truck screeched to a halt.
The driver stumbled out, pale and shaking.
"I I hit him I know I hit him!!!
The mother rushed forward, grabbing her child, sobbing uncontrollably.
Bystanders gathered.
"…Where is he?"
"…He should be right here…"
"There's no blood…"
"No body…"
Nothing.
No sign of Bobby Williams.
No evidence he was ever there.
It was as if the world had erased him completely.…So I'm dead."
Bobby stood in a place that didn't exist.
No ground.
No sky.
Just endless white.
"Well," a voice echoed, calm and amused, "that depends on how you define 'dead.'"
Bobby turned.
A figure stood behind him no, hovered.
It didn't have a clear form. It shifted constantly, like reality couldn't decide what it was supposed to look like.
"…You a god or something?" Bobby asked.
"Something like that."
Bobby let out a breath. "…Figures."
The being studied him.
"You acted without hesitation. Without power. Without certainty of survival."
Bobby shrugged weakly. "Kid was gonna die. That's all that mattered."
"Interesting," the being said. "Most humans don't act that way when it truly counts."
Bobby looked down at his hands.
"…So what now? Heaven? Hell?" You will be sent there," the being said.
Bobby blinked, still trying to process everything. "So… that's it? I die, and now I just get dropped into another world?"
"Not die," the being corrected calmly. "Not live as you were either."
Bobby frowned. "…So what, then?"
The being paused, then spoke again—its voice carrying a strange weight this time.
"Neither."
Bobby tilted his head. "That's not really helpful."
The being let out a faint, almost amused breath.
"However… a friend of mine has taken interest in you."
"…A friend?"
"A spirit," the being said. "One you may know as the Lion Turtle."
Bobby froze.
"…No way."
A presence filled the space.
Ancient.
Massive.
Peaceful… yet overwhelming.
Bobby didn't even fully turn—but out of the corner of his eye, he saw it.
A colossal shape, far too large to comprehend completely. Its form seemed to stretch beyond reality itself, like the world couldn't contain it.
His breath caught in his throat.
"…That's real," he whispered.
A deep, resonant energy pulsed through the space—not words exactly, but something he understood.
Approval.
Respect.
The being spoke again, softer now.
"The Lion Turtle has not witnessed such a beautiful act of selflessness from a human in a very long time."
Bobby swallowed hard.
"I just… didn't want that kid to die."
"And that," the being said, "is exactly why you were chosen."
The Lion Turtle moved—slow, ancient, deliberate.
A light began to gather around Bobby.
Gentle.
Weightless.
Free.
It wrapped around him like a breeze… like the sky itself was touching him.
Bobby's eyes widened.
"…The air…"
It wasn't chakra.
It was something else.
Something pure.
Something alive.
"The Lion Turtle grants you a gift," the being said. "A power from its world."
The energy surged—
And Bobby felt it.
Flowing through him.
Around him.
Part of him.
"Airbending," he whispered.
The word felt right.
Earned.
Not given lightly.
"For giving your life to save another," the being continued, "you are granted the freedom of the wind itself."
Bobby clenched his hands, feeling the invisible currents respond.
"…This is insane."
But the being wasn't finished.
"There is more."
The air stilled.
"The Lion Turtle has one request."
Bobby looked up. "…A request?"
"Two souls from its world will accompany you."
Bobby blinked. "Wait what?"
"One," the being said, "who lived a life that went astray. A soul that deserves a second chance."
A faint image flickered—unclear, but heavy with regret.
"And the other…"
The tone shifted.
"…A man who died too young."
Bobby's expression softened.
"He gave up his life," the being continued, "just as you did… to save a child."
Another image appeared—
A man.
A moment.
A sacrifice.
"And that child," the being said, "would grow up to become the Avatar."
Bobby's eyes widened. "…You're serious?"
"Both will be reborn."
The light around Bobby shifted again.
"As children."
"…Children?"
"Seven years old," the being confirmed. "The same age you will take in that world."
Bobby stared, trying to process it all.
"So… I'm not just getting powers… I'm getting responsibility too."
"Yes."
A pause.
"They will go with you."
Bobby exhaled slowly, then let out a small laugh.
"…Man. From janitor to… whatever this is."
The being raised its hand.
"Your name will no longer be Bobby Williams."
Energy surged once more, reshaping him.
"Deku Beifong."
Bobby smiled slightly.
"…Guess I better not mess this up."
The air swirled around him.
The presence of the Lion Turtle faded, but the power remained alive within him.
The being's final words echoed as the world began to fall away beneath his feet:
"Make this new life mean something."
And then
He fell.