Chapter 32 - Roku
No matter how many enemies I had left, and there were quite a few, considering all the people and even spirits who were dissatisfied with my policies, there were two, or rather three, beings among them who were the most influential. Luna and Ocean were initially negative towards me, and after their prediction of my cruelty came true, it was clear that they would try to get their revenge. The only one who could help them in this difficult task was the Avatar Roku, whom I had never defeated, but who often loomed on the horizon. Over a hundred years ago, they had also had unpleasant skirmishes, but what kind of relationship they had now was not particularly clear.
But to say that I was worried would be a big mistake. Roku didn't seem like a serious threat to me at the moment, although, if you look at it that way, he is the only Avatar who can and most likely will fight with all his strength. Until now, only Aang, using his unskilled Avatar mode, had put up such resistance that I could have died, but since then I had become stronger, and my battle experience had given me the ability to fight back against powerful enemies. His ancestor would have more experience.
But everything will be fine. Flying up to the giant walls of the Northern Tribe's capital, which was easy to reach because even the wind was at our backs, I noticed that although the city's defences were impressive, they were no match for Ba Sing Se. However, there wasn't a single stone here that Old Iron could have demolished with a single movement, so fighting him here would have been many times easier. Only now this advantage would be used against me.
"They're letting us through," but with a dirigible, there was no need to worry about that. They even let us get closer to the walls and fly into the city, as this is one of the first places to have formed a full alliance with us. "I'm surprised. I thought the local spirits had brainwashed everyone," said Aang. "Waterbenders Pakku and Sokka did everything they could to keep the truce from breaking even after the war with the spirits began," he informed the slightly wary Azula, who didn't want to lose the airship in case of conflict so early on. "Lotus is making good use of his people, if any of them managed to get into power. But don't think that there are no problems at all.
The airship landed right in front of the chief's palace. There was enough space for five such large machines, and we were greeted immediately. Sokka was extremely pleased, with his smiling sister, Toph was a little dissatisfied, and Princess Yui was completely dissatisfied, standing in an embrace with her father. The fire soldiers immediately jumped down to inspect the transport for damage, hoping that today I wouldn't take the machine apart. Azula and I were lowered down a bridge, which we used to step lightly onto the frozen and slippery field.
"I see you're all here," I nodded with satisfaction, noting that everyone had come to see the end of the war. "Is Aang closing the portal?"
"Not quite, he's figuring out where he is," Sokka grinned. "There are about twelve hours left until the solar eclipse, and he wants to do everything as quickly as possible.
"There's snow everywhere, and outside the city there's a terrible snowstorm," said Toph, wrapped in a cute fur outfit. I found it hard to believe that she was wearing long trousers and even boots, but walking barefoot in the snow was indeed a terrible idea. "If he takes the wrong path, he'll probably be lost for more than a hundred years, most likely forever.
"So he's with Tui and La? My tone made everything clear, and my friends nodded grimly. Then Sokka's future wife caught our attention. She finally decided to explain her dissatisfied expression, took a step forward and rudely poked both me and Azulu in the chest.
"I heard what you're doing. You're here to hurt our guardian spirits. Why do I feel like I'm the only one against this outcome? She was angry, but even so, her discontent seemed somehow cute. Maybe it was because her voice wasn't very serious, imbued with her upbringing and manners." "Sokka, tell them they can't hurt the spirits!
Turning to her escort, she made him quickly avert his embarrassed gaze. Sokka was not at all opposed to war with the spirits, quite the contrary, but Yui's motives were clear. The life of a young princess exists and is sustained precisely because of spirits, and with such a background, it's hard not to become a "druid," a lover of nature, shamanic rituals, and other nonsense. And considering life in the north and the lack of advanced technology, the princess resembles an ordinary old woman who keeps repeating that they don't need these foreign technologies.
"Snow White, so you're the only one who wants evil for all of us here? Azula interrupted the conversation. She stood in front of Yui and said in a sarcastic and insulting tone, "The spirits are at war with humans, but you still want these creatures, capable of creating a tsunami, to remain uncontrolled and gather strength?
"But you declared war on them! Even we heard rumours about what happened. You two are the destruction of all spirits. You started this!
"So what? - Smiling, Azula touched the princess's nose fondly," - What difference does it make who started it if we can't stop now? The Avatar will come out now and tell you everything the spirits are thinking. You'll quickly become disillusioned with them.
These facts silenced the offended princess, causing her to clench her fists and huff silently. Sokka tried to approach her and hug her, but such injustice moved her deeply. On the bright side, no one planned to kill the fish; they would continue to swim in the pond, maintaining the local balance and the power of magic, but they would look a little different, without faces... As soon as Yui heard this, she lost all desire to stay there and went to the palace, accompanied by her beloved.
The rest of my friends just looked expectantly in the direction where the pond with the spirits should be, and where Aang should appear.
"What's the plan?" asked Toph.
"I'll go to him. Toph, do a little preparation and cover everyone here with crystals, just in case. Azula, you're in charge of protecting us from the flames.
"What about me?" Katara looked at me with puppy dog eyes, extremely worried that something scary might happen.
"Take this," I said, taking out part of my important stash, namely the water I had stored from a healing spring, and poured half of it into Katara's cup. "If anyone dies... you know what to do."
Everyone took this very seriously. The Chief stood aside, still silent, and Pakku was nearby. The latter just nodded to me and stayed where he was, supporting the team. The Chief caught up with me as soon as I moved towards the corridor leading to the spirits. He no longer treated me as a third-rate person, because he understood who was ensuring peace for his country. "Can you guarantee that even if something bad happens, you will support the North Pole with resources for its development? We once had a great fleet, but now we have very little money even for normal trading ships. We won't get back on our feet for the next thirty years if we don't get support from other nations.
"That's what our agreement is based on, isn't it? You agree to enter a new technological world and renounce the spirits, and we will give you our support," the man said, immediately wiping the sweat from his face. Despite his words, he felt uncomfortable, as if he were faced with a big and difficult choice: support me and lose the support of the spirits, or help me and then get support for the whole tribe from the humans. And while he was hesitating, "Hey, you saw those airships of the fire people, right?
"Huh? Yes, it's some kind of unusual miracle, I've never seen flying ships before.
"Imagine a hundred of those. And the Fire Lord will oppose anyone who doesn't support the technological world. These are unusual battleships that are easy to sink or freeze, and your magic is unlikely to reach airships flying at such a great height. When you know about something like that, it becomes easier to choose, doesn't it? I wasn't trying to look threatening, just talking about the future that would happen if he chose the wrong side. The pale chief quickly understood everything and, at my request to stop escorting me, went to the palace, first giving orders to all the guards to let me into the sacred Oasis.
It was unpleasant to find myself here for the second time. I didn't like this place, even though I understood that everything was coming to its logical conclusion. Tu and La would come to an end, the portals would be closed, the war with the spirits would be over, everyone would be happy, at least that's what I hoped, but through the prism of absolute calm, I understood that it was not for nothing that these spirits had let me get so close. Crossing the bridge that led to the oasis with a pond, I already saw Aang meditating and Koi swimming in front of him. Aang quickly opened his eyes.
"How are you?" I asked cautiously, trying to spot signs of schizophrenia, or, as the shamans call it, possession by another spirit.
"Eh, I was endowed with... They will tell me the details of how to get to the portal to the spirit world. I know it's silly to ask them about it, but I was hoping to at least come to some kind of agreement. All I can do now is follow the general hints the Chief gave me.
"Did they tell you anything? - I asked, remembering that last time they couldn't even get in touch.
"I'm using Kuruk's help, but even so, nothing is working. They are very angry," and not only them. Aang's figure exuded even more danger than during our last meeting in the swamp. "The threat is close," I think you'll have to make them tell you everything.
Aang took a step back, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. He didn't want to see such cruelty, but he knew he had to do it. Besides, he was right. I moved closer to the lake, leaned over the artificial pool and focused on the fish, which sped away at the sight of me.
"You know what the problem is? These fish and I understand perfectly well that fighting on an energy level won't be easy. It will take time, during which I will be completely helpless. And you can hit me in the back..." Turning slightly, I focused on the lost boy, who seemed to be emanating more and more murderous intent with every passing second. In essence, my spirit was telling me how close the danger was and how great it was for me.
There was one simple way to prevent the battle. I quickly got in front of Aang and blocked all his chakras with a blow to the crown of his head. In a similar way, Ty Lee knocked Kiashi's spirit out of Aang, while I blocked anyone from entering the small, pale, bald boy.
"That's it. You'd better go somewhere far away now. You shouldn't have tried to talk to them. The eclipse is very close.
"I know!" he replied eagerly, shaking his head and coming to his senses. "But there are still twelve hours to go before it starts, which is why I wanted to finish before it began.
"You're a good boy, but there's something you don't understand...
It seemed like it would solve my problem, that I had outsmarted everyone and was a big hero, but I didn't take into account, or rather, I couldn't influence one thing. I'm standing near a sacred spring, and the koi fish could cause a tsunami even without my intervention. Sensing vibrations on the only piece of land at this pole, I turned back.
The water in the spring was no longer completely still, and a large water tentacle rose above the surface, clearly controlled by someone other than Aang. I only had time to create a large blade out of crystals, which I used to deflect the lashing whip, losing my concentration for a second. What power. It was as if a thousand-year-old master had made a precise movement that could crush any stone.And then it jerked towards me again. I couldn't cut off the tentacle with a clever use of the second sharp disc; the water didn't care about the cuts, and the enemy didn't lose control over it like some ordinary human mage. And even though he immediately covered himself and Aang with a crystal shield, it didn't help. The whip broke through the barrier like some kind of water cannon, and while I managed to avoid being pierced thanks to my speed, Aang was enveloped by water, which healed and restored his body so quickly that I couldn't react in any way. Aang's eyes lit up with a bright light, the arrows on his head and arms merged with energy, emitting an unheard-of, all-consuming aura.
"Damn altruist..." I wanted to get angry at Aang, but I couldn't. He sincerely wanted to help, and that's why he was in such a hurry to end the war. He didn't take one thing into account: Tui and La could summon the soul of the Avatar they needed in his place. That someone turned out to be, as I thought, Roku himself.
His figure, exuding cold anger, froze above me, held above the ground by a quickly dispersed stream of wind. His eyes glowed, and all four elements began to swirl around his body. As soon as I straightened my back and positioned myself so that I could see both Roku and the spirits in the pool, I spoke in a soft voice.
"Roku, your dragon attacked me first, you know? Maybe we can work something out?
His answer was somewhat unusual. Instead of a thousand words, he simply took a deep breath and did something that was simply impossible to stop — he exhaled a powerful gust of wind so powerful that it knocked me off my feet and sent me flying out of the sacred pool like a cannonball. I couldn't stabilise myself in the air, stop myself with telekinesis, or even slow down my flight. Never before had such powerful magic knocked me off my feet, piercing me through giant ice walls and the palace roof that stood in my way.
Even with my crystal armour on, I could feel it all. The colossal power of the Avatar state from the skilled Roku. My body ached, and my movements were restricted, as if several ligaments had been destroyed. I landed literally on top of the airship, my body leaving a dent in its iron hull, before crashing to the ground with a loud crash.
"Dagoth!" As soon as my companions saw me, their faces were filled with shock. None of them had ever witnessed the absolute and overwhelming power of the world's most powerful mage. The crystal protection around me crumbled on its own, having served its purpose. Standing nearby, Toph immediately covered us all with a large shield, as if it could help in any way. Azula stood ready, her hands sparking, while Katara bent over my body, enveloping me in plain water. There was no need to waste water from the sacred spring on me yet.
"Which one of them did this?" Azula asked.
"Your ancestor," I said in a nasty voice, making Azula frown, but she quickly understood. "Tui and La are on his side, and it looks like they're going to fight until the eclipse.
"It's okay, we have iron," Tof turned to me with a smile and tugged at some metal parts on the airship, trying to bend them. It was the only weapon that could help us now, because I had anticipated this possibility! But before my very eyes, which had seen so much before, another terrible catastrophe and nightmare unfolded.
The airship, on which I had pinned so many hopes, was knocked down by a powerful pillar of fire. It was as if wind and fire had merged together to produce such unprecedented technology that even Oza was incapable of. It first shattered the crystal barrier of the Toff, then melted the entire flying machine, knocking it down and sending its remains far beyond the city limits. It was like a giant tsunami of fire.
"My... my iron.
As soon as we looked up, we saw him. Surrounded by all four elements, in a barrier of dense compressed air suspended in the air, Avatar Roku, whose eyes showed no mercy.
"There are those among you who have committed a grave sin. I will not pity you.