Capítulo 76: The Burden of the Avatar (Corrected)
- At this rate, I'm afraid he won't be able to stop the Fire Nation. - Said Roku, the Avatar before Aang. - He is in mourning for his friend.
- I see it as an opportunity, hopefully Aang will finally mature as an Avatar after this incident. - Said Kyoshi, in the lotus position, meditating on the recent events.
- How is this an opportunity? He literally watched his friend get blown up in front of him. - Roku looked at Kyoshi angrily.
- I went through the same thing in my childhood, watching my father figure die in front of me at the hands of a person we thought we could trust. - Kyoshi opened his eyes and looked at Roku blankly. - I know exactly what Aang is going through, unlike you.
- How can you be so apathetic about all this? - Roku cursed, expressing his outrage.
- When you're an Avatar, you have to make sacrifices, often sacrificing your body, losing days of sleep, or witnessing the darker side of humanity, so that the people you love can live in peace. - Kyoshi's eyes flashed for a moment, creating a great deal of pressure in Roku. - When you were an Avatar, you acted like an undisciplined child and allowed the Fire Nation to prepare for war. If you had done the bare minimum as an Avatar, we wouldn't have so many singularities for Aang to face.
The souls of Kyoshi and Roku were on a private spiritual plane to discuss the consequences of the last few days for the current Avatar. Being the two Avatars closest to the current reincarnation in the last 400 years, they were the most adept at helping and finding a solution to the crisis they were in.
- I did as much as I could, I never imagined that Sozin could do what he did. - Roku can't help but remember the day he was doomed to die on that island with the erupting volcano.
- Darkness exists everywhere, and the peace I won was by punishing all forms of evil in this world. Your time as Avatar was weak, allowing new forces of evil to be born before your very eyes. - Kyoshi was frustrated, especially with herself. Unlike many Avatars, she had chosen to end her life voluntarily in order to bring about a new generation. With the powers she had, she could easily extend her lifespan far beyond that of a human, enough to end the war. - When you confronted Sozin in the past, it left him with a bitter grudge against you, and it was quite obvious that at the first opportunity to betray you, he would take advantage
Roku remained silent, frustrated at not being able to counter Kyoshi's words. Even though she had studied and mastered the elemental arts all her life, her accumulated power was not even ¼ of the power of Kyoshi at her peak, who was rightly considered the most powerful avatar that had ever existed. Even when she possessed Aang's body to fight Aki, the goddess of war, to give all the islanders a chance to escape with the Avatar's friends, even Aang's body could not withstand Kyoshi's full potential, allowing he to use only half of her true power in that battle.
- What can we do? - Roku asked, not knowing how to proceed.
- Aang needs to mature as quickly as possible, I hope that the death of his friend will make him realize how drastic measures must be taken, so that he will stop fooling himself with Philosophy of Air. - Kyoshi crossed her arms and thought about how to solve the most serious problem. - Our real problem today is not the Fire Nation, but the celestial dragons. We must find a way to kill or defeat such a dragon.
- You obviously have a prejudice against the philosophy of the Air Nomads. - Roku said, irritated by Kyoshi's calmness.
- My problems are none of your concern, we just need to focus on finding a way to defeat the celestial dragons. - Kyoshi reprimanded Roku, but she couldn't help remembering his mother, who was a nomad of the air, completely different from what is considered a person of good character or honesty.
- It must be impossible, ordinary dragons can be killed, but a celestial dragon is practically a different kind of creature. - Roku sighed in frustration.
- When I fought Aki, I was able to injure her body, but the damage wasn't significant, not to mention that she didn't use her full power. - Kyoshi sighed. - They must have some weakness that can be exploited, it's impossible for them to be invincible.
- They've been at the top of the food chain for 10 millennia, but they're not invulnerable. - Said a male voice, surprising Kyoshi and Roku.
- This energy... Avatar Kuruk. - Kyoshi was surprised to see his predecessor, the Avatar known as a spirit hunter.
Avatar Kuruk appeared in his spectral form, just like Kyoshi and Roku, sitting on the ground in a lotus position, wearing his classic bearskin outfit.
- Sorry for the delay, you know very well that I'm not nearly what I used to be. - Kuruk touched his shoulder and felt a sharp pain. Underneath his clothes, his skin was marked with scars made by evil spirits, but mostly by a celestial dragon that specialized in hunting. - When Aki killed me in our fight, I was able to pierce her scales.
- How did you do that? - Kyoshi couldn't hide his surprise and disbelief. - Did you use some secret elemental technique?
- No, I used my knife. - Kuruk said quickly. - I made my weapon from parts of spirit animals and some rare materials. Unfortunately, when I hurt Aki, she killed me a second later.
- Where is your knife? - Roku asked, hoping for a solution against the celestial dragons.
- I have no idea. - Kuruk quickly dashed Roku's hopes.
- What items did you use to make the knife? - Kyoshi asked interestedly, because if Aang had access to an equivalent weapon, there might be hope.
- For the blade, I used a tusk from a whale skeleton that had been preserved at the bottom of the sea for hundreds of years, but the most important part is the hilt. - Kuruk sensed Kyoshi's curiosity.
- The hilt? - Kyoshi and Hoku said at the same time.
- The blade has been bathed in the passive power of the ocean for hundreds of years, enough to be a weapon if used properly, but the hilt is much more special. - Kuruk used his bending water to create a replica of his weapon out of ice. - The hilt was made from the roots of the Time Tree of the mortal world. The roots of the Sacred Tree have a strong connection to time and space, so when I created this combination with the blade, it was a weapon capable of overcoming the almost impenetrable defenses of the Celestial Dragons.
- That's fantastic... - Roku said, curious as to how Kuruk had come up with such an idea. - How did you think about creating this weapon?
- I knew that I could be hunted by a Celestial Dragon because of their hatred for all of us, so I thought it wise to go to the spirit world prepared. - Kuruk undid the ice replica with a single movement.
- You pointed out that the Celestial Dragons' defenses were almost impenetrable, as if there was another way to defeat them. - Kyoshi looked at his predecessor seriously, wanting to have all options to plan a new battle against the Celestial Dragons.
- Damn... - Kuruk sighed. - It's just that I can only see two more ways to defeat the dragons, and one of them is not viable.
- You are emphasizing the elements? Aang is an Avatar, of course he can learn very fast. - Roku said.
- He only has one year to stop the Fire Nation, and he won't be able to master the Elemental Base until he gets over his depression. - Kyoshi said coldly.
- Exactly, there are elements that have access to sub-bends that can overcome their absurd defenses. Fire has lightning as its best option, and water has Absolute Zero. There is a mineral in the Dragon Kingdom that I've heard of that can be bended by Earth, called Sun Crystal or Fire Crystal, but it's something that only exists in that area and in the ruins of the Eclipse War. - Kuruk explained disappointedly. - Airbenders have never specialized in combat for thousands of years, until we see that boy manipulating sound as a new art of domination.
- Mastering these elements is practically impossible for Aang, so what second option did you think of? - Kyoshi asked Kuruk.
- When I was researching how to make weapons, I luckily found a special document. I discovered that there is a mineral that doesn't exist in our world, or shouldn't exist. - Kuruk explained. - It's called lunar metal, a mineral from the moon itself, very rare and easily confused with the steel we see every day. But its mystical properties could, of course, exceed the scales of the celestial dragons.
- Where can we find this mineral? - Roku asked.
- It's only found at the South and North Poles, hundreds of kilometers under solid ice. - Kuruk sighed in frustration. - I searched for this mineral for two weeks, but I could not find it, so I looked for other ways to make my weapon.
- If there are records of this mineral, it means that someone has already used it to forge something. - Kyoshi rose from the ground with a certain renewal of hope. - We have to find this metal or this forged object.
- How will we find it? - Kuruk asked, as he himself had been unsuccessful in finding this particular mineral.
- Who was the author of the document you found? - Kyoshi asked curiously.
- Her name is Star, she seems to be an expert or something, but the document she made was incomplete. - Kuruk said, understanding what the fate of Aang and his friends might be. - There is only one place where we could have access to this valuable information.
- The library of Wan Shi Tong. - Kyoshi said. - This library could have valuable information on how to defeat a dragon, Since I never thought about it, I feel like an idiot.
- I know the library is not in the spirit world. - said Kuruk, remembering his youth. - I looked for this library in the spirit world when I was hunting spirits, but I never found it, so I assume it's hidden in the mortal world.
- Then we have a plan. - Roku said in a better mood.
- We need Aang to go to the North Pole and master water with an elemental master, then we'll send him on a quest to find the library. - Kyoshi looked at Kuruk. - When Aang arrives at the North Pole, communicate with him to search for Wan Shi Tong's library.
- Wouldn't it be possible to make another weapon like Kuruk's? - Roku asked, because finding the lunar metal object could mean a longer journey.
- It took me two years to make my weapon, do you think Aang would be lucky to make it in less time? - Kuruk asked, knowing Roku's answer.
- We don't have time to discuss this now, where is Aang? - Kyoshi asked, seeing Aang talking to an old, grumpy looking firebender.
- That person is Jeong Jeong, a wanted Fire Nation deserter. - Roku said. - He is a master of firebending in the art of defense.
Kyoshi and the two Avatars beside him watched as Aang talked to the fugitive Fire Master, someone who could help the young Avatar further his growth as a warrior.
- Roku, use your spiritual influence to convince this man to train Aang in firebending. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. - Kyoshi commanded.
- Fire is the last element Aang should learn in his evolutionary cycle. It could harm his emotional balance to master an element that is influenced by emotions. - Roku said worriedly.
- He may be the only Fire Master who can teach Aang to bend fire at this time. - Kyoshi kept his order. - If this man is killed, there will be no one to complete Aang's training.
Roku sighed, he couldn't argue with the order of the most powerful avatar, even though each avatar is recommended to master the elements in a certain order because of their personality and elemental origin, the old traditions wouldn't work if Aang died before awakening his true potential.
***
Mortal world...
- I feel great remorse and sadness in his heart. - Said Jeong Jeong, in the lotus position, surrounded by lighted candles. - But I can't teach you how to bend fire.
- Why not? I'm the Avatar, I have to... I must master the four elements. - Aang said, tired and depressed, his eyes puffy from lack of sleep.
- You want to learn fire for another reason... you want the power of flames for your own interests. - Jeong Jeong frowned. - I feel that your energy is unstable, I can't teach you.
Aang was worried, it had been a few days since Haru's death and every day his psychological situation was getting worse. Witnessing his friend's death disturbed his dreams, and he lived a nightmare every night, replaying that moment dozens of times in his mind.
Sometimes Aang thought he was just dreaming, but it had happened, and it was irreparable. He felt guilty in every possible way, guilty for fleeing his home a hundred years ago, for believing that he could stop the Fire Nation's attack when it destroyed much of his home and race, and that if he died, another more worthy avatar would be born in his place.
Sokka hadn't spoken to Aang since that day, only focusing on taking care of Suki and his sister. The news that their home had been destroyed didn't help, so there was only one safe place left for the two siblings and the warrior Kyoshi: the North Pole.
Luckily for Aang, Katara didn't hold a grudge against him for hiding the message from her father, but it was clear that there was a void in the group. Aang hated himself, wondered why he was the Avatar, why fate was so cruel, and even considered doing something completely against his philosophy, committing suicide. But this depressing thought vanished when he remembered Haru's pleading eyes, but especially when he remembered Katara, she was the bravest person he knew and he wished she would never have that depressed look again.
Aang didn't want war, he didn't want violence, but that day and the memories of losing control and hurting people was an eternal memory in his soul. Aang knew that if he gave up, the world would give up, so as long as he lived, he would do everything in his power to be as powerful as possible so that none of his friends would die because of his weakness.
- Please, I have to master fire to save the world. - Aang begged, trying to keep his composure, trying to strengthen his conviction.
- I can't teach you fire if you think you can manipulate it like air. - Jeong Jeong said seriously. - Water is change and flexibility, earth is solid and stable, but fire... fire is alive, it breathes and grows.
- I'm willing to learn no matter how hard it is. - Aang said.
- Stupid, the fire will consume you if you don't control yourself, you want to use it as a weapon and not as an extension of your body. - Jeong Jeong scolded angrily. - You're too weak!
The moment Jeong Jeong said his last sentence, his mind was transported to another mental plane, a dark place lit only by a single burning candle. The gloomy darkness around the old firebender didn't frighten him, but the person in front of him made his body tremble.
Avatar Roku stood in front of him, radiating an almost divine grandeur, his serious expression could make many people forget to breathe under the pressure of his power.
- Do you think I'm weak? - Roku said calmly.
- No, no, Avatar Roku, that's not what I meant. - Jeong Jeong bowed his head in supplication and surrender.
- I have been a master of the elements more than a thousand times in my existence, now it is necessary to pass on the teachings of the past generation to the new generation. Train Aang in firebending and make him understand the fundamentals of that power. - Roku finished his words, causing Jeong Jeong's mind to return to the mortal plane without anyone noticing the difference.
From Aang's perspective, Jeong Jeong seemed to have lost consciousness only briefly, as the old man seemed to be talking to someone else alone.
- Yes, yes... I understand... very well, Kid, I'll teach you the Fire Bender. - Jeong Jeong said, not sure about the teaching.
Aang's expression softened a little, feeling less pressure on his resolve, just the idea of becoming stronger made his heart happy, not out of greed, but out of a desperate desire to protect what he considered his family, hoping to one day make amends for not saving Haru because he was so naive and weak.
Though he underwent great changes in his Avatar training that affected his journey, it wasn't just him and his friends who grew stronger every day.
Author's Note: Thank you everyone for reaching 1 million views, I can't thank you enough for everyone's patience in getting us to where we are. See you next week : )
Author's Note: I had some technical issues with this chapter, sorry.
Next chapter: Evolution
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