Chapter 8: Spirits, a lot of them.

It took Michael ten minutes to explain his little adventure in Omashu. During that time, he managed to remove the bandages and replace them with a stolen black glove to the elbow. Even Bumi did not notice his sleight of hand, which Michael was very proud of. While they were talking, the – real – guards of the city took the bandits and threw them into the – real – prison. Seeing that his friend was not injured and in better health, Aang relaxed and decided not to ask about the blood.

Pretty soon, Team Avatar gathered with Appa. Oddly enough, all their things remained in Bison's saddle, so they safely continued their journey. Nobody wanted to think about difficult things, but after talking with Bumi, the Avatar was in deep thought.

Michael decided to ignore this and sleep while he had a chance. If Aang wants to talk, he can talk later.

---

Michael lay in the grass field that gently swayed with the wind. The sun hung high in the sky, illuminating the world with its rays. His eyes were protected only by the shadow of a giant tree that he leaned on, and the teenager silently thanked nature for creating such a beautiful place. There was nothing around him but an open field, it seemed that this tree appeared specifically for Michael to save him from the scorching sun.

He felt someone's hands run through his hair. Those hands were soft but strong and definitely feminine. Those hands were much smaller than his, he could only tell by feeling them in his hair. The girl who was massaging his scalp hummed an unfamiliar song under her breath.

The teenager didn't know how he ended up in the field and whose hands were in his hair, but he decided to just enjoy the moment. Michael hasn't felt this calm in a long time. He expected that after his work on those two bandits, he would not be able to sleep for even a second, but here he was. Lying on the grass and quietly dozing off.

A leaf fell from a tree branch and landed on Cordato's nose, but he didn't try to move to remove it. A woman's hand took the leaf and tucked it behind Michael's left ear as if it were the most beautiful flower in the world.

"Where am I?" He finally asked, not looking at the girl behind him.

"I can say something like 'you're where you're supposed to be' but I don't think you'll like that answer. For now, you don't need to know what this place is."

Michael didn't answer and started to hum the same tune the girl had been singing just a few moments before. She hummed along for a couple minutes, before starting talking again.

"I can only say that we are in a place that no longer exists. Many people tried to find it, but only one succeeded, and after that, he destroyed this place. Sometimes I remember how beautiful this land was and recreate it in my fantasies."

Michael's hum stopped.

"So, we are in your fantasy? In the world of thoughts?"

The girl laughed out loud and poked Michael in the nose.

"No, silly, these are your thoughts, I'm just a guest here. But, where you saw this place, I don't know."

Michael looked at the endless fields and shrugged.

"I don't know either. Hey, if you're a guest in my mind, then you're most likely either a deity who's interested in my life or a spirit. Which one?"

"Your mind is sharp, but not sharp enough, young man. I am a deity. One with less work than the rest."

He chuckled, but suddenly his mind filled with dread.

"Please say that you're not Zeus."

She laughed and Michael felt his soul fill with happiness from that sound. Her laugh was quiet, but soothing. He would say it felt like a mother’s embrace, but he never knew what it felt like.

"No, no. The old man was banned from visiting mortals after that rain incident. How he came up with that, I'll never understand."

"Then who are you?"

The goddess covered Michael's eyes with her palms and kissed him on the forehead. He wanted to see her face, but something told him that wouldn’t be right.

"I am the one whom no one knows and no one remembers. I am the one who comes in the hour of need but turns away when they offer their praise. I am the knowledge that was erased from books and the minds of people. I am forever forgotten and forever alone. I am the one who does not have a name, child."

Michael squeezed her left hand in sympathy.

"I'm sorry. You must feel pretty lonely."

He felt the woman nod, even if he didn't see her move.

"Yes. But now I've been assigned to oversee your life, my loneliness is tolerable. That spirit you saw the other day was just one of many looking over you."

He shivered at the memory. The snow surrounding him was too white to be real…

"Creepy."

"Yes, they are."

The world around him suddenly shook and brightened, as if someone had detonated a nuclear warhead on the horizon.

"Oh, you're waking up. I'll give you a little tip: you should visit the circus. I know I'm not a fan of places like this, but you should give it a shot. Maybe there'll be something you're interested in."

With parting words from the nameless goddess, Michael awoke.

"Sokka! You can't eat Momo; we've already discussed that!"

'Another day in the world of the Avatar.'

Michael raised his hand to his left ear and carefully took out a leaf he found there. He looked at the green leaf and put it in one of his empty books. Maybe he’ll need it in the future.

---

The Team Avatar approached a small Earth Kingdom village, flying over the high forest. There wasn't much greenery around as it was still winter, but the ground below still looked great.

Michael decided to try to soothe the scars on his right hand. He unwound his hand and wrapped it in a thin layer of water, feeling the Chi flowing through his veins as he sent his energy in an attempt to heal himself with little success. The water refused to even glow, not that it improved the condition of his skin at all.

Katara looked at the process from the side and tried to understand how Michael controls the water. He slowly moved his palm over the scars and the water followed his movements. The girl couldn’t understand exactly how the water followed his movements, it seemed too complex. Even Masters have to move at least a little bit to manipulate the elements, but Michael stopped completely several times and the water continued to move without him.

Michael huffed in annoyance and waved the water to the ground. He collected new water from nearby clouds and let it float into his flask. It was important to him to keep this water clean, even if he didn't intend to drink it.

"Okay, I was wondering how strong you are? Can you create a tsunami?"

Michael stopped for a second and thought. He didn't often use brute force to solve his problems, so he didn't care much, but even so, he knew that against raw power, almost any technique would be useless. That is why Michael preferred to be in the background, to be unnoticed until the very last moment, without even letting his opponents understand how they lost.

"No Sokka, I can't create a tsunami. I doubt I have enough Chi for that."

Michael knew he could go punch for punch with the other Masters, but he just didn't have their power. He wouldn't be able to fight against the main members of the White Lotus without a lot  of tricks.

"What? But didn't you say you had huge amounts of Chi?" Aang interrupted his thoughts.

Michael shrugged and created a miniature hurricane on his index finger.

"I said: Sure, let's stick with that for the time being. and while you were doing… whatever you were doing on the island, I was looking for my limits. I can't create something superhuman or something at the Avatar level. Yes, I manage my elements very well, but I suspect that my Chi paths are built differently than regular Benders. I am confidently in the middle of the list for Powers in Bending, my skill is another matter. I'm almost 100% sure that my Airbending skills are better than Aang's."

Aang frowned and pursed his lips in thought. He didn't like that one of his friends said he was better than him in his element – he spent thousands of lives learning Airbending even if he didn't remember it! – but Aang was a pacifist, so he decided to avoid conflict and accept that this might be possible.

"Well, there is always someone better in the world. Do you have any original techniques? The Air Nomads only give the title of Master to those who have created at least one new technique."

To tell the truth, almost all of Michael's techniques were original. Air Nomads were strong warriors, but not many of them could kill. Michael was a thief and a torturer. It was in his profession to know how to murder people in theory and practice, even if his first kill had not happened yet. So, he had a lot of different techniques in his arsenal, but to show off, he chose a special one.

Michael rose to his feet and extended his left hand. He created an ice Frisbee and gave it to Sokka.

"When I'm ready, throw it away from us. I don't want to get caught in the crossfire."

Sokka was a little confused, but rolled with it. When you’re friends with the Avatar, it’s pretty easy to get used to weird shit. 

"Okay… wouldn't it make more sense to do it on the ground?"

"Nope!" Michael smiled brightly and began to gather air in his left palm.

Everyone watched in amazement as the sphere first appeared on Michael's left hand – Cordato had to help form the sphere with his right hand even after all his training – and after a few seconds four air blades appeared on the sphere. It was a compressed circle of destruction that would kill absolutely anything on contact. Michael proudly stole the idea for this technique from Naruto and recreated it here.

Michael nodded towards Sokka, who threw the ice Frisbee away from Appa, the Dual Bender yelled "Razenshuriken!" and threw the orb at the rapidly receding target. The Razenshuriken collided with the Frisbee and expanded several dozen times on contact. A huge air sphere surrounded by blades appeared in the sky, dispersing the clouds and scaring the birds away.

Everyone could see the furious winds raging inside the sphere: wind blades, gusts of wind, even a small hurricane in the middle. It looked intimidating, but no one could take their eyes off the sphere that could bring only death.

"Fuuuuu~ that did a number on me… As I said, I've got the technique, not the strength."

Katara, Sokka, and Aang stared at the vanishing orb with dropped jaws. Michael didn't gather much of the compressed air, but his technique still could do horrendous damage.

"Say, why did you invent this technique?"

Michael turned to Aang and raised an eyebrow.

"Aang, the world has been at war for a hundred years now. I created this to destroy armies if I ever find myself on the battlefield. I think something similar can be done with Waterbending... Hmm… I wonder if I can create a water clone? The chances of that are pretty slim, but if I..."

Michael was distracted by his mumbling and took out a notebook from his pocket, completely ignoring the outside world. Aang looked at Michael with worry in his eyes, he didn't want any of his friends to become a killer, especially army killers.

He had already vowed to stop Fire Lord Ozai, but today his confidence was strengthened.

'I need to stop this war…'

---

Michael thought a little about other things. He was telling the truth when he said he was in the middle of the list of the strongest Benders on the planet. He never had any particular strengths. His body, although much stronger and more durable than before, was still not at the level that Michael wanted to see himself – that he could correct with training.

All his life, Michael relied on technique rather than strength. He knew what advantage special techniques could give a person. Martial arts were one such advantage, his Airbending and Waterbending were other advantages. So, the creation of a new technique – a water clone from Naruto – was one of his priorities.

Unfortunately, he ran into the problem with understanding the technique. He was also worried about the fact that his Chi might flow differently from other people's Chi. Jasmine had done something to his body and he wasn't sure if she left his Chi paths alone.

'Hell, I'm not sure if I'm still human.'

Michael shook his head and jabbed his wrist with his scarred fingers. His palm immediately went numb and he felt his Chi stop flowing. It was one of the many points he could find on his body.

'They're called tenketsu? Tenkesu? Or is it the name of the paths of Chi in the human body? Will have to find out about that later.'

The teen gathered some water around his good arm and concentrated on the Chi point he hit himself. Gradually, the sensations returned to his hand and he was able to move his fingers again. Michael allowed himself to relax and leaned on the edge of Appa's saddle. 

‘At least I can make Chi flow as needed… Why can’t I heal myself? It worked on bandits.’

He loved to fly on a huge Bison in the sky, to feel the wind in his hair, to look at the clouds passing by. Sometimes Michael played with the clouds and made them into strange shapes. And yes, he made at least three penises.

'Haa~... I want to kill something. Especially that shitty Spirit. What does he really want from me? I can't be the first person sent into this world. Could it be something else? Doesn't matter. I need to wait until we fly to the Library and find information about the Gate there. So far, it's the most convenient way to travel with Gaang.'

Michael has already decided that he will first learn Healing and only after that he will go to look for the Library. Though given that there would be many more interesting adventures along the way for Team Avatar, Michael could stay for a while.

He thought for a long time about his role in this war. He won't fight on the front lines unless it's absolutely necessary, that's not his style. Michael preferred to work from the shadows and help people without being noticed, so he always had fewer problems.

'Shadows… Sokka is the brain of the team that plans everything a few steps ahead. Katara is the heart of a team that takes care of one and all. Aang – the legs of the team that leads people forward. Toph is the team's eyes that look to the future. Zuko is the team's sword, and in the future, the team's intuition. I will be the shadow. One who does terrible things and remains forgotten in the history books. Yes, it suits me.'

The teenager smirked and took out a warm black jumper from his bag, silently wishing he had more colorful clothes. Michael flexed his right wrist and imagined a hidden blade flying out of its leather cover. Mentally, he wondered why he thought it would be a good idea, but then he remembered that he was a little bit obsessed with Assassins and their weapons.

After checking that his arm was working properly and his clothes were warm enough, Michael covered himself with a rather heavy blanket and decided to sleep through the rest of the flight to the nearest village. Maybe in the morning, he will come up with a new idea of how to control the water Chi to create a clone.

'Hah, as if.'

Team Avatar landed at a small clearing in the forest, they decided to try to find food and rest before moving on. The trees around were no different from what they had seen a couple of days ago, but Michael still tried to enjoy the greenery as much as possible. He knew that sooner or later he would have to leave this world and he would never see even a glimpse of light from here again.

Aang and Katara were checking the group's supplies when Sokka went into the forest in search of food. Michael just lay next to Appa and changed the air density in different places. He trained this ability to control flashes of fire in the future – Roy Mustang style. He also used Airbending to simulate telekinesis: minimum visible air currents, maximum movement.

It was his old dream, telekinesis – he decided to play with the new Waterbending techniques later when he had water nearby – so he spent quite a lot of time on this technique. Ten minutes later, several sticks were flying in front of Michael that imitated the movements of swords and daggers. Considering how many knives are hidden on Michael's body, it was only natural.

'Where are we in the canon timeline? Meeting Haru? If that's the case then I'll go to jail, I can't leave Katara alone in that place. It's a real world with real people, no chance I'll let her go there alone. I'll let them catch me doing some "Earthbending" and quickly throw some fire Nazis overboard.'

Nodding in satisfaction, Michael picked up his things, got up from his seat, and walked around the perimeter looking for something interesting.

The Earth Kingdom was quite a diverse place, it was either peaceful or overrun by enemy forces. The Fire Nation broke the spirits of many people in the Earth Kingdom and took over their land, but the war still went on.

You are reading story Journey Home – Starting Line at novel35.com

Michael knew how terrible the war was in this world – just as terrible as in the rest of the world. Death was terrible everywhere, after all. He could only hope that the funny show about the Avatar from his childhood would not become his nightmare. But after he buried about a hundred people in the Air Nomads temple, he wasn't so sure anymore.

'I hope Jasmine sends me to a calmer world after this. Or she's not the one who controls travel in the multiverse? Food for thought.' Unfortunately, there was nothing interesting around, except for the dried–up river.

Michael heard the distant pounding of earth on earth, so in his mind, the meeting with Haru would be like in the canon. Not knowing what else to do, he started watching the Earthbender. He was at the level of a beginner, but his movements were still unfamiliar to Michael.

But the differences in Bending have always been clear to Michael.

Bending was an interesting art. Those who do not try to achieve more drown in stagnation, and those who train to the bloody bone rise above everyone. Talent was very important here, but hard work was much more important.

Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads were quite nihilistic about… well, everything. Airbending is notable for being almost purely defensive, as well as the most dynamic of the four bending arts. It's a style of dodging, counterattacking, "the path of least resistance" as Iroh once said.

'Or was it not him? Hmm…'

But because of their pacifistic nature, Airbenders didn't use large finishing moves, something that would put the enemy in the ground. Fortunately for Michael, he had enough imagination to create new techniques – and enough balls to use the existing ones.

Water is the element of change. The fighting style of Waterbending is mostly fluid and graceful, acting in concert with the environment. Even when Waterbender does take an attack stance, their moves always appear to flow from one to the other, mimicking the flow of the water they bend.

It meant almost nothing to Michael. While his style was influenced by both Waterbenders and Airbenders, he generally preferred to deal with enemies with small, precise, and stealthy attacks. He didn't care how strong he was, he needed only a needle to kill a man – in theory, of course.

Earth is the element of substance, while the people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse, strong, and enduring. The key to Earthbending is utilizing neutral Jing, which involves waiting and listening for the right moment to strike and, when that moment comes, acting decisively. In other words, Earthbenders generally endure their enemies' attacks until the right opportunity to counterattack reveals itself.

No matter how much Michael thought about it, Earthbending was badass. It was no wonder that his favorite character from ATLA was Toph.

'She's a badass with a nice ass… At least she was – will be? – in flashbacks in The Legend of Korra. I wonder what happens if I give her the gun ahead of time?'

Fire is the element of power, consisting of overpowering force tempered by the unflinching will to accomplish tasks and desires. However, during the Hundred Year War, a militaristic Fire Nation twisted this into Firebending being fueled by rage, hatred, and anger. Firebending draws its power from the sun, and the first human Firebenders derived their Firebending techniques from the dragons. Not many Firebenders play defense, at least not for long.

But back to Haru. The kid was not bad considering what he had achieved without a teacher AND under the oppression of the Fire Nation. Of course, he couldn't move mountains, not everyone could be as talented as Toph, but even so, he was capable. At least he knew what he was doing.

Adjusting his green shirt stolen from Kyoshi Island, Michael sat down on a fairly large piece of driftwood and waited for the sounds to attract his friends. He could almost see how the scene played out in the show.

He leaned against the tree behind him and put his left hand behind his head. Lying on his right arm wasn’t comfortable, even if he was wearing a thick leather glove.

Suddenly, he felt a gust of cold wind, as if something was flying past him at high speed. Michael frowned and wanted to get up to look around, but something grabbed his shoulder. Thin cold fingers dug into his flesh with enough force to draw blood.

The teenager hadn’t felt fear for a long time, but now he was terrified. He didn't even feel that thing creep up behind him – he was sure that it wasn't human.

Thin silver fingers dripping with cold metal, the sound of heavy breathing in his ears and the primal fear that gripped his heart. Oh yes, it wasn't human.

Michael didn't even have time to think about turning around, as his body was thrown into the forest like a ragdoll. He thought that at such a speed he would crash into a tree and break his back, but instead, he felt like he was going through some kind of a barrier.

He flew out the other side of the barrier at bullet speed if the air in his ears was any indication. Michael tried using Airbending to create more air resistance and stop his flight, but to his dismay, he couldn't feel the air moving to his will. His body hit the surface of the water like a stone thrown by a child – where did the water come from? – and only after that, did he crash into the ground with a sickening crunch.

Feeling that his left arm was broken like a twig didn't help to calm the cold horror that clawed under his skin. His right shoulder was bleeding, his left forearm was broken, and his entire body was covered in bruises and cuts. In short, he was hurt. Badly.

Michael could hardly sit up and take in his surroundings. In front of him was a huge lake of silver water – or mercury – which was surrounded by trees with the same silver flow-y water leaves. But the grass was oddly green with a few flowers here and there.

Above the middle of the lake hung what could only be described as a transparent film barrier. If not for the light of the sun, Michael would never have noticed this strange thing. The film slowly stretched and broke, releasing a very thin, almost skeletal hand from the inside, which tore the barrier even further, allowing Michael to see the source of his horror.

The creature had a strange body similar to the body of a horse on which a silver liquid flowed. Four legs landed on the surface of the lake and melted in it, creating the illusion that the creature was one with the liquid. The creature had no head or neck, its eyes and ears sticking out right where a normal horse's neck would begin. But the strangest thing was the pair of skeletal arms protruding next to the eyes.

When Michael thought his life couldn't get any worse, the creature spoke. Without any mouth to talk with.

"I've been looking for someone like you for a long time, human. No, no, calling you human would be wrong, you’re not. No, no, you’re not."

The creature's voice was too high to be normal. With each word, Michael felt as if someone were running their fingernails across the board with a terrible squeak.

"You don't belong here. You shouldn't be here, you shouldn't even breathe here, but yet you are. That means the rules set for me at the beginning of time don't apply to you!"

Even without seeing the mouth, Michael could tell that the creature was grinning. Its voice was coming from somewhere below the lake, but right now he couldn't think about it, he needed to get back on his feet.

"No, no, they don't. I can finally quench the lake's thirst. Don't move, Sparrow, your end will be swift."

Several silver whips rose above the surface of the lake and quickly began to move towards Michael. The teenager could only grab his staff with his right hand and prepare for battle. He wasn't going to die today.

Spirits are quite interesting creatures. Since the beginning of time, Spirits have walked the earth, sharing space with humans. They have their habitats, abilities, desires, and thoughts. Some spirits may appear in the human world, but such cases are quite rare, not everyone can overcome the barrier set thousands of years ago.

As far as Michael understood, the Spirits had truly supernatural powers. Merging with people, changing from a light nature to a dark one, just to name a few. They had no restrictions or limits, their only purpose was existence, like programs on an abandoned PC.

That is why spirits are very dangerous. Over the years, people have seen raging Spirits destroying the land and killing intruders, good Spirits that give life and protection, even neutral Spirits that just watch. But each of them was quite strong, even if they couldn't use their full strength in the human world.

And now Michael was not in the human world.

'First, that bastard who’s 'watching' me, then the Goddess, and now this shit. Amazing. The world definitely tries to kill me.'

He wasn't sure what had happened, but what he was sure of, was that this is not a world where a human should be. His Bending just wasn't working so it was a huge clue that he wasn't in the regular world.

Michael looked around at the silver forest and frowned. He's been craving to kill something lately, so if this Mercury monster decides to be his volunteer, he won't protest.

But one does not fuck with Spirits if he does not want to die a terrible death. All the characters that tried to kill the Spirits and break the balance found their death quickly enough. General Zhao for example will die as soon as Michael gets to his sorry ass.

'What? What's happening? Why do I want to kill him? I am not a killer. Thief, torturer, sick bastard – yes, but not a murderer.'

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the need to dodge three of Mercury's silver tendrils at once. Michael jumped to the side only now noticing the pain in the left side of his chest. The tendrils dug into the ground, covering the grass with silver. The grass began to melt under the silver, but reduced the amount of liquid on the ground to the slightest drop.

'Ribs cracked, but the lung isn't punctured. I can't get hit anymore.'

His staff struck one of the silver tendrils, testing their durability, and to Michael's great surprise the staff simply went through the tendril, like a knife through butter. But this did not break the flow of mercury, only scattered large silver drops on the ground.

Not waiting for the next attack, Michael leaned on his staff and kicked off the ground into the air. His ribs grinded against each other in protest, but he felt worse, he knew how to endure pain.

"Yes! YES!!! Such cold fury, fear, pain! You will clench the thirst of the Lake!"

The tendrils followed him like wild snakes, trying to strike his body and tear him apart. Michael tried to remember what he knew about Spirits, and after the fifth close call, it dawned on the teenager.

'They have rules! Push can't function without Pull, Koh can't steal a face if someone doesn't show emotion, but what rules does this bastard have? Might as well…'

He rolled on the wet ground, barely dodging a silver spear in the eye. Never in his life did Michael thank Loki for his strange luck like right now.

"What do you want from me?!" Michael yelled, punching aside a surprisingly solid tendril with his right hand.

The silver headless horse laughed and threw its arms into the air.

"Your emotions! Your pain! The Lake asks, I give! Yes, yes! Now don't move! The Lake is losing patience!"

A dozen more spikes and tendrils appeared behind the horse's back. Michael didn't like it. The Mercury spikes began to rise into the air and fly at him like rockets. He spun to the right and stabbed one of the spikes with his staff, using the force from the impact to turn around completely and run towards the Lake.

'Well, that was fucking educational. It doesn't look like it's in the mood to talk. Let's try something else.'

Since his left hand was useless, Michael threw the staff into the air and raised his right hand to his mouth. In one fluid motion, he tore off the glove with his teeth, jumped into the air, and bit through the skin of the glove on the staff so as not to damage his teeth – take care of your teeth kids. Now that his hand was free, he pulled a flask of water from his belt.

He had to dodge several spikes that hit the ground. They quickly melted along with the grass, and Michael became a little more confident in his assumption. If a few blades of grass could do this to the not-Mercury, then what could regular water do?

The lid of the flask flew out with one very flexible kick from Michael. Knowing that his theory might be complete crap and that he would lose the flask anyway, he dodged another blow from the tendrils and threw the open flask at the silver horse.

The flask cut through the air like a spear with incredible speed, without even spilling a drop of water on the floor. But the horse knew that something was flying into it and caught the flask with its hand. Unfortunately for the Spirit, the flask was opened towards the horse's face.

The water splashed directly into the eyes of the Spirit and he screamed with his thin voice full of pain. The bastard's body began to melt and sink into the lake, giving Michael the relief he needed.

"No, no, no! The Lake is not satisfied! The Lake needs life! The Lake needs me! It needs me–!" The spirit's cries were abruptly replaced by gurgling sounds. Michael winced and wondered why he felt scared when the bastard only spoke clichéd Supervillain phrases.

Seeing the hand with his flask disappear under the surface of the non-Mercury, Michael sighed heavily. If someone was around, he would’ve made a reference to the Terminator, but what was the point now?

Frowning, the teen approached his bag, which had fallen from his shoulders at the beginning of the battle. He took it and fled from the silver lake as quickly as possible. He didn't want to know what would happen if he touched that liquid. He can check the state of his things later.

He failed to realize that he had already touched the silver. That the silver was harmless to him. He just wanted to get away from the place that terrified him to the point of trembling.

So, he ran.

---

Iroh considered himself just an old man with many friends. It did not matter to him that these friends of his were Masters of Bending arts or other disciplines, or members of the White Lotus – sometimes even both at once. He believed that his kind and understanding nature attracted people, sometimes even saved lives. So, when Zuko was exiled from his home, Iroh decided to go with him.

But the young prince was not a calm soul, everyone with royal blood had something sinister inside them. Iroh couldn't help his nephew for a long time. And now that the Avatar has reappeared in this world, he can finally show him the right path.

Unfortunately, the day he can do it won't be today. His nephew was in one of those moods when he snapped at everything and everyone around him. So, Iroh decided to spend some time alone.

Iroh took a deep breath and poured himself another cup of tea. The Spirit World was truly beautiful at this time of the day. Around him was a jungle with very friendly Spirits hiding behind the trees. Creepers hung from high branches, and the roots of trees stuck out of the ground and were as tall as a grown man. It was an untouched place. Even sacred.

So why did he suddenly smell wet metal?

As if answering his question, something crunched behind him. Knowing that he was in no man's land, Iroh turned around without any concern for his life. Here he was safe. Oh, how right and wrong he was.

Before him, stood the same young man whom he had seen a couple of days ago. His hair was greasy and matted, his clothes were torn, and his body was wounded in several places. His left arm was wrapped in a splint and held on by a belt to restrict the unnecessary movements. But the most noticeable were the bandages on his chest. His metal staff served as a walking stick with his bag tied to the high end.

In short: he looked bad.

"Oh, Iroh. Nice to see a familiar face in this place."

The young man sat down next to him as if they were old friends and let out a pained groan. Now that the old man could take a closer look, there were bruises and cuts on the teenager's face. Iroh frowned and set his cup down on the ground.

"You shouldn't travel to the Spirit World with such wounds, young man."

He just huffed and winced from a sudden movement in his chest.

"Michael. My name is Michael."

Iroh smiled. His guest had manners, even if he preferred to forget them.

"Well, Michael, you shouldn't travel to the Spirit World with such wounds."

Michael snorted and Iroh smiled even more. Meeting someone with a good sense of humor was more difficult than one might think.

"It was not my choice. Some silver cunt with six arms and eyes in the neck decided to feed the Lake with me. You know something about it?"

Iroh froze like a statue and could just stare at the young… man? in front of him. If what he said is true, then he should be careful in his choice of words.

"Hmm… That's Gotl. The Spirit guarding the bottomless lake of emotions. Some say that all the emotions of living beings on our earth begin and end in this lake. Others say that Gotl fills this lake with stolen ones. I prefer to believe that there is some truth in both versions."

The self-named Michael placed a hand on his bandaged chest and frowned.

"That bastard stole me from my friends and wanted the Lake to feed on me. I don't know if the Lake succeeded, but I hope not. Anyway, I have a question. How do I get out of here?"

Iroh looked at the teenager for a couple of minutes, not quite sure what to say to him. Finally, he was able to muster enough courage to speak.

"Michael, there will be no easy way out for you here. Not only your Spirit is in this world, but also your body."

Silence fell between them again. Michael just looked up at the sky through the trees and mumbled something under his breath. His voice got quieter and quieter until he was completely silent.

"... Iroh, pour me some tea, please. I'm gonna tell you a story. Have you heard of the multiverse theory?"

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