========= 73 - Tui and La ==========
The night was quiet. The Azuls didn't bother anyone, didn't even try to sneak into my warm room and kill me in my sleep to carry out some cunning plan. Yes, fortunately, we weren't sleeping in the cold or even surrounded by ice, otherwise I would have definitely gone mad — wood, fur, stoves and smouldering logs under the bed, of course, with fire protection. I had to check the latter first, but I could safely say that everything had been done to make it livable for normal people.
As for the rest, my opinion of the North can be considered... unusual. How can I put it? The nights in that desert were extremely unpleasant, it was cold, and for that reason I had chills. The icy walls surrounding the capital alone must have lowered the ambient temperature by a couple of dozen degrees... but at the same time, I was forced to notice that things weren't so bad. And that's an anomaly.
Roads, houses, walls, rivers, frequent snowfalls — because of all this, the temperature here should be such that life is impossible, everyone would have died. Even if the inhabitants of the poles could somehow adapt, even if there were divine healers capable of curing frostbite, visitors like me would certainly not be able to live here for long. There could only be one answer: the spirits of Tui and La.
Late at night, I left the room. Wrapped in a warm jacket and hiding my hands in gloves, I made my way to the room assigned to Aang, opposite which stood four magicians protecting the hero's quarters. Whatever the situation, the Avatar needed constant care, which I approved of, and judging by their strength, the guys themselves were not bad. Fortunately, there were no incidents. I had already regained my composure, so when they saw their hero's companion and asked me what I wanted, they got a clear answer, after which they let me knock on the door.
The door opened after only a couple of seconds. Aang was awake and excited.
"Shall we take a walk?" The sullen guy nodded quickly. After getting dressed, going out into the corridor and giving the guards a chance to rest, he followed close behind me. He didn't ask any questions, such as why we were going or where we were going, just stared at his feet and clenched his fists. "Is something bothering you?"
"Yes... The comet that is supposed to arrive. I keep wondering how powerful the nation of fire will become when it arrives," the young man was growing up and already wanted details. However, I myself did not know the answer to that question.
"Hmm, do you remember the feeling of entering the Avatar state? The feeling of freedom, your chakras completely open... The most powerful ones will probably gain the same power. Yes, those who haven't trained will open one or two chakras at most. Azula will probably get the fifth or sixth. And Oza...
I could have stopped there. Aang was already burdening himself with the thought that he wouldn't be able to develop quickly enough without me, so I had to give him a little push. To the silent and indignant question of why I did that, I gave only a short reminder:
"Have you already forgotten what I wrote in that scroll? The comet doesn't affect nations, only magic, so you'll become stronger too. And if you get even a little closer to Oza's magic, you'll have a good opportunity to mock his powers," I added with an amused smile, imagining how it would look. "You'll have an excellent teacher. Yangchen has the best style I've seen so far. For a pacifist like you, it'll be perfect.
It's funny to watch a kid gain confidence and realise how to make his way in the world. Well, since he wasn't thinking about it anymore, we could get down to business: Aang and I left the mansion and visited the same old Iroh, who apparently intended to spend the whole night with Master Pakku. The latter was surprised and even angry that Aang hadn't slept, but he shut up as soon as I asked him to show us the spirits of the Moon and the Ocean.
In the North, there must be only a couple of people who are allowed to bring guests to them, and I was not mistaken in thinking that Pakku was one of them. Members of the Order knew how to climb the career ladder and win favour. Bringing Aang and his guests there was no problem either. On the way, we encountered a number of soldiers, each of whom let us pass as if the meeting between Tui and La with the Avatar was something that was meant to happen. And I was certainly not mistaken in thinking that they were the reason the climate in the North was so calm.
The spirit oasis, home to some of the most legendary creatures on the planet, was blooming with grass and exuding warmth. Even though there were ice walls all around us, just like in the city, it was hard to believe we were at the pole.
"By the way, Dagoth... did you really unlock the Sound Chakra?" Airo spoke to me as we approached the island of spirits. It seemed that all we had to do was cross the bridge and we would be among the spirits, but our guide was immediately surprised by this statement. Pakku turned around, focused on me and blinked.
"What? Kid, did you unlock the chakra in your throat?" He looked much like Zuko when he met his sister. Nodding in response, I even made him gasp for air," Airo began telling me stories about how you were an insanely persistent mage who would change the world, but I thought he was exaggerating. You realise that the Sound chakra allows you to communicate with spirits that otherwise don't interact with humans? You can... talk to Tui and La in person!
Paku thought I would be surprised. But Afka had already told me something similar when we first encountered the dark spirits. To be able to communicate not just verbally, but by opening your soul, to gain the favour of any spirit... I was curious to try it, so I just nodded to the waterbending master and followed Aang to the artificial circular pool where they were circling.
Two simple, at first glance, koi fish, white and black in colour, with spots of the opposite colour on their foreheads, symbolising yin and yang... and just as the white fish exuded something bright and positive, the dark one already showed a dose of darkness and chaos.
"Thought you'd meet them without me?" Afka suddenly appeared on my neck. The fox had been following me from my room, and now she was looking closely at the spirits. "Right now, you see balance in physical form. Tui, the spirit of the Moon, can heal the wounds that have been inflicted on your soul. And La, the spirit of the Ocean, is the only being in the whole world who has the right to send creatures to the ocean of lost souls, which I told you about.
"Really? I thought that place was considered something incredibly evil, a breeding ground for malicious spirits.
"La only sends people there who disrupt the balance; that is his role in this world: to be forced to do evil in order to maintain good. To be honest, Wang Shi Tong doesn't like him very much. La can even take away people with valuable knowledge, which really angers the master," she whispered, while the spirits' reputation grew in my eyes.
I had to admit that I shared La's views more than Wang Shi Tong's. Moreover, they seemed more understandable to me than those of Rava and Va'atu, whose absolute good and chaos were ultimate extremes that I had never reached. So, sitting down with Aang in the lotus position, I focused on the spirits and immediately began to wonder. How should I address them?
"Ahem... greetings, great spirits. I have brought the Avatar. May I discuss something with you and ask a favour? - My gaze fell on La... and at that very moment, my consciousness plunged into an abyss. The world around me seemed to turn black, and my body became strikingly light, unbound by physical limitations. The needs of the body, the cold, the spirit — none of it mattered. My soul had been forcibly torn from my body!
But I clearly felt the power of my chakras. I understood that I was only here because I had recently opened the fifth one. How timely it all happened.
"The mortal came to us himself. It is disappointing that your mind is clouded by illusions and you cannot see our true bodies," two spinning creatures, two fish, appeared in the pitch-black darkness. Their voices sounded like the roar of the ocean depths. The sea was calm, but there were islands of chaos.
"An ally of Wang Shitong, how rare. How is he doing?
Kind and terrifying, frightening and calm, that's how these two felt to me. It was difficult to understand who was speaking, but apparently the last one to speak was Tui, the white fish.
Gathering my strength and realising that I was completely alone here, without the Avatar's help, I joined the conversation.
"Every day, Wang Shi is happier. He is glad that there are people willing to cooperate with him. Especially after a series of failures.
"That's good. Before, his researchers often came and talked to us. It's a pity that era is over," Tui made me smile. It seems that things are not as bad as I thought.
"He used to have more useful allies. There is less and less harmony in the world.
"Times are always changing; we've seen worse.
"It's never been as bad as it is now.
They started chatting with each other, discussing the past as if I wasn't even there. But it was good to see the contrasts, the spirits seemed to be arguing, but they didn't turn into full-blown aggression, as would surely have happened in the case of Rava and Va'atu. But they obviously had a vague concept of time, and they continued talking to each other as if the rest of the world could go on. Realising that I would probably grow old and die before the dialogue ended, I had to intervene:
"Excuse me, why didn't you call Aang? I'm sure he would like to meet you too," they shut up abruptly, which made me feel like a rude bastard.
"He may be the Avatar, but Aang hasn't opened his chakras. He can't interact with us the way you do," Tui said, with some approval for me. It was as if my efforts had been appreciated.
Come to think of it, there weren't many spirits Aang could actually talk to. He could understand their intentions, but he couldn't communicate with them the way we did.
"And even if he had, we wouldn't have called him. After all, it is you who is on trial right now.
However, the end of the speech made me shut up and feel a completely different kind of pressure. Tui didn't even try to argue with La, no one argued, the decision was unanimous. Tsunami... now I was sure who had sent it, the damn spirits really wanted to kill me! What now? Can they erase my soul? Send me to the ocean of oblivion? No, I'm not guilty of anything.
"Before you arrived at the pole, your existence was a threat," continued the dark koi fish. "We see that your soul was created incorrectly. A living being needs balance to exist in harmony, and you are disrupting this order of things. You had to be killed so that others could live in peace.
Kill... because of a wrong soul? No, that tsunami could have killed not only me, the whole city was in danger. Were they really willing to kill me without regard for thousands of other lives? Is this the evil for the greater good? Damn it, I'm not some kind of global threat, have they completely lost their minds?
"Poor man, no misfortune ever passes you by. You have suffered your whole life and could have brought trouble even to those around you, but you still held on and helped them. You have shown that you are willing to fight even for such a life.
"Yes... and now you think I'll let myself be killed? - Clenching my fists, I took a very dim view of the situation in this so-called court. How could I get out of this? Was it possible to negotiate with them? Thousands of questions flooded my head as I tried to save my skin.
"No. You defeated my righteous will. You are the only person I can remember who was able to keep the disharmony at bay with brute force and well-thought-out plans. You fight even with a broken soul, but who said that such a life won't break you?
Space swam before my eyes, and I saw something strange. A man floating in a boat through a completely unfamiliar space. I quickly recognised him, it was Avatar Kuruk... he was still looking for a way to help his wife.
"People break in different ways. If you break, it will tip the scales, and the Fire Lord will be nothing more than a pebble against the backdrop of the rock that you could become. It's better to get rid of you so that doesn't happen. I'm sure you understand. You have to think about the world ahead. I'll just send you into the ocean of oblivion, you won't regret your actions, your life, or your lost love, you won't think about anything. Isn't that a positive outcome for the world?
"Or you can just leave. Leave us, leave people, leave the Avatar. Renounce your ambitions and forget about your influence on the world, settle down somewhere where you will be happy. You deserve to live on. But you can no longer meet people.
Why did I even come to these spirits? Even Anubis gives you a choice, but here they're offering to put my head on the chopping block, and voluntarily at that. And why? Just because there's a chance I might go mad in the future? Anubis, damn it, show me something.
"Choose:
1 - Oblivion (The spirit La is better than anyone else at reading human souls. You understand that there are failures that cannot be overcome if you are unable to make the right decisions in the future. You could truly become a danger on par with Oza, Chin, and Kioshi combined. The world will be plunged into chaos, but you can prevent this by plunging into eternal nothingness and ceasing to fight.
2 - Asceticism (The Spirit of Tui always gives a second chance. People who are not ready to make difficult decisions or renounce their feelings sometimes walk away from the world. Leave the future of the world to the Avatar. Warning: due to negative influences, Aang will side with Roku and lead the world into eternal chaos, and your achievements will be lost. War will begin again, but you will not be able to intervene. You will not be able to communicate with people.
3 - Unyielding (You and the spirits are not meant to be together. You can leave the spirit world on your own using your connection with Ty Lee; they will not be able to influence you outside the spirit world. Be careful, the spirits will be disappointed in your actions (this does not apply to Wang Shi Tong), but thanks to the fact that you are used to making less than benevolent decisions, you can shift the blame onto Aang. Steal water from the spiritual source to restore yourself. Prove your willpower, achieve enlightenment, and do not break under the weight of your problems).
"…You know, I would really like to be friends with you somehow. Especially with you, La. If I had met you before I met Wang Shi Tong, I would have gladly signed some kind of contract that I would have fulfilled from the bottom of my heart, not just because I had to," I scratched the back of my head, silencing the fish. "But Wang Shi, unlike you, is willing to at least listen and make concessions. So there's no way I'm ever going to trade him for someone else, even if he gets upset by something I do. I'm sure I can work things out and win him back. I'm definitely going to be happy.
Tdum*
Before the fish floating in the air could do anything, a blow struck my spine, knocking my soul back into my body. I felt myself back in my comfortable flesh and bone shell, controlled by my brain locked inside my skull! Behind me stood a panting Tai Lee, who had struck my chakras. "Did you call me?" She could hardly explain why she had run here and how she had found the place without a guide.
"Yes, but you could have asked me more nicely.
Grimacing in pain, I nevertheless quickly created a large glass out of sand, scooped water from the same source where the fish were swimming, and then jumped aside. Everyone looked at me in confusion, and the guards, whom Tai Li had apparently managed to get around, had already rushed in, and it became clear that the problem had to be solved immediately.
At that moment, I mixed some water from the spring with the mud from the healing springs that I had been keeping in a jar all this time, and created an ultimate healing mixture. Wrapping it around my limbs, causing my earth to literally glow with incredible magical energy overflowing with positive qi, I suddenly felt myself rising... the flow of energy normalised and I no longer needed to monitor it, the points on my legs and arms seemed to have come back to life. I am not a master healer, but the water from the spring does not heal the body completely.
It is definitely easier to live this way, even though I have grown accustomed to being disabled. My surroundings reacted to my movements again, and with a wave of my hand I could change the direction of my sand, but that was no longer necessary, as I had mastered a better method, but how pleasant it was to show this to the spirits, who were spinning in the lake at considerable speed, as if they were mad. Serves them right.
"Hey, Aang," I looked at the clueless guy and winked at him kindly, "Please ask for forgiveness for me and Tai Li, okay?"