Yo and Dria. Somewhere high above the Sea of Mo Se, between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation.
The momentous day of opening a new chakra had arrived. All it took was climbing into a boiling volcano dozens of times a day to master the art of firebending.
"And why do I have to do all the physical training alone…" It felt strange to complain about myself, since all four of us shared the same feelings instantly through our shared chi.
Looking down, I saw Dria nestled in my arms. From here, I had a perfect view of her enticing chest, peeking out from her décolletage. Gazing at it led me to ponder… In recent months, all my selves had been seeking solitude with the girls at the same time. The pleasure from multiple bodies simultaneously was simply mind-blowing.
"This could easily turn into an addiction…" The key was not to forget the challenges and keep growing as a bender.
In the center of my chest, I felt something unfamiliar. That was the fourth air chakra making itself known, tied to my airbending abilities. It resided right there. In principle, if I didn't focus on it intentionally, it didn't interfere at all. After all, many masters, aware of their true strengths and limits, never reached the end, stopping somewhere at the beginning or halfway in their bending journey.
I could've tried to open the chakra near the volcano, so to speak, without leaving the scene. But having the spirit of knowledge as a backup never hurt. Even if it lacked a shred of chi, in theory, it could outdo even me. Besides, nothing stopped it from influencing that chi indirectly. The main thing was for me to be saved.
The chakra is blocked by the feeling of suffering. If successful, I'd be rewarded with a small gift of foresight and enhanced intuition, like a true master of the elements. Even before opening it, it seemed to have already given me something. Otherwise, I couldn't explain the heightened excitement and nervousness. I was truly lucky to have practically flown through the second and third chakras without encountering serious obstacles. The difficulty was only with the first chakra. That's why I was flying back to the Library.
Generally, if my bodies reunited again, perhaps the chances of a favorable outcome would increase, but I still decided to do it in Yo's body. Everything happens for the first time eventually, so better sooner. At the same time, I'd observe the state of my other bodies, see what would happen to them. Jun would watch over Roku, Kai would keep an eye on Yuki, and Jian, whom I trusted, took responsibility for Wan.
A little later that day, we entered a room prepared by Wan Shi Tong, which was covered in various mysterious symbols, reminiscent of ancient bending techniques. Every time I looked at them, I felt a twinge of envy—who wouldn't want to learn to "program" reality itself with the power of the elements…
"Everything's ready," the spirit said, "I'll monitor your chi every second. In case of any deviation from the norm, a forced procedure to interrupt the flow of chi will be initiated. In theory, this should help you 'wake up.'"
"You're already so strong! You don't have to push yourself!" Dria pleaded with me.
"Not enough," I shook my head. Like any bender, I wasn't eager to expose myself to unnecessary risk. But there are situations where it's vital to master a new bending technique. "I'm starting."
No longer paying attention to the world around me, I focused on the door standing between me and the chakra, a barrier to my airbending mastery. My subconscious interpreted it as a sturdy door, its hinges barely holding on.
Strike. Another. I relentlessly attacked it with my will, channeling my chi. After about a hundred strikes, the door swung open. Chi spontaneously circled my body, settling near my heart, enhancing my bending abilities.
Opening my eyes, I saw Dria's worried face. Wan Shi Tong calmly congratulated me. The chi had reached a new level, becoming even denser, a testament to my growing airbending skills.
In the next moment, the outline of Dria's body flashed before my eyes as she began moving toward me, a glimpse into the future granted by my newfound foresight. A millisecond later, Dria herself repeated what I had seen.
"Is this foresight?" I thought excitedly, a gift from the spirits.
Over time, the ability only intensified… It became easy for me to know how and where an opponent would attack, like predicting their bending moves. Once a week, I could glimpse further into the future. I didn't hesitate to take full advantage of this. The Fire Nation's plans were as clear as day. Having gained Zuko's trust, I stood at the forefront of the attack on the Temples, my super-intuition helping me deftly maneuver between their attacks, never falling prey to their bending techniques.
It seemed that with this ability, even Vaatu wouldn't be a problem. But everything soon changed…
One day, I saw how an assassination would take place against Ursa and Azula. I had a full hour to spare. Only a series of absurd coincidences delayed Wan by mere minutes. I arrived just in time to find the bodies of people dear to me, their lives cut short by a powerful poison.
This hit me hard. I began relying even more on the fourth chakra, never leaving that state for a second, my airbending abilities becoming a crutch.
Less than a week later, near the city of Gaoling, an ancient evil spirit appeared, somehow managing to enter the human world. In an unequal battle, an entire city was destroyed, and only with Wan Shi Tong's arrival was the spirit driven back to its own realm. But… the lost loved ones could never be returned.
Similar events began happening to all my close ones. Each new loss broke me. Extreme sorrow, grief, and suffering became my constant companions. It felt as though I had been allowed to ascend to the peak of the world as a master bender, only for the fall to be even more painful…
At that moment, I didn't question why my mind, enhanced by that mental spirit, couldn't cope with the negative emotions. Logical and sensible questions, and some inconsistencies in what was happening, didn't cross my mind.
One day, I realized I simply couldn't go on living without my loved ones. Giving up bending seemed easy; it felt like I would finally be free from the tormenting pain…
The next deep breath I took was in the room where I had opened the fourth chakra. The same anxious Dria, the same calm Wan Shi Tong. The past two years felt like a dream.
"Now I'm in the real world!" I convinced myself.
But everything repeated again. And again. And once more. Each time, only the circumstances changed, but everyone except me still perished.
Sorrow settled in my soul, literally permeating my entire being. I no longer wanted to do anything, only surrendering to the bitter feeling of my own powerlessness as a bender.
"You've probably lost someone too, uncle?" my unwashed body was noticed by a girl who looked no better than me. The dark spirit's minions had seized power in the world, leading to constant wars, murders, and betrayals everywhere. The streets of what was once a thriving town were now filled with children left alone in this cruel world.
"I'm alone now too," she continued, sitting her bony bottom beside me. "You look strong," she noted, "The two of us will definitely find it easier. I can embroider and cook!" she said a bit proudly.
Turning my attention to the girl, I saw dirty, tangled hair falling haphazardly over her weary face. But through it, I could still see two clear, heavenly pools bravely looking out at the world. My shattered psyche saw the features of all my loved ones in her face…
"The main thing is to always remember your loved ones. Mom, Dad, and my sister are right here," she pressed her small fist to her heart, "Always with me," she smiled as brightly as only children can. "The heart must be open to love…" the unfamiliar yet deeply familiar girl continued speaking.
"Yes," at first, I didn't even recognize my own voice, it felt so foreign, "We'll be together," I tried to smile, absentmindedly patting her head.
"They would definitely scold me…" The faces of my loved ones were no longer in pain; they looked at me with love and tenderness. In that same second, the image before my eyes lost its former colors, and like shattered glass, it cracked.
"Yo!" Dria's anxious voice burst into my ears like an alarm.
It took me another five minutes of tight hugs from Dria, whom I clung to like a lifeline, to come back to myself. I even managed to shed a few tears while Dria spoke words of encouragement.
"That… was terrifying," it seemed only now I understood why so few benders pursued the path of opening chakras.
"About an hour passed. The first twenty minutes were stable. But from the next minute, muscle tremors began, brain activity increased, and the body seemed under constant stress," Wan Shi Tong started explaining, seeing that I had come to. "Starting at the forty-fifth minute, everything began to subside. After another five minutes, the body stopped 'wanting to live.' The heart pumped less and less blood—can a chakra do that?!" he asked, either joking or serious. "Another minute, and I would've finally been able to fully examine you," he added.
"Most likely, that girl was my subconscious, which, with its last strength, tried to give me the will to live," nothing else came to mind for now.
The other bodies experienced the same thing as Yo. So, no backup bodies were in sight; we would all have died at once. Coming to, Yuki, Wan, and Roku immediately started hugging everyone, and even kissing some.
It was probably quite a spectacle from the outside. Wide-eyed, bewildered expressions, as if we hadn't seen each other in ages. But for me, it truly felt like an agonizingly long time had passed. Besides, I needed to make sure everyone was safe and sound.
Today, there was no mood to test new bending abilities; I just wanted to be near my loved ones. Even conversations weren't needed—simple presence was enough. Overnight, the emotions settled a bit, and I began to examine the changes that had occurred in my body and chi.
Predictably, the amount of chi had increased, becoming denser and a bit faster. I no longer paid attention to cosmetic transformations. I definitely wasn't scarier…
As for the abilities granted by the chakra: yes, there was foresight. Just not as powerful. One second. That's how far ahead I could see. And the ability only worked during battles. Not impressive, of course. But now I could "read" spirits beyond the main quartet. Thanks to the elemental senses, I could predict the moves created only by pure spirits of water, earth, fire, and air. It didn't work with Dria and Wan Shi Tong.
Maybe the ability would improve over time, then it would truly become indispensable for a master bender. For now, it was just a nice bonus. I liked the enhanced intuition more. Not because it was better… It just reminded me of a bender's instincts. As a child, I was a huge fan of those who could sense danger, and, of course, wanted to have the same abilities.
It felt as if a new, invisible organ had appeared in my body, sending signals of danger. A slight tingle ran through my body, and my subconscious told me which side the attack would come from. Essentially, it was almost no different from foresight. But Wan Shi Tong thought otherwise…
For the sake of a clean experiment, he didn't hesitate to take me to the spirit world. Without explaining much, he transported us to some kind of steppe.
"You have four directions to choose from. Which one will you pick?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. After pacing on the ground, I began turning to each direction. I even took a few steps in each direction.
"Hmm, south," I said uncertainly, pointing in that direction.
"Why did you choose this direction?" he approached me even closer.
"West, east, and north gave me a distant, uneasy feeling," I replied thoughtfully, trying to recall all the sensations.
"That's what needed to be proven!" he declared triumphantly, "Intuition warned you of danger many kilometers away. Only in the south were there no ancient dark spirits. If you had gone in any other direction, you would've undoubtedly met your death."
For another hour, I became an involuntary participant in a "Battle of the Benders." Locations and spirit positions changed, but I continued to choose the safest path.
"This is the last time. Choose a path."
"Strange," I said, "I don't want to go in any direction… The only somewhat viable option is to head northwest."
"Excellent!" he flapped his wings, "This time, spirits were on all sides. But to the north and west are ancient spirits who have yet to discover their powers, still too young."
Thus ended the saga of opening the chakra. But I vowed not to rely on it entirely, for every action of ours generates thousands of new paths as a bender.