Zuko deftly wielded the swords in his hands, making them dance. He was surrounded by black smoke enemies that were as annoying as ants, which made them dangerous.
Zuko leapt into the air, spinning at high speed as he was propelled by jets of fire from his feet. His sword cut off the heads of the smoke-made enemies, but he knew they would come back.
When he touched down, he leapt again, avoiding rock hands, earth spikes, and the Earthbenders' attacks. He remained in constant motion, slashing his blades at anything that came in front of him while reviewing his surroundings and looking for an opportunity.
Despite the continuous movements he had to make to avoid being hurt, his breathing was calm. With each deep breath, the flame inside him produced the fire that covered his blades when needed.
However, he noticed something troubling: the black smoke was gradually building up around him. Knowing that breathing it could be dangerous, he knew he had to act fast or he would be caught.
The prince's golden eyes narrowed as a jet of fire lifted him into the air, overcoming everything and reducing the objects on the ground to little fists. Perhaps that was the highest he had ever gone on his own.
His black hair shook wildly as he rose higher and higher. But why had he decided to do this? He didn't quite understand, but as he looked down, he saw the battlefield divided.
He trusted Shisui, who had created the area of mist. If a Waterbender could defeat a Sage, who constantly develops the water element, then that meant he was reading a cheap novel instead of experiencing the real world.
The other battlefield was engulfed in orange and blue flames, and he could hear the distinctive crackle of lightning. Perhaps because he was a swordsman, his sixth sense was better than most. Upon seeing the constant lightning bolts, he immediately knew his sister was the cause.
"Looks like Azula still loves to fight as much as she used to," Zuko muttered as he remained balanced in midair, looking at the place where he had been before.
The only phrase he could use to describe his battlefield was 'Black smoke that was constantly writhing.' The worst part? He could see a huge claw made of smoke rising and heading toward him.
It was as if a giant were piercing the earth from below, seeking to emerge from its burial. It was the first time he had seen such a scene, yet he felt no awe. He had seen more spectacular things before, and he could create similar images himself.
"I don't think I fully understood what I saw that day, but maybe giving the world a demonstration wouldn't hurt," Zuko muttered as a smile full of desire to fight rose on his lips.
Ever since he had witnessed the actual body of Agni, the literal spirit of the sun and the source of every firebender's power, the patterns on its golden scales had been imprinted in his mind.
He also knew that the same had happened to Azula. Instead of studying them, however, she had chosen her path. Zuko, on the other hand, was interested in the strange patterns and devoted some of his time to studying them.
The flames on Zuko's swords fluctuated differently than before; the solid state that characterized them was gradually lost as they waved as normal fire again. Zuko felt no fear as the smoke claw approached him. He didn't even bother to move; he simply watched it come closer.
"Smoke is just a byproduct. It can never compare to fire. But can fire compare to the sun?" Zuko's voice was normal, yet everyone present could hear it.
If they looked up into the sky, they would see a new sun that had suddenly risen. No, it was much smaller, but the Firebenders felt a familiar throb that told them it was indeed a sun.
"It consumes a lot more stamina than I thought. I may only be able to use this for fifteen seconds, but... Who cares?" The blades of Zuko were no longer covered in orange fire but in a faint, flickering golden flame.
The flame seemed fleeting, as if it could be easily dispersed by a strong breeze. However, the raw power it emanated could be felt by anyone with the slightest ability to perceive the world.
The first second passed, and Zuko swung his swords in an X pattern. Arcs of flame shot across the air and seemed to vibrate with force, as if they would crack from the intensity of the heat.
The Smoke Claw didn't resist long, but Zuko didn't care; his body was falling at high speed to the ground as his senses expanded. His enemy had covered herself and her companions in a dome of smoke, but Zuko still didn't care.
Another second passed. Zuko took a deep breath, but this time he held it. As he fell onto the smoke dome, black thorns formed from the material and tried to impale him. However, he deftly cut them off before thrusting both swords into the dome.
In the third second, Zuko tore through the smoke dome and entered it. It was dark, and his eyes and nose stung. However, he did not need to use his sight to perceive the world.
A strange image appeared in his mind. The world looked like it was made of strange shades of blue, green, yellow, and red. Seven red figures tried to surround him, but he moved first.
In the fourth second, he propelled himself with incredible precision towards one of his enemies, knowing where they were. Jets of fire shot out from his body, quickly reaching the enemy.
In the fifth second, his flaming blades, resembling snake fangs, dug deep into the flesh of the unsuspecting enemy. There was no scream; his flesh simply charred instantly.
In the sixth second, the golden flames on his blades dimmed further as his stamina wore down, yet he kept moving. His body moved and shifted instinctively in the smoke dome as if he were a snake, dodging every attack and attempt to stop him created by the woman's smoke creations.
By the seventh second, he had used up almost half of his time. He swung both swords in horizontal slashes, shooting two arcs of fire from his weapons. The arcs cut through the stony defense of another enemy, slicing him into three pieces.
In the eighth second, he thrust his sword into the ground to avoid being surrounded by stone walls, emitting a circle of flames that destabilized the Earthbenders' creations.
In the ninth second, he stabbed forward with both swords, firing two needles of fire that pierced several earthen walls and struck an enemy's torso.
In the tenth second, he caught an enemy off guard who had gotten too close. He thought he could hit the enemy while performing his previous thrust because he had copied one of his uncle's techniques and spat fire at the Earthbender.
In the eleventh second, he slashed upward with his swords, creating vertical arcs of fire and hitting an enemy trying to climb a rock pillar to gain a strategic height.
In the twelfth second, he was suddenly caught by hands made of smoke that attempted to limit his mobility. Additionally, a rock spike emerged in front of him, pointing toward his abdomen.
For a moment in the thirteenth second, his body was engulfed in flames, destroying the smoke hands and enabling him to evade the attack aimed at him.
In the fourteenth second, he got close enough to the second-to-last enemy to kick his neck hard and stomp on his head when he was on the ground. The jet of fire that shot from his foot did the rest.
Now, only one enemy remained. She kept moving away from him and constantly harassed him with her smoke creations. Zuko felt that this woman had an unusual body temperature, higher than a human should have.
For the past 14 seconds, he had been thinking about what could have brought her to such a state. Noticing all the smoke creations constantly surrounding him, he easily realized the cause.
She must have taken some kind of stimulant to improve her combat performance. Or perhaps she resorted to worse methods. But Zuko didn't care; he would burn it all off in the end.
Despite being a Firebender, he didn't like being surrounded by smoke, and the strange dome created with this element simply made him feel bad. He decided to end it all.
On the fifteenth second, Zuko raised his blades in the air. The dying golden flames condensed for the first time, taking on the solid consistency Zuko gave normal fire.
Two golden blades grew from his own, piercing the dome. With a motion of his own, he split the dome in two, causing it to lose integrity. The wind blew, clearing the black smoke and revealing the battlefield.
Zuko was finally able to catch his breath. His body nearly collapsed from exhaustion, but he managed to stay on his feet. His enemy, however, was sitting on the ground, covered in sweat that was not transparent.
She was sweating blood. To Zuko, this woman's chi was so chaotic that it could not belong to a normal person. Her skin was reddened, and chunks of it were falling off. Her hair was twisted as if burned.
"What kind of flames were those?" the woman asked. Her voice was hoarse, and she began to cough up steaming blood after speaking.
"I don't know, but I imitated them when I saw Agni," Zuko replied matter-of-factly. Why hide his brilliance?
What could a future Fire Lord be prouder of than having flames that resembled the sun's? Perhaps because of that, the woman's eyes bore into him as if she could see something different in him.
"You are too outstanding. Humanity doesn't need unique figures! Only the collective can advance.
Figures like the Avatar or Sage Shisui are just a heavy burden to the steady and proper advancement of humans. You're becoming like them." The woman tried to stand up, but Zuko propelled himself toward her with what little energy he had left.
His two dull blades, made of meteorite iron, were still sharp and stabbed the woman's body. Then, Zuko kicked her body, shaking the blood from his weapons with nimble movements.
"No, humanity will always advance, with or without them. But some exceptional people will inevitably emerge. They don't have to be good or bad. Humanity is full of potential.
We can all rise and become important figures, like the Avatar. He is special, but even a non-bender can contribute as much as he can in different fields.
But you, in your zeal to rid humanity of courageous individuals, have simply cut off the human spirit. You think you can kill those people and guide humanity, but you just want a flock of sheep to herd.
Isn't it ironic that your desires are as revolutionary and heavy-handed as those of any Avatar or major historical figure? Haven't you noticed yet? Your ideals may be against mine, but they are just as significant as the Avatar's, Shisui's, or mine.
Whether you like it or not, you are as great as they are. Though I don't even know your name." Zuko's words hit the dying woman hard. She had never seen her own goals from that perspective.
Were she and her companions important figures in history, like the Avatar or Shisui? Were they like the people they despised and wanted to kill to lead humanity down the right path? What path was that? Wouldn't they be fulfilling the Avatar's role to some extent?
"May Agni allow you to shine." Zuko bowed to the woman's body. She heard him before taking her last breath.
"And...thank you for telling me that I'm getting close to his level," Zuko murmured before turning his head toward the fading mist.
Shisui appeared in front of Zuko with his spear resting on his shoulder, his body bearing no trace of blood besides a smile adorning his face.
"Solar flames? When were you able to do something like that?" asked Shisui, curiously ignoring the surrounding corpses as he approached Zuko.
"It's just an attempt. The sun's power is still far away, but I've been thinking about it since the day you met Agni," Zuko replied. He looked down at the ground when something caught his attention:
A Pai Sho chip with a Red Lotus painted on it.
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AN: The Q&A still! Write on this paragraph a question! Only about this fanfic or another story I have upload in this site. You can try a personal question, but maybe I won't answer it.