Yo, still with Aang. The Wan Shi Tong Library.
"Avatar, you've finally shown up… That simplifies things a lot," the spirit of knowledge greeted us in his sanctuary, his usual stoic expression tinged with impatience. Having known him for quite a while, I easily noticed his restlessness. After all, too much depends on this kid—or rather, the spirit within him. As far as I know, Wan Shi Tong himself tried to find the Avatar, but something kept getting in his way. Maybe Raava sensed a fragment of Vaatu on the human plane, which is why she completely shut down.
"There are so many books here!" Aang murmured in awe, turning his head around.
But his wonder was short-lived. The spirit of knowledge began leading Aang through various rooms where different kinds of research were conducted. From the results, it became clear that Raava possessed only about twenty percent of her true power. Wan Shi Tong had preserved approximate data on both Great Spirits when they were at their peak.
Essentially, each new Avatar reincarnation took a tiny fraction of the light spirit's strength. But when you consider the hundreds of Avatar statues, the amount of energy spent becomes significant. Plus, the Avatar State itself consumes Raava's energy. Based on this information, Raava should actually be much weaker than she is now. This, in turn, tells us there's some factor we've overlooked…
"I think I know what will help her regain her strength," the spirit of knowledge said. Well, I guess I'm the one who missed something…
Over the next few days, Aang and I put Wan Shi Tong's theory to the test. We sought out conflicts or problems people were facing.
After all, if Vaatu draws power from dark, negative emotions, chaos, and destruction, then Raava should grow stronger through positive emotions and harmony. So, Aang needed to help resolve some dispute or problem. Or, well, somehow facilitate conflict resolution.
In the end, Aang helped a lost fire ferret cub find its family. He also resolved a minor conflict between two neighboring villages. Every year, they fought over a shared pasture, and this time, things ended much better. We handled about a dozen such small situations.
"As I thought, the level of light energy has risen. The percentage is tiny, but there's progress," Wan Shi Tong said after a series of scans that left Aang and me baffled.
All this time, Aang followed our instructions without fail. Maybe at first, he didn't fully grasp the threat posed by the Great Spirit of Darkness, but once the spirit of knowledge showed him the worst possible future in an illusion, he heeded our warnings.
Aang probably needed a goal to strive for. It was clear he was still haunted by past events he hadn't witnessed. Of course, he didn't know he'd left his loved ones during their most tragic times. But if he'd acted a bit more maturely back then, things might have been different.
Our top priority was teaching the young Avatar to control his Avatar State. The quickest and easiest option was to find Guru Pathik. I think the glowing sign that recently appeared in all the Temples made him realize the Avatar had returned to the world.
"This part of the library looks much prettier," Aang said, admiring the flowers painted on the walls. I doubt even Wan Shi Tong would admit that Selin had become close to him as a spirit-human. There's no other way to explain why my daughter's drawings still adorn these walls.
Aang was curious to read something about the Air Nomads, since no records remained in the Temples after the genocide. And this section of the library had once been subjected to a massive attack of Selin's budding artistic talents.
"My daughter did this," I said with a hint of pride.
"You already have a daughter?" he asked, looking at me anew. After all, I don't exactly look like an adult.
"Yes, little Selin is my pride," a soft smile naturally appeared on my face. Then I showed him our family portraits, which had accumulated during our journey through the Earth Kingdom. Now, my girls are exploring the most remote islands where rare plants might still exist.
Later. Eastern Air Temple.
Without delay, we headed straight to the supposed location of the 150-year-old guru. As we approached the Temple, whose beauty hadn't even been marred by the Fire Nation's invasion, I began scanning the area with all my senses.
"He's not here?" I frowned, not finding the target of our journey. "Well, we still need a place to spend the night."
The joyful Appa headed to the Bison Stables—the place where all his kind were born and raised. The poor creature doesn't hang its head; its eyes still burn with hope of finding its kin.
After passing the massive stone statue of Avatar Yangchen, my intuition gave a faint and somewhat vague signal, as if it didn't fully understand what it was trying to tell me. Soon, I realized what it meant. In the inner courtyard sat a tanned, wiry old man surrounded by small birds and other animals. They played with his clothes, walked on him, as if he were their best friend.
"Young Avatar," the Guru opened his eyes. "Brother," he nodded to me, instantly identifying my activated chakras. I don't know how he does it, but his body seems to merge completely with nature, as if he's part of the entire ecosystem.
"Hello," I replied politely. And although, adding up all my virtual and real years of life, I was older than him, looking into his eyes still felt like encountering some otherworldly wisdom.
"My name is Pathik, but many call me simply Guru," he introduced himself. "I was a spiritual brother to your people and a friend of Monk Gyatso."
"You knew my mentor?!" Aang asked excitedly.
"Mhm," he nodded gently. "Since our youth. But I assume you didn't come to hear my stories," he smiled. "Follow me. Not only the Avatar will benefit from hearing my words."
"To control the Avatar's power, you must find inner balance and only then bring it to the world," he said slowly, yet his words were captivating. "The first step to balance… is this," he produced a wooden cup with some strange liquid inside from nowhere. Oh! I think I know what's in there!
Taking a big gulp, Aang immediately spat it all out and even ran to a nearby stream to drink its water.
"It tastes like onion-banana juice!" Aang accurately identified the composition of the unusual drink. Holding the cup Aang had handed me before running to the clean water, I sniffed it curiously. Unable to resist, I decided to try the drink myself.
"Interesting…" I thought to myself. It really seemed to stimulate my chi, bringing me closer to opening a new energy center.
"It seems your friend appreciated my drink," the Guru commented, noticing my now-empty cup.
He then began explaining chakras to Aang, but I was more interested in how his chi flowed through his channels. Trying to mimic what I saw, I distinctly felt my chi increase—minutely, but still! Maybe that's how he's lived to his age.
"…If you've already started, you must open all seven chakras at once!" I caught the Guru's last words. That's exactly why I didn't choose the path of a chi master in my time. Because once you follow this path, you can't stop.
With a serious expression, Aang began following the Guru's instructions to open the first chakra—the earth chakra at the base of the spine.
"It governs survival and is blocked by fear," Pathik's voice took on a soul-vibrating tone, as if directly interacting with the chakras themselves.
"What are you afraid of, Aang?" The struggle now happening inside Aang was clearly written on his furrowed face. "It's just your vision… Release your fears," he said. Before long, Aang came to. "You've opened the earth chakra," he smiled.
"This is straight-up cheating!" I exclaimed to myself. You could say Guru Pathik is a kind of guide who can effortlessly lead you through a forest full of dangers. His voice seems to support Aang, helping him overcome obstacles along the way.
"I'm already losing the desire to open chakras," Aang grumbled, wiping sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
"And you still think you have a right to complain here?!" I couldn't help but protest to myself. Of course, I understand he doesn't fully realize what a gift the Guru is giving him, but it's still a bit hurtful. Too bad this won't work for the physical path… The book clearly stated that any external interference in the chakra-opening process is forbidden. And the Guru's voice definitely counts as such.
With each new chakra opened, Aang's face grew more haggard. After the third chakra was activated, I deliberately moved a bit farther away and sat with my back to them. Aang's pleading eyes kept trying to soften me. But the main thing was that this was his only show of weakness. He didn't say he wanted to stop; he stubbornly kept opening new chakras.
"This kid has a backbone!" I thought. Honestly, I'm starting to appreciate the Air Nomads' upbringing methods. Despite his young age, Aang has already defined his values. You could say he's a whole and mature person, though he still has some childish impulses—but that doesn't negate the first statement.
After a while, just as the final chakra was about to be opened, I moved closer, carefully monitoring Aang's energy reactions. Up until the sixth chakra, there weren't any truly qualitative changes in his body. And that means the last one should give the most bonuses.
"Congratulations on the emergence of a new guru in this world," Pathik said calmly, as if this was exactly how things were supposed to be.
Meanwhile, I couldn't stop marveling at Aang's transition to a different level of existence. His chi channels, and the source of his life energy itself, now matched mine! And I've been actively and purposefully developing them for many years! Even more global changes were happening with his bending at that moment.
"I want that too…" The thing is, all his channels carrying bending energy began exponentially widening and deepening. In the end, Aang's energy body became one continuous channel. That's something I'll only achieve after another ten years of actively using my element…
"The local Captain America can't possibly be stronger than a real reincarnated soul!" A strong motivation to train awakened within me!
"It feels like a huge, heavy stone has been lifted from my shoulders," Aang's face was indeed radiant, I'd even say fulfilled.
"That's how it should be. After all, many problems that tormented your heart and mind are no longer obstacles in your path… Maybe another onion-banana juice?" he ruined the solemn moment, somehow producing the drink again from nowhere.
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