Ozai remained on one knee, broken and defeated, but not humbled. Pride roared in his veins like wildfire, drowning out reason and mercy. He stared at the back of the boy who had humiliated him before the entire nation. The boy who walked away as if the duel was already done.
It wasn't.
With a quick movement and a snarl on his lips, Ozai summoned a bolt of lightning. From his kneeling position, he hurled it straight at Tai Lung's unguarded back.
The audience gasped in horror. Time seemed to slow.
The lightning surged through the air, violent, pure, deadly.
Tai Lung turned in a flash. His eyes widened at the sight. He raised his hand and caught the lightning.
It struck him dead-on, electricity crackling across his form. His feet dragged across the ground as he was pushed back, sparks dancing around his body. He clenched his jaw in pain and fury, his muscles tightening as he redirected the current, channeling the lightning through his chi paths with terrifying control.
His eyes locked with Ozai's.
Without a word, Tai Lung pointed his fingers forward.
The same bolt of lightning exploded from his fingertips, twice as fierce.
Ozai's eyes widened in fear. He raised both arms and blasted fire in defense. The redirected lightning met it mid-air and exploded in a deafening burst of flame and light. The shockwave hurled Ozai backward like a ragdoll, smoke rising from his limbs as he hit the ground hard, groaning in pain.
He struggled to rise, shaking, pathetic.
Tai Lung's voice echoed across the silent ring.
"I gave you a chance to walk out of this," he said, each word a blade. "Since you don't appreciate it… I'll make sure you remember this day for the rest of your life."
He raised his hand again.
This time, a pale blue flame danced into existence.
The audience murmured in disbelief, blue fire, hotter than any they'd seen. Ozai's eyes widened in terror as the flame swelled.
Tai Lung pointed his palm forward, and a torrent of blue fire erupted toward the Fire Lord. It surged like a tidal wave, devouring the air with heat.
Ozai pushed himself up to his knee, gathering every ounce of strength to counter. A massive orange inferno exploded from his hands to meet it.
The two flames collided with a roar.
Blue and orange struggled for dominance, but the blue fire quickly surged ahead, larger, hotter, superior in every way. It swallowed Ozai's flame and kept advancing.
Then came the scream.
The crowd flinched, some turning their heads as the Fire Lord's cry of pain rang out. The flame washed over him like judgment, scorching him mercilessly. When the fire finally dissipated, Ozai lay crumpled on the ground, his arms charred, his breathing ragged.
And Tai Lung stood above him, untouched.
His voice boomed with power and pride. "I am Tai Lung, son of Admiral Lung. This time, I fought and spared you in an Agni Kai. The next time you do something like this…" His eyes glinted with malice. "I will come to the palace and forcefully change the ruling family."
He lowered his hand.
"You have been warned."
Without another glance at the broken Fire Lord, Tai Lung turned and walked away.
Soldiers and healers rushed to Ozai's side, but not a single person moved to stop Tai Lung. Not a whisper of protest escaped the crowd. Every eye followed him as he strode from the ring, his back straight, his presence towering despite his small frame.
A twelve-year-old boy had brought the Fire Lord to his knees, a grandmaster, without bending fire.
They had seen him redirect lightning, wield blue flame, and mark the nation's ruler with his flames.
And as his final words echoed in their minds, one truth settled in every heart, Tai Lung had not even reached his prime, far from it. And still, he showed today that he was among the strongest if not the strongest fire bender.
___________
The moment Tai Lung stepped away from the ring, the stunned crowd recovered and began murmuring behind him, he spotted two familiar figures rushing after him, his parents.
Admiral Lung and his wife hurried toward him. Relief filled their eyes, but pride burned even brighter. Tai Lung met their gaze with a small, confident smile.
"I told you this would be the outcome," Tai Lung said, voice calm and certain.
Admiral Lung laughed, his deep voice rumbling in the air with clear pride. "You surpassed even my wildest imagination. You didn't just win, you crushed the Fire Lord"
His mother wasted no time, wrapping her arms tightly around her son, her voice trembling. "Don't ever do something like this again," she said, burying her face into his shoulder.
Tai Lung smirked and tilted his head toward the ring's direction. "Say that to the fire rooster laying flat in the ring."
His parents blinked.
Speechless.
Since when did their obedient, well-mannered son talk like that?
As if reading their thoughts, Tai Lung crossed his arms. "I acted nice this whole time, but that just made some idiots think they could walk all over me. I'm done playing nice."
Admiral Lung's expression shifted, becoming more serious as he studied his son. After a long moment, he placed a firm hand on Tai Lung's shoulder. "It's okay to show your strength, Tai. But don't ever use it to oppress others. There is no honor in bullying the weak."
Tai Lung paused, then nodded without hesitation. "I understand," he said, and he meant it. Just like he was the son and student of Shifu, he was also the son of Admiral Lung. He had no intention of repeating past mistakes and dishonoring his father.
His thoughts briefly wandered to Ozai's final outburst, the pride, the desperation, the fall.
[No, I was never like that. I will never be, I am Tai Lung.] Tai Lung thought.
"Tai Lung!"
The cheery voice cut through the air, and the family of three turned.
Ty Lee bounded toward them, dragging a reluctant Mai behind her. Her eyes sparkled as she reached them.
"That was amazing! A little too scary… but amazing! You took down the Fire Lord! You're the best firebender in the entire Fire Nation now!"
Mai gave Ty Lee a dry look before glancing at Tai Lung. "You didn't die… hooray," she said, her voice flat and unimpressed.
Tai Lung blinked, then let out a quiet chuckle. There was something oddly amusing about how doom and gloom Mai could be. Ty Lee has once said that about her and her words were right on the mark.
___________
Back in the royal palace, the atmosphere was somber.
Iroh sat quietly with his nephew and niece, both of whom were still visibly shaken. The duel had rattled more than just the audience, it had cracked the foundation of what they believed to be true.
Azula sat rigid, her expression unreadable, but the fire burning behind her golden eyes betrayed her fury.
She had always believed her father was unbeatable, a titan among men. But now? He had been broken. Defeated. Humiliated. And worst of all by Tai Lung. A boy the same age as her brother. A boy she loathed.
"He must have cheated," Azula hissed. "There's no way he won in a fair fight."
Zuko said nothing. His eyes were cast downward, lost in thought.
Iroh, however, was focused. His memory returned to that moment when Tai Lung had redirected lightning.
[He was caught off guard by Ozai's lighting] Iroh mused. [No stance. No preparation. But he held it… and sent it back with more power.]
Iroh had created the redirection technique just recently, after years of practicing and observing other benders and culture. But even he couldn't do what Tai Lung did, not in that position.
He looked at Azula, sadness in his eyes for Azula's state. "Tai Lung is the most talented child I have ever seen. From the first time I met him, I knew he was destined to become a great firebender, one of the greatest in our history. I knew he would grow fast… but not to this degree."
Azula's fists clenched tighter.
She was supposed to be the prodigy. She was the one born to greatness.
Her thoughts churned, refusing to accept defeat. Her mind clung to the image of Tai Lung's blue flames, the lightning he redirected. If he could do it, so could she. She'd master it. Surpass it.
She would show everyone who the strongest bender truly was.
___________
The Agni Kai had ended, but its aftermath roared louder than any flame ever could. In the days that followed, the Fire Nation found itself shaken to its very core by a single duel that had shattered the once unshakable image of its ruling family.
The royal court, once revered as the pinnacle of firebending might and imperial prestige, now stood humiliated before the eyes of its own people. And at the center of that humiliation was Fire Lord Ozai.
The whispers started quietly but spread like wildfire through the capital: 'He called him the backup lord.' The words Tai Lung had spoken before delivering the most decisive defeat of Ozai's reign. A mocking title delivered with certainty, followed by a display of skill and power that made even seasoned benders feel like rockies.
Now, for the first time, people were questioning everything.
'Was Ozai ever the rightful choice to be Fire Lord?'
'Had Iroh, despite his siege failure, been the more capable brother?'
The questions grew bolder each day, and no one in the palace dared to speak them aloud, but everyone was thinking them.
Worse still was the lightning.
Even the Agni Kai's brutal outcome might have faded with time but not that. Not the image of Fire Lord Ozai, already on his knee, conjuring lightning and aiming it at Tai Lung's back. A move devoid of honor, stripped of dignity. A coward's strike, in full view of the entire city.
And for what? The lightning had not only been blocked or dodge, but miraculously redirected, and thrown back with merciless accuracy.
Now the Fire Lord lay in recovery, his arms scorched, his pride seared even deeper. His cries of pain still echoed in the halls, and no one, not even the royal guards, dared speak of it with anything but hushed voices.
It was a shame that would never be forgotten.
But as one figure fell from grace, another rose like a comet blazing through the sky.
Tai Lung, the name was on everyone's lips. The son of Admiral Lung, a man already revered in the military, now found his family legacy cemented in history. The rumors spread like smoke 'The Fire Lord intended to humiliate an admiral through his son, then strip his powers and rank from him. It was a political move gone terribly wrong.'
Instead, the opposite happened.
The respectful, polite boy from the Royal Academy, the one who had never stirred trouble, never sought attention, had revealed himself to be a talent unlike any seen in generations.
He was not just a raising skilled firebender. But a prodigy. A powerhouse despite his young age.
The Fire Nation didn't just witness a fight that day, they witnessed a shift in the tide of power. In the hearts of many, the royal family's fire had dimmed.
And in its place, a new flame had risen.