Avatar - Conquering the Elements-Chapter 127. The State.

Patola Mountains. Yo and Aang.

About an hour had passed since we began our flight. Appa, now fully energized, showcased his mastery of the skies. Honestly, watching the seemingly rough and simple movements of the bison, I began to understand those cultivators who create their own powerful techniques just by observing how a Divine Qilin takes flight. Unintentionally, I even forgot about the sullen Aang, who was simply staring ahead.

"Aang," I called to him. "Why don't you help your friend pick up some speed?" It seemed I'd piqued his interest, as one of his large ears twitched curiously.

"We're already flying fast," he replied, and shifting his attention to something else proved easier than I thought.

"What do you do to achieve high running speeds?" I began offering some hints.

"I use the wind to help myself," he answered immediately, flashing a triumphant smile, as if he'd won a prize for the right answer.

"But how exactly do you help yourself?" I asked another leading question. Just say you reduce air resistance! This time, he looked seriously puzzled, but...

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "I just feel the wind, and it tells me what to do, I guess."

From our conversation, I realized there was very little theory in their Air Temple teachings. All their skills and abilities were learned through games and friendly competitions. On one hand, as a staunch advocate for balancing theory and practice, I found their methods inefficient. On the other hand, Aang's demonstrated mastery forced me to be less judgmental. I could clearly feel that Aang truly "hears" the wind. I had to fall into a deep chasm in the Spirit World to achieve that. So, there are pros and cons to both approaches.

"Wait, wait," he waved his hands. "If you're saying no one else but me survived... then where did you come from? Huh?" It was only now sinking in for him.

Looking at his face, now filled with relieved smiles, I understood why he was so worked up. Most likely, he'd latched onto my existence as proof that there were other airbenders.

"I haven't seen other airbending masters," I repeated. "I'm self-taught. Maybe one of my ancestors was an Air Nomad, and I simply got lucky to unlock that gift," I said, unsure of Aang's level of curiosity. Ideally, no one in this world could threaten me, but I still felt some caution was necessary.

"Then... what were you doing at the South Pole?" he asked suspiciously. Even I was stumped by this question. I looked at the bald kid anew; he had a brain, but it seemed he used it selectively.

"Fishing, riding penguins, you could say I was relaxing," I hoped my answer would satisfy him...

"I knew it!" he slapped his palm with a fist, making me press my hand to my face. Now I understand why Bumi and Aang were such good friends—they're cut from the same cloth.

Our conversation then turned to the Avatar State. A century ago, Aang had yet to learn all the possibilities granted by his connection with the spirit of light. He lacked even the most basic information. For instance, he was curious about the changes that occurred within him during that state. He knew he became much stronger:

"When Appa and I got caught in that storm, a warmth spread through my body, and I felt invincible," he recalled that day.

"At that moment, you connected with Raava. She amplified all your magical and physical abilities. Plus, she somehow imparts knowledge and experience in the elements, accumulated by past Avatar incarnations, to her bearer," I explained. At that moment, Aang's stomach let out an odd roar, as if another flying bison was inside him. I couldn't interpret Appa's strange glance at Aang any other way.

Indeed, since he'd emerged from the ice, he hadn't eaten once. I pulled out some snacks from my bag and shared them with him, continuing to enlighten the young Avatar.

"In life-threatening situations, the Avatar State activates automatically. It also happens during intense emotional experiences," I'd read countless manuscripts by past Avatars in my time. "The key is that this state can be controlled. To do that, you need a solid grasp of all four elements or try to open the seven chakras of the spirit path," and I hope Guru Pathik is still alive and well—after all, he knows better than I do how to walk that path. There was a time I tried to find him, but it didn't work out. "But be careful, the Avatar State drains your energy quickly, so you'll feel weak afterward."

"I didn't understand anything," he replied, smiling awkwardly and scratching his bald, tattooed head. "But it sounds interesting!"

After some time, we saw the spires of the Southern Air Temple. From afar, everything looked untouched, as if the Fire Nation soldiers had never set foot here...

Aang's mood visibly lifted. It seemed he wasn't bothered by the absence of flying bison near the Temple. And as far as I knew, the clouds around the Temples rarely floated calmly, as young airbenders on their glider staffs quickly scattered them.

Landing on the bison platform, Aang began turning his head rapidly. If he'd been more observant, he would've noticed his flying friend looking around sadly. He already understood that his kind wasn't here.

"Hello-o-o! Is anyone here? It's me, Aang!" he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.

"We're alone here, Aang," I said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh! Look, there's the aerball court!" he ignored my words, though I felt his shoulders tense. "I was the absolute champion once!"

"Aang, please be ready to accept the truth. Don't lose your composure," I reminded him, not for the first time, but I'd keep repeating it. If Van Shi Tong is to be believed—and I want to believe him—then every time Aang enters the Avatar State, it drains Raava's already meager energy. Of course, this still needs to be verified in the presence of the spirit of knowledge, but in most cases, he's right...

"I don't understand why everything looks so untouched," he muttered faintly. This was my fault; I just didn't want to see the Air Temple overgrown with weeds. And the armor and bones scattered around didn't add to the beauty of such a lovely place. Maybe I should've cleaned up here after meeting the Avatar...

Soon, we stood before the entrance to the main tower, which also served as the Air Temple Sanctuary, housing statues of all the previous Avatars. In front of the building stood another intricately crafted statue—it was an almost exact replica of Monk Gyatso.

"That's Monk Gyatso, my mentor," Aang said respectfully and lovingly, already lost in his memories. "Alright, let's go to the Sanctuary," he said, his earlier feigned joy gone.

Inside, we were greeted by thousands of stone figures. I'd been here once before, but it still took my breath away to see all these people, every second of whom was undoubtedly a Great One.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

"Past Avatars," Aang murmured, now looking at Avatar Roku.

"It feels like Aang is the main character, so only now are all the scripts loading..." I thought as some small creature, resembling a winged lemur, approached us. During my last visit, I'd spent a lot of time exploring the entire territory and hadn't seen a single lemur.

"I'm not an expert on these creatures, but that face definitely looks like Momo," I thought.

"A lemur!" Aang shouted happily, scaring the creature. Before he could take a step, the lemur darted away. "Wait, I won't hurt you!" Aang ran after it.

"What was I thinking? Something about how certain events seem predetermined for Aang, as if he must go through them..." though it might just be my imagination since I've already watched the cartoon. "Wait... Lemur... Aang..."

"Aang, wait!" I shouted, running at full speed. He's about to see Gyatso's skeleton! I'd left some areas with preserved monk skeletons untouched, just tidying up a bit, deciding to wait for the Avatar himself to decide what to do.

As we approached the site of Gyatso's final battle, I saw Aang already agitated, emitting an ancient energy. Without wasting time, I pushed forward. With each second, the gusts of wind Aang created grew stronger. To reach him faster, I dropped to all fours, using my hands to dig into the ground.

"Time to wake up!" I lightly tapped his head, which, with my strength, was like a normal man's punch. I wasn't just hitting him; I was trying to reach Raava, to let her know there was no danger. But something wasn't working... And Aang's head was unusually sturdy.

"Aang! Aang! We're not the last airbenders! Calm down! What would Gyatso say if he saw you now?!" Gradually, the glow faded, and the wind died down.

"We're really not the last airbenders?" he asked weakly, leaning on my shoulder.

"Of course, I promise you that within five, maximum seven years, this world will have dozens of airbenders!" I patted my chest. "And here's your little friend," the winged lemur, as if understanding our words, began comforting Aang, offering him some nuts.

"Will you come with us?" Aang asked the animal. "Then you'll be Momo!" he continued laughing as the lemur climbed onto his head.

Aang then began sharing warm memories of his home, smiling softly. Maybe I'd been too hard on him. What teenager his age could accept a reality that crumbled in an instant without emotion? For him, only a few hours had passed, during which an entire nation, his people and loved ones, had simply vanished...

After a couple of hours, we set off again. This time, we were headed to the Library of Van Shi Tong.

"You say this spirit can help us unlock airbending in some people?" Aang asked, steering the bison.

"Yes, I haven't heard his idea yet, but trust me, it'll definitely work," I assured him, lazily gazing at the stars.

"If the war is already over, and the world has become much calmer, what should I do?" he asked, sounding lost.

"Oh, my young friend..." I said, my voice filled with wisdom. "I see youth boiling within you! That's exactly what you need! Unleash it! Give it to the world!" Watching Aang's eyes widen, I barely held back my laughter. "You must become a harem holder!"

"Ha-rem-hol-der?" he repeated. "Who's that?"

"You want new airbenders, right?" I asked, narrowing my eyes slyly.

"Yes," he replied cautiously.

"I hope you know how children are made?" Seeing his face turn red, I knew he did. "Being the wife, or even the mistress, of the Avatar and one of the last airbenders is what almost every woman wants! We're like rare animals! Everyone will chase after us and wipe our butts!" I was inspired by my own speech. "Let's revive the Air Nomads!" It seemed Aang was about to steam from his ears...

"I can't hear you! La-la-la," he started humming his song again, covering his ears with Momo's body.

"You don't know what you're missing, Aang!" I tried to entice him. "I know a little island with real warrior women! You've probably heard of it—Kyoshi Island," I emphasized the last part, knowing Aang had been there. "The girls on that island will do anything we want..."

"Have you been there?" he finally asked, feigning disinterest.

"More than once, trust me, you'll like it," I winked.

It was fun teasing Aang. Maybe he didn't understand everything I said, but he definitely got the gist!