Tai Lung stared up at the sky, his golden eyes narrowing as the world above shifted into shadow. The sun was swallowed by darkness, its blazing light replaced by a hollow ring of fire. For the first time in either of his lives, he was witnessing an eclipse. In his past life, he had only heard of such an event from tales. Now, at last, he saw it with his own eyes.
Beside him, Azula leaned closer and whispered, her tone strangely hushed, "It is the Black Sun. I have read in the scrolls from the Royal Palace that we firebenders lose our ability to bend during the Black Sun."
Tai Lung did not reply, just gave a nod. He could already feel it. His chi was being suppressed, pressed down as though the very world itself sought to seal it away. He frowned, wondering if this was the same thing the waterbenders had experienced during Zhao's reckless assault on the Moon Spirit.
His thoughts were cut short when the old water tribe master turned to face him. Tai Lung's sharp gaze caught the change immediately, the hardened steel in the man's eyes, he knew immediately.
"Did you change your mind?" Tai Lung asked calmly, though his voice carried a quiet warning.
The old master's expression was grave. "I did not want to fight you. I knew death was the only outcome of facing you. But it seems the spirits do not want me to leave, the black sun is a sign, fate has spoken. I know it is not an honorable thing to go back on my agreement or to attack someone when he is weakened."
Tai Lung's eyes narrowed further.
"This might be the only time where we can defeat you, when you are not able to bend fire," the old man admitted, his voice steady despite the conflict he felt in his heart. "You are the greatest threat to this world, after all."
Tai Lung tilted his head, a faint smirk tugging at his mouth. "Am I now? Tell me, what did I do?"
The master took his stance, water coiling around him like living serpents. "You are too strong," he said firmly. "And you stand at the Fire Nation's side. There is no need to talk anymore. I am Pakku, waterbending master of the Northern Water Tribe. I am sorry it has come to this… but I see no other choice. However, I will ensure your companion can go back to the ship safely"
Azula dropped into a stance without hesitation, and with a voice full of sarcasm "What an honorable master," she said, eyes flashing. "I am so moved by your words that I almost feel like crying."
Tai Lung raised a single hand toward her. "He is after me," he said quietly. "Stay out of it."
Azula studied him for a heartbeat, then relaxed and took several steps back. She knew Tai Lung was a dangerous fighter even without bending: speed, strength and technique honed beyond what most could imagine. Tai Lung took a slow step forward; a smile touched his face. "Maybe it is indeed the work of spirits," he murmured. "Maybe this clash was destined to happen."
Pakku inhaled, then moved.
His water coiled about him and froze into a spray of icicle spears that shot toward Tai Lung like a storm of frozen spears. Tai Lung made no show of fear; he took a stance and the next moment he hit the sides of the spears with incredible speed, causing them to rotate mid-air.
Tai Lung followed by punching and kicking the back side, sending them back toward Pakku, two times faster than before. Pakku's eyes widened, and he quickly created an ice wall to block the spears.
The moment the spears hit the wall, cracks appeared due to the powerful impact. Pakku was surprised by that, but he had no time as Tai Lung came from above the wall and down at Pakku with an axe kick. The old master jumped back, barely dodging the kick.
Tai Lung's foot continued downward, hitting the ice; in an instant, cracks spread everywhere. Pakku, in that moment, was alarmed; if that kick had landed, he might have died on the spot. Without hesitation, the old master bent the ice below Tai Lung's foot, turning it into water.
But Tai Lung was faster; he flipped back at the frozen wall. Pakku controlled the water to follow Tai Lung, who, with a swift movement, jumped back again behind the ice wall. Pakku melted the wall and looked at Tai Lung, who was back where he started, still smiling at the old master. Pakku breathed slowly, but he couldn't hide the surprise in his eyes; Tai Lung was stronger and faster than he had imagined. For a moment, the old man thought he would lose if this fight was in the Earth Kingdom or anywhere where water is not abundant.
Pakku shook these thoughts and decided to focus on the battle at hand; he formed ice spears again, but this time they were smaller than the first wave. He unleashed them with double the speed of the earlier attack.
Tai Lung kept standing calmly as he watched the incoming bullet-like spears; then he lifted his hand, and a wave of blue fire burst out, evaporating the ice in a hiss of steam.
For a moment, Pakku, Azula, and the three young warriors standing behind the master all widened their eyes in the same dumbstruck shock. Pakku's voice came out strained, almost a whisper of disbelief. "Impossible! How are you still able to firebend?"
"I wanted to show you I can still fight and even win without bending. In truth, I could have killed you with that kick if I wanted to, you only dodged because I allowed you to" Tai Lung said.
He stepped closer, smile deepening until it became a predator's grin. Pakku took an involuntary step back; panic flitted across the old man's face as realization settled in. Then, as if from nowhere, electricity crackled up around Tai Lung. With the precise two-finger motion Tai Lung favored, lightning arced toward Pakku.
Pakku slammed up a wall of ice to defend. The lightning struck, and the impact detonated against the wall, an explosion of shattered ice and steam. Pakku scrambled another step back as he braced for what would come next.
What came next was worse: blue fire rained down from above. Pakku raised a second ice shield overhead and fought to hold the onslaught, but when he tried to pull back, Tai Lung, who took flight earlier in the cover of the explosion, descended vertically like a meteor, knowing the old master could not evade in time. He struck hard; Pakku was driven into the snow, crushed beneath the weight of the blow. Tai Lung stood over him, utterly calm.
"This was your choice," Tai Lung said, voice level. "Now you face the consequences."
Pakku looked up through pain and snow, summoned what he could, and lashed out with a final desperate stab of ice toward Tai Lung. But Tai Lung was faster. His hands moved in a blur; fire met the old master's arms and burned them. Pakku screamed.
Tai Lung walked past the defeated master without hesitation. He glanced at the three frozen, terrified water-tribe warriors and let the contempt in his voice show. "I take it you don't dare to fight me," he said. "That makes it easier. Take this old man and get lost, while I'm being nice. move now!!"
The three younglings ran like their lives depended on it, they carried Pakku and ran away.
Once the three young warriors hauled Pakku away and vanished into the white horizon, Azula stepped closer, her eyes fixed on Tai Lung.
"How are you still able to bend despite the Black Sun?" she asked, her voice carrying equal parts suspicion and curiosity.
Tai Lung exhaled slowly, his breath misting in the cold air. "I told you before about my visit to the Eastern Air Temple," he began. "There, I met an old guru named Pathik. He taught me something new, it helped me to progress further as a person and a bender."
Azula tilted her head slightly, waiting.
"Chakras," Tai Lung explained. "Points in the body where chi flows. Each one is tied to a different part of our being, survival, pleasure, willpower, love, truth, insight, and cosmic energy. To open them, you must release what blocks them: fear, guilt, shame, grief, lies, illusions… and finally, earthly attachment. Only then can chi flow freely."
He went on, detailing each chakra, its place in the body, and the steps Guru Pathik had shown him to open them. Azula listened, fascinated despite herself, her brow furrowed as if trying to process something that unlike anything she had been taught.
"When I unlocked them," Tai Lung continued, "I grew stronger, far stronger. My chi is no longer bound by the cycles of day, night, or even the Black Sun. I can sense the chi of other beings, feel the flow of energy across the world. That connection lets me stand here and ignore what weakens every other firebender. It is also thanks to that, I learned how to heal."
Azula's eyes widened. She had never heard anything like this before. That the airy philosophy of monks who preached balance and peace could yield such power felt like a contradiction, it is against the Fire Nation's way of thinking, where willpower and strong emotions are the true source of strength. Yet here Tai Lung was a living proof of what peace and balance can bring benders.
But Tai Lung did not linger on her wonder. He looked out at the endless ice instead. "Let's train here for a while longer," he said. "Then we'll go back to the ship. I don't want to frighten the people of the southern tribe. Most of them are women and children."
Azula arched an eyebrow. "I never understood why you care about such things. And now you just spared that old man, the one who went back on his words and tried to kill you."
Tai Lung's expression was calm. "I told you before, I don't wish to harm the innocent, attack without cause. And years ago, I killed tens of Earth Kingdom soldiers to save our trapped soldiers. I didn't think too much of it back then, but later I was confronted by the fact I am viewed as a dreadful monster wherever I went. They were right of course but it also gave me a sobering perspective that violence even for saving others, can still be harmful to the innocents, for the families of those I killed. Some may say, it is war and that's normal, but I know I could have done better, I chose to kill instead of to incapacitate,"
Tai Lung looked toward the direction where the water tribe members ran. "That old man fought me out of fear and what he thought a duty, not true malice or hate, but he still reneged on our agreement and so he deserved to be punished accordingly, his arms will be marked in the future for his choice and that's it. If I had gone all the way and killed him, then I have not changed at all. I'd be a fool repeating the mistakes of old. If I let myself fall into blind rage and violence, I would dishonor myself and those who taught me again."
For a moment, Azula stared at him, wondering if he was hiding some deeper secret. But then she shook her head, deciding it must be the air nomads' influence. Their whole culture was about peace and balance, it had clearly rubbed off on him way too much.
The two of them remained in the frozen land, training with relentless focus for three days straight before finally turning back toward the ship.