Not long after dealing with the bandits, Hayato sat near a stream of water as he fished for his dinner, his mind still thinking back on the implications of sparing lives or taking them.
How could he judge when it was necessary to take the life of another human being. When they ended a life themself or when he felt that they were a danger to others. And could his morality even be maintained in a world like this, where their main profession is literally to take the lives of other people.
Hayato simply let our a deep sigh as he pulled a fish from the palm, with him deciding to meditate after dinner to help mitigate his stress and anxiety.
"You look like you could use a little advice." A voice sounded to Hayato, with him immediately sending a monstrous blast of air towards the source.
Hayato's insticts responded before his mind could even react, with him being alarmed due to the fact that he couldn't detect the presence that was near him until they spoke.
The figure merely smirked as an earth wall erputed and fully countered the attack, with the water in the stream then rising and covering the entirety of Hayato's body, afterwhich it froze.
"Yangchen trained you pretty good. I'm glad she could be helpful to you. It's a pleasure to meet you, Avatar Hayato." The man said as the Earth Wall crumbled and he appeared.
Hayato's eyes widened as he saw the man be revealed, as he was one of the strongest Avatar's to ever live.
"Avatar Kuruk?" Hayato asked.
The man just nodded, with Hayato having knowledge on the tragic fate of Kuruk thanks to Yangchen, yet his story seemed to have no difference from his regualr origin.
He was a man who was an extremely talented bender and one of the more powerful Avatar's to live. But, Yangchen, while viewed as one of the greatest Avatar's in the physical sense, neglected any and all aspects of the spiritual world, as any time she had to choose between the Spirits and Humans, she would always choose the side of Humanity.
This led to and advent of Dark Spirits in the age of Kuruk, and he was forced to have to deal with the spirits. But, he lacked the same technique that the Water Tribes would create in the future to deal with the spirits, forcing him to have to take them down in a more dangerous and deadly manner.
Each time that he eliminated a Dark Spirit, he found himself being weakened due to a spiritual disease that was caused due to said actions.
The disease caused him to face ailments like depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders that were attributed to the negative energy caused by destroying the spirits.
Each time, the man found himself feeling less and less human, with that being the reason that he began challenging famous benders or partaking in alcohol heavily, in a hope to both dull the pain of not having any feeling.
His friends all left him, leaving him to wallow in his own loneliness and despair at not being able to seemingly do anything in life.
This stood in contrast to how he originally lived, with him being a young man full of vigor and spirit while hoping he could change the world.
Eventually, he came into contact with the spirit who was causing the influx of Dark Spirits into the Human Realm, with he and Father Gloworm having a battle that created a hole in reality. Kuruk was able to force the spirit to flee, with him then going on to find love and finally gain a bit of happiness.
But, even that did not last long as the woman he fell in love with and married was taken by Koh the Face Stealer, leaving him in a state that he felt was worse than death. Every year, on the anniversary of their wedding, Kuruk traveled to the Spirit World in hopes of saving Ummi, but failed on every occasion.
Eventually, his body gave in to the disease, with him dying at the young age of 33. Yet even after death, he still searched for Koh in the spirit world in a hope that he could save her.
But even when he found Koh years later, he only then realized that if he were to take action against Koh, it would only harm Ummi. Therefore, he could only resign himself to his fate, a cruel fate that made him one of the most pitable Avatar's to ever live.
Yangchen had told Hayato about him when discussing her biggest regret in her life, as she felt that it was only her failures that led to the disaster that occured with her successor.
"Looks like Yangchen already told you about me. But, I'll be your Waterbending Master." Kuruk said as he sat down and cut the fish in half using fire, after which he ate half of it.
"And it looks like she didn't teach you how to fight too good. You got a lot to learn, kid." Kuruk said as he made the ice around Hayato melt with just a glance.
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