A trio of people had gathered in one of the halls of the mansion. There was Ty Lee sitting on her knees, Master Piandao standing opposite her, and the butler Fat, holding a recently forged sword and a pair of sai daggers. All the weapons were forged from a recently fallen meteorite. The resulting metal had a special black color, astounding durability, and sharpness, which were achieved thanks to a special blue fire and the master's forging skills. However, expensive and exquisite scabbards did not allow one to discern this rare metal. There was enough meteorite metal for the student's gift, and the teacher had some left in reserve. The master spared no detail, using all his skills to create the perfect weapon for his genius student.
— Li. When you first came to me, I immediately noticed your talents. But during our training, I was not impressed by your combat skills, — the master took the sword from the butler's hands, revealing the most beautiful and deadly meteorite steel. The black metal barely shone in the sun. — No, not at all. You showed much more. Resourcefulness, wit, purposefulness, quick wits, and the desire to reach the top. It is these qualities that define a fighter. It is these qualities that define you. The fallen meteorite only confirms your uniqueness. This sword is my best work; take it from my hands as a symbol of the end of your training. Such a masterpiece is worthy of even an imperial personage, — after making a couple of practice swings with the sword, the master put it into the scabbard, handing it to his student.
— Thank you, master. I will live up to this weapon, — the girl accepted the sword from the master's hands.
"Don't forget about the daggers. Did I put out the fire for nothing, and then drag the space rock to the hill in the castle for half the night?" — the spirit reminded her of his presence.
It was he who noticed the meteorite falling. It happened late at night, when the spirit was enjoying the beauty of the starry sky. The flashing meteor and the subsequent sound of an explosion interested him. Having gone to the place where it fell, the spirit put out the fire with firebending and dragged the celestial stone to the forge, wanting to get weapons made from this metal.
— Don't stop there. In time, you will be able to surpass anyone and leave your own mark on history, — after these words, the master bowed as an equal to an equal, thereby acknowledging his student's mastery.
"How dramatic, but he's definitely right about something," — the spirit didn't allow her to forget about him.
— I will always perfect my skills. Thank you again for teaching me so much, — the girl bowed in response.
With that, the farewell ceremony was over. Azula slung a bag of her belongings over her shoulder, attached the scabbard with the sword to her belt, and the sai daggers to her lower back, and headed for the city. All her things had been packed the day before. The hawk had been sent ahead of time; she had received the answer. Her personal ship was waiting in the port. There were no long farewell ceremonies; she and the master had already discussed a lot recently. With a calm soul, she left the mansion, heading for her ship.
However, as soon as she went outside the castle gate and walked a couple of dozen meters, she was called out to.
— Wait! — stopping and turning around, the girl noticed the butler Fat running towards her.
"I wonder, did you forget something?" — the spirit thought, trying to remember what they could have forgotten.
— The master gave you this. So that you don't forget about him, — having run up to Ty Lee, Fat handed her a small bag with something unknown, after which he bowed in farewell and headed back to the mansion.
"Hmm, what could it be?"
Loosening the string, the girl put her hand inside, pulling out into the light…
"Pai Sho tiles, curious. Piandao loves this game very much," — the spirit thoughtfully remarked.
— A white lotus, what could this mean? — Azula also said thoughtfully, examining the white lotus tile. The girl even began to guess something, casting a glance at the gate of Piandao's castle, she thought about the meaning of this flower. There was also an image of a white lotus on the doors, as in many parts of the castle where she had lived for almost a month.
"I can give you a hint," — the spirit offered with a smirk, hinting that he knew something that had escaped the princess's gaze.
— How would you know such details? — Azula doubted.
"You yourself have guessed it. I just did it a little bit faster. Well, how about it, should I satisfy your curiosity?" — the voice in the girl's head continued to be sarcastic.
— Just say it.
"It's an ancient secret order with questionable goals, but strong individuals who are surely masters of certain types of bending. The white lotus tile will help you open doors and get information in some special places. As you should have already guessed, its members love the white lotus flower. Do you remember his special Pai Sho game tactics?" — the spirit explained smugly, proud that he had figured it out before the girl.
— Of course.
"It's probably a password, maybe it will come in handy for you in the future. Save these tiles, we'll get a board sometime and play, I heard it's a very popular game in the world of the living. You know, I just remembered, we haven't played chess in almost three weeks!" — the spirit began to enthusiastically reminisce about the recent past, when they spent time on intellectual games.
— When we get back to the ship, we'll definitely play, — Azula replied, walking along the road…
The girl, who had been pretending to be someone else for almost a month, left the mansion. She calmly walked to the city. Azula felt great. Over the past time, the princess had grown quite homesick for the luxurious life in the palace and a personal staff of servants with a personal manicure master, but most of all she longed for spacious hot springs. In this, the spirit was in solidarity with her.
From the city, the girl headed directly to the port, wanting to get to her ship as soon as possible, she did not linger for a second. However, without reaching the port, she decided to stop halfway and unexpectedly went off the road into a field.
"I think we were going to the ship? Or have you planned something in secret from me?" — the spirit quickly noticed the strangeness in the girl's behavior.
— Yes. It won't take long, I want to check something, — Azula replied briefly, continuing to walk across the field.
After walking for almost half a kilometer, she stopped among the endless expanses of grass. Making a circular motion, she burned a small circle in the field with blue flame. After that, she sat down in a lotus position on the burned ground, intending to meditate. The girl's breathing was accompanied by the release of large streams of fire. The escaping flame quickly surrounded Azula, enclosing her in a ring and rising up and descending to the ground in time with her breathing.
— I think it's long overdue for us to talk. I remember someone promised to tell me more as soon as I finished my training with Piandao. In all the time we've known each other, I haven't even learned your name; I think now is the best time to fix that.
"I see… Yes, you're right, I said something like that, but…" — the spirit began to answer calmly, only to be quickly interrupted.
— Our relationship can already be called friendly. It would be extremely unethical now to hide behind your desire to hear poetry from me, — she put the spirit in his place, remembering his idiotic idea of forgiveness in a poetic form.
"Yes, you're right, I think it's time to tell you a little more, ask your questions, I'll try to answer each of them," — the spirit answered submissively, who had been expecting a similar turn of events for a couple of weeks now. And his previous excuses had long looked pale and forced.
— Your name? — Azula asked decisively, intending to get as much information out of the spirit as possible.
"Ah, how banal. My name… the name given to me at birth. When I was still an ordinary person. Now it has no meaning for me, because I'm already dead. Honestly, I would like you to give me a new name, but to be frank. At my birth, I received the following name "擁有世界". That's how it would sound in your language," — the spirit calmly explained, making the princess very surprised.
— That's a bit too arrogant. Too much even by the standards of my family. What kind of conceit and narcissism do you have to have to give such a name? Or was someone trying to compensate for something in this way? — the girl sarcastically suggested.
"You wanted to know my name, I told you. I would be grateful if you came up with a new one for me, I don't like my old one, and it belonged only to a person, when now I am something more."
— You are? You don't look like something more than a person. Maybe the opposite, something less? You can't even leave my body.
"Everyone has their flaws. Ask your next question," — the Spirit replied in a tired voice.
— Okay, I want to ask you about a lot of things…
After that, the princess began to ask her questions of interest. During the time she had known the spirit, she had accumulated enough of them. And now, she had chosen the right time, found the right arguments, and had gotten to know the character of her body's cohabitant enough to shed light on all the secrets.
The goals of her unwilling cohabitant were simple—he strongly wanted a new body. The spirit with an extremely pompous and grandiose name was also very interested in bending and controlling inner energy. He was interested in a lot of things in the world. He planned to take a small trip through the lands of the Fire Nation, gain wisdom, and at the same time see the world of people. And since he was locked in her body, he was going to travel with her and see the world through her eyes.
Somewhere their goals coincided, and somewhere they did not. However, the girl was in no hurry to express her opinion, pulling the long-awaited answers from her bodiless acquaintance.
The spirit was reluctant to talk about himself, but he still did. All Azula learned was that he was an ordinary person, well-versed in spiritual practices and who had performed a special ritual. What he did, what status he had, when he was born, and what nation he belonged to, the spirit decided to remain silent about all of that. It was the ritual that allowed him to retain his memories after death, while usually memory and personality are the first things to be lost after the body ceases to function. The spirit did not say more about the ritual that grants immortality, and she did not insist.
Using the spirit as an example, Azula saw all the disadvantages of such immortality. She believed that it was better to live a short life as a ruler than to be immortal and lead a miserable existence as a bodiless creature. She was not interested in the ritual or this kind of immortality.
The girl had learned the spirit's character long ago, so she did not waste time. Instead, the girl wanted to know the details of what the spirit was and how he ended up in her body.
The spirit said that after the ritual, he lost the ability to experience all human feelings and became aware of himself in the spirit world. Another spirit, who looked like a white monkey, told him that he was not in the human world. In that world, few people liked to talk, and it was terribly difficult to navigate it. Traveling through the spirit world for an unknown amount of time, her cohabitant came across a passage to the human world.
From that moment on, he began to study the human world in search of a suitable body, as he wanted to regain his feelings. But spirits do not belong in the human world. The world itself tries to drive them away, preventing them from simply being in it. Her interlocutor had been in the human world for too long, and he no longer had time to go back. Flying over the palace, he, by accident or by the will of fate, found himself in the right place at the right time. Due to the Fire Lily ritual, he was simply sucked into Azula's body. Since at that moment, all her chakras were most likely open.
"That's how I ended up in you, without wanting to. I don't know how to get out of you, but I think it's a matter of chakras. If you open all your chakras, I will be able to leave your body. You can also perform the Fire Lily ritual again, maybe that will help," — the spirit concluded his long story with a little reflection.
— Too many coincidences, — the girl remarked on his speech.
"I'm telling you a brief version, I can also tell you with all the details if you have a lot of free time. But if it makes you feel better, I planned to inhabit the body of some admiral's or general's son. Someone no one pays attention to, and no one cares about, but he has a potentially good position in society and money," — the spirit calmly explained, giving information that was closer to the truth.
— I have a couple more questions…
He learned about Piandao from rumors that he had collected while visiting the human world. The spirit wanted to reconcile with Azula, so he hastily came up with a simple plan that forced the girl to leave the palace and stop any attempts to get rid of him. As soon as she left the palace, the spirit's behavior changed, and he began to mend their relationship. At these words, Azula gave a poisonous smirk, remembering that she had been living with an extra personality in her head for almost a month.
After that, there were a couple more minor questions. The princess needed to lull her interlocutor's vigilance before asking the really important questions. And when Azula felt the right moment, she asked:
— You have repeatedly demonstrated more advanced knowledge, games, and even stories with sayings that no one knows. Maybe I don't know everything in the world, but how do you know all this? — concentrating, Azula began to take careful control of the Chi inside her body.
"This is a bit more complicated than it might seem. I would not want to answer this question," — the spirit calmly replied, feeling safe.
— I see, but what if I insist? — the girl continued just as calmly, realizing that her interlocutor had not noticed her manipulations.
"I don't think this topic… Ar-r-rgh" — the spirit's calm phrase was interrupted by a painful growl.
After that, there was only silence…
— Spirit? — the girl didn't believe that such a trifle could get rid of the parasite.
"What did you do?" — after a little while, the spirit asked in a wary voice with notes of pain. Previously, the princess only guessed the effectiveness of such a method, but now she had received direct confirmation. She could hurt him!
— I just took control of my Chi, directing it to the chakras in my head. How do you like it?
"Unpleasant… And how long have you been able to do that?"
— That's not important now. I just wanted to show you that I can do this, — Azula answered calmly, with notes of authority, feeling her superiority.
"So you were able to hide your abilities in Chi control from me. To figure out where I was hiding, to play a great game. Huh, I did say that you are a great actress. I seem to have let my guard down. You have outplayed me again, Azula," — the spirit answered in a quiet voice, realizing more and more with each second that this was his defeat.
— I already told you: you're a bad actor. Answer me where you got such knowledge and maybe I'll show you mercy and keep you as my servant.
"I know how you treat your servants. I don't need such a life, I also have ambitions and desires. I refuse to tell you… Argh…" — the interlocutor's defiant speech was interrupted by another painful groan. The girl once again used her Chi control to hurt her interlocutor.
— After all the threats, insults, humiliations, and everything else you did to me. You resist my mercy? Unheard of audacity. Perhaps because of your meager intellect, you can't fully understand what a deplorable position you are in? You continue to exist only because of my desire to get more information out of you, — the princess continued to press.
Demonstrating her power over her interlocutor's fate, Azula wanted to hear notes of fear in his voice. But they weren't there. The spirit was not afraid of her at all, even while experiencing severe pain. This greatly angered the princess, who was used to causing fear in everyone around her.
"Oh… Unpleasant feelings. It's like I've plunged into a boiling spring. I'm sorry to hear such words; I had hoped that we had become quite close to each other," — the spirit said with pain in his voice.
— You're just a fool if you think I need friends. Our opinions differ in many ways; I was forced to lie and pretend to lull your vigilance and get more useful information. Everything that was between us was just another game of mine, nothing more.
"You lie too well," — the spirit reluctantly admitted.
— Of course, you have a lot more useful information, I would like to get it. Where are you from? You didn't come from the spirit world, your name is too unconventional. Where did you get so much knowledge? Answer me!
"I won't, we both know what you'll do to me once you get everything you need," — in response, she once again directed even more Chi into her head. The interlocutor did not scream in pain, no. He just fell silent.
— You should think more about the present than about the future. Answer me, I will get what I want anyway…
The princess began to torture the spirit again, repeating her questions. However, the spirit began to show surprising endurance and persistence. He remained silent, or tried to be sarcastic. If there was one thing he was a master at, it was provoking Azula. After each use of Chi, the spirit remained silent for longer and longer. But the princess was no longer going to tolerate his presence in her body.
— Why are you resisting? Just give up, your resistance is futile and useless! Why do you resist becoming my servant so much? Do you not want to share your knowledge?! Why all this resistance?! — the girl shouted, getting carried away, feeling deeply impressed by his persistence and steadfastness.
"N-o-o," — a weak, painful voice was her answer.
— Then just disappear! Get rid of your voice, your presence, your sarcasm! Disappear!!! — Azula became enraged, and began to torture her interlocutor even more than before.
"Ava-H-r-r-r…" — the spirit was about to say something else, but only a wheeze came out.
Falling silent soon after, he no longer answered her or reacted to any of the princess's actions.
— Spirit? — only the sound of the wind was her answer.
Azula tried to get an answer from the demon for about half an hour, but he remained silent. Convinced that the parasite would no longer bother her, she got up from the lotus position, stretched her shoulders, and took a deep breath. She was finally rid of him! It finally happened, she won, outsmarted the bodiless demon, becoming only stronger. But it all happened not quite as she wanted.
Looking one last time at the burned spot in the field, Azula felt a certain melancholy. Everything could have ended differently.
Quickly driving away foolish thoughts with unnecessary feelings, the princess went to her ship. A familiar life, full of wealth and luxury, awaited her, in which there would be no talkative parasite…