As the sun set, the Avatar arrived at the North Pole, where Agna Qel'a was lit up with more lights than usual. After all, news had emerged from the palace that would greatly affect the Northern Water Tribe population, and it would soon spread worldwide.
There was a new Tribal Chief! Everything happened very quickly, and no one was prepared for this event. However, no one seemed to care too much about the unusual rush. After all, it wasn't just anyone who came to power; it was Yue.
They were excited because they knew her story. Yue was considered by all to be the embodiment of the moon, so her assumption of leadership was taken as a cause for celebration.
They began preparing lanterns, eager to spend Yue's first night in office with total illumination and festivity. Many people began celebrating openly right away. Fortunately, the city's security was quite good.
The citizens simply wanted to express their happiness. So, when the Avatar's flying bison was sighted, they took it as a good omen. Even the Avatar came to celebrate with Chief Yue! The rumor that the Avatar was there spread quickly, started by a Sage who wanted the party to be more memorable.
"Why did you do that?" Azula asked Shisui as they watched Appa land in the open space Yue had cleared for the Avatar team's arrival.
"To give my aunt a boost. If anyone disagrees, they might change their mind after hearing the rumor. Besides, can't we make it real? Aang already knows what happened. We just have to tell him what answer to give," Shisui replied with a playful smile.
Zuko, standing next to the Sage, slapped his face. Ty Lee burst out laughing, finding the whole situation amusing. Mai just shook her head, already accustomed to her friend's antics. As for Petra, she could only think of hugging the flying bison.
Aang was propelled by a gust of wind. Using his characteristic glider, he spun several times in the air before landing with ease. Some curious onlookers looked up at the sky, intrigued by his actions.
"Finally, temperatures I'm comfortable with!" he exclaimed, jumping off Appa's back. Without caring about the considerable height, he spun in the air with his spear in hand and landed on the ground with his knees bent.
"You've been practicing that jump for days, just for this moment, haven't you?" Katara asked as she used the snow on the ground to create a slide down which she glided.
"Of course! We Southerners have to show that we have more style than Northerners. Don't tell me you weren't planning your entrance from the moment you knew we were coming here." Sokka, knowing his younger sister quite well, revealed the true thoughts hidden beneath the waterbender's serious facade.
"You can't hide the fact that you're family." Suki, who descended much more quietly than her companions, said this as she surveyed the unfamiliar surroundings with the seriousness demanded by her training as a Kyoshi warrior.
The first thing she noticed was the most obvious: This place was as cold as the South Pole, a place she had visited a few times. It was her first time so far north in the world, and a spark of curiosity lit her eyes.
She noticed the snow, the wind, and the dim, scarce sunlight that was replaced by the darkness of night. The inhabitants of Agna Qel'a seemed to welcome the darkness with happiness, and they were becoming increasingly cheerful.
Then, she focused her eyes on the most important people in the place, apart from the Avatar: Yue wore clothes more suitable for a leader of her tribe. Under the mischievous suggestion of a certain nephew, she even created an ice tiara to adorn her white hair.
No power emanated abruptly from her, yet Suki sensed that the new leader of the Northern Water Tribe was different from her. She had quickly adapted to her role as ruler, exuding a vague aura of superiority.
Although the people of Kyoshi Island loved and respected her greatly, Suki had not developed this kind of demeanor because she had grown up living with the girls as if they were her sisters.
Noticing her gaze, Yue approached Suki, smiling as she held out her hand.
"Welcome to the North Pole, Leader Suki. It seems you are the only one who does not know my nephew," she said, introducing herself before pointing out how the group accompanying the Avatar was catching up with the group dressed in nobility attire from the Fire Nation.
Aang, especially, who had been chatting with Shisui and Zuko since they landed. Katara also seemed to connect well with the girls in the group.
"Thank you for the welcome, Chief Yue. It seems I have a lot of work ahead of me to fit in. It's been said that an earthbender friend of theirs is approaching on a ship from the Earth Kingdom," Suki revealed with a self-deprecating smile. This piqued Yue's interest.
Yue already knew from the tribe's scouts that a special ship bearing the Earth Kingdom emblem and the insignia of the noble Beifong family was a few hours away.
"Why didn't she come with you?" Yue asked curiously, making Suki laugh.
"Because, according to Aang, she prefers being a 'pirate,' though she hasn't committed any crimes. I hypothesize that, since she's an Earthbender, she probably doesn't like heights very much," Suki replied, unaware that a certain blind teenager had just sneezed in the distance, which she attributed to the cold environment.
"Toph seems very shy," commented Shisui, who had overheard Yue and Suki's conversation, as he approached with the rest of the boys.
"I think she's happy with your idea," said Aang, looking curiously at Yue. He had already encountered her briefly, but the situation was different now.
Now that he was in closer contact with her, he could sense the exuberant spiritual energy emanating from her body. The interesting thing was that he felt a sense of familiarity in her presence.
If he hadn't known that Yue was a Waterbender and that there were probably no Airbenders in her family, he would have mistaken her for one of his people.
"Remember that Shisui told you about her. The spirit of the moon, Tui, put part of her essence into that young woman. It's similar to our situation," a deep female voice said in Aang's mind when some doubts assailed the young Avatar.
Raava had actively communicated with him. She did not often do this; few Avatars had heard her voice while alive. However, because of a certain sage, this ancient spirit had decided to play an active role in her new host's life.
The changes brought to Shisui greatly intrigued this being, who was dedicated to maintaining the bright side of things because the Sage's past actions made her feel strange.
Although his ideas, discoveries, and inventions could unleash chaos, their long-term benefits outweighed the potential damage. Even firearms had their uses in action and the study of physics, chemistry, and anatomy.
Shisui himself seemed to be a manifestation of the long-awaited balance that was difficult to achieve. If she wanted the Avatar to carry out her responsibilities in the best way possible, Raava decided to interact more with the outside world.
"Do you mean meditating until you can expel your essence so that I can see it? That's even more incredible than a woman getting pregnant!" Ty Lee, whose tendency to go off on tangents was unparalleled, responded to Aang.
"It was just something that occurred to me. I feel that if I understand the concept of life better, I could fix her eyes," Shisui commented, not surprised by his words. The best part? Those who knew him well simply nodded, taking it as a casual comment.
They knew he might be capable of doing that.
"I don't think she'll accept it. Toph has accepted her condition as an advantage. Although she's happy to have the opportunity to see the world with a special technique, I doubt she wants you to cure her vision." Although Mai was quite quiet, she understood people's psychology quite well. During her interactions with Toph, she had come to understand her quite well.
"It's still surprising that you want to aspire to something like that!" Katara, who was particularly amazed by Shisui's words and understood how difficult they were, commented excitedly.
"He's the Omnipotent Sage Shisui. If he can't do something, he'll surely fix it. Don't be surprised if one day he creates living ice animals," Sokka commented, waving his hand with little interest. However, his words made Shisui's eyes narrow.
"That sounds promising," said Shisui, closing his eyes completely and entering a state of deep meditation.
"Oh, by Agni, you've given him a new idea," Azula sighed, patting her face. She knew that Shisui would probably fall asleep late tonight.
However, she and the others were interested in what Sokka had said. Seeing how the wise man had fallen silent and was contemplating something, they quietly moved away.
"He'll think of something, right? Yesterday's dragon acted like a living creature, even though I know he was manipulating it," Petra murmured because she didn't want to interrupt Shisui's concentration.
"He's getting ahead of himself again," Zuko said quietly and distractedly.
He wasn't jealous of his friend. He was happy for him. Still, a strange feeling grew inside him. Would he always fall behind and let Shisui lead the way? Couldn't he contribute something?
Zuko looked at his palms in silence. Slowly, a smile appeared on his face. Did Shisui need to understand life? Why not help him with that?
So, under everyone's watchful gaze, Zuko threw a punch into the air using Firebending. Although they were in a secluded area where only they were present, the flames of the Fire Nation prince attracted the attention of the Agna Qel'a inhabitants.
The fire he generated was a deep golden color, not yellow or orange, but pure gold, like the sun itself. The city was suddenly illuminated by a warm light from the ball of flames, making everyone feel comfortable.
Zuko had used the healing properties of fire and adapted them to the solar flames he could barely manifest. He did this to give Shisui a perspective on the concept of life and help him.
"Zuzu, you sometimes have good ideas," said Azula, the quintessential younger sister, as she easily criticized her older brother before replicating his action.
Alongside Zuko's solar fire, Princess Azula's will-o'-the-wisp formed a sphere that floated alongside it, as if they were twin stars in the sky.
Although she did not fully understand the fire she could create, as a prodigy of firebending, she had already done preliminary tests on it, so her mastery of it was better than the first time she created it. Now, she could replicate Zuko's actions and imbue them with healing properties.
"Wait! Shisui once told me about this. Zuzu, follow me." Azula didn't offer much of an explanation, but a mass of electric rays formed in her hand and chirped like a thousand birds.
She had heard from Shisui that life could be generated by many conditions, one of which was lightning. When lightning strikes the ocean, it can catalyze reactions that lead to all living beings today.
"It seems that sneaking into Shisui's laboratory has its advantages!" Zuko, who understood his younger sister, replicated her actions with a smile on his face. Together, they shot the rays in their hands into the sky, forming two flashes.
"I want to join in, too!" Petra stamped her foot on the ground, breaking the frozen floor and pulling a block of earth from deep within it. Under her control, it emitted a soft golden glow that made people feel relaxed.
Healing arts! Every element could possess them, but the Waterbenders' management system at the North Pole had developed them quite a bit, perhaps one of the few good things about it.
"I haven't delved much into this, but it seems I can contribute something." Aang was no fool. Ever since Zuko made the first fireball, he had understood the meaning of the others' actions, so he joined in.
A light wind enveloped the area. Anyone who was injured would notice their wounds improving slightly. Even a person's exhaustion could be alleviated by breathing in the healing air generated by Aang.
"Girl, why don't you join us?" Yue asked Katara, who lowered her head, somewhat embarrassed.
"I don't have much experience compared to Shisui. I can't help or contribute anything useful," Katara replied. But Yue took her arm in an intimate gesture before pointing to Shisui.
"You don't need to offer something profound; just a new point of view or a different perspective will suffice. Even a non-bender can do that." Water is fluid, isn't it? Come with me and the others, and I'll let you flow. You just have to concentrate." Yue's words reached Mai, Ty Lee, Sokka, and Suki, and they nodded excitedly in agreement.
They weren't useless just because they were non-benders! Shishui had already taught them that. Now, why not give something back to him? Even if it was small compared to everything he had done for them, it was a start.
Yue's eyes flashed brightly. Raava, sensing the white-haired girl's actions, encouraged Aang to enter the Avatar state.
Yue generated a water orb that emanated blue light, and Katara directed the process, allowing Yue to understand how she could do waterbending from a higher angle.
She also made the energies of all the nonbenders present 'flow,' connecting them to the sphere of water. In the Avatar state, Aang was also connected to this peculiar flow. He didn't know it at the time, but this was profound energy bending for him, not to save his life but to guide Shisui.
Yue and Aang expanded this connection to include Petra, Azula, Zuko, and Shisui. Thus, the sage's mind, which had already been processing his companions' previous actions, suddenly filled with ideas related to life and energy.
In his deep meditative state, Shisui's somewhat discarded ability to sense things through water was enhanced.
It worked like Zuko's or Azula's perception of heat, Petra's, Toph's, and Lao Ge's perception of vibrations, or Aang's perception of wind.
He felt the water; he was the water. He already knew and understood these things, but now they were reinforced. Even his gift participated in this, activating itself despite his closed eyelids.
With yesterday's experiences with energy, as well as his friends' and family's perceptions of life, especially that of the unborn being Shisui, he took another step on his path to spiritual sublimation.
"I... am..." Shisui murmured before a wild smile spread across his face.
Thousands of memories from past lives flashed through his mind again. The one that made the greatest impression on him, however, was this last life. He was born, grew up, and settled here.
He didn't take over the body of a baby; he was that baby. He did not have the soul or maturity of an adult from his past life. He was an infant, a teenager, and now an adult.
He would be a father, a sage, an enlightened one, a waterbender, a warrior, a friend, and an enemy.
"From the stagnant waters, life emerged from my hand... YOU EMERGE." Shisui opened his eyes and watched the actions of those close to him. He watched Suki grow closer to him and the mysteries of energy bending.
With his words, the snow melted and gathered into the shape of a turtle duck, which then froze. Surprisingly, the ice sculpture took small steps, and Shisui created an ice pond in which the animal swam happily.
"It's not alive, but I'm not controlling its movement," Shisui said before falling to his knees, exhausted.
Azula approached him and knelt beside him, looking at him with golden eyes full of love and wonder. After a few seconds, she flushed and murmured something.
"Our children must be born naturally in the future. They can't be made of ice."
----------
AN: There's an animation about the main characters of my original novel 'Witch's Adventure', in this paragraph.