Aang knew where to find Shisui, so he went straight to him. He didn't go to the training ground where Shisui taught because classes had already ended. The Sage believed that he had conveyed all that he needed to.
Now, it was up to his students to continue exploring and delving deeper into the element of water. After all, everyone has different talents, so each path is personal.
Shisui simply showed them how to walk the path, as he had done with Aang. He didn't give them the answers they were looking for or clear their minds, preventing them from becoming mere imitators and wasting their talent.
Aang knew that Shisui spent much of his free time at the Spirit Pond, hanging out without doing anything impactful or revolutionary.
If Aang didn't know him, he would think Shisui was wasting his time. But how could Shisui possibly be wasting his time? Surely he was secretly training to become stronger!
Urged on by Raava and driven by his own curiosity, Aang approached the Spirit Pond. Before he got there, his ears twitched slightly as voices were carried to him on the wind.
"Then you should do this so the stitches look pretty good without being too obvious and are very strong. Oh, you've done quite well, Shisui!" said an elderly woman, her tone full of pride and joy.
"Thank you, Grandma. I couldn't have done this without you," replied Shisui. When Aang finally arrived, he found an interesting scene.
Shisui sat on an ice chair with what appeared to be two sewing needles and a ball of blue yarn in his lap. He held a scarf made of slightly coarse wool in his hands, and it looked decent.
Shisui's grandmother, Taqqiq, was sitting next to him, seemingly helping the Sage improve his manual skills. Next to the pond where Tui and La were swimming, Azula sat on the grass with her eyes closed, deep in meditation.
It was a peaceful scene. Aang hesitated to introduce himself, not wanting to make any noise that would disrupt the atmosphere. But how could Shisui not sense his arrival?
The Sage looked at Aang and gestured for him to come closer. Taqqiq, realizing that the Avatar was walking toward them, smiled.
"Little Aang! Do you want to learn how to knit with this old woman?" the elderly lady asked confidently, patting the Avatar on the back and treating him like a child.
Did Taqqiq know that Aang was actually a centenarian? Of course she did! But no one, not even Aang, considered that century to be part of his age, so she treated him like any other young man.
Why didn't anyone add 100 years to Avatar Aang's age? Apart from his biological and mental ages, nothing else mattered. In both senses, Aang was only 18 years old, and that's what mattered.
For this reason, Shisui sensed that no one in the "original story" focused on this issue, something he despised and disregarded. However, he admitted that it did show some useful things, such as this particular issue.
Aang spent 100 years frozen, with his biological and mental ages completely halted. They only began to develop after he was accidentally freed by Katara.
Of course, Shisui did not consider the 'canonical' story to be real or something he should follow or trust. In the reality that Shisui lived in, the only one that mattered to him, a clear divergence occurred that changed everything.
The spiritual energy leak that the Avatar experienced was a serious issue! This allowed Aang's body to grow in the ice and his spirit to reach the spiritual world, where they could develop together.
For this reason and several others, the Avatars asked Shisui, a sage, to educate Aang. If Aang were released without training, he would suffer a worse loss of energy than the one that caused his premature death. Additionally, he would be a preteen in the body of a young adult, which could cause serious spiritual problems.
Shisui taught the Avatar what was necessary for his mental growth. Otherwise, before awakening, his body could reabsorb the spiritual energy it had lost over the past century and regain its true longevity.
Shisui quickly considered these things as he watched Aang shyly respond to his grandmother, promising to visit her another day to learn how to sew.
Aang created an ice seat next to the sage. Since this matter was not serious, he did not stop Taqqiq from listening. He went on to chat with Shisui directly.
"Hey, I have a... friend? Who has wanted to talk to you for a long time, but I always put it off until now," Aang began, scratching the back of his neck with a somewhat guilty expression on his face.
"Oh? Come on! Who is it?" Shisui asked with genuine curiosity. Who wanted to talk to him? Some Avatar? They could find him in the spirit world.
The same goes for spirits. If it were a person, he had no idea who it was. The Sage was very interested in that person's identity. However, Aang's answer surprised him quite a bit.
"She is Raava. The others told you about her, didn't they? Wan, for example. She doesn't usually talk to us Avatars, but she has always been with us. She knows what we experience..." At this point, Aang blushed, realizing that Raava must have experienced what he did while spending the night with Katara.
Raava had experienced many things over 10,000 years, both good and bad. Perhaps that was why she had such a peculiar sense of humor. After all, she could say she had seen almost everything.
Suddenly, a special mark appeared on Aang's skin, glowing with white and blue light that pierced his clothes completely. It had a particular shape representing a specific being.
With this emblem, a majestic spiritual energy manifested itself on the physical plane. Although Aang's eyes did not change, the arrow tattoos running all over his body also emitted light.
Tui and La, who had been swimming peacefully in their pond, spun rapidly for a few seconds before resuming their normal pace. Azula, who had been meditating the whole time, opened her eyes, which contained will-o'-the-wisps.
A wave of spiritual energy emanated from that place, covering not only the earthly world but also the spiritual world. Every being with even the slightest perception looked toward the source of that pulse. Instinctively, a name came to their minds:
The Avatar! But this display of power felt different, less personal. It was as if the concept of the Avatar itself was manifesting, rather than an actual human being.
Many people did not grasp this difference, but those who did were intrigued because they quickly concluded that Raava had taken action for some reason, which surprised them even more.
In these 10,000 years, Raava has been incredibly vague. Except for organizing the rebirth of each Avatar, it has never manifested itself in either world until now.
"Now you realize it, Aang. Yes, I can feel what you feel, always have, ever since you were born. For example, what did you do to yourself weeks ago in the forest when you couldn't stop thinking about...?" For the first time in 10,000 years, the ethereal voice of a mature woman could be heard on the physical plane; other people besides the Avatar could hear Raava's voice.
"Shut up, Raava!" Aang shouted, his face red with embarrassment. He never thought Raava would reveal such private information.
"Oh, don't worry, Aang. It's normal for vigorous young men to have hobbies that are more 'hands-on' than others. But at least you won't have to worry about that anymore. I saw you and Hakoda's daughter making eyes at each other!" Taqqiq's words made Aang even more embarrassed, causing the Avatar to lower his head. He wished he had mastered Earthbending so he could open a crack in the ground and jump into it.
"I never expected to hear such a comment from you two." Shisui didn't see any problem with it, considering it an important matter, normal.
Although impressive, Raava's appearance only satisfied Shisui's curiosity about who wanted to talk to him. Having met several important spirits in the past, including Vaatu, the Sage was difficult to impress.
"Sage Shisui, I have wanted to talk to you for a long time, but Aang always delayed it. I would like to talk to you about many things, but first, I would like to ask for your help with something." This time, Raava addressed Shisui, who nodded in response.
"Well, I'm not sure what you, a powerful and ancient being, would want to talk about, but I'm willing to chat. As for help, what kind would you need from someone like me? You are Raava!" asked Shisui, confused.
"Once, Aang overheard you talking about your ability to externalize your spirit and mold it into different forms. I am well aware of that information, and I have seen you do it. My request is...will you help me perform that process?" Raava plunged the Spirit Pond into silence. Even Tui and La were unusually quiet this time, contributing to the atmosphere.
"Do you want to be able to see the world for yourself?" Shisui asked, getting to the heart of the matter.
"You are undoubtedly an intelligent person and well deserve the title of Sage. Yes, although I don't want to leave my current state of fusion with Aang, I'd like a way to access the outside world.
Before Wan, my only purpose was to prevent Vaatu from plunging the world into chaos. From Wan onward, I have experienced human joys and sorrows: Pleasure, pain, euphoria, and fear.
Life after life, reincarnation after reincarnation. I have always been one with each Avatar, and I will never regret that. However, I have also thought that I can have my own experiences.
I would not leave my state of fusion with Aang. I would create a clone of myself connected to my consciousness. You are capable of making this possible. You were able to create a pseudo-elemental life.
This will not affect my power nor give me the ability to use the elements unless a Lion Turtle grants me that ability. However, it will allow me to appreciate the outside world again, this time from a human perspective," said Raava in a tone that seemed somewhat aged. In reality, though, an entity as powerful as she was could not age.
That was just a sign of how much she had been affected by ten thousand years of continuous life! Interestingly, an idea came to Shisui's mind. Although it seemed ridiculous, he did not hesitate to express it.
"Raava... When did you achieve enlightenment?" Shisui asked. Raava laughed in amusement before answering.
"Just when I started looking at humans from their point of view. In the third millennium, if I remember correctly. Enlightenment can happen to any creature, no matter how small or large." Raava's answer made Shisui laugh. He patted Aang on the shoulder, which also patted the spirit.
"I had decided to take it easy for a few days. I even learned to knit. But giving an ancestral being a body is definitely an incredible way to get back in the game. I think we can make it even more special, don't you?"
I can try using my Waterbending, but I won't do a good job. We need the four elements. Aang, how about you call the rest of our friends? Meanwhile, Grandma can call Yue.
We have to help an ancient spirit get a mature woman's perfect body!" Shisui exclaimed excitedly before receiving a slap on the head from Azula.
"Stop talking nonsense. Don't embarrass such a noble being," Azula complained. Then, Raava responded.
"Actually, if I could choose my appearance, I would like to look like a mature woman." That comment made the corners of Shisui's mouth twitch as he tried to hold back his laughter. He simply couldn't contain it.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
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AN: TheAnPlayer2 gave me a tip: Promote my original stories every 5 chapters. So, read my original novels: Steam and Heart, Lunar Mechanism, and Witch's Adventure. You may or may not like them, but give them a chance. c:
There are designs for humanoid Raava on the Internet. In my opinion, these are the best ones I found: