Chapter 23 - The Horror with a Thousand Legs
The destruction of the great swamp tree will not take the spirits from the swamp back to their home world - I understood this truth the moment I made the agreement with Shi Tong. Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of creatures are now unbound to a specific location and capable of scattering across the world, wreaking havoc on a scale never before seen. Let me admit it — no war with spirits can compare in scale to a whole horde of migrating souls. And then there's the showdown with Koch coming up, isn't that a problem? Well, actually, one of these problems can solve the other, and all I have to do is sit on the sidelines and watch the situation quickly resolve itself.
This plan, drawn up by Wang Shitong, was based on my future agreement with Koch; I didn't think it was necessary to discuss the details with Azula, who wanted to know all the ins and outs, but I was sure that everything would go smoothly. Even despite my failure, since most of it was offset by the spirit of the predictions.
"We have plenty of time," I said, climbing onto the stump of what was once the largest tree, and running my hand over the ashes that remained on it. This movement activated the spirit, and it, in turn, hinted at the future. Incidentally, in order to interact with the spirit, I had to take the fortune teller's book, in which all the hints were recorded and how to summon them. The book had already been returned to the library, but the information from its pages was firmly lodged in my head.
"How long and what do we have to wait for?" Seeing my calmness, Azula reluctantly lowered her shoulders, sat down next to me and swung her legs off the huge stump. I told her what was happening in the world and how it would affect us. And most importantly, how our spirit would react to it.
***
In a large golden-black hall, illuminated by a wall of fire separating the plebeian space from the throne of the Lord of Fire, two men, apparently well acquainted and long unseen, were chatting. A grey-haired old man sat at a long, finely carved table, looking with a certain nostalgia at the ceiling that absorbed the surrounding light and the golden columns that supported it. They, like the floor, were made of expensive black marble. The throne room of the Lord of Fire was a true treasure of art, and looking at it all, Airo could only feel awkward.
All of this could have been his! But now he was sitting opposite Oza, who was grinning as if looking at the whole world with genuine contempt. For a second, Airo wondered if this was really the man he had agreed to support. But the thought quickly disappeared when he remembered the great and important plan.
"You've changed a lot, brother," Oza began, looking at the once-great General peacefully drinking his tea. "You would never have accepted a plan to enslave the spirits before. They were always special to you, you pursued spirituality much more than your people.
"I always understood that our two worlds are inseparable and closely connected, and it never crossed my mind to wage war against them. But I guessed that you had a plan to win this war," he added, taking the token Pai Sho that Airo had been playing with himself. "Since you are cooperating with Dagoth, there is no point in me not supporting this venture. I trust him.
"You don't mind that I am the Master of Fire? - After a few moments of silence, an interested voice rang out.
"Not at all. Only you can be the Master of Fire. Soon this country will need someone who will zealously defend the interests of its people. You are perfect for this role. The main thing is to find the time to stop in time."
Ozai narrowed his eyes and silence fell once more in the hall.
"What if I don't stop? His older brother's calm demeanour puzzled him greatly, especially at such a turbulent time. "What if you even help me? We have been at odds for a long time, but this cannot go on. You love your people too, don't you? So what's stopping us from finally joining forces? For the first time ever, the two brothers and heirs of Azulon would stand shoulder to shoulder to change the world. I can make you General again, and you will take on the siege of Ba Sing Se... again. You will be able to avenge your son.
But then, Airo smiled and shook his head evasively. He didn't even flinch at the mention of Lu Ten, as if he had long since let go of the subject and achieved peace.
"As always, you have boundless ambition. But I don't think Ba Sing Se is worth discussing right now — you need to deal with the problems within your own state.
"What are you talking about?" Ozai frowned and clenched his fists. He didn't like that answer at all.
"The spirits won't just stand by and watch your army destroy everyone; they'll try to kill you too. Soon your people will need unprecedented support. I think you'll have other things to worry about than conquests," Ozai was about to say something, but Airo quickly continued, "Remember, Azula is with Dagoth now, she won't be able to help you. But Zuko... as far as I know, he has already dealt with the problem of the fire mages. He will definitely be able to help you solve other problems that are coming your way.
"What other problems are you talking about?" Airo smiled. His experience with spirits gave him a complete understanding of the situation. But there is no smoke without fire, and everyone would pay for Dagoth's actions.
At that moment, the doors to the throne room burst open. A breathless young man in the uniform of the Fire Country's messengers rushed into the hall and, holding a scroll with a message, reported:
"Urgent report! The sky on the way to the continent of Earth is covered with impenetrable clouds..." The important message took all of Oza's concentration. The message made it clear that the experiments being conducted with the airships had been ordered to be suspended, as some of the flying machines had been shot down by an unknown creature.
When the letter with the rest of the details reached Oza himself, a real cloud of problems descended upon him. Spirits that had once been sealed away began to break free from sacred places, and insane anomalous activity was observed in various cities; the territories of their enemies, or as Dagoth called them, the druids, began to put up strong resistance. The list could go on, but the worst was yet to come. This part of the message belonged to Mr. Loban, a man who had been lucky enough to find the best metal deposit.
When a strange iron mask, which he had promised to send him as a gift, was loaded onto the ship, an unknown iron giant awoke. It crushed all of Loban's ships and wiped the industrial town off the face of the earth. Based on the other problems, it was clear that the awakening of this mysterious spirit was one of the most unpleasant events, and the fishermen and other people had already given it a name that Oza did not want to hear. General Old Iron, lord of metal.
"What a gift you've given me, Loban," Oza muttered irritably, lowering his gaze to his smirking brother. It was as if he knew this would happen! "Huh... fine, call Zuko. I need his help."
***
Fun fact... weakening a single passageway leading to the spirit world would have no effect whatsoever on the ability of the most terrifying and ancient spirits to travel between worlds. However, there was a significant difference between someone like Father Firefly, who could create passages between worlds, and someone like Koch, who, according to legends and stories from the library, simply looked for weak spots between dimensions and used cunning to lure people into his world. Two ways of travelling, but both so interesting.
But what does this mean? Does the destruction of the swamp have no effect on Koch's ability to move around, and he can still end up anywhere? Well, that's not entirely true — Koch cannot appear specifically in the swamp or anywhere nearby. The other two doors are located at the North and South Poles, and, incidentally, it was in the north that he set his trap, kidnapping Kuruka's love.
Hearing this, Azula asked a logical question: "So why the hell are we sitting here waiting for something?
"Well... the thing is, if he can't come to the swamp, he won't be able to leave," - in order for the plan to work, I needed the help of the firefly's father.
I had already contacted Yoon and asked him for help. Our last meeting, how should I put it, ended not just on a more or less peaceful note, I asked him for a favour - when the time came for me to finish off one of the spirits, he had to bring it to me. He didn't refuse; he was used to finishing off spirits and had even grown to like it to some extent, and when it came to Koh...
There was only one problem: even Yoon couldn't kill this bastard. I mean, the target wouldn't make any concessions, wouldn't fall for tricks with contracts, and his power was mysterious and incomprehensible. He was like Tu and La, only smarter and without a mortal form. With all this information, how could anyone defeat him?
Well...
"Seriously?" Raising her gaze above the treetops, Azula finally understood. "You were waiting for the Avatar?"
Appa was flying towards us, and on his head I could see a completely lost little Aang. He looked at the withering trees, which had been deprived of nourishment from the main tree, with righteous horror, and looked even more confused at the fallen Banyan tree. As soon as he spotted us sitting peacefully on the tree stump, he grabbed his folding staff and immediately jumped down. The glider caught the wind currents, swiftly carrying the boy to us. He landed five metres away, turned halfway around and stared at our unflinching backs.
"What is this? He was very unhappy to see what had happened," This was one of the most sacred places in the world.
"It's quite simple — we just burned everything down," Azula leaned back smugly, looking at the sullen boy with satisfaction. "This place was a hotbed of our enemies. You should be happy about our achievements, Aang."
Raising my head, I looked at the bison circling above our heads. His brother and sister hung limply from his saddle, along with a blind girl. She didn't know what was going on, but Toothless's presence alone made me smile — it had been so long since I'd seen him. But it was a shame we wouldn't be able to talk to her now.
"Aang, don't let Appa land. Trust me, it's better if they don't see what's about to happen.
"What's going to happen? Are you ashamed to show your face after what you've done? Right now, I'll make them sit down and tell you everything they think of you..." But before he could finish, I turned sharply towards him with a face devoid of emotion and put my finger to my lips. Azula also put on a poker face,
"Don't show any emotion.
"What? Why... - but as soon as he finished, there was a thud behind him and a strange hissing sound. A large shadow flashed by, and the Avatar's body was surrounded by a giant black centipede, squeezing his shoulders and looking down at him with hidden anger.
"Avatar and his friends... so this is all your doing? - Yun delivered him at the perfect moment. There were small marks of beatings on Koh's body, but the fact that he was here meant only one thing - Yun couldn't defeat him and simply got rid of the creature by sending it to my world.
And the amount of hidden hatred and resentment in that creature was impossible to describe.