The meditation cave was still, the faint sound of dripping water echoing softly. Guru Pathik sat calmly before Tai Lung, his eyes steady and kind.
"We arrive now at the Fire chakra," Pathik began. "It is located in the stomach. It deals with willpower and is blocked by shame. Tell me, Tai Lung, what are you ashamed of? For what reason are you disappointed in yourself?"
At once, a vision clouded Tai's mind. He saw himself once more in the Jade Palace, his heart burning with ambition. He had been so certain, so eager to claim the title of Dragon Warrior, to see the prideful look and happiness in Shifu's eyes. Yet the day it was denied him, everything shattered. His fists curled as he recalled the blind rage that followed, the innocent villagers beneath his fury. "I was once denied something I was desperate to achieve," Tai said, his voice low, almost harsh. "In my wrath, I attacked the innocent. I vented my rage on them, and destroyed their homes. Release through destruction was the only thing I knew, what I trained in my whole life. 'Attack the weaknesses and make the enemy suffer', that's the core of my style and I turned it on the innocents because I was just angry."
Pathik nodded, though his expression was heavy with gravity. "And that shame still sits within you. But listen, Tai Lung, balance is not found by burying fault. It is found by accepting it, and then striving to make amends, however difficult. Shame weakens will. Making peace with your past strengthens it."
Tai Lung's jaw tightened, but then he exhaled. "If I go back there one day… I will apologize to those I wronged unfairly."
A gentle smile touched Pathik's lips. "Good. You have opened your Fire chakra."
He continued, his voice calm but resonant. "The next chakra is Air. It rests in the heart, dealing with love and it is blocked by grief."
Tai's eyes unfocused as memories swept through him. He saw the old world, the Jade Palace, the animals, the endless kung fu. Sixteen years had passed in this strange new land, yet still, he drifted back to what he had lost. "I live in this world," Tai whispered, "but I do not belong to it. Everything feels wrong to me. I am all alone."
Pathik tilted his head gently. "Do you not have a family? People whose company you enjoy? People you might even call friends?"
For the first time, Tai's expression softened into something faintly warm. He thought of his parents, of Ty Lee and Mai, of his loyal crew. The corners of his mouth curved into a small smile.
"So you have such people," Pathik said, nodding. "Then you already have bonds. You belong to this world, Tai Lung. You are not alone."
Tai inhaled deeply, and released the breath in a slow, steady stream. "You are right. I shouldn't linger in those thoughts, I am different but not truly alone."
"Then let us move forward," Pathik said. "The Sound chakra lies in the throat. It deals with truth and is blocked by lies."
"I have never truly considered myself a human. Nor even a bender," Tai replied immediately, his voice full of clarity. "I am not like everyone else. I never have been. What I told others was never the truth of what I thought of myself."
Pathik's brows lifted in surprise. "Then tell me, what do you consider yourself?"
A faint smile touched Tai's lips. "I am a kung fu master before anything else. That is who I am. Everything else comes afterward."
Pathik hummed thoughtfully. "A new term to my ears."
"It is foreign to this world, but you can say it is like the root of bending styles without elements" Tai replied simply.
The guru gazed at him for a long while before bowing his head. "Congratulations, Tai Lung. You have opened another chakra."
He wasted no time moving forward. "Now we come to the Light chakra, located in the forehead. It deals with insight, and is blocked by illusion."
At once, Tai Lung's mind was filled with an illusion so real it twisted his heart. He was back in the Jade Palace, kneeling before Grand Master Oogway. The ancient tortoise looked upon him with pride. "Congratulations," Oogway said warmly, "for becoming the Dragon Warrior."
Shifu stood nearby, eyes glistening with joy.
Oogway extended the Dragon Scroll, waiting for Tai Lung to claim it.
For a moment, Tai Lung just stared before his paw reached out. He took the scroll and opened it, only to reflect his face in its blank golden inside. Tai Lung stood there staring at himself silently, he lost track of time as his mind kept replaying his first life.
Then slowly, he returned the Dragon scroll to Oogway before turning to look at Shifu Calmly, he said, "I know now, that was never my destiny. Perhaps in my blind pursuit I lost my true destiny. And that is fine. It took me too long to understand the meaning of the dragon scroll and how I lost to Po. I lost the moment I stopped believing in myself."
Tai lung smiled as he took a few steps toward Shifu, bowed deeply, and whispered, "Thank you for everything… and I am sorry for what I have done, Father. I promise you I will find my new destiny this time."
Then, turning to Oogway, he added, "I know this was your way of testing me. But I will never find peace if I simply let it go like this."
Before hesitation could stop him, Tai Lung's fist lashed out. His strike thundered against Oogway, sending the master flying.
The illusion shattered.
Tai opened his eyes in the cave and laughed, a raw, unrestrained sound. "That felt good, even if it was just an illusion."
Pathik stared at him strangely. He had not seen the vision itself, but he could feel the ripple of Tai Lung's chi, the emotions radiating from him. Whatever had occurred had been steeped in violence, yet somehow, impossibly, the chakra had opened.
When Pathik's senses returned, he found Tai Lung watching him silently, waiting.
With a soft chuckle, the guru reached for the familiar bowl of onion-scented soup and extended it.
Tai took it with a smirk, drinking deeply. "You should come out of seclusion and taste real food for once."
Pathik laughed quietly.
Pathik continued "The final chakra, the thought chakra, located at the crown of the head. It dealt with cosmic energy and was blocked by earthly attachment."
Tai Lung paused at that and said, "That's not possible."
Pathik replied, "You must let go of it all if you want to open the final chakra and achieve inner peace."
Tai answered, "Aside from the people who I know and I met in my life, my greatest attachment is my own kung fu, my training, and my skills. If I let go of that all, what is left of me?"
Pathik replied calmly, "Everything has an end. You need to learn that losing something is not the end."
Tai shook his head. "Losing something is one thing, but letting go of it intentionally is another. The peace you speak of is emptiness."
Pathik sighed. "If you can't let go of it, you will never open the final chakra."
Tai Lung chuckled, relaxed and without an ounce of worry. "It is fine. I am satisfied with the other six. I want to remain true to myself and my teachings this time. Letting go is not even an option."
Pathik sighed again and said, "I didn't mention earlier that the process can't be stopped once it starts. If you don't complete it now, then you will never open the seventh chakra."
Tai Lung paused at that. As far as he knew from the Jade Palace's teachings, inner peace took time and was achieved gradually, not in a single step. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "I believe inner peace can be achieved in different ways. Maybe your method is not fully suitable for me."
Pathik sighed. "You have experienced the opening of six chakras. Your spirit needs to be ready and accepting. You can't just forcefully open the chakra later on because you tried something else."
Tai was silent for a moment, then said, "Now that I think of it, that is not necessarily true."
Pathik looked confused. Tai smiled. "Previously, I thought my chakras were opened, but now I can feel six of them truly are, while the seventh is half-opened, as you put it. Maybe I can force it open."
Pathik replied, "That's not how it should work."
Tai smiled. "I am a kung fu master. I don't fully conform to the laws of this world."
He sat again, cross-legged. He began rotating chi in his body like he used to. This time, with his chakras opened, he could feel his control and flow were nothing like before. The last chakra was the clog of his body.
Tai focused all of his chi and forced it into flowing through the seventh chakra. As he did, Tai felt a severe pain in his head due to his actions, but he persisted. He wanted the chakra to open forcefully.
Pathik, seeing this, spoke up urgently. "Stop this madness now! You will harm yourself!"
But Tai didn't listen. Instead, he pushed his chi even harder.
The next moment, golden chi exploded from Tai's body like a torrent, shocking Pathik. The chi radiated from Tai's body like a storm, it was visible to the naked eye.
Pathik just stared at the sight and whispered, "How could this be? What are you?"