========== 21 - Use as intended ==========
Large, beautiful and populated, these epithets could be used to describe the one and only Omasha, to which I returned after not such a long time. Unsurprisingly, there were many more people here now: the streets were literally filled with happy faces, and the commercial district, which had been transformed from a simple row of street stalls into a row of stone buildings, stretched several storeys high. Such an influx of people made me think about the level of crime and other marginal elements that could naturally interfere with Boomy and my plans. From time to time, closing my eyes to focus on my surroundings, I felt among the hundreds of stomping feet, someone's almost silent knife-like blades pulling wallets from the belts of unsuspecting travellers, and someone's eyes silently staring at me from the side streets. The brighter the summit, the duller the base, so there was a feeling of tension, as if the city, which had previously been bustling with life, had fallen ill. But looking at the number of guards accompanying us, who surrounded the prisoners in dense rows and escorted us with Kioshi's warriors, it was becoming safer.
The magnificent walls and incredible architecture of Omasu blossomed in my eyes with new colours: a person with little knowledge would not be able to appreciate the quality and level of work that had gone into both Bumi's personal fortress at the very top and the construction of ordinary houses, and, to be honest, I was no different. However, the Architect's experience showed that the city was perfect in every way, in every nook and cranny, created intentionally and with precise calculations: this was the reason why Boomi and the others could not simply take and build houses on empty land. In order for the details to continue to fit together properly and play a defensive role, the work of dozens of people working simply with blueprints was required.
As for Suyuki and her subordinates, their admiration and shock could hardly be described in words. They simply wandered around with their heads tilted back, or tried to hang off bridges to realise, to their surprise, that the city continued on all levels. The absurdity of the structures surprised even me at first, so it was understandable, but the most observant noticed the same thing I did. Tension.
"We will take your prisoners to the cage, and as you requested, we will not harm them until we receive further orders from you or King Bumi," an adult man in the classic uniform of the Earth people gave me an order and took not only the group of prisoners, but also the metal-bound Boom-man. Mentioning the particular danger of the latter and that removing his helmet was as bad an idea as standing in the path of a flying rock, we headed towards Bumi. He was sitting on his throne in the middle of the hall, where bright green crystals burned, and green tapestries of the Earth's nation hung on the walls and columns. The concentration of this green colour made Suyuki and the other Kioshi warriors squint slightly. I was used to it, though, having been in even more absurd lighting in the mine.
"Greetings, King," I nodded respectfully, glanced sideways at Suyuki, who was as calm as possible but surprised, and nudged her aside, forcing her to show the mighty earth mage the respect he deserved. Kyoshi, as if rehearsing the movement, spread his fans, covering the lower part of his face, and greeted him elegantly.
"So many girls in beautiful dresses and a personal sand mage... Grab them!" The guards standing by the walls took a step forward in the blink of an eye, their powerful arms immediately lifting large stones off the ground and pointing them threateningly at us. While my companions shook their heads in confusion and tensed up, as if thinking they were going to be buried on the spot, I calmly shook my head." "Hmm. Hmm-mm-mm... I was expecting a more cheerful reaction.
"And I was expecting you to be braver and try to grab us yourselves," I replied seriously, throwing the girls' emotions into chaos. From our gloomy and crazy looks, it was impossible to tell whether we were seriously ready to start a fight right there and destroy the surrounding buildings. Even the soldiers frowned, and the tension rose to the sky. It became clear that this trap had been prepared in advance... until Boomi stretched a smile across his wrinkled face and began to cackle maliciously. Obviously, this was a joke by the strange king.
"So, my advice helped — I wasn't really sure it would have any effect, it even seemed like you would remain a gloomy and boring grump forever. I sent you away just so I wouldn't have to see that boring face, but I'm glad I was wrong. I don't like to be wrong," he said, his cheerful face turning serious, his eyebrows knitted together, and his unpredictable eyes once again impossible to read. Yes, Boomi was still the same, and this made the poor guards, who were apparently used to such antics, lower their stones, while my companions just swallowed their saliva. I could hear the unasked questions: "Is this really the King?" and "Is he the mighty wizard of the land?"
Nevertheless, my person still meant something to him. If I had been mistaken about the latter, the less than polite conversation could have gone awry, but I was not the only one who knew how to have fun out of nowhere. As if nothing had happened, we were led to the dining hall, which was just as green as all the previous rooms, where I shared a table with the Tsar, and instead of the quickly laid out food, there were salads and other vegetarian dishes. Suyuki and the others were also invited to take their seats, but they steadfastly refused, deciding to maintain the image of elite guards. Once again, I was convinced that they had learned etiquette well on their isolated island, although it was unclear why.
The first few minutes of conversation consisted entirely of Bumi's interest in my educational trip. He had already heard that I had been accepted into the Lotus and made something like a standard-bearer who would lead everyone into battle and spread their worldview. He had heard just as much about Shen Guan, though he was surprised to learn that they had had problems with an explosive mercenary whom I had stopped. When the conversation turned to the warriors of Kioshi and the fact that I had already opened three chakras, the wise gaze of the King scanned each of the dressed-up girls very carefully. Under the pressure of his personality, some of them trembled, others frowned but kept their wits about them. The tension was so intense that it was difficult to bear.
"Interesting, I've seen the legendary warriors of Kioshi, but that was... eighty years ago? Or seventy-five? But I don't understand why you brought them out of their beautiful island rich in fruit and animals, and why you brought prisoners of the Fire Nation with you? - Boomi blinked innocently, stunning the girls.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but... the island of Kioshi is a very poor place where little grows," I was forced to tell the surprised King the not-so-good news. If their island really looked like a paradise half a century ago, it was understandable why they had moved there with such joy, but after so much time of poor management, lack of care, or whatever else, the place had fallen into such disrepair. A couple of dozen houses and mini-farms were all that remained. Although Bumi's face did not change after hearing this, his heart could not be deceived, and he was quite upset. "I would like to request that they be settled in this place. Not only the departed residents, but also the warriors of Kioshi, who could use serious training and guidance in the Way of the Lotus — they are all interested in our philosophy and are ready to delve deeper into it. Let them train like your soldiers, but act separately, as a personal guard. I hope you understand what they could become. But what about the prisoners... This request may seem too presumptuous, but I would like to make Omasu the first refuge for all four nations.
At that moment, I clenched my fists and looked at Boomer with all seriousness. I wanted to believe that he understood why this was necessary; after all, the erasure of the borders between the four nations had to start somewhere. As one of the wisest men, he himself should strive for this, but that is why he understood all the problems. To make Omashu a stronghold for all peoples, a tremendous amount of work was needed. In the canonical story, the problem was solved by Aang, who found refuge in one of the oldest colonies of the Fire Nation, but there was no ruler there wise enough to solve the most complex problems, and I had already thought about the consequences and sacrifices; clearly, nothing good had happened there for a long time. If Bumi really did turn Omashu into a city of happy inhabitants, he is the only one who should be able to resolve the conflicts between the nations. I'm afraid no one else has enough experience.
"Heh-heh-heh," the King laughed sarcastically. "It amuses me that the members of the Lotus consider you a hero. You seem to have decided for yourself that you are 'the one' who will help everyone. But here's what's strange: you're not special. You weren't born with the power of the four elements, you can't stop an army with your presence alone. Why do you want to do this?
Even the warriors of Kioshi were staring at me, just as interested as everyone else. Well... I could have blurted out the answer I had been sticking to all this time. All for the sake of making the world a more peaceful place and being able to live happily as a hero. I won't lie to myself and say that the latter won't provide me with a good life. Uniting nations is only a minor goal on the path to a joyful future filled with love and enlightened science. But recently, this question has become more pressing for me, because Afka, who is now sitting off to the side and listening attentively to the speech, promised to tell me something more important. Something closely related to the spirit world.
"For your own good. There are no ulterior motives, I will feel more comfortable. I want the captives of the fire people to help develop local technology so that you can find a way to adapt the conditions to the lives of other people, and of course find a way to make this place stronger... because now that there are so many inhabitants here, you cannot allow Omash to be given away so easily," I looked at him intently, hoping that he would take my words seriously. "I can solve the rest of the problems with just one element. The earth is versatile enough for that." At that moment, I raised my finger, and metal beads rose from my neck, separating from the chain and slowly spinning around Bumi's head. They were far better than any words — beautiful, reflecting green light, occasionally allowing Bumi to see his reflection in them. "Yes, I am not the Avatar, and it is not my destiny to stop the army of fire. These are just the personal desires of a man who values the views of the Lotus... and who has delved deeply enough into magic to challenge you for the title of the strongest mage on earth.
"...What nonsense! - He abruptly stopped playing the beads and stared at me indignantly. It was as if he hadn't seen the trick that had previously seemed impossible." - I am the strongest mage on earth, everyone knows that.
This old man... he's definitely an arrogant owner of three open chakras. And even though my ego wanted to respond to this statement, to prove the opposite, my cold mind clearly told me that there was at least one chakra between us, and at most a huge, century-old gap in experience.
"It's hard to argue with that.
"Exactly," and yet, with interest, he picked up one of the beads and began to examine it closely. "Well, I would have laughed in your face at your answer if I didn't know how high you've risen compared to other mages. Not seeing that... But the problem is that you are unlikely to be able to continue progressing so quickly in the near future. Even despite this interesting discovery of a new branch. I'm talking about something else entirely.
"Something else? Oh... so I was right! - It became clear immediately what he was talking about," - Opening the fourth chakra isn't that easy, is it?
"Tsk, so you've already thought about it? And I wanted to tease you and say vague things to make you think that there is wisdom in blurred images," - the tone of an old man even more grumpy than me was filled with discontent, "You're right, the next chakra requires not only a mental change, but also basic knowledge. From this point on, there will be no easy steps. Previously, you were just changing your worldview, learning something along the way, but now you need knowledge that cannot be obtained from nowhere. You need a deep understanding of ci... In fact, that's why others want to make you a hero, because you have a connection to the library.
Boomi glanced at my fox for a second, causing Afka to fluff up her fluffy tail. He understood everything...
"Heh, I'll accept your offer about the prisoners, even though I have no idea where to put them yet. But I'll ask for something in return!" He raised his finger sharply, making us frown. "Your Kioshi warriors will help deal with crime. This rapid population growth makes it difficult to provide everyone with a home and a job quickly, even with my experience as an administrator. Although I can certainly handle such a trifle if I have a couple of extra helpers.
Choose:
1 - Stop crime (You have witnessed the overpopulation of the city. Help Bumi deal with the problem and develop new buildings to house the people. You will encounter crime in the city and must stop it from spreading. You will halt the development of magic and the progress of your strategy)
2 - Defenders of the weak (The kaleidoscope of previous events has made it possible to use the Kioshi warriors. Use them for their intended purpose - protecting the weak and fulfilling their duty as guardians, they will quickly stop the spread of crime and gain new combat experience).
"...Kyoshi's elite squad will help as much as they can! - I smiled broadly, because it was impossible to refuse such an offer. I could hardly imagine how long it would take to resolve this matter on my own, but I was so glad that I had these natural crime fighters with me. Their faces also showed confidence and a desire to fulfil their duty.
And I could also influence Boomi and not let him give Omas up so easily.========== 22 - Ahead of his time ==========
Life in Boomi's private castle was quite different from what I was used to as a blacksmith and miner, and the standard of living, as I like it, increased many times over — it was difficult to compare even with living in the wealthy Beifong family. As it happened, while I was spending time in Omasu, continuing to study subjects that were important to me, Boomer gave me one of the spare rooms, while the Kioshi warriors were given separate women's barracks. This was the so-called power of connections and reputation. Our standard of living was noticeably different from that of the people who had come with us and were housed in temporary dormitories, and even from the local guards who were housed in a communal barracks — Kioshi was protected by the reputation of the Avatar. And I simply took advantage of being a member of the Lotus: during the day, I trained in the extensive mountain network or right here, below the city, where, despite Bumi's reaction to my metal magic — which was almost non-existent — I had full access to any materials I needed, such as copper, iron, silver and everything else that I could try to use in battle or develop unique techniques; and in the evenings, I played Pai Shao with him... you could say I was honing my skills, but Bumi destroyed me, despite hundreds of situations where victory was almost in my hands. Many would envy my position, but I had a feeling that this man only allowed me to be around him to put me in my place.
"I almost took all your troops," I said, sitting with a heavy gaze, staring blankly at the board, simply ignoring Boomer's mockery. The king enjoyed humiliating me, and with good reason: with each defeat, it became clear that I would have to try harder to earn the title of "Hero of Lotus." Boomer clearly did not consider me a hero.
"Come back in a hundred years, maybe then you'll be able to win," he said, his crazy eyes darting from side to side, then bulging out to look me up and down from head to toe — they even made it look like the king was cheating! But that wasn't the case. Afka, sitting on my lap, made it clear that everything was fair. True, even she had trouble thinking through her counter moves. The Tsar knew how to wait and was too good at spotting weaknesses to strike at the right moment. He could give up part of his troops, but he wouldn't attack until he saw a chance to destroy the enemy's entire empire in one blow! Maybe that's why he didn't lead a real army into battle against the fire people? If the enemy showed weakness or a strong breach appeared, then he would take a self-sacrificing step and destroy any chance of recovery, but... either there was no such chance, or he deliberately did nothing, setting his goal to defend the territory.
"I'm afraid that Pai Sho isn't even the second most important thing I need to work on. Although, being able to apply all my gaming experience to real life does make it easier to deal with dangers. But there are more important problems," he said, returning the chips to their place and exhaling wearily. "The situation could have been different if you had explained the fourth chakra to me. Perhaps, as the person who opened it, you have some advice or a guide to the source of qi that would allow me to study everything on the spot without having to go anywhere?
"Hmm. I don't really remember the details," he said, innocently scratching the back of his head, making my eye twitch. My nightmare had come true; this man wasn't going to tell me anything useful. "But you're connected to the library somehow, can't you find out yourself? Or is there no one who can tell you?"
"The thing is, a lot of the information is either outdated, incomplete, or... burned in a fire started by a man of the fire people," I said casually, making Boomi nod importantly.
"Then I have nothing to offer!" And he smiled as if he were mocking the situation even more. The love chakra allows you to share emotions not only with people, but with any living being. In fact, many people are mistaken in thinking that you have to love someone close to you — you can love stones or trees, for example! But in order to better share emotions, you need to understand the chakra of a being, so it's somehow easier with living objects. But then it's up to you.
Despite his crazy smile, his words reminded me of Guru Hugh. Surely this man, who pretended to be a monster, had fallen in love with his own swamp. As for who Boomi loved... considering his frenzied mood after mentioning stones, I didn't really want to ask. But his next answer was a little more informative. The gist of it was that there was no point in really finding a significant other! It was up to the person to do it or not, but the main thing was to first fully master the understanding of the sources of chi so that through knowledge of the basics of life, one could truly love, and... that was it. Well, that's all they told me. As with other chakras, this topic was difficult to understand, and I am sure that it was impossible to convey the essence of it with a simple vague description, especially for me, a person who had never truly loved anyone. That's why the Tsar himself couldn't help, simply because he didn't know how, or didn't want to convey the essence in clear language. But at the same time, he wanted something in return:
"Can I come to your metal magic training? I want to see if it really is better than earth." The cunning old man saw a threat to his title as the strongest magician!
"Choose:
1 - Participate in a sparring match with King Bumi (The battle is not for supremacy, but for the superiority of the material. You understand that there will be a fight, so agree and show that you have a decent level of metal mastery. Victory is not required, you just need to hold out long enough for Bumi to evaluate you. The fight will be a good opportunity to improve your metal mastery. Title: First Metal Mage)
2 - Declare that metal magic is unsuitable for combat (Sometimes it's not worth boasting about your achievements, so decline. You understand the potential of the new branch of magic perfectly, so you are eager to return to its roots, adapt it, and not use it in its familiar and raw form. You will not receive a title, but you will begin to rebuild the concept of metal magic)
And once again, Anubis stuck his nose where it didn't belong... offering options that I again disagreed with. Of course, it was impossible to fight Boomi with a new, completely undeveloped branch of magic, but making statements like the second one was also out of the question! Absurd!
I didn't want to distort fate so that I would be unlucky, but regardless of the choices, I still decided to give my answer... even if it was as close to the second option as possible.
"Ahem, King Bumi... I am not going to use metal in its familiar form in my studies. This material cannot be obtained in sufficient quantities in open areas, it does not lie around in large pieces like ordinary earth, and it would be somewhat presumptuous to rely on the iron tools of the fire people. I want to say that...
"I was going to say that you only have the name of metal magic," snorted Bumi, not bothering to listen to the very important research material I had prepared, material capable of revolutionising the view of magic... Well, I didn't want to waste the potential of metal on creating simple armour or slightly stronger ropes, discs or whatever else the magicians created according to the Korra canon. They had metal everywhere, not much less than earth. I, being in a more backward time period, had to come up with something unique, but at the same time revealing the full potential of a new branch of magic. Well, I guess the answer didn't pass, but nothing bad happened.
Two hours before dawn, when the new training session was supposed to begin, I had to go down to the city, to a small training cave, where several people knowledgeable about metal were preparing equipment — nothing high-tech that could be compared to the mechanisms on the ship. Just furnaces, crude crushers, and the most basic blacksmith's tools.
"Oh, Mr. Dagoth?" Seeing me standing by a small chest, the man scratched the back of his head in a somewhat disgruntled manner. "As you requested, the pure silver beads have been ground to a fine powder. You could call it... iron abrasive."
At that moment, the man showed me a chest with some kind of powder. It had once been a gift to Liyu, and it was clear that the man did not want to destroy something so beautiful. The powder no longer had its beautiful shine and was not pleasant to the touch. But this was done, of course, for a reason — we checked together materials that conducted electricity very well, once even enlisting the help of prisoners who knew more about metals than the rest of us, including me. The problem in the search was impurities, as their quantity greatly affected the conductivity of electricity. According to the prisoners, pure copper was ideal for conducting electricity because it was common and very malleable. As a metal magician, I agreed with them, because I had already tested copper on the ship and found that it bent much more easily than iron, despite its superior purity. Things were slightly worse with aluminium, which was also suitable for conducting electricity and could be used for personal purposes, but silver was the best!
I chose metal, of course, to improve my electrical engineering: metal sand could literally combine three branches of development, becoming the perfect form of my magic. More durable than simple stone and retaining the flexibility of ordinary sand, the only question was speed. I still had some problems with ordinary metal, and I was already aiming for smaller particles — foolish? At first, it seemed to me that I had been learning to control this form of earth since childhood, and adaptation, given my three open chakras, should have happened surprisingly quickly... well, I hoped so.
"Hic," I said, reaching for the chest with the abrasive and struggling to pick up a couple of the "dirtiest" grains of sand, feeling beads of sweat rolling down my forehead. It was difficult, but every second of adaptation allowed me to pick up a few more pieces: first those with impurities, then slightly cleaner ones, and in the end I opened the fan completely and made a movement for fine control, instantly achieving a stunning effect. The same technique that allowed the overly powerful Kioshi to lift tiny specks of dust allowed me to lift a whole cloud of iron, which began to swirl around the room like a stream of water. For the masters, it was an amazing and mesmerising sight, but for me, it was a problem. There were indeed issues with speed, but fortunately, everything could be resolved through adaptation. Even now, the cloud would fly faster than simple beads, because not only was this shape more familiar, but Kioshi's style was perfectly suited to controlling something smaller.
But in order not to carry iron sand around in a pumpkin, where it could mix with ordinary sand, I created something more serious: a cloud gathered before my eyes and began to slowly solidify. Here and there I had to touch it to make contact with the metal, but in the end I managed to restore the beads to their former shape! That is, I smoothed them out and hung them back around my neck, preserving, so to speak, Lya's gift.
"Excellent. Guys, you're the best," I noticed their incredulous glances focused on the beads. With one material, I achieved three things at once: I can learn to control metal, I can combine Kioshi-style training with sand, and I can improve electricity. The only problem was the quantity; it could happen that a whole pumpkin of ordinary abrasive would create more current and, accordingly, neutralise the conductivity of a small amount of silver. And most likely, that would be the case; at long distances, ordinary sand would definitely win, but thanks to its protective properties, it could become a very dangerous weapon at close range. This is the very direction I wanted to tell Boomi about, a compilation of all my experience! But my genius was not recognised... well, maybe I was just ahead of my time.
========== 23 - Fluffy Monster ==========
For ten days, a man chained in metal shackles saw no sunlight. Above his head were only hundreds of metres of solid rock, and around him was a stone cage suspended over an abyss with sharp jammite crystals, whose sharp edges stared down at the magician's mutilated flesh, wanting to reach the warm body and grow inside it, where this evil and devouring element would turn all flesh into a fragile semblance of glass, and the blood would flow down from the cage and feed all the other waiting crystals... At least, that was the kind of sick, psychedelic fairy tale that the simple-minded people used to try to scare and somehow talk the silent mercenary into talking. ordinary people thought it was scary. That it was frightening. The mercenary disagreed with them — his expressionless face, complete disregard for any threats, and lack of fear for his life resembled a common stone, and everyone who spoke to him quickly realised that torture and threats were completely pointless. And I myself, it must be said, tried to find a way to approach this man, while Afka was genuinely angry and indignant, echoing: "How dare this man hide his knowledge from us?"
It might have seemed that the prisoner I had brought in was either feeble-minded: a couple of unfortunate accidents with explosions would clearly not do him any good; or he was simply mute. The latter could have been the biggest problem, but in that case, it would have been possible to communicate with him through letters, except that the mercenary didn't even want that. He also had no authority — he dared to be rude and set his own conditions even to Zhao, which meant that he was indirectly going against the wishes of the entire army of the Fire Nation.
But there were reasons for everything, and fearlessness was a symptom of the most obvious disease, called "first chakra." He was the bane of all torturers, interrogators, and even ordinary guards. With a normal approach, it was simply impossible to get him to talk or cooperate. In any normal prison, a man of his ilk would be, so to speak, at home, and even without magic, he would be wriggling like a worm on hot coals. However, it must be said that everything was going according to plan.
"Choose:
1 - No Guru (The path of peace and tranquillity has always brought greater pleasure to the enlightened. But not to you - call the explosion mage to another duel, the condition of which will be either his release or the disclosure of all his cards. Be warned, attempts to use cunning tricks and escape are pre-determined. If you win, the mercenary will tell you more about himself)
2 - Sympathy and understanding? (You already understand that the past of explosion mages is full of sadness, but you also know that the future does not end with him alone. Give the mercenary time to feel their loneliness and ask them about their loved ones. Talk to them heart to heart to let them off the hook.
3 - Fluffy horror (No mercy for the enemy, make him so afraid that he blocks access to his first chakra. Leave Afka alone with the mercenary for two hours, then rescue him. Be careful, the target may become distracted and temporarily lose consciousness. Those who know a thousand things can drive even the fearless to despair. Be careful, Afka must be sufficiently evil).
However, perhaps the insane and inhuman promises of the simple guards were not as cruel as Anubis' third option. I couldn't even imagine what needed to be done to block an already opened first chakra, but I asked Afka about it with interest.
"Fyrek, you already know that if you stop opening your chakras, you can lose all your unlocked potential. If he has only one open, make him block the second one, let him feel such guilt that it will cloud his entire mind. If two are already open, make him feel shame that will eat away at him from the inside until the end of his days. Although these are only methods of mental influence. There are simpler ones," her seemingly sweet but horribly cunning voice made even me break out in a cold sweat. In the end, it was clear that, even though she didn't like killing, she didn't want anything good for this person.
When I came to the cage hanging over the abyss early in the morning, I caught the eye of the monster trapped inside. An equally monstrous creature, red-haired and snorting maliciously, was now at my feet, and I couldn't say which of us was crazier. As soon as our captive grinned, I shook my head in sympathy and allowed the fox, who was in good condition, to make its way into his cage. While the two were in such close proximity, there was nowhere to go. Soon, cries of despair echoed throughout the prison cell, indicating that he was still capable of making some kind of noise. The guards and people nearby listened in horror to these cries, unable to even imagine what kind of torture could have been used on a vicious saboteur to elicit SUCH a reaction.
Even through such inhumane methods, there was something to be learned. How to destroy the very joy in a person, suppress their willpower, annihilate their sense of love... it was a weapon against those who were on the path to opening their chakras. I finally understood that it was possible to block the chakras, and that it was not enough to give up one's earthly attachments, lie hopelessly or feel guilty; these methods were only necessary for Afka's own satisfaction. The truth is that the chakras are attached to a certain part of the body: fear to the spine, guilt to the sacrum, shame to a certain area of the abdomen, and so on. Knowing these points and understanding how to manipulate them, it was possible to destroy a person's potential and all the quality of their qi. It was no coincidence that Azula damaged Aang's spine in the canon; she blocked access to the very first chakra.
So after two hours, I even began to feel sympathy for this monster and quickly removed Afka from the cage. I carried her out of the room with my sand, letting her continue to resist and wanting to continue with all her might. She was only stopped by an interesting little book that she picked up with her teeth and, stepping aside, somehow focused on the new information. As for the mercenary... he really did pass out for a while — even though there were no visible injuries, the fox clearly knew how to inflict pain through acupuncture points. And through them, destroy the mage's potential. When he came to, the feeling of fear returned, and even some remorse. Yes, he finally spoke, his bass, rough voice accompanied by squeaks and stutters. The prisoner answered my questions quickly, just so he wouldn't have to face Afka again. He knew about his magic, which, thanks to his concentration, prevented him from using the standard form of fire. He spoke of the past, that the clan had indeed been destroyed by one of the Fire Lords, immediately after the first great fortresses of the earth nation had been demolished, and the clan members had realised that they were much more powerful than standard magicians; and, of course, he told us about the remaining owners of similar magic. He was not the only one, as was clear from Korra's story.
"I have children too," he said in a quiet, stuttering voice, bent over double. "I sent them most of my money. There's no point in being the best if you have no one to protect."
"Do they know how you earned your money?" Standing over the mage who had been pulled out of the cage, I felt even more anger.
"They probably guess. I didn't want them to follow in my footsteps. I wanted them to learn to control their abilities," his body alternated between hot and cold, but he no longer dared to think about using magic. Firstly, it was scary, and secondly, Afka had crippled his body so badly that he would hardly be able to use it in the near future. "But in our clan there are legends about the enlightened ones. About people who subjugated their minds and learned completely new forms of explosions. I want my children to become wiser than me.
His words were recorded in a separate book, thus restoring part of the important history of the fire people. Yes, perhaps it was not comparable to what had been in the library originally, because the words of one, not the most intelligent member of the clan, did not reveal the subtleties, and instead of a history textbook, it was more like a historical fairy tale told from the perspective of a particular person, but Afka was grateful even for the small volume containing a part of the destroyed past.
"I don't know how to thank you," said the fox, leafing through the pages of the book with her paws, completely delighted.
"In fact, it was you who got him to talk," he said, sitting at a cosy table and pouring delicious tea, and saw Afka raise her head and shake it.
"I'm talking about how you saved him and didn't kill him. Because of that, Wang Shi Tong now sees you as his good friend. You proved that you can abide by the terms of the agreement... we, the keepers of knowledge, appreciate that," she said, looking at me with sincere gratitude. "You were interested in the reasons for such an agreement, why, despite all the injustice, we believe that murder is a serious problem for humanity. The master has allowed you to learn about this.
Importantly, she raised her head and began in a majestic voice:
"The spirit world is filled with many different beings, ranging from the firstborn, who were born there, to the subtenants, who are the souls of living beings leaving the familiar material world. Some live peacefully and can continue to share their knowledge — the enlightened ones. Others lose their former identity and become ordinary, unremarkable spirits — the majority of people who focused on the material world. And there are those who have been distorted beyond recognition due to violent death, feelings of injustice or any other vices that force souls to wander tirelessly through the spirit world and eventually end up in a foggy ocean of despair... this place is the abode of darkness. Any place with strong negative emotions creates evil spirits. The fog of despair, in turn, draws out all the worst emotions from the wandering beings, giving rise to evil. This is a problem — the number of empty souls who cannot share their knowledge is so great, and violent deaths create even more backward ones. No, we don't care about the latter, but there are so many people left who have nothing to share! And this cruel people of fire destroyed the only nation that provided a steady flow of enlightened souls! R-r-r-r...
I froze with a cup of tea to my lips, putting the whole puzzle together in my head. In an instant, I felt as if I myself had become enlightened, understanding EVERYTHING in this world. That's why the owl regretted the death of the air nomads so much: it wasn't just their philosophy. More precisely, it was their philosophy, but not as it seemed at first. They didn't kill anyone, ensuring the flow of fallen souls, and their philosophy was one of the most popular in the world, which ensured the flow of enlightened souls.
"You are now our good friend, and you have proven your goodness, so we can rely on you to help us with some issues," she said, sitting closer and tapping my face with her tail, bringing me back to my senses.
"Do you want me to do something about this fog?
"Fyurk? No, you're not the Avatar, capable of entering the spirit world. Maybe if you die... no desire to put a noose around your neck and start a new life in the spirit world?
"...
"No, that's not it. I only told you why my master hates killing, but now it's time for your reward," she said, her words catching in her throat. Earlier, I had thought that using the library was the best reward possible. But Afka decided to show me something more, taking out a small number of sheets with very old text from who knows where. Taking them in my hands, my eyes began to widen. Books have always been a portal to the past, a window to the wisdom of people who were on par with the Avatar himself. The library holds some of their secrets. Wang Shi Tong decided to help you: who else but him knows that many become enlightened Gurus by the age of 100, because understanding many of the fundamentals of life requires time.
"So, this is real?
"Of course. They say that the last Avatar, descended from the air nomads, studied this very programme. It is a spiritual practice that allows you to quickly sense the life force of another being. It is inextricably linked to qi training, so you will still have to find a teacher somewhere, but these records of Laghima will help you achieve your goal more quickly.
An ancient manuscript told of the fourth chakra, the quickest way to achieve love. I certainly had many questions about how much time it would take to open it, because simply memorising qi is clearly not enough. In that case, all water magicians, and even fire magicians, whose power comes from this very qi, would have long ago learned to feel the emotions of other beings. No, there is something more difficult here: understanding someone else's heart. that's the number one problem, and many people waste their entire lives trying to solve it. And here I have access to the knowledge of Laghima himself?
"The library can provide invaluable assistance to any living being. Despite my constant requests for new books, you cannot even imagine what you could ask of Wang Shi Tong... Therefore, he can occasionally pass on knowledge that you could not even think of... or he may not, depending on his mood.
"I am very grateful for this gift... but weren't Laghima's works long considered lost?
"Who said it was a gift?" she frowned. "As if I was trying to pay off my debts to the powerful and fearsome mafia boss." Guru Laghima did not finish his work: the version you have is incomplete. Besides, many of his papers, as you said, are considered lost, and all of this is unfinished again. Remember what the mercenary said? His clan has knowledge about the enlightened ones. It is no coincidence that they concentrate their chakra on the centre of their forehead, which is inextricably linked to Illusions, the penultimate chakra of light. I think they are hiding Laghima's works there... Find them!