, yet I couldn't voice a single word as I mindlessly stared at the massive wall of flames, blanketing the entire sky with its reddish color while seemingly desiring to consume the entire world.
"So that's how it earned the name Sozin's Comet." Muttered Aang, his voice barely louder than a whisper as he gazed at the flames that extended in all directions.
Despite the terror that coursed my body, I stupidly grabbed my bo-staff and leaped off Appa as I glided to our final defensive position, though to me, it felt like I was approaching my tomb.