โ๏ธ: ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ง๐๐ง ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐...
โ๏ธ: ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฑ๐๐๐๐๐? ๐ท๐๐๐?
โ๏ธ: ๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ข ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ, ๐ฎ๐๐จ.
...
โ๏ธ: ๐พ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐.
ย
โ๏ธ:๐น๐ญ๐ช ๐ธ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ช ๐ฒ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ธ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ช?! ๐ฆ๐ผ----๐ธ๐ฎ๐จ๐ฐ! ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ผ๐ช ๐ฒ๐ช๐ช๐น ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฒ? ๐ต๐ฑ๐ช๐ฆ๐ธ๐ช? ๐ต๐ท๐ช๐น๐น๐พ ๐ต๐ฑ๐ช๐ฆ๐ธ๐ช?!
โ๏ธ: ๐๐๐๐, ๐ธ'๐... ๐ป๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐.ย
โ๏ธ: ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ช๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ข, ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ก๐๐๐ฒ?
...
...ย
๐๐จ.ย
๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐ง๐จ๐ฐ, ๐จ๐๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐.
...
โ๏ธ: ๐ผ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฌ๐๐จ๐.
**********
1 Day After the Merge
Stefan hit the ground with a harsh thud, steam rising from his body. His form glitched violentlyโbursts of pink, green, and teal flickering in and out of existence.
"Where...eฬณฬฟออeฬณฬฟออrฬณฬฟออrฬณฬฟออโam I?" he mumbled, his voice briefly distorted like broken audio.
He groaned, slowly rising to his feet, only to freeze as he caught sight of his armโshimmering with erratic, digital static. The glitching pulsed once more before fading back to normal.
Behind him, the rift still glowed. It shimmered and bent the air like heat waves on asphalt, warping the space like debris drifting beneath the surface of a lake.
He reached out to touch it.
"AGHโ!"
A jolt of searing energy surged through his hand, sending it into another spasm of glitching light. Bright, chaotic pixels burst from his fingers like a short-circuited LED.
The rift trembled, then suddenly collapsed inward. With a muted pop, it disappearedโleaving behind only two faint sparks that blinked out midair.
Stefan stood there, stunned, his hand still shaking.
"...What the hell was that about..."
He glanced around.
The trees towered above himโabsurdly tall, stretching endlessly upward like cathedral spires. The grass was soft and vividly green, almost too green, like someone spray painted it.
He reached down to feel itโonly for his finger to accidentally brush against a firefly.
The moment he did, a blinding wave of fireflies scattered into the sky like living sparks. They danced around him briefly before dispersing, leaving the forest dimly lit in their wake.
Startled, Stefan stepped back, his breath catching.
He wandered deeper into the cold, shadowy woods, each step quiet on the soft, mossy floor.
Thenโ
A bell.
A soft, metallic chime, echoed faintly in his ears.
Ding.
Ding.
"What... is with that STUPID fucking bell?!" he shouted.
His voice startled a hidden flock of birdsโor something like birdsโsending them flapping violently into the sky with harsh, insectile screeches.
Stefan dropped to his knees, clutching his head as the ringing continued in the back of his mind.
"Am I losing my mind...?" he asked aloud.
But the forest gave no answer.
He yanked at his hair in frustration, tearing out strandsโ
Only to freeze again.
The hairs in his hand weren't dark brown. They were an almost industrial white.
Panic surged in his chest. He scrambled toward a nearby puddle.
Leaning over, he caught his reflectionโ
And gasped.
His hair was now completely white.
The ocean blue in his eyes had drained, leaving behind a light, almost luminous gray.
It was as if every drop of color had been siphoned from his body.
He fell backward in the dirt, staring at nothing. Then, suddenlyโ
A laugh.
A sharp, erratic chuckle spilled from his throat, morphing into maniacal laughter.
He was alone.
Lost.
Confused.
Trapped.
Everything he felt back on Earthโthat anxiety, helplessness, fearโwas magnified here tenfold.
His thoughts spiraled. His pulse skyrocketed.
But thenโ
He remembered Ozai's words.
"That anxiety needs to become courage. It's the only way we can keep movingโin either world."
Stefan's laughter suddenly stopped. His expression fell hollow as he sat thereโsilent, distraught.
Ding.
Ding.
The bell echoed again, clearer now that he'd quieted down. He sat still, syncing his breathing with the tempo of the chime.
Eyes closed. The silence stretched on, a haunting eternityโuntil a sliver of light touched his face.
He blinked.
A narrow beam of sunlight pierced through the tangled canopy above. The first signs of dawn.
Stefan stood, sore and shaky, but drawn toward the light.
He pushed through the trees until they broke open into a cliffside clearing.
There, at the edge of the world, Stefan finally saw it:
An endless forest, sprawling for milesโsome parts of it floating in midair like fragmented islands.
The sun above was no ordinary sunโit was diamond-shaped, radiating sharp beams of yellow across the sky.
Massive creatures soared through the clouds, too far to make out.
To his right, a colossal ravine split the earth. Jagged walls descended into darkness, adorned with glowing stones embedded deep in its crust.
Stefan's breath hitched.
"Is this the world Ozai said he was from...?" he whispered, scratching his arm nervously.
"...Is this Enmida?"
In the far distance, a plume of smoke curled skywardโthen more shapes: rooftops. Wooden homes. A village.
Relief washed over him. For a moment, it felt like salvation.
Untilโ
The bushes behind him stirred.
Without hesitation, Stefan bolted, scrambling toward the slope down the cliff.
The rustling turned into sharp, jagged footsteps. Something was chasing him.
Stefan panicked, veering down the cliffside. It was steepโfar too steepโbut he had no choice.
He slid, clinging to rocky grooves. Dirt and stone scraped his palms. But thenโ
He lost grip.
He hit the ground hard, crying out as a bolt of pain shot through his ankle.
"Shitโ!" he gasped, clutching his leg.
No time to rest.
He forced himself up, dragging his leg behind him as he limped into the forest, eyes locked on the smoke in the distance.
"I need... to get to that town..."
Leaves slapped his face. Vines snagged at his arms. The forest seemed endless. But no more footsteps chased him.
Was it gone?
Stefan didn't care. He limped on, until finallyโ
A trail.
He nearly wept with relief. Hobbling forward, he followed it, desperate for signs of life.
But just as he tried to shoutโ
A shape dropped from the trees behind him with a heavy thud.
It was the thing.
Not gone. Not left behind. It had flown above him this whole time, waiting. Watching.
It stood tallโwings wide and elegant, a strange mix of brown, teal, and green feathers. Its body was long and feline, like a leopard's.
But its faceโits face was flat and compact, riddled with crooked teeth jutting past its lips like a monstrous pug. Drool dripped from its mouth.
Stefan froze.
The creature's pupils dilated.
Thenโit charged.
Stefan turned and ranโlimped, stumbled, pushed himself forward.
The creature let out a screech, extending two long, slender arms from beneath its wings like retracting landing gear, reaching for himโ
But suddenlyโ
A blur streaked past Stefan. A boy slammed into the beast, colliding with enough force to break ribs. The creature screeched, flailing, before launching into the sky and vanishing into the treetops.
The boy hit the ground and rolled to a stop.
Then he stood.
He couldn't have been older than thirteen. Black, jagged hair spiked in ridges across his head.
He wore leather shoulder and knee guards, clearly hand-me-downsโtoo big for him, bouncing slightly with every movement.
He turned, dramatically, posing with one hand on his hip and the other clenched in a fist.
"You there," he said, voice serious.
"State your nameโand the reason for you coming here..."
He held the pose for a beat.
"...To the hidden village of Hawthorn."