"So, do you think the brat is the enlightened one?" asked Azulon to his son, who was rubbing his temples as he sat at his desk.
"We'll know in a few hours, I've already sent several messenger hawks to the front, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was him. It's one of the things I would do, don't you think?" replied Ozai with a sigh, he was quite comfortable in his bedroom before this strange feeling entered his mind.
Every person with a certain spiritual sensitivity felt the same, that strange intuition that someone had been born who had reached enlightenment. It was as if the universe itself had recognized his achievement and shared it with the rest of the world.
Soon, the door to the study opened and Iroh entered, holding a large metal cup and sipping its contents through a straw. When he saw his father and brother paying attention to him, he excitedly pointed to his drink.
"Would you like some? It has some interesting bubbles that make it taste better," Iroh offered, though usually, the answer was a negative, this time he was met with a strange scenario.
"Please, I want some. This situation is so sudden, I need something to distract me," Ozai replied while Azulon stood up and grabbed the glass his son was carrying with unusual speed for his age.
"Thank you for the offer, Iroh," Azulon smiled before he tasted the drink and enjoyed how delicious it was.
"I guess... so did Shisui reach enlightenment?" asked Iroh as he sat down, regretting a bit that he couldn't enjoy his new drink.
"We think so, we'll have confirmation soon. I'll probably use Musu to answer in the shortest possible time," Ozai replied with a bit of disbelief.
He still wasn't used to the idea that a spiritual orange cat became his daughter's pet, but knowing that she lived with Shisui and that strange things always happened to that child, it was as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"That thieving cat, he ate my fish yesterday!" shouted Azulon when he heard Musu's name, causing Iroh to burst into laughter and Ozai to simply smile.
"Anyway, we have to..." the three of them discussed that night, and they weren't the only ones who had conversations about it.
For example, a certain Fire Nation Vice Admiral with certain destructive tendencies felt uncomfortable at the prospect of someone achieving such an accomplishment, one that might overshadow those he might achieve in the future.
An immortal of the Earth Kingdom felt that someone had touched the feat he had achieved millennia ago, but not that he cared too much, right now he was enjoying the highest literature this world could offer, a fanfic of 'Avatar Kyoshi and You'.
"If she finds out you wrote this, will she kick them with her giant feet? Haha," the Immortal laughed as he continued to enjoy his book.
A man who longed to find a legendary library felt the same as many others, and then he went crazy to record the event so that no one would forget it, only something soured his mood, it would be great if this scripture was stored in that place he longed for so much.
A white-haired young woman looked up at the night sky, feeling her connection to the moon and knowing a little more than the others about who it was that had achieved enlightenment. Her body swayed gently in the night as she stood on the deck of a large wooden ship.
"Yue, why don't you go to sleep?" a female voice approached the white-haired woman, snapping her out of her reverie, and Yue simply shook her head before answering.
"A waterbender has reached enlightenment, or so the spirits tell me," Yue replied to the woman's doubts, causing her to visibly pause before continuing.
"That's a good thing, isn't it? Although no one of note from the tribe comes to mind," her words made Yue burst out laughing, making her companion feel strange.
"It has nothing to do with the tribe, at least not completely. What I do feel is that this waterbender is related to me, as if he were a close relative.
I doubt he's my father, and the only family I have left would be this sister I've never met..." Yue was silent at this point, and as if the moon was whispering something to her, a smile appeared on her beautiful face.
"No, there is someone who fits the bill quite well, a certain Waterbending Sage who lives in the Fire Nation," Yue's words made the woman beside her grab Yue's shoulder this time, showing strong emotions.
This woman was a beautiful middle-aged beauty, with brown skin full of scars, but strangely enough, they gave her a remarkable rather than fierce appearance. Her hair was braided, making it appear much shorter than it was, and her blue eyes seemed to glow brightly in the moonlight.
"You say she could be Sage Shisui's mother? You know how much she hated the Fire Nation! And even though she hasn't been heard from for so long, maybe..." the seemingly powerful woman's voice cracked a little, but Yue just patted her on the shoulder, calming her down.
"My sister's spirit has long since returned to the embrace of the Moon and Ocean Spirits and is at peace despite everything. She enjoys watching her son's exploits, and something tells me... they might see each other.
So relax, Magalie, when we've finished mapping these new lands, we'll return to the world we know and we can arrange some sort of encounter with them," Yue's words made Magalie calm down and return to her usual state.
The always serious and powerful adventurer of the Northern Water Tribe, Magallan, though those who knew her called her Magalie. The woman pulled a small object out of her pocket, an astrolabe that allowed her to find her way by the stars, and felt a pang of nostalgia as she remembered who had given it to her years ago.
"Well, when we get back, I want to meet Chang'e's son, let's get this over with first," Magalie said after a few moments of silence, a wild smile appearing on her face.
She would worry about the past later, the new world she had discovered would not be mapped, although some of the work had already been done, for they had never expected to find an abandoned Air Temple with several pieces of maps and exploration journals.
The Airbenders had been interested in this distant place for centuries!
A young girl from the Southern Water Tribe was also looking at the moon, and as far as she knew, a very special event had occurred: an enlightened one had been born! She wanted to share this news with the boy trapped in the ice.
Although she did not know his name, she had become accustomed to visiting him all the time, but she had a strange feeling that from the next day, her connection with this young man would grow even stronger.
Of course, she knew who he might be, and that's why she hadn't told anyone, not even her older brother, who ventured out on the seas with their father in somewhat questionable activities.
She'd had a similar feeling many years ago when she'd discovered that special iceberg, maybe more had happened that she didn't know about. If only the boy on the ice could talk to her and not just listen!
"Brother, this place is like a bad cactus juice trip, why can this plant sing?" wondered Shisui, pointing to a large rose bush that swayed in the wind as it emitted a faint melody.
"And why is it singing Ling Min-Mai's latest folk song? Even though it has a good voice," Shisui shook his body to the music, but Aang just shook his shoulders next to him.
"I don't know, I don't understand your music," the Avatar replied with a mocking tone in his voice, causing Shisui to raise an eyebrow.
"Technically, you're not an elder," Shisui pointed out, but Aang shook his head as he raised his index finger and made a smug face.
"I was born over a century ago, though those don't count, you know, they made me ice cream," Aang joked, but Shisui cocked his head to the side at what he thought was a mistake, so he corrected him.
"You mean a popsicle; didn't they have that in your time? I think so," Shisui said as he waved goodbye to the giant singing rose, which waved a petal in his direction as if waving to its audience.
"Yes, but I prefer to be an ice cream, according to your words, its taste is much better now than before, and more varied. I want to try a peach one, they should be the best flavor, right?" Aang's words made Shisui shake his head in disappointment.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
"The best ice cream is strawberry-peach, the best fruit there is," Shisui's argument started a heated conversation between the two young men, while a ghost watched them from a distance.
"Is that the Avatar and the Enlightened One? Why are they arguing about ice cream flavors?" the anthropomorphic rabbit-shaped spirit spoke softly, knowing that other spirits could hear him.
"I don't know, but they're no big deal, are they? They look like human puppies!" replied an armadillo-shaped spirit, but sensing a series of heavy stares in his direction, he curled up into a ball.
"We told you not to rely on your shell to taunt others, the Avatars have been very overprotective lately. Remember when Kuruk suffered mental wounds and no Avatar supported him? But look now, they look like dragonesses protecting their offspring!" said a Tanuki-shaped spirit, causing the other hidden spirits to nod.
"Hey, isn't that Musu? Haha, what a stupid name humans gave him!" said a Red Panda-shaped spirit, causing all the other spirits to laugh along with him.
"Oh, hello, Musu," Shisui said when he saw the orange cat appear before him, but what he never expected was that instead of a meow, a thick voice came from the spirit animal.
"Azula is worried about you, Shisui," the cat's thick, masculine voice surprised both Shisui and Aang, who never expected to hear such a voice from an orange cat.
"Hey, what's with the voice?" Aang asked curiously and guided by the innate human desire for nice things, he bent down to pet the cat, but it scratched his hand gently in rejection.
"Don't touch me, slave. Can't you see that the great Musu is MIAU!" the cat yelled loudly as Shisui's hand grabbed its neck.
"Stupid cat, behave," Shisui looked the cat straight in the eyes and even brought it extremely close to his face, and Musu could only shake his paws lethargically.
"I'll take that as a yes," Shisui said before putting the cat down.
"Ah, damn you Shisui, I'll never understand how you do that!" the cat complained as it began to lick itself warily.
"Hey, Shisui, what was the name of that procedure that made male cats sterile?" Aang asked angrily, causing the cat to slowly stop licking itself and turn its gaze to the Avatar.
"Oh, neutering. It makes animals, especially male cats, quiet," Shisui replied carelessly, but his gaze focused on the cat's underside, causing Musu's fur to stand up.
"NO! I just came to check on you, Azula is worried about you some people know there is a new Enlightened One and when she saw you meditating without responding, she thought it might be you," the cat quickly explained the full content of why it had found Shisui.
"Tell Azula I'm fine, I'll be back in a few hours. I'm going on a trip with my friend the Avatar," Shisui pointed at Aang, who had a mischievous grin on his face.
"Azula? The princess of the Fire Nation! Shisui, you make fun of me, but you already have a girlfriend!" exclaimed Aang as if he had just found out, but he was just teasing his companion.
"Yeah, because I'm not trapped in ice and I'm not bald," Shisui smiled before saying the words that made Aang feel uncomfortable.
"You'll see, when I get out of the ice, I'll fly around the world with Katara, maybe I'll take her to visit where I grew up," Aang answered seriously, making Shisui stop smiling for a moment before he spoke.
"Fine, but you have to think about it, Aang. A relationship is a serious thing," Shisui and Aang continued to talk and walk through the spirit world, ignoring the orange cat who had been left alone.
"Damn Shisui, damn Avatar, they're bad boys, nothing like my soft Azula," Musu muttered before noticing the many eyes of different spirits watching him in the hiding place.
Embarrassed, the cat traversed the spirit world until he came directly to Azula, the spiritual connection he had with the young girl allowing him to perform such a strange feat that was the envy of other spirits who wanted to interact with the real world.
Musu landed at the tent where Shisui was meditating, where his friends had gathered and stood guard, then Musu began to touch the ground in a strange pattern that Petra quickly interpreted.
"He says that Shisui is fine and that he is in no danger, but that he has somehow met the Avatar, with whom he seems to be on a journey. That he is in no danger and will probably return in a few hours.
Also, Shisui is the Enlightened One, he felt this special aura when he saw his spirit body," Petra read the strange language Musu wrote, although it was 'Code Azulon'.
Shisui popularized it among his acquaintances so that they could send messages to each other using Musu, who could travel through the spirit world and somehow shorten long distances.
"Ah, then we can rest easy," Zuko said in relief, but his hand never left the hilt of his sword and his eyes never left the entrance to the tent.
If anyone dared to enter without permission, the first thing he would see would not be Shisui, but his sword at the back of his neck. Zuko had decided that nothing would hurt his friend as long as he was in such a state.
"Wow, Shisui is racking up titles like crazy!" exclaimed Ty Lee, who had her ink brush snatched away by Azula just as she was about to draw funny whiskers on Shisui's face.
"Of course, ShiShi is that cool," Azula replied, putting away the brush she had taken from Ty Lee before carrying Musu in her arms.
"A lot of people will be interested in him," Mai pointed out, causing the others to nod.
"More than usual, no doubt," Petra chewed on a piece of green glass, the sugar serving to keep her awake.
The group protected Shisui's body as he and Aang saw strange sights during their journey. Oceans in the sky, clouds rising from cracks in the ground to water the plants, strange animals curious about the two strangers.
Some friendly spirits stopped to talk to them, like a cute Red Panda and a curious Tanuki, who strangely gave Shisui a brown leaf before flying away with his tail.
In the distance, they saw Roku's dragon flying with other dragons in a strange dance, they saw a spirit in the shape of a sword that told them some strange jokes, and they found a stone with eyes that told them about something called alternate universes, something Aang didn't understand but Shisui did.
In the end, they separated from the stone because the stone did not accept that there was a universe where it was a drop of water, yes, it liked the multiverse, but one where it was a drop of water. Pure garbage!
In the distance, Aang saw what appeared to be flying Bison, or at least the ghost version of them, they also saw Moles coming out of their tunnels, and in a pond, several pairs of Koi fish dancing in an eternal dance.
Although Aang wanted to get closer to the Bison, what they had learned with the Avatars explained the nature of these beings, they were the purest versions of the animals they represented, while the Koi were a reflection of La and Tui in all the waters of the spirit world, they were not the real thing.
While there was still an hour before Shisui left the spirit world, he and Aang found a cave, and upon entering, they noticed how strange it was. Many, many crystals seemed to reflect their figures, distorting them into different shapes, many of them funny.
They both knew where they were, so Aang stood and looked at himself in the various reflections, giving him the privacy Shisui needed. The sage went deeper into the cave, where the reflections became smaller and smaller until there was only one.
A huge silver crystal completely reflected Shisui's life-size body, no matter how far away he was from this object, it always made a replica of the young man.
"Well, is this the Mirror of Souls? I only see myself," Shisui said to nowhere, but he never expected anyone to answer him.
"Yes, first you see yourself, you have to touch your reflection," a female voice was heard behind Shisui, and when he turned around, his golden eyes narrowed at what he saw.
Shisui saw a woman with tanned skin and brown hair whose body seemed to ripple as if she were underwater. Her blue eyes looked directly into Shisui's golden eyes and he could feel something deep inside him.
This woman... was his mother. He didn't know what to do or how to react and the woman, seeing him still, floated over to him before she hugged him tightly, cradling her son as she had wished for all these years.
"I'm glad to see that you've grown a lot, Shisui. Though I had chosen a better name for you, things couldn't go the way I wanted," the woman whispered and Shisui responded by hugging her tightly.
"I miss you," Shisui said and his mother just stroked her son's black hair, soothing him with her touch.
"You can always look for me in the spirit world, we can catch up another day, now look at yourself in the mirror like you've always wanted to," Shisui's mother turned away from her son with reluctant humor, arranging the locks of his disheveled hair and the collar of his clothes, worrying about his appearance.
It was these small actions that made Shisui shed a small tear as he smiled, and then the woman pointed to the mirror and invited him to look at it. Shisui turned and saw his reflection again.
Shisui walked towards the mirror and when he was just inches away from it, he raised his hand and touched his reflection. His fingers felt as if he was touching another person. His golden eyes sparkled and Shisui saw something through his reflection.
The eyes are the window to the soul, through the reflection of his eyes, Shisui caught a direct glimpse of his soul, something that was very different from when he could vaguely perceive it during his enlightenment.
His soul didn't have a fixed shape, it wasn't a little he or something, but he could notice some interesting things about it. For example, there was a small rhomboid crystal floating around it, and what looked like water droplets covered his soul.
He instinctively knew that these were the two things, his gift, the ability he brought from his previous life that allowed him to see people's auras. The drops of water represented his waterbending.
The experience of seeing his soul brought Shisui some insights, flashes of ideas, and information that may take many years to digest, but will certainly make his future path easier.
When he stopped touching the mirror, Shisui turned to his mother, who gave him a small wave goodbye before disappearing. Although he felt a little awkward at the sudden absence of a woman he had only seen in the past, Shisui knew he would see her again another time.
With little time left before he departed from the spirit world, Shisui left the cave and bumped into Aang, who was sticking his tongue out at a reflection of himself that seemed much larger than his real self.
"Aang, I have to go," Shisui said, causing Aang to stop teasing himself and look at his friend.
"I know, I'll see you later?" Aang held out his hand to Shisui, but Shisui just hugged Aang and patted him on the back.
"See you in two years," Shisui slowly disappeared from the spirit world, leaving Aang all alone.
"Yes... it's time to wake up" Aang closed his eyes, and after a full minute, a pulse of energy shot out of his body.
First, it was the arrows tattooed on his body that began to emit a whitish glow, then his eyes slowly opened and the glow inside them illuminated the crystal-filled cave.
His distorted reflections changed to his normal reflection, and in this state, Aang brought his hands closer together as if holding a ball. Then his hands slowly parted.
That morning, two years later, a pillar of light shone in the night sky, right in front of an astonished Katara and a seriously spear-wielding Sokka.
The Avatar, who had disappeared more than 100 years before when he was needed most, awoke. The Last Airbender, Aang, finally broke free of his icy prison and opened his eyes.
The first thing Aang saw was a rather excited brown-skinned young woman running toward him on the ice, while her male companion tried to catch her and keep her from approaching the stranger.