====== 9 - Battle with the Great Dragon ==========
9 - Battle with the Great Dragon
Across a large green meadow covered with a blanket of brightly coloured flowers, a young and energetic guy was slowly "floating." As a recent acquaintance had said, he had light feet, stepping between the flowers as they burst into life. His smile, filled with the purest peacefulness, filled the surroundings with light and gave everyone the desire to live!
"You're doing well, Aang," said a body standing aside, which in turn had no effect on the surrounding world. The legs of a certain lady passed right through the flowers, and the wind blew through the semi-transparent woman. Looking at her young successor, she said, "Every life should be treated like these flowers. Every soul strives towards its sun, and by harming them, you are cutting off the roots of the plant, concentrating around you the anger of those you have harmed.
"I'm already good at deflecting air and water charges. Yangchen, your training is helping me achieve what I've always wanted — to live in peace with all peoples!" The boy looked at his teacher as if he were a man he had always admired.
"The art of deflection lies in the desire to dominate, little Avatar. It may sound cruel, but it is primarily the strength of your chi that determines how well you will master my style; it is our concentrated energy that allows us to execute our plans so easily. When you learn earth magic, I will help you with that too," the spirit thought, "there is no student more pleasant than you." "We have a contract, although I would have fulfilled the terms under any other circumstances."
"Hm?" Aang smiled pleasantly but became pensive. "Yangchen, what is a contract?"
Aang noticed that his previous lives rarely interfered with his training, even if they had some common goals and motivations. They could offer advice, but they didn't sit next to him and instruct him on how to use magic. It was difficult for spirits not connected to this world to sustain themselves in it. However, he and his companion had achieved something unusual: they had used the previous Avatar as a training stand, bound their souls together, and entered into a contract with very clearly defined goals.
"Young Avatar, bonds of trust are an integral part of magical power. Just as two people who trust each other completely can bind themselves together with a common goal, so too can spirits form a bond if they agree on certain conditions, the violation of which can lead to consequences as dire for one party as the death of the other. This Dagoth... he definitely knows a lot about this, since he himself suggested that I make a contract with you.
"So, if you don't teach me, something bad will happen to you?
Fear and anxiety blossomed on the boy's face.
"Contracts are often mutually beneficial, so there's nothing to be afraid of. I help you develop a special fighting style, and in return, you create universal peace on terms that you deem necessary. The main thing is that there is less violence in this world.
"Hmm... but couldn't someone be set up that way? I don't want to say this, but even Dagoth said that there are treacherous spirits that you don't want to interact with. Like Tui and La, for example," he said, not very happily. Dagoth's influence on the Avatar's mentality was clearly visible.
Therefore, approaching the boy, Yangchen stroked his smooth head and brought a clear smile to his face.
"There have been no cases in history where someone deliberately made a contract only to break it later. Bonds are the strongest ties of the soul itself, which even the most powerful spirits take seriously, because breaking them will envelop the soul in darkness. You will understand how important it is after you find a girlfriend and open your fifth chakra," she said, tugging the boy's cheek, making him blush. "By the way... Aang, the Winter Solstice is approaching, and according to the terms of the agreement, I must tell you to be careful.
"That's the day when spirits can manifest incredible power in the physical world, isn't it? - Straining to remember his history lessons, Aang blushed. "And why do I need to be careful?
"Until now, you have avoided meeting Roku, who is capable of changing your view of the world with just a few words, but now he will be able to come to you in person... although I wouldn't worry if I were you, he is incapable of harming you physically. After all, you are him, just in a different form. We all appreciate you, Aang.
"Heh heh.
***
"Damn creature, I'll tear every scale off you," said a giant figure flying in the sky, blocking the sun with its enormous body and exerting immense pressure on the cracked, swampy plains with its mere presence. Legends of ancient dragons, the very embodiment of fire magic, had returned from the world of the dead to show how great the differences were from their water-dwelling counterparts, the Unagi.
The dragon Feng was as much a pet to Roku as Appa was to Aang, the only difference being their raw power. Legends spread throughout the world that dragons passed on their knowledge to the Warriors of the Sun, that they also drew their almighty energy from the sun, and this was certainly true - the higher the sun rose in our world, the greater the threat felt from this jar of ashes that had escaped from the spirit world.
The problem was that he wasn't interested in talking. Anubis didn't offer me any options to stop and chat, he just said, "Defeat me!" But I didn't understand his motivation, and even when I tried to ask him something to defuse the conflict, he acted the same way.
Angered at me for some unknown reason, Feng immediately let me taste the full fury of his dragon art. Opening his monstrous mouth, covered with rows of sharp teeth, he formed not just a stream of compressed elemental energy, as Unagi had done, but emitted a delicious pillar of flame that tore through space with the sound of a rocket breaking away from the ground.
"How beautiful," I thought, as if the sun itself had struck with a protuberance of different colours - blue, red and purple. A huge machine of death, fighting at a distance. Once again, I was struck by the people who were supposed to hunt and kill them, as I had thought many times before, but dragons can only be defeated by destructive spells and colossal power, such as explosions and huge lightning bolts, but what to do with the ground?
It was impossible to intercept the huge pillar of fire rushing towards me, and I certainly didn't want to block it with anything. Yes, if it weren't for the first chakra, which forced me to think as clearly as possible even in such a critical situation, I would have been reduced to ashes.
I had to cover my legs with mud and throw myself as far away as possible, because when it hit the ground, the sandstrike formed a powerful and dangerous explosion of flame that spread in different directions like a bomb. This terrifying thing was even more dangerous than the explosion mage I had recently encountered. No, it was even more dangerous than the three-eyed mercenary!
Bang-boom-boom*
My thrown body rolled across the ground beyond the mud platform I had created, and in a second I clenched my fists to turn the beads hanging around my neck into an elongated spear resembling a harpoon. With a thought, the projectile, which had excellent ballistics, pierced the sky in the blink of an eye and found itself in front of the giant's body.
This is how the magic of the earth can defeat him. A fast and deadly projectile, resembling a giant dragon slayer's arrow.
"Mortal, you have shown your heart," but the spear simply flew past, and the huge creature turned its gaze on me. Invisibility... a trait that perhaps made the spirit stronger than the dragons still alive, it was just like Afka, able to avoid taking damage. If an ordinary dragon is more dangerous than even a mage of Flame, then a dragon spirit is some kind of prank," the minds of these people were filled with a desire to communicate and befriend the spirits. They sincerely disliked the way of life chosen for them by the dictator who bore the title of Master of Fire. You have shown that you are not on the side of the spirits and the world.
"Feng, tell your Master that we can still come to an agreement." The problem is that spirits often just follow some kind of will and don't think much. Afka is different in that he is intelligent, but most of them are really not very smart.
"No, if you are on the side of the fire nation, then you are on the side of those who killed my master!
That's why he's so angry! It seems that he, like his master, was very categorical about which side to take — what I did to a thousand rebels could be tantamount to the deepest blow to his honour. It reminded me of Kiyoshi, who would not agree to any compromises. If Roku and his pet had inherited the same views, it would be the worst possible outcome.
VSHUKH*
As I exhaled, my spear, which I had thrown into the sky, crumbled and turned to sand just as the dragon was about to breathe fire again. If the spirit is incorporeal only at the moment of avoiding the blow, then it should become normal during the attack, right? That's what I thought until the iron sand also passed by the body, from which a beam of fire burst out the next moment.
What was going on? Was I fighting a creature that perfectly understood how to use the advantages of its body and even went beyond the limits of reason? Or... am I just too weak?
"You're such a madman," but the last thing I expected to hear was the voice of Azula, who was freaking out from the recent situation. It seemed like she should have just run away when she saw the figure of a real dragon in the sky, but... her thirst for tyranny and power surpassed that of anyone I knew. Flying towards me on her fiery boots, she put her hands in the path of the fire beam and, right before my eyes, deflected the trajectory of the sanstraik, sending it into a nearby rock. There was an explosion, and we were showered with pebbles, but we weren't hurt...
Until then, I had only seen such a thing from Yangchen, and even then on a much smaller scale. But how?! Such incredible feats require extremely advanced magic, far beyond the power of three open chakras!
"I want to kill this dragon, Dagoth! The killer gets the title of 'Dragon', one of the most honoured ranks in my nation!" The girl standing next to me simply floated away and stared at the target with eyes burning with desire. "I don't know where he came from, but we can't miss this opportunity.
But there must be something else. Oza should also have blue flames, he clearly trained with his chakras open longer than Azula. And don't forget about Airo... What's your secret, Azula? Why does your family hide so many secrets?
"The problem is that we can't touch him," I raised my hands and melted the ground around us, creating a magma barrier between us, protecting us from the long body rushing through the air. "Every attack misses, the tricks don't work. He's invulnerable.
"It always annoyed me that dragons were exterminated before I had a chance to hunt them. I'm angry at Uncle Airo for exterminating the last ones, so I don't care, I'll even kill an immortal!" Gathering her fingers around her heart, she made them sparkle intensely. I almost automatically felt a sense of danger and wanted to defend myself and create a negatively charged area around me, but then Azura's attack would not reach its target. I doubted that lightning would hurt him at all, but it was worth a try. The dragon was flying at tremendous speed, and hitting him with a stone now was very, very difficult.
The lightning flew at literally lightning speed. A gigantic amount of energy gathered in her fingers, which prevailed over General Shu, whom I had somehow caught, and even, which was absolute madness, was approaching Oza's level of control.
"How... what is the secret of your power?
BADAZ*
A huge flash pierced the sky and created a roar as loud as my earthquake. It was as if the heavens were angry at someone, sending a flash that hit the fast-flying dragon right in the head. And all that just to... pass right through again. Even lightning and a direct blow to the head couldn't damage her spiritual body. Azula's attacks didn't work; she couldn't kill someone who was immortal.
"Okay, I admit I underestimated him. Do you have a plan?" She turned to me innocently and simply shrugged, as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, the dragon circled around, covering its scales with multicoloured flames that strangely increased the temperature around us. It was getting stuffy, but it was still unclear what he wanted to do.
What kind of plan could one come up with in response to THAT? A plan... Oza understood perfectly well what the sixth chakra was for. The strongest spirits are able to use the advantages of their bodies and remain invulnerable even to powerful magic, but by giving up illusions, you are supposed to gain the ability to understand how to damage them — at least, that's what the Fire Lord said, and he couldn't lie. The problem is that I am as far from the Chakra of Light as a crab is from the kingdom of the earth — it seems that the secrets of Laghima are already known, but it will take a lot of time to learn them.
We literally cannot harm him, which means the only option left is to run underground — although he will most likely find us there. We will die... Or was there a way out after all?
"He didn't kill any of the people I defeated, despite his powerful attacks," I squinted at the swamp-covered plateau. The spirit believed he had to protect them from me, that's why he's attacking so aggressively, he has a goal he's fighting for," "You're sweating, Azula.
Smiling cruelly, I looked away from the girl, whose clothes were sticking to her. Steam literally emanated from her body, her breathing quickened as she tried to dissipate the heat that the dragon had apparently decided to roast us with. What's more, flashes of fire appeared around us, as if a tornado was about to form, and the higher the sun rose, the more the sky was enveloped in fire.
"Speak up, what have you come up with? You're not the type to give up and die.
"…Pretend to attack the rebels. The main thing is not to lose your mind, or the dragon will go berserk too.
"Hah. Meg Piska, I like you," she purred contentedly. Crouching low to the ground, almost kneeling, Azula stared predatorily towards the plateau, which was blocked not only by the dragon but also by a giant canyon. But that didn't seem to bother her. The ground around her burst into blue flames, and she sprang forward.
The roar that followed quickly made it clear that Feng had realised where she was running. Flames surrounded his body and gave him incredible speed, and in an instant he flew forward, leaving behind a trail of hot air and flames. Apparently, he thought that since I was far away, I would cause less trouble, which was not the case. Swinging my fist with all my strength, I delivered a gigantic blow to the ground.
The blow caused rock to fall, breaking everything within a radius of several dozen metres. Immediately afterwards, the ground heated up and volcanic geysers began to erupt, the earth rose and scattered fragments in all directions, which in turn turned into lava spray in the air, enveloping the entire sky.
"Damn you... now I'll definitely kill you," the spirit said, glancing sideways at the huge splash of red-hot rock flying towards the ordinary people, and, overtaking Azulu, pressed himself to the ground. Perhaps I had been too rash in deciding to escalate the conflict instead of negotiating... but to be honest, I didn't want anything to do with spirits like these. Instead of talking, Feng squeezed the sphere of fire and spewed out such a dense beam that the ground in its path turned into red-hot magma. And this beam flew straight at Azula and me.
"What?" Azula froze for a moment, her face lit up by bright flames... but not quite the ones she was expecting. A wall of tightly compressed magma appeared in front of her, which had a much higher heat capacity than simple stone; it was easier to keep it from heating up than coal. So Azula simply covered her face with her hands and watched as streams of powerful flames scattered to the sides of the heating wall.
If I could create lava around myself with a touch, that didn't mean I couldn't create it somewhere far away with pure control. I was simply transforming the entire battlefield into a branch of hell, forming geysers, only from a liquid that was definitely not worth bathing in.
"No, what are you doing?!" The dragon lost its bearings and saw several geysers spewing towards the people. The sky was filled with billowing magma, creating the sensation of an erupting volcano. Black smoke, blazing heat and eruptions froze him in his tracks, and he felt fear. He remembered the moment of his death, how he had protected Roku before his body was engulfed by a wave of molten rock. Feng had also died from the volcano, like many of the inhabitants of this archipelago. But now these memories gave him courage. He realised that he must not repeat his old mistakes and boldly flew through the air, using the force of the flames clinging to his body to deflect all the splashes. "I have nothing left to fear, Dagoth. I will protect the people from you.
And I'll make sure that Feng doesn't have the spirit to fight us. By doing crazy things with Azula, crazy from a human point of view, we could end all conflicts. Right now, while the dragon is puffing away protecting simple people, we, like real villains, have already finished everything.
"Hey, you horned worm.
Azula called the dragon over and allowed it to see her standing knee-deep in mud, but nevertheless surrounded by a couple of dozen still-living bodies. True, they might soon cease to be so, because in her hands was a dagger burning with blue flames - the fire was so intense that it could cut through almost anything. Including the hostages.
"No... If you kill the innocent, nothing will hold me back," the spirit exhaled aggressively, but the thing was, Azula didn't understand him. She just looked at me, silently asking when, when would the opportunity to attack come!
"You're right, that will give you an opening. Apparently, we thought too highly of ourselves," so I realised that the final part of the plan had come. Starting to move forward, I attracted the dragon's attention. "You ruined my plans. I don't want to fight you. We only took the hostages so that you would finally start listening to us.
"How weak-willed. How can you be an ally of the Avatar... - I annoyed him very much. "You know, I agree not to touch any of them," but raising his finger, he immediately made them listen, "But only on the condition that we sign a contract on their souls. It really stresses me out to fight such an immortal dragon, I'm helpless without my sixth chakra, so... I'll let all the people go and do everything I can to keep them from dying and just return to their settlements, even if I have to challenge Oza! You do understand that without me, they're doomed, right?
"... Continue," - if you let the spirit know that you are capable of change, it may contribute to mutual peace.
"We must not suffer in return. You must do everything in your power to ensure that we do not get burned, or I know you spirits will try to attack us from behind. Only when we are far away will it be considered that you have fulfilled your part of the agreement. And since this is a spiritual contract... if I break it, I suggest we go to the spirit world forever. And if you break the terms, you will become attached to the mortal world, and your body will also become mortal. We will switch places, so to speak.
"Do you think I'm that stupid, mortal? - frowning, he breathed fire." The idea of the contract is good, but you'll have to add that you and this girl cannot harm yourselves, and that you will not create situations in which you could be injured if you make an agreement with someone. I learned the cunning of humans during the reign of Sozin, you won't fool me! Well, do you agree to these terms?
He stared at me predatorily, thinking he had read me through and through.
"Logical, but then you mustn't deliberately kill the militiamen to send me to the spirit world," I said, passing the silent spirit with my hands behind my back, and reached the canyon separating me from the people and continued building the stone bridge. "Then you'll see with your own eyes how we take the people out of here, right?
The dragon nodded. Spirits were very good at making contracts and binding each other's souls. Now I had condemned myself to fulfilling another difficult condition, and an unpleasant burden had fallen on my shoulders. Wasn't that right?
"Get up, you fool," I said, approaching the man whose neck was buried in the mud. I pulled out his unconscious body and used healing magic to revive him. The guy, whose hands were tightly clenched around a pitchfork, slowly blinked and met my gaze. "Look around you, you've lost. Your entire coalition couldn't even get close to me."
"Ah... n-no," the guy's pupils contracted. At that moment, other people began to come to their senses, their hearts once again filled with anger and the desire to destroy me. I freed some of them from the mud, while others were close enough to reach me on their own.
"Wh-," at that moment, the dragon began to understand something. What would happen if I freed all those who dared to attack me? If I literally fulfilled his wish and showed the peaceful dragon why it was impossible. Would he really kill the people he wanted to protect? Or would he just stand by and watch as the people he saved broke the spiritual contract themselves?
Horror engulfed the rebels when they saw how many bodies were lying around. They surrounded me, but were afraid to approach, their actions uncertain. But then, the fists of the man in front of me clenched tighter, his dirty pitchfork shaking with his tremors. He lowered his eyes, saw how close I was to him, and...
"Die, you damn sand mage!
I didn't try to dodge, I just smiled and held out my hand in front of the sharp iron pitchfork. My limb was pierced through, blood splattered everywhere, covering the faces of the people around me. I even got some of my own filth on me, probably along with a bunch of diseases... but no, I can just expel it from my body and nothing will happen. And it's easy to repair a pierced arm — I still have plenty of water from the sacred spirit spring.
"Why... - but the spirit looked at it all with completely lost eyes - as I said, most spirits are really not very smart. He watched as the guy tried to hurt me, as the others tried to jump on me and hurt me, and he couldn't do anything about it.
Smack*
With a wave of my hand and a hard slap, I looked dryly at the man who sat back down in the mud. I cooled off the others as well.
"Your problem is anarchism. Oh well, I was just going to send them to prison, where they wouldn't cause any trouble. And by the way, Feng..." Turning to the dragon, I saw with my own eyes how he was slowly changing shape. "They're good guys to you. To me, they're the ones who made the first move. So they're the biggest evil here?
The dragon's body shuddered, its translucent body began to take on black outlines, becoming less transparent. Yes, it still looked like a spirit on the outside, but apparently, it was now possible to hit it. I learned a lot from Kuruka. He had studied spirits more thoroughly and for longer than anyone I knew, and from him I learned one thing about spirits that was literally a loophole in the agreement with Shi Tong.
When the bonds were broken, a person became a desperate creature, wandering forever in ignorance. But negative emotions had a completely different effect on spirits. Overwhelming despair, fear, and the entire spectrum of emotions capable of breaking a person made them cursed. And that meant only one thing: I could do whatever I wanted with such spirits.
"Azula.
"I already understand," she said, charging up a bolt of lightning, turning to me and waiting for me to prepare the iron sand. She didn't rush in, but waited for the perfect moment to deliver a combined blow to the head. His skull was blown apart before he could even react, and his body fell to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, we saw Feng stick out his dead tongue.
"Defeat your first spirit. Dragon Feng 1/1."
Victory... It's surprising that the dragon's body remained intact. I thought it would disintegrate despite its mortality. Azule was delighted. This was proof of her achievements. She jumped up and down, ran over to the dead dragon, and hugged it as if it were her beloved.
"We did it, Dagoth! We killed the dragon!!!
Yes. We defeated the immortal.