**Wan. The Palace of the Fire Lord.**
After an enjoyable time on the Coal Islands, we returned to the capital and our daily routines. Azula and Zuko left for their respective Academies, where they would spend most of their time studying firebending and other skills.
I found myself with more free time than ever, which I fully intended to use. My task was to investigate nearly every high-ranking official in the Fire Nation, to find those who genuinely cared for their people and possessed the necessary skills in their fields.
The challenge was that much of this information couldn't be uncovered immediately. Almost all of them led secretive lives. Some were already under the influence of their vices, serving the Fire Sages, while others I'd call ultra-nationalists. After so many wars, they believed their nation would rule the entire world. With my future policy of rapprochement, they would only hinder progress.
So, I gathered bits of information, piecing them together with what I'd learned from Old Jiang and Piandao, trying to identify those who fit my criteria.
I also spent time with Ursa, who missed her children deeply. She returned to her usual pastime of reading in the Palace library, where we had our small rendezvous. Occasionally, we managed something more exciting, but opportunities were limited. After all, the library had its staff, and officials often visited in search of information.
"One more minute, and we're done for today," I said to Ursa, who was drenched in sweat after holding a plank position for two minutes.
"Ugh, okay," she groaned, occasionally cursing the day she'd asked her lover to train her.
I, however, enjoyed the sight of Ursa's toned figure, accentuated by her athletic attire.
Once a week, the children visited, sharing stories of their week away from home.
"I don't see the point of this etiquette class. I already know it well," Azula complained about what she considered useless subjects. "I'd rather spend more time mastering firebending!"
"We started learning military strategy this year," Zuko countered, excited about the new curriculum. After all, the Academy for boys focused on producing great strategists, commanders, and warriors.
Days passed as I learned more about the true faces of those close to Ozai and the Fire Sages, eagerly awaiting the solstice.
**Yo. The Library of Wan Shi Tong.**
The day to hunt dark spirits had arrived. Dria, standing beside me, fidgeted with excitement, anticipating her reunion with Gaia.
"These scrolls will send the others to their places. I chose locations people never visit," the spirit of knowledge instructed, handing me three sealed scrolls to send Wan, Yuki, and Roku to their original realms.
I gratefully accepted the gifts, trying to understand how they were created.
"Can I learn to create something like this? I mean, your writings," I couldn't help but ask. After all, with them, Wan Shi Tong achieved incredible feats, like the gravity room or virtual reality. Such abilities had limitless potential…
"No," he replied immediately, shattering my dreams. "These abilities were given to me by the world itself," he explained.
"Not at all?" I pressed, already losing hope.
"I can teach you my language and script, but it won't grant you my powers," he said after a moment's thought.
"What's the use, then?" I asked. It would be like owning a car but not knowing how to drive it—though some people still try.
"All my books are written in this, let's call it, spiritual language. Readers see the language they're most familiar with," he explained. "With this knowledge, you'll understand the true meaning of the information I've encoded!" he said proudly. Seeing my lack of enthusiasm, he added, "You'll also read faster."
"Then let's learn!" I exclaimed. I'd underestimated the library's size, and reading all the books before Vaatu's arrival seemed impossible. With this skill, I could save time.
With less than five minutes until the barrier between worlds weakened, I summoned the other "mes." Roku and Yuki's brief absence wouldn't raise questions, but Wan needed Old Jiang's help, claiming he'd be training his grandchildren in elemental bending.
"Unusual," I muttered as my body swayed slightly.
"Are you okay?" Dria asked worriedly, steadying me.
"Yes, better now," I reassured her. "The body had to adjust to the increased speed of thought. The element of reason quadrupled our cognitive abilities, and they were evenly distributed among the bodies. Now, my abilities have surged, causing temporary disorientation."
"Are you sure you don't need me to stay?" I asked Dria for the third time that day.
"Don't worry, Gaia's waiting for me on the other side," she replied. During the transition, we'd separate. I'd head to areas rich in fire and earth chi, while she'd go to the nature element. Each time, navigating became easier, and finding places I'd visited before was no longer a challenge.
Less than a minute after Dria's response, we felt a small spiritual wave sweep across the world, starting from one pole and ending at the other.
"Did you feel that too? Was it always like this during the solstice?" I asked Dria, who stood calmly.
"You mean the wave?" she tilted her head. "Yes, it happened every time," she said. "Well, not every time. I first felt it when I became a higher spirit, still in the Spirit World."
"Now I understand why I never felt it before… I simply lacked sensitivity," I concluded. "But now I'm at the highest level."
That could wait. Quickly kissing Dria goodbye, I stepped into the other world.
During the transition between worlds, I had only a few seconds to decide where to appear. It sounded easy, but one mistake could cost me my life. I had to choose carefully. Following the strongest energy trail could lead to ancient dark spirits, while a weak trail might yield no spirits at all, wasting time.
Trusting my intuition, I chose a path filled with intertwining fire and earth chi.
In the next moment, I found myself beneath an active volcano ready to erupt. Acting quickly, I channeled fire chi, releasing flames from all four limbs to propel myself high into the air, safe from the lava.
"That probably wouldn't have killed me, but being caught in the fire isn't pleasant," I thought. With my vast life energy, I could even swim in lava for a while…
Looking at the horizon, I saw thousands of active volcanoes, resembling boils on a teenager's face during a hormonal surge—a poor allegory.
Three-meter-tall dark spirits emerged from the lava, like golems made of stone, with orange flames raging in their crevices, wrapping around their bodies.
Now I understood why my intuition led me here! These spirits, resembling infernals from the game Warcraft, balanced fire and earth chi perfectly.
Double the benefit! Defeating one would boost both my fire and earth chi sources. But there was a problem…
Thousands of higher spirits constantly battled each other here. Thankfully, they were occupied, or they could have wreaked havoc on peaceful spirit territories. I couldn't draw attention, so I'd take them one by one.
Flying around, I found a suitable area to isolate and defeat the spirits.
Peeking from behind a boulder, I waited for a battle between two nearly identical spirits to end. After two minutes, a victor emerged, though they were badly injured. My chance!
Using airbending to reduce air resistance, I accelerated with fire, launching myself at the spirit. Before it could react, it was flying through the air.
"Hot, damn it!" I hissed, quickly channeling life energy to heal my scorched skin. "I should've created stone gauntlets first…" Next time, I'd know better.
The defeated fire golem was far from the main battle but not far enough to calm my nerves. Taking a stable stance, I released a gust of air with both hands, sending the spirit flying further into the secluded area where we wouldn't be disturbed.
"A simple higher spirit isn't a serious threat. I've been defeating them for breakfast," I wanted to say, but it was only thanks to my thousands of deaths fighting virtual spirits.
"Let's try something," I thought, channeling fire chi into a stream of raging flames that halted the spirit's advance.
Now, the air chi…
The flames turned blue, gaining power, sweeping away the spirit's natural fire and leaving only bare stone.
"That attack was as strong as those from the water chi, which is already at the highest level," I exclaimed to myself. "Not bad! Very not bad!"
Forgetting the battle, I finally looked at the spirit, now weakened without its fire. Again, I realized everyone has a weakness. For this spirit, its fire was like a human's blood, filling it with life and strength.
"Bye-bye," I said, flying toward it with a raised leg, which soon crashed into its head.
Brushing off the dust, I looked at the pile of stones that was once a whole. The defeated spirit's chi was evenly distributed among my sources.
"I feel like a cheater," I thought, but then remembered the ancient dark spirits and Vaatu, who wouldn't even bother to kill me.
For the next few hours, I easily defeated one spirit at a time. Realizing I could handle two, I boldly approached battling pairs, dragging them to my territory.
I continued until I felt full, unable to absorb any more chi.
"Last time, the children of Unagi helped me reach the highest water level," I recalled. "It's unknown how long it'll take to reach the highest fire and earth levels," I muttered with a sigh.
My chi sources were ready for the transition, but it wouldn't happen until my understanding of the elements underwent a qualitative leap. I had some ideas, which I'd need to think through carefully.
For the first time, I finished my tasks in the Spirit World ahead of schedule. I could search for air spirits, but in the remaining hour, I was unlikely to find any. For miles, everything was saturated with fire and earth chi, and the chances of finding air spirits nearby were negligible. So, I decided to return to the human world.
"I wonder what Dria's up to?"
**Dria's Story**
Due to her mischievous nature, Dria wasn't bound by the typical spirit's sense of time. In six months, she'd grown incredibly lonely without her friend. Living among humans, who valued time, had influenced her.
Gaia, though not fully understanding Dria's excitement, smiled and accepted her as she was.
"So, you 'did it'?" Gaia asked, a faint blush on her cheeks, her hooves tapping the grass.
"Hmm," Dria nodded happily. "It was so cool! Words can't describe it, much better than Aunt Lan's writings!"
"Okay, no details, please!" Gaia waved her hands, embarrassed by the conversation.
"Don't worry, if you don't find your love, I'll ask Yo or Yuki to accept you!" Dria misunderstood, trying to comfort her. "All books say people love having many partners and lovers! Look at Yuki, he has several girlfriends and isn't stopping!" A spirit's mindset couldn't comprehend jealousy; sharing love with others seemed better.
"I get it, I get it!" Gaia was ready to burst with embarrassment. Despite her age, she was like a child in some ways.
Not knowing how to distract her friend, Gaia noticed Dria's unusual life pulse. Nature spirits uniquely sensed life in every living being and plant. Dria didn't worry about it, and Yo, lacking a nature spirit's senses, felt nothing.
"Stop!" Gaia snapped, placing her head on Dria's stomach, listening intently. "When did your life pulse change?"
"You noticed too! I was going to tell you," Dria punched herself. "It started after my first night with Yo."
"Hmm," Gaia pondered. "It's unclear what this means, but let's hope nothing bad happens," she said thoughtfully.