Kayne rested his back against a dry rock at a far end of the swamp forest, all alone and safe from danger. But his peace was short-lived as he reminisced about the words of his late Aunt Lrosa, echoing in his mind so loudly that he felt its reverberations all around him, leaving him frustrated and filled with woe.
Thud!! Thud!!
He knocked his head twice against the rock behind him, thinking the excruciating pain would remedy his sorrow and despair. Surprisingly, the pain stopped, but only to return once more. He got up on his knees and peeked ahead to see if the danger had passed. Luckily, it had. He rushed to the graveyard and dug through the rocks with his bare hands until he reached her body again. A short smile cracked on his filthy face, and rock-dirty tears washed down his cheeks onto the ground.
"This is not the place to rest, Aunt Lrosa," he said agonizingly.
He carried the body in his arms and hurried through the woods until he came across the monk's cave. Yohn saw him struggling with her body, dropped his limo-bat to continue its feeding, and ran to aid Kayne. The boy caught a glance of the monk from afar and trusted his sight that it was Yohn. He fell to his knees and slowly lowered the body. His vision of Yohn sprinting towards him gradually lost focus as his body slowly tumbled to its side in exhaustion.
"Kayne!! Kayne!!" Yohn's voice faded into silence as the world around him darkened.
His body was enslaved in the shackles of hunger and fatigue.
"Dad is home!!" Milo screamed, running around in circles while the byson lowered itself to the ground.
Tenzin had arrived at the air temple. He descended from the bison with Asami to meet Milo and the other kids.
"I apologize for your truck, Asami. Lin and I will make sure we find that boy," Tenzin uttered his words of apology.
"I hope so. Even though I might be able to pay that off next week, it will cost a lot of time to repair the truck. Productivity will be lower than before," she said.
"Why don't you come in and have a seat? The kids will make you some tea while you wait," Tenzin asked politely.
"No thank you, I'll be leaving now. Someone needs to prepare the site for work tomorrow, it's paperwork, so... yeah, I gotta go," said Asami.
"I understand. The bison will take you back, and Milo will be your driver. Take care of her, Milo," said Tenzin.
"Yeah!! Thanks, dad!!" Milo jubilated, knowing he would have some alone time with his crush.
"Have a seat, ma'am," Milo soothed his words as he waited for Asami to climb up. He then joined her, and off the bison flew.
Tenzin waved them off and walked back into the temple.
Kayne's eyes began to open reluctantly. He woke up to the smell of soup penetrating his nose. With enough strength gathered, he rose to a sitting position. Yohn realized he had awakened, so he prepared a bowl of soup and set it down on the floor.
"Here you go, Kayne. Be careful; it's hot!"
Despite the extreme temperature of the soup that was contagious to the metal bowl, Kayne snatched it and poured down the porridge without even blowing on it. Yohn was shocked to watch Kayne gulp it all down, seemingly impervious to the pain. He left his jaw hanging open to let out the steam from his mouth. Then, he looked around in search of Lrosa and found her body in the cave, covered with a red blanket.
He stood to his feet at once. His body swayed back and forth, as it hadn't recovered its strength. But this didn't stop him from moving forward. He staggered to her and sat next to her body. Yohn joined him.
"How long is she gonna sleep? Is she sick?" Yohn asked.
"She's passed, and I need a place to put her to rest," Kayne cried out to him without a mumble or hesitation.
"My condolences, son. Follow me," he got up with the bowl empty of soup and began walking outside the cave, with Kayne following.
Outside was darkened by the night. The starless sky cast a pale, soft ray from the moon's luminescence down into the swamp. Yohn walked Kayne deep into the swamp, covering several miles, until Kayne's body abruptly lurched sideways, revealing its newfound weakness. He leaned against a tree to catch his breath and conserve his energy. But that wasn't his only problem.
Yohn rushed to his assistance, extending his arm behind Kayne's neck to provide support for walking, preserving his dwindling strength.
"Where are you taking me?" Kayne asked with a soft, broken voice, but received no response.
Kayne shut his eyes and let his legs lead him in whatever direction Yohn took him. After a brief trip, they stopped. With his eyes closed, he perceived a vivid transformation. Upon opening them, he beheld a radiant light—the third Spirit portal.
Yohn believed it to be a sacred place where her soul would not be disturbed. "You can bury her there, first thing in the morning."
This time, Kayne gave her a proper burial. He lowered her body into the soil of the Astral plane and watched her soul exit her body and slowly fade into the light after giving him a brief hug.
"Come with me, Kayne; you need a place to think," said Yohn. Kayne followed him back to the cave and waited outside.
"Here you go. There is a pond nearby, a safe one, I assume. Wash up and put these on. They are clean and warm," Yohn said softly and handed him a clean monk robe.
Kayne returned from the pond in the yellow robe wrapped around his body. His hair was tied into a bun, and he had shaved the sides of his head, leaving the top.
"You shaved too? That looks good on you," said Yohn.
"I'll take you to a place away from this city. Once you have recovered and found peace, then you can fulfill your dreams in life," he continued.
"Where are you taking me?" Kayne asked in curiosity.
"The Avatar Aang Memorial Island. Over there, no one in the city would harm you, and you'll be away from all this chaos."
"Chief Lin!! Zit from Cell 095 has escaped," an officer clamored.
"What!! Any info on where he last went? That man is too dangerous for the city," Lin howled.
"He burned the evidence but left a ring in his cell," he said.
"We'll track him with that; prepare for patrol in the evening. That man is a pyrotechnic psychopath and a master of disguise," she ordered.
"Yes, Ma'am!" the officer ran off.
A probending match was about to begin between two teams, the Tremor Tigers and the Dazzling Doves. It was announced for both teams to assemble on stage in 30 minutes.
"Hey Jinn, are you ready? Today we must prove that we are worthy to beat the Fire Ferrets," said a teammate.
"Don't worry; we'll burn them to dust," said Zit.
"Don't get too devious; remember this is just a match. Losing doesn't make us losers," Jinn replied.
Zit joined the Tremor Tigers in disguise as their leader, Kodin, who had been locked in a washroom locker and was to be disposed of after the match.
"Benders, get to the stage!!!" the announcer shouted with confidence.
"Okay, let's go!!" Jinn hooted.
The three benders began their walk to the match with hopes of winning. But that didn't matter to Zit; he was glad they fell for his disguise.
"I'm not going back to that prison. This is my new identity. Good thing he matches my element. It's time to burn some living corpses," he said, stretching his arms and smirking as the elevator lifted them to the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we've got a match! The Tremor Tigers, on a weekly winning streak and motivated to win the tournament, face the Dazzling Doves. Prepare for this battle because it's not going to be friendly," roared the commentator.
Swoosh!! Splush!!
Kayne watched the city and its night lights as Yohn rowed the boat. They were halfway to the island. However, Kayne seemed lost, staring at the city lights.
"What are you thinking, boy?" Yohn asked.
"This world is cruel. My family had a dream, a goal, and an image. But all that is gone, with no one but me to remember."
"Huh?" Yohn steered his head to view him from the side of his eye. Clueless about what Kayne was talking about.
"The Avatar cycle was a mistake; humans are not meant to meddle with the spirits," Kayne added.
"So what are you planning on doing afterward, pay the Avatar a visit?" Yohn asked.
"The Avatar has nothing to offer me and has nothing to offer the world. I will be the one to save the world from this misery... I will end the Avatar cycle." Filled with determination, powered by anger and sorrow, he set his main goal to achieve, with a prepared motive to fight anything that comes his way.